With Sasha Anis’ goal of matching 2008-spec ALMS GT cars at some very quick circuits like Mosport, he needs to develop considerable, predictable downforce and make his hefty 350Z a machine that one can lean on in the fastest corners. Talented as he is, getting the aerodynamics of a racing car right is still something of a dark art, and he needs a bit of assistance not only from manufacturers, but from the local university to make sure his wings are working correctly.

It’s critical to remember that when tuning an aero package, generating overall downforce is just as important as balancing the downforce front to rear. Too much at the front, and the car becomes wildly unstable. Additionally, the downforce needs to suit the car’s static weight distribution. It’s complicated stuff.

Without tuning, the front hardly made any downforce. A splitter might not do as much as hoped without a few tweaks.

So with a minor rake adjustment, a set of canards, and taping off the cowl area and the front inlets, the car went from producing almost entirely all of its downforce at the rear, to making closer to 35% at the front—which happens to suit the front-heavy Z. Of course, this is a complicated, see-sawing process where small changes go a very long way, but it reaps immense gains—for the price of a set of tires, wind tunnel testing can chop seconds off lap times. With that in mind, it seems like a great bargain—and endlessly fascinating for the aspiring Adrian Newey-types out there.