DAZDA

Factors that may affect how heavy the steering is in a Zed; Lots of Castor Scrub Radius Too much Toe-In Ball Joint condition Strut top bearing condition Tyre pressure Tyre width and profile Steering Rack condition Steering arm length (if they are shorter than OEM ones) Could be one or a combination of a few of these. A car with a steering rack and no power steering is always going to be 'relatively' heavy but it shouldn't be a struggle to drive it.

Not a Zed, not even a Datsun/Nissan, but a PB for me. Wakefield Park - 1m 07.47s Mazda RX-7 (FD) - OEM twin turbos, 11PSI Boost, coilovers, and secondhand Dunlop slicks. 36281_904bdd0334e861d2fcdd08907769ec9b17cfab21.pdf

FD RX-7

Chassis – ‘73 240Z Engine – Standard L28, Round Top SU-style Carburettors, Points Ignition, Standard Cam, etc (from factory when new the carby L28 had ~100kW at the flywheel) so this one probably has about 80kW at the wheels at best... Brakes – Standard - Solid Discs on the front and Drums on the rear Suspension – King Springs (Low), new shocks Tyres – Very second-hand 14" semi-slicks Phillip Island - 2m04.5s

2013 Datsun Nationals Super Sprint Phillip Island Car 14 First of all, sorry I didnt really get a chance to catch-up with any of the guys from these forums. By the time we travelled the 9 hours form Canberra, did doco, got the car off the trailer, got some food sorted, it was time to get some sleep. My only complaint was all the people standing around talking and therefore taking up space for people that had just arrived from interstate and needed somewhere to park their car/van/trailer/etc. at the Ramada. Now I understand why people say Phillip Island is such a great track, having never raced there before I got a bit of a shock at just how FAST and smooth the track is! The familiarisation run was a real eye-opener (scared the sh*t out of myself and I wasnt even trying to go fast)! I had to try to work out the following for 12 turns in just three laps; Braking points Turn-in points Corner entry speeds Clipping points Exit points (especially for corners where there was an important braking area afterwards) Had a ball though!! By the end of the day I managed a 2m04.5s lap which gave me 6th out of 21 in my class according to the Natsoft times (and in my view one or two of those probably should have been in the race classes). For my first ever visit to PI in a car with standard brakes (solid discs and drums), standard engine (~80kW atw), open diff, standard gearbox, etc., Im pretty happy with that. I also learned about the Cape Barren geese on Phillip Island, apparently the sound of very loud race cars doesnt stop them wandering on to the track and standing on the apex of a high speed corner!! If I wasnt scaring myself enough, the geese were trying to help! Pictue here with the inside rear almost in the air! http://www.sdpics.com/cgi-bin/e-store/index.cgi?action=view&link=8000~Motor_Sport/9000~Cars/05~Car_Club_Track_Days/9903~30_March_2013_-_NISSAN_DATSUN_NATIONALS/2~Group_4&image=A64H2528.jpg&img=80&tt= The organisers did a FANTASTIC job, however there are a few little areas for improvement IMO; Not once did my armband get checked and Not once, in pit lane, did the car get checked for the appropriate group coloured dot or scrutineering sticker So really, anyone with a Datsun/Nissan and a number on the side could have driven out onto the track.

Can't get much in 14" And the few that you can are either narrow or medium to hard compound. Although I'm sure all you guys run much bigger wheels than 14".

I had a go a 'start point' wheel alignment here; http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,7422.0.html

These might fit??? http://www.maddat.com.au/products/LCA1600.htm Down the bottom http://www.maddat.com.au/suspension-parts.php

I know - I'm not an idiot. I said "Race Style". So youre saying a PMC L-series with individual throttle bodes (Webers, injection, whatever), electronic ignition, big cam, heavily modified, with 300hp+ should be in the same group as a ~100hp from factory (points ignition, Twin SU style, stock engine) L-series? If so, that's fine. I just want to be sure what people think is the interpretation of this is...

How are people interpretting this? Even if you don't have a roll cage, I would have thought anyone running a non-Lseries engine or a race style L-series (PMC engine for example) would have to be in the 'Race cars' catagory?

http://www.camsmanual.com.au/pdf/10_gen_req/GQ11_Schedule_J_2013-5.pdf Section 11 (Page 7) Most places like Revolution RaceGear should sell it. http://www.revolutionracegear.com.au/index.php?PSO=245&PSID=360078001&PSV=Primary&EGPUID=103710

Sorry guys I won't be able to make it this time. I'll be attending the biggest and fastest car show in Australia, the 2013 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix!

Mick, I have never actually stayed near Wakefield (Canberra is only 1 hour from Wakefield Park), but I would have thought any reasonable hotel in the middle of Goulburn (5-10 minutes from Wakefield Park) would be fine... That way even if you don't like the beer at that pub it should only be stumbling distance to a few others. Not sure I've been much help, sorry.

I don't know the Group S Prod. Sport rules so that doesn't help me... Top work! Yep, stock L-series engine (incl. stock camshaft, SU copies, no big bore big stroke stuff, points ignition, etc) Standard gearbox Standard open diff Road legal tyres Standard brakes (solid discs on the front, drums on the rear). I'm just trying to work out what time I should be aiming for as a first timer to PI...

What would be a reasonable time around PI for a Zed with a stock engine (~80kW at the wheels) and standard brakes?

Well that entry form is as clear as mud. I gather I can select whichever options from the list I want? OR is it that, if you don't select the 'Nationals Package' then you must select the 'Basic Package' and then add whichever options you want as extras to the 'Basic Package'?

Apparently Magnas of that era are sensitive to low battery voltages. I was having issues (2000 Manga auto) with the alarm resetting (and not recognising the remote keys) and the engine turning off just after starting (perfectly). The battery was about 4 years old and borderline according to my multi-meter. Put in a new battery and all my problems went away and have been gone for 6 months.

http://www.pitstop.net.au/view/products/page/query/plu/9224/ $40. And maybe $10 postage and its usually next day delivery to capital cities in Oz.

Unless you are chasing electronic controls theory and feed-back loop algorithms for active suspension, none of the books listed above are out-dated. The physics principles that apply to the dynamics of a vehicle during cornering have been the same since the first motorsied carriage in the late 1800s... the only difference now is how they are applied. These are all good books; Allan Staniforth - Competition Car Suspension: Design, Construction, Tuning Fred Puhn - How to make your car handle Milliken & Milliken - Racecar Vehicle Dynamics This book is more like a university text book, and by far the most in-depth Carroll Smith - Tune to Win, Drive to Win, etc Once you've read all these, you'll work out two things, [*]Suspension design and set-up is all about compromises and making the right ones [*]In some cases there is more speed to be gained by spending money on the driver (and improving his skills) than the car

Aren't you making some assumptions there? Like the personal situations of the 5 or 6 key people don't change enough to stop them focusing on the club? Also, it depends on what you believe the clubs whole philosophy should be built on; A club built and run by a handful of people and others can join but only if they are happy with the structure and outputs of the club Or, that the committee is there to enact the wishes of the club majority (which is why IMO clubs having 'votes' on key decisions not just voting to elect committee members is important I'm not saying which model is right for the proposed club, merely trying to give some food for thought. Please don't take any of this the wrong way, what you are proposing sounds fantastic and I would be very interested in joining if I was in Victoria.

First and foremost, in general I am in favour of becoming a club. My main concern is that unlike a job (where you get paid and are required to tow-the-line), car club committee members are generally volunteers and, in most clubs I have been a member of at least, they struggle to get people to be on the committee. And the clubs which do manage to get volunteers, the volunteers often suffer at the hands of those quick to criticise but aren’t prepared to help themselves. The other thing that tends to happen is, that sometimes those who are motivated enough to volunteer usually have their own personal agenda and as a result put that ahead of the ‘majority’s’ view. But then use the excuse that they are a committee member and therefore 'if others don't like it, they should join the committee'. It is not easy for some people to do what the club members want them to do (as a representative of the club) even if they personally don’t agree with it… Like Scott, I won't really be able to utilise the things on offer (since I'm not in Vic), so take my view with a grain of salt.

There is some info in these threads... http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,9874.0.html http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,9370.0.html Consider trying to get adjustable anti-roll bars. I'd recommend adding 'adjustability' to any new suspension parts being added to a track car.

I won't be able to make it, sorry. I have a family function on the same day.

For the inlet valves when cold, yes 0.2mm.