Pop N Wood

Here is an excellent source of info http://www.magshooterz.com/R200Info.htm

Automatics generally add another grand to the price of a car or truck. Manuals give you better control in the snow and do allow push starting at speeds under 30 mph. Autos always seem to break and they cost a fortune to fix when they do. I can replace a clutch in my driveway, but I don't own the tools to rebuild an auto. Automatics also have greater driveline losses, hence the typically lower gas mileage with the auto vs. a stick. I am too damn cheap to own a car with an auto. Autos are easier on the drivetrain. I think that is one of the big reasons for the higher tow ratings on automatic equipped vehicles. They are also much more pleasant to drive in heavy, stop and go traffic.

People flogging on those beautiful cars and you guys are talking about the skanky hoes. Kind of cool that the enzos were only turning low 11's. How many guys here could smoke them in the 1/4? Kind of pissed me off that the thread got locked by all the racist talk. I would have liked to see more pics.

I would think any competent shop could install the Power Brute carrier in any open R200 diff. Should be a lot cheaper to just have the carrier shipped overseas than an entire rear pumpkin. Stock LSD's are hard to find and might be worn out by the time you do. Unless you find someone who doesn't know what they have, look to pay as much for the used LSD as you would for the power brute carrier. I think the cheapest reliable option is to get a used R200 of the desired ratio and pay a shop in the UK $100 or what ever to put in the new LSD.

Without a coefficient of friction I don't see how you can make an assumption one way or the other about lateral G's. If you know the coefficient of friction, then the weight of the car is irrelavent as far as determining lateral G's. As are spring rates. Also have to agree you need some information about the dimensions of the car (width and height) to determine the lateral loadings. Perhaps you are making some additional assumptions?

I don't understand why everyone sticks up for this guy. This is really indefensible. His problems have gone on for months. Hurricanes or not. The only way anyone should do buisness with this guy is COD. Let him run the risk of not getting paid.

His name shows up here a lot. And not in a good sense, know what I mean?

I'm with you on this one.

IMO you may be overdiagnosing the problem. Cracking at the mounting bolts doesn't necessarily imply the diff casing itself is flexing. All it means is the mounting bolts connected to the aluminum cover were not strong enough. If the cover had cracked from a lower corner or one on the cover to diff bolts (like the Cobra pictures you posted) then I would say the cover is warping. Cracking at the mounting bolts only means the bolt took a heavy jolt. When was the last time you retorqued those mounting bolts? If they were even slightly loose, the diff count have moved a bit before slamming the bolt into the other side of the hole. Have to agree with some of the comments above about the front diff mount. If the front mount flexes where the rear is solid, then it is the two mustache bar bolts that are handling all the torque.

Guess PG&E's goons didn't intimidate enough people http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1032148.stm There are quite a few others attempting such devices.

Have read old posts were members claimed subframe connectors by themselves got rid of the body creaks. Have read other posts where people have run sheet metal braces looping through the C pillar region to get rid of paint cracks in that area. A cage isn't going to be much help in a side impact unless you run door bars. The Z rocker panel is so low, that the bars need to be at least at elbow height to be even remotely effective. And then you want to get them as far from your body as possible. This make the idea of gutting the door an running them out to the door skins attractive. Guess you need to ask yourself how far you want to take it. I personally think there are ways to stiffen the chassis against engine torque without going to a cage. Occupant saftey with cages is another issue that has been discussed to no end on this site. Many people feel they make the car less safe. Especially when poorly done. Other people think the old Z's are too vunerable to protect the driver without them. The one thing you will find is a lot of opinion and not much hard evidence either way.

A lot of cars use CV's on the driveshaft. I don't know how they decide which one to use. For non performance use, I always preferred the U joints since they are generally cheaper to replace. Most CV equiped drive shafts have to be replaced as a unit should the joints fail.

The entry level Fram filters has a rep for having a cheaply made drain back valve, so I get the slightly more expensive one. Their tough guard model does have a bypass valve. They are about all I have ever used. I know a lot of people on the web bad mouth them. But I don't see it.

I've had the window busted out of my unlocked, POS fiesta because I had a hand full of change on the dash. Replacing the CD player will be cheap compared to rebuilding the dash after they took a crow bar to it.

There aren't many cars I would give up my Z for, but that vette is probably at the top of the list.

They only make what sells. Most people who want (and more importantly can afford) a heavy, luxury car also want an automatic, AC, PS, GPS navigation, quiet interior, overstuffed seats yada yada. Even if they offered a manual, they would probably sell 5000 autos for each manual. Even then, dealers wouldn't stock them because they would take too long to sell. It would be all special order. So why bother?

It is because your engine cannot run at 100 RPM. The engine starts to stall, so you automatically easy up on the clutch causing it to grab and slip, grab and slip. We always called it lugging the engine. A good way to soot up your combustion chambers.

I do all my oil changes with Walmart bought Fram filters and Costco bought Mobil dino oil. Total always comes out less than $10 per vehicle, and I can do both vehicles in less than 30 minutes. They even use the same filter. It is much easier to do it myself then to shuttle two vehicles to Jiffy lube at $35 an oil change. My local landfill recycles oil for free, so just save it up and take it in with the fall yard waste. There is something to be said for shop service, especially if your car is a daily driver or with newer, high tech cars that require a lot of specialized diagnostic equipment. Some people are just intimidated about doing something wrong or spending three weeks diagnosing some problem an expericenced mechanic can fix in an afternoon. Certain jobs I always farm out anyway. Like exhaust or transmission work. Don't have the tools for transmission work, and let someone else get the rust in their eyes doing the exhaust. I've gotten to the age in life where sometimes I have more money than time.

Have to agree that BMW built a perfect retro Z. Long nose, short rear, sloping rear deck. Something about the hood line that reminds me of a G nose Z. Even in line 6. I like it. BMW says the Z4 weighs in around 3000#. the 350Z is listed at 3400#. But go on the BMW site and compare the Z4 to the M3. The M3 has a 3.2L 6 that cranks 333 HP into a LSD rear. The Z4 is a 3.0L 6 with only 225 HP and an open diff. Put the M3 engine in it and a LSD and that car would be a world beater. Now if I just had a spare $50K laying around.

See if you can work out a deal for comp time. Offer to work a few weekends before and after the key west date or maybe 10 hour days and see if the employer will go for it. Is there any chance of getting a temp for two days? Worst comes to worst, they can't fire you if you have already quit. Start circulating resumes now and see what the job market is like.

Ahh. The Hemmingway code!

Ethanol has a higher octane than regular gas. Thus allows higher compression. Ethanol is typically produced from corn or other crops. Takes fuel to run the tractor. Not to mention fertilizers, harvesting, drying the grain before it can be stored and of course distilling the corn. I actually don't know all the specifics, I just read the newspapers a lot. I should do a search. The study is fairly recent. Ethanol at the pump is often cheaper because it is typically so highly subsidized by the government. At a $1,50 a liter I don't know, but here in the states without the tax breaks it is not cost competative. Ethanol most certainly has a lower energy content than gasoline. Few things have as high an energy content as gasoline. By energy content I mean energy per gallon. Found some links. One on the production process http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000160050891/ another on the fuel mileage http://hybrids.autoblog.com/entry/1234000293055890/ I once drove my 1979 Ford Fiesta cross country. I consitently got 40 MPG on the tanks were I filled up with regular gas. Every now and then I got a tank which returned 35 MPG. Finally realized the 5 mpg drop was on tanks that had the ethanol blend. That particular car did not like ethanol. Here in Baltimore they have a winter formula for gas. They say it is "oxygenated" to reduce smog. My Toyotas don't like that crap either. My guess is either MTBE or an ethanol blend.

You're dryer is most likely on the 30 amp circuit. If so, it is wired with 10 guage wire. Would think the same gauge would work for another 25 feet. That should work well for your compressor. I think you are going to get real tired of manually running that extension cord. I would seriously consider adding a dedicated outlet. Technically 220v outlets need a dedicated breaker in the fuse box so if you do that you shouldn't tap off the dryer line. Any chance you could mount the compressor next to the dryer and run 25 feet of 1" copper pipe to bring air to the garage?

You could also go to your local court house. All of that is open information. But I think most courts are a little behind the technology curve, so don't know how much of it is in electronic form.