Leon

Thanks Brady, appreciate the kind words!

I don't have any personal experience but there's a few running around with NASA on the West Coast that I've seen. They seem pretty quick and fairly inexpensive to run. https://nasaspeed.news/columns/class-syllabus/spec-z/ https://www.turnology.com/news/valkyries-350z-wins-at-the-25-hours-of-thunderhill/

Looks like it's time for an update! I finally installed the struts we sectioned last year, got the ride height and alignment settings dialed, and installed the Watanabes. The ride is so much better now that I have some bump travel in the suspension, this was a huge step to refining the car. I installed fresh seals and bearings but the brakes were swapped over from the old uprights as I didn't find any good rear disk kits that fit 15's. It would've been nice to make my own conversion but I just haven't had the time. Alignment spec, for my record keeping. I'd prefer less rear toe but otherwise it's surprisingly even! Getting closer to being "done"... Next on the list of cosmetic updates is installing that NIB Nismo Compe steering wheel handle. There are plenty of little things to do and loose ends to tie up. For the sake of not forgetting: change the oil and check valve adjustment reseal carbs and intake manifold, smoke test indicates possible leak at cold start units and carb-to-manifold gaskets fabricate and install longer throttle rod for throttle cable, set pedal stop connect manifold vacuum to distributor install Mallory FP install wideband and finish the tune fix tach and speedo tidy up distributor wiring fix tail-lamp bulb housing install a PCV catch can replace the water bottle radiator expansion tank with something more fitting install a speaker so I can listen to the radio install misc missing fasteners on bumper trim, front air dam, interior trim replace center console connect cold-start mechanism and re-mount choke bracket (if I need to) track down some sweet period-looking bucket seats put together a rear disk kit for 15's other things My buddies were egging me on after seeing the car to install a BRE trunk spoiler, painted black to match the front air dam. I'd never intended to put one on the car but I'll have to at least consider it.

The Cal Poly Car Club is still around from what I know but it's probably just be a small group of college kids. There might still be a Z-guy in the group.

Great detective work! I've played with ECU mapping on newer cars but never completely from scratch. I'm impressed by your efforts.

Nice to see you back at it again! I highly recommend making a closing plate for that notched frame-rail. Otherwise, that structure and material is doing next to nothing for you. Here's a detailed engineering drawing:

"180° headers" on a cross-plane crank V8 change the sound due to those V8s being odd-fire engines, i.e. there is a point in the firing order where bank one fires twice and where bank two fires twice. 180° headers pair cylinders in a way that alternates exhaust pulses evenly between bank one and bank two to even out the scavenging effect. The L6 only has one bank of cylinders so getting even scavenging is not nearly as big a challenge. It becomes more of an exercise in getting the desired tuned length of primary vs being able to package it all. There are more ways to screw it up than getting it right. People don't typically don't build custom headers just for sound which is probably why you haven't seen every configuration you can think of being built. Feel free to build a set and show us what they sound like.

The vast majority of Watanabes are cast, not forged.

I bought four Bilstein gland nuts for 240Z tubes (30mm dampers) from AJUSA in 2014 but I remember them saying they were the last ones they had. Not sure if Bilstein Germany has restocked the supply chain since then. The part number I used (provided by John Coffey) was B4-B30-U232-B1

3000GT Bilsteins fit fine and allow for plenty of room to section (as do the VW Rabbit ones), it's the gland nut that's the problem. I'm not sure you can get them anymore.

Dynamat removal... fun times!

I've got a 280ZX 3.54 R180 with axles (clip-in vs early bolt-in style) but shipping would suck. I'd do $100+whatever shipping will cost. The diff is tight with no clunks, came out of my 260Z. Replaced it with an R180 LSD (that's clunky as hell).

Same, I'm interested in the 240SX brakes and 240Z coilover sleeves.

Rob at Z Car Garage is great but don't expect it to be cheap.

Totally agree, try it out!

When I was first looking for a cheap (<$1000) project car circa 2006 it had to have RWD, a manual gearbox, and fastback styling. My first target was the Porsche 944. Thankfully, I struck out on a few of those and expanded my search to A70 Supras and S30 Z-cars. Ended up getting a 240Z and didn't look back. Similarly to Jon, I ended up with a Z because it fit my criteria and was dirt cheap at the time. If I were searching now under similar budgetary and performance constraints, I bet I'd end up with some sort of E36. That said, the Z has been a great platform to learn on and play around with. The added bonus is that it has a timelessness that the 944 and A70 Supra could only dream of.

The 260Z VIN is an "RLS" prefix. "HLS" is 240Z or 280Z.

Paid $1637 for the wheels + tires originally. The tires are very grippy (200tw extreme performance category) and have lots of life left. I can do $1200.

I have a set of almost-new 16X7 ET0 Panasports with 225/50-16 Bridgestone RE11-A rubber. I bought Wats and would be willing to sell these. I'm local, if you want to have a look sometime.

What do the other cylinders read on the flow meter? If the others read 5, then you possibly have a vacuum leak, bent throttle rod, or misaligned butterfly. If the others read 4, then you likely have either a bent throttle rod or misaligned butterfly. Remove your progression hole covers to diagnose a bent throttle rod. Use smoke or spray for vacuum leaks. If everything comes up inconclusive, then a butterfly is misaligned. This assumes proper valve lash and even cylinder compression.

The ball-and-socket kit won't bind or snap TC rods but it will be harsher than rubber.

Ride comfort is a systemic attribute, it's not just springs or bushings or... Spring rates set ride frequency which sets the amount of force, thus acceleration (F=ma), your body will see from road inputs. These accelerations are tuned via dampers and isolators. This is mostly reflected in how "stiff" the car feels when hitting bumps and dips in the road. Then there's the matter of impact harshness from road imperfections. This is more of a noise and resonance issue. This is dealt with via something called compliance. The bushings responsible for controlling the amount of longitudinal compliance were already mentioned in the post you found. This is all assuming you're not running out of travel on your suspension. Fixing harshness is going to involve making sure you have soft compliance bushings and top mounts. If you're running coilovers with a solid top mount (ball joint), that's not helping.

Bummer! There's always next year. Seems they're finally giving some credence to Japanese car makers. I'll be curious in what you come up with.

I haven't had the time to swap in the new bits due to family commitments and race car stuff. I did drive the Z down to Laguna Seca for the Historics yesterday and man is this car terrible to drive! The lack of suspension travel makes for an abysmal experience and the rev-hang in between shifts is really aggravating. I won't drive the car again until I can swap the suspension. The rev-hang needs further investigation but the symptoms point more to a vacuum leak than a linkage issue. I'll do a quick linkage check and then put some smoke through the trumpets to see if we're leaking air anywhere. Reinstalling a speaker so I can finally use the radio, in combination with the above, will go a long way to really refining the car.

The length has nothing to do with it, it's all due to the balance tube and misaligned holes for the throttle rod bearings. Pierce Manifolds is a vendor, they do not make their own manifolds. I'm guessing you're looking at the TWM manifold that they sell. I run one on my Z, it's definitely better in quality than the Cannon but it took some hogging out to make the ports match, FWIW.