EXE CREW TRACKDAY 30th sept 07

EXE CREW TRACKDAY
30th September 2007
winton 3KM track

this will be my last one for this year unless i can find a way to source new sets of semis (mine is finished). or maybe its time to set a lap time on street tyres since i got few spare lying around in my garage...

the new mods this time is cusco front camber arm, it gave me front -2.4 (up from -1.4 with RSR spring) and i set the back to -2.1 (up from -1.2). this mod made me corner harder with penty of grip at the front, but the trade off is i had to be very precise on my driving. i had to choose the correct line. in the past, even if my line was off, i can still corrected it without having the back loose... this time, the car is more tempramental but agressive at the same time. turns in very2 sharply which gives big grin on my face every single time...

since last trackday, i tried to start using 3rd gear on all the corners except for long left sweeper (turn 3, i use 4th there). i was able to corner very smoothly and my turn 7 is alot better now (thx to kenny, i stole this from him the last time i sat on his car )

since i fixed the APS exhaust, by putting the X pipe on the APS, i got alot more mid range and i was able to get plenty of torque on turn 4-5-6... although i lost 4kw atw with the Xpipe, but the car overall felt alot stronger...

i lost it few times coz my tyres are getting slippery, but thx to shaun and mic, the amateur drift practice and skidpan (thx kev) really helps... i unconsciously saved the car few times... i guess sideway is not as scary as it used to be (but still enough to make me hold my breath for few seconds)

everything seems alot better and i can drive alot smoother... but somehow my best lap time, is still abit slower than my previous time... maybe there is something that i do that still wrong... i believed that a better driver might be able to do 1:40 in this car, as the current setup is near perfect compared to my previous setup... i'm running out of ideas... i tried to be consistent and tried all different sort of stuff... at the end of the day, i had to give up coz i got very low thread left on my semis. it is getting dangerous as i lost it at turn 9 coming onto the last straight before the S bend and nearly hit a wall (someone put dirts on turn 9 at the last session)... massive lockups and big flat spot is what i got ...

but 4 trackdays in the 1:41s means that i have maxed out my ability to go faster. the problem now is to find which bad habit that i did, that creates the 'barrier' for me to go faster... i failed to reach my goal to be in 1:40.XXs but i wont give up... i will practice more and hope one day i will get there... lol

i was going to install the next mod if i break my PB this time, but now since i didn't, i had to punish myself and left that mod lying around in my garage for a little longer.


*thx to noojin for the nice photo...


my Winton 3KM lap time record
--------------------------------------

• 11/12/2006: 1:43.9470 sec (235/45/17 RE55s, APS catback, race pipe, K&N filter, HC+ pads, 37.2kg weight saving, 164kw atw) - first time @ winton
  
  
• 26/01/2007: 1:42.2420 sec (same mods as above, 164kw atw)
  
  
• 11/03/2007: 1:41.3410 sec (same mods as above, 164kw atw)
  
  
• 16/04/2007: 1:41.4970 sec (front tyres finished, so i changed to a 2nd hand 225 dunlop semis**, i also added RSR spring**, 164kw atw)
  
  
• 01/07/2007: 1:41.0680 sec*** (bought 2nd hand from takahasi: 245/40/18 RE55s semis**, 164kw atw)
  
  
• 30/09/2007: 1:41.2250 sec (installed Cusco Front Camber arm**, put 'X' pipe on the APS catback, 160kw atw*)
  

* power dropped, but the car is alot faster, more torque and better overall... no more back pressure loss...
** new stuff / mods
*** personal best



detail individual lap time from 30th sept 2007
practice session: had to end early coz it was red flagged, couldnt get a clean lap...
1:49.2910
1:42.5240
1:44.0150
1:48.9530

session 1: i had Jerry / JDMZ33 as passenger, this was a good session, i got few clean lap
1:51.2800
1:42.1140
1:41.3520
1:42.1290
2:00.7060
1:42.3840
1:41.9860
1:44.1880
1:41.7720

session 2: was my best session. i had no passenger and the last 2 session, i got no interruption whatsoever
1:49.0880
1:44.2420
1:41.5810
1:42.1600
1:42.4000
1:42.9640
1:41.6970
1:41.2250

session 3: had Luke as a passenger, this is my favourite session, with 4-5 car battle in the last few laps... never got a clean lap but its so much fun!! the back of the car getting loose and the tyres had not much grip left...
1:50.5970
1:42.9630
1:42.1600
1:43.7110
1:42.6620
1:44.9250
1:54.7280 *spun off turn 6, ripple strip hit my cross member >_<* 1:44.7700 session 4: had lionel as a passenger. this session is my worst, i had massive flat spot from previous session, and then i drove out to check what noise it is, coz i thought my wheel nuts was loose. then after i drove back, i got another massive spun down the straight, nearly hit the wall... 1:47.6400 1:44.4720 3:57.7420 *had to get out to the pit, and check the car* 1:55.8530 *massive spun, turn 9 was dirty, someone must've came off and flick all the dirt into the racing line* 1:45.4000 *had to slow down on turn 9* 1:45.1420 *had to slow down on turn 9* 1:46.7340 *had to slow down on turn 9* 1:46.9080 *had to slow down on turn 9* 1:45.3640 *had to slow down on turn 9* thx for reading, i will post some pictures soon... it will take me some time to saved up for new semis, so next one, i would use street tyres (since i got few spares in my garage already)... more photos: http://flickr.com/photos/14475808@N02/

i started recording in-car video on session 3 and my battery finished 2 lap of 4th session. youtube only allow 10min max per upload, so i had to choose the best 10min... which is session 3 from the 3rd lap... it get insteresting towards the end where 3-5 cars together bumper to bumper... where most of them left me on the straight, some even left me on the corner... (T_T) give me more power oh dear lord...

so here it is, My Video from session3 from the end of 3rd lap :

Link

sorry for the initial D background music... i can't help it!... my inpirations! and my noisy passenger kept screaming, i can't help not to yell too... BANZAI!!!!!!!

the best laptime results for all cars on the day:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?30/09/2007.WIN.P1

and this is the individual times from all the cars on the day: http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?30/09/2007.WIN.P1.I

other vids from the day:
Group A - http://youtube.com/watch?v=omvSDTA8I80
Group B - http://youtube.com/watch?v=GF3EowAkF7M
Group C - http://youtube.com/watch?v=iH1WmepOmEw
Group D - http://youtube.com/watch?v=BRYhemjlsZk
Group E - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MgCpB0Xzkk

another trackday preparation

23rd September 2007

Track day preparation:
[list]
[*] engine oil: Castrol Edge Sport 10W60
[*] gearbox oil: Castrol VMX-M 75W85 (GL-4)
[*] Nulon G70 additive to gearbox
[*] differential oil: Castrol EPX 80W90 (GL-5)
[*] Bleed the brake fluid
[*] put on the semis, as i wouldn't have time to change wheels on the day
[/list]

Gear shifts made no different for me with the Nulon additive :( still notchy and sticky... maybe my synchro is worn. or maybe coz its not fully mixed yet... hope it gets better after 100kms...

Thanks to kenny for helping me sucking the gearbox fluid :P and helping me with everything else while im under the car, thx to mic for topping up fluid and holding the flashlite. no thx to shaun for whipping me with gaint rubber band... thx to dan for answering all my questions :P

update: X piped + PowerSteering fix and cooler + inbox pod filter

well... havent update the blog for a while... so here we go:

first i would like to thank dan / C2888 for his help and advice... and also thx u for this cool as low ramp for my car!!! ^_^






X pipe to fix the torque loss
first is the torque loss that i saw on the previous dyno result. caused by loss of back pressure in the APS tru twin system...

so i decided to fix it with Magna Flow 'X' Pipe...

here it is. its designed to balanced the flow between 2 pipes without restricting it on the top end... it works great for V8, but i dunno whether its gonna work for VQ35 V6... i guess only one way to find out...

the pic of the installation:


the dyno result (mod: K&N panel + APS cat back + X pipe):

dont worry about the output number, its done on same dyno, but its 3 months apart.... if you look at the power curves, i got alot more usable power across the rev range... and on the torque curve, it climb alot earlier and no more torque drop....

my conclusion:
after the X pipe, from 6000-6600rpm felt abit restricted compared to before. but i felt lot more torgue from early rpm... and the car pull constantly accross the rev range. also the noise a lot quieter compared from before...

the most important thing is the car pulling harder and alot more power across the rev range, although the max kw is pretty much the same...




Power Steering Pump Replacement
few months ago i blew my power steering on some drift practice.... since then i've gone thru 4 trackdays without power steering and its killing my arm.... finally ordered one from wreckers in sydney ($300, saving me $$ - from nissan was $1035)

so lets start:
1. loosen the belt tensioner and the idler pully bolt. remove the belt...

2. remove the air filter box and radiator fan assembly...
3. remove upper radiator hose...
4. remove the high pressure and low pressure hose from power steering pump.

5. remove the 2 bolts holding the pump. on of them is behind the pulley... (thx to dan for helping me pulling this damn pump out... )
6. swap the pump and install in reverse order.

7. top up the power steering fluid with dexronIII compatible (auto transmission fluid)
8.bleed the hydraulic system on the power steering:

• turn steering to each lock positions few times
  
• turn engine on if it making noise, turn it off and keep doing the first step
  
• while engine on, turn steering to each lock position 3 times and hold it 3sec on each lock possitions, dont hold it too long... inspect bubbles generated in the reservoir tank.
  
• if there is bubble, turn engine off and repeat the whole process when the bubble is gone.
  

9. top up the radiator and connect everything back. remember to top up the radiator properly, no air bubbles...




Power Steering Cooler
i use Hayden transmission cooler to replace the stock 350z power steering cooler...


first i remove the stock cooler...


size comparison...


mount the new cooler with the new hose and clamps


i reuse the stock mounting position and used the plastic clip that comes with the kit...





What Pod Filter officer?
well, i had the custom pod filter bracket and the heat shield and still get trouble from the boys in the blue... so after purchasing an extra airbox for a while now, i decided to modify my stock airbox and fit the pod in there.... hopefully

this is how it looks before... (rush job, highskool project... )


now lets start: first i split the airbox into 2.... yes you can prey it open... its not reversible tho unless you have a strong plastic glue...

with the front airbox piece, test fitting and measuring the distance with the pod filter...


here is the back piece... i will mount the pod to that holes at the back but first i need to cut the box abit in order to make the pod fit in there


here is the pod mounted to the back piece of the airbox and few small holes cut so i can fit small spanner to tighten the bolts...


then connect the front and the back piece of the airbox. i didnt want to glue it, coz i still wanna clean my pod filter in the future so what i did i just drill few holes and cable ties the two piece of airbox together


frontal look of the pod inside the box.


now the cover of the box


i had to cut the bottom part and shaved abit from behind the top cover...



pod in the box, with cover...


installed back to the place... i will figure out how to cover the remaining holes its only abit... not much...




thx to dan for his help and advices... thx to mic for holding my bumper thx to shaun for not farting while im under the car... thx for ying, jally, kenny, jason for the company... exe-crew garage rules