Leon

No problem. Some dyno results would be great! I've used Burns Stainless in the past, check their site. You can have a custom one made, cut up an existing one, or make it yourself. For option 2, you can buy one that has too small of an inlet and/or too big of an outlet, do some quick math, and cut them to size.

That's a way of looking at it, yes. I would prefer a 3" flange, and an even better option is a 2.5" flange to 3" pipe with a megaphone in between. In your case, I would prefer to integrate a megaphone post-collector, that tapers from 2.5" back to 3" diameter. Taper angle and location will alter its effect, as discussed within this thread.

This is going to be a street car, so I'd wait for an LSD. I'm thinking of the fun/(inconvenience+danger) factor. You're not going to enjoy making tight turns with a welded diff, and there are the aforementioned safety concerns about using it on the street. Get the car driveable and then worry about open vs LSD. A diff is not difficult to change, especially after the work you're putting into that car. An open diff is far from a deal-breaker when talking about Z-cars and fun! As JM mentions, you need more rear brake in the rain. Dialing it down is just making it more dangerous.

Then why say it at all, Jon Kyl? http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/381282/april-11-2011/pap-smears-at-walgreens

Doesn't look like an LSD to me, but I'm no diff expert.

Never pull out a threaded fastener with channel locks. Use two nuts as lock-nuts, by turning them against each other. Having said that, I've never removed the oil filter stud and am not sure of how it's fastened to the block off the top of my head.

I use Redline whenever possible.

I paid something like $25 shipped for my purple pinion, FWIW.

Dan, I recently bought a purple pinion from nissanpartszone.com. What I did was find the Nissan part number (found an old CZC thread that has a scan from Alan, post #3) and copy+paste into the site. Try courtesyparts.com and nissanparts.cc if the first site doesn't have it. Good luck!

You've got it backwards, all half-shafts are equal-lengths. It's the stubs which snap into the differential that are different lengths. Did this solve the issue?

I'm not understanding the basis of this statement. Do you suggest that you need/want EGR in order to have best performance at a leaner mixture? To the contrary, the more EGR you introduce into the cylinder, the less tolerant the engine will be of lean running. EGR not only increases burn duration (this is why spark timing must be advanced with EGR) but also has a diluting effect, similar to leaning out the mixture. This has a destabilizing effect on combustion. Really, the leaner you go, the less EGR you want (or need!). NOx emissions drop off after they peak slightly lean of stoichiometric.

Eibach/Tokico combo on my 260Z:

Yeah... not a good thing to put out into public domain.

Double-exactly! I just wanted to emphasize the importance of these statements. 50-50 distribution is not magical and will not all of a sudden double your lateral-G's. Factors like tires, roll stiffness distribution, CG location, etc. have much more to do with "handling" than weight distribution.

I don't know about that, I think my Z can run off the fumes it gives off.

This is true for cars that originally came with smog equipment. Cars before smog regulations are completely exempt (think early '60s and older).

BTW, there are plenty of V2 and V4 engines in existence! Of course the V-twin comes to mind with the V2, anybody want to try that swap? As for V4, many classic (can I call them that?) Russian vehicles used V4 engines, namely ZAZ (Zaporozhets). Here's a cool article I dug up: http://www.carthrottle.com/obsolete-engines-101-the-mythical-v4/ Let's see those V4 swaps guys. Who wants to be the first one? I think I'm going with the big, 1.2L aircooled ZAZ. 42HP!

The big deal isn't really the bias, but more-so the location of that weight. The more centralized the weight, the smaller the polar moment of inertia. This means the car can change direction easier. This is most beneficial in autoX situations, where you have many quick transitions, slaloms, etc. However, since it makes it easier for the car to change direction, it also has a destabilizing effect. The vehicle will be more "twitchy" and prone to spin in the hands of a novice driver. Wheelbase is also a factor in this, a longer one will provide more stability (tires have a bigger lever arm on CG).

Good info posted by John and Jon. I'll just emphasize that there is an interaction of roll center placement and CG height, as JC alludes to. Your roll center is the theoretical point where all lateral forces are resolved at. Therefore, the roll center is a virtual lever against the CG height (fulcrum) when experiencing lateral forces. You probably already knew this since you're playing with roll centers, but just keep that in mind. As JC also points out, high-speed stability has more to do with aero and the combination of your suspension setup. Roll center height is not the sole factor in stability, it's a combination of things.

Yes, this is what I was referring to. Emissions don't matter if the engine was never approved for sale within the US. I don't know where you pulled the EFI-to-carb comparison from...

I see lots of Zs on SF CL that I really want to get, and would probably have if I had the space. They're in your price range and need much less work than that 280Z. Plus, 280Zs are really cheap in CA because '76 and later require smog checks. Consider buying in CA or AZ and shipping to Utah. Or, find a drivable one and book a one-way flight after getting lots of good pictures and having a local Z person inspect the car. My 2 cents...

That's just how I feel about my 260Z! I found it browsing Craigslist and bought it to just drive around, but then proceeded to do way more work to it than originally planned. Lots of sweat and blood has gone into it and I don't know if I could ever get rid of it. However, my 260Z already has a salvaged title from superficial rear-end damage! Unfortunately, I can't help much with the insurance issue, but if it does get totaled and you need an inspection, then you can always temporarily drop in an L-gata. I doubt there's any way to get an RB to pass, even with emissions intact.

It's a completely stock 2004 S2000 (AP2) with 66k well-maintained miles. The car was advertised for $16k but we ended up settling at $13.9k. It was the upper reaches of my budget, but I thought it was a good price and the car is in great shape so I decided to finally pull the trigger. I've been driving it for a few days and it is an exceptionally quick, tight, nimble and well-balanced car. The only drawbacks are that it's somewhat noisy on the freeway (although the Z still makes this thing feel like a luxury car) and limited storage space, but I didn't buy this thing for its cargo volume! It feels like a civil yet pure, no-fluff sports car. I'm loving it!

And it is amazing!!! Thank you very much for all your help guys! I considered every option and it definitely made me think hard about what I really want. I'm very happy with the purchase and hopefully the S and the Z will play nice!

Their neighbor seemed to have that trouble.