Track Bandit

iTrader: (1)

Just thought you might want to see a few pictures of how the G37S does on a fast track. Mods. to the car were Hotchkiss sways, Eibach Pro Kit springs with stock shocks, Hawk HP+ pads, GTech strut brace, and an added GTM oil cooler kit. Track conditions: 130 degrees on track, 105 degrees ambient air; clear and dry. Yes that means HOT! The big X on the windshield marks it as an instructor's car.

The first photo shows me coming down from turn 9 after passing those two cars. Speeds of up to 120 mph and getting ready to brake real hard for turn 10 cambered left turn which is in the third photo. Second photo is heading up to turn 5 where you brake hard, and quickly fall over the top to long drop toward a right handed negative cambered sweeper. Great view of track from there if you had the time to look. Third photo is me being chased by an Audi R8-V8 all wheel drive. After a few quick corners, I let him go by on the next straight. Fourth photo is turn 11 which is a slight uphill 100 degree left hander which then flattens out to a quick right and left "S" turn before the back straight.

I was pushing the car pretty hard and as you can see she has very little lean and the grip was pretty good considering I'm on stock tires. The only fault with the suspension setup was that my rear sway bar was set too stiff. The car felt very darty which could be alignment as well. I'll be changing that pretty soon. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but that only seemed to occur after installing the GTech strut brace. It seems that brace is causing the front end to grip really well. The oil cooler did it's job extremely well. No limp mode that I could detect at any time. However my 7 speed Auto did give me some rev. overruns on shifting depending on when I shifted. Seems at 6K rpm it was quick and right there, any higher or lower by around 500 rpm then it would often jump 500 rpm and then when the gear engaged fully, drop down to it's correct rpm. I also noticed that the gearing on the 7 speed auto seems to allow for upshifting sooner on longer straights to reduce engine RPM's and thus engine heat and then during braking, down shifting to the correct gear for the coming corner. Still fun to drive and all passengers were amazed at the acceleration and handling of this large car.

Next mod if I continue to track would be a tranny. oil cooler kit. Also it would be nicer if the tranny. had quicker and more positive shifts but I'm not upgrading to a GTM tranny upgrade at this time.

Al

Track Star

iTrader: (1)

Nice to see some people believe in tracking this car. I come from a long line-up of cars, all of which i have tracked, and i plan on tracking this G sedan too (got the 6 spd because i knew i would end up doing it lol). Looks like you had a lot of fun and enjoyed it. That makes me more confident about taking mine out on the track the first chance i get ........ Coming soon Nice pics btw

Track Bandit

iTrader: (1)

Yeah the track photographer does a great job and I especially liked the first one. I've rarely seen one like that which gives it a great 3 dimensional look on the true drop from turn 9 to 10. With the right setup this car kicks butt.

Al

kaoticdemize

iTrader: (2)

was the photography the got blue milk people? They took some nice ones for me at sonoma. Yeah that straight befor 10 is fast, but you gotta come down in speed so much, need to work on my late braking for that one.

Track Bandit

iTrader: (1)

Yeah those are the people. They take some good shots and the color is dead on. Better than the other guys a couple of years ago. You're right about turn 10 except it's got a nice positive camber to work with so it's a fun corner to hustle through. Still as your approaching it real fast, it adds to the pucker power you feel if you're braking isn't done just right. It was a good day for those shots even though it was a little warm.

Al

kaoticdemize

iTrader: (2)

Im heading to the one at laguna onthe 7th of Novembe, you heading to that one?

Track Bandit

iTrader: (1)

I might. It's supposed to be a major event for McClarens so that would be nice to see them run. That's a long drive for just one day and the cost for gas etc. Still it might be fun to put the G through the "Corkscrew" turn and I do love the track. I fear Sears (Sonoma Raceway) more than I do Laguna. There's more runoff room at Laguna but turn 9 can bite your *** and so can turn 2 if you over cook the front straight and your brakes don't hang on. The rest of the course is just plain fun if you pay attention. And I'm still running only on street tires which isn't as much fun as stickier tires but the "G" holds it's own even on street rubber.

I'll know more in a week or so. Take care,

Al

ashmostro

iTrader: (3)

Very good pics! I'm quite interested in your thoughts on your brakes and any fade you may have experienced. Is the only mod to the brakes your pads? What fluid are you using?

I have a rather similar setup to yours alebit on a sedan and I'm tracking in a few weeks at West Virginia's Summit Point. I'm also rocking a 7AT.

My setup is/will be:
- Racingbrake ET500 pads, no shims
- Motul RBF600 fluid
- Z1 SS lines
- Z1/Nismo 34-row oil cooler
- Michelin PSS tires on OEM coupe 19's
- Stock springs and shocks
- Eibach Sways set to F-softer, R-stiffest

My only concerns are lack of a trans cooler, and potential overheating of the pads. What I have going for me is the ambient is going to be cccold up in WV in early November. Next year if I still have the car I will do something about both.

Again, interested to hear about setup problems you may have had, or what you might do next to make the car more track-stable.

Track Bandit

iTrader: (1)

No real setup problems. I just had to have the dealer install the new front springs to the shocks due to the dual pressured shocks used on the "S" model which make it very difficult to attach the shock nut on the upper perch. Make sure they clock the upper perch correctly to the shock or it won't fit right with the brake line bolt. I did the actual install on the car both front and rear. Rear was a piece of cake and quick. The stock car definitely has too much body roll so your sways were a good first upgrade. However you have to get the Center of Gravity of the car lower to the ground for greater turn in response, traction in corners and even less body roll. I had only minor toe issues when the alignment was checked and that was brought back into spec. during the alignment. The additional camber did not change much and the toe would do more wear on the tire than the camber in this case. The car is now a different animal. No big brake dive when braking real hard or big transition changes in the body. You can now point the car to where you want it to go and from there just get it on. Super fun to drive. Do the springs from the Eibach Pro Kit. They are great for this car. If you need more than that, then you're really driving the pants off the car and should be looking for a good set of coil overs like KW's V3 setup. Good luck and have fun.

Al

ashmostro

iTrader: (3)

Good post buddy, thanks!

I'm leaning towards Koni yellows + the new sedan swift springs that just came out, or coils like you said. Haven't decided yet and wont until next year anyway

Plus I want to keep some things stock for my first (and maybe second) track day on her so that I have a baseline to compare from and measure actual performance improvements vs just perception.

So fun!

kaoticdemize

iTrader: (2)

my suspension set up is the KWv3's with hochkis sway bars, gt spec braces and love the stifness out there missed the track day though had a new baby so priorities lol.