Zmanco

I've been busy researching turbos and cams. At this point my thinking is to go with the MSA Schneider stage 1 cam. Based on my airflow calculations the ideal turbo for me is likely a T3-T04E 0.50 trim. Unfortunately there are very few used ones and the new aren't cheap. To start, I may run with the stock T3 for a while with an intercooler. Before others tell me it's too small, I know that, but my goals are modest and I'd be content to get MS sorted running the stock boost. Also, given I'm at altitude, the T3 isn't as much of a limiter as it would be at sea level. As for transmission, after doing some more research, it looks like it will cost about $300 to do a custom driveshaft, plus I'll need a better shifter to protect overshifting the T5 (another $100 or more), so at this moment I'm leaning towards just staying with my stock NA tranny. Given I have a 4.11 diff (LSD), it's a better fit than with the T5 anyway, especially with a turbo. We've got our first track day on our new track this weekend, so I've been holding off on touching the car until afterward anyway. My goal is to have the swap up and running (with T3 and 2.5" exhaust) by the end of June.

The injectors are very inductive, pull a lot of current and are constantly switching on and off. The coil wires are at very high voltage as well as constantly switching on and off. Hence both generate a lot of EMI. FYI, when wiring, shielding is good, but it's also a good practice to avoid running wires that carry small signals (coolant, MAT, etc) in parallel with, and next to, "noisy" wires. For example, when you can, avoid running CLT sensor and Injector wires in the same bundle.

Thanks for the idea Pyro and Cockerstar, I think going with the MSA down pipe and the rest of my existing exhaust to get the car up and running is a good idea. From there I can decide if I do a full 3" or just the back half when I change the muffler.

I hadn't thought of using the MSA 2.5" downpipe and then going 3" the rest of the way. That solves my problem of getting the car from my garage to the shop. But that has me wondering if anyone sells a prebuilt 3" downpipe? I've seen a few people mention Vildini Motorsport in their signature, but wonder if they just do local work.

I need advice on my exhaust choices. Although I haven't found it yet, I'm planning on a T3/T04E-50 turbo with the stock turbo exhaust manifold. My question is whether to go with a 2.5" or 3" exhaust? Performance target: I'm aiming for 250-275 whp using a shaved P90 head (8.4:1 CR), unshrouded valves, with MSA stage I turbo cam. Drivability is key for me. I would like to have decent boost by 3k rpm, full boost by 3500 with power to 6500. 2.5" Pros: my existing 2.5" piping is in good condition. I plan to replace the NA muffler with a straight through magnaflow. I could go with the MSA 2.5" downpipe which would make getting the car to the muffler shop a lot easier. I would only have to pay to weld up a flange to connect to the existing pipe and change the muffler. 2.5" Cons: Won't breath as well as 3", might result in the turbo spooling up slower. 3" Pros: better top-end power, faster turbo spool 3" Cons: I'll need a full custom exhaust which is bound to be a lot more expensive than if I stay with 2.5", no easy way to get the car over to the muffler shop without causing noise problems in my neighborhood. So I'm looking for feedback if the benefits of a 3" system make it worth the cost and hassle.

I was thinking along the same lines. The symptoms you're seeing are typical of a "walking wounded" semiconductor that was damaged either from ESD or over temp, but not damaged enough to fail completely.

Go back to post #6 in this thread and you'll see that there are 2 version of the s12+8 calipers. One of them works with solid discs and the other with vented. The vented disc calipers will not work with solid discs nor will solid disc calipers work with vented discs.

Here's the link to the thread on the latest beta: http://www.msextra.com/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=30944 If you're not a member on the msextra.com forum you may not be able to see it. The development threads can only be seen by members. BTW, this beta is very close to being released. For the features I'm using it's rock solid stable and I wouldn't hesitate to use it on a daily driver.

I'll put a plug in for MSII/Extra. The latest beta now has the ability to do the fuel calculations taking into account the target AFR table. In effect, this means that when you are tuning, you are tuning for the real VE of the engine separate from the AFR table. The value of this feature is that you can make a change to the AFR table and not need to go back out and datalog and tune again. Unfortunately the first time MS is changed to operate in this mode the entire VE table needs to be retuned.

Thanks Hyuri, good to see it straight from the horses mouth. But I'm curious: it has been a while since I used any Dexron, but I remember it as being much thinner to the touch than 80w-90 gear oil. Yet both are recommended by the factory. I think I'll start with 80w90 as Slownrusty suggests and after break-in, if I have any shifting issues, maybe try Dexron.

The T5 is rated for 265 lb-ft. From what I've read, the stock Nissan shifter is a weak link and doesn't have stops to prevent over-shifting and damaging the forks. It should be upgraded. You might want to look at the ratios to see how they compare. I've been looking at the T5 and 1st and 2nd seem a bit short relative to my existing NA 5 speed. I don't know how that compares to the KA.

I'd love to be in the court room when you give that argument to the judge.

Any chance the cam on the MN47 head was different from the P90? When I went from a stock cam to a mild regrind on the same N42 head, I was surprised at how much quieter my exhaust became. I suspect that more overlap results in less sound - at least my limited experience suggests that.

Thanks Xnke, I guess I could have/should have followed through with them, but I was glad to not have to replace the valve springs so didn't go any further. I will be very curious to see how much difference greater lift (with all else mostly equal) makes.

I think you're headed down the wrong track if you focus on the difference in the speed each officer estimated you to be traveling. Just for a moment, step out of your shoes and pretend you're the judge listening to some other guy with the same story. So what if the two officers are off by 10 mph? You'd still be pretty sure that the guy was going well over 100, wouldn't you? At that speed they don't have to pace you to establish an exact speed. I think you're lucky they didn't cuff you and take you to jail for reckless driving. I think you need to throw yourself on the mercy of the court. As you already suggested, bring a parent, explain your financial situation (briefly!), dress appropriately, and sincerely eat crow. I wonder if the speed limiter would make any difference? I think you'd have to convince the judge that you couldn't work around it, which on our older Zs isn't very credible. But lastly, and most importantly, slow down on the streets so you and those around you will live. Save the fast stuff for the track. If you haven't tried it yet, find a way (assuming the outcome of this allows it) to get out onto a track. I think (hope) you'll find that your desire to drive stupid fast on the street will go away. And remember, if you're ever at those speeds again on the streets and someone gets hurt, with your record I'm pretty sure that you will go to jail for a long time.

Two summers ago we had a guy at one of our club track events with a big block chevy in his Miata. I don't know Chevy V8 speak, so don't know how big it really was, but he was really a drag racer who threw a set of all season tires on his car and tried to drive on a road course. I'll give him a lot of credit for trying, but it was pretty ridiculous. He had so much oversteer every time he even touched the throttle that he left early.

Question 7: Can I use the same clutch fork and throwout bearing from the NA 5 speed with the T5? The T5's clutch fork and collar are rusted enough that I'd rather not try to clean them up. The MSA parts catalog suggests that the fork and clutch collar are different, but that the release bearing is the same. Does anyone have any experience to confirm this? I'd hate to buy parts like this if I don't need them. Edit: also noticed that MSA shows different parts for the clutch slave cylinder. Does that mean that I can't reuse the NA one?

Thanks Yasin, that makes sense. BTW, do you fill through the upper plug until it runs out just as with the stock transmission?

FWIW, on my head 0.180" lash pads resulted in a good wipe pattern. Pyro, I hadn't heard that .160" was the max for the stock retainers. I guess I've been lucky!

I had my CR calculated at 10.2:1. Setup was stock N42 head except for port matching and mild shave (.001 IIRC) to clean up, Delta cam, 0.030 over flat tops and Felpro gasket. On this and other forums I've seen a wide range of experiences with people running high compression and these open chamber heads. I wouldn't say my experience is typical: I've seen some very competent people run similar setups with full advance and not have detonation problems. There's clearly some other factor at work that I don't understand. But from what I've read, at 8.8:1 CR you shouldn't have any detonation issues, at least not from too high CR.

Please disregard the numbers I gave you earlier. I went back and found my notes and here are the numbers: Max height across lobe peak and base circle: 1.550" Width across "sides" of lobe (caliper rotated 90 degrees): 1.250" Cam lift = 1.550 - 1.250 = 0.300". Assuming a rocker ratio of 1.43 (based on stock Nissan cam numbers), valve lift is 0.300 x 1.43 = 0.429" I suspect they are using a rocker ratio of 1.6 which would then predict a lift of 0.480". Again, sorry for the mistake in my numbers before. I shouldn't have gone from memory.

Thanks Darrel, I don't like the answer, but won't shoot the messenger That has me rethinking the T5 swap, but I don't like the idea of putting somewhere on the order of 250 lbft torque through the stock NA transmission over a long time. Even the T5 is only rated for 265 lbft. As for the 4.11 diff, you bring up a good point. One of my objectives is to keep as much of the throttle response of the NA engine as I can. I'm going to start with the stock T3 turbo and modest boost and see how it goes. Also, on the track, most of the time is spent in 3rd gear (and maybe 4th at HPR) so I wasn't all that worried about the shortness of 1st and 2nd. Bores look great! Cross hatching is very visible as you'd expect. The distributor was missing and it looks like some dirt collected in the fitting for it on the timing cover, so I'll pull that just to be sure everything is clean. Then put it all back together using my shaved P90 with the turbo cam and we'll see what's what. I'm still debating if I add an intercooler for phase 1 but expect that by the end (phase ?) I'll have an intercooler along with a T3/T04e. As I read the compressor charts, I don't think I can hit my goals with the stock T3 efficiently.

Question 6: I have a relatively new Centerforce II clutch that I've been very happy with for NA. The literature says it has a little more clamping force than stock, and also the weights that are supposed to increase clamping force at higher rpms. My goals for this engine are modest: ~250 whp and no drag racing drop clutch starts. Has anyone tried the CFII clutch with a turbo motor and know if it has enough clamping force to handle the peak torque at higher revs?

Xnke, I have that same regrind. I didn't receive a cam card either, but over the phone they said it was 234 duration at 0.050" lift. I'm pretty sure the lobe separation is 108 degrees. FYI, they assume a rocker ratio of 1.5:1. The actual lift I measured on mine was closer to 0.400". I ran that cam in an N42 head on an L28 with flat top pistons bored 0.030" over and it was a really fun combination for both the street and track. It idles well, handles low rpm traffic, yet makes good power past 6k rpm. I did experience detonation in the 4-5k rpm range and had to reduce timing significantly to cure it. This was on premium pump gas and at elevation (6k ft). My point is that some people are able to run this combo with full advance, and some are not. I use MS to control timing, so can adjust it for different rpm ranges. I was surprised by how much torque goes away when the timing is retarded say 10 degrees. As the revs climbed and hit the range where I had backed it off, my seat of the pants could feel the torque fall off. There was a thread a few years ago I started on this subject and I think it was BRAAP who said he'd prefer a slightly lower CR in order to run full advance vs. the opposite, and I now completely agree.

Wow, I didn't know that the turbo Zs had knock sensors. I'm running MSII/Extra which has support for it. Hmm... I wonder if I can begin to use that feature? Cool.