A Z car challenge in Las Vegas

[gmac708]

I am so happy with the way she performed. This was such a fun project from the start of the build, I would not change a thing. My plans are to drive he poop out of her! I'll see all of you at the coming events. We are hitting the road!

Gord

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Are you coming to Carlisle?
If so, first beer (or milk shake) is on me buddy! Great job!

[WDRacing]

The opening shots of your Z in the garage, with the close-ups of the toolbox and whatnot do a really excellent job of showing how passionate you are about your Z. I was very impressed.

Well done sir, your attitude is awesome and your car is an inspiration to all car guys across the globe.

WD

[fiznowler]

I would be super happy if my 97 240 kept up half as well as yours did. Your 40yr old 240z held its own against a highly modified new car, that is impressive!

[DJ_B_Easy]

Awesome!

Quick question for you. Do you think you could have out driven (guy whose name I cant remember) in your own car? Not necessarily beat the 370, but at least post better numbers in the 240? Perhaps your connection with the car could have shaved off a few fractions of a second?

[flohtingPoint]

Awesome!

Quick question for you. Do you think you could have out driven (guy whose name I cant remember) in your own car? Not necessarily beat the 370, but at least post better numbers in the 240? Perhaps your connection with the car could have shaved off a few fractions of a second?

Depending on how much actual seat time he has, its not farfetched. I watched the viseo and a couple things are clear; the driver isn't that good (lines are bad, too much distance being left on sections, LATE AS HELL on the slalom, etc), or he doesn't care, or both. Cant have someone phone it in like that... He may have done well in some video game competition, but the driving captured in this video is bad. Off the top of my head, I could name a couple dozen better drivers that live just a few hrs away from LV and would happily have done a better job

[EZcheese15]

Awesome!

Quick question for you. Do you think you could have out driven (guy whose name I cant remember) in your own car? Not necessarily beat the 370, but at least post better numbers in the 240? Perhaps your connection with the car could have shaved off a few fractions of a second?

Depending on how much actual seat time he has, its not farfetched. I watched the viseo and a couple things are clear; the driver isn't that good (lines are bad, too much distance being left on sections, LATE AS HELL on the slalom, etc), or he doesn't care, or both. Cant have someone phone it in like that... He may have done well in some video game competition, but the driving captured in this video is bad. Off the top of my head, I could name a couple dozen better drivers that live just a few hrs away from LV and would happily have done a better job

You do realize he isn't just a video game junkie, but he actually races for Nissan now, right? But with that being said, although he is a pro, he is also a rookie, so I'm sure they could find somebody more capable than him. However, that was the best PR move they could do is bring him in. It's not like he's a bad driver. He's just not a seasoned professional. He's still clearly better than your average Joe.

[Dattebayo]

I got the feeling that the guy somehow was a little more nervous driving the 240, that could have affected the scores enough...

[krash]

Awesome!

Quick question for you. Do you think you could have out driven (guy whose name I cant remember) in your own car? Not necessarily beat the 370, but at least post better numbers in the 240? Perhaps your connection with the car could have shaved off a few fractions of a second?

Depending on how much actual seat time he has, its not farfetched. I watched the viseo and a couple things are clear; the driver isn't that good (lines are bad, too much distance being left on sections, LATE AS HELL on the slalom, etc), or he doesn't care, or both. Cant have someone phone it in like that... He may have done well in some video game competition, but the driving captured in this video is bad. Off the top of my head, I could name a couple dozen better drivers that live just a few hrs away from LV and would happily have done a better job

I kind of agree. I mean he is a good driver because that competition does involve actual racing as well, but it could of been better. Heck I feel like you're a better driver Jim. You could tell, when he didn't have systems like ABS or traction control he was kind of out of his element.

[flohtingPoint]

[

Depending on how much actual seat time he has, its not farfetched. I watched the viseo and a couple things are clear; the driver isn't that good (lines are bad, too much distance being left on sections, LATE AS HELL on the slalom, etc), or he doesn't care, or both. Cant have someone phone it in like that... He may have done well in some video game competition, but the driving captured in this video is bad. Off the top of my head, I could name a couple dozen better drivers that live just a few hrs away from LV and would happily have done a better job

You do realize he isn't just a video game junkie, but he actually races for Nissan now, right? But with that being said, although he is a pro, he is also a rookie, so I'm sure they could find somebody more capable than him. However, that was the best PR move they could do is bring him in. It's not like he's a bad driver. He's just not a seasoned professional. He's still clearly better than your average Joe.

I have never heard of the guy, but its not a surprise, I have my own world of racing I'm concerned with. Regardless, just because someone is good at repitition, does not mean they're a good driver. Last weekend I had a front endlink failure on my Vette and still raw-timed a World Challenge driver who was at the event. One of our Solo National Champions we have here in DC rawtimed that same Wold Challenge driver by 2 seconds in a car on street tires.

I do many hours of video study each year on the various National Tours and Pro Solos I compete in, I know bad driving when I see it and this video is exactly that. I'm not saying I'm a better driver or not (because this isnt about me), and perhaps they had bad clips they put together, but that slalom entry is monstrously flawed, this is basic stuff you learn in terms of "staying ahead of the course." If theywere going to choose someone from that video game competition, Bryan would be a much better choice, he's a multi-time national champion and knows how to wheel a car.

[Bubba1]

I didn't think their "pro" was a bad driver, as he performed the driving tasks competently. Could a seasoned autocrosser beat this guy at autocross, which was not his primary focus? Uh, Sure, but that's not main issue. It's being unbiased, which I'm not so sure this driver was. That's because the primary car he drove during that reality tv season was a 370Z. I'm guessing there was a familiarity factor in play. I think a more fair test would have been a pro driver with no experience with either model.

[AZhitman]

Gordon stopped by last week for a brief visit as he was blowing through the Phoenix area, and we were chatting about the event... I had to give him hell for showing up on "mud & snow" tires.

However, if he'd bolted up a set of R-compounds, that changes everything, and then you're in a position of having a car whose suspension is set up for street tires, not sticky autocross rubber.

As a Z owner, I can tell you this: Despite the legend, NO 40-year-old car handles well compared to a modern car. Period. To make that Z do what it did takes a pretty impressive level of knowledge of how things work together, on a suspension setup that is, in itself, its own limitation.

As floht will tell you, it's not just about bolting on the latest doodad and thinking it'll shave time off your slalom - The early Z's were horribly flexible, and the wrong suspension mods will make it a cantankerous and sketchy handful... I know, I've been through it. I was actually amazed to find out that Gord's Z doesn't even have front or rear strut bracing.

The mere fact that this car even stayed competitive with a car with 40 years' worth of design improvements is amazing in itself... Well-done, Gord.

[krash]

As a Z owner, I can tell you this: Despite the legend, NO 40-year-old car handles well compared to a modern car. Period. To make that Z do what it did takes a pretty impressive level of knowledge of how things work together, on a suspension setup that is, in itself, its own limitation.

Kinda sad but really true. Technology has advanced so far that a basic vehicle design is so much better than that of a sporty car from back then. My friend had a lexus ct200h as a rental recently. Its a hybrid and it is SLOW. But man that thing is solid around corners. Its something I can't say for an older stock 300zx or 240sx.

[AZhitman]

Right. I mean, a new Civic will outhandle a stock S30. To make one really do the hula requires a pretty extensive knowledge of suspension tuning, and not the same kind of knowledge one would apply to a modern Z car or such.

Like I said, I've made a LOT of suspension mods to our Z, and some of them simply didn't improve anything but the harshness.

[gmac708]

Over the past few nights I have considered making a reply to floht about his comments about Steve Doherty.
During practice, the cars were outfitted with gopros on the outside, then the inside, and driven a few times around each competition track. They were also filmed by cameras on the track in strategic spots. This was all the practice that Steve got! He jumped from one car to another, back and forth, and all the while, he was being filmed. The shots with the cars with only GPS antenna were the actual competition film. At that time, no cameras were out on the track because of the speed the cars were traveling. Through the magic of editing, you see the competition and it looks pretty darn entertaining. It's a lot better than just posting the numbers. Please don't be too critical that a driver missed a line in the video. There is one shot of my Z drifting out on a curve. This was during practice and Steve was pushing the car hard, and I'm glad they kept it. The camera guy bailed but left the camera rolling! Not in the competition but makes a good shot.

These guys that set the track up were evil and made the cars work hard. Never the right RPM, never the right gearing to shift, never a moment to relax. I think it was a good test. It would have been hard for me, let alone a noob to my car, right after he jumped out of 2012 370Z into a 1970 cockpit.

I think Steve did just fine. I hope he comes to a NICO event and brings his own built S13 w/SR swap. We talked for hours about that. Cool guy.

gord

[MinisterofDOOM]

Very cool video. Aside from the cars, I was impressed with how natural you seemed on camera. That's a tough thing to pull off. Just talking about cars and enjoying the moment...made the video that much more fun to watch and showed how much you love your Z.

I'm pretty sure those are the same all-season Michelins I have on the back of the LS8. I'm impressed at how well the Z did with them. Not that they're bad tires...in fact they're pretty popular with 'Vette owners as I understand.

[AZhitman]

Over the past few nights I have considered making a reply to floht about his comments about Steve Doherty.

Don't waste your time. We've been down that road.

[mechanicalmoron]

Nothing against the driver, but I would assume that he has a LOT less experience with manual steering and brakes, and generally a whole lot in a modern Z. I understand that a lot has changed, but it looked like some more time with your car could have seriously improved him. I would assume the fact that if he broke something on the 370 it's all in a day's work, instead of breaking your baby, would also be a factor. I'm not saying anything bad about the guy, just that it looks like your car could concievably do better, and could beat the crap out of plenty of cars.... like a stock 370.

Did you get to drive the same things for a time, to compare?

Really neat that you got to do that, and your car got to do that, and such.