LS1 Z Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 Mike (mas280) and I went road racing for the first time last month. What a blast!! Mike got me into drag racing last year and I enjoyed it alot and did alot of but kicking in the LS1-Z! Road racing is a whole different animal!! And what a kick in the pants! We were up at Thunder Hill! Had a great time! Going up again next week. Mike was running Nitto NT-01 tires and stuck like glue. I Had street tires and was sliding all over the place! Next week I will be using SSR GT-7 rims and Nitto NT-01 tires! Here is some pics! Mike http://gotbluemilk.com/web060913/6015/index.html and me http://gotbluemilk.com/web060913/bmjoey/index.html Enjoy! JOEY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 Awesome to have some great track time in such a cool car! I have not raced Thunderhill, but I wrenched for my motorcycle buddies when they rented the track for a day. Who else (what other cars) did you race with/against? Sometime I'll race there when I get the Z finished *hah!* Great pics. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 Welcome to the addiction guys there is nothing like it. You guys should really consider getting an instructor to ride with you though. A good instructor that knows the track can make you much faster and safer than you ever thought possible. Also don't knock sliding around on street tires they are a great learning tool. The R compound tires don't make much noise and give very little warning before they break loose. Just my $0.02, so go back out there and get some seat time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwik240z Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Yes. Road racing is a blast. Glad you are joining the ranks Joey. I am taking my LS1 240Z to Summit Point next month. It has been a year since i have been on the track so I can't wait. I know you will become addicted. An in car instructor is a huge help for beginners on a road race course. I am surprised they let you run solo at Thunderhill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I've been out of the scene for a while, but the treadwear on those Nittos is 100 and that's looking kinda high for a DOT race tire, so it looks a little hard comparatively. Even if you're driving there and home, next time you need tires you might try something stickier with a treadwear around 40 or 50 so that it doesn't wear out in a day and you can drive to and from the track, like a Kuhmo Victoracer or Ecsta V700, or a Toyo Proxes RA-1. The stickier your tires the faster you'll go, the more fun you'll have, etc. Then you'll start thinking about stiffer springs and struts, better swaybars, etc. It is an entirely different sickness that can be just as expensive to get into, although I'd have to say that if you don't beat the car up on the track you'll need to replace less stuff road racing than you would drag racing. I agree with the advice to get an instructor to ride with you, better yet take a driving school if you can. If you're not really familiar with this type of driving you'll learn a lot. Track days/time trialing is a ton of fun, glad you found it. It's more expensive, but not nearly as bad when you figure dollars at the track divided by seat time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett76Zt Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Reliability wise, I'm guessing this is where the LSx swap really shines! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS1 Z Posted October 22, 2006 Author Share Posted October 22, 2006 To answer some questions as well as thoughts.. The track was rented out by the Lotus club of northern california. Lots of Lotus's of all years and body styles. Those Elises are cool little cars! The track was also open to anybody else and limited to 165 cars. (small group). There were lots of miatas, 3 Z06 vettes, S2000's, wrx's, evo's, Audis, porsches and so forth. And like going drag racing, everybody was super nice and down to earth! The day started with a drivers meeting, then a beginners meeting. We were then teamed up with an instructor. After that I went for a 20 min session in his lotus and 20 min in the fd. We then went back to the class room for him to show me what I was doing right and wrong. Yes I agree with you guys. I would like to do a track day with full instruction. 40 or soo minutes is alot to take in. Yes those next to the last pics of me are "off track"! I was hauling ass down the longest straight (kinda like going down the 1/4), In 4th gear about to hit my rev limiter (130 something, hooking up speedo today), started to slow and hit 3rd going way too fast and not "blirping" the throttle, rear end locked up and around and around I went! I got black flagged after that. I had to go talk to an official and explain what I did. No biggie! I knew what happened and that's what they wanted to hear. What was cool is I did meet a guy that wants to sponser me with a big brake set up. He has kits for alot of cars but wants to make a kit for the fd. Cool!! As for the set up right now on the car, Megan racing 32 way adjustable coil overs. Alignment specs from Mark (gnx7), that does alot of roadracing, Hawk black pads, MBZ high temp brake fluid, SSR GT7H rims 18x8.5 and 18x9.5 out the rears. Tires are now Nitto Nt-01, 245/35/18 and 275/40/18 out the rears. The stock FD suspension is really good. A few up grades and excellent. I also agree with all your comments. Unlike drag racing, The highest hp car is NOT the quickest car at the track. When I get the hang of the track and some more instruction..... watch out! Another thing I need to add is a harness. With the stock seatbelts, I found myself bracing with arms, hands and elbows. Mike does have a harness I can use until my 6 point cage is done. Last comment I agree with JMORTENSEN on the cost. Saw this on another site and made sence. You can go drag racing for the day and pay 25-75 dollars for anywhere from 3 to 8 or so 11 second passes. The day I went cost me 165. dollars for 7, 20 minute sessions. Do the math! JOEY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumper Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 mas280's rx-7 was in the USCC wasn't it? Nice looking car to bad about no traction:mrgreen: Get them next yr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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