Cusco Upper A Arms

These arrived today at my office. I decided to get them because I felt it was time I had a little bit more negative camber at the front for the track. The A arms allow for -12, -8, -4, 0 and +4mm camber settings, which equates to -1.5, -1.0, -0.5, 0 and +0.5 degrees respectively.

Motorkhana - DECA Shepparton

Another new experience - my first time on the skid pan. We started the day with two different cone courses to maneuver through. It was so fun right from the beginning, I learned to use the handbrake to spin the car around. I also learned more about the car's braking limits.

Next up, a slalom course was formed with the cones. From weaving the car through the cones, I believe that the Z is a fairly nimble car even though it's heavy. The torque also helps as you can just apply throttle at appropriate moments and it will pull.

The final activity of the day was the most fun. The skid pan was sprayed with water and the cones were arranged into a huge circle. We could then driving around the circle and get the car into a slide by inducing some oversteer. After a few laps, I started getting the hang of it but there is still many hours of practice required before I will be able to hold the slide. This exercise was very beneficial because I now know what the car feels like when it loses control, and hopefully it will help improve my driving on the track in future.

Thanks must go to d-mag for the time and effort organizing the day and running it so smoothly.

EXE Track Day - Winton Raceway

I went into this track day with the goal of getting 1:47.xxx. I was thinking that I would be happy if I at least achieved that time. Little did I know that I would be less fearful of Winton's walls and be more comfortable with my car. As a result, I ended the day with a new personal best of 1:45.359. I am very happy to say the least.

My previous PB at Winton was 1:49.376. I think that the following contributed to the 4 seconds that I gained today:

• I was more confident
  
• I braked later and harder
  
• I braked less
  
• I used 3rd gear on every corner (I previously used 2nd at the hairpins)
  
• I used full throttle
  
• I tried as hard as possible to get on the throttle early out of the corners
  

I can say now that I am feeling more confident in the Z as I slowly reveal more and more of its characteristic behaviours. It has taken four track days to get to this point.

Thank you Shaun for providing me with your tips and opinions. It was good to see things from your perspective.

Breakdown of lap times for my sessions:

Practice: I beat my previous PB here with 1:45.467.
2:10.5960
1:56.6170
1:50.3250
1:47.3370
1:56.4320
2:10.5900
1:57.6000
1:45.4670

Session 1: I was behind Vu the whole of this session, his car just pulled away from mine on the straights, but then I caught up on the corners.
2:09.7410
1:51.3670
1:53.8100
1:54.8180
1:52.8190
1:53.2830
1:50.5020
1:51.4550

Session 2: Shaun sat in the car with me and I managed to cut my PB down to 1:45.422.
1:52.0940
1:48.5580
1:50.4370
1:45.4230
1:45.7650
1:45.4220
1:45.9230
1:56.8390

Session 3: Jason sat in the car with me and I managed my final PB of 1:45.359.
1:52.6530
1:46.3550
1:46.5420
1:45.4450
1:46.5550
1:45.3590

Specs for track day:

• K&N panel air filter
  
• 17" Nismo LMGT4 with 225/45/17 Bridgestone RE55S
• Motul RBF600 brake fluid
  

Overall results:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?30/09/2007.WIN.P1
Individual results:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?30/09/2007.WIN.P1.I

Preparing for track day

• Changed engine oil to Castrol Edge Sport 10W60
  
• Changed gearbox oil to Castrol VMX-M 75W85 (GL-4)
  
• Added Nulon G70 additive to gearbox
  
• Changed differential oil to Castrol EPX 80W90 (GL-5)
  
• Changed brake fluid to Motul RBF600

Gear shifts are a little bit smoother with the Nulon additive. I'll have to wait and see if I can feel the effects of the RBF600 on the track.

Thanks must go to Silas for guidance and changing the gearbox oil for me. Thanks to Dan and Shaun for guidance and help with the brake fluid. Thanks to Jas for operating the brake pedal and Mic for helping with jacking the car up.