burninator

I'm probly not the best SU tuner in the world, but during my tuning attempt it seems like the adjusters on the SUs make almost no difference in the air/fuel ratio at wide open throttle and the air/fuel ratio makes almost no difference in power. Maybe I just wasn't able to adjust it enough to notice a difference (I didn't even try running it if I though the mixture at idle was too lean). I was considering getting some new needles or nozzles to try, but over the next winter I plan on installing an L28 and using these carbs on it so I didn't want to bother with ordering parts and such for this engine just to run it for the summer.

That doesn't seem right. I don't know what year car you have, but when I had the springs off my car to cut them they were the same left to right. I don't have a manual in front of me to verify what it says, but I'll try to remember to peak at it before I leave town tonight (no promises). BTW mine is a '72.

When I did the run only the plate with the air horns was attached. The rest of air box was still off the car.

Over the last few days I've been trying to dial in my car on the dyno. I was doing most of my testing without the air-box on, so no horns attached to the carbs. After I got the car about where I wanted it I attached the air-box back plate (with the horns on it) and I lost power starting at about 5000 rpm. At 6000 rpm it had 9 hp less with the horns than without them. I thought the horns were supposed to help airflow not hurt it. There were no significant gains anywhere in the curve so I'm kinda confused. I think I'm going to remove the horns from the airbox unless anyone can think of a reason not to. Has anyone else done any testing and found different results? Here is the dyno chart:

There are 7 adjustment screws on my distributor ('72 240Z). I'm not sure if it's the same on the newer models. I did have the same problem as you with not being able to get the timing setup right even with both adjustments maxed out. I'm guessing the newer Zs have a similar setup where the distributor is driven off a spindle from the oil pump and I ended up having to pull the oil pump and re-aligning it fix the timing.

See if this link answers your questions: http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/alternatorswap/index.html

If you go to the faqs section there is a strut sectioning faq, everything you need to know is in there. I can't give you an answer your question about finding a good strut insert, but I think pretty much any of them should work. Search on it, there is plenty of info on this site.

I doubt you'd have issues, they should just be a little taller (something like 2cm). You'd have to be lowered pretty far if you don't have that much extra space. It's gonna give you a bit of a taller gear ratio, and your speedo will be off.

Your mixture could be off timing can affect it, reset you timing and adjust your mixture. I'm pretty sure idle is supposed to be around 800rpm, if you were higher than that when you set the timing it could be off. Make sure all you connections are good. Clean them with electronics cleaner (you can get it at any auto-parts store) and a wire brush (or some time with a pick for connectors the brush can't get to. If your still having issues you should call Pertronix. I posted their number a few posts ago.

I love my SUs. The car runs like a million bucks. The throttle is responsive, and I couldn't imagine any 4-barrel running any better. Everyone I know who hasn't had experience with the SUs tells me I should get rid of them, but I would probly convert to FI before going with the 4-barrel settup. There are a few videos on you-tube as well that helped me out a great deal getting the SUs tuned right. Now, if your's are worn out and don't work well, that's another story (you might never get them to run right without a rebuild). Depending on your altitude and setup you may have to look into new needles.

I'd agree that with E85 it'll require a lot more fuel. You'll have to experiment with needles and such possibly even a higher flowing pump. Are you using a stock mechanical fuel pump? I'd be more worried about the ethanol harming the fuel lines or the pump than the carbs. I hadn't heard that it was bad for aluminum, but it will eat plastic and rubber that isn't formulated to handle it.

I just though I'd throw my 2 cents in. My cousin races a super-stock on dirt track and apparently a few years ago everyone stopped running the cleanable/reusable K&N style filters and started using the paper filters from the auto-parts stores. Apparently the paper ones filter just as well (on a dirt track of all places) and actually flow better. Some cone filters have a built-in air horn to flow better. But in general I doubt a drop-in style won't gain you anything unless it's got some internal design to promote better flow (like a horn), or is significantly larger than the stock filter.

Disclamer: Keep in mind I've never installed this kit. I'm no expert and I'm not responsible for your engine. This is just what I'd do if it were mine. I was doing some checking for you. My info is all comming from the pertronix web site and the July issue of Ol' Skool Rods magazine. Are you sure you can remove the ballast resistor? Did the instructions say to do so? Check out the instalation instructions on Pertronix's site: http://www.pertronix.com/support/manuals/pdf/billetvw%20Ignitor.pdf I know that guide is for one of their billet distributors, but I'm thinking the same thing applies to your coil. Now take a look at this: http://www.pertronix.com/support/manuals/pdf/ignitor12vneg.pdf That should be the instructions to wire up your ignitor, it also mentions keeping the balast resistor. It even has a handy little diagram that shows the balast resistor all wired up. Here is how the stock wiring is setup: The ballast resistor isn't wired directly to the coil, there SHOULD be a black and white wire that comes from the ignition switch connects to the ballast resistor which connects on the other side to a green and white wire that goes back to the tach then comes back and connects to the positive side of the coil. There is also a green/blue wire that bypasses the resistor and is only 'hot' while the car is cranking. With that in mind, I'd put the ballast resistor back in and connect the new red wire for the ignitor to the black and white wire where it connects to the ballast resistor (as per the diagram in the pdf). The black/white wire that was connected to the original coil on the positive side should still be connected in the same place. Then I'd connect the new black wire to the ignitor to the negative terminal on the coil. All in all I think it should be pretty much like stock except you add the red wire to the ignition switch side of the balast resistor (black/white wire) and switch out the black wire that connects to the points distributor for the new black wire that connects to the new ignitor. Make sense? I can add clarification if you need, but if you still have questions it's a good idea to call Pertronix. Their number was on their website: 909-599-5955.

Its hard for me to tell from your pics if it's right. The condenser on the coil mount should be directly attached to the positive terminal on the coil. Get a continuity tester and check the other two terminals. The negative side of the coil should go to the distributor and the positive side should be connected to the wire you put in place of the ballast resistor.

Standing at the front of the car looking towards the back.

TDC is the notch on the crank pulley farthest to the left and the notches are 5 degrees apart. The timing at idle should be around 10 degrees (I think). Honestly your wiring doesn't sound right to me, but check out the diagrams at the Atlantic Z site http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/electrical.htm so you can check the colors of the wires that should be connected. I think it's off in a couple places on my '72, but it should get you going in the right direction.

I like it, it's pretty cool. I'd never heard of it before, but if I had to wire a car from scratch I'd have to seriously think about it. They kept talking about the weight savings in the video, but I can't think it'd be too much lighter. But it does look pretty easy to install and there are so many things you can do with it. I just wonder how much it costs.

Check you spark plugs. They may have gotten slightly fouled and it can cause a similar issue. It happened to me recently. As for it staying up in rpm after revving it... clean and lube your throttle linkage and also make sure your choke isn't getting stuck. The timing change as rpm increases is normal. There is a mechanical advance and a vacuum advance that affect it. Always check timing at idle with the vacuum advance disconnected.

I hope I remember this right... If you pull off the distributor and look at the top of the shaft it should be at a 5 degree angle counter clockwise from a line intersecting the distributor mounting holes with the little half towards the front of the car.

Yeah, most of the plugs were normal brown color 1 or 2 had a decent amount of carbon on them. When it's missing it's running rich (I believe this is because of the miss not the cause of it).

Put in the new coil, didn't fix it. Checked plug gaps and mine were at 0.035 regapped to 0.040 and it runs better. Still doesn't seem rev all the way up. Would there be any kind of rev limiter on this car? It gets to about 6.5 and that's it. Probly high enough, I'm just curious if it should rev higher. Still haven't checked the dwell, but I may do that tonight if I can gain access to a gauge.

In case anybody is following this: I borrowed a coil from a friend with a Z and it ran much better. I think I'm going to pick up a new coil at the store tomarrow. That should do the trick, I'll post back if something comes up.

I looked it up in my Haynes manual and the negative side goes to the distributor, the positive side goes to the ignition switch. Wiring it backwards might let the car run, but it could lose 60% spark efficiency. Hope that helps.