[trax]

Wow, I haven't posted on FRRAX in over a year!

Here' a brief background of my situation. I've got a '96 Z28 that has a laundry list of mods on it. In college I had a nicely-paying internship and got way, WAY too carried away with just throwing parts at the car. Now I've got a car that's got a bunch of fancy parts on it, but no HPDE or AutoX experience. So basically that makes me an inexperienced driver with a car that's (most likely) not built as a balanced combo.

My car sat for most of last year, and this year I'd like to turn a new leaf. Specifically:
1) Get track experience.
2) Clean up or simplify the mods on my car.

I don't have a truck or trailer, so I'd like to stick to track days that are within a few hours from Chicago. Also, I'm perfectly open to the idea of auto-crossing in a Hyundai Accent if that will help me unlearn any bad driving habits. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I'm trying to keep an open mind here. Can anyone recommend a good way to get my feet wet?

As far as parts go, here's the mess that I've gotten myself into:

Engine / Exhaust (abridged)

• "Stage 2" ported by Combination Motorsports
• Cam Motion cam (.575"/.595", 234/241) (probably too big for the rest of the motor, but that's another story)
• Comp 1.6 Roller rockers, LT4 Xtreme duty timing kit
• Ported LT1 intake manifold, 58mm TB, CAI
• Kooks stainless steel longtubes and Y-pipe, Hooker catback
• Hooker catback

Drivetrain

• McLeod street twin clutch, Pro 5.0 shifter
• Home-built Moser 9-inch
  • Moser housing, 4-channel ABS
    
  • 4.11 richmond gears
    
  • C7AW-E center section
    
  • Daytona pinion support
    
  • 1350 series yoke
    
  • 31 spline axles
    
  • Ford Track-Lock
• Z06 front brake conversion (LS1 spindles / abutment brackets, LG adapter plates, Z06 calipers, Hawk HP+ pads)

Suspension

• 17x9.5 / 17x11 GrandSport wheels, BFG KDW on front, BFG drags on back
• LG tubular subframe connectors
• LG front / rear swaybars, energy suspension poly endlinks
• LG coilovers, car lowered ~1" from stock
• UMI trans-mounted torque arm
• Aluminum rod-ended LCA's and PHR ("JonA" style)
• Unbalanced Engineering steering shaft rag joint eliminator

I don't think all the parts are bad per se, but I'd bet that there are parts in the combination that aren't necessarily working together as well as they could be.

I really want to avoid making any radical changes until I get a few seasons of experience, but I do want to address the following things this summer to give the car better street manners:

• The LG coilovers and rod-ended suspension are great on winding roads and hard turns, but after 2 years and ~4,000 miles of street driving, I'd like to tweak the setup to make this a little more street-friendly. Train tracks or bad asphalt can be downright brutal. I'm guessing I could improve this a lot by just changing one side of the PHR and LCAs to a rubber-jointed end. Long-term, I'd like to figure out a better spring/shock combo that will give me a good balance between street manners and handling.
• The HP+ pads seem to brake fairly well, but they squeal a lot for street driving. I blame that on parts-buying fever. This summer I'd like to buy a set of quieter street pads and new rotors, and perhaps keep my current set for swapping in on track days.

Thoughts?

Thanks guys! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

[Casey_SS]

You've got pretty stout combination to start with...should be a lot of fun. Do you still have the stock wheels or another pair of 17x9.5s to put on the rear? If so, I'd recommend throwing a set of Nitto 555RII or NT01 tires on 4 wheels of the same size. Being the same size matters much more than actual size for this type of driving. You can also drive either tire to the track...I run the RIIs on both the street and track and have been quite happy with them in both environments. I agree with the above opinion that you would have an excessive amount of push or understeer with your current tire / wheel combo.

Other than that, I would change the brake fluid with ATE or similar, bleed brakes, change oil with Redline, AMSoil, or Valvoline VR1 (10/40 or higher) and register for an HPDE event at a track near you. You'll have a blast and the car should perform well above both your expectations and abilities at this point (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Start slow and focus on car control and safety above all else. Do at least a few events to get a feel for how the car behaves before you start tinkering with the setup beyond basics like tire pressure, alignment, etc. For the Nittos, I recommend f/r (cold) pressures in the 31/28 range for roadcourse use. For AutoX you'd want to run more pressure but I have no experience in this area so I'll leave that to someone else...