BlueZ31

Okay, ive installed a NisMO t-stat (62c) a larger radiator, new waterpump, and pretty much everything associated with the cooling system, yet it still runs at about 190', i really figured that changing all this would at least drop the temps a little, especially the 150' thermostat compared to the old stock 171', and theres no obstructions on or near the radiator that could be blocking airflow. Im just trying to get it a bit cooler in preparation for a hotter (much) ignition and possibly some boost down the road, any reason why it would still stay at its original operating temp?

so with the cat in place could i just do a side exit without any muffler and not lose horsepower or torque?

Im currently running a glasspack style exhaust system as a cheap replacement for old worn components, but im at a crossroads. On one hand, the glasspacks still not blown out, and sounds really nice, BUT my target goal for this motor is low end torque (which is what my cams are ground for) , and ive heard that welded style or chambered exhaust are better for low end power, is this true? any tips or brand suggestions are welcome, thanks!

the 3.8 has always been a Buick mill, it was just consolodated into GM and probably to keep customers from questioning them (like camaro/firebird owners going "whats a buick motor doing in here?) they refered to it as a GM 3800 series I/II/III... NOW there is a few things i failed to mention, like the 4.3l turbocharged v6 offered in GMC's typhoon and syclone truck/suv's,...these were often hooked up to an AWD system and extremely (for the time-early 90's-) fast and quick in the turns... The 3.6 has no relation to the 3.8 at all, although i belive its a decendent of the cadillac catera motor, cadillacs first rwd "sport" oriented 4-door....and if you were going to drop a turbo 3.8 into your Z, i would look at the handling and performance of the firebird formula turbo (86-87' i think) because the g-bodies, even in GNX form with macpherson struts/springs arent comparable to a 2-seater true sports car like the z series.. i have no experience personally with the VQ, but i know that they use different bearings in the bottom end which have been proven somewhat weaker than the vg, but thats because the vg's use a stronger tri-metal bearing that isnt manufacured anymore due to lead content or something enviromentally related..*sigh* what a crock... and also, the L67 supercharged and l36 NA 3800 have been proven extremely reliable under boost or otherwise motivated, in fact a recent chevy power magazine proved that they are comparetively stronger than even the lsx series v8 motors.

nice write up on two of my favorite v6's, the Buick motor is an excellent engine, ive owned a supercharged version (97 riviera) and i think GM made a huge mistake by not offering the l67 as an option on the f-body series, or at least with a 5-speed. just like to add two things, 1. its an iron head motor, not aluminum. 2. the gnx/regal was the second car (im going by a timeline i know of) to use buicks turbo 3.8, the 79-82 monte carlos had a carbureted version option, but these are rare and not as reliable as the fuel injected versions of the mid 80's. If i was builing a drag/strip car, the 3800 would be my first choice due to low end pull, but if a street/track car was in the works the high-rpm hp/smoothe torque delivery you mentioned in the vq series would probably outrun the 3800... and dont forget the dohc 3.6 GM has installed on the sts/cts thats offered with a 6-speed and can be optioned up to 300hp....another mill to consider in a v6 shootout, as is yamaha's SHO line of sixers....

yeah, too bad ive gotten rid of my old oscilloscope though..good thought thought, thanks!

In my quest for more street power in my '87 z31 i found something that sparked my interest on the subject of intakes for the vg30e. Apparently (according to wikipedia) the 1989 maxima recieved a variable length intake manifold that bumped it from 174lbft to 184lbft, at first i figured that this was a reference to the vg30de, but that wasnt available till '92, has anyone seen or tried using one of these 1 year only production manifolds? And is it electronically controlled? im assuming it has to be, using some sort of valve to open/close different sets of runners based on rpm's, and im curious if this could be adapted to a 300zx, ive already got torquey street cams and the possiblility of an additional 10lbft of torque or more is always welcome.

Hmmm. started messing around again with the ac condenser, figured out i could run a 1 1/2 alternator pulley on the ac mount, and ( this is a rough guess) the diameter of the crank pulley for the ac condenser is about 6" which would mean if i used a 6-1 ratio of gears on the turbo compressor (maybe a 10 tooth and 60 tooth set from a transmission? or perhaps something from a old belt drive motorcycle?) meaning at 3,000 rpms (my target for boost to kick in) it would have a speed of about 72,000 and climb from there, so a relatively large compressor side might work in this manner... or even perhaps just make a bracket out of the ac condenser mount to fit a eaton m90 pilfered from my old buick ( which has been eating dust on a shelf in my room) which would eliminate the hassle of finding gears and a turbo and all that mess...plus im guessing the positive displacement blower would have to work less to produce boost compared to a 100,000rpm turbo compressor being gear driven and then crank driven...

I need a new exhaust (old ones blown out) and im thinking of dual side exits going out just in front of the rear tires, since my hi-flow cat back system moved everything up a little further this would be possible but only if i use straight pipes after the catalytic converter...would this be obnoxiously loud? I had a supercharged 3.8l buick riv with just a cat and straight pipes and it sounded fine but it also ran at 1,500rpms highway speed compared to 2,300-2,100rpms for the Z, and im also concerned it would sound like S**t without some kind of muffler, what do you guys think?

wow, 80-100psi? then again a relatively large piston forcing waste gas through a much smaller opening like the exhaust valve would create such tremendous force, i didnt think of it like that... But maybe theres another alternative, such as a fluid? (i know air can be viewed as such, but generally speaking) such as water/coolant (to prevent rust) im sure theres an electric pump up to this task, ill just have to do some more research.... Again thanks for the tip!

My uncle works for the state of NC and keeps me updated on any repo or state vehicles for auction, and if anyones been looking for a z33 for parts or otherwise go to ncstatesurplus.com and "items available for bid"/"seized vehicles" and theres a nice yellow one with a complete sound system etc probably repo'd from a local gang-banger, just thought id like to see it go to a z enthusiast who'll put it to proper use and not some idiot kid who will probably just wind up in a ditch or worse yet, act like hes DK from fast and furious tokyo drift..haha. If i had the $$$ id buy it just to try and do a vq35 swap with all the parts there to use for my z31 but alas, i have money but no time or time but no money...*sigh*

It does make sense, im going to hook this idea up to my 3.0l zx if it works and possibly a 3.8l camaro, and since im shooting for no more than 300hp i assumed that a 16g or similar turbo would work but would need to be spooled very quickly to fill the cylinders compared to maybe a diesel turbo from a 7.3l/6.0l...what do you guys think would require less effort to produce around 4-6psi of boost?

Hmm...from what ive figured id need about 1000 cfm to (theoreticaly) spool it based on 410cfm/4 (# of cylinders)x5 (amount of gas generated by combustion) x 2 (number of cylinders dumping into exhaust at any given time) but this is confusing to me since i assumed that if each cylinder had (for example) 150cfm exhaust valves thats how much it would exit no matter what, meaning that it would dump about 300cfm consistently But since exhaust gas is less dense it would occupy more space but it would have less impact force per square inch other than the fact that its highly heated im thinking that colder denser outside air at 230mph would have a greater force on the turbine wheels....i guess the only true way to figure this out would be to hook it up ( i need to find a cheap but good used turbo) and see for my self...how would i measure boost from the turbo when not hooked up to the engine?

Just a quick question im hoping you guys can answer for me. If an engine (this is just for example, not an actual figure) ingests 410cfm of air at its peak rev's, would it also dump that same 410cfm amount into the exhaust or would the added fuel+combustion process dump a greater amount into the exhaust than the 410cfm it ingested? ( i know this is probably a dumb question and could be calculated somehow, so im sorry if im wasting anyones time with this post) And does anyone know the average velocity(in mph) of exhaust gas and if its more dense than normal outside air? Im working on a experiment for a class im taking and i need to know these figures to get something right and i hope someone can lend a hand...i know that hot air tends to be less dense but the addition of combusted fuel by products leads me to believe it would be more dense, and since its hot it would also move much more rapidly having a greater impact force on, say, the turbine wheels of a turbocharger... im just trying to prove the practicality of a air driven compressor (similar to a centrifugal supercharger) for a class im taking in community college and whether or not you could pump enough air into the turbine side of a turbocharger to spool it to some or any boost and how quickly it would respond. Im working with a air pump (relatively compact unit) that can send 430cfm at 230mph using a 2 3/4 tube and its pretty tough and not hindered much by backpressure (its similar to the kind they use to fill giant mattresses or houses you commonly see at family events and such so its built to fight through backpressure) we're dispelling the electric turbo/supercharger myths and seeing if there is a true non- vehicle engine driven way to produce boost to any extent at all or if its just a wild-goose chase.... i know of Thomas knights work but it only seems practical for small (very) engines and defeats its own purpose with the huge weight addition it brings.. My last post was regarding this same subject but i may have worded it confusingly so i decided to make it a little better in the hopes of someone responding sooner (or at all, ha..) i also have a larger unit that flows 1,700cfm but uses a 6'' diameter pipe, and making the tube small enough to adapt to a t25 turbo (2 3/4'' inlet on the turbine side) would cause a drop in cfm flow but probably give it a higher velocity...ugh..im putting to much thought into this rediculous project, especially this late at night..hope you guys can help! My last thought would be to adapt the turbine side of a diesel turbo (which im assuming is larger since the motor is large=higher exhaust volume) to the compressor side of a small turbo, like that of a 90's eclipse or similar, in the hopes that the larger turbine blades would use more of the incoming pump air and exert more force on the compressor side...hmmmm...

And if MPH doesnt make the difference there are industrial blowers rated the same electrical power use that flow 1,400cfm and upwards....

wow, cygnusx1 just gave me an idea.. Every electric "turbo" or "supercharger" ive seen on youtube or ebay has attempted to directly drive the compressor Via electric motors or just sold bilge pumps and large ducted fans, but what if i were to use the turbo the way it was meant, such as driving the exhaust side? Ive researched it, and found a electric blower that uses less power than the vacuum motor (and is more compact) and is able to flow 410cfm at 230mph through a 2 3/4 inch tube, what if i were to build a attachment system that connected the blower to the exhaust side much like the exhaust manifolds and used air to drive it rather than directly with motor(s)? could the 410cfm and 230mph volume put enough force on it to spool it to some or any amount of psi? I know that exhaust gas is much denser and much more hot than normal air giving it a high velocity, i just thought maybe this might work, what do you guys think?

Ive seen that before alot, but it looks a bit clumsy and i think the 6 car batteries it takes plus the weight of the system itself negates any power gains, roots blowers take alot more power to turn and i think he woulda been better of using a large turbo. Anyways, im in a split decision, should i use the 6.5 shop motor(a/c) that has a load speed of about 10,000rpms (its a compressor motor well suited to moving high volumes of air) OR a d.c. outboard trolling motor? its built to push against a much more dense material (water) and has several gearings and a battery monitor and speed selector built in it i could use, but ive heard its only good for about 2hp with a 2hr run time on a fully charged battery. Which should i give a shot? and would a larger diesel turbo be best to use for a low rpm motor to achieve some boost or a smaller lighter turbo and spin it faster? just throwing more ideas out there...

Okay, now ive found a promising venture, its a shop-vac (no laughing!)thats been sitting in a storage shed at my work, and when i lifted the top off the canister, the motor and its housing looked unusually similar to the '50's paxtons used on studebakers and the '55 t-bird as an option, you know, the Godawfully huge thing that looked like it'd suck up a small bird or cat if it got in the way. Welllll...out of curiosity i went online and was suprised that the little 6.5hp *peak* 11 amp motor was able to make a supposed 65 inches of sealed pressure ( which - minus atmospheric 14.7- would be like, what, 3.5psi?) and 185cfm of air........i doubt thats enough to feed a 3.0L but still, if i could build a DC~AC inverter and run it off a good battery this might be able to do something, maybe? the inlet blades are shockingly similar to the compressor vanes on a centrifugal supercharger or a small turbo, anyways im taking it when i get a chance and will start F***ing around with it in my spare time out of boredom and what not, maybe find some unsuspecting 4-banger to experiment on, like my buddies 1.6l toyota *beast* as he calls it the only problem would be feeding the motor when the compressors not operating, im sure the setup would create a restriction so maybe some sort of bypass that closes when the motor kicks on? i dont know, its almost 3:30 in teh morning and im wired on Redbull with a mind that wont rest....

For some reason or another my cars been feeling more and more sluggish and i cant pinpoint what it could be. Im not having any misfire/crossfiring issues nor do i detect any exhaust leaks or timing issues and it doesnt feel like my brakes are grabbing or sticking without the pedal being depressed. With 140k on the original clutch, could it be the issue? Ive already had the injector campaign done to it about 7k ago so i doubt its the fuel system, and im getting adequate oil pressure/voltage. All i know is that its bugging the Sh*t outta me and even for a NA it seems slower than it should be. I did however notice that theres a inconsistent tapping noise coming from the passenger rearmost cylinders intake valve rocker/lifter, could the valve not be opening all the way or at all causing the sudden HP loss im feeling? ive replaced the entire passenger side intake rocker assembly (all three arms and the rod) once already and it quieted down but now the noise has returned!

right now im getting to swap on a set of worked heads along with an gutted plenum and hot ignition, backed by full tube headers and a cat-back system...the only problem is that its my daily driver with 140k on the clock and i have 1 week to do the head/cam/intake swap AND change the clutch b4 i have to get back to work (im taking the time sometime next month) so i just really needed a quick opinion so i could fire out a check to order the clutch and get everything ready to go.. Thanks again, and ill defininently keep the dual friction style in mind since most of the power ill be making will be upper and mid rpms, and ill doubt itll explode because the motor itself wont have anywhere near the torque band of a turbo mill, the only other kind i was seriously considering was a ceramic puck-style, a bit expensive and chattery from what ive heard but worth every penny.

Since my last post was disqual'd id like to reword it.... Im looking for a dependable brand, better than O.E.M clutch, ive heard bad things and good things about the "steals" on ebay like F1 racing and "Boss" which seems to be valero brand clutches reboxed and renamed, and ive even heard of people, not just on ebay, buying stock style clutches and repainting them or photo shopping the product picture to fool buyers into some crappy used or resurfaced materials....thats why i asked what brand to use in my last post, not really to find the "best" (sorry for using that, im still new here and my mind slipped) Im looking at Clutch Masters, theyve been around awhile and im assuming one wouldnt make it 34+ years in the industry by ripping people off, my cars NA now and forever but its slowly piling on lots of upgrades thatll hopefully break at most 200hp at the crank (notice i said crank and not wheels, had someone mistake an old post of mine and rant about no one being able to make 200rwhp with a NA vg30e...haha) Again sorry for breaking the "best" rule ill throw that vocab out the window in this forum, and i hope you guys can lend a hand in finding the proper clutch...i drive long distances at 60+mph and experience alot of stop-go-stop-go BS so i need a super-extra heavy-duty-military surplus weapons-grade clutch.

Since im going to be running much larger cams than the stockers along with an engloids plenum and a hotter ignition i was considering mounting a slightly larger version of the turbo z31 hood scoop and placing a cone style air filter in it so it would have sort of a ram-air effect at speed (i drive mostly around 60mph to and from work daily) and so it would have access to much cooler air so the engine could breathe deep, my only concern other than people tampering with it would be hydrolocking the engine by ingesting rain water or carwash overspray (id have to be xtra careful, even though i already am) I thought about using some sort of screen to break up raindrops or maybe a filter sock, but i cant think of anything else, can you guys lend me some ideas?

Id definently turbo it, its basically an updated version of the Grand National motor, AND if you use an l67 block (the supercharged version) you get a nearly indestructable motor that responds tremendously well to turbocharging....the supercharged version like i had in my riviera is nice and their are mods out there for it but much more power can be made with a good turbo setup plus the way that the supercharger mounts would probably place the throttle body even further back and maybe past the firewall requiring a good amount of fabbing to be done. But anyways excellent choice, power and economy is right, and the t5 makes it even sweeter! post some pics please!

i like cars that "fall" into the rat rod definition i.e. use used parts and fit them however possible, like veritechs Z, making a good car into a rat rod and buying new old looking parts is like taking a newish pair of jeans and cutting the hell outta them so you look like you just blew in from the bad part of town..lol..

Yes, i definently wanted to ensure everything was installed perfectly so i had the local machine shop install the springs. I mostly had the cams ground and a fresh set of heads machined because the old ones (still on right now) has a exhaust stud broke into it...but once the old ones are off im gonna extract the bolt and seriously consider some head work, ive been reading up on how to DIY and ive got a great guideline *smokey yunicks power secrets, circa 1980* its mostly for sbc's but hes worked with OHC engines before and since the vg30e is a 2v motor most of the facts are applicable.