Z-Gad

Wow Scottie, I think I know the car and think I know the people you are talking about... I know it is not the safest nor brightest thing to do, but it was on SR 528 leaving Cocoa and returning to Orlando ~ 2am Friday morning. There were no other cars on the road, and we weren't racing anyone. I don't plan on ever doing it again, but I felt I just had to try it once. Anyway, I haven't swapped the valve springs yet though. I don't want to run again @ the track until I do so. I have to see if I can get my hands on a valve spring compressor, where I don't have to remove the head and I have to figure out a way to hold the valves up while I swap the springs. I am too tired of taking the head off this block. I have done it WAAAYYYY too many times now.

Thanks everyone. My thought was that the springs were too stiff, but it is nice to get some other feedback. I will go back to the stock springs. I have a couple of sets. I am using the turbo automatic oil pump w/ the performance springs so I have plenty of pressure. If I am losing power due to this, I can't see it being too much. If it is then My buddy and I burried the speedometer in the turbo last night on a nice long empty stretch of highway in the middle of nowhere...just wanted to see if the car could do it

Thank you for the clarification on bleed down. My latest issue is as follows.... When I run the car hard above around ~6500 rpm, the engine will begin to run rough almost as though all of the cylinders aren't firing, or the valves aren't opening completely. I will allow the engine to idle far a while and after 5-10 minutes, it will be back to normal. It only seems to happen when the engine is spun up to high rpm very quickly (easy to do w/ the turbo). I began to think that the valve springs may be too stiff and the lifters aren't able to pump up properly. When the car is idling, the oil pressure is 15 - 20 lbs. If I get into it too quickly, maybe the oil pressure needs more time to build to properly to pressurize the lifters than the motor is giving it due to the stiffer valve springs... Anyway, when I put together the engine, I replaced the stock valve spings with significantly stiffer valve springs. I do not remember the stiffness, but I remember checking them on a spring compressor and seeing that they were about twice as strong. (They came off an old 240z GT2 race motor). Could these be my problem? Thanks for your input, mike

I know Scottie GNZ can vouch for this...there's a blue 70 240z here in Orlando that ran 11.7 @ 119 on street tires and pump gas. The engine was stock internals, but ran an SDS, T3/T4 turbo, bigger injectors, huge intercooler, with bookoo boost, 3" exhaust, etc and a very experienced driver. I would have to say that you don't HAVE to beef up the internals to run 11's, and stick you $ elsewhere...like...the best intercooler you could afford, better engine management, large exhaust, etc

Hopefully someone can answer a couple'a questions for me. I have heard the phrase of hydraulic lifters "bleeding down" above 7k rpms, but what would the symptoms of that be and how would that effect the way the engine runs? I am trying to identify the symptoms my turbo engine gives me once in a while... Thanks, Mike

$100 !! I'll sell you a set for $25 + shipping mike

Excellent find, but your Z may not be the 2nd fastest in your garage for long

Thanks Grumpy, i was wondering about that myself..

Well Ian, I went with the LZ24 pistons first as well. They lasted all of ~1500 miles before I started shattering ring lands. I went with ROSS pistons and Total Seal rings and...so far so good.

When I swapped the BW T-5 into my 73, I had to make slots in the tranny mount, and that was it. The crossmember was about and inch too far back. The driveshaft was just short enough to fit in between the R200 and the BW tranny. You will also need the companion flange from the turbo rear end. (I assume you already have an R200) The BW driveshaft uses a different rear end flange than the normal Z tranny. The gear shift also sits kinda far forward as well. I picked up a stock Mustang 5.0 shifter from the Mustang T-5 for $20 delivered off of Ebay. It has a nice curve to it and sits the shift handle where it should be. The only caveat was that I had to cut the front part of the 73 console to make everything fit. I really like the BW 5-speed in my 240. The highway gearing is perfect with the 3.70 rear end. If you have any Q's, feel free to drop me a line.

The knock sensitivity can be adjusted. I am just going to disable the knock sensor for the time being and go from there. As far as location, I'm not sure where the best place would be.

Thanks SHANE, it was the knock sensor screwing with the timing. I had the knock sensor attached to the engine block instead of the cylinder head and it must have sensed the pistons slapping around while under boost. Problem solved and now it is on to tuning...

First, thanks for the quick input guys, I'm trying my hardest to get this thing sorted out before Friday. I'd hate to make the trip to Montgomery Alabama as a spectator. Now.. SHANE, I am running 93 octane pump gas and as far as I can tell, no pinging or dieseling of the fuel. As boost builds, I have been getting a little bit of hesitation, but I think that is due to the timing values jumping all over the place. When I accelerate slowly(building no boost), it smoothly accelerates through the rpm band. I am running a knock sensor and will try turning it down to zero and see what happens. Dan, interesting thought as well. I have read about improper shielding of the ECU as well (i.e. keeping it out of the engine bay), I have my sensor wiring along the walls of the engine bay away from the enging) and the ECU is in the stock 77 location on the driver's side where the kick panel is. It seems to effect only the timing values though. This is new ground for me as well.

I posted this on the SDS site as well, since it is more SDS related, but I thought I might get some useful suggestions here from those of you who are familiar with aftermarket engine management... Hello all. I am having an odd problem with my timing when under boost... so here goes... My timing begins at 20 and ramps up to 40. When the boost begins to build, I have been watching my total timing on the SDS programmer. My total timing will go from 38 or so just before to boost begins, to reading all kinds of strange numbers. It will go back to 20, 16, 6,1,0,255, just totally off of the scale. I am retarding about 1 deree per pound of boost up to 15 lbs. I have checked all of my IGN timing and IGN RET values and they all appear to be normal. I also checked the sensor to magnet clearance and it is w/in specs. Any thoughts? The engine is an L28 280zx turbo engine. Thank you in advance for your suggestions, Mike Gadwaw Orlando, Fl

I agree w. LJ, check that Crankshaft pulley (harmonic balancer) bolt and make sure it is tight. I had the same problem on my 73...

I've got a pic of the Enkei black mesh 16's on my 77. I just don't have a place to host it. If you'd like to see them, drop me an email and I'll shoot you the pic. Mike

Hey Scottie, I didn't even realize that they were in PA. I am sure if I took it down to pieces parts, I could fit it into the Z for the ride home. I mean, it has to fit in there when assembled anyway!!

I know there are differing opinions on the S&W roll bars and cages, but just thought I'd throw out a heads up for any of you (like me) who have been putting off a purchase... Roll Bar & Roll Cage Sale - Now Going On 8 Point Roll Bars - $109.95 10 Point Roll Cages - $159.95 Save $40.00, offer good till Sept. 30th 2002 Last chance at this price!!! Here's their site... http://www.swracecars.com/

I don't know Scottie ... James may have your number

Also, the modded n/a cam you have may not be good for turbo applications either...

Kevin and Mike, this has been a most inciteful thread. I do not forsee myself following suite should I find myself in that situation, however it has given me something to think about and a new perspective of what a "citation" actually is. This forum never ceases to amaze me

Thanks guys, fortunately it was from a rolling start. It is hard to take a turbo Z from a roll. Had we been from a dead stop, I'm thinking he would have gotten a bigger jump on me, but with the same result Having had the car down for the last 3-4 months...Boy have I missed that feeling

OOPS!!

Yep, I'll be there. i need to get this thing sorted out for the big event on the 15th up there in Alabama.