Yes, I got the Z1/Stillen brake duct kit and it worked out really well. I taped screen door mesh over the openings to keep rocks and other debris out and then I put black duct tape over the openings in the winter (probably not necessary).

If you are autocrossing you will want the stickiest tires and brake pads you can get. My car is set up for track days where you need a lot more heat management so you may not even need brake ducts or 2pc. rotors for short autocross runs. A racing seat is a good idea because you do get thrown around a lot inside on an autocross track. Does the class you run in allow you to remove your passenger seat for weight savings? Battery relocation will be a PITA. You may want to get a lightweight battery from Pegasus or somewhere similar just for race day. If you do any shifting at your autocross you may want to consider a shift kit, trans mount, jsolo spring, and eventually an RJM clutch pedal assembly. That should be enough to get you started.

 

Thanks for the reply. I do have the RJM clutch pedal already installed,and a short throw, but that's it as far as shifter/trans mods. Honestly it will my first year autoxing, so I don't even know much about the classes rules yet. I've been spectating for a long time though since its 2 minutes from me.

I'm just going for a light weight build in general, so for me those mods I listed just make sense and I would consider stepping stones towards my end goals. I plan on getting the same pads I believe you have, and also the normal set Z1 offers that I'll just swap between depending on street driving or racing. The tires I will be getting are more than likely going to be TOYO R888R's around some 19x10 RPF1's, from my understanding these are some pretty damn good tires. It's not my daily driver as I drive my G35X daily for that. This will be more like my racecar/toy/shows car.

The battery idea is interesting, but why do you say a relocation is difficult? I know for drag racing the car needs a kill switch mounted on the outside of the vehicle. I just felt it would be a good way to balance the weight, since I think the rear of mine right now is probably going to be a bit lighter than the front would be. I looked into lithium batteries but I'd worry about getting stranded.

 

Good to hear you have the RJM and a shift kit. That should help you quite a bit. When you get really crazy and try to shave 10's of a second you may start looking into motor & trans mounts as well as subframe and bushings to firm up the response.

You may not want the same brake pads I have as they are designed for really high temps (slowing down from 140+ mph repeatedly). You might want something that warms up quicker and has more initial bite. The Toyo R888's have been around a long time. All the rage last year was the Bridgestone RE-71R and the new BFG's. Ask around on tires as I know you want different properties for autocross than track days.

The battery relocation would not be difficult, but probably a time consuming pain in the tail. If you do it let me know how it goes. I just figured a light weight battery would be easier. Try to mount it on the passenger side if you put it in the trunk to offset the weight of the driver. This should help a bit with side to side transitions.

Let me know how it goes with autocrossing. I did that for a little bit and it was a great way to master balance and car control. I got bored of it pretty quickly though and moved onto road racing and HPDE's. So I don't know all the hot parts and settings for autocross anymore as it has been a long time since I have done that. I remember always trying to get the brakes hot before my run and keeping an eagle eye on tire pressures. The other good news is that if you ever get bored of autocrossing like I did, the skills you learn there will really help out with precision and consistency on a full track.

 

I just ordered a Bell Raceworks rear differential brace from Z1 Motorsports. One reason was to get entered into their drawing for $1,000 store credit. It is also supposed to help with wheel hop and firm up the rear end. We shall see. I hope I can install this in my driveway just using hand tools.

 

 

I talked to Jon at Z1 who said I probably need to disconnect the rear differential from the subframe and slide it forward, but I do not need to disconnect it from the stub axles. Hopefully, it is not too much of a PITA.

It is designed to work with the Z1 cover which makes me think that it is weird that it is not a Z1 part. Maybe the original diff cover has the same mounting holes and I just forgot about them?

It would be nice if it got rid of the wheel hop, but I am guessing it will only slightly improve it as well as slightly tighten up the rear end. It's not like I need to lay black stripes wherever I go, but it would be easier to spin cupped tires flat if I keep having wear issues with my new alignment.

I agree with you on the big "B" cutout. The first thing I thought was, "Damn American made products. Don't they know what the hell they are doing?" But it looks like it is stamped steel so they could probably cut out a lot more without it really making any difference.

 

That looks pretty cool, I've never seen that brace before. Let us know how that install goes and your impressions of it. I might take a gander under my car and see if the stock diff cover has those mounting holes.

 

Yeah, I don't understand either. Considering the Z1 product line, why don't they make this themselves?

Since you already have the Z1 cover, and since you have hop... I'd jump on this, too (no pun).

Doesn't make sense for me because I don't have the cover, and as much as I think the Z1 diff cover is cool, I don't need it. So that means buying the cover purely for awesome underside bling, and to support this diff brace which I probably don't need either, because no hop.

But I'll be honest, when I saw that pic, I sat right up and was interested. G'luck. Looking forward to reading more about this.

 

Looks like I will finally get a chance to test out these new snow tires. (Pardon the fuzzy zoomed in pick from quite a distance)

 

Dorifto time!

 

Yup, the majority of the drive home will probably be sideways once I get comfortable with the amount of grip provided by the new treads. (I'm hoping for lots of grip)

 

We got 6 inches of snow last night and the new Blizzak WS-80 tires performed as good as you could expect. I almost have to start out in 2nd gear (probably due more to the rear gears than the extra power). The best part is I never felt like I was losing grip or out of control. I still miss AWD when we get substantial snow, but these tires are a huge improvement over the "all-season" tires that came on the car that would not allow it to move in 1-2" of snow.

 

Well my car hit 40 just before I did. 40,000 miles that is (I turn 40 in March). And to celebrate it threw the air bag light for no apparent reason.

 

Not even broken in...the car that is lol

 

Haha! Yes, I am definitely beyond the break in period.