260DET

Obviously a customer with good taste

What is this LOCK stuff you all are speaking of?

More, more, that LS looks right at home there, nice work.

No Miley Cyrus clips?

Me first, Connie out front for Sydney group Sneaky Sound System, dance genre I guess.

As an illustration of what I was getting at re unobtrusiveness Jon, compare doing slow tight parking lot type turns with the two types. Invariably the clutch type chatters and shunts the transmission while the helical type is quiet and smooth. My Z is set up for the helical type and it never causes a loss of rear grip in dry conditions, it just does it's job so well I do not know it's there. Personal preference no doubt comes into it, all I can comment on is my own experience.

VG30DETT's as OE require a wide frame rail car eg they won't fit into a 280ZX because the turbos hit the frame rails.

Wouldn't a helical diff work smoother than a clutch type though, particularly at the point when the clutch type breaks and begins to slip? Even more so when the clutch type is adjusted up so much that most of the time it stays locked. As an amateur driver I like the smooth operation of the helical, like all good things you don't know its there, in contrast to most clutch types.

OK I'll make just one comment on the vehicle, a constructive one. To reduce drag generated by all the dips and dives in the modified bodywork it all should be smoothed out with no sudden changes in line or angle. Just like a modern aircraft basically is. Reducing drag will increase speed/economy so there you are.

I hope the buyer is paying for the shipping, he should know it will cost a lot and should not be expecting you to pay for it unless it has already been factored into the price of the items When I buy stuff from the US the shipping is always extra. All that stuff should pack fairly compact, try Fedex or similar to see what they advise.

The rule of thumb from a reasonably worked NA engine is 100hp per liter, L6's for example do this easily but the single cam VG is problematical. A great engine let down badly by a restrictive inlet setup IMHO although some say the heads are the main problem. Certainly the later OWO heads are better and are IMHO not the main problem.

The lids are not big enough to take useful louvers, just look at the front grille intake to visualise the amount of air coming into the engine bay to get that in perspective. To be useful vents have to be correctly located and big, big, not cute little.

Very nice wheels, I like them better than my RPF1's.

Why not just get the Z31 and mod it? Particularly if it's a two seater, they can be made to look great. Put some time and effort into the suspension, particularly the rear. It is not going to be the fastest thing around but it's a three liter NA so I assume outright performance is not your main objective.

Sounds like a sea change is happening, good on you Mike for having the guts to shake things up a bit. As for cars, well, let's say I'm not a believer of the myth of 'German gingerbeering'

Sounds excellent but will a dry sump make it go faster

45 degrees is good because it allows the two sets of exhaust gasses to merge more smoothly than they would if intersecting at 90. Smooth flow is a faster flow.

Divided housing turbo's are not uncommon eg VG30ET, although most have a single wastegate. It is a good idea and does work well.

Well of course if one of these engines was being used as a replacement in a R35 then the most likey option would be to use the existing managemeent setup. But this is HybridZ so I am looking at it from a Z engine change scenario. Friend of mine is preparing a 370Z for racing using a MoTec ECU which operates the VVT with the variable vale lift locked. With just a custom noise limited exhaust it did 374hp on an engine dyno. I'm not up with the late model stuff but from what I've seen a properly tuned good aftermarket ECU setup will give a significant power increase by itself.

As they say, do eeet!!!!

Read all about it here http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/88539-vg30dett-crank-into-a-vg33/

A final post to review what has to be done. As shown previously, fitting a Z32 oil pump is fairly straight forward, with mine the Z32 pickup and sump is being used too so that's all bolt on. For a complete engine the thing to note is that because the nose of a Z32 crank is longer the cam drive setup has to be spaced forward, getting adjustable cam wheels made up allowed that consideration to be incorporated in their design, a spacer under the tensioner wheel with a longer Z32 stud fixed that part. A Z32 crank balancer was used with a spacer to make up for the narrower VG33 cam drive wheel. The stock front cover is not wide enough so I used two cut and shut. So, as you can see, while the basic conversion is fairly straight forward there is a lot of work in realigning everything to suit the Z32 crank. It's not something that can be done using basic tools, machine work and welding is required. This is not a complete guide covering every little detail but it's directed at someone who is in a position to do the work outlined and who therefore does not have to be hand fed

A V12, is that all

The back window on mine is acrylic which was moulded over the stock glass and extended a bit all the way around so it could be bonded directly to the hatch. The moulded shape is curved which strengthens it considerably so no reinforcing is necessary. Sikaflex was used to bond it to the metal hatch flange, nothing else. I have done over 200kph in the car plenty of times with the drivers window partly open with no problems at all.

Lower power cars have lighter gearboxes with lighter parts which helps give smooth, light shifting. If you are going V8 then really you are limited to those boxes which fit or can be adapted to a particular motor. Oil type can make a difference to shift feel too.