cygnusx1

Don't keep us in suspenders! Post a few photos for us if you wouldn't mind. Could you? Thanks.

I think you mean Bozo-sucky.

Holy Crap! I get depressed just reading this thread. What a nightmare! I also know mechanics like your "engine builder" guy. Lemme guess, his tool set consists of a worn channel-lock, a hammer, a length of pipe, and a large flat screwdriver with the end all bashed from being hammered. HANG IN THERE DOOD, I FEEL FOR YOU!!!

|34ttl3 q0q3 < Battle Pope It's called "Leet". short for "elite". It's used usually by hackers and script kiddies. It's sort of a modern day pig latin. It's not supposed to be used here at Hybridz but this is in the non-tech board so I guess it's ok for kidding around. There are "leet" translators on the web and there are many dialects of leet. I invented TIKI.... ""|||''' ||| |||<< ||| LOL.

Actually, I used a peice of pipe nipple with thread sealant between the prop valve and the line-lock. I figured even if it leaked there in the future, I would be able to see it. However, it does not leak. Works fine.

You might want to take a look at the drivetrain from an early BMW 325IX. That may offer a better fitment in a Z than the Skyline...a big MAYBE. A Subaru setup is VERY compact and might work too.

20 psi for 1/4 mile with the proper setup (NO PINGING) should give you a few runs. Dont expect to do it regularly. One little detonation and kiss goodbye to the piston, the rod, the block, the head, and/or all of the above. Have fun and video tape it PLEEEEZ!

It's a fine idea but with humans, the hardest thing to get them to do is take the longer road. Both stickies and the search function are more work that just turning on the PC and posting a question. It may prevent SOME of the repeat questions but not all. The reason HybridZ is so nice is that most, if not all, the members don't mind taking the longer road! That's what we are all about. Otherwise we would just be talking about going to BUY a fast car instead of BUILDING one. Also huge thanks to the moderators!

When I pulled out the filthy ZX Turbo motor with 110K original miles on it, I cleaned it, changed all the external gaskets, and put about 10 more ft-lbs onto the head bolts. I have been running 14 psi in my Z for a over a year (10K miles) and it is still fine. No head gasket leaks or broken head bolts. Like you said, if one breaks or the gasket leaks, I will upgrade. To clarify: I did not back off the original bolts at all, I just added about 10 ft-lb over what they were set to. Trial and error with the wrench to see what they were set to.

I think I see. The negative camber loss due to swing arc of the LCA does not really become detrimental untill the LCA goes past the point of being perpendicular to the strut tube-which is probably never the case. When the LCA goes past horizontal or parallel to the chassis horizon, with the outer end higher, lateral load, inwards, will cause further suspension compression load. So the "easy way" to set up a Z for stability and handling is to keep everything from moving too much i.e. heavy springs and bars. The "right way" is to tweak the geometry.

I am fairly un-studied in suspension geometry so here is a question. When I look under my Z from the rear which has been lowered by 1", the control arms are only a few degrees off of horizontal with the inner end slightly higher. As I see it, when the car leans on that side (outside wheel), the control arm gets to "horizontal" and then goes past horizontal where the inboard end is lower than the outboard end. The horizontal point of the LCA is the point of maximum negative camber relative to the chassis. Anything before or after horizontal is robbing the wheel of negative camber. So by lowering the outer LCA point, you are on the "gaining" side of negative camber as the car leans. So as you lose negative camber to body roll, the LCA gives it back through it's swing arc. Am I close?

I was cruising home from work on these beautiful country roads yesterday in my Z when a sport-touring bike started tailgating me. We were all alone and I was cruising a little bit over the speed limit. He decided to cross the double yellow and pass me on the straight. I let him go around me safely and then he gunned the bike as the twisties approached. I let him pull about 5 car lengths and then I floored it. He dove into the turns with a heavy lean. By the third turn I had caught him and I was backing off to keep from plowing him over. I was only at about 80% handling and had no trouble staying with him. He was trying to pull away but he couldn't shake me. All of a sudden, I could tell that there was nothing left in the bike as he was drifting towards a corner exit on the OTHER side of the double yellow. The bike was drifting too far out. A car was coming into the turn from the other direction and he was drifting towards it. I backed off anticipating the worse. Fortunately, the other driver was "awake" and swerved to clear a run-off path for the bike. I backed off and felt a bit guilty for having pushed this biker nearly beyond safe limits. He continued to jam but I just sat back and returned to safe speeds. Thankfully, nobody got hurt and I learned another lesson. I hope he did too. I really need to get back to the track.

OK guys you can stop calling me now! I've been discovered! DARNIT!! J/K Citibank/Mastercard has called me to verify charges a couple of times. I had made some unusually large expenses in a short period of time so they got a red flag and called me immediately. Once, they even called the store and asked for me while I was in the process of making the purchase!!!

For me it's a love-hate relationship with the internet info age. I never know what to believe and what not to believe anymore. Those certainly are amazing photos but without searching further, I'd have to take them with a grain of salt. I'm not saying they are not real, I am just saying that it requires further work on my part to prove or disprove. Amazingly mammoth creatures, if they are real! Thanks for the photos. OMFG!

If you are going to stick all those darn hoses back in there you might as well color coordinate them! Yes, that gray corrugated hose off the valve cover is a dishwasher drain! Original Colors:

I just replaced my worn diff with a less worn diff. I opened it up to clean it out and put the rear cover back on with Permatex No. 2 and no gasket. I also used Permatex No. 2 on both sides of all the engine gaskets that seal oil. I love the stuff. It stays gummy and is easy to clean off. Put it on evenly with a finger and let it set for 10-15 minutes and then assemble with low torque. Give it overnight to set up and then torque to spec. It works great even without a gasket. I used off the shelf Penzoil Synthetic gear lube but Redline is great stuff. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002JN1NM/102-8239574-0724125?v=glance

Try crazy gluing over the entire edge of the covers after you remove the seals to hide the remnants of the old glue or just try sanding down the edges to remove the crazy glue remnants. It might even look cool if you paint the cut edge of the covers with a paint pen or magic marker to match the color of your car.

A carburetor can increase fuel flow ONLY up to a point as well. That point is less defined in a carb than it is in a fuel injection system but the limit still exists. You are not confused. You are asking logical questions.

BONE STOCK L28ET in a 5spd 280Z keeps up with a BONE STOCK Subaru WRX inch for inch. Tried and True. Add the TO4B, good intercooler, decent suspension, and more fuel and I kept up with a first gen Viper on a windy road for a good run. This is NOT BS. The Viper's engine was roaring and the rear tires were squealing when exiting corners from the BIG torque. He was driving it hard...I was driving harder than he was to keep up. My basically stock brakes at the time were my limitation. He put some distance between us when exiting corners but once I was back in powerband, I was braking into his rear bumper. My wife was a witness.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000ARQOY/t/002-9185931-4462421?v=glance&s=toys&me=A3UN6WX5RRO2AG&vi=pictures&img=14#more-pictures

Congrats on the upgrade. Isn't it sweet to be able to break the tires loose without having to drop the clutch. What numbers did the gtech give you? I still have to gtech my Z. I dont have many level roads with low traffic patterns.

I just put on a set of Goodyear Eagle F1's 225/50-16. I used to have Dunlop D40-M2 225/50-15 and the car seemed to handle much better with those. The Eagles seem to slip more and give much less feedback...but I got a good deal on them. Right now I run 34psi in all four tires. I use the R200 3.54 open diff. The car is a street driven car with occasional time trials. Eventually I would like to setup a set of slicks for the time trials. As far as tire temps, all I do is run my hand across the tread to "feel" if the temp is fairly even across the tires and it usually is. I checked this after street driving on windy back roads, not race track conditions which would be much more telling. I am considering switching the front sway bar bushings back to rubber to see if that helps. I will check the alignments, but don't have much flexibility there as all my "links" are stock. I do have a bit of - camber from lowering, but not much. Thanks for all the great pointers!

I know this has been discussed to near death but is it possible for the Z to understeer on initial turn-in but then handle neutral after settling and during the rest of the corner? It seems to be the way mine is handling...or it could be my driving. I can correct it with driving style but it doesn't feel natural on turn-in. I will play with shock settings and tire pressures as soon as I get some time. Specs are in my signature...I think. 1.125" bar in front and 7/8" in the rear with urethane all over. The car has, I believe 250lb springs and is 1" lower than stock with spacers to correct LCA angle. I also run tokico Illuminas.

I had both front rotors from the AZ kit cut straight to the hub and now it works great. My line-lock is defective but I am expecting a replacement shortly. The car stops great. I have much more confidence with these brakes when approaching a corner. It is also nice to be able to adjust the proportioning valve to get the perfect front/rear bias. I took a friend of mine for a ride in the Z this weekend and he was grabbing at the door handle pretty hard. He drives a modded Subaru STI daily. After the ride he called my Z a montser! hehehe. I guess he thought a 30 year old car was no match for the STI. Think again.