New Lap Record for the “Green-Hell”

A Pagani Zonda R established a new record for “production” cars on the Nordschleife circuit of the Nürburgring this week, covering the 20.83-kilometre-long course in 6 minutes 47 seconds. The Italian Zonda R is a hand-built carbon-titanium and carbon-fibre sports car, powered by a 750-horsepower, 6.0-litre AMG-sourced V12

www.project350z.com

A great site for prepping your Z for autocrossing:

project350z.com

Great stuff!

Service Engine Soon!!!!!

Well the Service Engine Soon light came on and I took the Z to the good people at Performance Nissan.
John at the service department took care of me,pulled the codes and identified the issue being the catalytic converters. This explains the lean running engine due to the O2 sensors getting an incorrect reading from the malfunctioning Cat-converters. Well 24hrs later the vehicle is back in my hands with two new cats and zero ping from the engine. Oh and the work was covered by Nissan. All is right in the world!!!!

Rally Of Morocco

Results Nurburgring 24h

Pos. No. Make Laps Time
1 25 BMW M3 GT2 154 12:17.344
2 43 Ferrari F430 GTC 154 9:33.019
3 97 Audi R8 LMS 153 9:32.691
4 76 BMW Z4 GT3 152 10:37.803
5 102 Audi R8 LMS 152 10:51.149
6 20 Porsche GT3 CupS 151 9:27.493
7 26 BMW M3 GT2 150 10:52.452
8 18 Porsche GT3 CupS 150 10:41.858
9 69 BMW Z4 GT3 149 10:04.650
10 35 Porsche GT3 Cup 148 10:05.529
11 14 Porsche GT3 Cup 147 9:51.098
12 44 Nissan Z 33 145 10:15.261
13 11 Porsche GT3 RS 145 9:56.683
14 33 Porsche GT3 Cup 145 10:01.348
15 133 Audi TTS 144 10:13.279

The Z33 Falken team ended up at an impressive 12th spot. Here are some details on the car:

Capacity: 3798 cm 3
Engine: VQ35HR (NISMO tuning), extended stroke 7 mm
Max Power: 400 hp, Max torque: 421 Nm
Clutch: NISMO; Drive: NISSAN
Tyres: FALKEN (Front) 280/680R18 (Rear) 290/680R18
Rims: Enkei 11J x 18
Weight: 1.250 kg

Looks like a 380RS engine.

Enjoy the Video:

24 HOURS IN 19500 FRAMES from tim hahne on Vimeo.

Nurburgring 24hrs

The greatest track in the world, the Nurburgring, is running its annual 24hrs race. The Falken Z33 is doing well currently 17th as of 445am German time. The team is as follows:
Falken Motorsports
Dumbreck, Peter GB - GB SP 7 Nissan Z33 (350Z)
Schoysman, Dirk D - Barweiler
Tanaka, Tetsuya J - Japan
Hoshino, Kazuki J - Japan
You can watch it live here but in German but tune in to Radio Le Mans to hear commentary in English. Brew a pot and stay up; Porsche vs. Audi vs. Ferrari, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Some Alfa Love

Saw this beautiful Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale last night in Brentwood.

Big Bend Open Road Race...one day....

Senna

This past Sunday marked the sixteenth anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna. The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix weekend saw some horrific crashes including the death of fellow F1 driver Roland Ratzenberger while qualifying. Senna's crash was no less horrific and was played out in front of a world wide audience. I saw the race live on TV and the moment the crash occurred, I knew this was no run of the mill F1 accident, this was far more savage. Speed Hunters recently visited Imola and sought out the Senna memorial. The image below directs you to the memorial of one of the greatest drivers the world has seen.

Dyno

I Had a day at the dyno over at Specialty Z. The guys there know their stuff and have some monster Z32’s putting down some serious horsepower. I was there to get a base line pull just so I know where I stand. I was shooting for 240HP so when 236HP showed on the graph I wasn’t too worried. The real bummer was that the run had to be cut short due to the Air/Fuel reading high, showing a very lean running engine. In an effort to protect the engine the pull was cut short and we decided that an ECU tune would be needed to rich out the mixture. I had planed on this but at a far later date. So my plans to install an oil cooler and diff will have to wait until this matter is fixed.

Pit Stop

I was hanging out at the Risi Ferrari garage at the Long Beach Grand Prix. Here’s the team practicing a tire change. More pics to follow.

Heel and oh sh%*!!!!

In a nutshell my heel & toe skills suck. There I’ve said it. Sure, if “Driving Miss Daisy” speeds counted for anything, then yes, I can heal and toe with the best of them but as the speeds increase my skills decrease. It doesn’t help that I’ve been driving a lumbering Land Rover for the past seven years, numbing me to the subtleties of high performance driving. To rectify this situation I have focused on the driver and the car. First for the car I have purchased a more “driver friendly” JDM 380Z RS accelerator pedal.



The 05 Base Z has tiny pedals and the postage-stamp sized accelerator pedal is not making life any easier so a change was needed. I’ve heard good things so I’ll see if it makes an improvement.

The second part to making me the next Ayerton Senna, wink-wink, nudge-nudge is the book Secrets Of Solo Racing by Henry A. Watts. My friend Chris loaned me this book and he has a number of years of SCCA SOLO II racing experience and swears by it. So far the book has been a quick read with clear cut directions on all aspects of driving fast; correct lines, apexes and yes heel & toe.






So the last and final step is to put the above in practice. I’ll update the results and here’s to not missing a shift and ruining a perfectly good motor!

My Favorite Alfa

Il Mostro!

HPDE Buttonwillow

Spent the day as a spectator but learnt a bunch from fellow Z owners and the instructor.

DTM 190E

Love this Merc

My Birthday gift: Racing 101

My big 4-0 birthday week revolved around cars and racing. Last Saturday was no different as I received a birthday gift of a training session at K1Speed .My instructor, Timothy, was extremely patient and talked me through the corners, directing me on how to approach the desired lines. I needed all the help he could offer as I have yet to break the 27 second lap barrier. While I listened closely, my execution of his directions was far from exact. At the end of our session I was exhausted, my hands and forearms where burning but I had learned a bunch and was awarded my best time; 28.153. 1/100 of a second less and I'd be knocking on the door 27-second club.

Exhaust delete

As mentioned previously, the sound of the stock Z is pleasing but too muted for my taste. Now what I’m after is not the boy-racer screaming down the street “look at me” auditory overload but more a communicative tone that speaks to me and will put a smile on my face when I shift gears. An aftermarket exhaust is a possibility but I’m still doing my research here but it must be noted that again, it appears that the Nissan engineers did their homework and produced a very efficient stock system. It’s reported that at most, an aftermarket exhaust will yield a messily 6-10hp equating to one of the worst “bangs for the buck”when moding a Z. The only plus side for swapping out the stock exhaust would be to attain a light weight system or seek a more aggressive tone. So, for the interim I went for a quick fix and deleted the resonator. I’m loving the high pitched rasp that goes in hand with the VQ engine tone even though other Z owners look down upon this mod. Have a listen here:

So basically I now have a straight pipe from the Y-pipe to the muffler. My next exhaust modification will be to replace the Y-pipe with one from a new HR motor and change out the muffler to a less restrictive, lighter one. I’m not going to touch the cats and mess with the emissions.

The Run

Take one 350Z and one European capital and you have The RUN...

Auto-X

As mentioned previously, hitting the track will be one of my goals with the “Z”. Last week I visited the SCCA SOLO II event held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. I didn’t plan on racing but I did want to get a feel for the event so to gauge the general culture of the participants as well as to get a feel for the safety standards. I was greatly impressed on all accounts; the participants were extremely warm and welcoming and I was invited to ride along with one of the competitors, Mark, in his Porsche 914. The car screamed through the corners and was extremely impressive as it flew through the cones. Many thanks Mark! Here are some pictures of the event.

The RX-8’s license plate says it all! Click the picture below to see what it says.

Lining up for our run. The Subi wagon could really move.

Here's a short video of our run. The quality is not the best but it captures the intricacy of the

track.

…lil bit faster now.

So the Z is meeting all my expectations. It has great power, balance and styling but as usual I want more; a little bit more edge and less civility. From what I’ve read, it appears that Nissan reserved that rawness for the rare Nismo 350z and even then, tight, balanced and communicative where the adjectives used to describe the vehicle.

When I drive a car I wish for it to communicate to me, be it with steering control or with that seat of my pants feel, here is where the Z scores high marks. Unfortunately on the auditory side of things I’m not feeling the love. Be it cruising at a low RPM on the highway or with moderate open throttle, the result is the same; a mild bump in tone but nothing too offensive. Oh how I crave for the bark of a flat-six or the rumble of a V8.

The fix for this dilemma was resolved somewhat accidentally as I had recently purchased one of the best bangs for the buck in performance upgrades; a Jim Wolf Technologies Pop-Charger. This wonderful little device has been proven over and over again to provide a real world increase in horse-power to the rear wheels, of somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-11HP between 2500-3900 RPM and 12-16HP between 4500-5200 RPM. The install was a breeze and the improvements where noticeably immediate. Throttle response was more immediate and for the first mile or two I had to relearn how aggressive I should be. As mentioned the increase in power comes with a nice growl and whistle. Now with the music on and the pedal down I can hear the engine exhibit the nessasary growl that I crave. Even better, drop down a gear and from 5000rpm to redline the engine just screams. Next up a slight mode on the other side of things; Exhaust.

The reason behind the madness

This came from a forum member on http://www.my350z.com/, one of the key 350z/370z forums. The discussion centered on High Performance Driving Events (HPDE) Vs Auto-crossing. I plan on doing both; beginning with auto-crossing and graduating to HPDE. The forum member hit the nail on the head why HPDE should be my goal.

1) HPDE allows for more time spent behind the wheel, so you can fine tune your driving skill with your instructor for example the correct hand position on the wheel, braking, throttle application, etc.

2) No competition / timing pressure: This is a big one; as a man your instincts are telling you that you NEED to win, it's built in our DNA. The problem with that is you don't learn in competitions, you try to do your best using your actual skills that you came in with.

3) Learning how to handle the adrenaline rush at high speed, trying to approach the cornering and braking limits at 40mph is something that you can do in a deserted parking lot safely... approaching a turn at 120mph+ is something that we don't do often and the adrenaline/anxiety is going to kick in. Learning to manage this feeling/chemical imbalance helps in real life / real driving

4) You have other cars around and even if you aren't allowed to pass in the beginner group, giving you other useful real world skills; such as feeling the car with the seat of your pants, picturing the driving line in your mind but keeping your eyes mobile between the track, the car ahead, the mirror and the corner workers. Unfortunately beginners are unable to do that and therefore get a windshield full of blue-flag; learn how to do that and you'll became a better road driver, it will tune your instincts to an improved state of awareness.

5) You'll develop a connection with your car, you'll feel the tires becoming greasy (maybe) and what that means, you'll feel the brake pads overheating (hope not) and the pedal giving the first signals... your brain will learn how to interpret the early signs of those situations telling you "dude! Something is wrong... stop and check"... that will make you a WAY better everyday driver and you won't go around on a tire with 10psi of air in it, with the toe so screwed up that your car goes sideways.

6) You'll learn to keep your focus for a relatively long period of time; 20 minutes of 100% focus is a VERY long time at high speeds if you aren't used to it.

7) You'll learn your body messages; on an HPDE dehydration, heat stroke and mental black out are common and happen especially to those who think "it isn't going to happen to me"... all these things reduce drastically your capacity to drive.

8) You'll really become a better and safer everyday driver because you'll understand that being "strong" on the road is just stupid... and you won't get close to the limit of your car... so it’s even pointless to try to impress somebody.

At the end I think that anyone that has a passion for cars and driving should go to a race track, if you know how to manage your wallet you'll discover that this can be a rewarding experience. You'll learn that a used Miata could be faster than a Porsche; you'll learn that you don't need a gazillion hp to have fun, that you don't need 18 piston brake calipers, fancy air intakes or expensive wheels to "have more fun".Some people never learn that the whole point is to better yourself and in amateur events like HPDE, you count FAR MORE than what you drive, you will look at the chips on the paint of your car like a medieval knight did, looking at the dings and scars on his armor, knowing that they have a history and a meaning. You'll look at your car with disbelief and you'll say to her "I didn't know you could do that" with a grin on your face... and every day of your life, in those minutes while your brushing your teeth in front of the mirror you'll think about your evolution as a driver and you'll KNOW that you are better.. And the next time you'll sit at a bar, or at work and you hear somebody bragging how his new car is better, faster, much powerful than anything else... you'll just grin and have that spark in your eyes knowing that doesn't mean $hit and he's far away from being a Jedi knight.

The canvas

Well here it is after much research I settled on a 2005 350Z. I decided upon this year due to the proven reliability of the engine compared to the oil-consumption issues of the 2006 model year. The vehicle has just over 31,000 miles on it and is well cared for. This base model came with a 6-speed transmission, 17” wheels no TC, VDC or Limited Slip Differential. The installation of an after-market LSD will be one of my top priorities before I hit the track. I’m shooting for either a Cusco RS or a big-buck Quaife. The pocket book and availability will dictate this purchase. Here are the stats:

VQ35DE 3.5 L (210 cu in) V6

287 bhp (214 kW) at 6,200 rpm

274 ft·lbf (371 N·m) at 4,800 rpm

Weight (Base) 3,188 LB (1,446 kg)

inspiration...