CaptainJoe87

If I remember right, the bushings were decent when I had it on a lift about a half year ago. When I lowered it I also got an alignment done, did the sway bars, endlinks and bushings on that, and put on new tie rod ends. Bushings are defiantly something on my to do list though. What are some things I would notice while driving if the caster is off?

Ok, I have had this car and have been fooling around with it for over a year now. So, I figured it would be fun to post my progress up on here with the pictures I have to go with it. Day 1:Picked it up in Virginia and brought it home. First day of driving and busted a heater hose... Not the best start. Then when I washed it for the first time the passenger fender became dull and grey, the guy had obviously buffed it like crazy to make it shine and blend with the rest of it. Ended up having a leak in the radiator too, so I replaced it with an aluminum radiator and found out I didn't have a thermostat in the car so I picked one of those up while I was at it. Also, I got rid of the stock air box and added a cone air filter on. The first mod I did on it was add a new front lip. Got this lip from a member on here for a good deal used. Cleaned it up, painted it, and put it on. After taking the car around to a few different auto body shops for estimates, I decided to do the work myself with the help of my room mate. A lot of sanding, a little bit of bondo, and a few news papers and some spray paint later and this is how it turned out. So shiny when it was all wet after sanding. Just finished spraying Then it was brakes and suspension. I got all the pads and rotors for under $200, not sure what you guys pay for stock replacement but I thought that was a pretty good deal. Here is a before and after of the suspension, Tokiko Blues and 1" lowering springs. Before: After: The car still had a bit of a floating feeling at high speeds and I wanted another big change for the look. So wheels and tires were next. Found some wheels in my price range so I went for it. XXR 527 16X8.25 with Falken ZE92 tires 225/50/16. About a week ago I had a headlight go out, so I went ahead and got a sealed beam conversion kit that had halo headlights and installed it just yesterday. Now it will be way easier the next time I need headlights. I still haven't aligned the headlight pattern correctly but plan on doing that tonight. They are way brighter than the old ones. My only quarel with the kit was that the light housings were not the best quality and the chrome rings that hold them into the housings didn't fit perfectly around the lights. All in all for $80 they aren't too bad. Defiantly an improvement over the old sealed beam headlights. Some time in there I cut the muffler off because it was old and you could hear junk rattling around in it. The car sounds so much nicer without it on there in my opinion. I have a set of headers that I plan on putting on when I get the time as well as a N42 head and intake manifold. I still haven't decided if I'm going to put the N42 head and intake on. My big goal is to eventually put an LS1 in there and being set. The next time I do anything I'll make sure to update it on here.

Is that the same car in that picture you posted?

I saw this somewhere the other day and think it looks awesome. Im figuring its fully custom but if anyone knows any different then please let me know where to find it.

Ok guys. Sorry for the long time away and lack of good pictures from when I got my 527's put on my ZX. Here are the pictures in a good, viewable size. 16X8.25 Matte black 225/50/16 thinking about 245/50/16 when I need new tires though.

Cool, I should probably get all my stuff cleaned up like that too while I'm at it. Looks way bereft Hahaha. I'm using falken ze-912's at 225/50/16. So far I like them a lot. The tires that were on it were pretty bad.

Im gonna try and get to a computer so I can do it right and change the picture size but i did upload them here http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/106007-tire-fit-help-please/page__p__991720__fromsearch__1#entry991720

TThey fit just fine, I was freaked out for nothing... Probably could use some spacers for looks but they make the car handle way better as is with my other additions so I'm happy with it.

But on a positive note, the wider wheels and tires, along with the tokiko lowering kit, and the thicker swaybars I got, make this car handle so nice. I'm super excited about these suspension upgrades l, they make a world of difference. Brakes are next because mine are almost metal on metal, then exhaust. I know its off topic from the original post but anyone done the front brakes on an 80 zx? When you remove the bearings do they need to be pressed back in? I'm trying to decide whether I should take it to a shop or not.

Sorry about that I don't have internet at my house anymore so cellphone is my only internet and I can't really edit the sizes...

Everything fit fine, no spacers. I was freaking out for nothing Hahaha. Sorry guys first time with aftermarket wheels and fittment. Will post pictures ASAP.

Yea I can fit the tip of my pinky between the wheel and the strut if I try really hard. I guess I just need to mount the tires and see what happens. How much does price matter when buying spacers? I've seen online anywhere from $7-80. I'm thinkin cheap ones should do just fine am I wrong?

I can try to get a picture but like I said, there is almost no space between just the wheel and the strut tube in the front and I'm worried that the tire is going to rub. Everything I have read tells me these wheels should work fine with no spacer. (8.25" wide 0 offset) but looking at it on the car I don't see it. Maybe ill just get the tires mounted and put them all on and see what happens. This is why it makes no sense to me why I would need spacers with these wheels. 1 I thought you had more room on a zx not less as far as back spacing goes, and 2 the rota group buy wheels have 4.5" backspacing and they fit fine from my understanding. I guess ill know what's needed hopefully by the end of today.

II could have swore I read multiple places that 4.5" of backspacing works fine for a 280zx. If my math is right a 0 offset on a 8.25" wide wheel should only be 4.125" of backspacing and should fit right? But I feel like if I mount the tires its going to rub.

How bad is it to run spacers and how little of a spacer can I use without having to get longer wheel studs? Or is it pretty much spacers need longer wheel studs to be safe? How are they going to affect the performance? If its going to be too much hassel I might just end up sending them back and getting some diamond racing 8" wheels. I just liked the way these looked. They are realty close to the strut tube but I have seen guys with z's not zx's running these wheels with no spacers. Any advice or input helps.

Ok so I just did a test fit and they are really close to the strut tube... Might end up needing to run spacers unfortunately because I couldn't hardly squeeze a pinky of space between the wheel and tube. Anyone have any input? I'll keep you posted as it comes along. I didn't think the backspacing requirements were that much different from z to zx and some of you guys are even running a bigger tire too. I'm kinda confused because I thought they should have been ok. How big of a spaced can I get without running longer wheel studs, or is that a must?

Ok, got mine ordered today. 16X8.25 with 225/50/16 tires. Will post pictures when I get them and get them put on.

Yea they are 16X8.25 with a 0 offset. Its funny because right after I posted this I remembered you were running 8" wide wheels in the front so I felt a little dumb for not looking back at that first... My mistake. Thanks for the help though. I've been looking forward to getting wider tires for a while now, but I wanted to make sure I got it right when I first got them. I was kinda hung up on the 245 width but looking at the pictures of your tires, the 225 should be wide enough. Now I remember reading you had to pull the fenders, that was only in the rear right, or all around??

Hey guys, I have a 1980 280ZX and I've been looking at getting some XXR 527 wheels. Everyone I have seen running them is on the older S30 cars. I want to get the 16X8.25 wheels and run something like a 245/50/16. I have seen that same size on an older S30 so they should fit on a ZX right? Only thing is, when I type the sizes from stock tire to that size in a tire calculator it comes up with something about grater than a 3% change and could lead to brake failure. Anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with this, what tire size to run, or anything that could help me out with this I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

Justin those look awesome on your car man. I think I might end up having to run spacers to get them to fill out the ZX fenders though. If I might ask, what tires did you go with and how do you like them?

PMed about the headers

yea the iron cross wheels have tires on them.

I have some iron cross wheels that I could let go for $150 or so but I'm up in Maryland and not sure what shipping would be.