cygnusx1

Since the winter is here, I havent had much time to drive my Z so I decided to learn Photoshop and Photography. Here is my first true Photoshop creation. It's my Z with a water reflection effect. This took me about two hours to process.

Im right here in Putnam County, NY. Gotta try to get to some meets or rallys this Summer.

You can acheive the same effect by pulling your spark plug boot off the plugs a little, leaving a little airgap between the metal clip inside the boot and the tip of your plug. I used to do that to eliminate mis-fire on the fouled plugs of my Alfa-Romeo.

Got any more info? Drooling Here.

I am surprised that they don't have the (ECE) External Combustion Engine conversion kit. The External Combustion Engines are much more exciting.

My original post indicated "without detonation". Of course detonation will kill it sooner. I guess the motor is really tough 'cause so far nobody has stepped up and said that theirs actually has failed from power limitations.

I've had my Z since mid college days. Since about 1989 or so. It's the same Z only lots of money and mods have gone into it over the past...2006-1989= 17 years. I am a loyal person and seems like I owe the Z a good life. I have had three daily drivers parked next to the Z since about 1993. Each one was an improvement over the next as I established myself financially. First a used 1990 Civic (40K miles to 140K miles broke down twice), next a used 1996 240SX (55k miles to 110k miles, broke once), now a new 2002 Subaru WRX (0-80k miles not a hitch yet). All along, I was able to keep the Z and improve it a little at a time. When I bought it for $3500 with 69,000 original miles, I told the owner that if he ever saw it again, it would be better than it was that day. No, the Z can't do everything but it does a damn lot. It's cheap to own and easy to work on. Work on it if you want or just drive it. It's generally very, very, reliable. My friend with a 1996 Twin Turbo Porsche AWD, drove my Z and calls it "the machine" He had a grin from ear to ear when driving my Z. You just can't get the same feel from a newer car. In addition, don't be fooled, selling your Z is not really a profitable thing to do. In most cases, you might as well just keep it and use it on weekends for fun. The fun/money ratio is high in a Z.

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060130/FREE/301300002/1008/THISWEEKSISSUE Nice car but I alway look at these cars and think that My TurboZ plus another $5000 still leaves me with about $50,000+ in change and I end up with a faster car. They even went with a MacPherson front end!

I was wondering what the weak links are in properly tuned turbo (stock internals) motors. In other words assuming, no detonation, what breaks most frequently? And how much power/boost did it take?

Let's pool together, buy it, and make it a REAL car enthusiasts channel.

It's the grey cats' car.

I dont think it's worth a restoration but, agreed, it has alotta chop value.

Yikes! It looks like most of the other Z's in New York. I hope you have a sandblaster, welder, and alot of time...or a smoke wrench.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/nyregion/17corvette.html

I would definately try them out but I dont have a wideband to quantify them. I tune by ear, nose, and butt. When I had it on the Dyno at ZCCA 2005 I was pretty close to optimal mixture. I was only off by about 1/32 of a turn on the Begi to get more into the rich, safe zone. If the rich spot goes away from 3k to 4k, I will definately feel it in the powerband. I will PM you.

Sort of on topic: Baaast, did you ever try running a grainger valve in the RRFPR signal line to keep it from doing fuel pressure rise too early. I always thought that could be a sort of "band-aid" to the mid range rich spike. I know you had gotten those tuning discs from BEGI but you never tried them. I also did look for extra parts for the grainger valve but I don't have enough to build another one. I am seriously considering selling my entire 280ZXt fuel system in a few months to replace it with a Haltech. ...Nothing wrong with the stock fuel system but it is a limiting factor when you get around 15psi/260rwHP even with the BEGI and all the other fixes.

Someone has stated this before somewhere but I will reiterate. How much torque does the V8 put into the chassis? maybe 300-400ftlbs. Take a corner at 0.9G's or hit a hard bump. That will put a Sh*tload more torque into your chassis than a motor will. It's not the motor torque you need to worry about, it's the suspension loads. That said, a little careful reinforcement here and there, and the T-tops will make an awesome ride.

"Honey, I would mow the lawn but I'm fixing the mower..."

My gawd! If someone farts in his general direction, that thing is rolling over. The CG has to be about dashboard level. Technically, that engine is only half in the car.

Haha the Wife...my wife tells people that riding in my Z feels like being in a jet fighter...I don't think she's ever been in a jet fighter but she loves the Z.

My camcorder seems to amplify ticking, squeeking, and grinding noises. I wonder if it sounds worse because it's the camcorder. When I taped my L28ET idling, the injectors sounded like hammers, and the A/C idler pulley sounded like a skateboard.

With the N/A block, pistons, and head you wont be able to run boost as high as a with a turbo block, pistons, head. You will still have a very fast car. What you lose in boost you gain in low end torque. Go for the largest intercooler you can get to offset the higher compression of your engine. Race gas would be your best friend. )

I changed my turbo from underneath. It wasnt too bad. I have so many hoses and tubes to disconnect/reconnect from the intake that it just seemed easier to leave it alone. If I was using a programmable engine management system, with all the ZX intake stuff shaved, it would be a different story.

The ambition of the HybridZ'er never ceases to amaze me! Beautiful work guys. Just remember when your dash is that stiff and strong, make sure that you and your passenger wear a harness. I hate to sound like Ralph Nader but I just feel like it is worth mentioning here for someone casually browsing this thread.