ProjectSR20

I know that the overall price for the diff. swap can depend on many things such as how much you paid for the diff or what kind you choose. My question: does swaping the diff usually come out to cost the same no matter what diff you choose. Or is there a big difference. I understand that no matter what the choice is you need the companion flanges, ect... Is this correct? I am really trying to justify swapping to an LSD unit in my head, but the price seems to far outway the benefits to me at thsi moment. Thanks for any input guys.

Is this backup power thing something that is common to all engine managment systems? Or just the PowerFC? I really don't want some mundane detail like this coming to bite me in the butt later. Thanks.

In terms of something being cost effective, the best one I have seen so far is the R160 diff. from a Subaru Turbo. There are alot of people out there that say these are too weak. From what I have seen I think it would hold up to the power of a SR20. I'm not sure how long it would hold up under hard launches for drag racing, but for street use it should hold. My logic, please correct me if I'm wrong, is that even though it is not as stout as the R180 or R200 it doen't matter too much because you are not looking at 250+ ft/lbs off the line like a V8. I have talked to several guys on this site that are using the same diff behind a L6 and it seems to hold up. One guy (can't remember his name, ill look later) told me that he has been running one for several years, mostly street duty with some drags, and he hasn't had any problems with things breaking. I haven't spent too much time pricing them yet, but I'm sure you could pull one out of a junkyard and rebuild it for a couple hundred bucks at the most. I'll try and find out exactlly what models of Subaru you can take one from if anyones interested (I have several friends that are Subaru die hards). All in all it sounds like a good option to me.

Alex, do you know of anywhere to get the nismo lsd and about how much it costs? Thanks.

I found it very helpful. Now I have a better idea of what I will be looking at in terms of cost. You choose alot of parts that I am looking at getting for my swap. On another note...what are you guys running in you rear end? And if its not stock, how much did it cost to do a diff swap. Right now I am looking at getting an R160 LSD from a Subaru Impreza. I guess I am curious if there is anything thats better and cheaper.

Your secret should be safe with us LOL...

What part of Washington are you in? Im in Yakima. I haven't been able to find any shops in the area that seem to know anything about this swap. Much less anyone that really knows anything about a Z. I think I might do the same and get the parts and do the labor myself. As for costs it really depends on what you want to do. I have priced the DET's and they all seem to be around the $2,000 range for the complete motor. Some are a little more and some are less. The thing you want to pay close attention to if you buy one is wether or not it comes with the MAF & Ignitor. I have heard that these can be rather expensive and hard to find. A good person to talk to here on the boards is Alex @ Vildini. His name is SR240Z. He has done several of these swaps and from what I've seen does some da** good work. Plus hes got lots of pretty pics on his site .

I did some searching last night and the stock motor in that jeep was a 4-cylinder making just 60 hp and 105 ft/lbs of torque. I think an L24 would make that thing fly compared to the stock motor.

Yeah. A sand rail would be really sweet. I don't think I have the time to invest in one sadly.... I would for sure pump the engine up some. There would be no point in leaving it stock

For some reason I thought that the L series motors were fairly torquey, I could be wrong though, maybe thats just the L28. And yes, the origional motor was pulled out, from what I understand, about 20 years ago and a Ford straight 6 and steering assembly was put in. So you don't think that with some 5.xx gears that it would be enough to get it moving well? It's not that I MUST use the Z motor in the Jeep. I am just going to have an extra motor laying around and was trying to think of something to do with it. I would also most certainly put in a cam among other things to give it a bit more power. Could this help?

Well' date=' I guess it sounded like a better idea in my head. For some reason I wasnt thinking of the added weight...but it is a 1957. I know for a fact that it weighs no where near what today's jeeps do. This thing is tiny. I know the motor that is in it right now is a Ford straight 6, not sure of the displacement. It's an [b']OLD[/b] one that's completely stock with a single 2bbl carb on it. Am I wrong in assuming that a L24 would be putting out as much as if not more power??? Also, total power output doesn't concern me too much. There are many things that can be done with gearing to make a motor putting out 150 whp pull a tree out of the ground. I am not too concerned with gas milage, top speed or cruising rpm's as this would see only dirt roads and hill climbs by my house.

Not to try and steel this thread, but what about going the other direction?? What do you guys think of a L24 in a 1957 Jeep. My grandpa just passed away so I inherited some cars (as well as a 1964 Monza Spyder Turbo . The jeep is going to need alot of custom fab work done anyways from 30 years of sitting in a field. So thats not going to turn me away. I am going to rip the L24 out of my 240 so I will have an extra motor just sitting around. I guess my main question is would the L24 be worth putting in there? Is it a motor that could handle the off road punishment and such without falling apart? The Jeep has a straight 6 in it right now so I assume it would fit but I need to measure it. Any ideas on how to get the engine to work with the 4 wheel drive system?? I know this should probably be on a jeep forum, but I figured I would try here first. Thanks for any ideas guys!

Welcome to the minority!! More power to you for not going with the masses. Good luck too.

I totally agree with Alex on the SDS being very user friendly. I have heard nothing but praise on how easy it is to get set up and running. I think it might be a little on the pricey side though. That is the only thing that drove me away from it (...tight budget...). Wide band is a must. The stock O2 sensor is way too inacurate for any kind of tuning. These can run you a pretty penny too. I know APexi makes a good wideband setup. I want to say that the last time I looked at it it was around $1,000, I could be wrong. Clifton also it the nail on the head. You must tune it with the injectors you plan on running, due to the duty cycle and ammount of fuel different injectors put out. If you tune it with 300cc injectors for example, and drop in 550's your map will be totally off and you would just need to retune. As far as tuning goes, if you are not going to have a shop do it, READ EVERYTHING YOU CAN!! I had a friend that tried to tune his stanalone system by himself and ended up running his motor way too lean at about 6,000 rpm and basically started melting it. A long, straight, flat road is the best. Try and do a couple of 4th & 5th gear pulls (this might not work for you, not sure what the roads in you area are like) Keep an eye on your AF ratio and your boost level. Spikes are very bad and could be a sign of detonation. (You seem like a smart guy so im sure you have an idea of this already). If I remeber correctly you have a fairly large intercooler so this might not be too much of a concern.

I am not very familiar withmost of the systems on the market but I do know a little. Once I get my motor in and running I am just going to stick with the A'pexi SAFC. For my needs, the price and what it does it is the best buy. I have a friend with a turbo'ed Impreza 2.5 RS that is running a full Lynksdata sp? system that I know from helping him is a pain to tune unless you really know what you are doing. A full standaolone system is great but for some people its overkill ( I'm not sure what your power goals are). Alot of it is in personal preference. People like some features that one system offers vs. another. Another system that I looked at was a SDS setup. I have heard lots of good things about them. Come to think of it I dont think I have actually read anything negative enough about anyone to make me not buy their product. I am sure there are plenty of other people that know more than me. Thats just my 0.02

I have actually talked to the guys at technotoytuning and they seem to know their stuff. I would not be the least bit worried about buying something from them.

I have actually talked to the guys at technotoytuning and they seem to know their stuff. I would not be the least bit worried about buying something from them.

I guess this is a question for someone that has done this before but what would be involved in swapping the suspension from say an s13 to a Z? I know that it must be a very involved swap, just curious to see if anyone has done this before. Not only would the sr20 make the car extremely fast, I think the suspension would make one heck of a good handling car. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I think I remember someone on this site trying to swap the underside of a skyline into a Z. Motor, tranny, suspension, the works... Thats what I call crazy. The only limit is money and your imagination.

I could be wrong on this one but I have heard from several people that the 6 speed is too week. I should clarify, too week if you are going to drag race. Road racing or auto-x should be fine. From what I understand they use the same tranny (case?) but they cram 6 gears in instead of 5 thus making the 6 gears thinner and more prone to breakage.

Does anyone know what year/models of subaru to get the lsd r160 from. I have been doing alot of reading and I think the is the route that I want to go.

It looks like this thread has been dead for a while but I want to know what happened to this motor? I really want to see what that would do in a Z. Anyone have any info?

You might try the search button first. Im not rying to be rude but I know this has been covered before. Maybe not exactly a 280zx. The drivetrain is not the only thing that you will have to change to get that motor in. I am currently working on swaping it into a 240z. You will need a custom driveshaft. Motors mounts cant be bought at NAPA either. There are several guys on this site that might be able to get you some mounts. You can find adjustable coilovers all over. Try this http://www.autocarparts.com/part/408/310 or http://www.arizonazcar.com/strassy.html. Be prepared to get out your wallet for the second one. As for 280zx vs. 240z it is all up to you. I chose the 240 just because I think it has cleaner lines and is lighter. Plus that motor looks badass in that engine bay. It also seems to make for a fun ride as well. This hardly scratches the surface but do some searching and you will find what you are looking for.

Check this post. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=77192 It will tell you alot. Probably the easiest way to purchase the motor is to find a shop that imports JDM motors. The swap does involve a fair amount of custom fabbing. Alex at Vildini is the master when it comes to this. He can make motor mounts for you.

Gollum is correct. I believe you can order them from MSA.