2003 350z Weekend/Track Day Progress Thread

[Bumpkin203]

Hello all! My name is Bobby and this is my second 350z. I originally came from the 240sx game but decided to step it up and get into a newer, nicer chassis. My first 350z was a 2003 PPW. I sold that to help my wife get her 07 Jeep SRT8. After a few months of just driving my truck I knew I needed another one. This time I made sure to not settle and get exactly what I wanted within my price range. Thats when we found our Z.

Here she is her first time at the house.




It has been a few months since getting it and I am still trying to decide what direction I want to go with it.

Cleaned it up a little.


Then I decided to pull the trigger on some parts as well as signing up for a track weekend at Carolina Motorsports Park in October.

Enkei RPF1 18x10.5+15 all around.


Nitto NT05 265/35r18


Fortune Auto 500 Gen 5




Despite them being OEM type, Im very happy I went with them. Im going for a more functional stance so the fact they don't lay frame in the rear doesn't bother me. They ride just like stock if not better. I will need to raise the front. Put them on the way they came packaged and they were very low.



And the mandatory pic.


The shopping list is never ending but for now I plan on prepping for the track weekend in October.

As of currently I have already purchased these and am waiting on them to arrive.

Muteki sr35 lugnuts
Z1 brake lines
Hawk HP+ brake pads front and rear

Within the next month I should be ordering all the fluids and getting a professional alignment at Autometrics who specialize in building Porsche track cars.

Since I am only doing one event this year, I plan on staying with the oem brakes before most likely upgrading to the 370z Akebono brake setup.

Once I get the lugs, Ill update with the RPF1s.

And just because I like this picture.

[nickmat619]

Good luck with the build man! You have yourself a gorgeous car, I can't wait to see what it looks like with those rims on it.

[smokescreen240]

very nice start! welcome my fellow z owner. i'd like to reccmmend before your alignment that at the very least get a rear camber kit from SPC if not from SPL. Once you lower a z, getting them into spec with stock arms won't be very likely. SPC camber arms, and SPC toe bolts and you'll save your tires. I promise.

[Bumpkin203]

Preciate it fellas, I already have the SPL rear camber arms and will be getting the SPL front a arms before I get it aligned. Once I have those, she will be good to go.

[Bumpkin203]

Got some things in that I ordered.

Still waiting on my lug nuts so I can update with the wheels installed.

Hawk HP+ front and rear, Z1 brake lines.



Also raised the front a little and eliminated some of the rake.

[charrington_74]

Updates???

[Bumpkin203]

Little bit of an update.



Should have a chance to throw them on by Saturday. Sorry for the crappy cell pic.

[Apex Eight]

I really like the direction you're taking with your Z. It's always refreshing to see someone place function as a top priority amid all of these super slammed cars.

[Bumpkin203]

Thanks Apex, I like the slammed cars but Id just rather not have to deal with the headache it is to drift them.

I threw the wheels on Saturday but only got a quick cell pic so far.


Getting ready for the Drift Basic event in Darlington.


Couple pics at the event courtesy of Cerulean Blue Photography.



Blew a tire, didn't even realize it had started to wear because it was still wet out but apparently it did. They got a cool shot of it on the bed of my truck next to the minty fresh RPF1.


Thats all I have for now. Next up is cleaning the car up from the event, doing a full fluids flush, and maybe some tie rods for some extra angle.

Side note, I said before I was scheduled for a track day at CMP but had to cancel, so for now I will mainly be doing drift prep and just having fun with the car while modding to my liking.

[Nismo_sam]

Car looks great man, I too am making the move off of drifting a 240 and getting into a Z33 to build as the new drift car.

[smokescreen240]

Looks like you had some fun at the event, but i think yours is a base model w/ open diff...did you weld it or swap for vlsd?

[Bumpkin203]

Originally Posted by Nismo_sam

Car looks great man, I too am making the move off of drifting a 240 and getting into a Z33 to build as the new drift car.

Thanks!, I had 3 s13s before going to z33s. A lot of people would rather have a 240 but for what I do and future plans, I am glad I went with it.

Originally Posted by smokescreen240

Looks like you had some fun at the event, but i think yours is a base model w/ open diff...did you weld it or swap for vlsd?

Thanks I did have a lot of fun. It's a touring, not a base, so it has the stock vlsd.

[Bumpkin203]

Finally got some decent pictures cleaned up with the wheels.

[supersayianjim]

looks good. plz don't cage this out or slam it into a wall. why didn't you get a staggerd setup??

and does the 13's feel noticeably way lighter than these cars??

[Bumpkin203]

I don't have plans currently to cage it......or putting it into a wall. I went 10.5 all around because I like the ease of rotating and buying tires. Plus the 9.5s were about $30 more per wheel.

The 13s aren't noticeably lighter to me personally, I didn't really notice too much of a difference. Plus the superior ride and handling sealed the deal for me.

[troskinatior]

I feel you bro, just sold my 180sx for pretty much the same exact car (model/color/suspension/ect) The Z is so much better. I was thinking of drifting it next week but I havent installed a lsd yet, how did the vlsd hold up? Would it over heat and act like a open?

[Nismo_sam]

Are you maxed at in the rear for lowness? Just wondering because I felt pretty sure on going FA but want a bit lower than that.

Oh and on a side note it looks like I'll be going to pick up a Z tomorrow!

[Bumpkin203]

Originally Posted by troskinatior

I feel you bro, just sold my 180sx for pretty much the same exact car (model/color/suspension/ect) The Z is so much better. I was thinking of drifting it next week but I havent installed a lsd yet, how did the vlsd hold up? Would it over heat and act like a open?

The stock vlsd did awesome, no issues even when the rain dried up.

Originally Posted by Nismo_sam

Are you maxed at in the rear for lowness? Just wondering because I felt pretty sure on going FA but want a bit lower than that.

Oh and on a side note it looks like I'll be going to pick up a Z tomorrow!

Its as low as it will go without pulling the collers and with the regular FA spring.

[Nismo_sam]

Any updates on the car? Would love to see more!

[Bumpkin203]

Well its been a while since I updated. Haven't done much of anything to the car since the last update. Just been driving it and enjoying while saving money instead of spending everything on the car. After my last update I did get some tein tie rods but haven't put them on because I don't have the FUCAs I want yet and don't want to get 2 alignments.

I did strip a lug with my muteki lug nuts at the last drift event so I got a new lug and went with some Project kics R40s in neochrome. Hopefully they won't strip anymore lugs.

Also decided to do a little something that was somewhat cheap(er). Got a Personal steering wheel and NRG QR and short hub.

Ordered a personal pizza


Installed


And just what the car has been looking like this winter.

[Apex Eight]

Glad to see you still have this. Style-wise, it's a lot different than most 350s you see nowadays. Clean and functional. Nice wheel dude

[Bumpkin203]

Originally Posted by Apex Eight

Glad to see you still have this. Style-wise, it's a lot different than most 350s you see nowadays. Clean and functional. Nice wheel dude

Thanks bud

Not really much of an update but I decided it was time to stop sitting on the parts that I have had for 8 months and get to installing them.

First was the flush of the diff and trans with Redline MT85. Also put Pennzoil Ultra in the VQ. I did not think this was going to be noticeable but I felt like the car was smoother afterword...probably just my head playing tricks on me. After that I swapped out a stripped lug and realized after knocking the lug out of the hub that the brake rotor needed to come off to get to it. That was a task in itself but after some PB Blaster and some light hammer work, I was able to knock it loose. Then came time to flush the brake fluid and throw on some Hawk HP+ pads. I have never been a brake kind of guy so that was a learning experience and I will be learning more tomorrow as I properly lube the brakes (the squealing is horrible). Before doing the brakes I did a lot of research on bleeding them and was a little nervous after seeing quite a few 350z guys having troubles with not being able to get the air completely out. After one failed attempt to test drive after thinking it was good, I gave it another run and the brake pedal pressure is better than before. Guess I did something right haha. So after that was all cleaned up I threw the wheels back on and installed the Project Kics R40 lug nuts.

Also, side note, I purchased my first torque wrench and used it while torqueing the lug nuts. Instantly felt better driving the car while not feeling like my wheels were going to fly off.

Like I said not much of an update but this is a progress thread after all.

Heres some crappy cell pics.

[Bumpkin203]

Clean and simple

[bardabe]

Z looks really good, reminds me of my old Z33. good job so far man keep it simple!

[Bumpkin203]

Thanks man

Test fit on the new bumper