Drax240z

OK, I'll try to give you the skinny... I've been to quite a few major cities around the world, so I have a bit of a knowledge base to build on here. First off, vancouver is nestled between the coastal mountain range, and the pacific ocean. This leads to a rather temperate climate, quite a lot of rain in the winter, but not overly hot summers. It also allows a ton of outdoor sports to be played, all year around in many cases. In my experience, vancouver is one of the most pituresque cities in the world. It is amazingly clean compared to every other major city I've been in. Crime is high compared to the rest of BC... but honestly from what I know of most major american centers, it is significantly lower. I know many people that simply don't lock their doors when they go out. (which I don't recommend) Living expenses are the 2nd highest in canada, next to Toronto. A cheap 1 bedroom apartment typically rents in the $600+ canadian range, per month. ($400+ american) If you like skiing, golfing, fishing, sailing, this is the place for you... Tthere are few other places in the world when you can do them all in the same day! Anyway, trying not to be too biased because it's close to home. I like the city very much, and that really doesn't have anything to do with it's proximity to home. It's just a really neat city.

dizzy is slang for the distributor... the object near the front of the L-series engine with the spark plug wires coming into and out of it. (7 of them in fact) Obviously if you aren't getting spark, this is where your problem is. Track down the reason you aren't getting anything. Use a volt meter and see if your coil is getting power, and work from there...

The change in F1 happened when forced induction was outlawed. The fuel they were running was quite the witches brew, and I believe that those additives used (toluene, xylene, sp?) to produce the big power numbers were outlawed around the same time.

Uh, + to a 12V source, - to ground basically... However, I'd get a relay in there, and have the switched 12V source trigger the relay, then run a decent sized wire (12ga or 10ga) to the fuel pump from the battary (but through the relay). I found that I was starving at 5000+ on just the mechanical pump alone, so added in an electric pump near the tank... problem solved.

Don't worry about heat on your wires... They are on the opposite side of the engine as the exhaust. Might be a problem on V8's but not likely to ever be a problem on an L series... I'm guessing you are suffering from a bit of vapour lock... since the Z's are somewhat notorious for it. Check all fuel lines, fuel filter etc. If you are not getting fuel circulation this will absolutely make things worse. If the clogs in your lines were caused by a rusting gas tank (another common problem) chances are that they are clogged again. Drain your tank, check for rust, etc. As a last resort you may want to try putting heat shielding on your FUEL lines, (shiny side out) to reflect some of the radiated heat in your engine bay away. I've had this work before.

I'm not sure why you'd need a bigger one, but you might check out Griffen, or maybe the 280zx turbo rad. I'm not certain about the turbo rad being larger however.

Oops, looks like we left you to the wolves here. Sounds almost certainly like a timing issue to me, which is quite a common problem if you take the timing chain off, or distributor out. How extra careful were you when you did the timing chain to line up the bright links on the chain? Are your plug wires going to the correct cylindesr in the correct order? Is the distributor on the correct tooth? All this stuff can be checked with haynes manual procedures I am sure, but that is certainly what it sounds like to me.

I think I'm in love...

Listen to these guys utvolman99, they speak from years of experience. I'm so much in the same position as you (25, mechanical engineer, spent sooo much time in butt-hole-nowhere places, etc. etc) and seriously the best thing you can do is enjoy your time to yourself, learn about yourself, and don't look for anything. As soon as you act needy, she'll be running away. I too took up to going to the gym again, maybe for the wrong reasons at first. But its a damn good way to start to feel confident and self-assured. In the past 6 weeks I've had probably a dozen people commenting on how much weight I've lost... The truth is I've gained 12 lbs. One other thing, dress well, and look your best all the time. I'm not saying be obsessed about how you look, but you're more likely to get attention from the fairer sex if you are reasonably presentable. (And I'm not talking about designer suits and so on) It's a little thing, but it goes a very long way in my experience. Hang in there bud!

Ugh... I think I need a babel fish in my ear to understand just what he's trying to communicate with this display...

I didn't do anything, I am running stock 82 turbo compression. Unless you are mucking around with engine internals, I wouldn't bother upping CR, not for a modestly built street car. You can definately get into the high 12's without changing pistons and CR.

Lets not forget SDS in this discussion. Pretty straightforward system with a great price. Doesn't offer all the bells and whistles of some other systems mind you. www.sdsefi.com

TempeZ, there is CFD available for solidworks. Currently I am using the FlowWorks plugin, which is a pretty rudimentary CFD package, but VERY FAST and can give you some ballpark numbers without leaving your computer processing for hours at a time. The other one I highly recommend is Algor. Its not a plugin for solidworks, but it will import solidworks assemblies and parts without much trouble. It really gives some great results, and its dynamite for FEA as well. Honestly, I'd love to apply this CFD stuff to the Z, but I just can't find the time these days. If someone wants to do an accurate solidworks model of a 240z then I'll happily do the CFD analysis on it.

I wouldn't waste your money on the adjustable boost kit, when you can make your own for about $10. Raising compression can help, depending on what else you are doing with your setup. Personally I don't like the 7.3:1 ratio of the stock turbos, and feel that it should be up around 8.0:1-8.5:1. Better spool up, better off boost economy, more low end torque. You will sacrifice peak power somewhat, but 99% of people will agree that you're better off with a broad power band than a higher peak. (to which I can't emphasize enough having build a formula-style race car!) There are of course exceptions. (upper levels of racing) If you are in the process of modifying, I'd change the pistons while you have the chance. However, you should still be able to kick this Iroc guys ass without opening the engine up. (good I/C, T3/T04 and good engine management)

One of my favorite cars. Would love to get my hands on one!

I'd run with whichever gives you the largest area under your torque curve. Also take a look at what is happening lower in the rev range... unless its a pure track car, you'll be spending some time around 3k too...

Hey those are pretty good numbers! A significant improvement over stock for sure, and not a huge list of modifications. I bet the biggest performance mod you did was moving that engine from the zx to the z though! Nothing like shedding a few hundred pounds to gain everywhere...

Well I'd try to line up a tranny first. $400 might be sweet, but if you can't find a tranny for cheap, then you aren't too far ahead. And you are delving into relatively unchartered territory here, so it will be difficult to ask for help from people, just beware that you may have to do a lot of your own engineering along the way. Other than that, go for it!

Yup, front toe out will reduce turn in understeer. John, I'd love ot hear more!

John, are we also assuming that unsprung mass at each corner is equal?

Doug, if you want to really delve deep into the exhaust design stuff, check out "scientific design of exhaust & intake systems" by Philip H. Smith & John C. Morrison. Its quite a bit above all the other books I've come accross on the subject. (not recommened as a 'light' read however)

If you are wanting 16x8 wheels, I'd look for 3rd generation RX7 wheels. 16x8" and around 15lbs each. Tough, big and light. I have a set myself, only drawback is that they are 5 bolt, but no biggie really...

Why not look into the VG30 twin turbo? Looks like you have some experience with them allready...

Pretty darn interesting. (I wouldn't buy it though) Ebay Custom Pickup

Me too, they are sweet. But when comparing $$$$ its not a hard choice for me!