Leon

Interesting. Do you have a way to lock out the jack screw after adjustment?

I have a feeling it's more dependent on whether the car was AC-equipped and possibly other factors, probably not just cut-and-dry 240Z vs. 280Z. The answer is yes, some have it on the driver's side and others on the passenger's. And they're somewhere around 120 degrees apart. To be confident of the timing marks, either find TDC and point the pointer at zero or get the proper timing indicator plate.

Sounds about right.

The power is already corrected, according to the chart. A dynojet+25% correction is telling me that there's something left on the table.

There's no point in running high lift when the rest of your system can't make use of it, you have to see the big picture. I'm also running triple 45s with a ported intake and a 6-1 header into a 2.5" exhaust. I sized my cam based on a conversation with Ron Iskenderian about my use case. Most cams you see advertised online are the tip of the iceberg, just bulk items sold to people that want to say they have a "Stage III cam". Talk to a cam grinder and expand your horizons. I will say with the .540 lift cam, there was little room for error during setup due to it using a lot of the lash pad.

FWIW, looks like there's a 25% correction factor applied in an attempt to adjust for the altitude. Motor seems either tired or out of tune to me. Start with the basics: valve adjustment, timing, compression check, fuel mixture (dyno shop should've output that). Make sure ignition system is in good shape, e.g. cap, rotor, wires, plugs, and properly functioning advance.

Not really. I'm running an Isky L6 grind (.540" lift, 270 duration) with flat-top pistons and a Rebello "street ported" P90 on an OEM HG. From memory, my measured piston-head clearance is 0.023", piston-valve is ~0.080", and compression is 11:1. Runs great on 91, even with MBT timing @ 35* all in if I remember right.

Great detective work! Ah the fun of engine calibration... Many think it's just dialing in fuel and spark tables but that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's work like this that really refines the experience. Well done.

Wow, interesting. I guess that explains my smoked valve guides. FWIW, I ended up going with OEM exhaust and Supertech Intakes by recommendation of Dave Rebello.

I also had a bad experience with SI, they ate the valve guides in short order. Go with OEM.

You don't mention your tire size and use case but I've been loving the Bridgestone RE71Rs on my S2k track car. Planning to run Nitto NT01s next. With that said, I've heard good things about the Rival S 1.5 so you can't go wrong there.

Check out the Sidedraft Central Yahoo group and read through Keith's white paper on carb setup. It's a bit outdated now but has some great tips on setting up Webers. I'd start there.

Regardless, there is tons of good info in that thread.

If it had an LSD then you got an absolute steal.

http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/81941-exhaust-tube-sizing-i-did-your-arithmetic-for-you/

Unfortunately, I don't think California allows this... :\

We test drove a couple of X5s the other day, an '07 4.8i with sport package (and Adaptive Drive) and a '10 30i. In driving both back-to-back, I know I want the V8. Just need to do a diesel/V8 comparo now. Otherwise, both cars were very nice to drive. They seem very liveable day-to-day as well as long trips. The sport package with AD actually felt like it rode nicer than the regular suspension. We liked the updates to the '10, seemed the infotainment (aka iDrive) was easier to control. The biggest demerits we found were the high loading height and relatively small trunk. We liked it more than the Cayenne we drove but I think some more test-drives are in order. It seems to come down to three options: 1) Buy the vehicle I'm envisioning, a nice DD that can tow an enclosed trailer the 5 times out of the year when I need it. Compromises need to be made in the way of towing capacity to get something that also works as a nice DD and vice versa. 2) Rent a truck whenever I need to tow. This is great because I don't have to buy/register/insure/repair/park anything and can DD whatever I want but it'll be less convenient and cost ~$1500/yr. 3) Buy a shitty old truck as a dedicated hauler. It's more convenient and I can use it for other errands. It will also be amortized within 3-4 years when compared to renting *assuming no costly repairs*. It will also cost extra to register/insure, require maintenance, take a parking space, and will take away from the trailer budget.

I thought about the Q7 but interestingly it's only rated to 5,500 in the US. I'm curious as to their reliability since VAG products don't have the best track record. We'll check them out if we get a chance! I have had very strong recommendations against Land Rovers... Plus, if anything's douchier than a Cayenne or X5, it's a LR.

Trucks are definitely out for the sake of the dogs. They're older and not comfortable in truck beds, having ridden in one once. Also, commuting in a truck doesn't sound super fun. See requirements in my OP. 95% of the time, this thing is being daily driven.

Thanks for the tip but it being a smaller SUV, the towing capacity is limited to 4,400lb. I'm looking for 6000lb+. I'm not rushing in, planning to test drive an X5 soon. I'd really like the diesel but my BMW tech buddies are telling me to get the 4.8 V8. Apparently, the diesels had a lot of issues with their emission control systems.

Checked out an '08 Cayenne S yesterday. While I loved the ride and handling, the engine seemed tired and didn't pull like I expected. This could be just this car but another bummer is that the trunk is surprisingly small. The new #1 is the BMW X5. A 35d with self-leveling suspension seems like it'll do the trick for both occasional towing and daily driving. Now to test drive one...

That's the crazy thing, you can get a V8 Cayenne with <100k miles for ~$15k! That's right in line with the used Volvos and Toyotas I was looking at. Thank you depreciation! The TBSS has a popular following among fun tow vehicles, I wouldn't fault you for that decision.

Thanks all! I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last few days and it would make more sense for me to get an enclosed trailer. It can be used for car and parts storage when not in use which will make the wife happy that all of it doesn't go inside the house. Plus it's a lot nicer to have for hanging out in during track weekends. I'm still flip-flopping but I'm heavily considering an enclosed. This leads to the problem of needing more towing capacity. With my requirements outlined above, my current favorite option is an '08-'10 Porsche Cayenne. Comfortable, relatively fun, and a tow rating of 7700lb. It's debatable whether it's a good idea to tow an enclosed trailer with it but I'm liking the option. Yes, I realize I would look like a giant douche driving a Cayenne.

Good point, it'll probably not be super fun to work on with the V8 crammed in there sideways.