Phantom

Has anyone thought about or attempted to get Nissan involved in this website? It could benefit both parties if done properly. A good example would be resolving the "dispute" about the physical size of the 300ZXTT R230 vs the Q45 R230. We could perhaps even obtain information on the design limits, torque & hp, of the stock halfshafts & universals? They, in turn, would see where the "fringe enthusiasts" are going with their product and might benefit in certain styling or design decisions for future products.

I looked into the oval pipe and it was rather expensive - especially the elbows - and much more difficult to fabricate. If you calculate the cross-sectional area of an oval 3" pipe it is not much more than a single round 2 1/2". I ran dual 2 1/2" to an 'X' pipe right behind the tranny then dual 2 1/2" again - out the normal path on the drivers side but used a http://www.drgas.com "frame clearance tube" to pass under the differential mount on the pasenger side and still maintain ground clearance. Once behind the differential both pipes swing over to the drivers side to a dual inlet, single outlet muffler in the stock position. My dyno numbers are from when I had the duals combining into a single 2 1/2" pipe after the tranny.

The R200 will handle up to around 600 HP but the half-shaft universals will give up around 450 Hp. I know one guy who's running stock but new universals on a supercharged LS1 making 420 HP and 420 LB-ft of torque and they're holding up fine so far. If you're not doing a lot of drag racing even the R180 will handle it. It's the shock load coming offf the line that really screws up the drive-train. A pegleg 3.90:1 R200 will be geared a bit low for a V8 application and will result in a nearly useless 1st gear and a lot of single tire wheel spin. Ive got a 3.70:1 LSD and it is barely ok. I would be better off with a 3.54:1.

My LS1 dyno'd at 311 RWHP which maths to about 365 at the flywheel - not far from your stated goals. Magnaflow recommended 2 1/2" exhaust (dual) for that HP range. The muffler is quiet at idle and not bad at cruise although I do intend to install sound deadening material in my car when I redo the interior - after I get the windshield leak fixed. It really wakes up when the throttle is punched. Keeps the car stealthy when I'm behaving myself but advertises something other than an I6 when exercised a bit. Idaho Falls - nice area - lots of winding mountain roads around there - lot nicer than Pocatello. Good Z country except in the winter.

I agree John. I actually looked at doing that until I saw what it would do to my ground clearance. That half inch became quite critical for my goal for the car to be a daily driver. As it turns out, I've even scraped the 2 1/2" pipes a couple times. My car does not have lowering springs either. It is riding on the Nissan euro spec springs and the ride height actually increased an inch over the old "sprungs" when the new ones were installed. I can't imagine trying to get around if I were 1 1/2" lower.

If you're willing to drive down I-35 to Texas I'd suggest contacting the Z clubs down here. There is http://www.zcluboftexas.org in Dallas, http://www.cowtownzclub.org in Fort Worth plus clubs in the Austin and San Antonio areas. You would have a chance at a decent car that runs through one of the club members or you could contact All Z Car Specialist or Rising Sun Automotive in Fort Worth as they generally have some "rollers".

I stand corrected. Plethora it is. What do you expect from an engineer? Trans mount - another option if you really want to get fancy wold be the modified torque tube design I have which uses a pair of C-channel and some miscellaneous parts to tie the rear of the tranny to the front of the diffy. Also eliminates the front mount on the diffy and transfers the engine torque through the differential rather than the body. Pros & cons there depending on how much torque you're generating. It's a one-off design Johns Cars used on my prototype and then abandoned as being too complicated for the average "shade tree" mechanic. That ought to drop the gauntlet for a few of y'all.

It would help to know where you live and how far you're willing to drive to get one. Lot's of decent rollers in the South.

Magnaflow makes a dual inlet- single outlet muffler. That is what I used on my LS1. Dual 2.5" in and 3" out. They also come with a dual 2.25" in. BTW - where in Idaho do you live? I grew up in Boise & graduated from the U of I.

PLETHURA - Word made famous - (or maybe "in-famous") - by the movie "The Three Amigos" starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Chevy Chase. You watch the movie and you'll never forget the word or its definition.

Keep it up! Let's get a plethura of these LS1 powered Z's on the road!!

Hey Joey, what about mine!? It has over 13,000 miles on it now. I guess it technically doesn't qualify as a kit though,does it?

Hanomon, Not sure who made the original relays but I think they came with the donor engine which would have made them 6 year old GM relays. I replaced them with "equivalents" from Auto Zone. Nothing fancy - just newer.

I've got the JCI headers (1 1/2") with a '98 Camaro LS1. Obviously no problem with the fitment with 13,000+ miles on it now. I will admit, however, that I've got a heat shield between the collector and the starter on the passenger side since the pipe is routed just in front of, and then right beneath the starter. It is still alive after nearly 18 months though I did overheat one of the starter leads and had to reroute it.

Thanksgiving is a day set aside for all of us to remember the things we should be thankful for rather than complaining, as usual, about all the other "stuff" that, in many cases really doesn't count. I lost my mother a few weeks ago but I am thankful that her passing was relatively swift, painless, and that the family could be there with her as she passed over. Today I am thankful for a loving wife of 32 years, two wonderful sons, a loving daughter-in-law and a grandson on the way. I'm thankful that I'm debt free (house, cars, the whole works) and that I've enough room in the garage for two Z cars. The fact that I'm working today when I'd rather be off - really pales in light of the former.

Just for grins you might want to do a wieght to horsepower comparison. A Z32tt with just a new exhaust and cold air intake puts about 330 HP to the rear wheels so a stock one is probably around 280 - conservatively. 3500/280 = 12.5 lbs/hp. Your 260 weighs around 2500 lbs? so 2500/225 = 11.1 lbs/hp He has the better drive train and tires (245/50-16's) so he is probably going to hook up better. It will be much closer than you may be comfortable with. Driver error may tell the story. I ran against one in my 280Z28. I have 311 RWHP@2900 lbs and he had 343 RWHP@3500 lbs. The only reason I beat him was because he didn't know how to have his turbos spooled up as he came off the line. I beat him by .3 in the quarter but his trap speed was higher than mine indicating he would have passed me in another eighth.

V8's are anti-Japanese? Tell that to Lexus and Infinity. Also, I believe the President V8 is the engine that Paul Newman used in his competition Z's back in the 80's. Someone correct me here?

I've hit redline (6,000 rpm) in 4th which is 120 mph. Running 3.70:1 differential with 215/55-16's. Theoretically 5th would reach 160 and 6th 240 mph but 365 flywheel hp won't get it there. I have either run out of road or nerve in each situation where the car has gotten north of 125 mph even though it was still pulling pretty hard.

My older son borrowed the 280Z28 a few weeks ago and had a guy driving a Honda with fart can and multiple stickers pull up next to him at a light and rev his engine a couple times. Eric just did a long slow rumbling rev with the LS1 and the guy immediately lowered his eyes and looked straight ahead. Both of them just eased off the line when the light changed. He obvioulsy knew who had the biggest at that point. That was one of the best "kills" Eric ever got.

Cody, I know what you mean about the Z06 guys ignoring you. I call it the Rodney Dangerfield syndrome - we get no respect! I generally do a 6th to 3rd downshift next to one of those guys and light the tires up. That generally gets their attention.

Actually Pyro's advice is not all that bad. If you won't have a significant investment in the car I would start out that way. Once you have an established reputation with the company you can ask for increase coverage due to vehicle upgrades & modifications. One thing you might want to do is find an independent insurance agent that could investigate several different companies for you. There are several you want to stay far away from and others that are pretty good.

If your fourth gear is .70 rather than .62 then the rpm would be higher and I would definitely try to find a 3.36. I know Lone Star 1, who was a supercharged LS1 (420 HP and torque) and the 4L60E, has opted for that ratio. I saw him run before he supercharged the motor and he was running close to 12 flat. Car was impressively quick.

76-79 5-spds had .86:1 OD's 80ZX 5-spd had .777:1 OD, and 81-83ZX 5-spds had .745:1 OD's Did you ensure you had the proper speedo gear when you installed the new trasmission? That could cause an erroneous speedometer reading at a given rpm. Find someone with what you know is an absolutely accurate speedometer, run your car beside it at 60mph and get your rpm. Then go back to the transmission calculator and try the different tranny ratios above and see what kind of differential ratios you come up with. Eventually you'll see numbers that make sense.

Let me put it in perspective. I have 3.70:1 gears behind my LS1 with stock diameter tires. 4th gear, 1:1 @60mph = 3,000 rpm 5th gear, .75:1@ 60mph =2,250 rpm 6th gear, .50:1@60 rpm = 1,500 rpm a 3..54:1 differential would have you turning slightly slower = 3.54/3.70 = .956 Assuming the 4th gear overdrive on the R700 is about .62:1 then the engine rpm at 60 mph would be 3,000 x .956 x .62 = 1,780 rpm. a 3.36:1 would have you down to 1780 x 3.36/3.54 = 1,690 rpm. My LS1 cruises fine at 1,500 rpm and actually does pretty well as low as 1,200 rpm but my cam profile is much different than yours. If either of these rpms is in your "smooth idle" range then I'd opt for the lowest one that would work.

Posted times for a stock C5 is 13.2 at about 105-108 mph. That makes them "fun-to-beat" for a well set-up V8 Z but a little modifying and the tables get turned.