In car video of the SPL 300ZX at VIR North, driven by Ryan Hampton:

[[email protected]]

In car video of the SPL 300ZX at VIR North, driven by Ryan Hampton:

lowrez (40MB)
http://www.splparts.com/events/grm0707/time1low.wmv

hirez (90MB)
http://www.splparts.com/events/grm0707/time1mid.wmv

This was from the Grassroots Motorsports Magazine Ultimate Track Car Challenge on Jul 27. This was an invitation only event that saw a number of very serious race cars (eg. Viper Competition Coupe, Mosler MT900) and some very oddball ones (eg. 78 Ford Fairmont). Several well known racers were present: Tommy Archer (SpeedWorld GT, FIA GT, Grand Am), Chip Herr (SpeedWorld Touring), James Clay (SpeedWorld Touring). Some pictures from the event:

http://www.splparts.com/events/grm0707/42.jpg

SPL Z chased by 2nd place finisher, a 680hp carbon fiber/aluminum tubbed Mosler MT900S:

http://www.splparts.com/events/grm0707/DSC_0205.jpg

http://www.splparts.com/events/grm0707/DSC_0171.jpg

VIR is a gorgeous track, I wish there was a track like that in Texas We had some bad luck that day -- we lost the first practice session due to a loose crank angle sensor connector, and we lost the last session because I forgot to latch the hood pins (which destroyed the windshield when it flew up). We ran basically just 2 sessions, one session was running from the back of the grid with dampers and tire pressure not setup for VIR (due to us missing the practice session) and the second session had a lot of traffic which just gave us just 1 clear lap to set the time. Still we finished pretty well, final standing was 4th in class, behind a ALMS GT2 class (heard from grapevine, it did have Michelin slicks) Viper Comp Coupe, a 680hp Mosler MT900 and a 630rwhp Noble M400:

Varsity Shop (10 entries)
1) 1:28.401 Tommy Archer Dodge Viper CompCoupe
2) 1:33.794 Chet Fillip Mosler MT900S
3) 1:35.973 Derek Whitis Noble M400
4) 1:35.990 Ryan Hampton Nissan 300ZX TT (SPL)
5) 1:36.157 Robert Fuller Mitsubishi Evo 8 MR (Buschur Racing)

For reference, these are the NASA lap records for VIR North:

http://www.splparts.com/events/grm0707/NASALapRecords0507.jpg

Also I found out later that the car was only running 14psi of boost, instead of 22psi that it should run. So we were way down on power (probably in the low 400rwhp). The boost problem was traced to a ruptured boost hose (should have shielded that properly):

http://www.splparts.com/events/grm0707/HPIM0689.jpg

Did pretty well for the amount of horsepower we actually had, goes to show how much suspension and aero setup is worth

Look out for the Nov issue of Grassroots Motorsports for the article about this event!

[steve shadows]

thanks for starting my day off right.

with some badassterous shit

[tacotacotaco]

Damn so nice so so nice.

[UNITEDMASTER]

Hello very nice congrats on your finish position. Let me guess that was the session with all the traffic.

[gotta240]

What car was at about 5:20??? Looked like a metro...lol.

Nice video and badass car..

[swayray]

that guy in the white tshirt and alpine stars cap look like Bucky Fellini....

[[email protected]]

Hello very nice congrats on your finish position. Let me guess that was the session with all the traffic.

The video was actually from the second session of the day (our first one out since we did not really run the practice session). We were gridded last because they gridded us based on the lap times from the practice session. So Ryan had to drive through alot of traffic, we actually set the 3rd fastest time of this session despite the traffic.

The third session we were gridded third, usually that would mean we get a few clean laps at the beginning of the session before we hit the back of the pack (due to the big disparity in lap times ~20s between the front runner and the back). But unfortunately the car that was gridded second just ahead of us had a loose dipstick, and had to pit in after 2 relatively slow laps, after that we got only about 1.5 clear laps before we hit traffic.

[[email protected]]

What car was at about 5:20??? Looked like a metro...lol.


Its a 429whp Plymouth Colt w/ 4G63 turbo swap:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2562393/1

You can see that we had difficulty pulling on that little car on the straights :)

[Neejay]

Its a 429whp Plymouth Colt w/ 4G63 turbo swap:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2562393/1

You can see that we had difficulty pulling on that little car on the straights :)

That car is fucking nice.

Good run for your 300zx. Thanks for sharing!

[westcoastpj]

good video..fast car.how much would it make running 22lb

[a_ahmed]

I love this car :) But compared to the last time attack videos i saw of it, it seemed to be less stable somehow or something, might be just me imagining things after a long night shift lol...

It seemed like it was more sensitive like it had too much toe or something and it seemed to be less mean like less power but I guess you said it already it was running lower boost :(

None the less, such an awesome super cool car :D I love it :D

[[email protected]]

good video..fast car.how much would it make running 22lb

It probably makes about 550whp at 22lbs...

[[email protected]]

I love this car :) But compared to the last time attack videos i saw of it, it seemed to be less stable somehow or something, might be just me imagining things after a long night shift lol...

It seemed like it was more sensitive like it had too much toe or something and it seemed to be less mean like less power but I guess you said it already it was running lower boost :(

None the less, such an awesome super cool car :D I love it :D

It is more sensitive but that's because we are running Pirelli slicks vs. Nitto NT-01 tires :) The handling overall was good, although we still needed stiffer springs, even though we are running F18kg/mm R14kg/mm now :eek:

[Relentless350Z]

Nice work Kuah! Impressive finish my friend. I would not be upset by 4th at all if the top three looked like that :D.

[[email protected]]

Nice work Kuah! Impressive finish my friend. I would not be upset by 4th at all if the top three looked like that :D.

Thanks Mike!

If the car was on full boost and we did not have the bad luck, we would probably have a podium finish. And beating the Noble or Mosler would have made us heroes :)

[Relentless350Z]

Eh, its the story of every grassroots racer's life :). You coming to SEMA?

[kandyflip445]

That's mean. lol

[LB.Motoring]

Pretty impressive, props.

[Flipzide]

ooooohhh ahhh! i love it!

[bardabe]

makes me lean towards the Z32 in my new cars options. ha ha

[[email protected]]

Eh, its the story of every grassroots racer's life :). You coming to SEMA?

Unfortunately not, can't afford it, we've spent way too much this year attending the time attacks :(

[[email protected]]

makes me lean towards the Z32 in my new cars options. ha ha

Hate to say it but it wouldn't be my first choice, its heavy and expensive to build :) This was more to showcase what we can do with tuning, suspension and aero, with a car that is generally considered to be too heavy to be competitive.

[Edgar]

great great great driving

[Relentless350Z]

Unfortunately not, can't afford it, we've spent way too much this year attending the time attacks :(

Yeah I can imagine. You have traveled a crazy amount of miles this year. Well, Scott and I will let you know how it went :).

[a_ahmed]

It is more sensitive but that's because we are running Pirelli slicks vs. Nitto NT-01 tires :) The handling overall was good, although we still needed stiffer springs, even though we are running F18kg/mm R14kg/mm now :eek:

:ugh: F18kg/mm and R14kg/mm :loco:

:keke:

lol okay then, that is nuts :D Wow. I can't even imagine how that is :aw:

If I recall once reading a few articles on this car, its still street driven (or at least used to be? so i guess its no longer or is it haha?) :aw:

ps - Btw, was that you on the phone that i spoke with? I anxiously await my spl tour of parts order to arrive soon lol (you said this week well 24th+). It'll be my last set of parts (aside from wheel bearings) before i winter store my vehicular baby :coolugh: been waiting on those tie rods since end of may :D

[sr240mike]

The car looks pretty twitchy. Awesome car though. Makes me miss my z.

[steve shadows]

It reminds me a lot of my car which is kind of funny, the sound is a little dif, but straight line accel looks pretty similar, cant read the speedo.

but looks like would be a fun ride.

[articdragon192]

I love it Kuah. Gives me inspirations for my Z32.

[[email protected]]

ps - Btw, was that you on the phone that i spoke with? I anxiously await my spl tour of parts order to arrive soon lol (you said this week well 24th+). It'll be my last set of parts (aside from wheel bearings) before i winter store my vehicular baby :coolugh: been waiting on those tie rods since end of may :D

Yup that was me. Hoping to ship out end of the week, although the nickel plating place said it may take slightly longer...

[[email protected]]

It reminds me a lot of my car which is kind of funny, the sound is a little dif, but straight line accel looks pretty similar, cant read the speedo.


Acceleration should be similar since the car had a massive boost leak and was only producing 14psi of boost, which would be low 400whp.