260DET

Nice design, would not be that hard to make a diffuser to fit it either.

Sounds like it needs to be put into good mechanical condition first, then see what you think. They have a great chassis and very tuneable suspension, the main problem is their image (in AU anyway) due to them being popular with wannabe drifters and others on the less well mechanically and socially educated scale.

Looks like there is room for a turbo there, I'm getting a VG33ET prepared for my 280ZX which presently has a VG30DET engine in it, GT35R turbo. No real reason to do that except that I like the old school design and bigger capacity.

Must be time for another pic of my ZXT track hack, note the blacked out B pillar vent, works well I think.

Hood vents like the later S30 OE ones work well, if they are opened out and a small kickup located in front of them. Friend has a similar setup S30 with a big power RB30ET engine used for motorsport and it never overheats, never. Vents through the inner fenders will work too but thats a structural area and should be strengthened if holes are cut in them. But hood vents are best because they take advantage of the tendancy of hot air to rise, info over at the aero section on my cars including S30 and S130 pics.

^^^^^^^^^^^^ Reaction disc is in the brake booster.

Have you looked here http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php?showforum=47

Link to car pics? That seems to be an incredible speed for that spec S30, how much power?

Interesting, but there seems to be little interest in performance autos in AU except for drag racing. Some of the Z32 blokes are a bit more adventurous, the shift at will kit available has attracted some. I was considering using a four speed Jatco in my competition Z but it all seems to involve a lot of pioneering work and dealing with people who are not familiar with circuit car requirements, which I have done enough of.

Probably what should be done is to put the car on a wheel aligner and take note of the various angles involved when the steering wheel is turned, as Jon mentioned, scrub radius may be one. When you look at a turned 'bent' strut one wheel takes on more negative camber than usual, the inside one from memory, but its all a bit beyond me as to for what purpose such changes would be applied. Modern strut suspensions like the S14's are so good, I would just love to know their 'secrets'.

Caster change side effects seem to be usually thought of in regard to steering geometry but if the change is made by way of adjustable tension rods then the car's wheelbase and front/rear weight distribution is changed too. Wonder if such changes could be used as a chassis tuning method? If the car has adjustable strut tops too then there is a choice as to which to use for a different side effect. Another possible chassis tuning effect concerns the custom S14 based front struts on my S130, don't switch off S30 owners, this could concern you These struts attach by two bolts to the stub axle assembly as is usual but incorporate a camber adjustment in the attachment bolts. This in effect 'bends' the strut to change camber, just like a S30 strut can be bent to change camber. I can't take this any further at the moment but this 'bending' certainly changes the geometry when the wheels are turned. Anyone been there?

From the pic it can be seen that my S130 NACA duct has been blocked off, I don't see the point in having an intake right next to a outlet. It may have worked on a stock S130 but I very much doubt that it would in any other application.

Brand new Z32 gearboxes are available, they have improved syncros, with the right oil in the box they shift as fast as you can shove the lever. Much better shifter than the T boxes which have a clunky rep in my part of the world.

How about the even stiffer S130 chassis with a single turbo VG30, Z32 gearbox, R200 torsen LSD and so on? Check my avatar car

Did fender vents on my old S30, cut holes though the inners near the front together with vents in the outers behind the wheels. Of course the inners are structural so any holes cut through them have to be reinforced. I see you are thinking of a complete aero package which is good, with my S130 the approach was a bit different to the S30. No holes in the inners because I wanted to use the wheel well low pressure area for oil cooler venting purposes. The S130 has a lot of bonnet (hood) venting instead, see pic.

Modern Exotic sport car handling and comfort possible in a s30? From a practical perspective I'm going to say "no". Like anything else, if you throw enough money and expertise at it then you may get close but realistically "no". Without going over the same ground as others have done here, I'll mention just one aspect, aero. For it to remain a S30 you can't change the basic body shape so your S30 will remain relatively noisy and inefficient aero wise which is a big disadvantage compared with modern cars. Accept a S30 for what it is and what can be done to improve it, which is a lot, or else get something modern.

The oil gallery sizes on the 33 and DE/TT blocks appear to be the same, except the main one from the oil pump to the oil filter base which looks to be a touch smaller on the 33, apparently to suit the smaller OE pump outlet. If that is so then my 33 block will be drilled out to match. As a general observation on oil flow, the single cam engine has a much simpler oil distribution system so overall it should offer less resistance to oil flow.

Impressive but then for the $ I'm not a M3 fan, pity a Mustang will end up overpriced by the time it reaches RHD furriners.

"It is true that stiffer settings tend to heat tires faster, and more, because the tires experience more dramatic load changes as they go over bumps." Always something to learn from those newsletters. "Finally, if the car has any form of limited-slip differential, or a spool, there is a "locked axle push" effect when cornering, and this becomes more pronounced in smaller-radius turns." Even with a torsen type LSD? "This is partly due to "off-tracking": the rear tires track inside of the front ones in a tight turn, even when running at a significant slip angle, and track outside of the fronts in a large-radius turn when running at a slip angle. Even at steady speed, as on a skidpad, the driver must apply substantial power in limit cornering, just to overcome tire drag. Assuming rear drive, when the rear tires are tracking inside of the fronts, the drag force from the front tires creates a pro-understeer (outward to the turn) yaw moment, and so does the propulsion thrust from the rear tires. When the rear tires track outside the fronts, the effect reverses, and the yaw moments from drag and thrust add oversteer." And I guess the actual difference between the car's front and rear track measurements would affect this too.

Old mate machinist has had a look at the block and thinks some good liquid metal will be fine to fill in the low part behind a VG30DE oil pump. Will get the two holes required drilled on his mill for accuracy, probably use a couple of studs there which can have sealer on the threads if need be.

I've lost interest in V8 Supercars on those stupid street circuits, Bathurst is always good though. Main problem with NASCAR is the poor TV coverage, a different camera angle every three seconds does not work for motorsport. Anyway it seems lke Marcos has a good team now, good enough to see what he has to offer on the ovals anyway.

Some more, just in case there are some NASCAR fans here http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=5471066&campaign=rss&source=RPMHeadlines

Well I like the idea of driving those ovals at speed in the Z anyway Aussie Marcos has decided its do or die time, is he up for it, was it the car holding him back? Link http://www.speedcafe.com.au/2010/08/18/marcos-ambrose-joins-with-nascar-legend/

Making bacon? Its an alternative

Had cause just the other day to apply the brakes in a fast corner for avoidance purposes, lost grip momentarily but was able to recover and avoid a crash. Nice modulation saved the day, something to keep in mind.