I want to get on the track ASAP. I have the car, so why not..

I have joined NASA, and looking at an event in a few weeks. While a tilton clutch, sway bars and either coilovers or the nismo shocks and springs are a little while off, I want to go racing asap.

While I know how to drive, I'm sort of like Tom cruise in days of thunder, I know little to nill about car setup, dynamics etc. I figure racing the car stock, feeling what it does, and then adjusting it from there, will help me learn.

Here is what I'm thinking prior to the first event:

Redline synthetic oil change. Is there a better filter then the OEM nissan one, like maybe a mobil 1?

Bleed brakes, change out fluid with some motul or other racing fluid. I have the non brembos, so hopefully this help prevent some fade

I was also thinking the kinetix plenum cover would be a solid addition, if it helps the cooling of some cylinders, which may result in less heatsoak?

Anything else you guys would recommend, aside from checking tire pressure etc etc..

One other thing, If I bought the brembo calipers, what other hardware would I need to bolt them up to a non brembo equiped Z (aside from pads/rotors) Is it basically plug and play?

Thanks!

Hey Ry - There's an event this weekend out at PIR, might wanna look into whether they'll be doing some non-drift stuff there.

One of the locals (Brady) runs a new Z out there, he's the organizer for the event (and a NASA official), he may be able to walk you through some of the Z-specific issues in prep for track time.

redline is a good choice real stable oil, for autocrossing in hot weather take at least the 10w-40 ( no polymeric thickerns despite its multiviscosity nature!) or even 20w-50.

OEM filter is fine K&N filter is real good also, MOBIL is good but nothing wrong with OEM filter.

As for Brake fluid the MOTUL 600 is a track fluid not good idea to leave in to long , as a compromise I recommend Vlavoline SYnpower DOT 3/4 Brake fluid only marginally more $$ than the cheap stuff but SO MUCH better.

Dry boiling 502F ( I know MOTUL is 600F BUT will "wet-up" faster as a race fluid and likely lose more bp as well.

Fred..

You coudl probably get away with regular brake fluid as long as you just flush it... Like after every track event or something bleed the brakes a little and you should be just fine.....

Thanks for the info guys (esp fred)

Fred: I drive the car well very aggressively. Considering the hot AZ sun, aggressive driving, occasional track time, do you suggest I use 10w-40 or 20w-50?

I'm going to pick up Synpower fluid and put it in there.

thanks again

350zQ45a wrote:Fred: I drive the car well very aggressively. 1)Considering the hot AZ sun, aggressive driving, occasional track time, do you suggest I use 10w-40 or 20w-50?

This is a tough one, the newer school of thought says to run the thinnest oil that will still give you sufficient boundary layer protection.

I dont always agree with that thinking, and would usually recommend a 20w-50 for this application, even though the manual only recommends up to 10w-40, BUT the manual goes out the window, in such non typical applications.

Why? Because the oil viscosity is always picked to maintain a thickness during operating conditions that approximates the factory recomendation thickness during normal driving.

Contrary to popular opinion, oil temperatures really do rise significantly, in different weather and driving styles.

I myself have observed oil pressure drops in very hard driving ( these show the oil thinning).

If you were to run a Dino oil, or even a blend, I would absolutely recommend a 20w-50/15w-50, BUT since you are willing to spend the $$ on Redline (known for its lack of polymeric thickerns as well as a real strong HT/HS for a given labeled viscosity) the 10w-40 will likely be suffcient.

In summary: If Redline then 10w-40, if others like a Dino a a thinner runnign syn, a 50 weight.

For me, in a milder climate, but running a SC, It was a wash between Mobil1 15w-50 and Redline 10w-40.

I think your application is comparable (no SC but harder driving in hotter weather) and i would recommend one of those 2.

Fred...

PS: Advanced Auto has Redline on (half price) sale as they are discontinuing it at AA, Mobil1 is also on sale at many Walmarts currently

Good info people!

When is your track day?

Be sure and keep us posted! I'd also like to see some pics if you get any.

PADS, CHANGE YOUR PADS!

the factory pads cant even handle spirited driving.