GrayZee

Yes the tag on the 280z says 170hp but that is gross HP and the zx is rated in brake-horsepower. They are both L28 engines and actually have very similar HP but the later models are supposed to be slightly improved with better combustion chambers.

Yes the clutch is the same but unfortunatly the bellhousing bolt patern is different from a L to a VG engine.

Ever rode a motorcycle? Same idea only worse. Drive around all day with a passenger, then went you take it out on your own the bike feels like it picked up a ton of HP (bring on the fat chicks jokes!) LOL

Actually if you go to the "engine components" section you will see that it is broken down into sub-sections and that is where you will find the turbo/super forum. Do a search, I'm sure everything you wanna know is there.

are you talking RB26? my buddy has some for sale.

Yes apologies for hijacking the thread.. Drax, the flange is made of two 1/4" laser cut peices. The reason being we wanted it 1/2" think but the laser cuts are not as good on 1/2 SS (I guess SS is shiny and the laser bounces around alot) We've done water-jet cutting too, but that's alot more expensive. I know you have alot more technical knowlege about the physics of this. All I know is what I "think" would flow better, you may be right about the turbulence at the diffuser but then again I can tell you that I noticed a HUGE difference in the lag. Now it is practially non-existant! On a further note, I'm sure the 2.5" pipe works very well and it is likely not worth swapping to 3" However if you don't have a DP and are building one, my advise would be go to the 3" right off the bat.

Can anybody tell me what the differences are between the heads on a 84 300zx turbo VS. a 87 Pathfinder (if there are any?) I'm sure the cams are different.

Did you not see the "diffuser" in the pic of my DP I posted a while back? Mine is 2.5 to 3" and it also uses two 45 degree bends like yours. Although I will admit that it is VERY tight! http://members.shaw.ca/icecube/DPclose.jpg I'm sure you are aware of the huge difference of the surface area of a 2.5" circle VS a 3" circle. All other things being equal (degree of the pipe bends, ect.) There would be alot less back pressure and turbulence on the 3" system. Otherwise why is it that people use a 2.5" DP and then flare out to a 3" exhaust system if there were no gains to the larger pipe?

The ignition module on a 76 is under the dash near the fuse box.

Actually I think you guys (Drax and Scottie) are right about not getting any higher peak HP from the 3" DP but don't you think it would help the turbo spool up a tiny bit faster? I mean look at the improvement you get from going from the stock DP to the 2.5 dual 45degree bends, wouldn't a 3" be even better? Once the turbo is spooled up, as you say.. it will only flow so much anyway. I can definatly see it cutting back on the lag factor though. Also I forgot that Thumper is running a ZX so a DP with 45 degree bends wouldn't be possible. However if you are forced to use 90 degree bends then isn't that all the more reason to go 3 inch?

My buddy had similar problems with his RB26deTT with SDS. The engine had very slight hicups and hesitation under certain load conditions. Overall it was a minor detail but was still annoying. He never did figure it out, but I'm betting that he didn't spend a huge amount of time trying to correct it either. He isn't on this board much anymore but I'll ask him to read your post.

What kind of downpipe are you running? With the Nissan tranny you may be able to upgrade that now too. You can SQUEEZE in a 3 incher!

Yeah no kidding.. my goal was actually to break 13's I guess I should set my sights higher!

The more power your engine has the lower number gear ratio you want. I'm running a 3.54 with a 83 Nissan 5spd and so far my best quarter mile et was 94mph in 3rd gear near redline. You really wanna avoid making that extra shift into 4th gear if at all possible. (5th gear in your case) I've been in Z cars with similar power but with the 3.90 and it feels like they have to shift gears way sooner and therefore waste more time shifting gears. Drax is right, a 3.90 would likely just increase traction problems.

I believe the way people usually go is to install flatop pistons. It's been a while since I read up on it, but the P90 head is supposed to have superior flow and combustion chamber design. Going to the N42 would be a downgrade.

I'm curious, what's the best times anyone has ever done on a L28et without a intercooler (or without water injection, ect) I would like to see how far I can go with my car with just a 3" exhaust, upgraded injectors, pump and ecu. I also plan on running a upgraded clutch and drag slicks. I wanted to upgrade the turbo and intercool it but somehow I doubt I will have the cash.

Triple carbs won't be a good setup unless you get alot of head work and a cam, but if you want to buy a set of triple carbs then you are probably better off bolting them to your stock engine than a engine designed for turbocharging. A turbo engine has dished pistons in combination with a large chamber cylinder head to make for a very low compression ratio (7.3 to 1) That setup works good with forced induction but on any normal carb setup that would be terrible. You would LOSE power. Also the dollar to horsepower ratio is always better with a turbo on a Nissan L6 engine. Getting large amount of HP with a carb'd Nissan engine is possible but with alot of $$$ Turbo is MUCH cheaper!! Wiring up a new ECU really isn't that hard, there are only seven wires to connect from the 83 wiring harness. Buying the whole car would be the best bet but if that isn't practical then you should work out a package deal with the wrecking yard so that you get EVERYTHING you need to do the swap. What comes to mind is the.. Engine (complete with intake, turbo, distributor, ect) and it probably has hydraulic lifters (P90A head) not a bad thing, I actually like not having to adjust my valves all the time. Only problem they are very hard to come by if you need a replacement lifter. Transmission (assuming you want/don't have a five speed) Is it a Nissan trans or a Borg-Warner? The B/W trans is bulkier and limits your choice of exhaust setups. The late model Nissan trans has a steeper gear ratio that turbo engines like. It is likely that the differential ratio in your car will work well with this setup, but you make want to consider upgrading to the R200 diff (the 83 will have one) Or you can always wait til you kill your R180 (which may or may not happen) The clutch assembly (it has a bigger stronger clutch then the 260) and the small 260 clutch might start slipping when driving it hard. (although a if it has a B/W trans the clutch probably won't work with a Nissan tranny) The ECU The wiring harness.. This is the harness that runs from the ecu to the engine sensors and injectors. It is completely SEPARATE from the rest of the car. so it makes things alot easier. The AFM (air flow meter) The Coil and spark trigger unit (they are mounted together) Also grab the electrical plug that plugs in the trigger. The fuel pump.. You can either make this work with your car or buy a aftermarket one. Walboro is popular. Oil cooler these are usally only on automatic models however. You'll also need to swap in a 280z gas tank (75 to 76?) and fuel lines. You also have to consider that you are going to do about making the exhaust system work. (easiest is to just get a completely new system) The air intake/filter setup has to be considered. (maybe just a K&N on a 3" pipe)

I was always under the impression that because of the lower compression that a turbo engine actually burns cleaner than a n/a So assuming that I am right.. (and I'm not saying that I am) Why would they care if you put a turbo engine in your car?

Are you planning on custom making exhaust manifolds? In the stock setup the turbo is mounted in the same place as the n/a engine mount. So if you want to use the stock turbo exhaust manifold then you'll have to move the engine mount. It would probably be easier to get your hands on a complete turbo donor car and take everthing. (including the crossmember)

Violacleff, I explained to Bastaad525 how to wire up a fuel pump relay a while back. I think I even sent you the link for it. Did you read it? Or perhaps you just didn't understand it? Here it is again. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=96479&page=1&pp=10 the info is in post #12

I am also wondering.. you said that the fuel pump works. If you turn the ignition on but do not turn it to start does the fuel pump come on and then stop after a few seconds? If it does not turn off after a few seconds then the fuel pump relay is not wired up properly. Of course you will still get fuel, but the reason I am asking is that if the fuel pump turns on and off on it's own then the ecu is doing it's job and is therefore likely in good working order. Another thing, if you unplug the ecu and look very closely at the 3 plugs you will see that the pinouts have numbers stamped on them. Like Afshin said, pin #5 is the ignition trigger. Connect a ohm meter lead to that pin and the other other lead to the ignition trigger at the coil (you'll likely need a jumper wire to have enough length) You should have continuity between the two points, if not, that's likely your problem. Good luck, and don't give up yet! It's very likely something VERY simple like a bad connection somewhere. I don't have a copy of the pinout #'s but maybe someone can chime in and list one for Violacleff? I found one online but it's for a 84zx NA, http://z31.com/oboard/archives/view.pl?160

Ahh.. signs of winter in the Great White North. Dr. Frankenstein is in his basement again! It's ALIVE! ALIVE I TELL YOU!!!

You driving? it's a little far, and my Z will probably still be in storage. I got a idea, why don't you bring down some re-chipped z31 chips and finance our trip?

Ok, this might be a stupid question, but what is sez? (whoops I almost typo'd and wrote "sex" LOL

Ok, sorry, I did a search but no matter what I wrote I kept getting "no matches" Here's the question, I'm getting ready to drop in the Vg30et in my Pathfinder and I need to make a tube to catch the oil from the turbo and drain into the oil pan. It's gonna be make simply out of 3/4" copper plumbing pipe. I was gonna connect them on the two ends with some heater hose but someone suggested that I might need hose that is more heavy duty, anyone have any thoughts?