Drax240z

OK, its like this: You set your koni's on their SOFTEST setting on 1 corner of the car. You apply a load SLOWLY to that corner, the suspension travels 1". You set your koni's on their HARDEST setting on 1 corner of the car. You apply the same load SLOWLY to that corner, the suspension travels 1". You set your koni's on their SOFTEST setting on 1 corner of the car. You apply the same load QUICKLY to that corner, the suspension travels ~3/4". You set your koni's on their HARDEST setting on 1 corner of the car. You apply the same load QUICKLY to that corner, the suspension travels ~1/4". Numbers are hypothetical, but I hope that demonstrates what shocks do. They dampen based on the velocity of the movement, not the distance of travel.

Its a very easy swap. 5" in the 2 main pods, speedo and tach. 2-5/8" in the 3 center pods.

It's running rich on deceleration. TPS adjustment could be the problem...

Let us know if you see any performance gains at all. I remember discussions about this type of setup on zcar.com years ago and there was very little gain if any. I would think that its worth it, but I haven't tried.

Can't help you, but I'd like to see those on my Z.

Tim the SDS uses a hall sensor for sure. Completely different than the EM unit. How is your fuel pump wired 240hoke? Are you using a relay? What gauge wire to the pump? What pump are you using?

No, they dampen the movement more, but the travel is the same as on the softest setting. All that changes is the rate at which the oil flows through the holes in the piston (in the strut). (or equivalent, I'm not sure how the koni's are designed)

Hey Norm, what does your timing curve look like anyway? I like the NGK's too, though I don't use them on my turbo car. (MSD in that case) I've always used NGK's on NA Z's though with no problems.

Well your left front camber looks like the problem to me, not your right front! You want negative static camber, not positive. As for rear toe, I haven't played a ton with it. Rear toe out will bring the back end of the car around easier, and can aid in turning. Too much will lead to a car that swaps ends very easiliy. Rear toe in will have the opposite effect, the car won't turn quite as well, but it won't swap ends as easily. I'm not sure -1.4 degrees camber up front isn't too much for the street... If you are +0.5 on the other side I'm betting the car turns a whole lot better to the left than it does to the right though.

Just a curiosity. I've decided that since I have some free time on my hands these days I am going to get into playing guitar. (I allready play a few other instruments) I've been playing quite a bit this last few weeks and am really digging it. (If I didn't have z-car-mechanic fingertips I'm sure they'd be pretty raw by now) So who else plays guitar around here? Any websites/books you recommend for some "lessons"? Tips? Oh, I am playing a fairly cheap electric 6 string, with a really basic amp with no reverb, overdrive, footswitches, etc. Anyhoo, just a bit of a break from the Z lines of discussion.

Sounds like the perfect parts car... start with the best chassis you can! You'll save yourself much in the way of headaches.

There was a guy in Germany a while back that used to post on zcar.com. He had a nice photo of himself driving down the autobahn @ 160+mph in a 240z with what he said was a stock turbo engine. Oh, the photo was taken as he was doing this speed, 1 hand on the wheel, the other on the camera. I don't recall what his rev's were in the picture, but he hadn't hit redline yet. (also, I suspect the stock speedo is not terribly accurate, maybe out as much as 15mph up there) There is no brick wall at 140mph. Drag increases as the square of the velocity... its pretty much as simple as that.

120mph in a heartbeat and begging for more...

Don't look now, but the ones in the picture are flat. (actually I said first picture, I meant first picture with the new bushings) Meh, sorry for the confusion.

The "BOV" you speak of isn't a blow-off valve at all. It is a pop-off valve. (POV?) And it has a distinctly different purpose than the BOV, though the mechanicals are similar. The POV vents the intake in case of overboosting, this helps prevent engine damage. Can be replaced with a 1" pipe plug if you are upping the boost. The BOV vents the tube leading into the intake before the throttle body when the TB is closed, so that the negative pressure wave reflecting off the TB doesn't collide with the turbine wheels and cause the turbo to slow down. This can make your car faster, as you don't have to wait quite as long after a shift for the turbo to spool again.

I suspect the large washers you used in the first picture are for the moustache bar bushings... at least I've got similar washers in my package.

*bump* Anyone with some info for me, especially on the possibility of this being an exhaust leak? All 6 plugs look good, tan-to-black colour.

Hmm, someone beat me to it. I got scared until I saw his comment about using a ball joint instead on the bottom, which if designed right means the spring will attach to the lower A-arm. (ie: not putting a rod end in bending)

Pete your comment on torque curve sparked a dim memory. I believe it is the Audi S4, with a torque peak at 2000-6000rpm. Thats not 90% of maximum torque over that range, but 100%. A very impressive feat IMHO. Neat cars, the 2003 S4 is getting a 344hp@7000rpm/410ft-lbs@3500rpm, 4.2L, 195kg V8 this year. I see a future Z donor engine.

Such goes the life of the sponsored racer.

For those of you interested in FSAE cars, U of W just put out a sweet new video. Its worth a gander! http://students.washington.edu/auto/media/sae_web_2.mpg Those guys have some great videos on their site.

Heavier crash bumpers, thicker sheet metal and more electronics (EFI) make up the majority of the difference.

Ever since I've got my car on the road, I've had a slight miss every once in a while. This occurs at idle, and light throttle for sure, and I'm fairly certain at larger throttle openings as well. It corresponds with a very short lean out on my mixture meter. You can feel the hiccup through the whole car as well when it happens. A slight lurch to the car. (though rpm's seem to stay stable) I've tried adjusting the TPS, as it was suggested to me the part throttle could be due to a porrly adjusted TPS. No dice. There are no "holes" in my EFI programming that would account for this either. I had a notion that I might have an exhaust leak and am running too rich, so I'm getting a small amount of combustion in the header or downpipe. This could mess up the O2 sensor signal I would think. Thoughts? Ideas appreciated.

Update for stock wiring: This is untested by me, but might get people going on the right path: You need to get a Haynes manual for '79 to '83 280ZX. This is the one with the red cover. Look on page 252, this is the wiring diagram. You will see 3 plugs labeled "1,2,3" with circles around the numbers. This is at the lower left-hand side of the page. The wires are as follows: Plug 1= BR 12v power source. Positive G 12v power source. Positive Plug 2=Y start signal (+) GL ground for inhibitor switch YW speed sensor (not necessary) Y A/C signal (+) YW coil (-) (must use ignitor) B fuel pump ground if using modulator Plug 3=LR fuel pump relay G ignition .signal (+) for air regulator W not used Y not used BW ignition signal (+)

Update for stock wiring: This is untested by me, but might get people going on the right path: You need to get a Haynes manual for '79 to '83 280ZX. This is the one with the red cover. Look on page 252, this is the wiring diagram. You will see 3 plugs labeled "1,2,3" with circles around the numbers. This is at the lower left-hand side of the page. The wires are as follows: Plug 1= BR 12v power source. Positive G 12v power source. Positive Plug 2=Y start signal (+) GL ground for inhibitor switch YW speed sensor (not necessary) Y A/C signal (+) YW coil (-) (must use ignitor) B fuel pump ground if using modulator Plug 3=LR fuel pump relay G ignition .signal (+) for air regulator W not used Y not used BW ignition signal (+)