Phantom

Nope - God loves you - but he's definitely allowing that other guy to screw with you.

The stock 14" steel wheels on each of my 1977 280Z's were 5.5" wide and had a '0' offset. As to the original question. The only way to know for sure is to set the car up and then get in and measure it. Every car is a little different by the time it goes through several owners, maybe a couple accidents, and some modifications.

Hmm - sholda thought of that myself. That would help my rear-biased weight distribution!

A co-worker wandered into my office today to tell me how much he really likes my car. I was basking in the adulation when he told me he is the original Silver/black 1973 240Z that has been stored since 1985. It is all original with the V3 kit and has just 20,000 miles on it. Total envy - but what would I do wit it? PS: He has absolutely no desire to sell it.

Geez Mikey! I've been in a rather intensive work period that has meant a lot of stress, long hours - and it's been freakin' hot!!! Seriously - the list of 'little things' is growing. It's up to four or five items now so I need to spend some quality time with Zack.

David, Very nice numbers. Compare them to my dyno run in my album. The interesting thing is that our HP figures are close - I had 311 but at 5,200 rather than 5,000 RPM and that was with the JCI 1 1/2" headers to a Y into a single 2 1/2" exhaust. The fascinating thing though is your 365 lb-ft of torque vs my 326 - WOW! The curves are very similar but mine is way lower. I guess I have to believe those bigger headers and duals are affecting torque more than HP? I have a '98 engine but the ECM is reprogrammed to 01/02 parameters. Another thought - your head design is different than mine isn't it? Also, do you have the LS6 intake manifold?

Well, the weight of the car has increased by about 170 lbs. and 110 of that is on the rear wheels. (not including driver weight) I'm assuming the weight gain came from the roll bar which is mounted above and barely forward of the rear axle, from the stereo amplifier which is mounted above the rear axle, from the CD changer, capacitor and crossovers that are mounted slightly above and slightly forwrd of the rear axle, from the rear strut tower brace which is located directly above the rear axle, from the foamed rear fenders that are directly behind the rear axle and from the extra 1/4 tank of gas included in this weight that is behind the rear axle. Sure the engine has moved back pretty much behind the front axle which helps the PMOI but I've added a lot of stuff near and behind the rear axle that hurts it. True?

The only way you'll get it right is to get under the car with a ruler and take measurements. Everey car is a little different once we start 'working' on them. Measure from the wheel mounting surface to the springs/coilovers and from the mounting surface to the inside of the fender well. That will give you the maximum tire section width you can handle and what offset you'll need to have to run it. While you're there look for anything else that could cuse a problem like brake line positions, etc. - especially in the front where the wheel position changes.

Let's just say it's the exact opposite of where everyone thinks a V8 Z car will end up. I don't know how many times I've been asked if I had to change the spring rates in the front. I personnally was surprised, though, that the car had gotten as heavy on the tail as it has. It started with a 50/50 weight distribution with no driver and 3/4 tank of gas. Now it's at 48/52 with no driver and full tank and 46/54 with driver. Thus my comment about learning how 911 drivers drive. I've got to change my mind set a bit.

Thanks for the feed back guys. I have the reader - just haven't had the time / energy with the current work schedule to check it out. Looked for the under dash OBD II connection sunday but couldn't find it. It's not where it used to be so evidently the stereo guy 'did me a favor'. When I said the light 'flashes' I meant that it comes on during the 'start' sequence but goes out as soon as I release the key to the 'run' position. That is normal operation for the light.

Yeah. I gave my son an '83 here a while back that had 216,000 original miles on it. It's somewhere north of 220,000 now. I would watch oil consumption if you switch to synthetic. If you're already using oil it will get worse with the synthetic and, at $6 a quart, that will get expensive.

My '77 280Z was a 'California' version so it came with a catalytic converter. It still stunk. It quit stinking when I replaced the hatch seals.

Update on the update. Time for the OBDII gurus to weigh in. Evidently the LS1 has been fully absorbed by the S30. It is now starting to behave like the S30 I have grown to know and love over the years. Since I had no secondary indicators of impending failure I continued to drive the car with the warning light on. I borrowed my sons reader but didn't get a chance to use it due to other things going on - including a lot of travel. Then the warning light went out. It didn't even come on when the car was in the ignition position just prior to start. Oh well - the light bulb finally burned out - right? Wrong. A few days later I noticed a flash from the light as I started the car but it wouldn't repeat itself. Then, yesterday and today, everything is back to normal. The light comes on during ignition and then goes out when the car starts. On top of all that my gas mileage has improved a full 10% while this has been going on and I definitely haven't changed my driving style. Go figure!

John is absolutely right. Plus - the V8 sits further aft than the L28 so more of it's weight is carried by the rear axle than the L28. Then add in all the interior sound proofing - foam in the back fenders, dynamat everywhere, sound absorbing material, heavy, thick carpet plus a 10" subwoofer in a heavy, ported custom enclosure behind the drivers side rear wheel well, an amplifier, capacitor, tape deck, and cross-overs all installed close to the rear axle the weight just kept on shifting. More than removing the spare tire, jack & inflating bottle could offset.

Option one is definitely out. I am working on #2 and contemplating #3.

Toatal weight and weight distribution has been discussed add nauseum on this site but I thought I'd add one more hurl. I just weighed my car for the third time on a certified axle scale. The first time was when it was still 'mostly' virgin - just the crash bumpers removed and an MSA Aero II ground effects package. With 3/4 tank of gas it weighed 1400 lbs on each end - 2800 total. I weighed it once again right after the LS1 / T56 conversion and it had gained a net of 30 lbs - all on the tail. Since then I've added front and rear strut tower braces, an Autopower 4-pt roll bar, completely redone the interior and upgraded the sound system plus removed the spare tire & jack since the also new disk brakes are too large for the wheel. With a full tank of gas the car now weighs 3,000 lbs even - 1440 on the nose and 1560 on the tail Obviously the 17 gallons of gasoline contributes to the rear bias. Here is one additional item of interest. With me in the car it weighed 3,240 lbs - 1500 on the nose and 1740 on the tail. 3/4 of the drivers weight goes to the rear wheel loading. For you guys looking for that perfect 50/50 you might want to forget about moving the battery - mine is in the stock position in the engine bay. In the meantime I'm going to have to hook up with the local Porsche club and learn how they drive 911's.

A V8 in a 240Z immediately establishes the requirement for structural reinforcing if the hammer is ever going to be dropped. The 240 unibody cannot handle the torque of a V8 like you're probably planning without a little Chubby Checker 'twist'. Others will chime in about searching more and also with suggetions. This subject has been beaten to death on this website. At the minimum I would recommend front and rear strut tower braces, a 4-pt roll bar, and sub frame connectors.

Assuming stock diameter for the tires and a .50:1 ratio 6-spd the differential would have to be a 7.4:1 to turn 3,500 at 70 mph. No use for 1st and little for 2nd if that ratio existed & were used. Obviously a 1:1 fourth gear would turn those RPM's with a 3.70:1 differential gearing. That's why a 5-spd is probably fine as it would drop the RPM down to about 2,600. Still a pretty busy/noisy speed for a V8. I wouldn't want to cruise all day at that RPM as the drone would get to me.

Hmm - intake looks kind of tall to me. would there be a hood clearance problem? The idea of the Infiniti motor and 5-spd auto sure is attractive though.

One thing I ALWAYS do when I mount my wheel/tires - I fully torque the lugs with the wheels off the ground. That gives the lugs a chance to actually center the wheel. If you torque them up with the weight of the car on them they won't center properly unless they are hub centric wheels. Lug centric won't make it.

The '80 model 5-spd has the same gear ratios in 1st thru 4th as the 81-83 but it's 5th gear is like a .777:1 while the 81-83 is a .745:1 which gives them a bit better cruising mpg. The idea wass for the 80-83 5-spds to have equivalent accelleration with the 3.90:1 R200 that the 77-79 5-spds had with the 3.54:1 R200 - and then cruise at a bit lower rpm in 5th.

I actually installed the toyata calipers when I had 14" wheels. They cleared by about 1/16". Upgraded to 16" right away. 15" should clear ok. With coilovers you can probably get away with about a +25mmoffset. Nothing beats measuring though. I'd measure at least twice and then try for a trial fit before ordering.

Ma bad:redface:

Dale - Congrats guy! Good to see another LS1 up and running! The club of running LS1 conversions is steadily growing. That pic of the cleared area in the pine needles is neat. Jack 46 - your friend can 'claim' anything but a stock LS1 actually in a street car will only do under 10 at an 1/8 mile track. I'd believe under 12 in a properly set up & lightened 240 with DR's and an automatic in the 1/4 - but not less than 10. Even Scotty's GNZ didn't get under 10.