Slow_Old_Car

add me to that list of people who'd like to hear about the review. take before and after photos too if possible!

Tonight i had the chance to help a guy get his megasquirt system running on his 240sx, which was outfitted with a forged piston/rod KA24. With great e-mail support from Matt at DIY we had gotten things sorted out. So after getting it to fire off, checking the timing to confirm it synced to the motor and computer, then fixing a vacuum leak... we put it on the dyno. This was a 9:1 motor with a precision SC61 on a weld-el log manifold with a simple FMIC. The megasquirt wiring was pretty straight forward to, in one instance it was actually the exact same as L series wiring for MSnS-E. Anyway, back to the point, he wasn't familiar w/ MSnS, i was, so i was asked to tune it. I punched in the basics for the motor, then gave it a rough stab at the initial maps before asking him "What is tonights goal?". The answer i got back was "i'd like at least 300". So i had my target. Long story short, less than an hour later the car was making 310hp/318tq to the wheels..... at 12psi. I'm fairly impressed by these 4 cylinders. I'm not familiar w/ the motors nearly enough to believe my timing map was anywhere near efficient, and the fuel tables i know still have holes in them since i was having to read from the dyno's wideband and couldn't log directly into MS. I don't follow the KA vs. SR wars or any of that, but what i saw tonight was a 2.4l 4cyl, that spooled it's turbo by 3500-3750rpm, and revved to 7500rpm, so half of its powerband was in boost. Making exceptionally good horsepower at a low PSI on a self admittedly rushed/rough tune. If there is a way to bolt a VG30 trans to one of these, they could be quite a fun little bang for the buck motor in a S30.

i've got a ZXT manifold, holset HY35w, and non-EGR N42 intake manifold. pm me if you are interested in knocking out all 3 at once.

it's not that bad, gasket + RTV in the low areas + 24 hour set time, your in like flyn

just keep in mind the faster you go on a stock nose Z, the more it's like driving an upside down shovel. scoop that air all up! be safe.

i think your paying for the bottle on the contigent that it's never coming back. i just bought two of the 4 foot bottles of argon, each one took a $250 deposit plus the actual fills. sounds about par to me.

if you have the means to crank some out for S30 chassis/VG trans/L series block, i'd be interested in picking up 5 units. we'd talked about it awhile ago, so i didn't know if you still had your jig laying around to where you could bang out somthing for the machine shop to do while you have the bench time for the VQ brackets going on.

4' could be done with less, but it leaves room for keeping good distance from hot parts + jacketing for heat resistance

yep, that wings not being a wing right now, it's being a lunch tray.

Dont do it.

I tell this same response to alot of people who ask about getting a Z of their own. If the car is going to be your primary transportation, i strongly suggest that you do not get it. If you do get it, and want it to be primary transportation, be prepared to sink some money into it to bring it up to at least "sub-par" as a daily driver status. Brakes, windshield wipers, lack of power, and 4 decades of aging... leaves alot on the table for something you are going to count on every day to get you to and from your school/work/etc... I always suggest these cars as secondary toys, weekend pleasure cars, and something to be taken out as a treat to be enjoyed. It allows you to take your time on making repairs or alterations, so that you do not rush and make mistakes. It makes you appreciate the nuances of the car, rather than grow to hate them day in and day out. If this is not your primary car, I say go for it, do a swap, restore it to OEM, or anything else, it’s a project at that point, and that’s what they require, time and planning. If it is to be your only car, daily driven, I’d suggest going through and inspecting/revamping all the older systems of the car. When rationalizing spending money on things that do not involve making yourself faster, keep in mind that you are driving a beer can on wheels, and that you are one of the smallest things on the road.

D16's great for making noise....

JNJ what is that steering wheel release system your using?

that would be this guy right here...

uhh... just about certain thats your run of the mill POS mid 90's escort bro.

Beats me, i just went through the 720p HD version from IGN frame by frame and never saw it. couple fun things i did catch though... 1. the roof of the taurus wagon collapses before paul walker and that thug hit it. 2. the gauges in the "grand national" arn't hooked up 3. theres some random ford escort driving in the desert in the wide shot among all the sport/muscle/trucks... 4. there is no motor in that skyline in the 4 wide explosion scene

Second input, not sure if this will happen or not though. With the cars fenders fastened to the bodywork like that, are you going to be pulling the fenders on and off with some level of frequency? I'd like to see photos of how it's all finished out back there, beauty is always in the details on this stuff, and i'm betting yours has alot of detail hidden in there.

+1

Yes, in some cases you have to unbolt your sway bar, thats about it.

I ordered in 12 hemispheres myself, figured couldn't hurt to have a few spares for some other projects i've been working on.

Last manifold i saw from them was for a 2JZ, and the blending at the turbo flange was god awful. For the price they are a good starting point for someone willing to clean it up, reinforce the welds, work the part over basically... but there is ALOT of work to be had, especially if your design is a rather complex one.

likewise

I always take 2-3 sets of plugs with me when i go to do a "hands on" reading of the engines running state during cool down breaks.

anyone actually ordered one of those to know what the wall thickness is of it though?