Nismo280zEd

Honestly, if I wasn't a college student I would gladly drop it off and let somebody else deal with it. Unfortunately I am, and I work full time to make ends meet. This combination allows me little spare funds and even less spare time. I put a can in last summer and worked good enough, put another in this summer and it works better than last. I was talking to an engineer my father works with who knows alot about HVAC. He suggested adding another coil, this is what Porsche did to improve the A/C in the weak system of the 911. It was also suggested to try an electric compressor. This would eliminate one variable from the complex system allowing the compressor to run at optimum efficiency at all times regardless of engine speed. My wallet just doesn't allow for either one at the current time though. It's a good learning process though as I'm swapping in a maxima a/c system into the Z, can never know too much! -Ed

Thanks for the link, been reading the articles. Honestly, I'm not sure if it's full. I only have the little cheapo gauge you get with the combo pack of refrigerant. I saw autozone had a basic gauge set for about 50 bucks. I'll probably pick that up once I get some other issues fixed first.

So I just put another can of charge in my 03 Subaru WRX, blowing pretty good about 50 degrees or so. Unfortunatley when dead summer hits, the A/C system on my subaru can not keep up with the rate at which the sun heats the car. I have a wagon, so there is a larger volume of air and a larger surface area for the sun to heat up. I have tinted windows, going to upgrade to a better tint this summer to try an help the system a bit. At anyrate, I'm still learning the ins and outs of HVAC systems. General idea, there is a medium in the system, gets compressed, then is allowed to expand, as it does this is gets cold. (I know it's more complicated than this, but general idea) My question is how do commercial freezers work without freezing up the thermostat? Also, what determines the lowest temperature you can achieve? The pressure differential? Greater pressure differential yields colder result upon expansion? What can be done to achieve lower temperatures in an automotive A/C system? When the hundred plus heat comes again my system just can put out 50 degrees. I'm looking more at 70 degrees till the cabin ambient temp gets around 100 then it'll start to drop cooler. (This process takes about 25 min sometimes, looking to improve this. Many questions I know, and not easy to answer. Just want to learn more. -Ed

looks can be decieving. Really depends on the the material chosen and the wall thickness of it. I've spent the the last 8 months learning about just this thing. You'd be surprised if it's well thought out, how small of tubing you can get away with. -Ed

Props for you for going legit! Good to see MS is capable of dialing in for "The Man" You said you retarded timing 8 deg, not sure what timing you were running, but doing so would actually richen you mix, sounds like it was a little too retarded if it was bucking. Probably would have been fine kicking back like 3,4 deg timing. At anyrate, save the map for next year and load up your old map and go use up that fuel! Also... I've heard adding the rubbing alcohol actually increases values? -Ed

That's true, I know that car was having all sorts of reset issues I was trying to solve. Now that I'm learning more about circuitry and how to use my scope to help me diagnose/ measure values I might be able to track some of those previous problems down. Thanks for the input guys! I'm a very hands on/ visual learner, being able to apply what I'm learning with my hobby makes it that much easier for me to get my head around. -Ed

So today in my EC class we did a lab with a basic amplifier circuit. We used a LM741 chip a 10k potentiometer on bypass to control Gain, and some other resistors and a function generator(to simulate the signal). Anyway... we amplified the Sin wave from 325mV up to almost 3V in the circuit. It got me thinking, many people have trouble with the VR sensor (myself included). I was thinking I could use a similar circuit to amplify the signal from the sensor during cranking. My thought though, once the car is running and say high rpm 5K or above, the VR sensor will put out a good amount of power. Does the MS board have a circuit on it already to dissipate the extra power generated from the VR sensor? I wouldn't want to amplify the signal and then blow a component at high rpm. just a thought -Ed

Sigh, a man can dream I guess. Maybe they might cover some wi-fi stuff in Digital Systems next semester

oh man this sounds sexy. I might have to take the plunge and upgrade both our MS1 V3 boards. So if it has SD card datalogging, did they finally put wifi in the box? Would be nice to pull into the garage and tune with my laptop from in the house. -Ed

Yeah, hard to tell from the angle the pic was taken. I don't think it is an open diff though. Open R200 have a cast piece that holds the spider gears, two large opening and two solid sides. This one looks closed off all around, also looks like it has wear marks indicating the metal piece to the right of the ring gear slides to the right a bit at times. That's a short nose R200 but the guts look the same. I've had both apart at the same time before. Honestly though I have not seen a CLSD or VLSD open infront of me. Only open diffs and a few I have welded -Ed

I'm by far no Megasquirt master as I'm currently working through issues on a 911 install. But using a wideband to try and get your car running? Just take it out before it gets ruined. Reserve the wideband for when it's running ok and you need to fine tune. You need to go through the basics. Engines require fuel, air, spark to run. Confirm you are getting fuel first. Fuel pump is working correctly, pressure is ok, don't have a clogged filter, etc. Confirm you are getting air (make sure you tb is open enough to allow air to get the car to idle) Spark, pull a plug, lay it on the valve cover and turn it over. Confirm the plug is firing a good clean spark when it is supposed to. If your timing is off then your never going to fire the car. When first trying to get my Z running I was firing during the exhaust stroke, make sure your sparking when fuel is actually in the cylinder being compressed. (simple but easy to overlook) If you have all three of those, it's just a matter of doing a calculated VE table using the computer and setting up the initial settings via calculations. Another simple thing is to check your vacumn lines. I spent 3 nights beating myself up trying to start my car before I realized I had a check valve on the wrong way on a line, allowed me to start the car but as soon as I gave it gas it would die and wouldn't want to start again. (simple stupid mistakes) Best of Luck! -Ed

Maybe I'm missing something... but why not just use rubbing alcohol to clean off the residue where you want to paint? Scott... that is a great price! Anything higher than that and I would simply buy a blaster myself or convert over my sand blaster. My Z is in need of a strip but I need to get it running again. Maybe 3 years from now I'll have the time!!! HaHa!!

I agree with the above posts. I did my first car when I was about 16. Looked awesome, spent money on quality ppg base and clear paint. Lots of money on primer and fillers. Then 2 years later I have some rust bubbles coming through and spider cracking under the clear. Enough to make you cry knowing how long it took to do. Since then I have figured out to be realistic when buying paint. http://www.tcpglobal.com/restorationshop/itemdetail.aspx?itemno=RSP+AU2108-KIT-M Something like that would be great for you. Also if you go to any paint store and talk to the person there. They WILL help you out. Tell them what your working on, they always throw in mixing cups and stir sticks and strainers for free when you buy paint from them. You might pay a little more at your local store, but you get one on one advice and help. Alot of times they can recomend a good starter gun for you and help you set it up. I know my first job I had problem with "Zebra Stripping" the local guys told me what to adjust and look for. Plus I'm a huge fan of supporting your local economy. Just giving you ideas and options. I would definatley go with a single stage for your first time. Base clear systems can be tricky without knowing how to set up the gun from spraying base color to clear. Single stage you only have to adjust it once initially. Also if your anything like me... as you get older your style will change. What I thought was cool at 16 I don't care for any more at 25. I love paint and colors and a car is a great canvas. If your only spending 100 bucks on paint and reducers, it's not as painful to change your mind later and paint it another color. Plus the more you paint the better you get. If you do Spray.... at the local paint store they have little bubble like filters usually up at check out on the counter. These are small line filters that help reduce moisture content from the air in the line to your gun. These are worth the money usually 2-5 dollars. Get a couple of them. I also roll out my line I'm going to use, pour some rubbing alcohol down the input side, then attach it and then spray the air till the rubbing alcohol is gone. This will take the moisture out of the line that might have been in there. Another trick if your spraying outside, hose down everything around you. Trees bushes, the ground, etc. This will reduce contamination while spraying. Best of luck! Post pics of progress! -Ed

Well first off you need to establish a budget. Sounds like less than $2,000 is your budget? Sounds like the goal is easy touch up and price over looks. (until after school) Now have you thought about a timeline for painting the car? Sounds like it's your daily driver. The roller method certainly hands down is the cheapest, however it has hidden cost as does any paint job. Go check out the price of painters tape for a roll. Depending on how much you thin the paint out your going to need several coats. Each of which require LONG dry times. This means multiple taping jobs to the chassis. I don't know about you but honestly I HATE taping up cars for paint. Dealing with corners and overlaps and issues with the tape, etc. It's time intensive and can be very aggravating. Also, this is going to require lots of sand paper and buffing. Now the spray method, you have to buy a gun as you already know. As long as you arn't spraying waterbourne paints or expensive stuff, a cheap gun will yield excellent results. Granted you do have to create an area to paint the car. I have two walmart tent type enclosures I got for 20 bucks each a while back. They have mesh screens that zip down and a covered top. They go up with poles like a tent and are awesome for keeping out debris out of your paint. So we know this method cost more because you need the gun and an enclosure, however it has one HUGE advantage. You can be done in one day, only have to tape it once. I've heard Eastwood has a pretty good house brand gun. I think it was 90? came with 3 tips I believe, heard good things about it. Was going to pick up one for primer for myself actually. This leads to another issue. Either route you take, you need to prime the car and block it. This is where all the time and money is on a paint job. Without a good surface to paint on, your paint job will not last. I've painted several cars and I have some expensive spray guns, but honestly... The Z rusts so damn much I refuse to spend money on topend paint again. I myself will eventually spray down a beautiful color on the Z when I get the time to get the body bead blasted. (this will be years) Until then I took my own route. I'm using boat paint epoxy based top coat paint in gloss black. Easy to spray, holds up to rock and wrenches, chemical resistant, easy to touch up. Not the cheapest, but I know it's going to last and it's something I won't have to wet sand or buff to get a shine. I got two quarts, i believe about 20/qt and when thinned both combined makes about 3qts sprayable, which is PLENTY to spray a Z. Anyway... I hope this gives you some incite to your painting future. -Ed

Ahhh!!! Now I know how to make my X pipe! What a simple idea.. Thank you kind sir!

Thanks Olie. I didn't know these are being used by others. I guess that solves all the problems on the back of the Z now.

Ok guys, spent what few dry days I had when I wasn't at work working on the Z this winter break. Made quite a bit of progress. I have the 240sx Subframe mocked up in the car with suspension on it, wheels, diff, etc. Just awaiting tubing to weld up final mounts, etc. Now, it's a 280z, not sure if anybody notices but the rear wheels are not centered in the wheel wells. When you drop the car and put larger wheels on it becomes especially obvious. So since I'm putting in a whole new rear suspension anyways, figured I would fix that. I have the wheels roughly centered in the wheels. I went under neath to check the driveshaft length and there was a problem. The yolk that slides into the transmission is something like 6" long. I still have 3" or more in the transmission however if I run this way, it would greatly reduce the amount of torque I can put down the driveline and will more than likely damage the splines on the drive shaft/transmission. I really don't want to spend a ton of money to get a custom driveshaft made when I only need about 1" added. My idea was to add a solid 1" steel spacer from the input of the differential to the drive shaft flange. Is this a horrible idea? or will It be ok? Intended use of the car will be weekend warrior and drifting. So it will see extra stresses on the drive train. This is also a 2+2 so I already have the longest driveshaft of the Z's. Thoughts/idea/comments Welcome. Thanks, -Ed

I think that's because Subaru doesn't make an R200. The biggest diff they have is the R180 I believe and that comes on the STI. I think it would be worth while to crack open a toyota R200 and take some measurements. If the stub axles are interchangeable, we'd be in business.

don't toyota and subaru share parts? R160 R180 from Subaru have Nissan parts... So... in theory they could share some internals?

Oh Well goes to show how much i know about racecar suspension lol. Now I know..

I was going through looking at the suspension setups on many of the cars. Always wanting to improve the Z and love to build things.... It looks like many of the cars have the suspension setup on the back so that when it starts to get light (the strut presses out) it looks like via mechanical linkages it tilts the spoiler to add downforce! That is genius if that's really what it does! Maybe this is more of a safety thing to keep the cars on the ground? -Ed BTW.. this is a pretty good picture of what I'm talking about. http://www.gurneyflap.com/Resources/DSC_4237.jpg

it would be pretty trick though!

My subaru has TMIC factory, and heat soak is an issue at extended stop lights and the such. Alot of the STI guys use misters on the IC to drop the temps. That being said though, the subaru motor sits low and is designed to have the TB at the back of the motor. This design allows ample room for the TMIC, turbo and intake in small area, not having to work around the motor really. The Z motor is long and sits high near the hood. The TB is at the front of the motor, you do have the option of top or bottom mounting the turbo. If you run a front mount with the inlet/outlet on the driver side your piping is pretty minimal with some modifications of the cross member. To do a top mount unless you move the TB I can't see you coming out ahead on cubic ft' of piping. side thought, If you could reverse the intake putting the TB at the back of the car. Then you could do some very slick engineering and put the IC in the cowl panel and probably locate the intake around there too! That is a low pressure zone on the Z naturally so no additional scoops would be needed, maybe just run a tube to take the hot air down to the tranny tunnel or out the fender or something. Good luck with whatever you choose. FMIC does seem to work well and would be cheaper.

I've never been in an RHD car to know how different your view angles are, but I've been a passenger. I'm not saying you can't pass, I just thought it would be much more difficult but I guess if your far enough back it's not a problem. The expression on that guys face must have been priceless lol. JUST FYI, I've used the Por-15 before. It's a very picky paint, also if you have any areas where fluids or moisture can get underneath it pay close attention to seal those. I ended up having hydraulic fluid seep under mine in the engine bay cause it to have a nice big bubble. Didn't eat the paint, but lifted it from the frame rail lol. When I redid my engine bay I used Interlux Boat Epoxy paint. Used the topcoat they have. Held up great and was much easier to paint than the POR-15! Keep it up man, I want to see some finished pics! -Ed

I forgot the user name but somebody on here has a top mount on their Z I believe.