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HybridZ

Pop N Wood

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Posts posted by Pop N Wood

  1. I guess if I could rig up some type of suspension height sensor right on the struts that could be viewed while driving. A ruler and a video camera? That way you could drive at steady speeds and measure the change in suspension travel to determine lift or downforce. Would be a good testbed for different spoilers/air dams.

  2. and the frost line is about 3 inches
    Try 3 feet in Maryland. People always complain about building inspectors, but as a homeowner I have always found them helpful. Draw up some rough sketches including things like the depth and make up of your footers and take them to the building inspectors office. They will tell you what you need to do (which is generally minimal compared to the way I overbuild things). From there you can make your own decisions. For insurance purposes you may want to go through the permit process anyway.
  3. I read the RAM 350 was built to be a super easy install requiring only a power line to the FI. I think the computer even mounts on the engine. But this means no O2 sensor so runs open loop only. Have read about kits to add the O2 sensor for closed loop operation, but there was some draw back to that.

     

    But for the same $8000 list price of just the engine and trans listed you could buy a used 1996 Camaro with an fuel injected aluminum head LT1 and 6 speed trans and still have enough money left over to have someone else pull the engine and install it in your Z. You could then use the additional $1000 - $2000 you were going to spend on clutch, starter, radiator, driveshaft etc etc to finish off your crate engine and apply it to suspension/brake upgrades.

  4. Creating down force is good, but from that aerodynamic article Doug posted, I think preventing lift is the key. The article says the smooth flow over the smooth, uninterrupted hatch acts like a plane wing to actually lift the rear of the car.

     

    Makes me wonder if the classic Z rear window louvers would help. How do you measure lift on a moving car?

     

    I just bought a BRE style spoiler. The BRE racers were incredibly successful. Figure those guys must know what they were doing.

  5. Just last night I was reading one of Vizard's books "Performance with Economy" (I think that was the title) and they gave charts that did just what you are asking. I think the book is out of print, but if he had it I am sure someone else does.

     

    The book also has an excellent write up on water injection. Really could have added a lot of detail to one of the recent threads on the subject.

  6. The aforementioned cars are deadliest because they have stupid drivers behind hte seat.

    Its the driver, not the car. The Camaro had 5 star crash protection on every corner until the rules changed I think in 98.

    Exactly what the article said.
  7. Biggest advantage to disks in back is easier maintenance, but no parking cable? ouch
    The question was how to hook up the e brakes, not whether it had them. I just bought a set of Ross's 240sx rear disks and the calipers have ebrake connections. But I haven't looked into the details of connecting them yet.

     

    I have always liked the look of Mike's adjustable control arms, but they look like a bit much for my street only machine. I personally wouldn't know what to do with all that flexibility.

     

    But I think Mike's comments about adjustablity is the key. I know at one point I looked into getting my rear wheels aligned and the shop quoted me a price of something like $300. Mainly because he would need a hammer to adjust anything. They would probably pay for themselves on a car with a slight amount of body damage.

     

    The other selling point for a street only guy like me would be packaging them in a complete suspension package like Arizona Z car does. They sell the control arms, struts and 4 wheel disks as an assembly (basically a complete suspension), but at the time it was something like $1500 per CORNER. Offer everything in a lightened package with optional powder coat/chrome plating at a more reasonable price and you'll make me wish I was single again.

  8. http://www.hybridz.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000585

     

    Saw a lot of this in the Navy with Phillipine women. Some of them worked out, some didn't, but most never got through all the paperwork.

     

    The travel channel has a show that follows some guy on his trip to meet Russian brides. It wasn't quite like people imagine. The girls were all pretty, but they were also smart and most of them seemed to be looking for something serious.

     

    About all you can do is tell your bud what your concerns are and make sure he is going into it eyes open. Beyond that just be a friend.

  9. No, I am most certainly not a Hillary fan. However, just as there is no reason for an assualt weapon, there is no reason for a 500hp street car.
    Man, are you on the wrong site.

     

    "Need" is a very poor argument. If we followed your line of reasoning we would all be trading in our Z's for bus passes and renting the Honda Insights for the occasional road trip out of town.

     

    I am sure Hillary and her friends would argue there is no "need" to ever modify a car from stock. And obviously since they personally can't see a "need", then no one else could possibly have such a "need". Thus it is up to the government to protect people from their own "stupidity" and outlaw it.

     

    We are talking past each other here (and having some fun in the process). I think this thread has clearly spelled out the issues with trying to get 500 HP out of a Z engine. But as long as the person doing it goes into it knowing what the challanges are, then there is no point getting judgemental about it.

     

    And for your assault weapon remark (once again, Hillary comes to mind), probably best to leave that for a different site altogether. While there are always two sides to everything, I say don't buy into the media ignorance on the topic. I can see a very real "need" for such weapons, and so did the framers of our constitution.

  10. 500 hp in a 240Z is stupid for a street car. Take notice I am not saying you are stupid, but the idea of a street 240z with 500hp is stupid. (attacking idea, not person..)
    Blaming guns for Columbine is like blaming forks for Rosie O'Donnel being fat.
    A 500 HP car is incapabile of doing harm in and of itself. Or are you a Hillary fan and believe people can't be trusted to use something responsiblly?

     

    Don't know about stupid. Now I could see using a phrase such as "overkill", "unusable", "waste of money", "misguided effort", "not streetable", "a total pig to drive in traffic", "poorly engineered and executed project because you put alot of power into a car that will never be able to use it"...

     

    Nothing wrong with building something you will never be able to use. Artist do it all the time.

  11. Several years back Bill Gates, Paul Allen and one other Microsoft honco tried to import matching Porsche 959's into the US. Customs seized them and would not release them. Apparantly you have to crash test something like 3 or 4 of them to satisfy the "safety" aspect. Gates had to send them back. He couldn't even bring them in as off road vehicles.

     

    This was some years ago. Maybe the laws have changed and maybe Skylines have already been adequately crash tested.

  12. Sounds like low output voltage. Hook up a voltmeter across the battery terminals. With the engine off you should read about 12 volts. With the engine running it should read 14-15 volts. The voltage shouldn't vary much between idle and say 2500-3000 RPM.

     

    My guess when the alternator light is on, you only have 10 volts or less. That could cause the blinkers to not work.

     

    Recheck all of the connections to the alternator and fuseable link. Make sure your ground straps are on tight.

     

    Good luck.

  13. All of the books I am reading say to have a hammer and dolly at the ready, weld an inch or two, then immediately hammer the weld flat.

     

    In the books they do this and with one or two passes with the grinder have a weld that doesn't need any bondo.

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