Zmanco

Now that I've got some miles on the new R180 PowerBrute, I was curious to measure the breakaway torque. Here's how I did it: - Jacked up just the driver side leaving the passenger side on the ground. - Using a beam-type torque wrench, I put a 13/16" socket on it and put it on one of the lug nuts. I aligned it so the line of the torque wrench goes through the center of the wheel. - I gradually increased pressure on the wrench until the wheel turned smoothly and took the reading. - The length of the torque wrench from center of the socket to the tip of the beam where I read the value is 12.5". The distance from the center of the wheel to the center of the lug nut is 2.5". I am assuming that my total lever arm is 12.5 + 2.5 = 15". Hence my readings need to be scaled by 15/12 = 1.2. My readings were all between 48 and 50 lb-ft. So if I've done this correctly, the breakaway torque is ~60 lb-ft. Is this a proper way to measure it? And does that value seem ok?

I can see how this is important for a turbo motor running big boost. What about for a NA motor? I've not had any issues with sealing running the felpro gasket on a clean head and block, but maybe I was just lucky? I hope I'm not sounding argumentative, I'm just curious about the benefits of copper spray. I've seen many people talk about it, but no one was ever able to really atriculate why they used it.

What does the copper spray do? I mean, does it make it seal better, come off better, or something else?

Good for you Jason, I know you've been chasing this one for a long time.

I did add one tube of the LSD additive (it was called a friction modifier I believe).

I've got the powerbrute installed in my R180 and I'm getting a lot of chattering and clunking from the rear. I called Tim at Reider Racing and he says this is normal for a new powerbrute and that it needs to break in. He suggested switching to synthetic oil for break in to get it to slip more and break in easier. Also suggested driving in figure 8s in a parking lot to help. My concern is that the rear is really resisting letting the rear wheels turn independently. It's quite noticeable when making even gradual turns that the car wants to push, even at totally sane speeds (35 mph) on the street. Is this to be expected? And if so, how long will this go on?

Amazingly, one of the local Nissan dealers says they have 4. That part number has been superceded by 38103-U3000.

Since I had to take the "strap lock" off again (they are the 4 pieces of metal that act like a washer for the 8 ring gear bolts and which you bend the edges up against the bolt heads so they can't back out), I need to replace them. My CD shows a part number of 38103-78500, but even Courtesy Nissan doesn't list it, nor do I get any hits with google. Any suggestions for how/where to replace them?

Mark, the non-ring gear end goes in first and then the whole thing rotates clockwise. In my case before I ground the case a little, the ring gear was hitting the left side of the case. The last picture I posted showed the 2 spots I had to grind. Does that clear it up?

I'm not familiar with either of thse units, but taking what you wrote above at face value, for what you describe you would need to change the slope of the curve: from what you wrote above, for the AEM increasing voltage means leaner, and for the TEC, increasing voltage means richer. Resistors can only be used to scale the voltage while keeping the slope the same. It could be done with an Op Amp, but it's been too many years since my analog EE classes for me to create the schematic, and you'd still have to build it yourself. Are you sure you don't have some options to change the input or output characteristics of the TEC and/or AEM?

Here's a picture after grinding.

Thanks Jon, I tried "r180 lsd fit" and "r180 lsd hits" and a few others, but didn't use "install". I guess it's time to break out the grinder.

Here are 2 shots that might help. I've shaded the areas with interferance in yellow.

It's hitting on the outer edge of the ring gear against the inside of the case. But even if I get it past there, it looks like the lsd cover will hit against the inside of the hole for the bearing holders (not sure of their proper name). I tried shooting a few pictures, but it was rather hard to see the problem.

I'm trying to install the Powerbrute LSD in my r180 and I'm unable to get the lsd assembly to go into the diffy housing with the ring gear attached. If I remove the ring gear, then I can just barely get it in. I've tried leaving the ring gear loose but no go. I keep thinking there must be some other approach to take that will work, but so far I haven't been able to find it. What am I missing here?

John, you've got me laughing out loud as well - thank goodness no one else is up yet. Many years ago I was thinking of buying a 9000. While on a test drive, I was on a 4 lane road, downshifted into 2nd, and at readline, shiffted quickly to 3rd. I guess the combination of torque steer and the slop in the front transaxle mounting all worked against me and the car moved at least 2 feet to the right without any movement of the steering wheel. I was inches away from side swiping the poor guy on my right. I immediately drove back to the dealer and let them clean the seat.

When I had this setup, my pedal wasn't much different than with the stock calipers. I suppose it might have gone down a little more, but nothing significant. I didn't think there was any need to go to a larger MC. When I switched to the vented discs with the 12W calipers, the pedal went down a lot farther. I found that sometimes my foot would also hit the gas pedal while braking which caused a few "moments" Once I put in the 15/16" MC things were more normal again. Actually, I wish I had a 1" MC, but that's just being picky at this point. Note: Switching to the larger MC didn't make any difference in my stopping distance that I noticed. It only changed the feel and distance of travel of the pedal.

Ryan, I found a few non-ferous tools at AAA Trading post. They didn't have much of a selection and they're not cheap. Good news is they don't clog.

Wow, I know you're new to this site, but do you have any idea how many times this question has been asked and answered? Up at the top of the page is a search button. Click it and type "wheel size" and see what comes back. You'll find that if you make an effort to search, and THEN ask clarifying questions, you'll have a great time here as the depth of the experience and information on this site is just amazing.

I've read this many places, but when I ran the stock MC with 4x4 calipers and solid rotors it was just fine. When I did the swap to the vented rotors with the 12W calipers, THEN I needed to do the MC swap. See my post #22 earlier in this thread. No need to swap the MC if you're staying with the solid rotors and drums in the rear.

I hope this isn't too cynical, but if someone doesn't bother to search, do you think they will read the stickies?

85k miles on a Ferrari? I think that's the most I've ever seen advertised on one! You've got to add in the cost of a rebuild of something expensive soon.

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=115757&highlight=konig Check this out. If these had been available when I was shopping for wheels, I think that I would have gone down this path. Very good price!

I have the same setup you do. I have Panasport 16x7 wheels that clear just fine. The real issue is not just the offset, but the shape of the backside of the wheel. Some wheels will have more clearance than others where the caliper sticks out the farthest. I'm not sure how to know in advance if a wheel is going to clear unless you find someone else who's already used it.

That's a major upgrade Ryan, they really look good on your Z!