I see alot of activity here with road course and autocross racing. I wanted to know what you guys think about my set up and if I should try to hit an event before the off season or if I should wait it out and spend some more money.

03 350z touring
-NA set up, H/I/E, Pulleys, dyno tuned to 269/249
-Wilwood 6 piston 14' rotor front, 4 piston 13' rotor rear
-Stillen sway bars
-18x9.5 rims with 245/40 F and 275/40 R Falken FK452's (I want to go to Bridgestone RE760's with 255's up front)

My plan during the off season is to finish suspension.

I have never done an event but I have been wanting to for years, and I feel like my car is getting really close to me feeling comfortable doing one without wrecking!

 

You don't need to spend more money on mods IMO.... you don't know what's good or bad about the car (w/ or w/o mods) until you experience it at speed on a track. Go to an event and get a feel for what the car can do and what it can't and then go from there; You'll see the strengths and weaknesses of your car and you can adjust your mods accordingly.

 

^+100000000000000

The z comes from the factory ready I started autocrossing with my stock z. I would start with autocorss to work on the drivers mod before moving on to HPDE and road course. Autocross is a good way to learn the car in a relatively safe environment. It's also pretty easy on the car so you don't need to worry so much about breaking things lol. We have had a lot of first timers come out and get hooked. Just look for an autocross event in the meet up's section and get autocrossing

 

ya - you didnt "need" any of that stuff, but it certainly helps... the real MOD is the driver...

 

dude, where in TX are you? sign up!

hit the track.........i have mods at home waiting to get installed.......i learned early on that money spent on going to the track is way better than money spent on buying parts!!! yes you want both, but unless you have Donald Trump cash to do both then hit the track!!!

-J

 

To echo what these guys are saying, take it from this newbie,

Start autocrossing. Now. Not later.

So we'll see you at the next event then? Ok sounds good!

 

I am in Fort Hood, which seems to be in between everything and at least 3 hours from any event. I would LOVE to go to an event, the ONLY event I see is at TWS in December. Do I need to do the school thing first? or can I jump right on the track? and also, if there is an auto X soonish, I would love to know about it!

 

shoot dog, I used to live there and I don't know what you're thinking saying TWS is 3 hours away. maybe 1 1/2 TOPS. Houston was 3 hours away. I know there's a drag strip in Temple (for what it's worth) but TWS is really the closest road course honestly. They do parade laps there everytime they have an event, and they usually have people on track almost every weekend. Give them a call, not all their events are on the website. The parade laps are paced, but you can still have a little fun by waiting back and speeding into the corners.

But as far as mods go man, I'd put a hold on the mods, and get the bish on the track.

 

+1000 ^^^ your sig says it all holmes...

 

^^yea, considering the first time I tracked I all but melted my calipers....

 

I race around in the uninhabited hills on fort hood, and notice that yes the suspension does do well, but a big hell no to the brakes, they scare the crap out of me, I can see how you cooked off some stock brakes

 

That's what I did. Now I have Stoptechs.

Classy,

You've got way more brakes than a lot of people here. If you are worried about your braking performance I would definately invest in more seat time. Like you, I want every mod in the book. But, I have invested in brake pads, tires and track days and I get all the enjoyment I need. (Atleast that's what I tell myself)

The Z really is a good track car right out of the box. Even with the stock brakes I had a hard time overheating them at Eagle's Canyon. Of course after driving home and realizing I'd burned through a seal in the passenger side caliper piston I decided to upgrade.

My strategy with this car is to mod when something breaks. So far so good, 68k and still on stock clutch.

P.S. Anybody planning on going to MSR Houston in January?

 

Looking at your setup, If you had to mod something I would get some Nitto NT-05 or Dunlop Starspecs in a 265 all around. A lot of guys at the track like the square setup and it would be perfect for your 18x9.5 wheels.

I think this is my next step. Black Enkei RPF1 18x9.5 with 265 Starspecs all around. Sorry to hijack the thread, but anybody know the best offset in these? +15 +20? I want it flush with the body, not sticking out in any way.

 

+15 hands down

 

Thanks Jake. Without you and Jason I'd probably be lost right now. I still need to come out to a meet or tech day to actually meet all the DFW peeps.

 

^ ya man.....would be good to put a face to the name..

-J

 

MSR in Jan - YES, just haven't sent the check to Rick yet but I commited to him I'd be there.

If I ever get some time away from work I'm going to start setting up my VQ AutoX championship. Was thinking this weekend but I'm at work right now. (Shhhh! don't tell my boss i said that)

 

You bet. I'm signed up and waiting to try out this track. I've never driven it, but I've heard its a ton of fun.

As far as Mods, I'm of the same mind as Sooner350. I either wait till I have a failure (or about to have one) or a part is holding me back from progressing further. But you won't find that out until you start learning how to drive on a track.

 

wow...surprised at some of the responses on here. Autocross I guess you'd be ok. I assume you're running hi temp brake fluid. Things I would add to your setup if I were you.

1- Oil cooler. If you plan on doing some road racing...you really need to invest in one.

2- not a must, but to be safe, I'd invest in a hi capacity rad. Not really needed for autocross, but road racing i would definitely upgrade it.

3- ARP wheel studs. More stress is put on your wheel studs as you add things like sway bars and coilovers. Its not pretty when you snap the stock wheels studs...wheels go flying. Search youtube...i just saw a new video of a guy doing a drift run and lost his front wheel. And if you wanna run sticky tires...you better have these.

4- stock some brake pads for your Wilwoods...you go through em quick when you road race. Really sucks to be at a place like TWS or MSR and not being able to continue because you wore your pads out on the first two practice heats.

Other than that...on a NA setup...I think you're doing pretty good with the mod list.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv4m41viy4I

Woops!