cygnusx1

Scrape the VHT off with a razor where the sticker is going to be. I use a P-Touch for all my labels. I used to have access to a laser coder. Laser coders can pretty much etch text and graphics into any material. We used to code glass bottles and sometimes we etched our names into our wrenches. Laser code on glass:

Hop in! My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I were walking through Milan, Italy and I saw this steering wheel in the window of a tire shop. I went in and asked to buy it but it wasn't for sale. So my wife said she'd give them $90 for it and it was mine! The GF bought it for me for my birthday that Summer. Now she's my wife. Behind the wheel, I have a home-made, billet aluminum, steering wheel hub with home-made horn contacts and spline. Why? I was young with a lot of time and no money. I should replace it with a crush-type hub.

Quoting myself lol This is the car we drove around the USofA back in college. Great engine, great mileage, great electronics, dual plugs.

When I bought my Z in 89, it had Western Wheels on it similar to these. Mine were just like these:

The likelyhood of failure of a wheel spacer or adapter is much more closely tied to the quality of the construction, the balance/alignment of the spacer, the grade of the bolts, proper torque on the bolts. If the spacer/adapter is correctly made and torqued, the bolts should not see any shear force. They should only see tension. If the lugs get loose, they will then see shear forces which will more likely lead to a failure. The same applies to no-spacer wheels. If using a spacer, there could also be a longer bending moment on the lugs. Using a spacer that is hubcentric to both the hub and wheel is the best route for strength and reliability. In that case, the shear would not be delivered to the bolts in the event of loose lugs. If it were a machine and I was designing it, I would make it hubcentric. If that was not possible, I would use 2 to 4, 1/4" locating dowels to maintain alignment and absorb shear on both sides of the plate. The biggest reason NOT to use spacers is the KISS principle. Keep it simple, stupid. One less thing to fail. (edit) If done correctly and maintained properly, spacers and adapters are fine.

This thread has been a bumpy road let's get it back on topic. What engine would be a good choice to make a Z get outstanding mileage without being too slow to drive safely. I am going out on a limb to say an early 1990's 1.5 Honda motor with a TON of mods to be able to mount it longitudinally in the Z. It worked in my Civic so it should work in a Z.

Whatever you decide to build, make sure you share it here. I am definitely interested in cool cars that use less gas. I would love to have a Z as a daily driver that got me back and forth to work at 40mpg! When I wanted a scare, I could jump back into the gas guzzler version.

I agree with all of the above. It's still a decent looking car, will perform well on a track, and is very easy to get to about 400HP. Yes, too heavy and too expensive to be true grassroots sports car but it sure is refined as heck. I would go 335is, or buy another Z, a 2006 GTO, and put the change in the bank.

Call me old fashioned or low tech but I drive up onto a pair of 4x4's with slash cut ends. Then my jack goes under the car fine.

I started hypermiling my WRX last week and quit today. Normally I drive like a bat out of hell, on boost, passing and cruising at 5000rpms just to hear the boxer. I get around 23mpg. This past tank I went easy, low revs, no passing, no racing....I grannied over to the gas station at lunch time and got 25.3mpg. Screw it. I'm going back to lead foot. Look out!

Been there a few times but I can really relate to the New York drivers license thing. I think the New York license should be banned everywhere and I'm from NY. On the other hand there is nothing worse than encountering a Florida plate on the twisty backroads of NY. It's about as funny as it get's watching the driver learn what the steering wheel and brakes are really for. Can you say: "20mph in a 45mph". Ughhh it's painfully slow. Honestly, they are afraid of curves and dips in the road.

The ONE arrived at the dealer this past Saturday and my friend stopped by to let me take it for a spin. It's still being babied for the break-in, so I didn't get on it. I like the way it feels. The suspension is tight but no way harsh. The torque is always there. Even at 1500rpms it pulls nicely. The steering is precise. The trans feels like a good Z trans but with real short throws. The brakes are too touchy but they might get better as they break in. The motor is quiet and you can barely hear the inline six note. The turbos are completely un-noticeable by ear or butt dyno. Here are some photos I took in the dark. I think it's going to make a really nice track day car once he dials it in. http://dcerutti.smugmug.com/gallery/4926237_9fWYm

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Johnc, here is a video showing proper hypermiling techniques.

I watched a hypermiler run through a rest area at 50+ mph to avoid stopping in traffic. He had no intention of touching his brake pedal and almost t-boned an unsuspecting driver in the rest area. That's what I mean by unsafe. Most engines can tolerate running leaner than they are set from the factory. If you find a spot where the engine can run extra lean and still run well, you can tune that in and drive in that zone. I'm not talking about running 20:1 or anything. Just a bit leaner than stoich. There is a point where you can go overboard. Obviously, the trick is to get it right and keep it there. The tough part is avoiding "tweaking" disease and going too far. I know I've been there. Me, I am going to do what the Europeans have been doing for decades, drive smaller, lighter, low displacement vehicles. My next DD is going to be SMALL. I am only afraid of the "other" people driving the giant SUV's. Here is a list of typical cars you can rent in Italy where gas is around $10/gallon. Vehicles found in the Economy class typically include the Fiat Punto, Opel Corsa, Volkswagen Polo o similar, all with a/c, stereo, airbag on the driver side. Compact Vehicles found in the Compact class typically include the Alfa Romeo 147, Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf o similar. Intermediate Vehicles found in the Intermediate class typically include the Alfa Romeo 156, Citroen Xsara Picasso, Volvo V40, or similar. Standard Vehicles found in the Standard class typically include the Volvo S60 or similar. There is no Best. For mileage, smaller, lighter, more modern, is better. Fiat Punto = 60mpg. http://www.usedcarexpert.co.uk/reviews/Fiat_Punto_Review_200

I've seen the show that featured a hypermiler. Some of his techniques were too dangerous IMHO. I just want to correct your statement above. The S30 does have power brakes. They are vacuum assist and will lose vacuum after one or two pumps with the engine off. It's not worth saving $15 on a tank to endanger lives. Be careful. Instead of using weird driving techniques, focus on picking an efficient engine, and get a custom programmable fuel injection system onboard. Then spend your energy programming the engine management to run as lean as possible. Maybe incorporate a "lean switch" or even shut down cylinders with a fancy valve opening mechanism. Similar to what some of the automakers are doing.

That's funny, I am doing a hypermile experiment with my 2002 WRX right now. It took all my energy to NOT challenge an IS300 in the twisties this morning. He came flying up on my rear bumper and I know what he wanted. I bit my tongue and kept the boost gauge in the vacuum zone. I am just shifting at 2500, using half throttle at most, and cruising in the highest gear possible. I want to see how much gas I can save. I drive a total of 65 miles per day. Back in the 90's I drove a 1990 Civic Hatch (rare sub base model) This car was STRIPPED. It had 60hp at the crank but it got 39 to 41mpg regularly. It was the Civic hatch with black plastic bumpers, one speaker, manual windows, no rear wiper, no intermittent wipers, no center console and what looked like a 1/4" tailpipe! The 1984 200SX 4 cylinders were really good on gas too. I drove one 7500 miles in 15 days on a little road trip and got around 37mpg.

I think it fowled your car. The screaming chicken goes on the hood, not in the grill!

15 years ago, I was helping my dad trim out the bathroom of the house we just finished building. The skillsaw pulled the wood under it along with his hand and severed three fingers about 95% through. I was about to faint. They were hanging off his hand, the walls were splattered with blood, and we packed his hand in ice and called the ambulance. They were able to re-attach with micro surgery. They were never the same but at least most of the fingers were saved. Good luck to your dad and speedy recovery.

The real beauty of the FULLY electric car is that you don't need a new infrastructure to support it. Everyone has electricity at their home and job. Therefore, the grid is in place, and the source of the juice can come from WHATEVER means are available at the time. Don't forget that any plant that converts coal, wind, oil, tide, hydro, nuclear, solar, corn, garbage....whatever, into electricity is doing it much more efficiently than an automobiles internal combustion engine. Ultimately, it's cheaper, more flexible, and greener. Battery technology is finally up to minimum par. All we need is the "spark" of builders and buyers to get the wheel rolling and you will see these begin popping up all over. The price of the cars and the batteries is going to drop quickly from where it is now, stabilizing supply/demand. At the same time you are going to see SEMA jump ALL over this. Just wait and see. I can't wait to see this take off so I can put $1.50 gasoline in my Z's tank again. As the demand for oil drops, it's price will drop in an effort to curb the EV, and to maintain oil sales.

I truly believe that this is the car that should be popular right now, the EV car. It is waaay overdue. It's not the be-all end-all of energy and cost problems but it's a major step in the right direction. Kudos to those who are trying to re-pioneer the land that has already been explored and deemed too unprofitable by those with different interests. Not to mention that "tuning/modding" electric cars has infinite possibilities. Click of the mouse and you have a new "cam"! Can someone upload a cam that I can download into my EV? The thought just makes me happy.

LS1's need a clutch to do burnouts? Since when? You should be able to get rolling and floor the right pedal alone for tiresmoke.

From what I remember by the feel of the pedal, there was a fair amount of free-play in the pedal pad travel; about 1.5" or so. How much free-play in the rod that translates to, I don't know. On the other hand, the free play I felt in the pedal could have been something other than free play. Air, loose pivot pin, line flex, firewall flex....etc. When Clive cracked open the bleed line, there was no BURST of fluid which indicated to me that the pressure plate was NOT being held back by the fluid. Adding to that, the fact that the clutch does not grab any better with some quiet time (time for the pressure to bleed back to the master if a return was partially blocked), leads me to believe it's not a pedal/pin/master freeplay issue. It's either: -A mecanical bind of the slave/pressure plate. -Worn/glazed clutch at 4000miles. -Bolts backing out of the pressure plate. -too much power

It's not leaking. It might be holding pressure though. Or simply, the clutch could very well be worn/glazed.

ROFLMAO What's the volume of exhaust compared to the volume of air/fuel taken in? Surely an engine has a ton more cubic feet out than cubic feet in?

I drove it last weekend and it actually felt like the slave was backing off too slowly. When you let the clutch pedal up, the clutch would engage softly and slower than the release of the pedal. It's almost like there is a lag from pedal to clutch on the way up. My first guess was the slave, line, or master, have a flow restriction in the return direction. But that does not totally explain why it never engages fully. It drives like a torque converter right now. There is some deadspace at the top of the clutch pedal so I doubt the pedal linkage is a culprit. In any case, after a complete flush of the hydraulics and maybe a back flush (if possible), it's time for disassembly. That means replacing everything except maybe the pressure plate. Personally, if nothing obvious is discovered, replace it all.