In the last post we wanted to introduce A.M. Performance to the forum. In this update we asked them to tell us why they chose the 370z as their car to compete in, as well as, what they have so far done to improve the cars.
From Mike Sweeney,
We chose the 370 because we think it's a good package that can be made competitive. Our goal is to win races and championships in order to build our brand. In addition, Brian has a good relationship with the Nissan people from his time running the GT-R Time Attack car with Cobb Tuning last year. We also know that Grand Am wants new manufacturers in their series, and finally, we want to build a brand with A.M. Performance, offering parts and services for people who want real, effective, properly engineered, and motorsports proven performance parts for their cars. We saw a big opportunity in the Nissan community, as there just isn't that type of support out there for this brand.
We also think the 370's will look and sound badass, which is important, because race cars have to look and sound cool!
We have so far stripped two of the cars down completely (as in not a single nut or bolt left on the chassis) to get sandblasted, and seam welded every seam on the cars! (The factory only spot welds, and there is significant rigidity to be found in seam welding) The third we stripped to a point where it can still be used to mock up parts, such as headers, exhaust, and suspension components.
Waiting to be marked for sandblasting.
The red spray paint is used as a guide for sandblasting.
The car on the rotisserie we built for it.
The car is now prepared for welding.
Aerial view of welding the bottom of the car.
Seam welding in progress.
Close up of a new weld.
Completed seam welds in the front.
The bottom and front completely seam welded.
We will also be developing and producing multiple suspension pieces for the car. The lower control arms and most of the links in the rear suspension will be included in this, and the pieces we make will be available to our customers. We will be running AST 5200 series dampers, as we think they are a better choice than the KONI 2800s, also allowed by Grand Am (those are the only two approved dampers). We plan on changing the springs from track to track and session to session, due to varying conditions. For braking, we plan on using Brembo front calipers and Nissan rear calipers, working with a Tevis racing ABS system. Finally, we are going to run the extremely sexy 18" Nissan Motorsport Volk Special wheels to fit the 245 front and 275 rear Continental slicks.
(Test fitting shown below)
Keep checking for regularly posted updates.
If you are interested in what has been posted so far, check out the following link:exciting-new-nissan-370z-nismo-team-t521677.html
Other Cool Pictures of the cars and shop
