The 24 Hours of LeMons race last weekend was an unforgettable experience. This was my first event and first time being part of a pit crew for Team Rice Rocket Racing. As a newbie I would like to share my thoughts/photos on the various race cars and our team’s performance and later we will hear comments from the drivers.
We arrived at Buttonwillow early Friday morning to choose/setup our pit area. They don’t call this the “Arse Freeze-a-Palooza LeMons” race for nothing. It was seriously cold. Friday was test/tune day. The goal was pretty simple: run through everything beforehand so the actual race can run smoothly with no(or minimal) surprises, but it rarely works that way!

Our team consisted of 4 drivers(Josh C, Wade W(captain), Scott S, David O) and 3 pit crew members(Rob F, Scott A, myself) and even Josh’s folks were kind enough to lend a hand. Pit stops for driver changes and fuel are critical. They can cost several laps and positions so we practiced this several times. Wheel lugs were torqued, oil checked, tire pressures recorded/adjusted. It might seem trivial but getting a driver in/out with multiple seatbelts and communication wiring is tough to accomplish quickly! Scott A was an expert at this.  Communication was very important, not only with the driver but with everyone else on the team. When the Z was out on the course we had several spotters at different turns to radio in hazards and flag situations. Fueling was also a controlled event. Only 2 people(wearing approved safety gear) are allowed near the car while filling.

All drivers familiarized themselves with the course and the car, and each one was amazed with how well the Z accelerated and handled. We knew that we could make a top 10 or better finish. Friday was also the only day to get a Tech/BS inspection to officially run in the race. Each car goes through a normal technical inspection for safety, then a “BS” inspection to ensure that entrants truly have a $500 car. If not, the judges give BS penalties for anything over that magic number. It was fun to hear all of the stories and bribes! Can’t convince them by word? Try alcohol, sweets, more alcohol, or show some skin 🙂 Here’s the bribery table, and a judge spray painting the seal of bribery. Oh, and our Z passed both just fine:

This was also my opportunity to capture some of the craziest cars you have ever seen. Here are my highlights, there are about 100 more in the gallery. The Cowboy car was my favorite, seeing it on the track made me laugh with every lap as the horse and rider became more raked backwards from speed. The Most Interesting Car in the World was also one of the fastest BMWs. The Geo Metro done up as a ladybug actually had a mid-mounted motorcycle engine…it was nasty. Not one of my favorites but entertaining nonetheless was a pink limousine with a mannequin coming out of the sunroof…very slow on the track. Bob Klemme’s BMW 2002 came equipped with a functioning beer tap on the trunk. Our friend Ron Carter piloted the Killer MG Bee(Hey Ron I thought Lucas was the enemy!). The Maximum Overdrive pickup, the Nissan Sentra Mario Bros. car, the 240sx/’vette, and the total mish-mash car(can you figure it out?), and the Team America Miata. There were about six Z31s and another BRE-themed 240z!

 

Back to the racing! This will be an abbreviated report, I want the drivers to give you their view.

Saturday: Race Day.  We woke up to rain. I was worried but Rob was optimistic, even happy. His thought was that we could capitalize on the weather and turns out he was right! Scott S was the first driver of the day and we planned on doing 2hr stints.  We got him out on the track and there he was with 160 other cars waiting for the green flag to drop…it looked like chaos and the race had not started yet! Scott was brilliant out there.  The weather cleared by 11am and Josh and Wade did awesome but put a few wheels down and had to come in to the penalty box(pic top right).  We escaped trouble-free, but penalties for contact or putting 2-4 wheels off track range from “finding the key to life” to building a jigsaw puzzle. These cost precious time. Wade ran a team best lap of 2:16.459 on lap #52 which was only several seconds off the top5 cars!   Here is short video clip just after the green flag showing the number of cars out on the track:

David O was our last driver and was driving the Z’s heart out running very consistent laps.  Towards the end of his session he radio’d in some crunching sounds from the transmission especially on the 4-5 shift, but he finished.  The team did spectacular for first day and we were in 13th place!  We brought a spare ZX transmission, and Rob and Josh proceeded to do what ZCG does best: Fix Z’s!  It was almost bed time but the dynamic duo removed and replaced the transmission in just over 1hr. The culprit in the crunchy tranny? A common failure is 5th gear backing off the countershaft.  Note metal shavings on drain plug. It will be rebuilt.

Sunday: Final race day. With the new transmission in and 4 talented and excited drivers were ready to run. While Josh was warming the Z up/checking oil he heard a pinging/knocking sound. It sounded like it was coming from the valvetrain so he pulled the cover. A plug fell onto the ground, it was the oil gallery plug on the back of the cam! We were minutes away from the driver’s meeting and quickly tightened the plug back in place.  Josh went out first they announced that the race would be run counter-clockwise instead! Josh got into the groove and holding our position. He made minor contact with another car and had to come in but again we got lucky with no penalties.

Here is Josh coming through off the front straight into the esses…you rock!

Scott S was next and he made a heroic effort to move us up through that coveted top 10 finish. I watched as he battled a Mazda RX-7 and eventually passed him, then gained minutes on other cars around laps 200-205. It was epic. Our next target was car #84, a E30 BMW that was ahead by 1 lap. Scott was in pursuit but tried to go 4 cars wide into turn 16, hitting 2 cars and damaging the front suspension. Thankfully he was unharmed. It was very scary to hear it over the radio. The Z was towed back to our pit area. The T/C rod was bent and the strut separated from the spindle. We did have those spare parts on hand but there were other issues so we called it a day. We finished 72nd overall, not bad for a car that didn’t run the last half of the day.

 

With roughly 3 hrs of race time left we packed everything up, visited the results booth and took one last tour around the paddock. It was an incredible effort that we all learned from and look forward to applying our experience to the next race. If you have chance to help out at a motorsports event don’t pass it up it is truly fantastic.  Remember, it’s not always about winning, it’s about being consistent: just watch the little Fiat 500 below. See you at the next 24 hrs of Lemons!

Click for photo gallery below!
…[read more]

I don’t get excited when concept cars are released but there is something striking about the Nissan Ellure, check it out!
“Nissan calls its Ellure concept “the sedan re-imagined,” previewing what sort of design is possible for its forthcoming four-door range. The Ellure is powered by a supercharged 2.5-liter inline-four and a 25-kilowatt electric motor, mated to the automaker’s Xtronic CVT and a front-wheel-drive layout. Nissan says…”
Catch the rest of the story and full photo galleries over on Autoblog HERE

Here is another amazing example of Motorsports bringing a family together. Rob’s wife Astrid had a birthday coming up so it was time for their Daytona Blue ’07 350z ‘vert to get some B-day love. Living off a mountain road Rob and Astrid needed a car that could be both comfortable and sporty. The couple have had their fair share of track days and Astrid has driven in the 24hrs of Lemons race while Rob has a G37 Sport coupe has his daily driver.

The Z came to ZCG for a 30k service with some upgrades to add some excitement to Astrid’s commute. Like most upgrade sessions at ZCG we started with a baseline dyno to see what we were working with:

Once the services and baseline was complete we installed a set of the Injen intakes and a Bassani exhaust system. These 2 bolt-ons gained 20hp/13tq!

Rob and Astrid wanted this Z to be able to handle any curvy road and  the occasional Track Day. A combination of braking and suspension upgrades were installed, starting with TEIN Flex coilovers with EDFC control unit. This allows the driver to pick from 16 levels of dampening force:

A nice compliment to the coilovers is the adjustable sway bar set from Hotchkis:

We installed our favorite brake pads for any sport driving, the STOPTECH 309 in addition to a full brake and clutch bleed with Motul 600.
With the power mods, brakes, and suspension Rob and Astrid should be able to enjoy a track day or drive on any curvy road with a smile on their faces:)

You know its true love when your wife drives a Z . Ashley took a trip out of town and while she was gone her sneaky Z-obsessed husband dropped her ’07 350z off for some ZCG love. A family that Zs together stays together.  First item on the list for this visit was a baseline dyno to see what we were working with, then a quick install of dual JWT Pop Charger air intakes:

The VQ35HR engine responds well to minor bolt-ons and the addition of JWT intakes resulted in an impressive gain of 17hp/13tq! Plus they look great and sound heavenly when Ashley leans on the loud pedal.

Ashley’s Z sports a set of SSR GT3 wheels with stock ride height. Every Z can benefit from a little lowering, especially with aftermarket wheels/tires.  TEIN S-tech springs were called upon to give the Z a mild drop. Pics coming soon!

The last detail was a set of LED side markers that are both stylish and functional for when Ashley needs to switch lanes and pass the slower traffic 🙂

Stay tuned for Part 2 of “Z Are Family”

Looks like everyone had a good time last Wednesday night at the fun drags and here is a report from Scott Smith:

 

We were four Zs strong and also had a bada$$ 510 of Matt’s. Rob Fuller set the bar in Chuck Gross’s TT 350Z with a get-you-kicked-out best-run of 11.452 @ 119.51mph. A roll bar, side bars, and fireproof jacket are required for runs under 11.5s. John Tacchi ran a fast 12.883 @ 116.57mph in his upgraded Z32TT, and made it through two rounds of eliminations, and lost with an uncharacteristic 14.4 run with on a 13.0 dial in. He must have spun the tires off the line and lost time, as the temps were getting cooler. Walt Leonard broke out on his first-and-best timed run with a 12.914 @ 104.62mph compared to his dial of 13.07(black s/c’d Z above). Scott Smith ran his wife’s 2007 350Z Roadster, and was also eliminated in the first round. He dialed 14.60 and ran 14.61, but was beat at the tree. His best of the night was 14.477@98.51mph. Matt Gardella ran his turbo 510 hard, but also lost in the first round. He dialed in 13.00 and ran 13.538 @ 95.89mph, but his best of the night was 13.126 @ 103.62mph.

Stay tuned for an announcement of the final ZCG drag racing series date in November!

Matt’s 510(note faster dial-in than the STi or M3 :)) and John’s Z32TT

 

Here are a few short video clips of Matt’s 510 and Rob piloting Chuck’s TT 350z: