Thinking about tracking the FX...

[sir21]

:tongue (2):

 

[kieranlavin]

Any tips or suggestions for those that have tracked their FX before?

Find a club that will provide you with instruction. Going and doing it alone is intimidating and you will either not learn anything or you'll learn bad habits. Personally, I run with NASA in the Northeast but there are tons of options out there. Careful though as some clubs "don't allow SUV's" so you should probably ask. When you get to the track, absorb as much information as you can from your instructor. Driving the FX or any car for that matter is MUCH different than driving on the street.

as for wheels I'm still thinking about a set of 22" mono blocks, i know its going to be heavy as heck although running GTRs or a lighter 20" set of wheels would be very nice too, still debating because I don't feel like sitting on two sets of wheels.

GTSpec stopped selling the under braces and I was hoping to get those too. I might have a set of custom coils made since we only have springs and that's going to suck at a track.

Don't bother with wheels, tires, or suspension work. For your first several track days, you will not be nearly at the point of needing or being able to use any of those modifications. The best advice any novice will get after doing their first event (or two or three) is that the best modification the student can spend their money on is more track time. Do several events and understand what the car is doing and be able to evaluate the feedback that the car is giving you before modifying it. It would be MUCH easier to learn how to drive in a stock FX than one with tens of thousands of dollars worth of modifications done.

Turbo did a ton of suspension work and had a professional driver take his FX on the track with favorable results. I think he was running his 22's. His thread is too long to find it for you..

I'm flattered but I'm far from a professional. Even with all of the suspension work that John has done to his FX, there are certain characteristics that I noticed in his FX that I also have in my (stock) FX. I am not convinced that any amount of suspension work will wipe away the fact that the FX is top-heavy. It's a matter of physics which we will not overcome. I would *LOVE* for someone to bring their FX to the track and let me push it and prove to me otherwise....

yeah, fx is a heavy beast and it will want to understeer like crazy...

So, when are you bringing your beast back to the track? 7/14-15 we'll be back at Pocono if you want to come back up and let me have another run at it

20" sizes are a bit harder to find though. Good thing is there's options thanks to the GT-R.

Funny enough... I helped a friend source some track wheels/tires for his GTR and the best option out there was 18" wheels/tires. It looks silly but they were the best option. The most expensive too but money isn't much of an object with this guy since he also has a 458, Raptor, Cayenne Turbo, Range Rover something another, etc, etc, etc

That all wheel steering isn't much if its anything like the old. He passed them up because he could push his to the limit compared to the z and m3 didn't or didn't know how. He was the better driver.

Going back to what I said above.... get more seat time. Seat time will make you a better driver. It's how I went to Homestead-Miami last weekend and was faster than a Miata on Hoosiers and almost as fast as a Jaguar XKR ... in an Altima Hybrid!

I'm all for tracking the FX but I think there is quite a bit of optimism about what the performance parts will do for you on a track. For daily driving I agree that the braces make the ride feel more solid and I know with a lot of time and attention you can dial in the suspension like Turbocad did. Anything else may improve the feel/stability of the car but IMO it wont improve lap times.

Agreed... like I said above, the FX will always be top-heavy and you cannot overcome that. That being said though, the FX does DAMN WELL considering what it is! I don't know many other cars out there that can do so well plowing through snow with Blizzaks on and then put street tires on and do well (for what it is) at the racetrack.

And I don't think ANY novice driver should be worried about lap times. Even someone who has done several track days in an FX should not be looking at lap times. That is more dangerous than anything. You'll know when you're going faster. You'll feel smoother and you'll feel more relaxed. You'll KNOW when you're improved

If you are serious about tracking, I really think the only thing you should be spending money on is wheels/tires.

I think anyone who will spend a few track days behind the wheel of an FX at the track will understand fairly quickly that if you are real serious about doing track events, you'll want to look into a more dedicated race or track car. You can only go so far with an FX

Here are a few posts from the Org on a recent track day at Watkins Glen in a FX50s. Seems like it did AMAZINGLY well.

http://www.infinitifx.org/viewtopic.php?p=289209#p289209

Yes, I was SHOCKED at how well the FX50 did. I really think the second generation handles better than the first. I may have to bleed my brakes and bring my FX to the next track day that Brian comes to with his FX so I can drive them back-to-back and see for myself. It's not all that fair comparing the 45 to the 50 in terms of power so you can't really look at lap times. I'm sure I could research and look for the cornering numbers of each but I'm too damned lazy. It seemed like the FX50 got onto and settled on the bumpstops quicker and more easily than my FX45 would. It's been a while since I've tracked my FX due to boiling the fluid multiple times and losing the brakes by the 4th or 5th lap the last two times I put it on track

My suggestion to you is to visit www.ctbrakes.com (Carbotech Brakes) and pick yourself up a set of XP8 front and rear pads.....flush your brake fluid and replace it with Motul RBF600.....then go learn and have fun. Even though it's an SUV, a new driver probably won't get the most out of the thing anyway...so worry more about you and less about the vehicle.

I would actually call Carbotech and review the compounds with them. For the big heavy SUV that the FX is, I'd bet they recommend XP10s at least. I don't even run XP8s anymore in my track car because they're not enough pad for me. They're pretty good at telling you what compound you'd want based on the car/weight. I think big AI cars use XP11 or XP12's

A little bit of driver technique can effect this too: On track the name of the game is weight transfer. You have to keep this under control or you'll have an agricultural experience.

Yes! Not just weight transfer but you want to transfer the weight SMOOTHLY. EVERYTHING about track driving is about being smooth. Smooth steering inputs, throttle application, and aggressive but smooth brake application (and release). Like I said above, you want to get the car settled onto the bumpstops and settled so that it's not rocking around so much and much more predictable.

Tapping your brakes will transfer weight from the rear tires to the front tires. This will allow the back end to come around for you. This is something of an advanced technique, so I wouldn't recommend it for a new track driver. There's also the throttle oversteer technique...but you have to have a good amount of power for that (think drifters).

Agreed, I wouldn't let anyone start fooling with trail braking (dragging the brakes into a turn) or steering the car with the throttle with a novice driver. My track car is a FWD car so I don't have to worry about throttle steer but I frequently use trail braking to rotate my car. I sometimes do it without even realizing it. It has gotten me into trouble once or twice with the FX (and with the rental Altima last weekend)

FWIW, Snell sucks. They are even reevaluating their rating system once people pointed out some flaws relating to the stiffness of the outer shell and more increased likeliness of concussions in slower speed impacts.

All of the ratings have their pros and cons. None of them are perfect and you should evaluate them for your individual situation. I wouldn't say Snell SUCKS... they all suck. I would evaluate the various ratings and the various tests the helmets are put through and figure out what fits you best. Cost should NOT figure into the equation though. What is the price of your head? Don't skimp on protecting it.

 

[aiya]

Kieran knows what he is talking about! I can't wait until the day I can have a dedicated track car.

 

[kieranlavin]

I don't know what I'm talking about.... but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night

 

[aiya]

I don't know what I'm talking about.... but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night

Love those commercials...and knowing your schedule...you probably did.

 

[kieranlavin]

Nope, I'm with Marriott. I have a night or two racked up with them. Hey, if you're interested (I'm still in Cleveland this weekend since I was in Miami last weekend and going home next weekend) that exotics event is happening at Pocono tomorrow. Supposedly they have a good group of cars since the guy called me this week and begged me to find a way to get home (driving 6.5 hours after being on the track in the sun all day isn't really appealing) Ray will be there though if you want

 

[aiya]

Thanks for the heads up K. I won't be able to make it this year. Did John get his hands on the 458 spyder?

 

[kieranlavin]

Not sure. Haven't seen him since January

 

[turbocad6]

if I ever get my fx running again I def plan on more track days :smile (2):

 

[aiya]

if I ever get my fx running again I def plan on more track days :smile (2):

Can I be an intern on your pit crew?

 

[kieranlavin]

Let me know John!

 

[AlohaRacing]

Lerry - A little late to the party here, but if you're still in Irvine, Buttonwillow is relatively close for track days. I make the drive up from San Diego for Saturday events (drive up Fri, crash at motel 6, track all day, drive back home. I've been the ONLY FX at the events that I attend. As others have mentioned, the car is heavy and understeers, but I have more fun in my FX than I did in all my track events with my '03 350z. It feels great passing guys in track-oriented vehicles too. I'm sure that initially, guys were thinking "what the hell is the SUV doing here?", until after the first session when I proved that it's relatively capable (my favorite was passing a guy in every session who was in a late model GT500). Afterward, I had guys approaching me out of curiosity, asking questions about the setup and surprised that the car held its own among sports cars.