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A little fun at Thunderhill...

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Old Jul 16, 2006 | 10:10 AM
  #1  
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A little fun at Thunderhill...

This would be a bad link to click on if you're on dial-up... 85MB

http://www.kamikazeracing.org/dl/ZTr...sion-1mbps.wmv
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 11:37 AM
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Looks like a lot of fun!

One of these days I'll get to do stuff like that.

Rod.
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 12:12 PM
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Man that looks like it was fun, what was your average and top speeds at that track? I see you had some kind of mesuring device on your windshield, any chance it had a G meter in it? That engine sounds pretty tight and smooth too. Kudo's to you man!
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 02:20 PM
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Right on L-dub, that was a treat to watch. Man I wish I could take my Z to a track, and have some fun. Maybe sometime, I will take him to Firebird raceway in Phoenix. And your Z does sound pretty mean. You have the stock 4-speed in that Z? I am guessing that is your 240z in the video. Going by the interior, gauges and such. All in all man good stuff.
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 03:53 PM
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Yup, it was my 240z with a set of 15" ZXT wheels running Hoosier R3S04 DOT radials.

I got up to 112 mph on the front straight before the braking zone and on corners pulled over 1.2 Lateral G's according to my G-Tech Pro RR.

I could have gone faster on the straights but I was running stock brakes with AutoZone brake pads. The only 'upgrade' I had was DOT 4 synthetic brake fluid and the brakes were virtually non-existent by turn 5.

The vast majority of my braking was done with the engine and uncharastically good heel/toe work.

It didn't help me when a friend of mine that drives like a freakin' lunatic came up behind me in his 350Z, shook my concentration and my heel slipped off the gas pedal making me hit 2nd gear with about 1200 rpm's doin' nearly 50 mph.

The rear tires slowed up enough that I lost traction and spun off the track in turn 5 denting a wheel...

Unfortunately? I didn't have the camera hooked up for that run. It was quite a spectacular spin into the dirt with dust flying up in the air right in front of the grand stand!

I do try to entertain...
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 04:45 PM
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very nice driving!
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 05:27 PM
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Thanks KTM! It does help that I used to do a little SCCA Club Racing back in the late 80's/early 90's.

I was taking my apexes a little early, not uncommon for someone who hasn't done any track work in awhile, but my heel/toe work was excellent once the tires got up to their optimum operating temperature and I settled down into a good rythm. I was pleasantly surprised with several good passes throughout the day.

The stock 240Z motor with stock airbox was running extremely well and hummed along beautifully, even at nearly 7000 rpm. The water temperature only got over 210 deg. twice throughout the whole day during a few times where I was working to hold off a more powerful car.
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 05:37 PM
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Yeah I will agree, a verry fine piece of driving man. And your 240 still has the duel carb setup correct? Anyway sometime, I still would like to just take my Z on the track. Man I bet it is an ultimate rush bro'. Sorry to hear you spun out your Z. But anything can happen in a race.
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 05:40 PM
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I dont know much about track racing but I would really like to do it someday.. but my options are limited around here. It looked like your keeping right up with those faster cars through the turns. Thats true driving skill.
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 05:47 PM
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oh ya.. How acurate is that Gtech????
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 06:30 PM
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When properly mounted and setup, the GTech is very accurate. Most people don't follow the instructions when mounting them and their numbers are all over the place. The key is to mount it while the car is on a KNOWN flat surface.

Not as easy to do as you might think.
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 07:12 PM
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sounds like a dumb question but how do you know if your car is on a perfectly flat surface.. Obviously you could just look but would that be acurate enough? My friend wanted one for his Golf
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 07:16 PM
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Originally Posted by KTM200-280zxt
sounds like a dumb question but how do you know if your car is on a perfectly flat surface.. Obviously you could just look but would that be acurate enough? My friend wanted one for his Golf
Just toss one of these down on the cement...





Old Jul 16, 2006 | 07:25 PM
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Bubble level is correct!

Although, I put it on the cowl with me in the car so it compensates for the extra weight in the driver seat vs. the passenger seat.

Most concrete garages are pretty darn close to flat if they were poured by an experienced mason.

In my experience, most driveways are NOT anywhere near flat!
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 07:30 PM
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Originally Posted by WildmaN
Yeah I will agree, a verry fine piece of driving man. And your 240 still has the duel carb setup correct?
Yes, it still has the original '72 dual SU carbs with leaky throttle shafts and everything!

I didn't have the power in the straights, but I could close the gap on the leaders in my class pretty well in the corners.
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 07:40 PM
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Nice, this was this past wensday? The 240 sounded great. Your little gijit was kinda in the way of the camera though. Nice vid though. On a side note-Darrell and i saw some of your friends today on the bay bridge . . .posted it in another thread though
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 07:56 PM
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Yeah, I didn't realize the GTech was in such a bad spot until I downloaded the video from the camera.

Also, a 'friend' stepped on my panoramic racing mirror so, instead of getting a nice peripherial view from the mirror, you just see the top of my helmet... ;(

Time to order a new racing mirror...

It made it fun with no passenger side mirror. My panoramic mirror had such a good field of vision I didn't need the side mirrors before!
Old Jul 16, 2006 | 09:12 PM
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Downloading as we speak. We'll see how it is pretty quick.

Gotta love road racing. Since Miller Motorsports Park opened up less than an hour from Nismo and I, I've been jonesing for some open-track seat-time. Road-coursing has been entertaining to me since I could walk.
Old Jul 18, 2006 | 12:11 AM
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Here are some shots of me spinning out in turn 5!





Last edited by lww; Jul 18, 2006 at 09:17 AM.
Old Jul 18, 2006 | 01:06 AM
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Crucial. Is it me or does the *** end of a 240, or most Z's for that matter, come out from under ya real easy? You can almost see the "oh sh*t" look on your face. . .
Old Jul 18, 2006 | 08:47 PM
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Yup. And I'm running 205/50/15's on the front and 225/45/15 Hoosier's on the rear and I can still steer that thing with the throttle.
Old Jul 19, 2006 | 08:32 PM
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Isn't perfect weight distribution fun?
Old Jul 19, 2006 | 09:24 PM
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It definitely has good weight distribution, but the rear suspension tends to make them handle like a 70's or early 80's Porsche. Very tail happy.
Old Jul 20, 2006 | 12:19 AM
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As I am always quoted saying ...

"Ain't nothing wrong with that!"

So I'm assuming the initial trip over the rumblestrip dented your wheel?
Old Jul 20, 2006 | 01:42 AM
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very nice! i take it that it was your 72 240? if you ever do that in you 82zxt get so more vids! One day i will be out there racing with ya! Dont have to much fun. lol and if you get some more camber it will help with turning in the corners.



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