Modern Motorsports Ltd

Yeah, I still have a set of 3.36's for an R200 in the Nissan wrappers, $350US. Actually a customers but he wants me to sell them for him. I have a set of 3.15's in wrappers as well but am not anxious to part with them as they may be part of an upgrade with a quaiffe in a dream I had once. Davy makes a fine point as 7-900US goes a long way to paying for a T56 combo that doesn't sacrifice anything like gears can. (ie. lowend/topend) Still an interesting 'stash' you speak of Eric.

"The thing I have noticed on my car, is don't go the cheap route, she will find out and hate you. Mine always does " yeah, mine always finds out toooo, my wall of pain is proof of it (did aluminum heads upgrade once and new pushrods were req'd etc, did all but rocker arms....3 mos. later I blew a pushrod thru a stamped rocker just coming off a cold idle, nice little hockey stick it resulted in) So with your timing tab/balancer mark being 28 degrees out...any idea how it happened/is that way? Just wanting to be sure your balancer hasn't 'spun' at all as it can happen on some units and it's an indicator of potential failure of the piece (separation of outer metal ring from rubber isolator bonded to crank connection). No scare intended, just want to be sure your engine stays smooth and doesn't attempt a hammer toss with the balancer. Since it feels smooth I'd assume it's OK but wanted to be sure. Glad your ankle's coming around so your fun factor can start increasing Happy Holidays

"I think its a terminiology thing. " Agreed, I can easily see your side. The soil under your house foundations is constantly undergoing plastic and elastic deformation at the same time (ie. if the full foundation load was removed their would be some elastic uplift/return reaction and that settlement not 'recovered' is plastic). Same thing occurs in similar scales with most other materials. Plastic deformation CAN (not saying always) easily be a small amount and elastic can still carry on well beyond that initial elastic. Happy Holidays to all

Rickeybell, list out your intended uses for the car/tires.....mostly straight line or/handling desires.....etc, lots of guys with tire experience here.

quote: Originally posted by Trevor: Sorry if I missed this, but here's another question. I see the 280ZXT and 240Z have the same spline count, can you use 280ZXT stub axles on a 240Z-280Z cars hub carrier? Or just the inboard adaptor? In short, some have used the 280ZXT comp. flange IF you have limited suspension travel (please check your travel before driving if you use this option!) as the CV's can get bound up....280ZXT flange is 2" longer than 70-78 flanges.....my adaptor is <1" thick which puts the CV's in their 'happy' range. More written on my web with pics.

quote: Originally posted by johnc: > If you plastically deform the spring (take it > past yeild) If you do that to a suspension spring, chances are your entire car (and possibly you) has been plastically deformed as a result of the accident that occured right after you deformed the spring. OK, so how does an OEM spring get 'soft'/weaker, it's spring rate has definitely changed. Plastic yield does not have to be any great deformation/failure.....happens in materials/soil etc all the time.

U have mail.

Hmm, can't say for sure but hunch says once elastic limit is surpassed (even if only slightly) and plastic yield is incurred then the elastic modulus must alter somewhat .......perhaps TOTALLY inconsequential and perhaps wrong but it was all tied in an M.Eng. elasticity course I audited for a bit last year.

" i was wondering how hard would it be to convert to manual steering?? " As easy as getting a full manual R&P complete WITH crossmember up to the isolator (top side of isolator goes to firewall linkage). That should cover the full system. And I'd rec'd a rebuilt rack (~$200US) which includes inner boots/joints etc. I run the manual R&P setup which was OEM in my 80 ZX. FWIW their are SEVERAL crossmembers and one looks VERY similar to the one you want...I had it all blasted/painted ready to go in when I realized the Xmember rack 'flanges' are ~3/32" out on each side in comparison to the manual crossmember.........no easy way to slam it in their......so avoid my hiccup. good luck.......keep us updated on your mods....not many tracking 280ZX's

Danno, I started this topic here as I didn't want to distract from Mike's original thread. Danno wrote: I know we’ve been down this road a gazillion times before but here goes. I went out this morning (18 deg. +4†of snow) to the ZShop and measured the top hat on the 260 strut and it is the same dimension as the 240 ~2.5â€. At this time, I prefer not to cut the strut tube. Question. If I remove the OEM lower spring perch, rest the coilover aluminum sleeve on that weld, assemble my coilovers and somehow use the existing isolator will this alone lower the car and by how much? With my coilovers I received both the conical shaped top piece and the flat one. I was thinking about using the flat one and somehow fitting it into the OEM isolator to alleviate some road noise." Danno: You can have your car back at stock height if you wish after the above changes using the OEM spring perch bead weld to rest them on. That's what's nice about coilovers, you can have it stock or drop it an inch etc if you like. If you're not dropping it much and your car isn't under much 'peering' eyes on the innards you can leave the complete OEM perch etc intact. My dad's setup is like this as he wasn't going much below stock (can't recall his rail height right now, above 5 and below 6?). He was very busy/needed them installed shortly for a long trip out here and that's how the shop put them in. The existing 'perch' limits how far you can lower it as you can't lower the adjustble lower nut full depth with the cupped perch preventing access to the lower 3/4" or so of the sleeve. His car corners very well. I know and don't dispute that lowering your car helps cornering but they can still corner VERY well at or near stock height which some forget at times. If our roads were better I'd enjoy being lower but it's not feasible around here for my 24/7/365 use. Most typically do use the stock upper strut tops (only other alternative is camber plates or homemade mounts etc). The coilover alum. tops fit in the stock isolator/bearing setup quite well. A cone top is taller in height usually so if one was lowering/short springs (ie. trying to retain as much travel as possible) you'd want to use a 'short' top perch; some I have now are only 0.25" thick vs. up to 5/8" or more depending on which top perches you have. For the short ones you trim the rubber 'lip' that protrudes down so they can fit up top in the inset of the isolator to bear on the rubber isolator. Hope that helps.

MAX, you likely may not even need any spacer on the rears and possibly not fronts. And up front likely quite a slim one (you said 4lug right, so OEM hubs) +20 fits OK with coilovers and no spacer with 8" rims front/back. +24 may fit as well depending on tires/their specific width (brands vary for same designation) Having said that, max track width is always nice so myself: I'd mount 'em up and then figure out how far I can push them out.... if you decide on spacers I can get them made to your spec's. Oh yeah, Jeromio was running a 4lug 17x8 setup or similar that should have some specs to help you. From his web: "(For those wanting this info, these are Konig Monsoons from Discount Tire. They are 17X8 with a 20mm offset, dual pattern 4 on 4.5 and 4 on 4.25. No spacer or adapter required, but I do have coilovers at all 4 corners. They wouldn't fit otherwise. Tires are 235/45 Dunlop SP5000.)"Jeromio's web

quote: Originally posted by z ya: OK, so whats the verdit on the high speed? Is it the brown/yellow or the brown/orange? I don't know but it would be easy to find out using any 12volt source, battery chargers are very handy and not large amp sources. (naturally batteries work alright). Have others used 30A relays with that setup fine? I've consistently melted some 30A setups with my 'lesser' flexalite, just my experience.....I finally put in 2 30's in parallel with the blade fuses to ensure no more hassles Maybe a single blade 30A would have worked, I'd only used tube style prior to my current twin 30's. Even the tube fuse would be OK on occasion but the ends of the fuse holder would melt etc and it was all new wiring I'd put in, cheap fuse setup I guess. good luck

rickeybell, I'm VERY glad your car stops better than your truck (I can see a Z passing a durango under braking in the Craftsman truck series now) Would love to see some pics as well.

quote: Originally posted by 400 ci 280z: thanks i'll try that as well a half shaft bolted on the side and used as slide hammer pops them out very fast.....no guarantee it doesn't harm the halfshaft but I've had no troubles.....or dual opposing pry bars as suggested

Yup, you'll have a tighter setup. Nice thing with coilovers is they can be installed rather easily so if you decide to make changed later (inserts/sectioning etc) it's not really a step backward in the whole scheme PS I only like my 375lb/in front springs on smooth pavement and/or moving very fast and braking like I'm landing on an aircraft carrier (greatly reduces nose dive)

There definitely is. I don't recall the brand but at least 2 companies offer them. I'd seen them on a website a while back as I'll likely move to one sometime here. Yesterday on the highway my V8 never got up to it's usual 180 Tstat temp which is unusual. It usually gets their easily and just sits their dead steady, I was wondering how cool my trans fluid would be.........(not even below freezing and it was VERY humid). Hayden, Tru Kool or....hopefully someone will roust it up, I can email the link source tonight and find out who it was.. Some slick units have their own fan/Tstat etc, not sure I want another fan as I'm not convinced I need it though, nice insurance I suppose. ....that's another reason to run it back thru a rad cooler on the return trip.....stop it from getting tooo kewl. (I run it thru both coolers, can't say which is on return though )

" a springs rate never changes but the free length may" Free length can't change from it's original value without an internal change in the springs properties (surpasses elastic yield limit and plastic yield is introduced?), modulus and thus spring rate is influenced as well. One can't change (ie. free length) without spring rate changing. That's my guesstimate. It is rate and free length that hypercoil guarantees BTW. Both are tied to manufacturing tolerances (+/- 2%). Ross (hoping I don't have to dust off my physics books....Pete.... )

I haven't heard of Hyperco, I deal with Hypercoil and Eibach. Both are powdercoated and of fine quality. Eibach's red and hypercoils are blue generally. Hypercoils are guaranteed to stay within 2% of original free length and spring rate for lifetime. As for cost, Hypercoils are similar price and likely less than what your hyperco costs are. I usually look at package cost which is typically $400 retail for a full coilover setup and I include shipping. I'm extending special pricing (below $400 )for Modern Motorsports prior and new customers to thank them for their committments and several are combining their coilover setup with CV adaptors or rear disk adaptors to save further on shipping for which their coilover cost is further reduced. (CV's intended to ship by Xmas or within a couple weeks thereafter and rear disk has a very similar timeframe) I may have some pics up tonight of some various colour sleeve combos and lengths availableif I have time to update my web, recent kewl colour was long blue sleeve/gold lower perch/red spring/aluminum top perch.

quote: Originally posted by thurem: Anybody else with an opinion? Please. Thure got lots of opinions , and they're all worth what you paid for them Seriously though, I'd call up Sallee Chevrolet (web search, will come up easy) and ask what combo they reccomend. They do TONS of modified GM motors and might even have all those parts for fair price. I'd call up any other shop getting a reputation for using those heads as well. FWIW, Sallee info was always bang on in my experience and I know of other satisfied customers from $ to $$$$ spent their. Proform seems to sell a huge variety of parts (reboxed I assume) of which I've had no issues with to date (distributor, heat and sound insulation etc that I've tried).

bubafett: I dropped you an email with a couple options from $600-800+. I prefer to discuss $ transactions offlist rather than take up board bandwidth. At least one thought my 'prototype'use meant near free.....it doesn't. It just means an opportunity to enjoy a new product at less than retail value in my usage of the term. As usual my web and email box is always open. Thanks for the interest. psst, your email address bounced as unknown bubafett

-good feedback above, coilover is nice $ spent as if non-coilover doesn't satisfy you (ie. spring rate or height) you're out most dough (I've seen low resale on OE replacement springs) -with coilovers spring swaps(if you don't like first rate tried) aren't so pricey (decent resale or free if you exchange very shortly) and are easier to swap if ever needed (ie. no compressors needed) -and odds are less that you'd have to swap all 4 corners with coilovers if needs differ compared to OEM style where you either accept the set of 4 or yank 'em all out -I've got 240 stuff in stock as well, don't sweat the cost of switching spring rates with coilovers if you don't like the spring rate you try initially. I/we (Modern Motorsports) can always exchange your springs if you want a different spring rate for minimal cost (basically shipping). You didn't mention what struts you're running? You'll need a decent strut to work well with the springs.

zedskid, the whole edelbrock tuning manual is typically online at their web. And quite a commendable piece of work IMO. Each circuit/function is isolated rather easily to make tuning the various circuits quite straightforward. For different 'tip in' on a standard edelbrock/carter (if not timing related) you can 1)change accel. pump linkage slot 2) change the primary to secondary transition springs (initiates tip in at less or more vaccuum depending on pair swapped in, takes less than a minute to do any of above mods FWIW. That upper butterfly controls vaccuum response/hence the weights.....airflow thru a carb is typically the last possible problem for V8 owners when tuning carbs. I'd recommend getting the tuning kit for your carb and read their full manual. Document your changes so it's easy to follow in hindsite. I ran my $$$$ motor on a free carb for few years early on and have always regretted it....I waited too long to get a carb dialed in etc. good luck

"Any suggestions. " Yup, bring your struts down to my place in S. Van with some Xmas surprise of your choosing. I've got the compressors and air compressor to make quick work of it. Took a couple apart last week and the pins were so jammed I just airchiselled the c arms off (lastnight, neighbours loved me ) so I can play with the struts. FWIW, my spring compressors cost me ~$25US 6 yrs ago and taken apart a few dozen struts at least. Thankfully not all were done without air support.

What are your closing speeds? ie. 150mph to 60mph or 100-50mph? Road racing only.....30 minute lapping day sessions or wheel to wheel racing....depending on your needs a strong caliper with large Hawk pads on an 11" rotor would be fine, greater needs can use bigger brakes....12's, 13's etc. Email me if interested in prototyping one of my systems. The 13's I've run on my ZX and are shortly available for Z's. An 11' alternative will be out shortly as well. These projects are on hold though until the rear CNC disk brake and CV adaptors have been produced (CV's this week and rear disk slated for next week!).

quote: Originally posted by Mat73GNZ: Ross, could your adaptors to go from 4 to 5 lug, be used for high horse power/high torque cars?!M! Yes Mat they could. I don't sell/make anything designed for moderate power levels. Parts I have an influence on I make damn strong so it's not the weak link. Its not worth it at ALL to only build it 'moderately'. Liability/stress could in no way make up for any cost/design savings for myself. I'm a prof. engineer by career and public safety is just ingrained in myself. Having said that, all aftermarket products are typically for you to determine their suitability of function for your application with generally no guarantee of function for a particular purpose. I've seen this written in countless places and it's echoed on the bottom of most every invoice of any of my suppliers whether import parts or stock car parts. As I understand it, it's economically unfeasible for all these products to be DOT tested both on their own and for install methods. If their was enough public outcry for DOT testing etc then I'd venture a large part of the aftermarket couldn't even dream of offering products including several of us involved with this forum. Testing to those levels is very pricey and would sink most of our business plans in a wink. Sorry to babble on... Yup, my wheel adaptors will be strong and available