Daeron

Wait.. Seriously?? Man, I must have missed a memo... Looks like I've got another one of them "life changes" comin' up again... But seriously, folks... I just wanted to point out one thing. BRAAP, as usual, you were enlightening and colorful; you always give us such a wonderful look inside the mind of those of you on the higher level of "playing with cars..." I thank you for your thorough explanation and debunking. I have to say that coming from the side of Hybridz with more time under a hood than in a classroom or office, sometimes these semantic arguments are the hardest to really comprehend in a mannner that allows us to "fight the good fight" out there on the frontlines of ignorance. Above and beyond that, though, this thread and situation REALLY does illustrate the difference between a thoroughly experienced and wise, yet uneducated "knowledge" and the "knowledge" of an individual with no MORE time in the industry, but solely more education (whether technical-trade type school or engineering degrees) tipping the balance to their side. In other words, no matter how good you make yourself without it.. School makes sure that you know how to fill EVERY crack, and know how to do it right, AND why the right way is "right." I spent one year in a four year college... I've had just enough education to know what it is that I am, and am not missing... rest assured I am missing the important parts.

the problem is that quite frankly, the market does NOT exist for lightweight cars. Too many people think that a miata is a matchbox that will only get you killed.. The Mazda Miata has been, until recent model years, the exact definition of what you are looking for, except that in stockish form they didnt have a great deal of power. My biggest problem with them was always in the gearing, but unless you turbocharge a small engine like that making real torque is VERY expensive (build wise.) Hpowever, my brother's AutoX prepped Miata has beaten Corvettes and Porsches.. those were usually poor drivers, granted; a decent driver in a vette usually beat him.. BUT the competition was there in an autoX circuit. My point is, the Miata sold well, but not incredibly well. Sports cars in general dont actually seem to be a paying proposition to the manufacturers.. because we all want to get them cheap, used.. not enough of us like to foot the bill for the new ones. Until more new car buyers are buying "real and lean" sports cars, there will be none on the market. The market rules everything; thats what capitalism is.

http://www.grapeaperacing.com/GrapeApeRacing/tech/coolingsystems.pdf'>http://www.grapeaperacing.com/GrapeApeRacing/tech/coolingsystems.pdf And the home website, http://www.grapeaperacing.com appears to have more information and reading material. Thanks, TonyD!

I call that a "50-50 job," meaning that it looks GREAT from fifty feet, at fifty miles an hour

I LOVE the idea of the 280ZX ducts into the 350Z hood.. THAT is HybridZ!! I would imagine that you could get the entire hood painted in one coat that would make the ducts look at home in the hood?? I would prefer them in body color if it can be matched; I think fake CF print is a tad tacky. All in all, though, I think its a great way to give a salute to the past with your "new Z"

I don't want to argue the relative performance of a clutch fan versus electric, but TimZ pointed out that a primary reason to go with electric fans is to fit the required package of parts together in the space available. Mayn many L28s run on exclusively electric fans, and if you try to find a large double fan panel, and go to the trouble of making sure you have a good strong alternator on the car (maybe install a 90 amp maxima unit? internally regulated, you can search for that one) BUT the need for the extra power is debatable. Any chance you could mount two small electric fans, on opposite sides of the radiator? I am thinking one inside the the engine bay on the right side, pulling and one in front of the radiator on the left side, pushing. In any case, electric fans would likely suffice if everything else in the cooling system (radiator size and condition, hoses, etc) is in good condition. I like the L28 pickup idea myself, do you have a project thread going?

I was thinking about the same thing, but it was an idea rather than an experience. My dad has used a fiberglass kennel cage as "stock" for floorboard repairs before, and I've done a bit of rudimentary glasswork in my own day. I was actually halfway wondering if you could mock something up with cardboard, cover the cardboard with wax paper, and use that to lay down a primary layer of glass, and maybe if needed go back and add a sheet or two once you peel it off of the mold..

Looks SWEET!! Where in FL are you?? I would love to check that car out, its like the ultimate version of the 83ZXT my dad had...

wow.. those pictures just make the air look so DRY.....

OTM: Can you really blame them?? We ARE raping their junkyard engines. How would you feel if you were an old nissan diesel guy in the US and could no longer find parts? $300 for a crankshaft for an old japanese engine is kinda steep; more than it would be given production numbers, if the postmortem demand weren't so high. I am just trying to say that we DO have a negative impact on them, so there's no reason to react to their "uptight" type of attitude.. its kinda justifiable. And I for one would love to see photos or videos of a turbodiesel Z car.. I have wanted a turbodiesel L series in a datsun 4x4 pickup since I was a little kid and I learned what a diesel really was...

If the physical installation is easy enough I may look into the wiring myself...

Fuji Heavy Industries, once partially owned by Nissan, and they are the parent company of Subaru. Hitachi makes the diffs for both companies, I believe. I may be wrong, but *I* sure don't think so....

I found a really good distribution block on the inside fenderwell of many 80s and early 90s volvos.. It is basically a plastic housing that holds a copper plate, that had about 8 male terminals stamped into it, and bent over to fit underneath a little cover. Peek around under the hood of a volvo, they are bolted to the fenderwheel in front of the wheel, i think on the battery side. It is easy to identify once you pop the cover off; but it just looks like a small black box with wires going into the bottom with the cover on.

Are you beginning to see how it all operates in general? its a pretty simple system. That EFI bible is the single most important sixty pages for a 280Z owner to have access to; between the hardware and the manual, the Fuel Injestion system make the carbs totally obsolete, in terms of stock performance and reliability.

+1 on black center console and dashboard

there's a prop rod there, that works perfectly fine. I like having the springs there, but they are far from vital. Is your prop rod missing? not trying to be a smartass, btw

I was practically born into my dad's 72 240Z, and the Z was an iconic car for my family.. but when my dad and my oldest brother both got 280ZXs within a year of each other, and both had the red interior, I actually grew to like it after some time. It was one of the things that set the car apart from the S30 model, and once I got over my initial "but, it isn't a Z!" phase the red interior was one of the things that drew me to the car. That being said, I still prefer the black.. but I am saying that the red is something that you can get used to. Nice Z!

L28 in a Sami!! I LOVE it!!! good answer!

GOOD hip hop COUNTS as rock, to me. Wood steering wheel or leather/pleather/something black or other color?

TonyD, I hate to nag you about this.. but I HAVE to know where I can find information on building or purchasing a system to run CNG or LPG on a turbocharged Z. The idea of a propane powered vehicle has intrigued me since I first started picking up a wrench when I was twelve, and now that you have explained to me that its 115-120 octane.. I simply must know. I have researched converting my old Subaru to run on propane; that would be a simple issue, since I could simply buy a venturi/regulator valve, restrofit that into my throttle body in place of the injector, and install the ignition system from a carb'ed subaru onto it.. but that is an econobox, TBI system that I would not be interested in high power out of. The Z I would want to be going for a mid/high compression, low boost turbo application (thinking about 10:1 comp, 10PSI boost, and see if I can get enough flow through the snails/intake/heads to let that combination steer me up towards the 300-400 horse mark) All I can do on my car right now is read and learn; so I am not going to be buying or building anything anytime soon. I just want to know where I can go to find out more. My (pathetic?) attempts to find information on the web via google search have turned up nothing that wasn't either sinply an ad for a vehicle-specific kit, or a detailed write-up on how to basically make a propane carburetor. Nothing regarding potential high-power, sportscar type application; in fact, none of the "info" modern injection-type systems was any more informative than an advertisement. Thanks in advance.. as I said, LPG/CNG have been my primary thoughts regarding "alternative fuel" since back in the days when I was a treehugger first, and a Z-car guy second. (in other words, for a very very long time. I was an idealistic kid at ten years old; we were ALL supposed to love the environment then. I have been a gearhead first for a LONG time now.)

neat! I have asked EVERYONE that I know about this more times than I can count, for the last five or eight years.. and never gotten an answer. Well, now I know. Apparently, it is CERTAINLY relevant for brake cooling, and potentially relevant for aerodynamics as well, just as I suspected! and so I say for the second time in 24 hours.. thank you, HybridZ, for the continuing education!

Word.

Hey man, no offense taken. I just hate to see people proceed in a manner that isnt careful and methodical.. because I have done it FAR too many times myself, and missed the simple stuff. It is hard to tell from a thread whether you are going at it methodically or not sometimes, and I just wanted to be sure you arent beating your head into a wall needlessly... thats all. I wouldn't have posted if I weren't trying to help you.. and sometimes, it takes a little douche-baggery to get the message of "read your manual" across. I apologize, since apparently this was NOT one of those cases. Do you have a factory service manual relevant to your year? Honestly, I was halfway through typing my post when I remembered your screen name, and realized we were talking about a turbo ZX here.. BUT instead of altering my "douch-baggery" I just appended the comment at the end, and the reference to carfiche. Seriously though, in my experience if you have gone through all of the manufacturer's tests of all the electronic components, and they all pass muster (and I mean ALL) then the problem is usually caused by one of those "how could I be so stupid" things like bad plug wires, clogged fuel filter, etc... SO in conclusion if you HAVE tested every component out to spec, maybe it is time to step back and re analyze the basic things that you have been presuming were "good" this whole time. Again, my apologies. The entire post WAS conditional on "if you haven't read the book," because I couldn't tell from your posts whether or not you had. Good luck.

wow. I had never heard them referred to as anything other than "freeze plugs" even though I knew what they were, and what they were for... and I never understood why they were called freeze plugs. (i live in south florida. 50* is freezing down here!) Thanks for the continuing education, HybridZ!

Please do not go stabbing in the dark. These cars are designed logically. The computer needs functioning input from ALL sensors, and it needs all of its "output" devices operating properly too.. "doing almost everything for the FI" means that you have wiggled all connectors. go to http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/EFI&fuel.htm, download the "EFI Bible," get yourself a multimeter, and check each component under the hood. It really will not take as much time as you have already spent trying to figure this out, and you only have two possible outcomes: 1. You find your problem, and fix it, in fairly short order. 2. You are actually stumped, and have a fair reason to be asking for help. Service manuals are the technicians second best friend. His BEST friend is years and years of experience with this particular system, but we do not all have that. (I don't, and I am assuming you don't) So, in other words, until you read the book, and do everything by the book, you don't really have much of a right to say "I've done everything and I am stumped!" I am TRYING not to come off like an ass here, but the fact is pretty simple. Until you read the book, you do not know how to test each component. I just re read and noticed that your 280 is a turbo; You might want to find a factory service manual instead. Try http://www.carfiche.com. In any case, you cannot treat this like an issue that will go away by throwing junkyard parts at it under an assumption that you have a fuel supply problem. Every fuel supply problem I have had in my 280 was caused by a malfunctioning sensor or a bad wire, causing the computer to get the wrong input, and the computer PURPOSEFULLY was feeding the engine too much or too little fuel. Well, one time my fuel pump died on me, but I had that diagnosed within 2 minutes.