CTR98

I'm not sure this is the correct thread but since this one seems to have morphed into the DSP discussion... The SCCA has just posted the March Fastrack and includes this: That means we still have a chance! PLEASE, write a letter if you haven't done so.

If you autocross, are thinking about autocrossing, or just want to see the Z have a chance in Street Prepared with the SCCA please write in supporting this change. :classic:

I thought about that when I started but somehow ended up with the arms higher on the outside. OK, from the advice given here I have raised the car some more and will be getting an alignment next Thursday, mainly to check the castor and increase the negative camber. Is there a consensus on the degree of castor? Thanks!

It pushes like crazy in slow tight corners, not bad in slaloms as long as I'm smooth, and loses the rear on big fast sweepers. Occassionally it will still push on corner entry but I would think that is me not the car. I can pull decent times but it isn't easy. I'm pretty sure one of the main problems is ride height. I started last year by simply setting it up to where the front and rear control arms were parallel with the ground. That left the car with an "up hill" rake. I then lowered the front to level the car and then left it alone to get used to the car. The Beast seemed to do whatever it wanted, sometimes pushing, sometimes oversteering. With two events left last year I determined I was bottoming out the front struts and raised the whole car. It improved. My current set up (used my last two events of 2004): Camber: Front 2.75 negative, rear 2.0 negative Toe: Front 1/8 out, rear very slightly in from 0 (0 was my target) Springs: Front 225#, rear 250# SB: Front 1", rear 7/8" Air Pressure (start): Front 29, rear 27 (Victoracers 265/45/16) Ride height: now at 4.5 I noticed over on Hybridz JohnC said he was running his car with a ride height of 6.5" at the front rocker and 6.75" at the rear with 265/45/16 tires. That seems high to me but his explanation seems to make sense. The #29 doesn't look like it is that high and I'm interested in knowing where it is set. From what I have found Vic would sometimes run springs between 400 and 450#. I tried 400# all the way around but did not feel that the Illuminas could handle those rates. What is the advantage of 400# vs. 250#? Thanks

Thanks for the advice and none of you, "sound pompus", in fact you gave me the same responses I would have given if asked. What caught my interest was John saying, "there are a number of things that have to be done to get a Z to turn in well and stay planted" and he was, "not going to list those things until...someone is serious." Well I'm serious and that is why I listed what I have on my Z. I would simply like to know the things John was talking about now instead of spending years trying to find them out on my own. :classic: Thanks gnosez, I'm pretty close to those now.

Looking for help in old posts I found this from John C. (2002) and am hoping John, Tom, or one of you other knowlegeable people will help me. Here is what I have: '71 240Z series 1, built to the rules '76 2.8l currently with '70 SUs, light flywheel, '73 4-speed trans, 3.54 r200 gleason LSD, GC coil overs and camber plates at all four corners, Tokico Illuminas in shortened struts (Illuminas will be replaced later this month if I figure out spring rates), poly bushings throughout including steering rack and coupler, aluminum upper strut bars f/r, MSA street flares, 16"x10" Real Racing Wheels (14.8lbs), 265/45 Kumhos. Plan to add full fuel management with fuel injection within the next two months. I spent all last season playing around with different spring rates, ride heights, alignments, etc. I have not found anything that seems to work together and would rather not spend another season making major changes. This is a 34 year old car, I can't help but think there is someone who knows what works best and is willing to share the information. :classic:

Many non-stock class autocrossers shorten their struts. I shortened mine two inches when I switched to coil-overs and then put in some shorter Illuminas sourced from Ground Control. Pretty easy to do if you can weld or have friends who can weld. Just remember you have to take the inches out of the middle of the strut housing as you need to have the threads on top for the strut caps.

Brian - tholt29 said: I agree but my guess is you do not want to cut and flare the fenders. Sounds like a fun SM2 car.YellowBSP Bryan- My SCCA region would allow you to run BSP for a year or two without the bumpers. If you started to win then some would whine about it but most of us would be fine. As for your engine, it won't matter if your new. Happy Holidays all and thanks for the input! :classic:

Brian asked: First thing is to decide how you really want to use your car. Is it just going to be an autox car or do you also want it to be a street driver? How competitive do you want it to be? How far do you really want to take the car? Next is, what class do you want to run (ES, BSP, SM2, FP, or maybe ST2 if it is run in your region)? Oh yeah, how much do you want to spend?E Stock is the easiest and cheapest to prepare for, ST2 is a class some are hoping to make happen and would allow basic street mods, SM2 is for serious but street legal cars, BSP is kind of the first step to FP, and FP is pure racer. I don't think the 240/260/280 is really competitive as currently classed except maybe in FP (Tom would know more about that). I'm not an expert by any means but I can tell you what I've found that would cover ES, ST2, BSP, and SM2. Tom would probably be willing to help with FP and he all ready has a web page showing what has been done to his car. If you want what I know about a specific class or any of the classes let me know.

First, let me say that this same post over on zdriver.com has only had 15 views to 96 over here and no one has posted over there. I knew this would be a better place. :classic: I'm guessing that no one is running a competitive BSP Z anymore. Even though I'm in the process of building a BSP 240 I don't think it is in the right class anymore. I know Vic won in 2001 and, IMO, Vic is the only reason the car is still in BSP. I just don't think Zs could be any better than what Vic had and the rest of BSP has moved on. Vic's co-driver told me their new SM M3 is a much better car than his Z, and that car loses to Bob Tunnel's M3 which is basically BSP legal. So, my original question was simply to see if anyone was running competitively as I don't want the SCCA to respond to my request with a letter stating someone is winning in a Z. What do you guys think about DSP? It is now led by BMW 325s, 330s, and Lexus IS300s. Any thoughts? Thanks for the input! George 1971 Blue/blue Series 1 autox machine still under construction

I just posted the same question at zdriver but Tom is the only one I've seen with autox posts over there. I'm thinking my chances are better over here. :classic:

Curious if anyone is still running a competitive solo2 240Z in BSP. I haven't seen any in SCCA national results since Vic Sias quit running his after the 2001 season. Anyone still trying?

Old post but I'm new. The problem isn't the R200 but the '81 L28. The Street Prepared rules allow updating/backdating for cars listed on the same line. In the case of a '73 240 the line reads 240z/260z/280z. Some 280s came with R200s so they are legal to use (most people run R180s for the reduced weight). An '81 L28 would be out of a 280zx which is listed on its own separate line. Locally no one should care. Nationally they won't care unless you beat the fast people.