cobramatt

MTI stands for Motorsports Technology Industries or Matthew Transmission Isbell whichever works for the situation I'm in. There is no denying the sequential is sick. The Emco is $38K after everything and its loud as hell. This one is smooth and extremely quiet for $25k and it uses the T56 housing. There are other things I would do before I spent the money on one for myself. In my cars case I would tube frame my car and design the cars suspension and undertray like a modern racecar. This is what I should have done when I started but I really never envisioned the car I have today doing what it does and being capable of what it does either. If you are wanting to stick with Drag racing mostly then the sequential would not be the way to go.

Understood. Let me work out the kinks of the set up and make it right then I'll let you know what someone would be looking at for the set up. Thx...

Are you asking whether you want to buy my old set up or a new set up? I've already sold you a perfectly good LSD that should be working great for you. Why would you need another one?

The progress is great in that we have shipped and sold every one we have completed and an "undisclosed" LMP car maunufacturer has our gearbox in it and they want to spec it for all the other ones they produce. It costs $25k and compared to an emco it is quiet and smooth. Paddle shifter options will be available soon and will be around a $7k to $10k option upgrade. How many did you want? You ask...........Why dont I have one in my Datsun? Well its simple. I dont have $25k. to replace a tranny that I already win with.

I appreciate the comments and if you are ever this way and I'm around dont hesitate to give me a call.

We have reached a solution to the ring and pinion / diff failure issues. We are installing an MTI Racing built Ford Motorsports 8.8 Differential. MTI Machine will be fabricating all the new mounts and structures. Here is a picture of one that was being shipped out today to be installed on a GTO. I haven't decided on the gears as we need to look at the data and see if we can improve by making a few changes there. I'll keep you posted. We all know that nothing is bullet proof.........However this is a whole lot more to work with. Strangely, it is larger than my Q45 pumpkin but weighs less due to it being all aluminum and not steel. The cost to keep replacing and repairing the one I have is just not paying off. I think it still is the best option for most HybridZ builds and track cars but I seem to be a little harder on mine than usual. Its hard to say that its money well spent after all we all can relate to spending stupid amounts of money on these builds but this is money well spent. I have proven that the amount of torque I am putting to the wheels will cut the shelf life of my present setup considerably. For the record my setup was the Q-45 pumpkin and the carbonetic diff with the custom AZC axels. The only axel failures I've experienced have been in the boots leaking or flying off at high speed, so no broken axels. Here is also a shot of the new brake set up behind the wheel. If anyone is interested in this Differential setup for their car please let me know...............

The one VERY bright spot to my weekend was the new MTI Designed AP Racing brakes that we custom made the brackets and hats to adapt to my AZC stuff that came with the wilwood 6 piston brakes. The rotors and calipers compared to the Wilwood stuff makes them look as if they came off a lawn tractor. I have been able to do fairly well with the old setup and have a ton of real data to compare the new set up to the old set up. The track this past weekend was around 2 seconds off of its normal times due to it being August and hot as hell and slippery. That was the consensus from some other seasoned drivers times. The new setup allowed me to be .3 seconds off of my all time low time. This is very encouraging and I am looking to try and find a 1:26 before its all over or I kill myself trying. I would never suggest someone testing a completely new brake set up that doesn't even exist on another car at Road Atlanta in a NASA SE Thunder race. It seemed like a good idea at the time for some reason........ I would love to know if anyone would be interested in this AP Racing big brake set up for their car? I have 17" CCW Classic race stepped lip wheels and their is still 1/4 inch of clearance on the barrel. The reason I went with the AP Racing package is because it is the same exact one on my Corvette. Now I have the same set up and pads on both cars. For the record they are CarboTech XP-20's.

Well this past weekend didn't go exactly as planned. Blew the Q45 diff again going down the back straight at Road Atlanta after leading from pole for the entire race up until the next to last lap. I am fortunate that I was only going 75mph coming out of T7 rather than 160 at 10A. If it had locked up I would have gone for a ride into something hard. To be specific on the mechanical breakdown. The ring and pinion are what keeps shearing itself up. This will be the third one I've destroyed. We have chriode and polished them and done everything in our power to prolong their life, it is just not working out and thats about the only Nissan part left on the car. I blew the last one at Barber 11 months ago at Z nationals. So that means they are lasting me about 15 to 18 races. Did however set a new NASA SE Road Atlanta V1 in race track record ......1:28.3 This is not the way to come off track.........

This is not quite as entertaining as a new episode of Duck Dynasty, but I keep checking back in to get the latest. LSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLS THERE..........If anyone didn't know where I stood on the matter. Also you mentioned a page or two ago about dry sump vs. accusump. Just wait till you can do the dry sump to really make things right for what you want to do, IMO. I thought you got an ARE pan from Mark a while back?

No suggestions or advise coming from me.............Ok maybe just a little. I can assure you that an LS setup has been a very good and reliable choice for me and has never been the weak link in my set up. I built my Corvette as my track car that I can flog and give joy rides in and the Z is only going to see the track if it's racing. I agree that the Z is not designed nor was ever engineered for doing endurance racing or repetitive track sessions. My crew chief and I were discussing your situation and the first thing he said was, "I bet he misses his Porsche". I hope for many reasons that you decide not to sell the car but take a step back and then make an educated decision without the frustration of breaking down again on track being fresh in your head. You bring a lot to the table and many people have come to know you as one of the go to people here on the forum and one to promote how wonderful Z Life is and can be. This throw in the towel attitude is going to pass, you will always be a Z guy and for many peoples sake, including mine, I hope you just change whats under the hood as it seems to be the common denominator in 90% of the break down issues. Put the shoe on the other foot.............If the car had run great at VIR, you would be talking about how absolutely wonderful it was to smoke just about every car on the track with a 40 something year old Z car. You would be saying how everybody at the track thought the car was a beast and were wowed by its performance. All the women in the surrounding area would hear of how incredibly good looking and manly you were while driving this incredible piece of art that you have created. Every guy at the track would want to be you. You gonna give that all up because your engine let you down???? You gonna go get another Porsche and blend in with all the other Porsche guys. Wow, thats sounds like fun. The last few race weekends I have had are over Sat. and Sun. Both days have an hour long race and are based on the same drivers, rules, and track. I have won both Saturday races overall. I beat the entire field starting from the third split. I don't mean I beat some thunder roadsters or e30's but some damn fast Porsches, Stock cars, GTR's, and the rest of the supporting cast. On Sunday I broke down due to something out of my control and was forced to DNF. The reason I point this out is people will come up to me in the paddock afterwards and express their sorrow and thoughts on the fact that I didn't finish. I first thank them for their condolences but quickly point out that if given my way I would rather take an overall race victory and beat everybody at the track for one of two days than finish both races in the middle of the pack. I could finish both days in the middle of the pack if I had a Porsche but I wouldn't look or feel near as cool as I do when I kick everybody's ass in a HYBRID Z that just like yours breathes fire and commands respect from everyone at the dance. I look forward to seeing your car on track in the near future with it's new LS setup. I know you can do it for much cheaper but if you want us to build you an LS fire-breathing dragon............bring me your car.

Mike, If one of those 458 Challenge cars is white and a husband and wife team driving it.......................Beautiful car (and trailer and toter) just make sure to flash your lights when your on their bumper as none of their mirrors seem to work. My Canadian friends are very nice and good drivers. I was hoping that Mike in his red 86 would somehow get you as an instructor and he could make headway getting your input, like we did at RA, over his compadres that thought an instructor was not needed. Please be sure to tell them hello from me. I checked the forecast and it looks like all you really need to watch out for is falling trees.

Finally......... I was going to come up and surprise you today at VIR but it just didn't work out. Mark asked me this past weekend if there was any way I could come up. I have appointments today and tomorrow that were impossible to reschedule. Have a safe and fast time......... This past weekend at RA with Chin we had 4 complete totals, 3 corvettes and 1 e36. Preach that safety. Look for a guy in an '86 red porsche. His name is Mike Halsey and he and his companions are from Ontario and doing a tour of tracks. He was my student for the weekend. Please introduce yourself and let him know we are friends. I would ask you to give him a ride but I know you don't have the extra seat anymore.

Thank you. I appreciate the compliments. I don't know if this will work but we can try this first. This is a link to my photobucket account. I noticed you are in CA. Thats too bad as I try and make myself available to forum members who want a ride at the track. The Vette is for just that, giving joy rides and instruction. I will be instructing at Road Atlanta this next weekend and giving certain people rides in the Vette at speed. If you ever have any questions about the Vette please feel free to call me at 404-218-0588 or e mail me at matt@mtiracing.com. http://s1285.photobucket.com/user/MattIsbell/library/?sort=3&page=1

Barber is not as fast as RA but in all honesty there are only a few tracks in the SE that wont bite back. I've seen devastating wrecks at both and it really boils down to the driver. I want to make something clear...........You don't have to go out and set a new track record at every track you go to. Go out and have fun and keep things in control at all times. When you are ready to take things a little faster and you are comfortable, then and not until then should you try and take things to the next level. At Z Nationals you will have an instructor anyway so you will be in good hands. You could request me if you want............... If it helps to keep this is mind.........At Barber if you put two wheels in the grass and mess it up in the slightest, they will bill you for it before you have your next session. If you hit the barrier and mess it up, they bill you for it before you leave the track. I have often said that Barber is the nicest track in the country that they don't really want you to come and drive.

Road Atlanta can bite you.........high speed off's are usually greeted by something hard and solid. Hence..........

This is the first time I am posting video from another car. It gives a better perspective of my car and the battle that was being waged. Joe Freda is my teammate at MTI Racing. He and his son built the most incredible '71 F-Body Camaro Trans Am car you have ever seen and we built his LS7 race motor. We both run in the V1 Outlaw Vintage (unlimited) division and the cars are evenly matched, personally I think Joes car is a little faster. I have said that to some it might not be Senna vs. Schumacher but from where we were sitting it certainly was. Road Atlanta was hot, slick and unforgiving on this day. This is the last 10 minutes of the race for your HybridZ lovin enjoyment. I was able to win my V1 division but also and more importantly take the overall race win as well. BTW..........In my world, I would be Senna

A few more pics from this weekend. I bust my ass to qualify on pole for a very good reason. This picture shows the starting grid behind the pace car, trust me you dont want to have to try and drive through that field on a hot slick track. Let me also note that they all want to win just as bad as I do........ The other photo shows the sort of compression achieved in turn 10a at Road Atlanta.

Had a very successful weekend with NASA SE where we were able to take overall victories in both Saturday and Sunday's races. The Road Atlanta track was extremely slick due to the hot temps and late day starting times and proved to be more than some cars could handle as quite a few cars were eaten up by the concrete barriers. I was challenged mostly by some very high horsepower road course NASCARS and a "71 F-Body camaro Trans Am car that we (MTI RACING) built the motor for. Traffic was our friend and by managing the flow was really the only way to come away with the victory. I will post some video soon. Many spectators said that Sunday's race was the best Thunder Race they had seen in years with quite a few interdivisional battles going on in every turn. I was able to lay down a time of 1:28.4 for a new RA NASA SE race lap record in V1.

I forgot about all the items I've sold you. If you want to come to Road Atlanta this weekend and watch the car in action, there will be lots of people and lots of cars, I think our race has 50 cars. It will be a very big show and would love to have you out. Don't worry about being off topic on this thread as I have forgotten what the topic is anymore, so no worries.

Mike, I'm sorry to hear that. Call me if you need to talk shop and clear your head.

Mike, I was wondering why you cant put plywood under one of our cars and make it work??????????? I didn't know there was an ignore feature that can be used. I took a long hard look at the brakes on my car. The wilwood big brake kit I have was the "Track pack" set up sold by AZC. Since I purchased mine 3 years ago they have since offered a larger, only by maybe .5 inches, but larger rotor. I took our new MTI / Brembo big brake kit and took the rotor / caliper assembly and test fit with my current 17" classic CCW wheels. I was almost going to bag the whole project if I had to buy three new sets of wheels in 18's. Even though thats what I should have gotten originally, and I know you like them on your car. The assembly fit, not with all kinds of room to spare, but as long as everything remains round we are ok. I will need to design and CNC some new hats that match the bolt pattern on the aluminum AZC setup. I also will have to fabricate a new bracket that will mount the caliper to the rotor, the bolt pattern will be different. Our new Big Brake kit will double the pad surface area on the rotor and increase the size of the rotor from 12.5 to 14" slotted. The front wilwood pad looks like the rear Brembo pads. I want to do the adjustable coil overs at the same time but don't have the $$$ to drop on some Moton's. I'm going to keep a look out for some used ones coming off a series car. I need to be patient with the shocks. A also noticed that the positive pressure area behind the front wheel flare really needs some relief and after you did it I forgot to ask your feedback. The more I look at it the more I might even take a hole saw to it just for this weekends races. All the brake heat goes right there which makes that trapped air even worse. Your vents, where did you get those, I really like them? One last thing...............I don't understand why you have to be so mean to those F@#KIN MORONS on the other thread. They cant help it, they are obviously a lot smarter than you or I and will always be right. LOL You saw my new daily driver I hope. I did it with plywood / cigarette smoke and a floor fan in my garage (windtunnel). She turns alot of heads so I think that means the aero is working great and yes she is a flatbottomed car.....................sorry, I meant fatbottomed car.

Rodger, Thats my new daily driver and I'm glad you like it. I did that with plywood, cigarette smoke and a floor fan in my garage / wind tunnel. I am pretty sure it works because it looks really cool and I get a lot of looks. It seems I'm getting terrible gas mileage now for some odd reason but "heck" was thinking maybe I wanted to go fast one day and I just wanted to know I had functional aerodynamics on my car. Its a flat bottom as well. About the Audi........If it said R18 on the side then you are correct. It is very very fast, very very quiet, very very expensive and very very exclusive unless your name is Alan McNish. This guy by the name of Dr Wolfgang Ullrich has made a living by winning LeMans every year and all he does is hang plywood under a car and see if it works. It can be hung relatively anywhere under the body and I think he is moulding his diffusers out of cardboard. Amazing stuff............I wonder if we could do that to one of our cars? If you ever do put a diesel Audi engine in your car, the undertray and diffuser come with the kit, you just bolt it on. You are welcome for the input and I will continue to try and forward our cause and push the boundaries of what we thought was possible. How are my old wheels you bought from me working out? Do you ever run them?

Chris, If you are proficient in solid works that means you are more than likely a mechanical engineer. If you have been wrenching on Z's before I had a license that would make you around 55 to 60 years old. Given that you have all this experience you don't need my omnipotent race car drivers input anyway. I guess its just the immature way you post, your verbiage skills, the fact you don't read very well or it could be the fact you don't really understand what I'm trying to say to you. I never said that the diffusers (AT THE TRACK) that I see don't work. I am discussing our cars. 240Z's. Thats why I'm posting on HYBRIDZ. I have never seen a 240Z with a properly designed and functional underwing and diffuser. EVER. I have seen and driven plenty of modern race cars (AT THE TRACK) with perfectly balanced undertrays and diffusers that work just fine. Question for you.....Do you think you can take a modern race car undertray with diffuser and remove it from that car and attach it to the underside of a Z and it function properly. With all your experience wrenching on Z's I would have guessed you said yes given your previous posts. This of course is incorrect. It doesn't work that way. You say I've "asserted" that the ones I've seen at the track don't work. That is not what I said and Mike Kelly tried to point that out to you as well but you still insist that is what I said. For the record...........I said, ( I see loads of people who attach panels to the underside of a car, I see people buying diffusers all the time and not actually realizing that they are not doing anything but adding weight and drag to the car). Thats copied and pasted from my post. I am referring to the idiots who try and make their cars look like a race car but have in actuality caused more weight and drag thus it actually works against them. The design of a diffuser actually begins with the splitter and nose of the car, but you probably already knew that. I remember now, you dont ever want to race but might want to go fast someday and you wanted a functional underbelly and diffuser for your Z to be able to fully take advantage of the aerodynamics. Given that I'm 50 years old and omnipotent I'd say you better hurry up and get busy goin' fast.

I'M HERE TO TELL YA, THAT'S DAMN FUNNY RIGHT THERE.............. I don't want to be all long winded like Chris pointed out so I'll be brief............. Chris Duncan: You don't have the slightest idea of who you are talking to or what you are talking about. Your quote ( I want a Z with a flush bottom and a functioning diffuser. I'm never going to race but I just like the idea of having it. Heck I might want to go fast and it would be nice to have solid functioning aerodynamics.) I'm glad that "Heck" you might want to go fast one day. You sound like a teenager who has gotten his first car and wants to make it look cool. I don't have any flat bottom on my car and its probably one of the fastest 240Z race cars on the planet, so what would I know about going fast or winning races or NASA and SCCA Championships. For the record I've won 6 in a Z car. So like I said, what would I know??? The reason you don't understand my comments is you don't understand the questions you are asking. Jon: I would love for my car to have a functional underwing and diffuser. I do not have the money nor the time to pursue that fabrication right now. Do I think it would work, yes. Do I think it would be worth the time and money to design properly, fabricate and install, NO. Do I feel there are other items I can address on my car presently that could give me more bang for my buck, without question, YES. It is just not a priority for me right now. Items that will reap larger returns: 1. larger calipers (hence bigger pads / more surface area) possibly adding ABS 2. better and bigger rotors 3. stronger / larger wheel hubs 4. adjustable coil overs 5. tube frame chassis 6. more and more weight reduction 7. better rear end (9inch ford or curry) These are the items that I feel are of more importance to me. Lastly...........I think it is interesting that you know I have all this practical knowledge and hands on experience and I find out tonight after reading Mike Kelly's post that the gentleman who runs the wind tunnel, the guy that certainly knows more than any of us, said the same thing that I did about the underside. I don't mind being questioned or challenged but knowing what I said and what a guy who runs the wind tunnel said about the under-tray are identical yet you still push your agenda. Lets please return to the topic of this thread and organize and mobilize the crew that will make this event happen.