Broke Neck

Couple of things -



I know with NASA you shouldnt even be worried about what Time Trial class you will be in for at least a year and a half - 2 years. It takes that long of working through HPDE's with them.

I would hit up Brett Baker (Axelerate) he used to track his Z before he bought his e30 and could give you alot of pointers.

Also like any car ... whatever you have saftey equipment wise, your instructor needs to have as well. So if you have a seat and a harness, you cant expect your instructor to be in a stock seat/seatbelt.

I would look into the Koni set up as well, its proven, on many many race cars (i dunno if they make them for your car in particular, but if they do def recommend) .... you just need some Koni Streets until you actually want to make the car a full on race car.

Start out on a RS3, or Starspec .... as well as a nice pad .... like a Hawk HP+ .... you can still drive the car on the street and have lots of bite on the track.

Z33_Taxi

I wanted to run a koni setup at first, but for the Z they cost the same amount as a set of entry level coilover set. Lol.

I've driven on some Hankook RS3s and they're great. I also like star specs.

I've also decided I'm going with a true coilover set up and i can keep the midlink in and replacing it with the toe bolt isn't a need. I was able to get ahold of a very respected Z race car builder in Jersey. JDS motorsport.

I have a diff,coilovers,wheels and tires on my list for this winter.

Fabrik8

Coilovers are a single unit, so they're easier to handle as one unit, easier to tune the damper with a particular spring because they're one unit (try putting the stock setup on a damper dyno), and you don't have to worry about making calculations while having a different motion ratio for the spring and damper because of the difference in mounting locations. If you grab a Penske or Ohlins motorsport setup, it will be easier to adapt that as a coilover instead of a separate spring and damper, because the Penske and Ohlins are usually sold as a coilover. Basically the advantages are related to mounting and packaging convenience. Other than that, a coilover spring won't be subjected to as much bending while being compressed. The stock spring bucket (on the mid link) travels in an arc, etc... For a race setup when suspension links are fabricated for any number of reasons, it's nice and easy to make a simple coilover mount with very well known characteristics instead of a midlink with a big heavy spring perch in the middle.

But, there is no reason that a separate spring and damper can't work as well as a coilover for your application. If you want to go with many of the high-end dampers, you'll probably have to convert to a coilover. But until then, there isn't a compelling reason to do so. That's the reason my answer wasn't clearcut; there is not black-and-white answer about why coilovers are theoretically better, because better depends on what you're trying to improve.

Z33_Taxi

I think either application will work. I've tracked this car stock and it performs well. I want to be able to lower it and adjust the dampening. Which can be achieved with both. I'm not trying to sink I bunch of money into it because my ultimate goal is to get a dedicated track car

RandomTask

Lowering a car doesn't automatically help the handling. A decent set of coilovers should have settings for rebound and jounce. Honestly, if fun track time is what you're aiming for, look into spec miata. You're confined to what you can change (cheap) and its fender to fender racing that's cheap. (Miata's can take some abuse)

Z33_Taxi

They just recently added a Spec Z class

But yea a Miata is most likely by biggest ambition for the winter

Fabrik8

I want you to find out what's wrong with that and correct it.

Z33_Taxi

Dampen?

It can be used either way,no?

Cobra4B

Do nothing... make sure you have some tread on the tires, 1/2 brake pad thickness or greater, no fluid leaks, and go start running HPDEs. As you get familiar with on-track driving you'll learn what you want out of the car and can tailor your mods to that based on actual experience vs. what "this guy on the internet" says you need. Also, if building a car always build to a specific class and have an end goal in mind. Spec350Z is perfect for your car. All too many people mod up a car, get into tracking it, then try and find what class it fits in, only to find they're in an unlimited class that they don't have the budget or skills to compete in.

Fabrik8

A damper provides damping. A brief rain storm provides dampening.