Rolling with the FX1-pro seat. Looks pretty good and I figure I can swap it out quick for the daily drive.... but not until tuesday

I did some weighing and the stock seat (w/motor) was about 46 lbs.
The corbeau + brackets is 28.
Net loss: 18 lbs. Well, better than nothing. Cost: $418.

 

I like those seats and all, but I don't wanna loose my power on my stockers.... too bad you can't get a power racing seat or can you?

 

Let me know how you like the front/back seat position after you install. Also, when bolting it into the car, the rear bolts are the toughest (especially the driver side one) and I'd suggest doing them first. Don't tighten all the way until you get the fronts lined up which might be tricky, my bracket fit was slightly off and I kinda stripped one front bolt getting it in. Flex the bracket as much as you can. If you're keeping the stock seatbelt attached on the pass side of the seat, take out that spacer, and as much extra stuff as possible to keep it from poking the armrest area. Oh, also, think about your harness and threading it through stuff BEFORE bolting everything down and tightening.

 

Sorry Tek-Niq I haven't heard of such a thing. There is a trade off between luxury and performance. It's often hard to find both in one product for a low price. The closest I've seen are the Street Seats from Sparco. Sparco is a superb brand for racing seats. I have used them in friends car's on the Streets of Willow road racing course and they are freakin spectacular. They do everything you expect them to do which is hold you in place and support you so you can concentrate on driving your racing line. Oh yeah, you gotta use a 4pt harness to truly get the most from the racing seat. 4pt Harnesses rule...

Unfortunately quality comes at a cost. The cheapest adjustable (seat angle as opposed to fixed angle) racing seat is $499 retail. Check em out here at this link to Sparco USA's Street Seats.

Enjoy the seat, Spaniard!

 

Or get a Bride seat...

Anyway, Spaniard, are you going to the T-hill event next weekend?

 

hey thanx... they do have some awsome color choices.... this is why i was thinking about them, is a cool way to make the interior two tone and have a good seat with it..

 

Thanks guys, the seat is in and its pretty sweet! I appreciate the tips on the install-

Yep I will be at T-hill next weekend... And on coilovers too!

 

Spaniard, if you have a digi cam handy while you're at Thunderhill take a photo of that installed seat. I've never seen a racing seat in a Maxima before. Do you have a 4pt harnesses? Harness bar? 4pt roll bar? I just went to a track day this past Friday and I'm still excited from it.

What coilover setup are you running? Do you have both F/R strut tower braces, lower tie bar and rear anti-sway? Big brake upgrade? Basic bolt-ons? What kind of rubber? I go to the track every chance I get but unfortunately it's never in my own car...
I usually am co-driver/passenger which isn't all that bad I guess. What cars have you passed coming out a corner into a long straight section?

Pardon all my questions...answer as you see fit.
Have a great time, bro.

 

Hey there-
Got the k-sports, with F/R strut tower braces, LTB-2, poly bushings, RSB... On Toyo proxes T1-S 225/50/15 (mostly because they are 20 lbs, 280 treadwear isnt great, but they last!)
The best news is that the LTB,bushings,and coilovers are NEW - never tried them on a track yet !!! Oh boy oh boy!

No BBK, all the power mods tho, except FI.

Im sticking with the regular seat belt because no roll bar/cage and in the case of a rollover ive heard it said that the 4-pt harness prevents you from ducking your head in case of roof collapse (and killing you )

Heck man, if you want to see some sweet passing check this video out:

http://eleventenths.com/maxima/Infin...fic_Battle.wmv (18 megs)

Ive got a lot of movies at www.eleventenths.com/maxima

And I will try to get a pic of the seat, I have lost my digital camera, darn it.
Cheers!

 

Wow, I can't belive you passed a Miata, STi, and an NSX within a few laps.

I saw you keeping up with the white STi very nicely, and I know how much HP they make, so how were you able to keep up with him on the straights? Do you have enough power/weight savings to do that? This is a video I can show all my friends..heheh

great driving! please take me for a ride one day.

 

that STI driver was scared after awhile, he kept turning too wide,HAHAHAHA...... but overall I would love to do something like that man, awsome driving dude keep it up......

 

I have to admit I was super stoked to keep up with and pass the STi.

I figure Im at 2850, the STi is 3263 curb weight. Ive got lighter and smaller wheels so knock off another 100 lbs. effective weight... (assuming about 3 lbs lighter at each point and smaller diameter, its quite reasonable to me..

So If Im at 235 HP and he is at 300, my effective weight 2750

thats makes my hp/wt:
.08545
his
.09194
a difference of about 7.5% in his favor and that explains the slight pull on me he was doing in the straights.

However, truth be told (and shame on me for not mentioning this sooner) I was in an inexperienced run group... So he might not have been revving it up to his peak HP what with the turbo and my being N/A might not have been quite as disadvantaged through the RPM band. Just conjecture of course.

Im actually a bit more stoked about my fastest lap vid, but its hard to get as into it when there is no passing or other cars. Hopefully I will put it to shame soon as the car is totally born again on k-sport coilovers, ES bushings, and corbeau seat. Of course the danger is that I wreck what with the total change of car characteristics... Not sure yet but it seems like the car is REALLY ready to oversteer.. Will probably have some good vids in about 10 days!

 

Spaniard-

I just watched some of your videos...specifically the Infineon_Traffic_Battle.
At first I was shocked to see you on the tail of an STi then to see you pass it just amazed me...but then I watched it a few more times and like you said the other drivers seemed to be a bit inexperienced and looked to be driving only about 7/10's.

The STi either was too scared/inexperienced to push his car to what it can actually do or didnt want to...prob too scared. He seemed to be braking too early and too hard. He could of delayed his braking zone carrying more speed into the corners putting a real load on his suspension. The long straight followed by the right hand turn where you passed him: You took advantage of his unnecessary early braking followed by his wide, late apex entry and was enough for you to pass him on the inside taking the early apex = Niiiice. His racing lines weren't all that impressive...it looks like he was watching his rear view mirror as much as his front windshield and at times I swear he blocked you from overtaking him. His ego couldn't handle being passed by a FWD NA grocery getter! HA!

Spaniard, you have some true driving skills...I can tell. You have clean, racing lines. You seemed to be driving about 8/10's mainly because the other slower drivers were holding you back. Your calculations seem correct about the effective weight. I bet if you and the STi driver switched cars for a couple laps you would end up in front and stay there.

Before I saw your video, I had my doubts about the track worthy-ness of my Maxima and other gens...but not anymore. You have single handedly (sp?) inspired me to take my Max to the track. Only thing holding me back are the finances for engine/suspension/brake mods...there's no way I will run stock. Now that would be an ugly sight. With those coilovers you should be even faster. Maybe some day you can make it out to a Redline Track Day ($110/day!) at Willow Springs Int'l Raceway (Rosamond, CA) I want to see your car run at the Streets of Willow...that's quite a drive for you though coming from N.Cali. Can't wait to see your next video with new mods. Again, great driving.

 

seriously, you did a great job no matter what the conditions. Thanks for the great videos! Good luck with your new setup, post back how it goes.

 

Don't want to rain on your parade, but I now realise why you killed those rotors so bad.
It looks to me like you're riding around on the brakes half the time, and you're not using your engine compression to slow you down... you should ALWAYS have the car in gear and out on the clutch. I notice as you're braking into most corners, you put the clutch in while you're braking and you don't actually downshift and release the clutch until you should already be ont he gas heading out of the corners.
also, that wide, late, single-apex line going through the large hairpins is a fundamentally better way to go through the corner than hugging the inside like I see you doing through many of those typs of turns. Corner exit speed is what it's all about, and you're sacrificing probably 5mph on each corner by doing that.. that's 1/2- 1 second each time if you have a decently long straight in front of you. so on that course, it's easly 1-2 sec per lap you could make up by just two hard corners. There are a lot of other places that I can see you being able to carry much more speed through the corners- 5-10 mph in some of them. brake a little bit earlier, turn in a hair later, get on the gas sooner, and you'll come out of the corner much faster.
that easily makes the difference between getting around a car and walking away from them as yo go on.

I realise you're only driving about 7/10 and those are some inexperienced drivers, but there's a lot of room left on the track and a lot of time that can be made up by changing your line and braking habits a bit.


as for the brake issue, as I said.. brake a bit earlier, and do it with the engine in gear and clutch disengaged.. The engine will help slow you down, and it also help keep the engine cool by continually running the water pump. letting the car drop down to idle while you're braking for corners causes the engine to heat up, the brakes to do ALL of the work, causes a lurch in the front wheels when you put the car back in gear, and considerable wear on the clutch as you have to go from 700rpm up to 3-4000rpm.
If you keep the car in gear, it will save the engine, clutch, and brakes a lot of wear. Try practing heel-toe downshifting and even clutchless downshifting while you're putting around town. figure out the hard parts when you're not trying ton concentrate on a driving line, then next time you get to the track, you can do those things without putting much thought into it and you'll be amazed how much quicker you can run.

don't take that as a flame, but as constructive criticism... none of us can outdrive schumacher, so there's always room for improvement and we might as well learn from each other.

 

While I was watching the video something about his driving seemed sort of odd but I didn't really pay too much attention since I was watching the other drivers especially the white STi. Thanks for pinpointing it, Matt. I watched it again and yea he does pop it out of gear and let coast briefly while braking. I turned the volume up and it's more obvious now. Matt93SE makes some good points...

Matt93SE: Am I a tard or is it hard to heel-toe downshift with stock rubber pedals? I can't get proper contact with the brake and gas pedals. I've been meaning to get aftermarket metal pedals for better grip and easier heel-toe downshifting.

How do you do a clutchless downshift? upshift? Are you supposed to match the revs perfectly or what? Is this ok for the clutch/tranny/syncros?

 

I appreciate the feedback and the constructive critisism. You are right about some of what you say. Pardon the defensive tone here but please take what I am saying with a grain of salt and dont feel like I am taking offense... I take alot of pride in my driving...

But COME ON GUYS!!!
You can't take 1 clip of driving in traffic w/slower cars - in a track session where courtesy is critical... and assume you know a person's driving style inside and out!!

So, to continue my "defense":
I would argue the point about not slowing with the gears... 90% of the time I am making a point of doing it, because, as you point out, I can take it easy on the rotors.

Alot of what I do, I do because I am willing to sacrifice a second of laptime for a greatly reduced chance of an off, a spin, or a crash or a mechanical issue. I like taking an exaggerated inside line on off camber sweepers because it gives me 20 feet to recover..

Another factor is the problems I have with my clutch, if I push it hard it starts to slip in 3rd gear. A real bithnatch and super annoying. So I engage gingerly and do not blast the accelerator until it has fully "seeded"...

So when there is a car in front of me and it makes no point to braking hard or slow aggressively, or otherwise "be fast" I may take it easy on the clutch and not engage it to slow down... but this would be rare.

Now- to sound really defensive (but please do not take it as such)

I do use heel-toe downshifts to slow down...
Those rotors lasted 2 years - about 15 track days and 1.5 a/x seasons...

Tell you what, for a better opportunity to critique me, heres a movie of my fastest lap at the same location on that day, no one in the way to make me conserve... let me know if you can tell that I am doing anything wrong except for the conservative line on the more 'dangerous' turns (e.g. off camber or > 90 MPH and a wall 25 feet from the berm)...

IMO it represents a fast lap with almost no exposure to risk.
www.eleventenths.com/maxima/Infineon_Closeup.mpg
(30 megs, higher quality)

Lets make a point here- Im not flaming anyone for their points, just for the conclusion that I'm ignorant of the finer aspects of driving.

EDIT: sorry to be so reactive... I admit that I can improve... but I dont want to be underrated.. probably the way in which Im most immature

 

Spaniard- Yea that was a good lap. You flowed better than when you had to share the track with other drivers. Looked to be about 8/10's driving...didn't hear the tires howl if at all (had volume problems with this file). But like you were saying, you were being a bit conservative for safety's sake. It's really easy to talk about racing the perfect line and such but when it comes to actually doing it on the track it isn't as easy. Unless you're a seasoned road racer with hundreds of hours of seat time on numerous different tracks....myself NOT included.

Matt made some good points which should be just taken as constructive criticism if anything at all. I still get a kick out of watching that white STi trying to leave you behind only to have you swoop by on the inside...

Matt93SE or someone else: Can you answer my questions from previous reply about clutchless shifting? (see my reply above this one.)

 

Im sticking with the regular seat belt because no roll bar/cage and in the case of a rollover ive heard it said that the 4-pt harness prevents you from ducking your head in case of roof collapse (and killing you )

Hey Spaniard. We've talked about this before, and I encourage you to do more research in this matter. As a former racer and continuing track instructor, I have seen ( and been in) my share of rollovers.
THINK about the situation for a bit. IF you're in a rollover, will you have the presence of mind to duck your head? By the time the car lands on the roof, you'll either be hanging upside down on the headliner, b/c the 3-point won't KEEP YOU IN THE SEAT, or the G-Forces from the tumble, IF strong enough, COULD throw you around pretty good. Please don't forget you have arms, legs and your head, which ends being the most important (and delicate) body part. If you have 4 or 5-points, and they are properly installed, you will be anchored in the car and the seat, and the potential for injury is A LOT lower b/c nothing's flopping around.
If you're really concerned with roof collapse, then you need to just go ahead and strip the car and have an 8-point ROLL CAGE installed.
Do the research, then go pick up some 5-points, man, and don't forget your instructor, if he's riding, would like to feel as secure as you do!!
Have fun!

 

The artermarket pedal covers I have from AutoVation made a WORLD of difference in me being able to heel-toe. I could do it before with the right tweaking of my foot position, but with the pedals it's a zillion times easier. This is also in my 3rd gen and I'm sure the pedal placement is slightly different than yours. so I can't speak for your case.
your personal driving style and foot size/shape also have a lot to do with it. a few guys the other day were complaining about not being able to heel-toe in a 240Z.. man those cars were designed for it! They even have adjustable pedals from the factory so you can tweak them to fit your style!

As for how to do a clutchless downshift.. basically it's a pop out of gear/blip throttle to match revs/pop into next gear and hope you don't grind.
some transmissions are better at it than others.. my 240SX is absolute cake. I drive around town all day long and only use the clutch when I'm sitting at a light.. the Maxima is a different story. usually I'll still use the clutch, but I *can* do a clutchless downshift in it if I really try. the synchros and gates on the tranny are just too close and there's no wiggle room in them like the 240 has.

clutchless upshifts can't really be used at the track.. you have to pop it into neutral, wait for the revs to drop to the proper spot for the next gear, then click it in. it takes about a second or so on my engine to drop that many revs, when I could just tap the clutch and be in the next gear and back on the gas in 1/3 the time.


Spaniard, I'm glad you took my comments with a grain of salt, as I did yours. As you said, we're not racing.. These are just lapping days- nobody is really driving 100%. I guess I drive a lot harder on the track than most of you do. (then again, I don't have concrete walls at the edge of the tracks I run at.. plenty of runoff room if I do something stupid. I'm also not worried about the car. if I smash it up bouncing through the dirt, well eff it. it's a $2500 car and I grab a ride home and drive one of my other three cars.)


As for the other video, those open laps are 1000% better on line and speed, but the same comments still apply- only to a lesser extent. It seems like the first few corners, you could carry some more exit speed by adjusting your line a bit. if you'll watch closely, you're going into the corners really hot and howling the tires ('singing' tires are good. 'howling' is bad).. on the exit of the corners, you're following the line, but you've lost so much speed going in that the car really isn't working to stay on the line after the apex... you're just following the proper track-out line at that point.
basically, the same statement as before.. try braking a little earlier, turn a little later, and get back on the gas quicker.. just try it and see how it feels coming out of the corners. I'll bet you see some noticeable differences in straightaway speeds.

As for my comments on braking, they also still apply- even in traffic.
one of the things I was taught is that the longer you're applying the brakes- even if you're just barely on them- is that it's pads rubbing on the rotor. that's heat.. a long, gradual deceleration does more wear on the rotors than one sharp, hard brake before you turn in.
it goes against all engineering principles in that brakes work by converting kinetic engery into heat- so whether you stop from 100mph in 50 feet or 500 feet, they still absorb the same energy.. but the difference is the time you have the pads pressed against the rotors.. When you're dealing with racing (or lapping days to be technically correct), that can make a difference between rotors lasting a day or a season.. If you got almost 2 years out of a set of C/D rotors, then I'd say you did pretty good..
I still noticed you hitting the clutch while braking after some of the long straights.. you do blip the throttle before getting it back into gear, but that time while the clutch pedal is on the floor means the disc is spinning against the flywheel- even if very little tension is on it, it's still slipping.. that causes heat to build up and wear on the clutch parts. you want to leave the car in gear as much as you physically can.

that also keeps the water pump spinning and pumping coolant through the engine because your RPM are up.. same for compression braking. it saves wear on the brakes and doesn't hurt the engine at all- might burn a small amount of oil from blow-by on the rings, but that's the worst it's going to do.

it's late and I'm tired, but I think I touched on most of the points. I'm certainly not the best out there, but I've had a few days of lapping under my belt. hopefully I can help anyone that reads this with some friendly advice, and you guys can help me in turn later...