Bowtiez

With my parts luck lately, I am taking the Q45 R200 down to the driveshaft shop tomorrow to ensure it is the correct coupler bolts and all. It is made by Powertrain Industries in California. Part number 3102-69. I will confirm Friday.

Update: The 2000 Model Infiinity Q45 and later has a pressed in hub assembly, not bolt in, which will not work with the Techno Toy Conversion. Gabe is sending me an older style bolt in 5 lug hub to try with my caliper, e brake, and rotor from the 2000 Q45. I am having difficulty finding what I need because the 240SX drift kids are eating up all of the 90-96 Z model hub assemblies here. There is a standard differential coupler that will work with the short nosed R200 and 1310 Chevy U Joint. I will get and post the part number if anyone is interested.

Thanks, nice to know. I will not know the necessary spacing until I get the conversion put together. I would like to put some 275 -315 tires in the rear. Is there anyway to safely (and race legal) adapt 4 lug to five lug in the front of the 260Z8? I have a Wilwood Brake Conversion and it will cost about $550 to replace the hubs and rotors.

True. I have my adjustable bias maxed to the front to avoid rear lock up. The back brakes shoes look like new. I don't know what is going to be required when I stick the Infinity Q45 differential set up under the car. The big plus side to the Wilwood conversion is that the car consistently stops like it ran into a brick wall after twenty minutes of hot lapping.

I have no shame. I love fantasy movies like Die Hard X, Pirates of the Carribean X, and Fast and the Furious X. I drove my Chevy V8 powered side pipe equipped 260Z to the first one just for fun. After the movie, all the kids were blipping their throttles and acting ignorant. I fired mine up and they just stared as I rumbled off. One wanted to know what kind of Mustang it was!

I don't know what kind of budget you have but I recommend the Wilwood Arizona Z Car conversion for the front for about $900 plus another $100 for on car pro cut machine work. I added a cockpit adjustable brake balance and DOT 4 fluid with stainless lines. A larger ZX master cylinder is also necessary. Take a look at JTR's discussion on the subject of rear drum brakes. Unless you are an all out road racer, rear drums are fine. I am experiencing no fade in a 20 minute session at Hallett, OK and it is a nine turn 1.9 mile course. (I am running over 140 mph on the front straight and braking at the next to last marker for a 70 mph sweeper.) BTW: The Wilwood caliper clearance on my 16 inch front wheels is very tight. I doubt if they would work on 15 inch wheels.

The Q45 hub assembly for Gabe's conversion has the same hub diameter (66.2MM) as the 350Z wheel and I have 4 of those already and spacers are available to negate the positive offset of these wheels. Wheels are wider, abundant and cheap for the Mustang but it has a larger bore (70MM) and the offset is 20-45 MM. I prefer the wheel to be both hub centric and wheel centric rather than rely on lugs alone. Is there such a wheel spacer available?

I agree. If you are into the Z car as a hobby, you have to have a truck. You can buy a decent Chevy or Ford Truck for $6K and then you will have a real truck that could tow your car and not have to worry about soccer moms in SUV's on cell phones. V8 gas mileage is as good as many V-6's.

Per JTR conversions, I changed to an 8MM Bolt with a Hex Head and a nyloc nut. I also had an arch bent into my 7/8" and 5/8" rear sway bars to make more clearance.

When do you need help? I am getting bored. I just finished getting a friend's 1960 model Yanmar diesel tractor with burned up wiring to run and didn't even know how to turn the darn thing off when I got it started.

Heidt has a Corvette IRS with inboard brakes set up for hotrods for about $4000 but it looks like you would need to do a back half job to install on a Z but it looks like it might alos solve breakage problems with V8's.

Ok, Terry, enough, when are we going to stick this bad stroker motor in your car? Are you going to powder coat or chrome the headers? I have an extra can of Ford red VHT if you want to go cheap and fast. Little Rock Racing Scene Dyno Day is coming up soon. Editorial comment: This seems like an awful lot of trouble to beat my poor little low performance stock Chevy 350.

Super! I guess its time for me to bug Gabe. I think I was third or forth in line for his conversion kit.

Here is why I am going with the Techno Toy Q45 conversion. 1) Cost of the complete 2000 Q45 differential assembly was only $400 2) The Q45 is basically a short nosed R200 but has a factory LSD opposed to my phantom grip long nosed R200. 3) The R200 diff itself is not the problem; the small half shaft u joints being subjected to rear squat angles and tiny stub axles thatl break if you use sticky tires. Been there, done that and it is nasty. 4) Five on 4.5 lug pattern open up all sorts of possibilities for aftermarket wheels without the cost of custom wheels, 5) Disc brakes are standard, a 4 piston Arizona Z Car conversion costs almost a grand. 6) Rear camber plates are not necessary to be able to adjust the camber. Camber plates run about $200. 7) The CV joints and axles are huge on the Q45 and are being replaced by Mosler racing axles now. 8) My coil over kit and Tokico adjustables will fit. I expect my cost to be $1480 for Techno, $400 for the used assembly, $100 for brake R and R., $200 for a new longer driveshaft and coupler, $400 for a pair of road race tires, $400 for a pair of drag slicks. I already have a set of 350Z wheels that may or may not work due to the funny offset of that wheel. Over $3K would be more accurate.

I am little further northwest of you all in Arkansas and it is cold. The longnose R200 has been holding up, just not the ujoints with slicks. I think the Q45 R200 should be OK. Your post reminds me to check with Gabriel. He should have received my cv axles last Friday. However, I did not try to pin him down on turn around time.

I was running Aeroquip line from the tank to the pump to the carb. Unfortunately, I put in a heavy dose of an off breed octane booster to run nitrous and did not run the car for a couple of months. The lines melted internally which then ruptured making for an interesting night. Aeroquip was quick to send me replacement line for free just on my word even though I owned up to using an octane booster. I turned in the old line to the dealer to be sent for inspection. I am now running a 3/8 inch steel line and using braided line at the tank and at the motor. I was a little concerned anyway about having braided line in so close proximity to the driveshaft. Whatever line you use, be sure it is compatible with the fuel and make sure any connections using AN fittings are clean and free of loose rubber and wire. It is very easy to screw the connections up if you are not careful.

I agree. 2WD trucks can be really interesting on ice. Studded tires and a four wheeler in the back really helped. 4WD is fine but stopping 5000+ pounds on ice can really pucker one up.

I am using ZG Flares and the present set up will handle 245:45:16 race tires on 7 inch rims with 4.5 backspacing and lowered 1 1/2 inches with coil overs without rubbing. Get the tires and wheels mounted before you start cutting. Those flares can be moved up from their normal postion if necessary. Use duct tape to hold in place and mark postions. Finally, use the underneath side of the flare as a template for cutting the front but add at least 1/2 inch that will be hammered or bent up to make the fender stronger. I suggest using a jig saw with a fine metal tooth blade and please take your time. The rear needs to be pushed or hammered up. In Little Rock, AR there is a company that has a tool to enlarge fenders without hurting the paint or cutting so I assume you can find someone to do the job anywhere else. The back quarter panel is a stress area. Put the beer away until after you finished cutting.

This definitely came from a 2000 model Q45. It looked like the 230 picture, third from the left except it is an 8 bolt. ???????????????

Update to my Q45 conversion: It is an LSD. According to Gabriel some Q45s came without outside fins, some did not. Pictures are deceiving. Anyway, I am heading to the UPS store to ship my axles to Gabriel in California and let him do the axle conversion. He says that is real pain without proper tools. BTW: It takes a 36 MM or, in a pinch, an 1 1/2 standard socket to remove the Q45 spindle nut. I borrowed mine from Autozone ($15) and it won't be going back.

At 16, my biggest problem with the Bimmers would have been the cost of new parts compared to a Nissan. Also, you have an overwhelming availability of junk yard parts and reasonable cost aftermarket parts for the Nissan. I have a problem with using the term Ricers as derogatory. As far as the term Ricer is concerned, as a Japaneese car, most American hot rodders apply that to the Z's if you haven't dropped an American V8 in the things.

I have a highly modified 74 260 Z with a V8 but I think you would be happier with the 240sx because of money. You can buy a decent rust free one around here for $1500 and start driving. They do well at track days even in stock form. Insurance should be fairly low.

I bought a complete 2000 Infiinity Q45 differential which I thought would be a short nosed R200. The differential has fins on the output shafts like the picture of an R230 in on of the posts. The posts are confusing. How can I tell the difference? I called the Infinity dealership. They list only one differential for the Q45. This has an 8 bolt cover. The R230 has a 10. The parts man could not tell me if it was a limited slip. Mine does not have a finned aluminum cover.

OK, I just purchased a complete differential rear assembly locally from a 2000 Infinity Q45. They gave me the whole subframe fully assembled for $400 but cut the emergency brake cables. I am not sure of the gear ratio or if it is an LSD yet. Gabriel is going to ship me the parts I need to complete the conversion. For a change, I am planning on taking digital pictures throughout the process. FYI EBAY has an R230 TT for sale. I passed on that. I have an extra set of 2003 350Z stock wheels and tires but the back spacing is in question. Techno Toys also sells adapters but I am not sure they are legal for road racing.

I talked to Gabriel. Apparently, I have a 280Z long nosed R200 which was a direct replacement for my original R180 in my 260Z. Seems I will need to change to a Q45 or 300ZX to use his conversion or an R230 TT which is rare.