EMWHYR0HEN

The check valve may have been installed the wrong way. Iv'e done it before. Doh!

Whatever it may be, shimming the t/c rods won't make much of a difference IMO. Your going to have to add over and inch to make a significant caster change and by then your going to bind your bushings and run out of thread on the t/c rod. However, I do see sence in shimming the t/c rods to even out the caster on both sides.

I forgot to mention that there are a lot of factors that determine wheel alignment. For me, a 1/2'' change in my camber plate would give me about 5 degrees camber.

Your going to have to shim it out a lot to make worth while. When I did my alignment (brand new hunter rack!) I noticed that 1 revolution on the turn buckle of my adjustable t/c rod gave me .1 degree of caster. On my t/c rods 4 turns is about a 1/4 inch. So that's .4 degrees for a 1/4 shim. I would shim the t/c rods for purposes of getting the caster even on both sides, but if you want more caster you might consider adjustable ones or moving the t/c mounting points forward.

I would add some kind of spacer to the bottom of the housing to raise the strut insert.

Guesstimate.... isn't an estimate a guess? and, this this sort of off topic but people that where socks with sandals...

Thanks for the info. When I plugged in 17'' for my CG I came up with 7/8 (.875) Front MC and 3/4 (.75) rear MC. Now.... after I plugged in 14'' for my CG I got 15/16 (.938) front and 7/10 (.70) rear. I didn't expect that much of a difference but, now i'm confused. Okay, smaller bore MC's apply more force than ones with larger bores. So from that CG change I'm now recomended to have a MC with less force in the front and more in the rear. It sounds right to me if less weight is being transfered. I'm running a 15/16 MC now and I think it locks to easily. Should it be entirely different with a Dual MC setup and a 15/16 front MC? Or go with a MC with less force like a 1'' bore?

I'm trying to plug in numbers to find what MC's I need. Anyone know a ballpark number for a lowered 240Z's center of gravity? I'm guessing 17''....?

Thanks Jon. I'm most likely going with a pedal assembly with a 6:1 ratio. I'll post some info and pics on how i'm going to do all this. Wish me luck. I found this for choosing master cylinders and more info on the subject: http://www.hotrodheaven.com/tech/brakes/brakes4.htm#formula%20for%20master%20cylinder http://http://www.hotrodheaven.com/tech/brakes/brakes3_index.htm and this http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/PedalSetup-DualMaster-Guide.pdf

I called AAA and got a quote over the phone for $144 a year. I was told I would be limited to 5K miles a yea rand $1000 comp. & $250 collision deductables. I have no points or suspensions on my record as well. It was a done deal for me so all I had to do was drive over to my local AAA office sign some papers and have them take some pictures. However, when they took the pictures thye got SUPER technical with the car and parts.They basically told me they couldnt insure the car because it had no passenger seat, odometer, and shield wiper blades. I went ahead and filled out a few papers just incase I do go with AAA and, i was surprized that they requested very technical info about the car like engine type and specs, rear end, chassis, wheels, etc. The only problem I have now is how i'm going to get them to beleive I have a correct odometer and speedo. Who the hell has one that's accurate anyways?

I've been testing the brakes all day only to be more disatisfied. My front rotors get sizzling hot while I can grab my rear rotors with my bare hands. On top of that I find it hard to modulate the front brakes making it really easy to lock up. Anyone else running the AZ Z car front brakes and 15/16 MC have the same impressions? I think the only way to solve both problems is to go with the dual master cylinders. Are there any general rules when choosing MC's? My personal prefference is a stiff pedal with a short throw.

I appreciate the advise form everyone. I think i'm going to go ahead and try a different rear pad and then if that's still not enough remove the prop valve. The dual MC is going to put a dent in my wallet so I figure might at well try it first and maybe get away with a cheap fix. Does anyone believe that even with a dual MC setup my bias will still be hard to balance out?

I'll start off with my setup: AZ Z car fronts (Wilwood) w/ "street" pads Z31 rotor + 240sx caliper w/ poterfield R4-S (street) pads in the rear. 15/16 master cylinder Rear proportioning valve All stock valves and switches removed. Everything is working properly and the brakes have been bedded. After many hard stops I've come to the conclusion that my rear brakes don't get enough pressure even with the bias valve all the way open. The car stops well under moderate to light conditions , but under threshhold braking the fronts tend to lock a bit too early and I feel as if I can't maintain maximun grip. Iv'e considered changing my rear pads to a more aggressive one but I don't like the idea of having pads that "bite" at different teperatures. The only thing left is for me is to switch to a dual master cylinder setup or change my current rear setup. Am I heading the the right direction? I'm liking the idea of the dual master setup because I would be able to switch out master cylinders easily to fine tune the front/rear bias. My only concern is getting rid of the brake booster because, I will be driving it on the street once in a while to track events and weekends. With the booster eliminated is the pedal effort going to feel just as hard as my current setup with the booster off? I'm keeping my eyes on this pedal assembly: http://www.wilwood.com/Products/005-PedalAssemblies/002-FSMP/fsmdmcbp/index.asp

Thanks Austin. From my research and recomendations, 4130 under wall thickness .120'' does not need to be pre heated if the surrounding temperature is somewhere above 70 degrees F. Also, one must make sure the welds cool slowly and no surrounding "breeze" of air contaminate the molten metal. I'm no expert but, I was guided all the way though my build by my welding and metalurgy professor who used to build drag race frames. Very knowledgeable guy.

My has has those seats in a s13 240sx and it fits tight with bride rails. I'm sure you can fit it in an s30 with some custom fitted rails or mounts.

I've eliminated most of the bushings and replaced them with metal heim joints. On top of that i'm running 300 Fr & 325 Rr springs. Arent you using all the stock rubber bushings? you do the math... This made all the difference though. We should set up a socal track day in the fall. I know SR240Z would be interested as well.

Just an update on the cars performance for those of you who are interested on the changes iv'e made: The SFC are a day and night difference. NONE of the body lines move when I jack the car and I can open and close my doors like it's sitting on all fours. Also, It's really convienient to have a strong place to jack the car in the center and somewhere to place jack stands under. The same thing goes for the front end It's basically bullet proof. Now that my alignment is set to where I want it here are my impressions on how the car drives: I could tell immdiatly how flat the car stays from corner enrty to exit. When corneriing at moderate to high speeds It almost feels as if the cars not even turning! holding speed through corners feels much more predictable and easy to correct without shifting so much weight. It has a great feeling now as if it begs for more speed through turns. Even driving around the city was different. The only remaining rubber components left in my suspension are the sway bar end lnks and the bushings that hold the bars. I was expectng a harsh ride but, It actually rides a little smoother. It's as if the suspension is absorbing the shock and loads instead of transfering it to the chassis... like it's supost to! The welded diff.... I cant say yet. Maybe a bit too dangerous to get crazy on the street with it. I can say that is understeers bad in slow (20-25 MPH) turns only because your off the throttle. The car becomes more lively at speed and throttle induced oversteer comes into play. It's really making me change my drivimg style. I guess i'll have to wait for my next track day to find out if it works. Lastly the brakes feel good especially the modulation. However, the fronts lock way too soon even with the proportioning valve alll the way open. Back to the drawing board.... Ohh and the side exhaust thing is ear peircing loud. I don't recomend it.

Contact suspension restoration located in Northern CA.

My new wheel/tire combo weighs 43 LBS and my old wheel/tire combo(14x 7 Watanabe) was 32 LBS. So that's 11 more pounds on each corner and 44 total. So with the 11 LBS more on each corner I get: 1. more tire selection 2. a 255mm width tire 3. more bump travel Your right about the unsprung weight and all but theres a price to pay for lightweight 3-peice wheels. In my situation, I'll take the Rotas along with the 43 lbs on each corner because there's better things for me to spend my money on..... like seat time. Regardless of wheel weight, the entire car lost 240 LBS and got hell of a lot stiffer, wider, and adjustable.

Great you've finished about 3/4 of the job. Now you have to buff them out with a buffing wheel and some rubbing compound. go to you local hardware stores (home depot, lowes has them for sure) and you can either buy a kit which comes with the arbor bit, the buffing wheel and a few differnt compound sticks. When I did mine all I used was the red. Just attach the wheel to a drill and while totating apply the rubbing compound to the buffing wheel. Then your ready to go at it. Just do a quick google search if your still unsure. i'm sure that stuff will pop up everywhere.

Can you elaborate on that?

That maybe is the case for you in San Diego but, here in the LA area we've got Willow Springs Raceway which includes WSIR, horse theif mile, and the Streets, then you have a few different configurations at Button Willow raceway and the same for California Speedway. On top of that there are plenty of solo events all over here.

Guys, thanks alot I really appreciate it. I couldn't find that s30 weight thread but the parts that were heavy hitters in my previous setup was the dash, 6-point roll cage, brakes, exhaust, wiring and electrical (yes wiring, you laugh but that sh*t is heavy!) and the interior. I'm still surprised with my new weight becuase If I think of all the peices I added to strengthen the chassis it would add up to approximatly 105 LBS. It just goes to show you that every little bit counts when your trying to shed some weight. My advise is to always think positive because I can't even remember how many time people have said "whyd you remove that, it weighs like nothing" I practically had my entire car appart during my restoration and everytime I saw a bracket, cover, bolt, clamp, or anything I absolutly knew I didn't need anymore I didn't hesistate to get rid of it. It's an entire game within itself but, what a great feeling it is in the end!

I don't even know what the stock height was anymore but my guess is that it's been lowered about 2-2.5 inches I ran my zg flares with 14's before and previously trimmed the fenders but, I did cut another 1.5'' or so up after getting the 17's. I would check out Johnc's website betamotorsports for pictues on how to properly cut your fenders, that's what I did.