EXE Crew Track Day - Winton

Weather:
Hot, ambient temperature ~35 degrees Celsius.

Hot tyre pressures:

34 PSI front and rear, targeting 32 PSI.

Suspension settings:
8/12 front, 5/12 rear

Tyres:

Kumho V70A

Lap times:

S1: 1:52.8120 1:51.1150 1:40.2070 1:40.6830 1:40.2600 1:40.0280

S2: 2:00.0540 1:41.9630 1:40.3280 1:40.9150 2:05.4000 1:40.6060

S3: 1:49.4750 1:40.6430 1:40.6380

S4: 1:51.6790 1:42.1620 1:40.4390 1:53.1840 1:41.1850

Video of the best lap:

PIARC Sprints - Phillip Island

It was a track day of firsts:

• First time back at PI since 2016.
• First PI track day on the new Shockworks suspension, which kept the car well composed and predicatable. It feels like there's less body roll with the new suspension and there's better turn-in having moved back to the stock front sway bar.
• First PI track day on the Kumho V70A medium compound, which are not as sticky as the Hankook Z221 softs that I'm used to. However, the tyres fared well with just a bit of camber wear on the front right and on the outer edges of both front tyres. The PI track surface is punishing.
• First PI track day using the 370Z front brakes with Winmax W7 pads. Both pads and rotors held up well, I should probably brake harder.

Session 1: Practice - not timed

Session 2: 2:15.7832 1:56.3906 5:44.7736 2:05.9579 1:55.8379

Session 3: 2:14.2489 1:55.6335 1:54.5699 1:54.0216 1:55.2802

Session 4: 2:09.3660 1:54.4307 1:56.5406 1:55.5997 1:55.4846

Session 5: 2:14.66 1:55.57 2:01.21 1:56.40*

*From RaceChrono as times for this session were not uploaded to Natsoft.

Source: http://racing.natsoft.com.au/results/

Best lap at Phillip Island in the Z at the weekend - 1m54.0s
PB lap - 1m51.7s (April 2014)

Comparing the PB lap from 2014 to the best lap from this track day, we see that corner speeds were generally lower than the PB lap. This is most likely due to braking too early or too much and the Kumho's being not as sticky as the Hankooks.

Lighter line: 1:51.76

Video of the best lap of the day:

Looking forward to more PI track days in 2021.

Rear left wheel bearing replacement... again!

Today the left rear wheel bearing and hub on the Z was replaced again. The existing one was replaced 5 years and 10,000 km ago. This bearing destroyed itself again after many right hand turns at Winton.

The suspected cause of its early demise was that the 32mm nut securing the drive shaft to the hub became loose over time and the amount of play allowed movement in the bearing that should not have occurred. This accelerated the wear within the bearing unit itself.

A new hub and bearing unit has been installed and the drive shaft nut now has Loctite applied and retorqued to spec. A big thank you to @silas.andrianto for the heavy lifting and mechanical advice. Time to order a spare hub and bearing!

Nugget Nationals - Winton Motor Raceway

Weather:
High of 20 degrees Celcius, sunny

Hot tyres pressures:

33 PSI front and rear, targeting 32 PSI

Suspension settings:

6/12 front, 6/12 rear

Difference in car setup:
New Shockworks suspension
Kumho V70A tyres

Lap times:

S1: 1:55.3330 1:43.3430 1:43.2830 1:40.9890 1:41.2260 1:40.6760
S2: 1:49.8400 1:40.2380 1:40.4920 1:41.1290 1:43.4690
S3: 1:46.9280 1:41.2160 1:40.8540 1:40.0040 1:39.2770 1:40.1440 1:40.5300 S4: 1:49.6610 1:40.3910 1:41.1060 1:40.0860
S5: 1:52.4510 1:40.6580 1:41.1990 1:42.0110 2:08.3180 1:46.6130

Comparison with PB lap (1:36.29, lighter line):

Hi and lo speeds:

Video of the best lap:

AROCA Sprints - Sandown Motor Raceway

Weather:
High of 15 degrees Celcius, rainy

The day ended early due to track being very wet.

Hot tyres pressures:
33 PSI front and rear, targeting 32 PSI

Suspension settings:
6/12 front, 6/12 rear

Difference in car setup:
New Shockworks suspension
Kumho V70A tyres
Lap times:
S1: 3:25.9025 1:41.8766 1:34.4478 1:32.3917 1:32.7185 1:31.8400 1:30.4173
S2: 1:45.1877 1:31.2483 1:30.8925 1:30.3069 1:31.0761 1:28.2336 1:27.6356 1:27.6489
S3: 2:08.0169 1:44.3176 1:38.0716 1:36.6967

Comparison with PB lap (1:27.16, lighter line):

Hi and lo speeds:

Video of the best lap:

Shockworks Suspension

Time for a change in suspension, the Z has outgrown the old Cusco Zero2's. I picked up a set of Shockworks due to good feedback from others and local support. So after chatting to Chris at Shockworks, he supplied a set of 370Z shocks valved for use with semi slicks. Spring rates are 14 kg/mm front and 8 kg/mm rear. Initial driving on the street showed that the car has good ride compliance and the steering feels more direct now. The ride is more firm than the Cusco's but doesn't crash when going over bumps. It also seems flatter around sweeping corners at moderate speed. A big thanks to Macgillaz for the installation help and Chris for the setup advice. I'm looking forward to test and adjust these soon at the track.

Exe Track Weekend - Winton Motor Raceway

Weather:
Saturday - high of ? degrees Celcius
Sunday - high of 16 degrees Celcius

Tyres:

Hankook Z214 (final time I used these tyres)

Lap times:
SaturdayS1: 2:22.1090 2:01.8120
S2: 1:56.4850 1:38.9480 1:37.4140 1:38.1540 1:38.4280 1:37.7430 1:37.9450 S3: 1:46.9850 1:39.1160 1:41.5810 1:41.4080 1:38.4730 1:38.9870 1:38.2280 1:37.2860 S4: 1:44.5000 1:37.6140 1:40.0690 1:59.0480

Sunday
S1: 2:07.2560 1:40.1420 1:39.2340 1:38.8600 1:36.8980 1:37.2390
S2: 1:51.8720 1:39.9790 1:38.3590 1:37.8890 1:36.8840 1:37.1480
S3: 1:55.4610 1:38.9630 1:37.9270 1:37.9340 1:37.7710

Nugget Nationals - Winton Motor Raceway

Weather:
High of 18 degrees Celcius

Tyres:
Hankook Z214

Difference in car setup:

New Tomei Expreme Ti exhaust

Z1 Motorsports rear subframe bushing collars

Lap times:
S1: 2:03.5900 1:40.8940 1:39.8170 1:38.1150 1:37.5290 1:41.7370
S2: 1:46.7620 1:40.5690 1:39.9110 1:37.8440 1:37.5060
S3: 1:46.9400 1:40.7990 1:53.8850 1:48.7730 1:37.9270
S4: 1:56.4850 1:39.2600 1:37.5200 1:38.8240 1:38.2690
S5: 1:57.1890 1:38.3240 1:37.5960 1:36.9580 1:37.9890 1:37.1460

Tomei Expreme Ti Exhaust & Z1 Motorsports Rear Subframe Collars

A big thanks to @macgillaz for the help and support installing a couple of things on the Z. Finally got the @z1motorsports rear subframe collars installed as well as the @tomei_84 cat-back exhaust. Don't mind the dirt on the car.

Exe Crew Track Weekend - Winton Motor Raceway

Weather:
Saturday - high of 17 degrees Celcius
Sunday - high of 18 degrees Celcius

Hot tyres pressures:
33 PSI front and rear, targeting 32 PSI

Difference in car setup:
Roll center adjustment kit installed at the rear.
Hankook Z214 tyres

Lap times:
Saturday
S1: 1:54.9350 2:04.1640 (timing stopped working in the final laps)
S2: 1:52.0490 1:40.3820 1:37.3310 1:41.3080 1:37.0410 1:48.4670 S3: 1:52.9280 1:37.0820 1:38.6980 1:37.8290 1:38.8720
S4: 1:48.6180 1:37.6510 1:36.8790 1:37.1360 1:36.9160

Sunday
S1: 1:53.5210 1:38.7470 1:36.7540 1:37.0360 1:38.4880 1:37.1890
S2: 1:59.1220 1:38.3390 1:38.9800 1:36.8390 1:37.0700
S3: 1:55.8710 1:38.2150 1:37.1890 1:36.5130 1:36.2750 1:36.5300 1:37.3950
S4: 3:00.1120 1:42.7680 1:37.4170 1:37.0640 1:55.0640 1:37.2040
S5: 1:54.2210 1:38.3540 1:37.5990 1:37.3670 1:37.6890 2:13.2600

Comparison with previous PB:

High and low speeds:

Video of the new PB lap - 1:36.28

Nugget Nationals - Winton Motor Raceway

Weather:
Raining in the morning, dry in the afternoon. High of 21 degrees Celcius.

Lap times:
S1: 2:26.8780 2:15.8860 2:26.5740
S2: 2:18.2820 2:16.2960 2:10.2980 2:08.5390 2:05.3150 2:04.3660 S3: 3:30.3310 1:53.2170 1:46.7400 1:43.6000 1:42.8330 1:41.0430
S4: 1:49.1030 1:39.7000 1:38.3910 1:38.5300 1:38.8740

Sessions 3 and 4 were dry, but didn't get close to my PB time for Winton.

Front brake caliper refresh

After 11 years of tracking the Z, the front brake calipers looked like this...

Given the age of the calipers and the abuse they had received, I decided to try out a new set of calipers. I noticed that Z1 Motorsports in the US offered a package that included 370Z factory Akebono calipers, adapter brackets to fit the 350Z, braided brake lines and a set of rotors to suit. Firstly, I downloaded the caliper template to make sure my wheels would still fit.

With everything confirmed to fit, I took the plunge and ordered a set of the brakes.

I love opening presents...

This is the adapter bracket fitted.

And the caliper is fitted with the Z1 Motorsports slotted rotor. 370Z rotors are 355 mm in diameter, compared to the 350Z's 325 mm. These should offer a little bit more heat capacity.

Here they are fitted with the wheel back on.

Exe Crew Track Day - Winton Motor Raceway

Weather:

Low of 3 degrees Celcius overnight and a high of 23 degrees Celcius.

Hot tyre pressures:31 PSI front and rear

Difference in car setup:
Roll center adjustment kit installed in the front.

Lap times:
S1: 6:46.6710 1:50.3250 1:41.5760 1:40.9400 1:38.6660 1:41.3360
S2: 1:52.0660 1:38.6620 1:36.9120 1:37.3890 1:37.3620 1:57.0130 1:37.6820
S3: Skipped session
S4: 1:50.9240 1:37.8800 1:37.4430 1:46.6800 1:38.9540 1:47.0320 1:36.8580
S5: 1:47.5310 1:37.4470 1:37.2480 1:37.6380 1:44.3360 1:37.9020

Comparison with previous PB:

High and low speeds:

1:37.31 

1:36.85

Video of second best lap of the day (because I forgot to turn the camera on in the session with the best lap).

On a roll

Looking back through my blog, the last time I made any suspension related changes to the Z was all the way back in 2010. So I started thinking about how I can make the car go faster around corners. After reading a post by my friend Tom at Honed Developments, I started thinking that I should fix the roll center on the Z and attempt to return it to factory specifications. As Honed doesn't make roll center adjustment kits for Nissans, I jumped on to the interwebs and found a company called Moon Face in Japan. After a few emails to Jesse Streeter, these arrived a few weeks later.

The roll center adjustment kit for the Z33 consists of three parts.

1) The ball joint kit (SAB14). Seems like I bought the last one as they announced that it is no longer in production.

2) The low angle adapter for the front upper arm (SLD11).

The ball joints and tapered collars fit at the points indicated below.

These images from Moon Face show the difference in angle of the upper arm (when using lowered suspension) with the factory tapered collar (left) and Moon Face tapered collar (right).

The difference between the Moon Face ball joint (left) and factory ball joint (right) can also be seen. It will reduce the distance between upper and lower arms to match the shorter strut.

3) The low angle adapter for the rear upper arm (SLD12).

The tapered collars fit at the point indicated below.

Below is the difference in angle of the upper arm (when using lowered suspension) with the factory tapered collar (left) and Moon Face tapered collar (right).

  

For someone like me who's not so mechanically skilled, I reached out to my friends Jim and Tom (from Honed) for help. Firstly, Jim helped me dismantle my suspension to remove the front knuckles.

The front suspension in pieces.

Then Tom pressed the factory ball joints out of the knuckles and pressed in the Moon Face items.

Pressings completed.

I had to use a ball joint puller, WD-40 and Loctite Freeze & Release to get the factory tapered collars unstuck. This is the ball joint for the front upper arms.

With the Moon Face ball joints fitted into the knuckles, Jim came over to help assemble everything again in the front. As a track day was looming, we ran out of time and didn't fit the rear new tapered collars as that would probably require an entire afternoon in itself. Now all that was left to do before track day was to get a wheel alignment.

A massive thanks to Jim and Tom for their help.