h4nsm0l3m4n

I believe these act the same way as wheel spacers, that is they will effectively subtract wheel offset. So if your wheel is +30mm offset and your adapter/spacer thing is 30mm thick you are running a 0 offset wheel, a 0 offset wheel would be -30mm with the same adapter, etc.

Yes, they are a different size. I use Russell speed bleeders with great results, they have a separate set for front and rears. You can find a complete list of applications for Russell speed bleeders here for reference: http://www.russellperformance.com/mc/speed/import.shtml One side note. Dont forget, length is also an important dimension on these things. I bought a set of speed bleeders for my 83 280zxt rear calipers off the above reference table (p/n 693630) and they actually were too short, so I couldnt make them stop bleeding fluid. I traded them for a longer set (p/n 639560) and they worked fine. Just sayin, make sure what you buy matches up enough with your current bleeders so things will work and you dont waste your time. But you probably already knew that... I also use a set of speed bleeders on my master cylinder (p/n 639570 I think)

I was almost waiting for someone to suggest doing double shear from the middle of the strut tower. The reason its not this way right now is due to my 4 barrel manifold setup. I have a 9" (I think) diameter air cleaner so it extends forward to be basically right inline with the middle of the two strut towers. To clear it now the bar has to come slightly forward, but not too far since room under the hood gets scarce and theres the big hump in the front of the valve cover and oil cap to contend with. I might be able to find a smaller air cleaner to swap out, in which case I'll definitely make the change you mentioned. Either way I plan on making a mock up over the weekend to make sure I have good fitment before anything is ordered. As far as the firewall brace, you make a good point. Additional bracing back there will definitely be needed. I mostly made that change to accomodate the possibility of such a brace. As you say its been done before, I'll do some more research on this and see if I can come up with something. Thanks for that. I guess the bolts are 10 mm. I'll dimension the holes .41 or so, the laser shouldnt have any issues with that. Can you (or anyone else) measure how far they stick up out of the strut tower? This will help determine how thick to make the brackets. I'm leaning toward 10 ga or 6 ga CRS now.

I'm not sure how much I can do for you but take a look below at an updated design. The main update has been additional holes to facilitate additional bracing. I may add more options still, that will be dependent on how much things will cost to fab. The brackets should still mount on either side of the car but some welding will be required to put the vertical tab for the side brace in place. Nothing most people on this forum can't handle. Here's some updated pictures of the design: Some general notes on the progress. I'm leaning toward using 1/8" or 1/4" steel plates. Dimensions are slowly being finalized. I'm looking for diameter of the 3 strut tower bolts, I'm not at home with my car so I cant check this dimension. If someone can check it for me that'd be great. The brackets will still be laser cut, I will send out a quote request tomorrow or Thursday to get a price estimate. I'm going to build a mock up this weekend out of cardboard or wood to check fitment on my car and will post pics. Stay tuned and as always any input is always appreciated. Just realized my previous pics blew up when I switched albums on photobucket. For reference all pics for this project are here: http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee194/h4nsm0l3m4n/datsun/strut%20bar/

I dont know much about the Z31s but I think youre doing the math exactly as its done in that paragraph. I could be wrong but it seems to me that 46 mm spacers seem awfully huge for a wheel that is only 10 mm different in offset. By the same logic your stock +30 offset wheels would need 26 mm spacers and you know they fit fine.. theyre stock. I think whats going on is that 46 mm spacer is what's required to get the car to the minimal recommended offset on the chart.. this does not necessarily mean that your wheels wont fit as they are now. Does that make sense? Someone let me know if I'm wrong. I would try to determine how much clearance you have behind your wheels currently and use that as a judge on what will fit and what wont. If you cant stick your head back there to look you can get something to use as a feeler gauge and poke around. My guess is ~10 mm (3/8 in) spacers will be the thickest youd need, should be reasonably cheap to make too.

Thanks for the suggestion, if the design doesnt change I will definitely make this change on my own setup. About time I asked the a previous question once again - why design a strut brace with joins that allow movement? Not picking on you h4, strut bars with movement allowing rod ends are quite common. So you are excused While I definitely agree that these bars will be quite flimsy along the axis of the bolt in the joint I approached this design from Chuck's perspective. I also thought that strut bars first and foremost are supposed to stop sideways motion, which I think these will do reasonably well (better still with the clevises in place of rod ends). That being said there is nothing wrong with more stiffness in the chassis. My main goal is to make a reasonably effective, inexpensive and easy to put together (and tear down) strut bar setup. I think what I have now is close, but I will take another look and see if I can come up with something equally simple but without the same problems. If you were interested in getting some brackets, we might work something out later this week, or next once I'm more finalized with the design, fitment, and have gotten a quote for the fab work. I'm not anticipating these to be that expensive. Thanks for all the replys!

I've been wanting to install strut bar braces for my car for quite some time. Rather than simply buy one, I thought it would be more fun to design my own brackets and piece together the kit. For reference I used the s30 chassis dimensions (two in particular) and physical caliper measurements from my car. I also used various previous designs off this forum for inspiration. Here is what I've come up with. The whole bar assembly (front bar shown, rear bar will be similar but shorter) Close up of bracket setup As you can see the bracket is designed so it can be used on either side of the car. This should make both fabrication and assembly easier. The vertical part of the bracket itself can be achieved by bending the bracket 90 degrees or welding it. I am still deciding what material and thickness I would like to use which will dictate where bending or welding will be preferred. The heim joints and threaded tubes will possibly be replaced by something more simple. The bracket itself will be laser cut by a local shop, known for excellent work at great prices. Side note here, if people show interest it may be possible to order a bunch of the brackets at a discount price. Sourcing the heim joints, etc. should be easy. If you are interested in this let me know. I expect the design to change a little bit as I work on it this week. Many dimensions are not finalized, this is something I basically just threw together in about 20 minutes. Still, I am interested to hear people's inputs, I think this should work well but any advice is always appreciated.

Max, I tend to get a little bored with single large boss fights myself, too much like computer games for me. When DMing I tend to focus as much of my campaign in "non-dungeon" areas as actually cleaving your way through the dungeon. I also try to mix things up as much as possible so there's never just a straight-forward encounter or whatever. This keeps it interesting and is where the tabletop rpg really shines since it really gives a lot of room for creativity. I will keep in mind possibly setting up a higher level campaign in the Paragon levels but I tend to focus more on setting up a very interesting world, story, and challenges for the players. This has not necessarily required higher levels and more abilities to be interesting in the past, but we will see how it goes. Its always a learning experience.

I'm a big fan of tabletop RPGs. My first encounter with them was back when I was real little my parents bought a game of HeroQuest. That game was seriously cool and very balanced. Definitely something I'd love to draw up some dungeons and campaigns for. I still remember the days of playing that game with my dad being the DM, I was sooo scared my character would die but it was so much fun. After that game my next encounter was the game Shadowrun back in middle school and early high school. My friend introduced me to the game by setting me up with a character and doing a couple "runs." It was fun but the game was strangely organized and I grew to favor D&D, especially once 3rd edition came out. Later I made a comeback to the game, buying some books and running a couple small campaigns. Its good fun, but hard to get used to after playing D&D for so long. I've played all versions of D&D from 2nd edition (this was called AD&D back in the day) all the way to 4th. 2nd edition was by far the hardest but the most rewarding. It felt like such an accomplishment, especially at low level. This game was not for the faint of heart. 3rd edition is where I spent most of my time. I did a lot of playing and DMing in this version and had a lot of fun. It was definitely much easier than 2nd, but it lost some of the challenge. Definitely much more mainstream. Inevitably I started to maximize my characters so it got more about making the perfect guy than playing the game and I mostly retired.... until I heard about 3.5. This was the best version yet. I think it did away with most of the 3.0 exploits people were using so it was much more balanced while still being extremely fun to play. They didnt change the game much from 3rd but it was enough that it freshened things up a bit... once again though I got a bit tired of it all and retired.. I've just recently (like 2 weeks ago) jumped into trying 4th edition. I'm enjoying the fresh feel of the game. I like the fact that all classes have "at will" abilities. Encounter abilities and healing surges were an excellent addition too. It seems they made the game much quicker and more exciting in combat. However, I feel the game is much more like something out of WOW. It feels like everything is much more "cookie-cutter" and there is a lot less room for DM innovation. This is one thing where I felt the tabletop RPG has a genuine advantage over anything else. The rules are more guidelines on how one MIGHT play a situation, but it entirely the DM's liberty to decide the course of events. This way theres always room for innovation in adventures. The game doesnt feel that way anymore. The game feels much more mainstream focused and in general seems to gravitate to being much easier to play. I'm going to be DMing a campaign in 4th edition so we will see if I warm up to it as I get more in tune with the rules. My favorite class has always been the Barbarian. I think it was because that was what I played in HeroQuest when it all started for me, so I've always kind of stuck with it. In 3.0 and 3.5 the barbarian was an excellent choice for a character, especially at low level. He could do many things and still destroy stuff in melee, I always loved playing them. Inevitably though I often ended up playing a warrior with a vorpal keen scimitar... how I miss 3rd edition...

Still looking for one of these...

Really? Wow thats actually good to know, I'm rather glad I decided not to upgrade the front brakes. Now that I think about it I wonder if with me using the HKS pads on the stock front calipers and OEM-ish brake shoes for the drums might be having a similar effect on my brakes since I definitely feel like my rear drums my arent braking as much as I think they ought to.

I'm looking for one of the urethane Xenon air dams made for the S30s. They make two different versions. The "early" S30: And the late s30 version: If you have one or the other I'll be very interested to buy it off you. I dont care which it is or if its painted or not. My car isnt a show car so long as it looks in reasonable shape I'll probably be interested. Shipping these might be a bit of a pain so I'm really hoping to find a local guy with one.. however if youre willing to ship it I'm sure we can work something out. Thanks!

Actually up front I'm already running the Hawk HPS pads on stock calipers. For brake balance I was basically planning on doing what you said. Do the disc conversion, and put the same pads (Hawk HPS) on all 4 corners. I've ordered a Wilwood proportioning valve, so I will put that in at the same time and adjust accordingly. I've been recommended the toyota 4x4 brake upgrade by several people but I've been holding off since as you said, stock brakes work really well for autocross already. Main reason I'm doing the rear discs conversion is because I want to. Although, my drum brakes are in need of a major service anyway, the drums are way out of spec and the cylinders are leaking. I'm getting all the parts at a very reasonable price so I figured why not make the upgrade. What brake fluid would you recommend for street/autocross duty? Ive been using Castrol GTLMA (http://www.castrol.com/castrol/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9012213&contentId=7024043) and it seems to be working very well. I've been recommended not to go DOT 5, this stuff "exceeds DOT 3 & 4" but isnt DOT 5.. I figured its a good middle ground.

I only saw it twice, gonna have to go and take another look

Just finished watching the episode and noticed it too. I have to say, that was my favorite top gear since the british leyland challenge one and spotting the Z just made it that much better. If youre quick you can see it take off on their first time trial run, you can only notice the back side of the hatch as the car launches but you cant miss the Z emblem. Good stuff!

Thanks for the replys. From my research I've generally found that Hawk HPS pads have more initial bite but Porterfields have a very good linear feel to them. Couldn't find much more info on the KVR pads. I figured the KVRs might be a little easier on the rotors, thanks for reaffirming that. I'm not so much concerned about rotor wear since I drive the car so rarely but its always good to know. From all this I think I will go with HPS pads, they should be an excellent compromise... now all I have to do is wait for the parts to get to me... why does ground shipping have to take so long

I've finally decided to upgrade my drum brakes to 280zx disc brakes. All that's left for me to do is choose good pads for the rear calipers. Hopefully someone can give me some information on what brake pads to go with. Here are some pads I'm looking at: -Hawk HPS "street" pads ~$70 -Porterfield R4S ~$70 -KVR pads ~$40 -Any similar you might recommend that fit the front AND rear, and in the same price range My car is used primarily for autocrossing, driving to and from autocross events, and non-daily "fun" driving every so often. I'm looking for the best "street" pads I can get no R compounds. Also nothing more than $100 a set. Stuff like Porterfield R4, Hawk HP+ pads are too expensive for my level of driving. I do want to mention that stuff like dusting, and pad noise are not really an issue for me as this is not a daily driven car. I would like to run the same pads on all 4 corners. I've heard mixed opinions on the Hawk and Porterfield pads, making the choice somewhat hard. I also assume there are a lot of other options too. Hopefully I can get a few accounts of peoples experienced with these and similar pads, and help me make a decision on which way I would like to go. Thanks!

I dont know if any brake pads interchange with those calipers. However, according to tirerack.com Hawk makes their "street" pads for the 80s toyota 4x4 calipers. Also I believe if you get in touch with a brake pad manufacturer, say Porterfield, they will be able to make a brake pad custom to your application, ie you basically give them your stock brake pad backing plate and they'll do the rest. Id go that route personally. Let me know what you go with, I'm considering the same upgrade but not ready to piece it together quite yet.

I was kind of in the same situation as you last year. I wanted to lower my car and get a bit of a sportier ride as well. For me it came down to Tokico Illumina Shocks/Springs or GC coilovers with Illumina Shocks. I would have preferred to get the coilovers at the time but in addition I'd have had to get camber plates, and get my struts sectioned if I wanted to do the job properly. Cost of the extra stuff was too much for me at the time so I went with the Tokico Illumina Shock/Spring setup. I installed everything in a weekend and have had no problems. I'm pretty happy with it and glad I made the choice that I did. One thing though, the Tokico setup doesnt give your car that aggressive of a drop. Maybe an inch lower at most. If youre looking to go lower its going to take more work.

I run the AZC manifold with an edelbrock 500 cfm carb. Im running the stock fuel pump setup (mechanical pump on the block, and stock electric pump near the tank) on my car and I've never had any problems.

Yay I got a summer job! Time to spend money I haven't earned yet! I am thinking of upgrading my drum brakes to disc via the 280zx/maxima setup and am looking for the necessary parts for this swap. I need: - 82-83 280zx rear calipers with the hangers - Preferably off the turbo cars and in good, usable, shape. I'll try not to be picky but these are brakes were talking about... - Maxima rear caliper brackets (84 and older I believe.. just not the flat ones) - I was planning on buying them new or CNCing them myself but if someone has brackets for cheap (<$50 a bracket) it would save me the trouble. - Other applicable stuff? That's really all I need but maybe if you have some porterfield pads, SS lines, or an adjustable proportioning valve that youre just DIEING to get rid of I might oblige you... If you have any of this stuff please let me know. Someone local would be great but its all good.

Its definitely great stuff. It works really well with the lexan RC car bodies. I also doubt it will harm metal. The only downside is $25 for 32 oz, and you need 2 or 3 coats otherwise paint will seep through it. This is probably why its only used on small things like RC cars, planes, etc. Still for something like a wheel, it could be reasonable.

For the record, I'm no expert so my thoughts here could be completely wrong but I was in a similar situation last year with my car. I wanted to replace my flat top hitachi's and couldnt decide if I wanted 4-barrel or SU carbs. I searched a lot but never got a good answer on which setup works the best. There are people who swear SUs are better and others say 4-barrel is better... I just assumed theyre both ROUGHLY similar in performance and made price a deciding factor. From Ztherapy a nice new set of SUs would have cost me between 700-1000 since my hitachi carbs were no good for their core charge. On the other hand I got a new arizona z manifold for like 300 and a used edelbrock carb for 150. A brand new setup would have cost 300 for the manifold and around 300 for the carb, so slightly cheaper. Anyway,I went with the 4-barrel and am very happy with it (over the hitachis, since I've never run SU carbs I dont know what they feel like). It seems to run really good, albeit still a little rich but that's just a jet/rod change away, and I'm working on finding the optimal setup. It makes a nice noise too, and I like it because its a little different. For you, since you already have a set of SUs to give as cores, Ztherapy rebuilt carbs wont cost much more than the 4-barrel, depending on how cheap youre getting the it. I dont remember for sure but I think Ztherapy also offers rebuild kits for SU carbs too, so something else to look into. Ultimately, I think it kind of depends on what you actually want to run since both setups have been made to run well. If youre in Portland (oregon) come to the Canby meet this weekend, the owner of Ztherapy is going to be there and there is bound to be one or two people with 4 barrel intakes as well.

Thanks for all the ideas guys. Its so hard to decide, I still cant make up my mind. What I was thinking of doing is painting them in stages. I'd take two wheels and paint the accents, and see how that looks. If I dont like that I'll move on and paint the center section, leaving just the lip. Finally if that doesnt work I'll paint the whole rim, which should look reasonable no matter how it turns out (I hope). This is probably the main reason I want to use black, or some other dark color. But I do think gold/bronze might look nice for the accents, I'll have to consult photoshop on this. As far as masking. Yeah I can see it being a pain. I've done quite a bit of masking for when I painted RC car bodies back in the day. I'm hoping its not too much different. Although it brings up an interesting thought. Aside from masking tape, when painting RC car bodies people rely heavily on liquid masking film such as this: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXC101&P=ML You basically brush on several layers of the stuff and then cut out what you want to paint with an exacto knife.This might be a stupid thought but could I use this stuff on metal? If so it would make things a lot easier. Its too bad I dont have any lying around to test.

Awesome videos, definitely some great driving. About 1 min into the first one you can get a glimpse of 4 cars abreast trying to pass each other... right before this guy blows by them all! Still thought it was pretty cool to see such close racing.