The Nissan Sport Project 350Z T2 racer has been on a strict diet this past off-season. For 2009 SCCA allows the interior to be stripped and out came the passenger seat and all the rear interior panels. Saved almost 81 pounds and that translates to a better power-to-weight ratio! Also got the opportunity to plumb in a dedicated fire suppression system with the Firecharger AFFF tank now hard mounted to the passenger floor.

I wish I could say that the VQ35DE 'rev up' engine was sent out to be balanced/blueprinted, but there's no budget for that. It soldiers on with fresh Redline fluids, but the last dyno showed a rather anemic 235 HP/215 lb/ft TQ. Installed a new Nissan Motorsports UpRev ECM program and we'll see if that helps much.

Perhaps the biggest downside on our race program is the lack of a tire sponsor. In a down year, even established T2 racers lost their sponsorships and we are no exception. Compounding this, T2 is an 'open tire' class, with the softest, stickiest set of gumballs being the rule, rather then the exception. A set of 285/30-18 Hoosier A6 competition tires (currently the hot setup) can run in excess of $1300. You can throw them onto the scrap heap when the weekend is done! Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury, or budget for such expenditures and will start the season on last years used tires.

The opening race is next week at Pikes Peak International Raceway and the competition looks formidible. Two new BMW Z4 M Coupes will debut with two excellent drivers, turbo Solstice GXP with last years T2 Runoffs runnerup at the wheel, ex-factory Subaru WRX STi with an experienced hand and an older Camaro Z28 all await. Stay tuned!

Just to update: finished 5th in both the opening SCCA National races, but I managed to win a NASA race the last time out. Check out the DIY section as we are in the process of swapping a VQ35HR engine into the T2 350Z. The VQ35DE Revup has been reliable, but dyno results show we're down on horsepower. SCCA rules allow updating/backdating from '03 to '08 Z33 models, so this is the big summer upgrade!

That and Hoosier R6 R-compound tires should make a world of difference.

David,

I currently race my 350Z in AutoX (B Stock), but plan on buying another car (Sentra, Altima, Miata, or old 944) so I can move into SCCA Club Racing and possibly NASA (HPDE and TT with my Z). I've been slowly adding parts to my car (within the limits of B Stock), but I race in a very difficult region (#19, So Cal) and against difficult competition, like Jason Isley the current SOLO National Champ in B Stock. Jason just wrote an article in the newest SCCA SportsCar magazine (July 09) about putting together a Club car for very little money. As I've learned with AutoX, the tires are the thing that will quickly eat into a budget, so I empathize with your tire dilemma. Grassroots Motorsports recently ran an article about places that sell slightly used race tires for deep discounts which may help your budget.As a person getting ready to get started in Club Racing is there any advise you would give me, or lessons you learned along the way that would prevent me from making costly mistakes? Good Luck,Doc Brown

Doc- glad to hear you're holding up the Nissan banner in BS! And even if it's tough competition, you're fortunate to have Isley in your backyard to measure yourself by. As you say, tires are a big expense, but in national racing, a lot of it depends on a product's contingency program and whether you can win with it. Fortunately, Hoosier has a decent program and I think I can be successful with it in T2.

As for getting started in Club racing, I think the best advice I can offer is to get to know the class you plan to race in on a micro level. Talk to competitors, visit their shops and look at the rules package carefully. Once you do this, I'd also suggest that buying an existing race car with a clean logbook is the best, most economic way to go. One of my 350Z HPDE students took this appraoch and is now in Spec944 racing.

The other thing I'd counsel is patience. On or off the racetrack, patience always pays dividends. Look for the right opportunity and when its there, don't hesitate! Have a plan and start building some goals. It looks like you're already on the right path by asking questions like you have here!

As DocBrown suggested, I've looked for used R-compound tires at a discount. But most of my sources in Wisconsin didn't have any of the tires in the sizes I wanted. So I bit the bullet and purchased fresh Hoosier R6s for the next National races on the Fourth of July weekend.

Guess what? The best laid plans of mice and men seem to be playing out for me. The next issue of Nissan Sport will detail an engine swap for the 350Z T2 project car. We fired the new mill last night, but have issues with the way the wiriing harness is communicating with the ECM and other computers in the car. These features are incredibly complex and have to receive the right data to function properly. Bottom line: if we don't get this right, this car could be screaming down the straight at one moment and go into 'limp mode' the next. If that happens in the middle of a fast, power-on corner or while someone is trying to draft me, disaster looms.

We've been working on this for several weeks now and it's incredibly frustrating to be this close. But there's only a day left before the next race at High Plains Raceway and as I said, I vow this Z won't leave the garage until its RIGHT!

Sounds like a plan, Git'er dun!

Make sure someone takes vid and post it here if you get it running properly

Well, not to be a spoiler, but we finally got it running right tonight! No video, no ticker-tape parade, but a mile-wide grin and a feeling similar to hypoxia on a 14'er! Yeah, little hard to imagine, but trust me, it's good.

Finally confirmed the ECM was communicating with a cheap code reader. After that, a quick call to the helpful folks at Uprev and we got the final firmware issue resolved. After that, some minor buttoning up of the wiring harness and we're off to the races! OK, off to the dyno, but that's tomorrow.

So, with a well deserved beer in my hand (yeah, that's how I roll) I sit on the couch and brag about doing what Nissan Motorsports was unable to do, transplant an HR into a non-HR equipped Z with full ABS intact, minimal codes (3 total, including the venerable U1001 CAN Comm Circuit code [Nissan Motorsports can't even get rid of that code], P1564 ASCD switch code because we don't have a cruise switch on the racing steering wheel, and a P0444 code for the Evap Vent Control Circuit, but it doesn't effect the engine running) and heck, we don't work for Nissan!

I think I'll buy a lottery ticket this evening, I'm on top of the world!

With all that Cyclemutt has achieved, I only want to clarify one issue. Nissan Motorsports (NM) has never attempted to swap a VQ35HR into a Z originally equipped with a VQ35DE. What I had heard from NM was that only two swaps of this type have ever been done. One was with a 350Z test vehicle at the Nissan Technical Center North America in Stanfield, AZ and the other by a racecar shop on the east coast that builds cars for SCCA World Challenge and National racing. After talking with the east coast shop, I found they have never actually completed an HR swap. And the Arizona test vehicle swap (with factory engineers utilizing factory data) was done quite differently from ours.

While we're still in the early stages of testing this new combination, it's encouraging that the new engine has few fault codes showing up. None has hindered the actual operation of the engine and both BCM and ABS computers seem to be operating normally. From all the reports I've been able to gather, this is a significant achievement and Cyclemutt has a right to be proud of this achievement. Hurrah! Now, back to work...

Dyno and track testing on the HR is complete. The engine makes about 25 HP more than the DE, but the tune is far from complete. Next stage will be working to retune the ECM with the UpRev Osiris package and I think there's quite a bit of potential there.

In the meantime, the last track test turned up a flaw in my LF tire. Fortunately, I stopped right after the Z developed a nasty vibration on the final hot lap of a break-in session. The tire developed a large blister that would have eventually destroyed it and the car if I'd kept on going.

Problem is, we have a race in Utah this weekend and I only had $$ to purchase one set of race tires. I've got another well-used set, but that's not going to cut it in National competition. SIGH- guess that's why I love racing so much...

Glad to have the discussion board back up. To update Project T2 350Z, the race at Miller Motorsports Park went well enough. I finished 4th the first day behind the BMWs that outqualified me. The VQ35HR ran well enough, even though I'm clearly not making the ponies the Solstice GXP turbo and BMW M3 (E46) put down. The second race saw a bad move at the start of the race. One of the Solstices make a 'BANZAI' type move at the end of the 125 MPH straight and drilled me in the DS door and pushed me off-track.

But I didn't spin it and came back fighting to catch up. The culprit, a rookie driver who locked up all four wheels before punting me, ended up spinning himself out of contention. By the end of the 48-mile race, I made it up to 5th place and with the knowledge that the VQ35HR will run solidly for a long time.

Meanwhile, this Labor Day weekend will see the final SCCA Double National at High Plains Raceway. More tough competition, but the Z is bandaged up and ready to go in the trailer. I'll post more after the dust clears...

One update on project 350Z T2: experienced a frustrating time with the ECM programming for this VQ35HR swap. The reflashed unit that came with the engine did not show the kinds of gains we expected. Worse, the ECM programming could not be reflashed back to stock and resisted UpRev's programming updates. I ran out of time before the SCCA Runoffs to do anything more and was forced to run it at Road America.

The VQ35HR still has potential for more HP/TQ, but I realize it's my failings as an owner to get the most out of it. Look for more detailed information in the next issue.

Well, the 2010 racing season is upon us and I hope Nissan Sport readers have kept up with the last project update in issue #13. The bottom line is that Project 350Z T2 race hasn't had much development since last year. That's what happens when Nissan Sport EIC work trumps being able to do any sustained work on the car.

But race efforts always rely on three things: brakes, tires and fuel. I was fortunate to find another 350Z racer who was selling some used Hoosier R6 R-compounds and found a good local source for 100 octane unleaded race fuel. The Brembo brakes are one of the few advantages the Z has in T2 and I wanted to add to that strength. Besides a few tweaks which I'll mention in an upcoming article, I elected to bleed the brakes with ATE Super Blue DOT 4 fluid.

The blue color makes it relatively easy to determine when you've got one corner thoroughly bled. Better yet, the German product has one of the highest dry and wet boiling points on the market. Sure, I could have gone for one of the uber-expensive racing brake fluids, but ATE seems like a good compromise between cost amd performance.

At the opening NASA Rocky Mountain race at Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR), the brakes were nothing short of superb. Racing with the GTS and GTS2 spec cars (including BMW E36, Audi A4 and Porsche 911), the Z was more than a match for all comers. Streaking around the 1.4 mile, 10 turn course, the brakes were always there, always strong, in making pass after pass. The only cars consistently faster were two Super Touring 1-spec 240SXs using blown SR20DETT and KA24DE engines for a superior power-to-weight ratio. Nissan rolls!

Well, today Project T2 350Z got checked, refreshed and cleaned. The front Cobalt Friction XR2 pads were worn about half full depth (5-6 mm remaining) and weren't worth trying to stretch another race. Besides showing heat/stress cracks in the center of the pads, the remaining material won't disappate heat effectively. But flipping R-compound tires on the Enkei wheels and rebalancing MAY get another race out of them.

The life of a grassroot racer is filled with tales such as these...

Hmmm.....is it common for higher-end pads to get stress cracks? I wouldn't think so.

Keep up the good fight

Actually, ANY race pad will begin to show stress cracks when worn heavily. The combination of heat, pressure and less than half the friction material are the causes.

You know using brakes slow you down when you should be going fast, right?

audtatious wrote:You know using brakes slow you down when you should be going fast, right?

The only thing I know is the hairpin turn in front of me can be negotiated (on the limit) at 45 MPH, but I'm approaching it at 121 MPH! Sometimes guys go in DEEP to pass and only get their speed down to 50. Those are the guys I REPASS exiting the turn, as they plow the outside of the turn!

Today, I had some details to finish on Project T2 350Z before this weekend's NASA race. I moved the Z out from the trailer into the garage because the weather was truly wacky. It started out overcast with light rain, then it cleared up and sunshine came through and THEN it got overcast again and snowed--all within two hours! Gotta love springtime in the Rockies!

But you have a gorgeous countryside to live in during the summer

It's a shame I'm missing the big Omaha meet as it would be the first real opportunity to hit a track

Well, I just completed the opening Rocky Mountain Division SCCA Double National at Pikes Peak International this weekend. Project T2 350Z performed well, and finished with a third (Sat) and fourth place (Sun) in class. Unfortunately, my problems began before the races even started when one of my Koni DA shocks began seeping shock oil as I prepped the Z. With no time to easily get a replacement or repair, I made the decision to press an OEM 350Z unit into service to even make the weekend.

The 8242 Konis I use are quite a bit beefier than the OEM units and have adjustable bounce and rebound settings. I used that adjustment to match the OEM unit (as best I could) on the LF corner. But that only worked up to a point, as the car was skittish under braking, as the weaker OEM unit could not control the 600# T2 spec springs on the car. The cross-weight distribution was lazy and I could feel the car wanted to yaw and speeds above 100 MPH--not a good feeling on the banked turns.

But the 350Z is such a drivable package that we were in the hunt most of the weekend. I got two solid finishes out of a car playing with one hand tied behind its back. But as I suspected, Project T2 will not be making the trip to Mid America Motorsports (MAM) next weekend at the North American Nissan Convention. While I wait for the Koni to get rebuilt/reinstalled, Project 350Z Street will be pressed into action and will provide an A-ticket ride to Omaha and a/c for me (and whoever is riding with me) at the track.

Action at High Plains Raceway saw us (somewhat appropriately) finish fourth both days in the July 4th Double Nationals. I was happy to see my lap times drop into the low 2:05s (personal best), but the competition was busy as well. The leaders were in the 2:01-2:02 range and ran well the entire weekend! Really hot temps on the first day saw me backing off the redline to make sure I didn't overheat my VQ35HR. I made my move at the start, but slid wide when cold tires and brakes betrayed me. Lost the positions I gained and had to fight back the rest of the way. Finished sixth overall (out of 20 cars in a mixed class field). On the second day, I made a good pass on the outside of T1, and held the advantage down HPR's back straight. Carried just a bit too much speed going into T5 and put two wheels off on the exit. Fought with a T2 rival BMW all the way down to T7, but decided to back out before I put dents in both our cars. Finished fifth overall, but couldn't bag the BMW that finished ahead. Ah well. Next race up is Miller Motorsports Park in Utah for the middle of August...

It's the middle of August and the season is half over after a trip to Miller Motorsports Park (MMP) in Utah. Long drive on Friday to get to the track across Wyoming and I-80. There's a long downhill stretch from Evanston, WY down into SLC that was a bit crazy. With my crewcab dually and 24' trailer running in the slow lane, people would cut in front and want to park their crappy Kias or clapped-out Escorts at 40 MPH right in front of me! Do they know what 15000# of rolling steel would do to them if I wasn't paying attention!?

In any case, we raced on the MMP east course, which I'd never driven before. At 2.25 miles long with 14 turns, it's what I would describe as a tight, technical course, mostly third and fourth gear stuff. There are places to pull up alongside your competition, but tough to make the passes stick. On both days I qualified fifth and on Saturday I moved up when a BMW missed a shift. A new Porsche 911 Carrera was blowing huge plumes of smoke in the last turn, but this cleared up as soon as it hit the straightaway (I later mentioned to the Porsche driver that his 007 smoke screen had been effective). My lead lasted until I carried too much speed through the entrance to the 121 MPH T1. I exceeded the outer limits of traction, and soon I was fighting to keep the Z from spinning. I lost all, I had gained and then some, as I left a dusty trail back onto the track. I had to push hard to catch back up and make up a couple of spots before the finish. A well-driven and prepped GT-1 car lapped the field twice before the checkered fell. I finished in the same spot I started: fifth.

Before Sunday, I made a few change, including bleeding the clutch for the upteenth time (it never felt good the entire weekend, only rev-matching on the downshifts helped). While my qualifying times were a good half second better than the day before (good for only turning three laps), everybody else was quicker as well. The Z was on two-to-three race old tires (6-9 heat cycles), while most of the Porsche, BMW and Pontiac GXP drivers were on fresh tires to start the weekend. Talk about being too damn cheap and paying the price for it!

As we lined up for Sunday's race (12th overall in the mixed class field) I was on the opposite side of the grid from where I started the day before. This gave me a good chance to get through cleanly and chase down the opposition. A few laps in, the Porsche and BMW were fighting for position ahead and I parlayed this into a clean pass on the 911. He'd been almost a second and a half clear in qualifying, but we diced closely over the next several laps. Eventually I got just a bit too twitchy coming off T7 and Bam- that was it! The P driver got inside position for T8 and I had little choice than to lift or hit him. Once clear, he pulled away gradually and even chased down the Z4 ahead. Despite this, I kept my concentration and poured everything I had to the checkered flag.

The 2011 race season is over and Project T2 350Z won its share of the hardware. Thirteen races in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wisconsin resulted in a Regional Championship and two new lap records. Development of the T2 Z was detailed in issue #21, but special thanks to Richard Huntington and Jared Ainsworth of UpRev for maximizing the screaming VQ35HR in 2011.

Stay tuned for the 2012 plans!

Congratulations! Looks like you had a lot of fun as well.

I need to hit a track once I get my suspension sorted out.

The start of the 2012 race season began last weekend and Project 350Z T2 had a win and a second place in the two opening SCCA races at Pikes Peak International Raceway. But there's more to this project in the future. Look for more details in the summer issue of Nissan Sport.

Congrats!

Photo credit to Jennifer Krause:

As shown in the just released issue #23, Project T2 350Z is being converted over to compete in NASA's Spec Z series. After gaining maximum points in eight NASA races, Project Spec Z is rapidly closing in on the 2012 NASA Rocky Mountain series championship. It's also entered at Mid-Ohio for the first Spec Z National Championship.

Nice. What changes are required for NASA series?

audtatious wrote:Nice. What changes are required for NASA series?

Thanks for asking. Issue #23 will show the installation of the KW suspension kit. NASA rules also mandate the use of a Wavetrac LSD, so I've had to pull my tried and tested NISMO unit. And since there's a cap on horsepower (275 hp) I've reflashed my ECM with UpRev's Osiris to use pump 91 octane fuel. Check out our DIY Tech article on p. 40 about the BFGoodrich G-Force R1 tire. It's the spec tire for the class and our test reveals cold inflation starting points, heat range and other data sure to be of interest to anyone considering this class.