jgkurz

April 7, 2003

My Tec3 has been relatively simple to tune. The new WinTec3 software is supposedly much easier than the old DOS based version on the Tec2's. This is my first programmable system, so I really do have any real comparisons. I had some injector problems on my first startup, but after that was resolved I had the car running acceptably within an hour. After that I used the datalog and autocalibration features to fine tune the initial settings. I work with computers and have EFI experience so that probably helped. If you haven't worked much with fuel injection, you may have a steep learning curve.

I am very happy with the system so far, and would highly recommend it. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

April 4, 2003

Hi onephatz, Your setup is similar to mine and I would not consider using any variation of the stock 280ZXT EFI. Yes there are ways to add more fuel, but you will have serious fuel distribution problems. At the high boost necessary for 400HP you better not go lean, even with JE pistons. The least expensive method in my opinion is to buy a used Tec2, Haltech or SDS if it's available. I've also heard good things about the Wolf3D system. The JWT system works well, but programmable is the way to go in my opinion.

The knock sensor is a whole different issue. I am testing a VG30ET style knock sensor with my Tec3. It is a one wire sensor as opposed to the stock two wire. It also screws into the the L28ET block without any modifications. If I get it to work correctly I will only enable it under about 4000rpm's. In the higher rpm's, the sensor will pickup erroneous noise causing retarded ignition when no detonation has occured. If my memory is correct, I think the JWT system doesn't even use a knock sensor.

By the way, you might consider a T04E hybrid turbo rather than the Mitsu setup. It would be MUCH easier for you.

April 4, 2003

Regarding the 50 trim wheel, I think it's been a superb turbo. It spools much better than the factory T3 and has a large efficiency islands. I've been very happy with it so far. However I do wonder how the Sport 450 aka T04E 60 trim wheel compares lag wise. Supposedly the Sport 400 aka 50 trim is good for 400HP according to Jim Wolf Technology. I pretty sure this means 400 flywheel hp which is why I'm figuring on 340RWHP. If I get more then I'll be extremely happy. I have a very heavy stock 240mm flywheel and RPS clutch that will limit my rwhp as well as the 1977 half shafts. When I go to an aluminum flywheel and CV's I bet I'll pickup 20hp at the wheels.

Someday I want to go to a larger turbo, probably a 60-1, but I don't think a larger A/R compressor housing will fit without a spacer. The current housing, which I think is .60 A/R, comes very close to the exhaust manifold. If money was no object I would go with a tuned turbo hedder with a GT58 ball bearing turbo.

The timing change was the only way I could get a stable idle at 14.7 A/F ratio. When I had it at 20btdc I couldn't get better than 13 - 13.5. When I reduced the initial timing to 10 it smoothed right out. This was with both the Isky and stock cam. My Tec3 uses a wideband O2 so I'm pretty sure it's accurate.

April 3, 2003

TimZ, I don't feel so bad now that I see your compression is nearly the same as mine. Everyone seems to think I should have gone with 8 or 8.5:1. Oh well..... I guess I'll just turn up the boost.

April 3, 2003

I have added the missing info to my post....

April 2, 2003

My pistons should be almost exactly what you are looking for. You may want to go a little higher on the compression though. These were built at 7.6:1 before I was enlightened.... I have late 133mm L24 rods with a Maxima L28D crank and an 87.5mm bore. This should net out to 3.0 liters. I think you are wise to keep thick cylinder walls if you are going to boost your engine.

JE Piston p/n 168155

Bore 3.445 or 87.5mm

Stroke 3.268

Invdome depth .125

Comp dist 1.290

Comp Ratio 7.6 to 1

Top Ring 1.5mm

2nd Ring 1.5mm

Oil ring 4.0mm

Pin Dia .827

Pin length 2.5

Spiro locks used

Piston weight 366 Grams

Nissan OEM L28ET headgasket used with the following specs:

1.25mm height, 88mm cyl dia, 7.6CC per cyl

P90 Cylinder head with 53.6 cc chambers

March 31, 2003

This may sound strange, but the weakest link for BIG power in my setup is the JWT Sport 400 turbo. It's a T04E 50 trim compressor with a 3" inlet. The turbine housing is a T3 .63 a/r with a stage 5 wheel I believe. At 20psi I hope to put down 340 RWHP on a Mustang chassis dyno. It will all depend on how efficient my engine is and whether I stay well inside the 60% efficiency island on the compressor map. I don't think I will make more than 340 RWHP until I go to a bigger turbo. It sure spools quick though!

March 31, 2003

The best bang for the buck in my opinion is to use 80's Mazda RX7 low impedance injectors. The most common size I've seen is the 460cc Nippon Denso p/n 19550-1350 with the red tops. These injectors actually flow 440cc at 3bar, but who's counting? I got 2 sets of 4 on eBay for under 100.00. Before I installed them I had to have them cleaned and the pintle caps diameter reduced by a few thousands. I then purchased (12) hose clamps and EFI hose that fit over the top of the injectors and the stock fuel rail. This is a only temporary fix until I get the "O" fuel rail completed. The whole thing cost me under 200.00. The pintle cap fix I did myself. In my opinion this was a far better investment rather than buying new barbed Bosch injectors for 600.00. These injectors are used on a wide range of vehicles and can be found in various sizes.

Below is a link for injectors that look like mine. You should verify quality and part#'s before purchasing.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2409462853&category=6763

Regards,

March 30, 2003

This email is a little premature as I've not been on the dyno yet, but I wanted to pass on my initial impressions. I went from a stock 82 turbo cam to an Isky L490/L480. First thing I noticed was the idle was a little rougher. This was expected. I actually like the sound of a cam with lope as long as the idle is stable. I set my idle to 750 rpm without much problem. A/F at idle is 14.7, but I had to retard my initial timing from the stock 20 degrees btdc to 10 before I could get it that lean. The timing change was not due to the cam change, but only to prove that the idle could be set to stoich with the new cam. My idle vacuum went from 19.5 "hg to 14.5 "hg. The car is easy to drive in normal stop and go city traffic. There is no noticable difference between the old cam and the new cam in this area. When I mildly accelerate it feels like a bit of low to midrange power is down. When put the hammer down it pulls smoothly and flat to 7000 RPMs. The power is definately improved above 4000 rpms. I'm sure it would go higher than 7K, but I'll wait for the dyno to tell me where my peak power is before I rev any higher. The old cam pulled to 5000-5500 then fell off a cliff. The new cam seems to have a very flat torque curve. Peak power well above the old cam.

March 29, 2003

Does anyone have a website or a phone# where I can buy the retainer for my 1983 280ZXT T-5?

Thanks,

March 29, 2003

zline, Have you used the 146mm rod in an L28? I was wondering if this rod would be too even for a custom piston. Some builders have the rings go into the wrist pin area, but I'm not sure this would work for a street application.

Later

March 29, 2003

If I remember correctly the Electramotive engine used a 79mm L28 crank which is not a stroker. This means it probably had a better rod/stroke ratio than most strokers. I agree that 9mm L24 rods are the way to go until you start making the BIG BIG hp. If the funds are available why not have custom rods made to eek out every last bit of reliability? At a 1.6 ratio I wouldn't feel comfortable going to a local track day and running over 7K RPMs for extended periods. Most turbo setups I've seen make peek power under 7K anyway so it's probably not an issue.

March 28, 2003

I also am running the Walbro GSL392. It's almost a bolt in for 280 folks. Pump noise seems similar to stock. It's definately not worse.

Later,

March 28, 2003

Try these folks. I've heard nothing but good things.

http://www.pauter.com/

If you are also having custom pistons made you should try to design a rod/stroke ratio that is better than 1.6. I regret not putting more research into this subject before I built my stroker. You will be fine with the L24 rod length and an LD28 crank (1.60 rod/stroke ratio), but if expense is the same then go for a better ratio. If you plan on keeping the engine below 7K it may not be worth the extra expense. 1.8 to 1.9 is ideal from what I understand. JeffP has great torque throughout the RPM range partly because of this factor. If I had it to do all over again I would look at the 146mm L20B rods with custom pistons.

Regards,

March 20, 2003

My rear 240 bar bolts to the body just behind the seats. Two holes need to be drilled for the left and right mounting points. The bushings then secure to plates that are bolted to the body.

The 240 bars I have are 1 inch front and 7/8 rear. This is my visual estimation. I'd prefer to swap for a 1 1/8 front bar on my heavier 280z turbo.

Thanks.

March 20, 2003

I have a set of used 240 front and rear sway bars I'd being willing to trade for your 280 bars. The rear 240 bar bolts to the body as "blueovalz" describes. I believe the front bar is the same on 70 - 78 z-cars.

Regards,

March 18, 2003

Rick, When I was building my stroker I did some research on maximum bore size. If I was not turbocharged I felt 89mm would be acceptable with proper sonic testing. I decided on a bore of 87.5mm, which gave me exactly 3.0 liters. As I understand it, high boost pressure causes thin cylinder walls to flex creating problems with ring sealing and oil control. The sacrifice of 100cc was worth it in my mind.

Best of luck.

March 8, 2003

Thanks guys. I broke in my new cam recently and wanted the valve clearances to be perfect. After the 6th cyl I started getting much better. If I kept the locking nut just loose enough to turn the pivot I was able to make incremental adjustments more quickly. You're right. It just take practice.

Later,

March 7, 2003

Hi J. Soileau,

I'm just curious, what RPM range does your engine operate in?

Thanks,

March 7, 2003

Thanks for the reply Terry,

All connections were soldered and test OK. I also thought about getting a slow blow fuse, but the I figured that would only patch the real problem. I really don't want to use a fan that draws so much amperage. I can get a 16" 2950cfm perma-cool fan that only draws 9.8 amps. However, I still would like to make this Volvo setup work because the shroud fits so perfectly. I'm starting to think the motor is working correctly but is suppose to used with some type of ballast resistor.

Later,

March 6, 2003

Hi all, I had a friend of mine give me new Volvo V70 electric fan that I adapted to fit my 77z. The fan actually has a Bosch part# and seems well designed. I ran wiring, relay and a fuse capable of 30amps.

My problem is that I keep blowing fuses after the fan has only run for a few minutes. I've checked all conceivable reasons for this and can only surmise that the fan motor is drawing over 30amps. This seems extremely high. Aftermarket 16" electric fans draw at the most 10.5 amps.

I know Volvo uses some type of two speed circuitry so maybe they use some type of resistor rather than supplying a full 12v. I'm just grasping at straws at this point.

Other than the above problem the fan works well and has no rotating resistance or drag.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

March 5, 2003

Hi all, I don't know about you folks, but I dread adjusting valves on my L28. I'm writing you all in hopes of identifing a flaw in my technique. I really am not a good mechanic so I am open to suggestion. My problem is it takes me on average one hour per cylinder to get the exact clearance with my feeler gauge. I start with the locking nut and the pivot point loose, but still requiring a wrench to turn. I adjust the rocker arm pivot until I get the proper clearance. I then tighten the locking not which changes my final clearance by several thousands. Finding the magical clearance that ends up as .008 or .010 prior to tightening the locking nut is extremely frustrating. !!! Is adjusting an L series valve train just time consuming to get perfect? Is there a better way?

Thanks in advance for all your thoughts,

March 2, 2003

Are stock dampners rebuildable or do we need to visit our local Nissan dealer for a new one?

I need a two groove pulley with my setup so I guess I'll have to wait for JeffP's solution or keep the stock unit. The ATI solution would be perfect if only they had two or three pulley grooves.

Can a custom two or three groove pulley be adapted to the ATI balancer? This seems like the easier way to go rather than having a whole new dampner designed.

I'm watching this thread closely as I expect to have a higher RPM range with my new (almost installed) cam. Personally I will never go with a solid balancer as I've heard too many stories about high RPM crank problems in the L6.

Regards,

March 1, 2003

I can't say for sure whether the 84 300ZXT trans is stronger than the Maxima or 280ZX transmissions. I assumed because it was originally in a turbo car that it would be suitable for a 280ZXT. I had no problems with the transmission after the swap.

March 1, 2003

You might want to consider a 1984 300ZXT automatic. In 84 Nissan did not use a lockup convertor in this car but it still has the overdrive. I have put this trans in an 83 280ZXT. It's close to a bolt up with the exception of custom driveline and a fabricated trans mount. The bellhousing from the 280zx bolts right up to the 300zx trans. Let me know if you'd like more info.

Regards,

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Posts posted by jgkurz