jgkurz

Hi all, I installed my Tec3 a few years ago and unfortunatley had few people to compare notes with. It looks like there may be more of you now with the Tec3 installed on 6 Cyls and V8's. If interested, I'd like to hear from you all so we could compare notes and potentially improve the tuning on our cars. Thanks everyone!

Hey bastaad525, I was wondering when you'd chime in and show everyone what a real post looks like...

It's probably pre-ignition from running plugs that are too hot. Try the NGK BPR7ES or the even colder BPR8ES and gap to about .030. The -11 plugs are for gaps over .030.

Kevin, Thanks for the negotation advice. Always a good reminder. Turns out the heads were dealer installed before the car was titled. The seller has offered to supply an extra set of the proper "186" heads. At least we now know what we're dealing with.

Interesting. The seller is an extremely well respected individual in the 1st Gen Z/28 world and is confident that the heads are original. His credibility comes from selling over 250 1st Gen Z/28's and is a regular at Barret-Jackson. However, it would be nice to have some documentation to support his claims. A couple things come to mind. 1) Could this particular Z/28 be a late 69 which may have gotten the new "angle plug" heads that were for the 70 LT1? 2) Like the cross ram intake, could the "angle plug" heads be dealer installed and sold as new? Maybe the car was still on a lot in 1970 and had the mods done prior to being titled. I'll be getting the cyl head casting #'s and manufacture dates tomorrow which should help solve the mystery.

Hi fellow Z enthusiasts, I have a close friend looking at purchasing a show quality 1969 Z/28 Camaro. I know a fair amount about these cars, but am little concerned about the originality of the cylinder heads. The car has angle plug heads which I've never seen on a 1st generation Z/28. Supposedly angle plug heads were put on by the factory in 1969, but in limited quantity. I'd like to submit this question to a forum like ours, but for Camaro's or Z/28's. Any suggestions for a quality Z/28 forum? Thanks for your advice.

Fact: A stock bodied 280ZX lowered several inches has hit 226MPH at Bonneville without flipping or spinning. It was actually determined that the car went faster with the hood popped because the aerodynamics changed for the better. Here's a picture of the car, and yes it's an L28. Personally I've had my Z up to an indicated 142. That's as fast as I thought my tires or guardian angel could go. It's my opinion that high speed stability can be greatly improved on an early Z by lower the car and installing a functional airdam. A G-nose is another proven method to help aerodynamics.

I don't have that "nagging" feeling yet, but I would like to make an honest 400 RWHP without changing the downpipe. The AFR's definitely need work so I should pickup some power on my next dyno run. At 360HP I was running about 18psi so correcting the AFR and running a bit higher boost might get me to my goal. Thanks everyone for your comments.

Hi all and Scottie-GNZ, For those of you running the famous "Scottie downpipe" please chime in. For those of you who are wondering what I'm talking about, I have a custom turbo downpipe on my Z made by Scottie-GNZ several years ago. I believe he made several for folks who may hang out on this list. It is a quality unit and has served my well. Here's a picture: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jgkurz/detail?.dir=583a&.dnm=c19e.jpg&.src=ph The pipe is 2.5 inches which may be limiting my HP potential. I have 3 inch mandrel bent exhaust so having the smaller downpipe changed out to a larger size may give me a couple ponies. Does anyone have experience making near or over 400RWHP with this downpipe? So far with an extremely rich 10:1 mixture I've made 360RWHP and 424RWTQ with the 2.5 inch pipe.

TimZ, I'm looking into these scrappers, but I also am considering either the Arizonazcar oil pan or the Nissan Comp pan. The Nissan Comp pan comes with a windage tray. I'm thinking the scrapper and the Nissan Comp pan together would be redundant. http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=99996-E1131&Category_Code=s30_nismo_oilpan

Tivo has been programmed...

I was in Idaho on business several years ago and went to the local drag strip over the weekend. I think this is the same car I saw run. I can't remember the guys name, but he was a Buick mechanic and made the swap look easy. The car was FAST! The strange thing I remember is how quiet it was going down the strip.

I run a BW T-5 and went through the same problem as you. I actually twisted the yoke and u-joint rather than breaking it in two. Unless someone is manufacturing a new part, you are stuck with the OEM style yoke that only supports the smaller u-joint. Trust me on this. The best way to improve strength is to use the Nissan u-joint and to build the driveline with as little forward/backward freeplay as possible. You don't need the typical inch a live axle requires. This allows you to put as much of the yoke as possible into the splines of the transmission. I run 1/4 inch. I'm not sure if you are launching this way, buy a suggestion is to launch by slipping the clutch out rather than side stepping. Besides improving my 60ft time, it's MUCH easier on the drivetrain.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7925349838&category=33742&sspagename=WDVW Take a look at where the turbo is mounted. Very creative, but not the best for efficiency.

I don't know what your setup looks like, but on 92 octane premium my engine would ping holes in the pistons at 28 degrees and 20 psi. Have you done some special work to your combustion chambers?

Mike, I'm not the "end all" expert, but in your situation you might want to run the either the NGK BPR6ES-11 or the BPR6EY-11. Both should give you better results with a car having a rich mixture condition. The colder non-projected tip plugs really are only for high boost situations. The factory recommended plug should work well in your situation. Just my two cents.....

not bad.. i paid $2.14 i re gapped them to 33 and it seems better abit. they did get rid of my slight miss fire at idle.. werid i guess. ill be putting on alot of miles on the car tomorrow so we will see how they do all day long mike Mike, Just curious, what type of problems with the factory BPR6ES-11 plugs made you look at a different plug?

I got my BR8ES plugs from the local Yamaha dealer for $2.42 each.

Mike, What kind of ignition do you have? If you have the stock ignition you might consider running .030 if you are staying at 10psi or below. If you run more boost you may need to go to .025. If you are not having pre-ignition problems I'd stay with the BPR6ES-11 or BPR7ES-11 plugs. They will give you better cold start and driveability.

Personally I would cancel the order and get the "real" NGK plugs. In my opinion there are few plugs made as well as the NGK. Regarding the BR8ES plugs I have not run them yet, but they should provide a more even gap than the equivalent - 11. If you want to run the smaller gap (.025-.035), the -11 plugs have to have the ground electrode bent down to the point that it's not parallel with the center electrode. That's bad! So far I have only tried the non-projected electrode in the "8" heat range. I did try the "7" in a projected tip, but they didn't make much difference. I have an Electromotive Tec3 EFI with direct fire ignition. It should have enough spark to fire these plugs under most any condition I could subject them to. When the car is cold I have to be careful when I start the car so I don't foul the plugs. If the car is cold and I let it idle to warm up rather than drive it, it will load up and stall after about 30 sec. Once the coolant has got up to normal temp it will idle nicely.

EDIT: Instead of the BR8ES-11 plugs I will being putting in BR8ES since I am running the smaller gap. The -11 plugs are for .044 gap.

Hi all, I think I've finally found a plug that works well with my 3.0L L28ET setup. With the NGK BPR6ES-11 plugs the car started and idled well when cold, but no matter what did to the ignition timing or mixture it pinged under as little as 10psi of boost. I went to a BPR7ES-11 and it helped a little, but still it pinged under boost. A friend of mine recommended I try a non-projected electrode plug. I looked on NGK's website for a BR8ES-11 and there was such a plug, but it only came on Yamaha Waverunners. I bought six plugs from the Yamaha dealer since they looked identical to the NGK automotive plugs I've always run. I gapped them to .035 and went for a test drive. The car ran a little rough until it was warm. After that I had no problems. First I tried 12psi then 15psi then 18psi and no ping what so ever. The car pulled like a SOB until it bounced off the rev limiter at 6K. I know it's a little low, but I was testing and didn't want to over do it. It might have been able to run more boost, but I didn't want to find the limit. I think I'll keep it at 15psi on the 92 octane premium we have here in Oregon. It's plenty fast at 15psi. I can't wait to put race gas in and try a little higher boost. EDIT: Instead of the BR8ES-11 plugs I will being putting in BR8ES since I am running the smaller gap. The -11 plugs are for .044 gap.

All, the difference between an internal and external wastegate is boost stability. It has nothing to do with peak HP. I have an internal wastegated L6 making decent power and I struggle to have consistent boost throughout the RPM range. I have modified my internal WG extensively and it still doesn't work as well as a external type. If I had an unlimited budget I would go external in a second.

Scottie, I too would like to thank you for your contributions to the Z car community and for the personal knowledge you have given me. I have a ceramic coated "Scottie downpipe" on my Z that I purchased from you several years ago. It fit perfectly the first time I put it on the car and has contributed to some decent powerso far. (354 RWHP and 424 RWTQ). I'm hoping it will get me to my 400 RWHP goal. Best of luck to you and your future automotive endeavors.