Whittie

Well after finishing the car (see members cars section for full write up), doing half a lap and destroying third gear last weekend i got the car going again and here is a hort video of Dad and I (Dadson Racing) trying to drive the car with the new power for the first time on what is probably the slipperiest track i have ever driven on. Needless to say: Good times ensue http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=UbI92R1ZBtM

Globerunner, that is exactly what regularity is about. However, within our field of about 8 z's we have a tendancy to take things a little serious basically its the only way to race in a pack without a full race licence and log-booked car. So for me and the other zed boys we take it as a chance to just have a bit of fun and none of us take it too seriously in terms of regularity or fastest time, just as a good way to race with people we respect as drivers. When i want to go fast i go to sprint days. Infact i have a sprint event tomorrow so it might be a chance to see if i can go one better than last time. I will be sharing drives with my dad and we will be swapping cars so i wont get a super fast time in 1 run. I will however be able to truely guage how much faster the car is now than it was

Cheers Well the event was regularity. The aim of the game is to post a time and then repeatedly do that time over and over. You score 1 point for every 1/100th of a second you are away from that time, lowest points at the end of the day wins. So, in terms of regularity, I lost But in terms of what counts: Fastest Z (of 8 on the day) and 3rd fastest in the field behind an evo 9 and my old mans TT supra

Youtube videos ensue: http://au.youtube.com/user/whittie260

here is an incar vid of last weekend. So obviously before the tune, but still with the new exhaust. After the tune it sounds much deeper but otherwise very similar. and no the zed is not stock L28, 60 thou over bore, flat top pistons, shaved deck and head, head port, triple 45 webers etc etc. read the link i posted to my write up and just scroll down for the full list http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn4M5SktwY

Should they? Why is that?

The dotted lines are from the last tune, the only difference this time was the exhaust!! Went from a stock header 2.25" system to mandrel 6-2-1 tuned length extractors and a 2.5" highflow exhaust Power is not that massive but the torque is HUGE, pulls like nothing else! Here is a bit of a write up about the car now its finished, including spec list and some pics: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=141631 **EDIT** Just for clarification, this is wheel numbers, not flywheel as i know the graph says

Some Pics that I think capture the build are available here: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v621/Tommo560/Dadson%20Legacy/ along with plenty of other photos. Just use the folder browser on the left to see my other pics.

Dadson Racing. A Legacy It was one evening in mid 2003 when a boy was researching suitable first cars for a budding high school car enthusiast. Hot hatches and turbo Jap imports were hot on the short list of potential purchases for our young hero, as he had to have something that would stand out in the school car park dominated with Holden and Ford boats. It was on this fateful evening that his father, John, after discovering his son’s fascination with high-powered cars and remembering his own petrol fueled younger days and the dangers he put himself into on the road, came into his son’s room to offer to take him for a test drive in the ‘perfect’ car he had tracked down. “Heya Tom, what you looking at there?” “Oh not much dad, just looking at some cars on the net” “Oh yeah, what are you liking at the moment?” John asks “Not much, couple 206 gti’s floating around and a couple neat Silvia’s. The Peugeot looks tit’s but loving the Nissan for its mod-ability. Why’s that?” offers Tom. “I think I’ve got a great car we should go check out. Wanna come?” “Ah yeah, what is it?” “A race car. A classic” “A classic race car?! What is it” “A 260Z, you’ll love it” “A what? What’s a 260Z? what do they look like?” “Like a Ferrari!” “Cool! But who makes it and how old is it?” Tom replies, not quite buying his dad’s evasiveness. “It was built in 1977” John offers, knowing the reception the manufacturer is going to get from a 15 year old teenager. “Ah yeah. But who made it?” “Datsun” John offers happily. “A Datsun… Um, I think I’ll pass thanks dad!” “Ah, come on you haven’t even seen one before!” “Ok ill look it up on the net” “Na na, don’t bother with that, we gotta go” “Ah, fine, not like I got anything else to do tonight.” “Let’s Go!” John exclaims with much excitement. Its several hours later when John and Tom finally get the keys to the two seat sports car and back it out of the driveway for a test drive. “What do you think Tom?” Asks John after seeing his son’s expression of wonderment at the iconic sports car with semi-slick race tires and a loud exhaust. “It’s still a Datsun dad, why would I want one”. The famous last words out of Tom’s mouth before John mashes the loud pedal and the pair is travelling at over 80kph sideways down a quiet suburban road. 3 hours later and Tom arrives back home in the passenger seat of his new pride and joy, grinning ear to ear, still savoring the moment and not recognizing the long and arduous journey that lies just over the horizon. John wanted to take no risks with his son’s safety and so had Tom on the track the very next day, his 16th birthday, getting driving instruction. It was several months later that Tom had his track license, road license and he and John were entering events together. It was then that Team Dadson Racing was born. The Journey It was about 6 months after the purchase of the car that the first incident occurred. Pushing it around pretty hard trying to post a PB at the local racetrack, Wanneroo Raceway in Perth WA. Coming in to the elusive Kolb Corner, an on camber 180 degree right hander at the bottom of a hill before the back straight, Tom lost the tail of the car and sent it at 90 degrees into the soft sand trap. Looking out the passenger window into the yellow sand as he came to a stop, Tom didn’t realize how lucky he was to stop the right way up until the rescue car came around and towed him out to reveal the left hand rear tire ripped off the rim. “You were DAMN lucky there son, I’ve never seen that not end disastrously before” to quote the rescue car driver. Post race inspection to the car revealed that the forces on the chassis had twisted the frame rails and cracked all the rust in several structural locations. This well and truly rang the warning bells in John’s head and the car was towed to the panel shop for new frame rails and rust repair followed by a CAMS spec roll cage in case the next incident didn’t end as luckily. Fresh from the recent body work Tom and John decided to more seriously enter Sprints and Track Days around Perth. John consistently posted faster and faster times and it was almost a year and a half later on Father’s Day 2006 until Tom, previously second placed at every event to his more experience father, finally scored his first win. A “Bitter sweet” moment for John this marked the beginning of the father-son teams fierce rivalry. Not satisfied with just trying to beat each other, over 2006 and 2007 John and Tom started working more seriously to turn the Datsun into the true sports car it could be. The Nissan 2.8L motor got a bore out to 2.9 Litres whilst the head got a shave, port and polish. The electric distributor got replaced with an MSD digital version and an LSD Diff went in. Then it was time to look towards the interior and all the carpets were replaced, with sound deadening added for comfort when driving on the road. In Tom’s mind the obligatory subwoofer was a long time coming before the gearbox, brakes and suspension all got an overhaul. It was then with the new power and toys that John and Tom started looking further afield to fulfill their lust for new and exciting tracks. 2007 saw them at Phillip Island for the historic motor races and then the Nissan/Datsun Sports Owners Nationals. The WA round of the Dutton Rally also featured on the calendar. However, not satisfied with just Phillip Island, in 2008 the opportunity arose to participate in a regularity trial on the famed Bathurst race circuit in NSW, the first time in 30 years that level 2 CAMS license holders have been permitted to compete on the circuit. With the mindset of “While we’re at it” The trip to NSW also saw John and Tom compete in regularity trials at Eastern Creek and Oran Park. It is now though that John and Tom are looking forward to even more grand adventures. A new diff for Bathurst, new suspension components after a Torsion/Compression bar failure at 180 k’s under full brakes that could have ended much more seriously than just the scare it was for Tom, the new hand built custom extractors and the new mandrel exhaust signals the completion of foreseeable modifications to the car. With January 2009 signaling another trip to NSW to race Oran Park and Bathurst regularities, with a follow up trip to Phillip Island and Tom finishing his Chemical Engineering Degree, Dad and Son are satisfied to say that after 4 and a half long years that the car they have built over the years is ready to be enjoyed ‘as is’ for while. When asked for a closing comment Tom offers, “However trying the times might have got, however out of hand the modifications and expenses, nothing could have been more rewarding an experience than building this car with my dad. Firstly, I would like to thank Mum and Dad for all the support over the years. Big thanks also go to Tus at Osborne Park service centre for building a Kick-Ass engine and a heartfelt thank you to all the other sponsors and everyone who over the years has helped solve trackside issues and offered support and advise to a couple of budding motorsport enthusiasts”. The Dadson 260Z sports the following modifications: Owners Name: Tom Whitfield Vehicle Make: Datsun Vehicle Model: English delivered 1977 Datsun 260 Z 2-seater Coupe Horsepower: Unknown since modifications. Expecting 200+ RWHP (previous RWHP @ 180) Quarter Mile Time: Expecting low 14’s (Previous PB @ mid 14’s) Engine: Nissan L28 Triple 45mm Weber Carburetors 60 thou over bore Polished, Ported and Port Matched Intake and Exhaust Oversized Valves F54 Block P90 Head shaved 2mm Datrally 78 Cam Shaft Lightened and balanced bottom end L24 con rods MSD Digital series 6 ignition Pointless distributor Crow Cams double valve springs Flat top pistons 2 1/2" High-flow exhaust Custom, equal-length, tuned 6-2-1 extractors Driveline: Nissan 5 speed close ratio gearbox 4.375 R200 viscous LSD Custom CV joint drive shafts Lightened flywheel Re-lined Exedy Heavy Duty Clutch Suspension: Koni internally adjustable shocks King springs Adjustable front camber kit Larger sway bars front and rear Complete Urethane Bushing set Race front Radius rods Brakes: Front: XR8/Commodore 2 spot vented front brakes Rear: Nissan R31 skyline single piston solid rotor rear brakes Rolling Stock: Track: 6 1/2" 3 piece ultra light weight aluminium 15” rims Street: 14” Nissan 280z polished and painted factory rims Bodywork: Aftermarket modified front spoiler Datsun option rear wing Aftermarket 2 window sunroof Interior: Momo Race seat Momo Race steering wheel Short shift kit Full carpet and vinyl Re-trim Checker plate floor All original and working gauges Stereo: LG 200W head unit Alpine 4x50W amplifier Clarion 6x9 Speakers 12” Alpine subwoofer

Thanks for that. Ive got 225's mounted on the race rims i run and nothing rubs with those, so the 225 tire will be what i go for, its good to know that a small spacer will make sure it all clears nicely though.

That looks awesome ktm!! They were hard to get however Rota have since started remanufacturing them since they took off as drift rims for wide body s13's and AE86's, which is the 16x8+10 size. I can't find the website i was looking at last night but they had a list of about 20 differant sizes and offsets that you could get the Grid's in, from 16-19 inches diameter, 6-10 inch width and a whole range of offsets. In aus that i can find, the ONLY size you can get the Grids is 16x8+10, and a set for only about $1100 AU to boot that puts them in competion with the rota rb's, minilites and XXR's and they look better than all of them put together, so im pretty happy about that. How was the fit on your car ktm, what suspension do you have? Looks lke it doesnt rub anything, do you need spacers?

16x8 +10 offset. Looking at getting a set as they're fairly cheap and not as common as watanabe knock-offs. Hoping theyll fit with stock spring perches but willing to put small spacers in to clear. The big front brakes and i THINK the discs in the rear have added some offset which is why i think they should fit. quick photoshop of them on my car. I like them. A lot. What do people think? Anyone actually got them on a zed or got any photos of a set on a z?

They sure are. They're a knock-off of the BBS LM wheels that my old man has on his supra. absolutely LOVE the styling. Pity about these being such an annoying offset is that they are the cheapest of this style that i can find. BBS LM wheels are custom jobs at something like $2000AU a corner and i dont want to spend that much on 4 wheels AND tyres. next cheapest i can find is double the price of the xxr versions I think when i get the money im just gonna take it to the wheel shop and say "This is the style i want, in 18's, with 0 offset, get me them" and just leave it up to them. Searching the net has thus far been futile and so ive given up trying to find them online.

They're the wheels i want cept i want 18's They come in 4 and 5 lug patterns: http://www.xxrwheels.com/sportmax_006.shtml However the unfortunate thing for us is they only come in Honda offsets (+38/+40mm) so unless you want to run a 1 inch spacer, which i don't, they aint gonna fit. The ones from the Z store come with proper bolt on spacers i believe. They're considered safe, but id rather just buy another wheel with the proper offset. The 501's and the 002's come in 0 offset, but IMO they don't look anything near as good.

tonycharger, I believe that would ultimately be the best thing to do, and if you look at a car like the Mk.4 supra they actually have cowling under most of the car. I believe its for legal reasons in Japan, however it does work to allow smoother flow of air under the car. The only glaring error i can see however is that if youve got the exhaust tucked up under that thing what are you gonna do to cool it down? And what about all that big air pocket youll be creating in the engine bay if the air doesn't have anywhere to vent. It would be interesting to see what they did on rally or even GT cars to deal with these issues. GT more so because i would think they're more aerodynamically orientated however i believe a solution on the Z would look more like something on a rally car.

Old vs New pic, the one on the left is just a standard Z manifold with fiberglass heat insulation wrap. The old non-tuned extractor i had got a hole in it just before last season and the standard was all i could get a hold of on short notice so hence its been on for the last year or so. **EDIT** Going a bit nuts with pics, i know, but here are some more after Dad fealt inspired to fit them for me

Indeed they are wide. I couldn't really think of a better way to put it I havent even dropped them in the engine bay yet to see how tight the fit is (skip sitting infront of garage door so i cant get in) but I imagine that he's used most if not all of the available room on that side of the engine. Not that you need to run anything else through there tho I don't know the C's very well but i could get some specs for you, such as furthest outwards length at what height once i have them in the car. That or i can just post some pics when its in and you can have a look at it then. As far as the collectors go: that's what i was wondering. In the pic you cant see into the collector very well but they are guided somewhat. Im told that this is perfectly fine though, and the guy has been making exausts for many years so i spose he's got that behind him. Perhaps its a case of time/cost vs gain not being optimum. I imagine it would take some work to smooth them in together nicely, but at those flow rates, pressures and temperatures, it probably wouldn't be worth enough gain to bother. That or in terms of restrictions in other areas of the exhaust/engine it isn't worth bothering with. Ive studied fluid flow a bit but i will admit i'm not very cluey on the nuances of engine flow tho so im not sure. I do know that not having a smooth inclination will increase turbulence and hence cause more resistance but perhaps with the flow type (being high flow bursts for short time) that at this point in the exhaust it might not make any difference at all... Who knows... I don't know if you're saying either good or bad, but the guy did the whole thing himself specifically for this model car. So it's not some generic thing and hopefully that means they're that much more efficient that other offerings. I guess i'll find out when it gets on the dyno in the next few weeks.

**EDIT** I cant remember what the exact specs are as i had to leave this up to Dad to sort out but im actually pretty sure that they're 2" headers, 2.25" then 2.5" collectors. I could be wrong and ill get back to you on that. Just picked it up from the coaters today. Tuned length extractors built by a guy here in perth. top quality hand made piece, ceramic coated in silver inside and out to reduce heat loss into the engine bay. Allegedly they'll be cool enough after a run to be able to touch them without burning yourself Not grab and hold on, but touch anyways, which is still incredible! For anyone in WA/Australia i believe the guy has kept a mold and is happy to make more for anyone interested 6-2-1, 22" equal length extractors into 2.5" Collector and soon to be built 2.5" exhaust. Looking for 210ish RWHP after new tune, sporting the new 3.9 diff and fully adjustable cam gear Last run was 135 hub kW without cam timing adjustment and with the 3.5 diff. Can't wait till i get the good ole 4.4 back in (after next season) and see what sort of times it does down the strip (4.4 diff = 240rwhp) BTW: Was going to get the Stahl L-6 headers from the states, but with our dollar crash this was a cheaper alternative, hence it won out. One thing that you might note compared to the stahl headers is how much room these things occupy. Obviously these are for a RHD car and so dont have to wander around steering mechanisms or the brake booster. Engine is L28, F54 block with shaved deck, 0.06" overbore (3.9something litres??), flat top pistons, shaved P90 head, triple 45 webers. 200-220 psi wet and dry compression tests Been chasing 'big' power for a while and i am SO close to announcing that upgrades on the car are finished!! its been 4.5 years in the making and i cant wait to get these on and the new t/c rods to replace the ones that snapped and then i WILL be done *giggity* More pics when it goes on the car (far side of exams, so a couple weeks).

Lex, any details on size, offsets and spacers if you use any please? also what suspension are you running. Im looking at getting some sportmaxx 006 or 003's but i cant seem to find any decent offsets for Z's, only +35/40 which i believe would need a spacer on a 7" rim width.

For the road: Stockies. 14x5.5 running 195/60/14 tyres. big balloons to add softening to the suspension for daily driving For the track: Unknown japanese 3 piece ultra light-wieght 3 piece aluminium doobies. 15x6.5 running 225/50/15 race rubber

do you mean to say that Va motorsport manufacture the techtoytuning arm or do they make their own? i dont read dutch so the site was a bit hard to navigate and i couldnt find anything that looked like an online parts section.... Probably put urethane bushes in regardless to reduce that noise and reduce impact on the chassis. that part of the chassis is original i believe and i dont want to go unneccesarily cracking fram rails

im looking at the techtoytuning ones at the moment as the best option. anyone had any experience with them?

went to see the engineer today and when i showed him the broken rod he vehemently denied that he would ever do such a thing. So yeah no help there, im just glad that given what other circumstances it might have failed under that it wasnt worse and that no one was injured. Any more details on these ball joints? pics of other peoples or links on how to adapt it? Going to bathurst next year and the car will be gone from early Jan so i need to get on this pretty quick.

As the title says, last weekend I was out at the track for a regularity event when on the first lap of the first event for the day I was coming down the hill into the 90 degree right hander at about 180kph when I stood on the brakes and the radius rod snapped. Good thing it had been a while since id been at the track and I hadn’t had a good chance to get to know the new brakes at my 'home' track. I’m in Perth, Australia, so some ozies might know Wanneroo raceway that the v8's visit annually. The track is basically an over sized backwards L with a big hill in the middle of the top stroke. Coming back down the hill towards the right-hander onto pit straight, trying hard to stay ahead of another datsun 260, pushing the left hand edge of the track. I hit my 'old' braking marker and push HARD on the brakes to see how much better the new brakes are over the older 2 pots, when suddenly the wheel snaps right in my hand. I get off the brakes and JUST manage to keep the car on the track. So I’ve got this guy on my tail that I’m trying to stay ahead of and now I’m on the inside of the track approaching the corner WAY to fast. I grab the brakes again, more gently this time, and whilst it’s trying to pull hard right I manage to wash off enough speed to get around the corner, even if I did hit the outside curb hard. All the while I’m thinking something is SERIOUSLY wrong with the car. At first I think it might have been something like a brake failure, but they’re new brakes and I’ve just done 500k's around Bathurst and they were fine. Now it’s time to back off. I slow down and proceed slowly around the track whilst indicating with indicators and my hand out the window that I’m on a slow lap. I make my way round the track and head directly for the pits. I get back to the garage and without even waiting for the car to cool down I’ve got my gloves on to ensure I don’t burn my hands and I start to jack the car up and remove the right front wheel. I can’t put my finger on why the right, because if it was a brake failure and pulled right it would be a left brake failure, but it just felt like something was wrong the right hand side of the car. So I keep working and get the car up and the wheel off.... Now of all the things in the world to find I was NOT expecting this: They're standard radius rods with a thread cut into them allow for toe adjustment and they’ve failed right on the nut. Good thing that they didn’t break further back because without the nut to hold the rod in relative place then the front wheel would have collapsed, probably sending me pirouetting down the hill at a phenomenal rate into a nice soft concrete wall. The other scary thing is in the past few weeks I’ve done several hundred kilometers on the road. Imagin if I’d hit the brakes in an emergency on the road and this had happened... !!! Just counting my lucky stars at the moment that I’m ok! If it had been Bathurst earlier in the year it would have been a concrete wall at 230kph, a few weeks earlier on the road and it would have been a curb, car or some other unpleasant solid object. Needless to say, 2 new radius rods have just gone in, I WONT be threading them in the same way that I did last time and I’ll probably be looking for a manufactured alternative rather than a custom mod. All in all a scary adventure but a scary reminder of the dangers involved with the speeds and forces involved in racing. Tom.

Hi all, Not been around for a while, busy racing (http://au.youtube.com/user/whittie260) and with uni, but im in the market for some new rims and i cant find the info im after and im really confused trying to get answers from others posts. I'm after some 18" rims and i just want to know what is the largest width i can fit under the car with standard size springs and without flaring the guards. I believe this is 7" with a 0 offset but im not sure. 8" would be great but the ultimate requirement is not having to disturb the original lines on the body. The car is a 260z and has what i believe is the original struts with koni shocks and king springs that are the same size (ie diameter) as original and ive read/heard many stories about rubbing tyres against guards and suspension and really dont want to have to deal with it. The car also has the holden big brake upgrade (4 pot fronts with ventilated discs) and r31 rear discs. I believe this has made no differance in the rear but i know that the rims i use now used to need a 10mm spacer to clear the suspension but no longer do. i dunno what they are as theyve been on the car since the p.o. but they are 15*6.5. So yeah any help with understanding the crazy offset requirements of the zed would be GREAT! Tom.