260DET

Found this http://www.motec.com.au/drawings/m32.pdf which answers one question, probably, but I'm wondering what coils I have. LS2? (see pics above)

Its fairly difficult to fit the S14 suspension, very time consuming, not recommended unless its part of an extensive/expensive all round upgrade. Yeh, the key to getting the rear suspension working better seems to involve getting the suspension angles right. I believe that the Z31 angles were improved, look also at what is done with BMW's and 510's that have a similar suspension. No doubt it can be made to work well and should not be that expensive.

No data from Nissan but plenty of examination of both S30 and S130 two seat coupes The S130 looks to be quite a bit stronger than the S30 although of course the latter was strengthened as production went on. Main differences (referring to the S130) rails go right through to the back end. 'A' pillar is stronger, particularly where it joins the body, 'B' pillar/rear quarter panel area is stronger too. Front rails and firewall area are stronger, transmission tunnel is a bit better. Around the rear suspension towers it is much stronger eg there is a beefy cruciform between the two towers. One area where the S130 is weaker is the radiator support panel. Cannot work out why is was designed so, seeing that it is one side of the engine bay box. Anyway, reinforced mine. It just a damm shame that the paint Nissan used on all the S130 panels internally was so ineffective against barring moisture. There are some tricky double panels on the S130 which can make rust chopping very difficult, S30 is much easier to rust repair and is basically a much simpler structure. From the little I've seen the Z31 is similar to the S130. I'm a two seat tin top S130 enthusiast, really admire the work the Nissan engineers put into it. Pity the tin worm likes them as well

Better look after it, sounds like a great find.

I think, thats think, bigger sway bars rather than stiffer springs are the go, although the springs will still have to be much stiffer than stock. I'm told that a drift car is set up similar to a circuit car but with heavier bars to make it slideable.

If you are serious then reinforced bar mounting points and stiffer brackets/bushes are a must, there are searchable pics in the gallery. Max 25mm front bar, the rear size depends on how much power, how you want the car to handle, etc, etc, smaller there is usually better unless you are looking for oversteer.

Those Maddog rails look heaps strong enough. If you want more rigidity run RHS or similar under the sill/rocker panels. Weld to the OE pinch welds and bracket them across under the floor a few times. Tie the front ends into the tension rod pickups and the backs into the bottom mounting points of a half cage. Why? Believe it or not the OE rails were removed on my 260Z, completely, and it relied solely on the above described 'perimeter chassis'. That car effectively used up to 300lb springs and handled great on the race track, pics on my site below. A practical bonus is the sills can then be used as jacking points, anywhere, handy when you are changing over to the R tyre wheels.

Links down, anywhere else that info might be available? Below are pics of the (LS2?) coils that are going to be direct fired by a M600 MoTec ECU.

Excellent work and it looks damm good

The problem with excessive tyre wear etc is not caused by 1.5 degrees of camber, look elsewhere. My S30 had 3.5 degrees, sorting the suspension as a whole meant there were no significant problems. Its true

These are the specs for the billet cams that Crow have suggested, any comments on what sort of performance they are likely to deliver? I know SFA about cams. MODEL TYPE VG30 DET QUAD CAM V/6 ---------------------------CROW COMPUTER CARD---------------------------- | PART NUMBER 1396 Date 16-JAN-07 | | Cam type: Bucket Hydraulic type OHC | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | Advance Ground on Cam: 1 Lobe separation: 114 | | .050 VALVE TIMING | | Inlet opens: 5 BTDC Closes: 51 ABDC .050 Duration: 237 | | Exhaust Opens: 53 BBDC Closes: 3 ATDC .050 Duration: 237 | | ADVERTISED VALVE TIMING | | Inlet opens: 28 BTDC Closes: 74 ABDC ADV Duration: 282 | | Exhaust Opens: 76 BBDC Closes: 26 ATDC ADV Duration: 282 | | Inlet lobe lift at TDC on the over lap: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | Valve lift Inlet: .3578 Inlet Rocker Ratio: 1.00 | | Valve lift Exhaust: .3577 Exhaust Rocker Ratio: 1.00 | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | RECOMENDED VALVE TRAIN COMPONENTS Kit Number: | | Valve Springs: Spring height: Collets: | | Retainers: Pushrod: Lifters: | | H/D Timing Set: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------|

Great thread, love the wide body concept

Can't VG30DE/TT rods and pistons be used? Only the valve cutouts in the piston may be a problem but I doubt it.

LS1 or LS2? Bought them off Ebay, asked for LS2 but?????

Yeh I've thought about the subject too Dave and think your reasoning is correct. Of course there are other factors at work too that make it all very complicated, such as the vertical effect (lift and downforce) of air passing through the front openings on the surfaces of such openings.

Auto TT engine does not have quite as much power as the manual TT engine. Different cams for a start.

Very nice, thats a good looking Z.

Any nice white Zed will look better in a mid shade metallic, or black or......... But, but, but, as has been said many times here, its your car, its what you like that really matters. However, when you ask for opinions........ PS, this is nice, look at the play of light on the shape and curves, you don't get that with refrigerator white http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=113257

What I did with mine was to remove the glass and take it to a 'plastic glass' fabricator. From that they cut and moulded a 'plastic glass' replacement.

Yeh, except that one looks like it attaches via a single bolt each end. Which loses some rigidity.

Sorry but white for a sports car is crap, any mid shade metallic would be better, white just blanks out the lines and curves of the S30. Have a look at the green S30 in the gallery on my website and see the curves and lines a mid shade metallic bring out.

My arrangement for the 280ZX rewire is something like Olderthanme's, most of the relays, fuses and circuit breakers are mounted on a removeable panel. Started the rewire process with the ZX service manual, wrote down all the electrical items that were to be serviced then arranged them in suitable groups. Such groups were arranged according to power source and compatibility. For example, from the battery + power goes to a circuit breaker then to three separate relays for the power windows, horns, and, stop and hazard lights. From the light switch power goes through a circuit breaker to one relay for headlight high beams, another relay for low beams. And so on, note I'm using circuit breakers instead of fuseible links. I found it hard to get my head around at the start, some guidance from an auto electrician helped a lot.

Pic of VG30DET engine, with original single small turbo.

Single turbo VG like the VG30DET is a better proposition for most purposes in my opinion, whatever sized turbo you put on the 2.6 liter you can go bigger with the 3 liter. The straight six is a lot easier to work on and develop though. The RB26 should be nice in the Z32, no doubt, if only to get some under bonnet space.

My ZX is being rebuit primarily as a competition car, most of the weight reduction involved removing the a/c, heater and ventilation system, made up a basic lightweight ventilation system. Other than that its seats, anti pollution gear and a plastic rear window to replace the glass and thats about it. Was going to replace the rear quarter windows with plastic too but the stock glass is thin so I didn't bother. The ZX is basically not a heavy car, it had extra comfort and safety equipment compared with the S30, thats the problem.