jhm Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Great to see it moving under its own power, Aydin....Kudos! The adjustable front sway bar looks great. (And nice score on the corner scales.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 Thanks man! Almost four years now, and an enormous amount of over-thinking on details. I’m glad 9/10th of my “ideas” worked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 (edited) @jhm thanks John!! Yeah I fabricated the sway bar mounts over a year ago, before paint, so I’m glad to see they work as intended. They are tight! I mean… really tight 😂 zero play, and it responds immediately. Far cry from OEM in hindsight. yeah I got the set for $500 locally! I can’t afford all this race car stuff without getting it at steep used discounts. Now I need a set of wheel levelers, as my garage (aka, 1920’s cellar) is wildly uneven. I’ll get the fender and hood on, so I can take some more shots of it moving around. Really happy with the way it handles so far. I did string alignment, but I need to re-do it on a flat, level surface. Edited February 10 by AydinZ71 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 Well, the big day came this past weekend. Car was road-worthy. Took it for a spin up my local mountain road, and put a massive smile on my face. Front air dam is next, then more suspension adjustment. Need to look into driver safety gear, and would be inclined to source used if possible. Although not really sure if that’s a practical solution. I missed my local annual SCCA driver school, so I’m kind of ****** until next January. Gives me a year of track-days and more time to develop the car I suppose. I may drop-In the 3.1L race motor I developed, since I have no need to confirm with class rules for at least a year. IMG_3781.mov IMG_3782.mov 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calZ Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 14 hours ago, AydinZ71 said: Need to look into driver safety gear, and would be inclined to source used if possible. Although not really sure if that’s a practical solution. I was going to suggest just going and looking at the clearance rack at the Simpson factory store in Harbor City, but it appears they've closed up shop in the last couple years. That's really a shame. It was great to have a place like that locally. Cheap but new gear and also could get measured for a top-of-the-line custom suit. Looks like they moved everything to Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 (edited) @calZ Bummer Well heck, there is a scenario where flying-out to an outlet would be worthwhile. I need literally everything for driver safety gear, so it’s going to be a big spend however I slice it. My lesson learned over the years has been to start cheap and used if possible, until I get an appreciation for where to spend the $$, and where it doesn’t matter. Edited February 22 by AydinZ71 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Look up used NASCAR parts on eBay for some stuff (window nets, fire suppression, etc.). I'd check local club newsletters for used parts and any of the facebook groups for used racer stuff. But you probably already know all that. And you can ask around at some of the races/track days to see if you can find anything. Cary 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 @tube80z thanks Cary! Yep, I just installed a new fire bottle so all my car-related equipment is up to date. It’s just the driver gear I have left. Is there any reason I shouldn’t consider used for the helmet, suit, etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 (edited) Aydin, my two cents...I wouldn't recommend buying your helmet used, but everything else (suit, underwear, gloves, shoes, etc) can be found just fine used. You probably would want to buy that stuff in-person to ensure you could try it on for fit before handing over your cash. And get your helmet from a vendor that allows free exchanges, as helmet manufacturers use different sizing guidelines when constructing their helmets. You'll see vendors at most track events with new, "defect", and used gear. Even those huge swap meets you have in Cali are probably a good bet to check out for used gear. Edited February 26 by jhm Corrected error in first line, regarding new vs used helmets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 @jhm thanks John! That’s helpful I shall start the hunt now. Snapped some recent photos. Air dam needs a little more work, but starting to look more put-together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 Weight is in: 1972 w/ 75lbs of fuel onboard, fire bottle, and passenger seat and harness. Will need about 20lb of ballast once the passenger seat and harness are removed to hit 2150 w/driver. Oil cooler and accusump are also newly installed. I will be at Willow Springs 3/17, but just for the track day event. I missed novice school this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exposed Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 On 2/25/2024 at 7:33 PM, AydinZ71 said: @jhm thanks John! That’s helpful I shall start the hunt now. Snapped some recent photos. Air dam needs a little more work, but starting to look more put-together. Great looking car. Youve finished a lot in such a short time, Im jealous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 @Exposed thanks man. To be fair, this thing is going on 4 years now 😂😂 Once she was painted last June, she went together pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 We’re going on track this Sunday at Willow springs Will set-up the car tomorrow at a friends shop since they have a flat-level garage floor (which I do not). Also in the middle of adapting the front brakes to 280zx rotor and caliper per EP spec-line. Caliper mounting on the strut assembly will require some welding and drilling, so it will have to wait till after this weekend. Greg Ira was nice enough to ship me some race pads he has that fit the OEM calipers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Inaugural day on track at Big Willow was this past Sunday. Car has some issues I’m working on, but I made it home in one-piece. It was a great event. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkspeed Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 That is awesome! Let us know if you need any setup help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 @clarkspeed thanks Clark! the biggest problem I have come across is camber. The Ground Control bolt-in camber plates I went with apparently add camber in the negative direction only. Well… when you lower a car several inches and add an inch of track to each side, that’s silly… you are going to have a ton of negative camber added without moving the tower strut location at all. kinda disappointed they didn’t disclose that. The tower mounting location actually needs to move outward (towards the outside of the car), adding positive camber to cancel the negative camber gain from the other suspension settings both front and back. So I’m going to have to turn the plate around 180 degrees and drill new holes. I need to be somewhere around -2.5 up front and -2 in the back, and I’m in the -5 to -7 range! lesson learned… if you buy “bolt on” parts, even if the reason is to meet class rules, it’s safer to assume they were designed for the street crowd. I no longer believe any of these companies, T3, Apex, Ground Control, have designed or tested their parts for anything other than a street car. I’m sure there are exceptions, and recognize im frustrated. I will only de adapting universal parts designed for Motorsport in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 Yeah....that's way too much neg camber, Aydin. Glad you recognized that and are fixing it. Question: how much have you extended your adjustable front LCAs (vs stock length), and is that possibly contributing to this situation? You probably don't want to buy another set of camber plates, but I wonder if these from T3 would meet your need w/o cutting/drilling the strut tower: https://technotoytuning.com/nissan/280z/240z-260z-and-280z-solid-pillow-mounts REALLY nice to see your car running and driving, after so much work the last couple years. I'm sure it's very gratifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 @jhm Thanks John! Really appreciate all your support through the years. It’s been a long road huh! I have definitely added track, as you suggested. I’m at EP spec at the moment, which is 56.9/56.6 (F/R). The added track is certainly factor. After reading old posts and talking to Greg, it’s clear that with the added track and much lower ride height, it’s common to have way too much negative camber with the strut centered in the tower. Thanks for the part suggestion I think I’m going to have to do some modification since the shock adjustment nib is going to strike the tower hole anyways. We’ll get it figured out! If I can get the air dam and shock tower modifications done In time, my next event will be in late May at Big Willow again. This time with NASA and their HPDE sessions. gotta say, once the terror of approaching a turn at 115 faded, the adrenaline is absolutely addictive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 Might as well as a question I have rattling in my head. engine oil…. im running conventional at the moment with Lucas zDDP additive to break-in the cam/rocker interface (cam regrind). do y’all run VR1 synthetic or conventional during events? I have heard talk that L-series engines prefer conventional, but I’m not sure if it’s true or just old-school thinking. I have also heard flat tapet lifters prefer leaded fuel. I never see much of an explanation for either claims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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