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I'll try to see if there's any voltage surges, I just don't have a multimeter with me

I'd guess that it is a 1970 - 1977 Z. Could be a bad regulator. How about some ammeter numbers? "Jumping" is not enough. Even better would be some voltage numbers at the battery. A good opportunity to get some practice with a meter. Good luck.

Car: 1974 260Z S30 So today I started my Z and the cranking was incredibly slow, it took 20 seconds of very slow cranking and the car started. Then I drive it for a bit and It seems to be fine. I went to O'Reilly's afterward and have them test my battery and alternator, the machine at O'Reilly says it's a bad alternator and battery. I'm worried that the alternator regulator is zapping the battery because on my ammeter I see rhythmic jumps on charging only when idle. When I turn on my headlights or start driving a little faster, the jumping goes away. My alternator is the old style with external regulators and after cleaning The regulator a little bit, I started the engine again and the jumping is less but still exists. I seen on fourm that it is normal but I have my doubts. My fuel gauge recently went out as well which I have a suspicion that the regulator zapped it. I'm quite confused to what is happening but I would like some pointers to what do you guys think is the best thing to do now. I can go back to O'Reilly's and have them check it again after I clean the grounds n contacts (The regulator insides look pretty clean but have extremely corroded screws so I gave that a clean, sanded some paint off my mounting point for better contact and cleaned up the screws), or I can replace the battery but I am worried that it's going to be zapped again. Or I can replace the alternator with an internal regulator version but I really don't have money for that currently. TLDR: My ammeter is jumping and has been for a while (I think I always had it) when idling. My fuel gauge recently started freaking out, and today I had a weak starter due to the battery being bad and relatively new. Please let me know what is the best way to proceed, thank lads! VID_20250527_194359223.mp4

Thanks, Tom. The idle is smooth/predictable, without any oscillation. 1. WUE is changed per your config. I set it at 175F. 2. I left the EGO correction above 1300 rpm since my original thought was to prevent it from making changes to my VEs keeping a specific AFR there (13.5 - I am running batch injection, engine runs great with a healthy vacuum). Should I lower the EGO rpm limit from 1300 to 1100? I am still fiddling with the IAC stepper to lower my initial warmup idle. It jumps to 1600 rpm, I might move it to 1300 rpm by cutting the number of stepper steps. 3. Adjusted my ASE settings (percent/taper) I noticed that when the engine is hot, and I restart, my AFR is about 14.7-15 during the first 30-45 seconds. Then it goes back to my 13.5-13.9. Should I leave it alone or instead (this is my OCD is 'talking'), increase my ASE percent adder to a higher number to add a little more fuel (for ex., at 175F, from 9 to 15)? I will take the car for a test drive this week-end, will do a data log. Appreciate your suggestions! 2025-05-27-ASE-changes.msq 2025-05-27_17.45.45-hot-restart.mlg 2025-05-27_17.33.07-cold-start.mlg

Good progress over the long weekend. Paint, bondo and fiberglass is mostly a waiting game which is pretty annoying. Got the duct glued together and painted so it looks like something. Trimmed it up a little and we are in great shape! The holes in the hood are a little bit large, but that's ok, and will likely get solved with a new hood (fiberglass) or something on top. Also got the transition piece painted which is exciting! This will help blend the splitter into the air dam, and will get taped onto the splitter once I put some trim on top of it. Need to get to work on the new intake pipe as well, going to put the filter over near the wheel for now. In the future, I'll flip the manifold and pull air from the cowl/wiper box area, but that's a bigger lift in terms of fabrication. Can't tell you how excited I am to have a metal fabrication project after 10 months of composites.

Years ago, I had to add an extra u-joint to get around my headers. I used a Sweet Manufacturing U-joint and a rod end. This was way back in 2003, so I don't remember the specific part numbers. You do need to add the rod end as an additional support. You need to align the universal joints so that they are phased properly.

Once, you installed the Differential and Cage with the Support Bracket into the Two Vertical Mounting Bolts, the Two Forward Differential Mounts can be installed into the Transmission Tunnel. Left Mount Right Mount Note-Earlier 240z has mounting bolt holes close together so drilling an another hole maybe necessary(call Vlamir for assistance), Important Fact------My New Ford Motorsport Super Duty 8.8 Differential came with the Large Aluminum Pinion Flange so I had to fabricate a New Crossmember for clearance problem. I decided to modify the Original Nissan Differential Crossmember. Pic shows Sonan Adaptor on the Pinion Flange. Pic of 8.8 Differential with the Old Style U-Joint. Note the Close Clearance between Flange and Incredible Extreme Crossmember already. Original Nissan Transmission Crossmember taped and marked for metal cutout on top area. Cardboard Template of Aluminum Flange marking Side Cutout. Using 4 1/2" Cutoff Wheel to cut out Top Section of crossmember. Top Section of Crossmember removed. Both Side Sections were cut out to form the Lower Round Shape. Finished Crossmember Side View View of bottom of Modified Crossmember. Finished and Mounted Crossmember. Next-Modified Driveshaft and Driveline Alignment.

while I don't post often, I DO recieve notifications from my threads, so I'm not hard to find and contact. facebook and Instagram are the easiest way.

Thanks. I’m certainly no pro driver so maybe a little less ultimate track car build. Definitely want fun, safe and reliable. But I’m trying to build the best thing I can, no cutting corners when it comes to performance. So trying to put in a solid racing suspension, brakes wheels/tires and a good amount of horsepower.

So do any companies make replacement wheel hub axles and companion flanges that go with it. I can not find any through my research endeavors. Planning on a RB25det swap with a R200 diff and 280zxt cv axles in the coming months.

Den the idle looks better in the log you sent me. The AFR readings are steady not like before with the Accel firing off. I would make a couple more small adjustments to your tune. 1. Change your WUE setting from 220 down to 175 or 180. The WARM bit is not getting flipped and several functions use this bit to enable them including warm idle setting to tell that the engine is warmed up. The manual help is not clear what the setting is. When your thermostat opens or a little before seems a good setting to me. I set mine at 175. 2. EGO Correction, Active above Setting is set at 1300: You're not using EGO correction at idle. In the log EGO Cor1 is 100 at idle. It could be a choice you made I wanted to mention it. 3. Review your ASE Taper settings they seem high to me to keep adding extra fuel after startup. Take a look at the settings I sent you. I don't see any other big things out of adjustment from an idle perspective. The big thing you have at ask is how is it running? If its running good drive, it and enjoy. If it's not tweak it and see how that works. Good Luck, Tom

Yes, he is; but he's not on this forum very much anymore. He's very active on FB; that might be your best bet if you're serious about purchasing one of his kits. (I have nothing to do with his business, but I do follow his builds from time to time.) https://www.facebook.com/groups/480008718866422/user/1349311394/ https://www.facebook.com/InvincibleExtremes

I just figured I would post an update. It was easier than I thought. Zcardepot sells Yokes for a couple different flanges. In my case it was the flange that measures with OE U-joints (Which I have to replace anyways) Measuring 1.9 X2.25 Inches with 10mm bolts holes. The state specifically to adapt the driveshaft to an R200 Diff. Thanks for all your help guys. I will post a link in case anyone else finds this useful. https://zcardepot.com/products/driveshaft-propeller-shaft-yoke-flange-flange-r200?_pos=1&_sid=3ac0fdede&_ss=r

are you still selling this super 8.8 set up ? contact me at proski4me@aol.com if you are very interested

Good luck. A lot depends on the compromises you are willing to make. Ultimate Track Car and dominating time trials is a lofty goal. A good, fast, reliable, safe track car is very achievable and will bring many smiles.

Thanks Tom for your recommendations. 1. sync loss - I noticed with my microsquirt (plus a few more guys on youtube), if I apply 'Burn' while the engine is idling, it would stumble/recover and will generate 1 sync loss error. I checked my driving log and didn't see any sync losses there. I am attaching my warm idle log, it doesn't show any errors either since I didn't apply any corrections. This stumble/burn issue might be related to microsquirt ECU limitations, I am not sure. 2. I re-adjusted my TPS while observing the throttle blade. Now I have 545 points in my throttle movement. The throttle blade is closed. 3. I set timing from 14.2 to 17 degrees. It looks like my engine doesn't mind, runs stable. 4. thanks for finding this TPS WOT curve - copied your settings. 5. my GM MAP sensor is showing 40 - 41 kPa at idle. I am at 873 feet in WI, which computes to 17.51 inHg. I got my mechanical vacuum gauge to double check - it was showing between 17 and 17.5 inHg (approximation). I feel much better. : -) 6. the lock/unlock option for sensors - I totally missed this one, it is locked now. I set the Top Dead Center a while back and confirmed it with my timing light (using 'Fixed' timing option in TunerStudio). I also re-adjusted my IAC valve steps per your tune. I will keep it as open-loop for now. I will do a data log for the car when the engine is cold. Appreciate the help! Den 2025-05-25_warm.mlg 2025-05-25-17degrees-idle.msq

Yep, dash is coming out, and wasn’t expecting to be under there too much yet, lol. It’s getting hot in Florida, already in the 90s, so I’ll be working on the new dash soon and fitting my digital gauges to it inside the nice cool house shortly 😁

I already have to rotisserie, I'm trying to just buy brackets to actually put the car on. I was hoping to not need to weld up my own given given how big the z car community is. Absolutely thought there would be a set available. Sucks because the new place isnt wired for my welder yet, which turns this particular little job I need to do, into a much, much bigger one.

Yep, join the club. I'm surprised you haven't pulled the dash completely out yet....aren't you putting in a whole new dash eventually? Even if you weren't replacing the dash, the wiring under there is likely a mess, and you would want to get all that fixed up/cleaned up/etc. If you don't have the FSM and wiring schematics yet, you can download free FSMs for all years here: https://www.xenonzcar.com/s30/fsm.html You're making great progress....keep it up, and please keep the updates coming!

05-24-2025. I got the clips and screws to finish up landing the wiring down for the lighting I added, and got other little things here and there taken care of, I installed the plaque I had made to label the switches on the dash, then I went to the carb, and changed out my accelerator pump nozzle to a larger nozzle, from a 70 to a 90. a custom 90 that is made by V performance development. car is still lean below 3000 and giving it any more that 1/8 throttle below 3000 it just falls flat, so I took the needle out and taped it off and did some grinding on it and re-installed it.....MUCh better but needs just a hair more. I took it out and ground on it, but I think I left it too rough, as it doesn't want to move cleanly in the needle jet. I went ahead and ordered 2 needles for the carb in the richest one they offer.....stock is 97, these will be 95's. I will put one in the carb as-is drive it, and mod the second LIGHTLY and gently and keep playing with it. Everything is great except for the transition from the pilot jet to the needle....TOO LEAN, so it's just trial and error now. Pics follow.

Den, I agree with you that the ProtunerZ guys are very helpful, and stand behand their products. I am so glad that the car doesn't whistle anymore. I am no expert here, so take this as advice. Your mileage my vary. 🙂 The car is a 71 240z. I live at 8,000 feet and I see a lot of altitude change to 5,600 feet in CO, so I am running %Baro. Here is the setup on my engine: 3L Turbo Stroker, 88mm JE forged pistons 8.43:1, Max Speed rods, ARP head, rod, main bolts, Electramotive L7 Cam, Garret GTX Gen II 3071 turbo, Water-to-Air Intercooler, ProtunerZ intake, turbo manifold, downpipe, Arizona Z Car 7 QT oil pan. Megasquirt V 3.57 with the expansion daughter board, sequential injection, 280zx Turbo CAS, GM Truck COP, Bosch 440CC injectors with 43 Psi. This is a new engine that has about 2,000 miles on it. Its running very well over the stock turbo engine I had in the car. I did set up the throttle blade to be completely closed and then configured the IAC to provide additional air to get to the target of 750 rpm. This has allowed me to have it start in the cold at -10F and 90F and warm up properly. I do find it likes a AFR of 13.5 for a good smooth idle at 17 degrees of timing at 750RPM. I enclosed my MSQ tune file Looking over your setup I noticed a couple things you should check. I will make the assumption the engine is stock with no cam and stock cam timing. 1. SYNC LOSS: (This is not good. fix this first otherwise you're chasing your tail) Your RPM signal has noise on it and two dropouts where the rpm goes to zero in a four-minute period. You need to confirm your sending a clean signal to the ECU. This is not my area of expertise with a hall sensor and tooth wheel as I am running optical from the 280zx turbo CAS. Check your sensor gap and grounding and shield grounding. Others here have way more experience in this area. 2. The throttle position sensor: You have 464 steps where mine has 679 steps. I would make sure it has full travel and re-calibrate it. I also noticed that your sensors are unlocked. This could be the sensitive throttle you mentioned. 3. Timing: It can't hurt to double check your base timing. I would confirm it at (Fixed Timing setting set to 15 degrees) with a timing light. Make sure you confirm zero TDC with the piston at TDC. I have had a couple harmonic balancers spin on me. I am not sure how the missing tooth crank wheel bolts to the balancer, so I could be incorrect here. 4. TPS WOT Curve: You have it set to start a zero and it keeps firing off your acceleration enrichment at idle. Your AFR is going rich to 10.4 when that happens. Move the starting point rpm so it just starts to fire when you start to accelerate. Take a look at my tune for a starting point. You don't want to fire off acceleration when its idling. 5. MAP sensor: Looking at the one warm up idle log. The timing moves from 19 to 23 degrees with no TPS input. Then is settles down to 14.8 while the MAP remained fairly steady at 41 kPa. You would think this would change with the timing swings, so check your MAP hose to the MAP sensor and the MAP sensor wiring. I see you have a GM-1Bar sensor configured. On my engine I have a vacuum of 27 kPa. It could be normal for your engine but check for vacuum leaks also. Here is a great article from DIY Auto Tune on closed loop ldle. MS3Pro Closed Loop Idle - Stepper Valve - DIYAutoTune.com 6. I would adjust your timing at the lower values. Set it up so you have 500 = 19 and have 17 degrees at 750. this way it will give you a little timing when the electrical load increases to bring the RPM back up. Looking over the idle/accel tab I have more settings available and a 16x16 table to play with. I think this is the limitation on the Microsquirt vs the Megasquirt. Open loop vs. closed loop: I have had a stock 280 NA with factory injection and MSX fuel only to start with just the air bleed screw and bi metal IAC valve and it worked and idled fine. When I swapped to a stock turbo 280ZX engine with factory injection. I changed the IAC valve to a Ford 2 wire valve and used open loop then closed loop as I learned the system features. Both worked well but I could get more fuel control with closed loop. You have a lot more temperature swings and intake temps with a turbo engine under the hood that effects idle control. Now with the current stroker turbo engine and the PTZ 75mm throttle body. I spent a lot of time getting the GM 4 wire IAC to work correctly with the large throttle body. Any air leak or incorrect IAC travel setting turned into a higher idle. What I do like about closed loop with this current setup is how it can idle when it's cold or hot, electrical loads high or low, you have finer control over the idle. I also feed the gas tank vapor valve (240z 260z has this valve, I think. The 280z has a charcoal canaster) output and feed that in front of the throttle plate to burn the gas vapor off. When it's hot out the gas vapor would change the idle and AFR by two points. Having closed loop and AFR/EGO control corrects for that swing. Burning the gas vapor off from the tank. Do you need closed loop no, open loop can work just fine. If you want better idle control over different variables then closed loop can help with that, but it takes time to set it up from what I have found. The reason I went to Megasquirt or any modern ECU. I was tired of troubleshooting with a voltmeter and a closed system you could barely modify. Now I can tune at my computer and get real time data and logging to review your results. What a step forward, but it's been a long journey learning these features and how to apply them (incorrectly and correctly). I included my current tune and a data log. In the middle and end of the log you can see how it idles. Hope this helps. CurrentTune.msq 2025-05-21_16.32.19.mlg

Got brake and clutch master cylinders off, and booster off. Booster bolts were a pain. I hate working under the dash area. Need to clean up a few more things then wash and prep engine bay for paint.

Sure, no problem! again, when putting the needles into the piston, it is recommended to use a straight edge and set the needle at the level of the piston, not the indented place where the needle goes. ~Joe

angle iron is about 1/8" thick in a 90 degree bend. incredibly strong. It is just an idea. you lay the piece against the car with spacers so the body is a few inches from the bar. centered is where it is either welded or bolted to the center post of the rotisserie. It might be a good idea to go to YouTube and type in how to make a car rotisserie. Some guys have used 2 engine stands, that have been cut and lengthened, so they are taller. You could buy a rotisserie but they ARE pricy. how to make a car rotisserie - YouTube Good luck! be careful. New a fire extinguisher in the garage, gloves and eye protection, and do NOT rush! This kind of stuff can lead to divorce.\

Hi @Datsunpowers Tom! I appreciate your time posting your IAC setup here. I wish Protunerz would grind the sharp edges at their factory. I talked to them, they are aware of all this whistling business with their intakes. They are great guys and I got quick tech question responses from them. But the noise is an embarrassment to a pricey car part. I have a few questions for you: - Do you set up your throttle blade to be completely closed and then configure your IAC to provide additional air to get your target 750 rpm? I went over this subject on a msextra forum as well, and it appears there are 2 ways to do it. One is to open the blade a little and IAC completely closed at idle. Another - the throttle blade is physically closed and IAC is providing air for idling target speed. I went with the 1st option, since I couldn't get my IAC to provide predictable behavior. One day it would be idling at 900 rpms, next day - 800-850 rpm, another - around 1000 rpm. I figured the IAC's min steps and step size needed to be played with and per Madcaw's advice, I left it on 'Always On'. This helped somewhat. I also bought another IAC for a 1999 Camaro V8 (Ultra-Power AC162) to test (10$ special from Rockauto), but I haven't installed it yet. I suspect my IAC is not completely sealing the opening, thus these fluctuations. - Open-loop vs closed-loop question I removed my a/c a while back, and I have a 5-speed. I thought the closed-loop idle control is suited for the cars with big electrical loads (like electric fans, a/c compressor kicking in) or an automatic transmission. I have a belt driven fan. All my headlights are converted to using relays. I set up the open-loop since it was the easiest option. Would you recommend for my car to switch to the closed-loop idle control? If you don't mind checking my tune/idle and a driving log, I'd appreciate it. What are your car's specs? Can you share your tune? Thanks! Den 2025-05-18_13.51.43.mlg 2025-05-18-adj-IAC.msq 2025-05-10_11.12.19-driving.mlg