tyson

Not much to update today. It's cold and there's snow on the ground, so the Z stays put. On the last drive of the year I went for a long cruise, and set a personal record of 26mpg. The new 16" wheels and running SDS in closed loop makes a huge difference! Also, I got into the throttle a few times, so I think I'd maybe be able to squeek out a little more. Gas was Costco 92 octane, I'm also not sure if they were running the winter blend with higher ethanol (which reduces mileage quite a bit) I think I'm going to work on getting the engine/tranny ready to come out so I can re-do the front end of the car.

I'd imagine carbon monoxide would become an issue. If the gaskets around tail lights can stink up the interior with exhaust smell, I'd hate to imagine what it would be like without a hatch window. I don't really understand why you wouldn't want a window there?

Your local track has rocks on the strip?!

I highly doubt it. Your best bet would be to get a CF hood and then have a vinyl overlay of the color weave you want. You could do it to a steel hood, but that's about as "ricer" as one can get.

Ahh, this is what I didn't know. The only cars I had ever done suspension on were my 86 toyota and Zs so I figured inserts were the norm. Thank you John.

Nah, not asking a vendor to develop anything as I know our market is very, very limited. I think it was you who said most Z owners are a missed paycheck away from having to sell their car--which I think is quite accurate. Just wondering what it takes to make something common work on our cars? As I said, I don't know much of anything about suspension. Is it a matter of our inserts being larger/smaller diameter than most? longer? different shape? Do most other cars not use an insert? (I know I've seen the ones where the perch is actually part of the strut itself). *sigh*, seriously lostfairlady, why the extremely condescending reply? I'm not going to get into a contest of bank accounts, but I can assure you that I'm fully capable of purchasing whatever upgrades I want for the car without resorting to loans or credit. I own a S30 not because it's all I could afford, but because I've always loved the cars. If I would have wanted a BMW, Mercedes or Porsche I would have gone out and bought one instead. All I'm asking is what is the limiting factor in performance aftermarket strut tubes being fairly uncommon? Is having access to a wider selection just a matter of resizing the suspension tube or is it much more involved than that?

As far as the strut diameter, wouldn't you just have to cut the tube off and weld a larger or smaller one on? I completely understand the "speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?" and similar phrases, but I really want to know how deep the rabbit hole goes for just giving some more options than what we currently have. I'm not talking full race externally whatevered, servo controlled suspension or anything. Just what would it take to use as an example 240sx strut tubes in a S30 already running coilovers.

Just curious, suspension is not something I know a whole lot about. But what is the limiting factor in the struts we are able to use--especially with coilovers? What would need to be modified to allow a broader use? (front and rear)

Ran a 3" downpipe on my internally stock 280ZXT. At idle it sounded nice At WOT it sounded nice At higher RPM it sounded nice. Revving it sounded nice. At lower RPM and most cruising, it was annoying as hell and sounded like complete ass, like a shitty car without a muffler. The drone and sometimes resonance during freeway driving was hellish over time. I'd never choose to run a car like that again, it was more annoying than anything.

I was going to chime in earlier and suggest Northern for a cheap welder. Their MIGs actually get really, really good reviews. I owned one previously and it did a fine job. Not as good as a nice 220v one, but for the price I absolutely could not argue. My current welder is a Hobart 140 (i think). I got it off craigslist with 2 full spools of wire, cart, tank and auto-helmet for only $300. Yep, steal of a deal. I'd say it welds very similar to the Northern unit, heck it may be the same guts.

Wouldn't the height be different depending on the individual car's spring rate and how they drive? If you have very stiff suspension and don't track it there's going to be considerably less suspension movement than someone with lowering springs who goes to the track. I think the individual wheel/tire combo, especially width/offset also plays a big role on what would be considered mounting them "right".

Being 6'4" you will run into a few issues. I'm 6'4 as well. Attaching the main hoop to the floor just in front of the wheel arch will drastically reduce the amount you can lean/slide the seat back. On my 240 with old recaros I actually dented in the wheel arch a tad just so I'd be able to get a couple more degrees of lean/headroom. The halo will be very close to your head, I think even if you cut out the stock mounts and put the seat on the floor (you should re-enforce it) you will still run into your skull and the halo being too close. I wanted a cage in my car as well, but after doing the research I think I might do a six point roll bar and work on stiffening up the structure. If I was 5'7" it would be a much different story.

I'm going to argue with you on this one. I bought XXR wheels, and did a fair amount of research beforehand as my safety is pretty high up on my priority list, I think dying in a car crash would be one of the worst ways to go. So... There are hundreds if not thousands of forum posts where people talk about XXR/Rota/etc being cheap and suffering many failures. Try to find the actual photos of them, and then read the stories that go along with it. There aren't nearly as many as you would think and many of the stories just don't add up or are clearly missing details. Also, remember that the average person who buys "sport" wheels for their car, especially the XXR/Rota crowd are the honda and drifter crowds...They aren't exactly known for driving civilized and can be quick to blame others before themselves because they are NEVER at fault These folks also aren't known for buying quality parts, or doing quality work to their cars (think: thick, cheap wheel spacers with cheap worn out wheel studs). Also, when you look at the pictures remember that there's probably 100 sets of XXR or Rotas sold for every 1 set of Rays.

Hmm, I'll have to look into that liquid setup as it sounds interesting. PPE is a must. Both my grandfather and my father died early due to lung problems, grandpa due to his years as a mason, my father although diagnosed as idiopathic it was likely his years as a smoker. I usually use canister style respirators whenever possible just to make sure I'm on the safer side. Does anyone know if plastic media blasting will give me a suitable surface for the primer to adhere to? Maybe I'll look into just doing glass bead and silica instead of the plastic?

Cool. My plan is to build a containment shield out of PVC tubing and blue tarps, I'll build it to wrap around the front end of the car. I was thinking a shop vac on one end, and a blower fan on the other to try and keep the dust moving. Good call on the eye pro! As for dust getting everywhere, it can't be any worse than being in Kuwait during a dust storm hehe.