Modern Motorsports Ltd

Well in an ideal world you wouldn't need adjustables, but the strut valving isn't all public/nailed down/documented as to what works best with what spring combos/weight cars/power combos/intended ride characteristics etc. The Illumina's allow you to further dial in the correct strut characteristic to match your springs/overall ride. Many daily type drivers with Illumina's will run them softer from 1->2 or 3 for lower speed and if they go on a trip or to an autocross (I'd say never rule out the fact that you'll start into events.....they're quite addicting and one more way to greatly enjoy your ride) or long distance highway they'll typically bump up the rate for some tighter responses at higher speeds. It's similar to coilover flexibility except the struts aren't as flexible (ie. we can't swap from 150 lb/in compatible (spring rates) valving to 350 lb/in compatible valving like some of us would like...). For a stock 5 liter and street ride at moderate speeds with ordinary brakes I'd reccomend 150-175 10" fronts and 200-225 rears. At 200 on the rears you minimize a significant amount of rear squat and you're not looking to eliminate all so further stiffness can just increase ride harshness for your 'sporty' street goals. I'm not too experienced with non-Tokico struts. If you search 'gr2' or kyb/koni etc you'll find experiences on some of the less stiff strut options that would suit your desires and setup. Generally 250 and above is more track oriented with specific tighter handling goals and matched struts to take that spring rate. Around 250/275 is the upper limit for Illumina's to match properly, they'll work above that but lifespan is limited....it was short on my ride with my prior 375lb/in fronts I really liked, but on another customers car he runs 400lb/in all around on a fully reinforced hybridz (400hp/2200lb, rear weight bias ) and uses Illumina's quite successfully......but he's only doing Autox (lower speed) and driving to/from events....not higher speed/longer event uses. If you run too stiff out back for your steet use you'll sacrifice some ease of launching as the rear will be quite stiff and some of us have found it 'skips' more than biting and digging in which we'd like on the street. My car will launch a lot better with softer rears but I choose the higher rates for at speed. HTH

Henry, the black wire (if it has other offshoots grounded to your chassis which I suspect it does) is your main ground line for that fenderwell. The brake wire ties into a safety signal hydraulic switch to let you know if one side (front or rear) looses brake fluid pressure so you see a red light trigger on your dash prior to figuring it out with your braking foot A prewarning to the big panic

Looking great Guy! Dave G's sure got better eyes than me to see the AFM bracket. Battery reloction just improved a lot of items for me. Steering effort/servicing-installing-checking plugs/headers/starter and keeping it clean/dry underneath the tray. I can swap all plugs on mine very quickly and easily with present setup. I really try to maximize my driving and minimize my wrenching Plus my new battery location/install I integrated with some alarming aspects and an Optima just sinks into a 280ZX tool well so nicely it didn't take away any functional space on me. Just my .02c.

I'd just build an upper strut mount bolt on spacer of desired thickness to install at the strut top......use good material and connections and it would be a very easy install and you can nail your desired height down. I've thought of making these but didn't feel their was enough need to justify producing them. If your present suspension is fine, then it's a simple and affordable solution. If you want I could have them made for you, just drop me a personal email if that's the case.

Jetdriver, just drop me a line and I can email you some pics of the install and links for customers installs to help you out. Just drop me a line at sales@modern-motorsports.com for that info as I don't know your real name from your board name to just email you. You should have some other hardware with the zinc plated plates to aid your install. I assumed your setup's from me, if not I can still see you thru your install easily. HTH,

I've had my Griffin 26x19 with 1.25" rows and AT cooler for 7 or 8 yrs now and it's been great to me. I even twisted it badly in an accident 3 yrs or more ago/they pressed it back square and it had no leaks! A year ago it started to leak out of pinholes where it had twisted previously....I structural epoxied it (after cleaning/stripping some surficial epoxy they use in their build process) and it was good for another year....now it's leaking again in same area. I figure enough cycles of temperature changes (daily driver/8 yrs) have their effect on the epoxy/aluminum interfaces as well as their expansion/contraction rates I'm sure aren't identical. I'd get another griffin but the more I've seen of aluminum ductility and knowing the others (Be Cool/Howe/Fluidyne) typically use only aluminum welding in controlled atmospheres (ie. v. clean welds) I'm leaning to one of them for a 'lifer' out of my new one. I don't blame the Griffin for it's final demise (would still be fine/just close off 2 or three tubes in leaky area but I don't want mine like that...). Anyone have an aluminum rad in the $2-300US range with a draincock and tranny cooler that they like? At present I run the radiator trans cooler and then a large front trans cooler.....allows tranny fluid/oil to warm up together and buffer each other if near extremes as well. Seeing as the aftermarket rad's stocked at performance houses are typically non-AT cooler equipped units I'm contemplating getting a typical Howe 26x19 for ~$190 and sinking the $100 difference into a killer front trans cooler/bypass temp valve/ee fan setup as the 'be all to end all' tranny cooler. Inputs on killer tranny coolers is welcome as well.......ideally it would have a temp bypass so it only allows fluid thru the finned cooler portion when it's up and above warmup temp.....don't want it overly cooling the trans before it's warmed up as I understand too cold isn't good for them! I recall a wicked permacool or becool unit I saw years back. Perhaps someone has more recently done their homework on this and can save me some internet shuffling?? Here's a few I just came across unit with 'low pressure bypass', but not sure it's that effective? nice integral cooler/fan but no bypass?? Thanks!

Theirs two types, early style has a large(ugly) metal yoke surrounding the caliper body and visible from the front, later style looks quite similar to 240SX rears (pictured on this site and my own) but with different bolt pattern/offset etc. The rotors differ as well. Their's some pros/cons of the 280ZX rear to Z swap I wrote on my web under the rear disk package 'additional info' link you may want to read in case you're not aware of them already.

"I have a 73, so I have the late R180 setup, do I need to worry about the above?" I'm not a R180 to R200 swap whiz but I recall (search the site) that one should use an R200 mustache bar (I think that's the same as the transverse link they're referring to) with an R200....so if you've got an R180 their is some way that you can modify it and use it with an R200 but it's preferred to source an R200 mustache bar from a 280Z for your install.

"If I take the 4 bolts off of the flange that connect to the halfshaft" (at the wheel/hub side) there is a big bolt (big nut on the end of the stub axle, stub axle is the actual flange your wheel is bolted to...it has a splined axle that passes thru the rear hub, thru the companion flange and is then nutted down by the big nut) behind that. After the big bolt (nut) comes off the (companion) flange will come out, but I will need to remove the stub axle (25 spline) and replace it with a 280 stub axle (27 spline)? You have to replace stub axles and companion flanges as pairs as they share the splines. So if you have 240Z stubs/companion flanges and want 280Z units.....find a set of 280Z units, send me the companion flanges to mate with CV adaptors, I'll send you CV adaptors back....then remove your rear 240Z stubs/comp. flanges and reinstall your new 280Z stubs/comp.flanges mated with CV's as a new unit. If you do go the route of removing your rear stubs, it's a good time to do any other planned rear brake work as you have to remove some parts in common anyhow, just an option. "Next question, It looks like a PITA to remove the stub axles? Whats the best way?" First remove the halfshaft, then with a diegrinder or similar, 'unstake' the peened portion on that 'big nut', their's a flat portion under it into which the nut has been 'pinched' in and if you grind out the pinched portion then the nut will come off (still takes lots of force but at least it will come off). I use a 400 ft-lb impact with a large breaker bar tiewired to my wheel studs so the axle can't turn.....be very careful if you do this that your breaker bar is secured in the correct orientation and safely! Once that big nut is off the ideal way IMO to remove the stub axle is to beg/borrow a slide hammer, it bolts onto the wheel studs and you give it 2-4 big tugs and your stub axle just jumps out. (set your car up in your garage such that you have enough stroke on either side to use the slide hammer ).

Use some large pliers to carefully rotate the caliper back into it's bore, or a robertson screwdriver placed in one of the 4 notches progressively...or you can buy a tool to do it but if you're just doing the one, pliers work great, be careful so you don't rip the seals...clean up the piston face and seal first so you don't work grime into the seal/piston interface as you turn it back in. Also see that your seal will rotate freely from the piston when you first start to turn it in, otherwise it will tear.......and you want it to spin and stay intact BTW, I have fine street pads in stock that will greatly prolong your rotor and pad life while performing better than stock, check my web if interested. I just about had a fire with OEM pads years back.

Not so quick........the ring bolts thread into the ring gear and prior to that they pass thru the carrier.........so if ring gear takes 10mm bolts.......just make (or send me specs, I'll make them easily enough) bushings of appropriate material and size to bush the 12mm holes in your 12mm carrier. I've intended to make these for some time but noone's seemed to need them yet. PS most 4.11 R200 200SX units are 10mm as well IME.

I may have a very important correction here....I learned it the hard way and don't want anyone else going thru that. My car was in the bodyshop and I was prepping a full new front setup and got a spare R&P crossmember (year/power assist or not unknown at this time) blasted/painted etc.....day came for install and the steering rack mount 'flanges' on the prepped Xmember were some 3/16" further apart than my OEM Xmember This swap had been planned and within that 2 day period it had to happen as part of a timing sequence.......no way to alter that crossmember reasonably so my OEM one got yanked/cleaned up/blasted/painted in less than ideal conditions. I still have the 'wrong' one in the corner of my shop nice'n'clean/painted looking like new as a reminder So do be sure your intended rack fits the intended Xmember......it sits in those flanges with the bushings quite snug for a proper install. Mine's always been the manual R&P and I bought a full replacement rack for fine value new/rebuilt from my local auto parts place, included rod ends/new boots and lifetime warrantee I've been quite pleased with it.

I wouldn't recommend removing the Tstat, they're easy enough to test and you do want your coolant circulating withing a certain velocity range such that it resides long enough in your radiator that it can scrub off enough heat to aid in cooling the car.....too fast and the heat can just build up. Have you tried a different rad cap and do you have an ordinary reasonable or lower PSI cap? Your rad overflow should blow (you do have one right?) prior to any hoses etc blowing off. I assume your upper water hose has a lip on it that you place the clamp in front of so it has the lip to stop the clamp from sliding off (all I've seen have this). sorry I can't help guess at what's keeping your car so hot, is it quite a healthy Taurus fan? ie. a later model unit? I'm not sure what rad you have, is it a stout aftermarket unit? Mine won't hit 180 highway cruising alone.....takes city driving or hard driving to do that. And I assume your belt is plenty tight to give you proper rotation and pulley's are all sized within normal ratios. Good luck! I had a gremlin with cooling for a long time that drove me nuts...(it was my old/cheap camaro rad, inadequate!), changed it to the Griffin and all cooling issues disappeared. Now I need a new Griffin (or similar) as mine was overly flexed in an accident like a pretzel a few years back/then straightened out/epoxied/last a while but leaking now so I just want to replace it.

Drop me an email directly Brad, I can get you an Mbar if you need one......and I'll already be shipping the CV stuff your way so more parts the merrier

I think John introduced me to these a while back....here's a new one (to me anyhow), enjoy Star Wars/The Sock

yeah, as I recall it was Lotus in origin? pricey to start with and even more so if you have to fix anything on it...I ran at the track with a fella that owned a couple and a mallet..a money game he was winning nicely

I'd pick the 97 LT1, I'm not (ducking) a big fan of the ZR1 powerplant. LT1 has great parts availability (even full spare motor cost is quite reasonable if for any reason you needed a spare) and the T56 it's mated with is a well known entity as well. I have many other reasons I like the Lt1 motor as well/bang/buck/ease to modify/mannerisms in stock or near stock form which will put out 300-350 easy depending on your setup. And mods easily bump that nicely. I'd pick it (or an LS1) in a heartbeat if I was starting over....back in the early and mid 90 s we didn't have such affordable and slick OEM based options did we Dave

Mudge, from which cars are you aware of donor 3.9 LSD's? Only Japanese offerings have 3.9 LSD's in R200's AFAIK. Here in NA they're all 3.7's in the R200's, unless you have some fine new info for us?

John, the viscous has a totally different input design on the diff inputs, it uses shafts unique to the differential. Did your friend by chance get the shafts that were with the differential? I'd like some measurements on viscous shafts.....perhaps they'll bolt in with my newer Z31 adaptor.

The bearings front and rear are all the same 70-78 so it's likely just due to them being pressed in on the rears or your alignment during install that created issues (or someone has changed distance spacers on you). Front strut housings (ie. spindle and strut tube) can be swapped as can the rear control arms between 70-78 models. It's slick as that allows quite a few to easily pick up a spare OEM suspension when it comes available for cheap and then one can blast/clean/paint/powdercoat/prep on their own timeline and budget as they desire. Corzette, drop me an email directly for your parts needs...I could send them to TX for you if that would save you some dough

4.63 if those first two numbers are 37:8 ..37 divided by 8=>4.63.

Welcome Pounds, how do you like to drive and what's your intended uses for the car? You'll be using 1st very little if at all...my father doesn't use 1st in his 240ZLt1T56. He's using a 3.7 LSD. You WILL notice far greater corner control with an LSD IMO and I think some searches on this forum would yield similar feedback. I usually look at a gear ratio spreadsheet I have to see what the mph ranges of the gears are and if the top 'power' gear suits my anticipated top 'power/ie. track or other' speed. 3.9's or 4.11's will have you shifting more often than 3.7's or 3.54's but you'll be shifting either way and traction will already be a large function of driver skill/control so see what suits you intended uses. I can flip you my gear excel sheet if you like. I recall someone has some similar sheets online as well (Bryan's Garage?).

Howdy Brad A little cool to be enjoying the yards out your way isn't it I grew up just outside Edmonton, AB so know what winter yards are like The adaptors haven't been proven in geometry although I'm quite confident they will be fine...here's specs on the shafts I designed around. Feel free to measure up any CV shafts you come across:) Mine have a 4 bolt ~4.5" bolt pattern on the outboard end. The CV measurements are......taken from the flat face of the wheel side flange to the opposite face of the 'seal cup' at the diff side (ie. add my lengths plus the stub lengths and it would be the total length of the shaft) Z31 NA CV, Right and then Left, Extended, 17-5/8, 17-1/8, compressed, 16-3/4, 16-1/2, stubs are 3-7/8's and 3-1/2" long, all measurements right then left side....

Sure, I still have some 280ZXT CV adaptors and if you find a set of shafts they seem to last just fine.....rebuilders rarely have them as noones turned in bad units! The Z31's are intended for use with the NA Z31 axles (anyone have lengths on turbo Z31 axles??) and I should have some initial prototype customer feedback shortly. Here's the specs on the axles I've used so far for the prototypes: here's the CV measurements I took......taken from the flat face of the wheel side flange to the opposite face of the 'seal cup' at the diff side (ie. add my lengths plus the stub lengths and it would be the total length of the shaft) Z31 NA CV, Right and then Left side, Extended, 17-5/8 ", 17-1/8 ", compressed, 16-3/4, 16-1/2, stubs are 3-7/8's and 3-1/2" long, all measurements right then left side....

Stony, here's the CV measurements I took......taken from the flat face of the wheel side flange to the opposite face of the 'seal cup' at the diff side (ie. add my lengths plus the stub lengths and it would be the total length of the shaft) Z31 NA CV, Right and then Left, Extended, 17-5/8, 17-1/8, compressed, 16-3/4, 16-1/2, stubs are 3-7/8's and 3-1/2" long, all measurements right then left side.... Doesn't sound like they'll be of benefit with your Z31 stubs and present setup. Do you have any 'unaltered' lengths from your turbo Z31 shafts?