1 tuff z

thanks, been reading the superbright website. looks like i can replace the; marker, turn, reverse, brake, dome & map lights. will need to, however, upgrade the flashers as the led's draw too little power to effectively work the flashers [turns & 4-ways].

quick ? for the electrical experts [or at least someone who knows more than the little i do about electrical stuff]. do the led's draw less power than the current incandessant bulbs? if so, this would be great to lessen the strain on our old electrical systems.

john, you forgot patience and imagination! i couldn't resist

mark, i see that you 'screwed through' the panels to attach them to the door. did you drill into the metal of the door and use simply sheet metal screws? for the top of the panels, i assume they do not have the 'fuzzy' which sits against the window as it rolls up/down. does this, in your opinion, effect the operation of the window? do you have power locks or planning to drill the lock pull hole later? thanks ps-love the color and bodywork on the z!

#1 - Daily Driver Lexus GS 300, 2jz swap [fun sleeper] #2 - All Corners R34 Skyline [one of my dream cars] #3 - High Speed Heaven Gumpert Apollo #4 - Mid or Rear Lambo Muira [drop dead gorgeous] #5 - Off the Beaten Trail Audi Quattro S1 Group B Rallye car [if i could find one] #6 - Track Time My LS1 Z [love my z] #7 - WILD CARD 427 Side Oiler AC Cobra [wanted this since i was a kid]

i, many years ago, purchased the phantom grip and-promptly returned it. the only thing i could see it doing was wearing my diff gears. get a real lsd and be done.

pete, i think it's tired and ready for hibernation...

ran the z out of gas today [intentionally] to see if i'd experience any fuel starvation while accelerating, cornering or braking with the new setup. i'm extremely pleased to say that i did not-up to the point it ran out of gas. had a gas can with me and put in just 1 gallon. then, of course, drove and filled up. it's really nice to know that i can actually use all of the fuel in the tank now at the track. i can now make it all the way through a 40 min session and maybe a second without a fillup! woohoo!!

not mean, simply pissed off!

i used to fly the kc130 in the usmc. obviously never landed/took off from a carrier but did some in the simulator. on a regular air strip you came in pretty slow & dirty [full flaps and gear down] and just at touchdown you'd go to full 'flat prop pitch' [feathering the props to a flat pitch creats 4 large circles on the wings], stood on the brakes hard = full abs and then increased lift on the wings by pulling back the yoke. you'd be surprised how quickly they could be stopped.

try chrome polish applied with a toothbrush. works great.

i would drop the tank and do the job right. you'll find that on the tank there are multiple vent hoses of varying diameters & lengths. once removed, find fuel rated hose, replace them all and you'll then be certain that it won't need to be done again for many years to come. also, most 'shade tree' mechanics, that replaced many of these hoses in the past used heater hose, which-would eventually become harder, brittle and then crack. this is most likely your source.

yes, weld in a little 'z' between the tubes for the ultimate in style! just kidding, they look great jon!

my gtr drive. i was able to 'talk' my way into driving the new gtr last week while attending zcon 08 in cleveland, it was very cool indeed. we turned off all the safety 'helps' except the stability control thingy. i was cautious and didn't drive it to the full potential as i would have liked as, sadly, the car was not mine. i did put my foot full into the throttle from a rolling start of about 3 mph. broke traction between 1st and 2nd and ran it up into triple digit speeds. it felt, acceleration wise, about on par with my ls1 240z. my z puts down 330rwhp and 359rwtq in a 2700 total weight car. i've run the 1/4 once on street tires [my only drag run ever] and did a 12.6 [i offer this as a seat of the pants perspective of what my z does]. the gtr is much smoother than my z and of course, much more refined. the paddle shifters are easy to use [right is up, left down] and i was pleasantly surprised at how adept the computer is at matching the revs on downshifts. actually, i am pretty decent at heel toe downshifting and normally get it 'right' about every 3d to 4th time. the gtr gets it right every time. i also had the opportunity to drive her around some cloverleaf [xpressway on/off ramps during my brief drive] and was impressed with its handling. seemed fairly neutral, great turn in and the steering very precise-i was able to put the gtr exactly where i wanted. i got on the throttle heavy once while entering a corner, the tires began to break loose, my seat told me this, brain told hands to countersteer and by the time the hands were actually ready to move the wheel to comply with the brain command the gtr had already stepped in and essentially done it for me. fun halted, aargh! so much for my drifting attempt... the gtr looks great in person, much better than than any pictures i've seen. i have now seen; black, grey and red with both the polished and gunmetal 20" wheels. i think i would go for the red with gunmetals. all said, the car feels much lighter than it actually is and was a blast to drive [actually very easy-especially when i compare it to my z...]. i'd love to have the opportunity to drive it at speed, at a track or in an auto-x. perhaps someday.

the atl black box runs $390 shipped from earls store #1, if i remember correctly the fuel cell 'cap' is another $50, steel ring the cap bolts to [i'm running a group buy] for $50. so that's about $500. then you'll need some fuel cell foam-around $50 for the good stuff, add another $50 or so for painting the tank and the baffles. then whatever your labor/fabrication work runs.

there are a few hoses on your tank [go to the vapor tank and filler neck]. best move is to run the tank close to empty, jack up car, pull drain plug and donate remaining gas to your lawn mower. carefuly drop the tank, taking note of what hoses go where [assuming you don't have a factory service manual or fuel / vapor line diagram]. then measure and replace all the vapor lines from tank to vapor tank and filler neck. don't use anything but fuel rated hose [like i did the first time] otherwise you wind up doing it again in a few years. also be careful when installing the tank so you don't pinch any of the new hoses. this will fix your raw fuel vapor problem.

ran the z to the 08 zcon and back this past week. nice-no fuel delivery issues whatsoever. ran the tank down to about 3.5 gallons during the auto-x [there was a gas station adjacent to the auto-x lot] and no fuel starvation! so, i think my fuel delivery problems are now officially behind me. now i need to get a fuel resistant vapor line [had to temporarily use heater hose] installed this winter and thoroughly seal the gap around the filler neck where it goes through the body and i'm all set. then i can tackle all the other issues my z has. hmm, what would i do if i had a car i didn't have to work on?!