Back in October, I made the foolish decision to take my car out to the race track. I consider it foolish because it re-lit a fire that had been relatively stifled in me for a few years: a strong desire to drive my car hard and modify the living hell out of it.

While most would probably suggest that the former is the biggest concern, it’s actually more the latter. The time that is spent in researching the appropriate modifications for your car can easily consume months of your life. It’s also very easy for the costs associated with all the mods to skyrocket in a heartbeat.

The reason for this tends to be one of a few possible options. First there’s the good old “keeping up with the Joneses.” In the age of Instagram, you can find thousands of pics of your very model car with all sorts of wild work done. The attention that those photos gather is more than enough motivation for one to start bolting all sorts of body work and lights to your ride. Another common reason is simply a lack of focus. Some guys just want a cool car, and that means continually bolting something new on. Turbos hot this year? He’s dropping 10k on a Greddy kit. Widebodies? He just ordered a Veilside kit for his RX-7. I happen to fall prey to a third option: wasting all the time and buying almost nothing for years, then suddenly dumping tons into a car for some impulsive reason. I did this with both of my Probes and with my first (S14) 240sx.

This time seems to be a little different for me for several reasons. During those “impulsive” runs, I was stalled due to a common problem. As you modify cars more and more, they usually get less streetable. Throw in a high performance exhaust, and they annoy your neighbors on cold mornings. Upgrade to race suspension, and your back is snapping every time you go over a speed bump or railroad crossing. Add a roll cage, and you’ve actually created a car that is more lethal for you if you’re not driving with a helmet on. So, if you attempt to maintain one of these cars as a daily driver, it’s always going to be a compromise.

After being bitten by the track bug, I quickly came to the conclusion that I need a track car. The Z with the sport package was the perfect choice, as it’s already fairly well sorted for it out of the box. It’s also barely tolerable on the street: it’s poorly insulated & damped (lots of road noise), the clutch has a bizarre feel to it thanks to the dual-mass flywheel and concentric slave cylinder, and the throttle map in first and second gear is completely nonsensical (it’s throttle-by-wire, so the computer actually determines the throttle level). With only an oil cooler, an electrical switch for the VDC/ABLS, and some new brake pads, it was already set for beginner track duty.

But taking it to the next level is going to take some doing. I’d like to spend this year (and maybe 2020) becoming a competent driver, and tweaking the Z for the track along the way. That’s going to mean exhaust, aerodynamics, suspension, and safety gear. Luckily, I have a reference for what to do:

Eventually, I believe I’m going to find myself jonesing for wheel-to-wheel racing…and that’s going to mean following up with a roll cage. That’s when I’ll have to pull her off the street and start towing her around.

As an experiment, I’ve decided to document the whole thing on YouTube and Instagram. I can use my mechanical engineering background to analyze the manufacturing quality of the parts that I purchase, and show the installation and track the improvements. I’ve never quite put myself out there in that fashion before, but I’m willing to take a chance on it. I’m sure I’ll learn a few things along the way, and I’m certain I’ll make some new pals.

I’ve already gotten a start on this path. I purchased a Y-pipe for the exhaust, and I’ve already taped a review that I’ll be posting in the next few days.

Here’s to the new thing of 2019.