quicker240 Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I will be running the Z at Barbers this weekend with the Porsche Club. A friend had to back out after registering so I was able to get his spot. I am TOTALLY stoked. I have not been on a road course in 7 or 8 years and even then it was autocross, rarely over 80 mph. Got some Kumho Exsta(sp?) V700's ( slightly used) today and set the car up with John Coffey's alignment specs. . Brody will be there with his Skyline (500awhp) and some other nice hardware will no doubt be there. Sure would be nice to be able to pass a nice Porsche or Beemer but I will have an instructor in the car with me so I will just do exactly as I'm told. I just dont want to look like an idiot out there. I have no illusions that I am some kind of super driver or anything. I want to approach it like the novice that I am... . Barbers is one of, if not the, finest road courses in the country. What a cool fathers day, huh? This will be my first chance to really see what this Wilwood brake setup can do, as well as the coilovers and LSD, none of which I had in my autocross days. Wish I had a camera mount! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g9m3c Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Dangit, man! If I didn't have to work, I'd try my best to be there. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxsleeper Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 You will have a blast. Stay hydrated, the adrenalin will dry you out faster than the heat. Here is an in car from a Z from last Labor Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicker240 Posted June 19, 2009 Author Share Posted June 19, 2009 Thanks for the video. Looks like fun. Temps are likely to be near 100. Will a track like this get slippery in this kind of heat? I am planning to get really watered up before getting out there as I am a super heavy sweater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicker240 Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Man did I have fun! It was (and still is) unbelievable hot out there with temps near 100 degrees. First was a "mother duck" session where we followed a lead car around the track at a pretty good clip. Car felt good. Instructor was pretty cool and obviously knew the track well. He seemed OK with my driving and said my former experience autocrossing was pretty evident. I felt VERY inexperienced but I was not timid. It was fun! A couple of hours later, 2nd session starts. After a few laps,I was feeling a bit more confident and picked up the pace. Got the OK to do some passing and was able to run down and pass some Porsches and BMW's. Was that ever COOL! I did have a minor spin but stayed on the track and got going right away again. Had to come in for a quick scolding. Then got to go back out and pass the same cars again. That was cool too. I was basically able to drive around in 3rd gear as the car had pretty good torque at low rpms but later in the session started using 2nd coming into and out of the tighter turns. It was really strong and the instructor was quite impressed with the old Z's "brutal" (his words) torque. Finished the session after the checkered flag and three turns into the cooldown lap, a huge plume of smoke comes out and the car fills with smoke, trans fluid all over the hot exhaust. I pull off the track and get out, there was so much smoke, I thought the car was on fire. Looks like the transmission overheated and popped or pushed out the front seal, at least I hope thats what happened. Its pumping fluid out from behind the torque converter now. Thus ends the weekend of racing. If I am going to do more of this, I am going to need a way bigger trans cooler and probably a oil temp and trans temp gauge inside. The wilwoods never faded in the least and the 200lb springs seemed just fine with very little body roll. All in all, a great time although a bit on the expensive side. I used Kumho v700 tires, size 225/50-16. 2 1/2 degrees neg camber is all I could get out of the plates but it seemed like enough. It was kind of embarassing breaking like it did in front of the Porsche crowd but then again, it got a lot of respect for the solid track capabilities. By the way, Brody's r33 Skyline was just flawless, running down FAST cars all day long with zero issues. I should have some pics in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wigenOut-S30 Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Steve man What I would do to be able to get on Barbers.. I hope you got some vids or pics.. Sucks about the tranny but I bet it was worth it!! heh.. Glad you had a good time man.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilC Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Sounds like you had a blast! I am sure you will get the car fixed and be right back out on the track soon. I am looking forward to pics and video. Always a great time going to the track and able to run down some expensive cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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