Racing, are they any good?

[Dunny]

Hi all, I thinking about getting a Z, prob a 240 or 260 as they appear to be the faster cars.

Im planning on using the car to race in a historic class against Escort II (European car) old BMW 3's and datsun 510's, regs in the class i'll be entering limit power to weight so its all about car and driver ability.

What is the chassis on these cars like?? Are they rigid and handle well or are they just point n squirt cars??

All the race history Iv come across is single class only for Zs, which would lead me to believe that the chassis is not competitive, please tell me Im wrong, as they do look so nice.

Cheers

Chris

[hmsports]

The 240Z has been one of the dominating cars in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Production and Improved Touring racing for 30 years. There is a Ton (or 907.19 kg :classic:) of information on suspension mods that can be done and how to tweak them to out perform Porche, BMW, Mazda, Honda :sick: and just about any other car out there in road racing.

As long as you can put in at least a 6-point weld-in roll-cage and a front strut bar, the chassis is great. Lower the car to 5" (or lower) ride height, add some 2-way adjustable Konis, 2-1/2" x 10" springs (275# front, 250# rear), heavy (preferably adjustable) front anti-sway bar, rear anti-sway bar, camber plates, limited slip rear diff, urethane bushing, air-dam and have some fun.

For a car that is as old -- well, I should say seasoned -- it does great!

Oh, stay away from the 260 for racing -- the power to weight ratio is not as good as the 240.

[Dunny]

Cheers Rick, this is what I wanted to hear..

only ting I'll add is that there is a power/wieight ratio liit of 7kg / 1Kw in the class im entering in.. 'Roadsport' basicly it has to be road logal, in this country (Finland) and not too modded so new springs / shocks is OK but no adjustable camber/caster mods. I can tune the engine as mush as I like but i get Kgs of balist to put in the floor.

So would you still rule out the 260?

any other advice would be appreciated from any body out there.

TIA

[Britt Boyette]

Why would you rule out the 260Z?

Britt

[hmsports]

From what I've been told, the HP to weight ratio of the 240 makes it more competitive than the 260.

The 240 even dominates over the 280. I don't know from experience how much faster a 240 is than a 260 because I've never seen one at the track.

I hope I didn't ruffle any feathers as my comment wasn't a personal slam toward the 260...

[2ManyZs]

An early model 260 is just as good as a 240. A lot of guys here in the DC Region raced early 260's for their slight displacement advantage. Their weight is not much more than a 240, so they don't have the weight disadvantage that the later 260's and 280's have when running against the 240's. The 72-74 1/2's are nearly the same weight, with the ealier 240's being slightly less.

Late 260's with F/I and the large 280's style bumpers are the nearly the same weight as the 75-78 280's, or about 450lbs "overweight".

[spudz]

The US 260 is different then the Euro Spec 260. They didn't get the huge bumpers , so their weight is lower

then the US spec late 260 with its

huge bumpers and flat top SU's.

[2ManyZs]

Right Spudz, I just added that to answer Britt's question.

[Britt Boyette]

I noticed that in the rule book for SCCA Solo in the FP class which is what my goal is, they show minumun weights for all the cars and the 240Z gets to weigh in at 1900lbs. The 260Z gets to be 2000lbs, the 280Z and 280ZX get to be 2100lbs, and the 300ZX(Z31 and Z32), get to trim down to 2300lbs. It's like they are trying to even them up with weight breaks. The class alows you to totally strip the car down to nothing and use fiberglass fenders and hood if you wish. It also allows you to run 16X10 rims with slicks and do a number on the engine/ drivetrain. It's a great class to run my barn car in.

Britt Boyette

[Dunny]

OK, so the answer for me is then I looking for a 240 or a early 260.. or a later 260 n fit the EU spec bumpers.

Im not expecting to have the greatest race car out there, I need just enough from the Z to keep up with the Escort IIs, BMW 1502's.

[smg1404]

Did someone say race... The car in your avatar would most likely win in a race against a Z unless it was a drag race. It might win even then... Don't get me wrong You can make any car as fast as your walet can afford.. I have recently started autocrossing again, and am dismayed to discover how totally the Miata's dominate the event... Corvettes and WRX's do pretty good also.. The difference seems almost too great to overcome at this point.. Of course autocrossing is not real racing, but it is somewhat of an indication of what a car can do in the corners.... Right now I am looking at about 5 to 6 seconds of catch up time on a 50 second course... Some of this is probly the fact that I am out of practice, But the car is no doubt a part of the equation... On a diferent type of course I am sure that a Miata would have a lot of trouble staying in front of me, but this cornering difference is not a happy issue....

[Dunny]

Yea, the lotti is pretty swift through the corners but she is just too expensine for me to justify racing, that to the fact that she is in almost orignal condition, unmodded engine (GT spec 100bhp). I do the friendly Track days but not racing or drag her cos it breaks too many things, mind you she will do 0-60 in 5.8'.. pretty funny that the Cobra relica guys around here cant loose me at local track when we'v gone out for a days fun n they have more than double my bhp.

(pesky point n squirt cars)

))