[CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO OF THE 370Z ON TRACK.]
The donor status of each car guarantees one thing-nothing is certain of their futures. Our 370Z is currently serving as a test-bed for developing parts from various "friends" in the performance aftermarket, many of whose products will come to market in the near future. If we're permitted to keep it for next season, Stephen and G-Dimension, Phil, Nakai and Tein, and the entire 2NR editorial staff of three, are looking forward to making the 370Z even faster. Steve Mitchell and Dai are interested in developing a repeatable work-around to our car's limiting electronics, and even Costa and Kojima offered some help in fabricating suspension components that would give our car the adjustability of their 350Z, and with a little weight reduction of our own, we've got our sights locked on First Place in next year's SLB street-class Finals. "We knew we had power, suspension, and grip when the 370Z made its first outing, but what we lacked was downforce and camber adjustability-the same 'new car plague' our IS F suffered at the track the year prior, both cars being too new for large aftermarket support. Adding just a few more parts as they become available, we're looking to really dial the car in and knock another two to three seconds off our time at its next session." As for the 350Z, "If we get to keep it for a while, I'd really like to build it for Limited or Unlimited-class duty," says Costa. "Each class would allow more weight to be dropped, and with a braking system that would allow independent adjustability of front/rear bias, along with all the tweaks Mike (Kojima) wants to make, I think it could be a serious contender . . . That is, unless someone's 370Z doesn't beat us again!"
Testing the Falken Azenis RT-615K
With the build-off between 2NR's 370Z and Dai/Costa's GT-Channel 350Z being a competition among street-class cars-and considering each side's penchant for speed-one serious competition street radial spec tire was left in our consideration: Falken's Azenis RT-615, proven by years of Formula D drifting competition and miles of street use. The only problem was that Falken discontinued it, in favor of the new and improved RT-615 . . . wait for it . . . K. To steal a line from Garth Algar, we fear change. Would the new tire prove better than its predecessor, or were the changes merely made in the wake of the current economic downturn; a cost-saving (and usually, performance-killing) measure? To find out, we shadow the driver of our 370Z, Formula D's Tyler McQuarrie, as he tests the "K" against the previous 615, along with the Z's highly regarded "Brand X" OEM performance tire, on a stock 370Z at California's Streets of Willow racetrack:
"With the stock tires fitted to the Z and pressure dialed in, I was able to run a best time of 1:27.92 through the track's tight corners, fast braking zones, and elevation changes. With the 615s, I was able to drop that time to a 1:27.34. Switching to the 615Ks, the first thing I noticed was that I had to drive harder keep up with the Ks. The new tire also gave off a distinct sound coming into the corners-a sign of its increased 'bite' over the alternatives. After a few laps, I ended the session with a 1:26.37-more than a second faster than with the stockers. And the Ks seem to perform much more predictably when hot than either of the alternatives."
To put the time difference between the two tires in perspective, a full second equates to finishing in first or last place in ALMS events in which Team Falken regularly competes.