Distant Dream. We’ve been taking our time, and attempting to put together the most cost affective, track capable set up for our Z. We’ve chosen the Tein brand for Coil-Overs, Nismo for Sway Bars, and (Stop-tech for Brakes soon to come!)
Where:
Factory Weak Points
The stock dampers, springs, and brakes.
Why:
Stock Components
The factory struts and springs on our 03 350Z were great for a leisurely drive in the hills of New England, but not exactly what you would want when it came to living on that edge of proper racing line and 4 off excursions into one of the unfriendly walls of Lime Rock Park. So we set out to improve the handling characteristics of the car by lowering the ride height, stiffening up the dampers and reducing body roll.
Upgrades
Tein makes a great line of dampers. In fact it may be hard for you to decide which fits your application due to the extensive line up they offer. We decided to go with the Flex set up as it gave us a great ride when cruising and razor sharp handling when called for. By adding the EDFC system(too much work to try to adjust the struts w/o it on this car) you can adjust it from a supper firm race car feel to a nice smooth daily commuter with the touch of a button.
Nismo came through in the clutch and supplied us with a killer set of sway bars. The stock units allowed too much body roll for our taste giving the car the dreaded push mid-corner that is intentionally built into today’s cars. (OEM’s do this as is much easier to correct for most amateur drivers then an oversteer situation)
The combination of these sway bars with the Tein CO made this car a world away from just about anything we’ve ever driven. Turn is amazing, and the car is completely predictable even when steering and pedal inputs are more abrupt then they should be. As great and as this set up is it may not be for you. If you aren’t comfortable with managing weight transfer, or have limited experience with oversteer you probably want to wait a bit before installing these with a similar set of OC. The car will bite you if you have low eyes or don’t have quick hands. However if you have smooth quick hands and good feel for your car already this set up can’t be beat. It repeatedly got “WOW”’s at it’s mid corner g’s, and many of those who jumped in the right seat continuously tensed and grabbed the seat in the braking zones of our test course as the entry speeds were no where near where we were on our stock runs. All in all this car will keep up with anything I’ve driven in the twisties, including Vipers and Porsches (maybe not in the straights yet, but we’re working on it stay tuned!).
Where:
Factory Weak Points
The stock dampers, springs, and brakes.
Why:
Stock Components
The factory struts and springs on our 03 350Z were great for a leisurely drive in the hills of New England, but not exactly what you would want when it came to living on that edge of proper racing line and 4 off excursions into one of the unfriendly walls of Lime Rock Park. So we set out to improve the handling characteristics of the car by lowering the ride height, stiffening up the dampers and reducing body roll.
Upgrades
Tein makes a great line of dampers. In fact it may be hard for you to decide which fits your application due to the extensive line up they offer. We decided to go with the Flex set up as it gave us a great ride when cruising and razor sharp handling when called for. By adding the EDFC system(too much work to try to adjust the struts w/o it on this car) you can adjust it from a supper firm race car feel to a nice smooth daily commuter with the touch of a button.
Nismo came through in the clutch and supplied us with a killer set of sway bars. The stock units allowed too much body roll for our taste giving the car the dreaded push mid-corner that is intentionally built into today’s cars. (OEM’s do this as is much easier to correct for most amateur drivers then an oversteer situation)
The combination of these sway bars with the Tein CO made this car a world away from just about anything we’ve ever driven. Turn is amazing, and the car is completely predictable even when steering and pedal inputs are more abrupt then they should be. As great and as this set up is it may not be for you. If you aren’t comfortable with managing weight transfer, or have limited experience with oversteer you probably want to wait a bit before installing these with a similar set of OC. The car will bite you if you have low eyes or don’t have quick hands. However if you have smooth quick hands and good feel for your car already this set up can’t be beat. It repeatedly got “WOW”’s at it’s mid corner g’s, and many of those who jumped in the right seat continuously tensed and grabbed the seat in the braking zones of our test course as the entry speeds were no where near where we were on our stock runs. All in all this car will keep up with anything I’ve driven in the twisties, including Vipers and Porsches (maybe not in the straights yet, but we’re working on it stay tuned!).
- E
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