ZR8ED

The real answer is "the other one" or was it "42"?..nahh that was something completely different.

This thread is interesting, though I think a new one should be created with the "how to do it". As to the OP and the thread title question. I would keep the heater. It can really help you out if it gets cold out (I'm in the great white north ya know) plus if your engine temps are a bit high, you can bleed off some extra heat. Me personally. My next z will have air as well. It just makes the car more comfortable, and more precisely, it makes it MORE useable over a broader range of temperatures/humidity. I have left my "black on black" Z at home at times when it is just too hot, and I don't want to arrive all sweaty, and burnt out tired.

Thinking out loud here. The specifics are not that important yet..mearly conceptual thoughts here. Its the time of year where my Z is driven less, and the daily driver gets more use, has made me think of a small scale nitrous wetshot system for my winter/daily driver. Its a huge drop in performance switching to the "winter beater", but I'm not talking anything extreme. 25hp estimate would be plenty for my 108hp 4cyl. Very occasional use to get on the highway/avoid trucks etc. Once in a while, I find a quick boost of power would have been helpful and given me another option in certain highway situations. It would need to be a small package that would fit under the hood. A container of Fuel and NOS matched to keep the air/fuel ratio in case your injectors are not large enough to handle the NOS on its own. A simple delivery system WOT sensor to prevent accidental activation. A manual switch in the car Push the button for a 2-5 sec boost, and only good for a few "shots" Nothing fancy, NOT idiot proof in order to keep it small and simple. Easily removable would be a huge benefit for our manditory emissions testing/certifications etc. I hate to say this out loud, but think of the F&F "hold the button for a sudden boost in power." Anyone ever thought of such a system? Could you build one yourself reasonably with known parts? Thoughts? (besides that I'm crazy..I already know that...have you seen my car?)

Nice ride! What is it with Z guys and Porsches?! As for driving impressions, I'd like to borrow a near stock 240/280 to compare to my near stock 944. I tried to compare it with my Z, but they are almost opposites. I can say that it sure is fun to drive! and driving with the targa panel off, or the entire top down really ups the fun factor!

The only thing girls say about my car now is that it looks TOO mean/angry, and that they don't like it. Guys need a bib when looking at it. Most don't even know what it is. It wasn't that way when it was more stock. Then the girls said it looked "cute" Blah..

My VG30ET is running a similar setup with MS&S v3.0 At a moddest 14psi, it pulls like a freight train, with a very linear powerband. These motors seem to have very "flat" power bands, and I don't mean that in the negative way. Congrats on getting it up and running!

I've seen them before, but on their own serve little real pupose. Coupled with a fully designed cage maybe. They link into the rocker panel (looks like it in this pic) We need a cage builder to chime in here to explain if it is useful or not. Assume on a street car they are worthless.

Some good ideas here. I'd like to see some more discussion regarding some of the "how's" I understand the amount of $ and effort required to do this, because this too has been one of my goals for the last 8 or more years now. It is also a main reason for selling my current Z for a new project Z. John had some excellent suggestions with regards to isolating the subframes/suspensions. Here are some of the things that I started with to make the car more comfortable. (I'll skip most of the history here, and in no particular order) First, I worked for several years to reduce the fumes getting in the cabin. It is much more comfortable when getting out of the car NOT smelling LIKE the car. Seamsealer, new rubber seals, etc (tons of info on what has been done I put in extra insulation (foil backed jute) and placed it in the usual places, as well as tucking it everywhere I could think of, and new carpets. I filled my roll cage (don't want to hear about roll cages on the street..water under the bridge now) with expanding foam. This reduced the "tinniness"/echo's etc. I also added padding to the cage. (tastefully) I put in more comfortable seats (Fiero seats) I rubber insulated the diff mounts to help with cruising..as the rubber takes up, it becomes a solid mount (metal diff strap) I wrapped the first 4ft of my SS exhuast with header wrap, and secured it with SS safety wire. (this helped, and I would like to wrap it further back..lets say to the rear suspension area.) I added some extra insulation around the gear shifter (triple rubber boots) I also have softened the suspension just slightly to make street driving less harsh..The car sees 99.99% street, and .01% track use. I have tokico non adjustables (Illuminas if I recall) Going forward, I would have added the thin "sticky sided" insulation (unsure of brand name etc) and I would use it on the inside of the car behind plastic interior panels, and headliner, firewall, wheel wells etc. This way I could shape it to fit tight into corners and around curves. I would also be interested in Johns ideas about suspension isolation..Thin rubber? extra grease to reduce creeks/groans? Ok who's next to share?

I think he came here because of the name of the site. "HybridZ" Sounds like a site for all kinds of hybrid motors in cars.

Yes that is me. As for the screws, yes they will allow finer tuning. Your old settings (number of turns) will be useless now, It will take more turns to make the same effect as compared to your old ones. When tuning/adjusting, you will likely make full turns as opposed to 1/8 or 1/4 turns to notice a change.

I don't know if I still have any pics up of my "rear diffuser" posted on this site. I can't say that it worked at all, but I can say that it didn't make the car unstable either. It was mostly a styling "look". AND it took a tremendous amount of planning and effort to construct, and then to actually install it so it will STAY on. Mine is now removed since I redid the rear fascia, but I have plans to put something back on again in the future. I would only do it as an "interesting project". I already have extensive aero mods already to the front of the car. At least as much I am prepared to live with on a "street car" Retro fitting a diffuser on our cars from another model, is mostly useless, and with the amount of effort to get one to fit, might as well not have to deal with all the compromises (to get it to fit) and just custom make one that fits perfect. Scott.

I am looking for the ebrake bracket for the 88-94 240sx calipers. The same calipers used with the modern motorsports rear disc brake upgrade. I have the calipers but they did not come with the ebrake bracket. Looking for just the brackets but will consider the entire calipers as well. Thanks, ZR8ED@hotmail.com

The screw on the left has a much more gradual angle to it. The big difference is that it will take more turns to get a similar effect compared to the one on the right. In other words they are less sensitive to adjustment, or another way to look at it is they can be more precisely tuned.

Good post above. Good advice. As for the throttle shafts, if it "ain't broke" leave them alone. They rarely need much work, and it is really easy to screw them up. I have never heard of setting floats that way, I always used the manual and took my time. Accuracy counts when it comes to webers. 1mm CAN make a difference. Flats spots are common with webers...just not a single one I ever setup..flat spots are all about the emulsion tubes. I agree that mikunis are easier as they are a newer design with lots of improvements over the webers. I prefer webers though.

Sorry but you have to "pay to play" You can cheap out with inferior wheels/tires, which is fine if your going for a "look". If you want the performance, there is no way around it. If you are going to go really wide, and you want to put some huge power down, do you really want to put that stress through a low buck knock off cast wheel? Even with cheap tires, you are going to get more grip which is going to put more stress on the entire driveline (skinny drag radials not withstanding) Let alone the extra weight of the larger wheels/tires vs unsprung weight. Also consider Compomotive USA for custom wheels in our bolt pattern. I run custom sized 3piece wheels made by Simmons (I heard they closed due to the owner passing away) so I guess they are unavailable now. (17x11 and 17x8) and I am using Yokohama AVS sport tires 315/35/17 and 235/35/17's Very nice tires for street and some track use..even pretty good in the rain. (reasonable amounts of rain..heavy rain..forget it, might as well park the car when you have super wide tires.) Finding a wide wheel "off the shelf"? Forget it, custom is the only real way to go. I decided to "go big or go home" with my wheels figuring it would be the last set of wheels I would buy for the car. Good luck!

All 240-280's have them. BUTTTT 280's came with a rear wooden sub floor approx 4-5 inches higher that covered these cubbies. It needed to be removed to have access to them. The sheet metal at the front of this "cubby" is actually higher and acts as part of the support for this sub floor. A 280 and 240 rear carpet kit are not the same due to the new position of the floor. To tell quickly, this subfloor must be moved to access the rear tailight panel. On a 280, you can only see part of the panel, and the floor and carpet are notched to fit around this panel. Show us pictures of your 280.

In NA form. I ran a Holly Red. I'm sure its one of the more popular due to its over the counter availability at most speed shops. Tony has it right. 3.5 psi.. no more, and accuracy counts with webers. Run 4psi and you will end up with either rich or some weird jet combo, and you will argue how you ran all this hp on 125 mains, or more likely that you have fuel pouring out the carbs and setting the car on fire! Sorry for the sarcasm there..I have a long history with webers...I miss them sometimes.

As many know, I have had my VG30ET powered 280Z for more than 10 years. It is also for sale, so I have been getting much more email regarding the car lately. A guy from the east coast told me about a deal he had just missed out on...A VG30ET powered S30! and directed me to check it out online. I did. Nice car, but was done a bit differently, and it is not intercooled, but still had air/con. Claimed 400hp at 9psi (With no I/C that is almost impossible) A couple of short cuts taken on the install, that I didn't like mainly the placement/shifter location, but otherwise a clean looking install. In all my years of internet surfing, I have come across only a few of these swaps, and even fewer that were completed and running. I understand that not everyone is posting about their Z's on the net, but I suspect that there are not that many swaps out there PERIOD. Anyone know or have seen any others? (BTW this one was from Florida. Dark Red, and supposedly spend $60K on it. Swap was done maybe 3yrs ago..when the car was being built) Post a link if you know of any online please.

Celicasupra.com is a pretty good site that I am familiar with. More early generation stuff there. Lots of pictures of my Z there for some reason...hehehe

Well its been two years now, and I finally finished (yea right) the garage. Built a new smaller workbench (on the side), made cabinets from the plain shelves, built a covered cubby for the aircompressor (insulated to keep it quiet) built two small mezzanines for the winter tires (above the garage door) painted everything white, and finally...finally..epoxy painted the floor. Here it is sans the cars. They have been covered up in the driveway for the last two days while the floor dries.

This is a pretty good place to start. You will not see any huge gains by switching. It WILL run smoother, get a bit better mileage, easier starting and it should be more reliable (because it is newer) Collect your parts (the small stuff) Prepare a plan for the install, then WAIT for your FI system to breakdown. Seriously. It is not worth it unless you have a problem with the FI. At this point it is just a "make work" type project. A good project, but a "make work" project none the less. I'm a recovering "while I'm at it" junkie, so take what you want from this. Scott.

Ok who posted the pictures of a Z towing a track Z on a 2 wheel dolly? I think a 280 is much better suited than a 240 due to the extra bumper stuff. My 280 had a ball mounted directly to the bumper. The PO used to tow a laser sailboat. No more than 500 lbs including the trailer I suppose. He just wired/tacked on the trailer lights to the rear lights. Shouldn't be too much of a strain? 2 more small lights? I used to tow my 280 with a towbar using my 4cyl Saab 900s. 1hr plus drives I'm sure it wasn't rated to pull 3000lbs, so I just took it reaalllll easy. Have fun camping!

Why not? Too tame looking? lol

I don't think that the throttle body would make much of a difference, but I will tell you how I solved this exact problem. Nail it in 3rd..boost comes on, then wham! the car is sideways at full boost. I then free'd up the exhaust with a mandrelbent 3" system, and the boost came on earlier and smoother, without that harsh spike in power. It had a 2.5" system before, with no serious restriction other than the pipe diameter. No other mods between tests. Though I do understand what you mean by throttle position, anything past 1/3 throttle, and it is at full boost. A flat power curve doesn't help that. Take a look at my power/torque curve. Not huge power, but pretty flat looking from my experience. Putting in a stiff return spring on the pedal will give more pedal effort, which can make it easier to control the modulation.

Well as a "seasoned" guy, I'm still here reading, but I'm not doing much with the car these days. Once people finish a project, they kinda drop off for a bit. The Northern group is definately in the garage more..All that winter reading, its time to put it to good use. Someone hurry up and buy my Z so I can start on a new project! All I can post about it, is how well it is driving, that I still get lots of stares while in it, and the megasquirt works so well, it has reduced my fuel costs all accross the power band except WOT! hehehe. Boring eh? Scott.