cygnusx1

See if you can tell how I routed my cold intake air. I am not sure you will have the same amount of room in the left front corner of the engine bay though because of the piping layout for your I/C. Stick with stainless and either diameter is OK for the IC tubes. Without an AFM, you should have plenty of room for a filter either right on the turbo or a setup like mine. http://www.hvmparts.com/dc/CIA1.jpg http://www.hvmparts.com/dc/CIA2.jpg

Yeah my TO4B and intercooler, jumped out of the UPS box and popped themselves into my engine bay....all I had to do was turn the key and drive it! You must be doing something wrong.

I had a custom exhaust made out of stainless steel. 2.5" downpipe with 45's, flange bolted to the custom rear section all still 2.5" They even welded a bung on the DP for the O2 and a flange for the EGR (that I can use to add another O2 later when I'm done with EGR). I supplied them with a SS Magnaflow, round, straight thru glasspack and SS Tip. The muffler and tip was about $125 the custom bent exhaust installed, was $300. It's alot quieter than I thought but it gets pretty loud when I get on it. It does "baffle" or "pop" on decel, but I think getting rid of that would take some serious exhaust development work. You could add a resonator under your seat to make it even quieter. I think $1000 would get you a REAL nice setup but you can do it for less. I used a private local exhaust shop recommended by local hotrodders. Many here will argue that 2.5" is too small.....but you did say quiet.

Sweet install! Boy do I love that green! I had a 72 Alfa Romeo in British racing green with a base coat of rusty metal once. I love that color on your Z. What did you coat the I/C pipes with? With that air filter there I guess you don't have an A/C compressor do you?

It could be either a boost leak, as mentioned already, or it could be that your intake pipe is collapsing from the suction of the turbo intake. What are you using for an air filter and intake pipe to the turbo inlet? If you are using the stock 280ZX Turbo boot, is the steel spring still in it? When I did my intercooler, I took out the spring and I could only hold boost up to about 9 psi for about 3 seconds and it would drop to vacuum and the car would coast down untill the boot opened up again! It drove me nuts for a couple of days.

Hmm, I did not know that. Only the 280ZX Turbo Automatics had engine oil coolers and a pump to match? Interesting. When I did my swap, I kept the oil cooler even though I put it into my 5 speed Z. Should I have left the cooler off?

hehehe----My Z sits in the dark shed up in the woods for two months over the winter. With fresh motor oil, I disconnect the battery and hook up my 10w solar panel charger. I also add Stabil to the full tank. I leave the brake off and pump the tires to about 50psi. I keep mothballs in the shed, mostly for superstitious reasons....I guess. After two months, it starts on one crank every time and is ready to roll. The shed is elevated off the ground so it stays as dry as possible. 10 days is a walk in the park for a Z.

I fattened the fuel at the FMU and adjusted nothing else. The short term result has been a hotter turbine and hotter exhaust. It still runs strong all over the powerband, but backfires a little more. I don't know if it put my combustion temps in a safer spot or not...but more fuel should be safer than it was...at least for the pistons and the head gasket. Any word on the FMU parts yet bast.? Oh and good point about the Compressors being different. My powerband certainly moved up in the RPM range after installing the new turbo. It takes a bit longer to spool but it hits like a sledgehammer.

My exhaust expands when it gets real hot and touches the rear valence making an awful creeking noise. Usually when I hear that creeking and open the hood, the turbo is glowing good. Since I advanced the timing a couple of months ago, I have not had the exhaust get hot enough to creek; even at the track. Since I saw the plugs the other day and put in some more FMU, the exhaust started creeking again; getting the turbine red and hot. I know this is all guesstimate since I have NO EGT and no WBO2 to document or quantify any of this. I am going by seat of the pants, smoke in the mirror, ear calibration, and visual cues here (dont try this at home). The proper will scold me for going this far without the proper tools. In a small devious way, I am waiting to burn a piston hole in this 120K mile motor so I can rebuild it bionic strong...meanwhile, the other little guy in my head says: "keep it alive, back off man!" Anyhow, I can only deduct what is happening with combustion by virtue of the "cause and effect" method of tuning...or since it affects my butt dyno, is it "cause and affect"? I do know, I ran near overtemp combustion for a couple of months by plug inspection and when I add 10 more psi fuel FMU, I run a HOT turbine...so do I burn the turbine or burn the pistons? Thar's the pickle I'm in. I can't seem to find the sweet spot by chance....not that I ever expect to without the proper tools.

I definately see more vacuum now with the VCV plugged. I see about 22-23 inches on decel. Maybe my VCV was NG anyhow because it did hold the revs up between shifts. Hmmm.

Well, actually, the first thing I did after the post was turn up the FMU. With the timing at 27adv initial, the mid range richness spike was not as much of a problem as it was at stock timing. So, I think I need to bring the timing back 1-2 degrees, bring the fuel up around 60-65psi and leave the boost at 14psi. With the spark plugs looking like they have gone through nuclear war, it is time to back off a setting or two. Bast. IF we get those "discs' sorted for the FMU and get rid of the mid range spike in richness, I will gladly use the FMU for more fuel. Right now to get good mix at 14psi@5500rpm I need to dump raw fuel through my turbo at 14psi@3500rpms. That makes for a cherry red exhaust housing! Today was a first. One of my cousins has a brand new M3 and he is a car nut and fell head over heels for my Z when he saw it. Sooo to make a long story short, I drove the M3 around and later he drove my Z. I have to tell you, the M3 is tight! I mean literally. In sport mode, it feels so right. If only it had my Z motor in it The motor did feel a little lazy compared to my Z although it was very easy to drive fast in it. After he drove my Z he had a grin from ear to ear. He called it a rocket ship....I particulary was proud to hear that from him because he also drives a 1996 Porsche Twin Turbo (996) Carerra. He took my Z up to 120mph uphill! It had plenty left in it too. I convinced him to come to the track with me next spring...with the TT 996 Carerra.

Oil control by controlling vacuum is nice but by venting the j-pipe into the manifold, engine braking suffers and so does RPM matching between upshifts. I would rather have a more responsive motor both in +revs and -revs. I'll let the aftermarket BOV take care of the job of venting boost back into the turbo inlet. The stock pop off valve is holding 14psi with the spring stretched to 2" free length and a 1/4" washer on it. Side effect may be more oil consumption. I'll keep my eyes on it. Besides, all N/A motors see stratospheric spikes in vacuum with little or no negative consequence.

OK guys it has been about two months (1200miles) that I have been running 14psi boost, 55psi fuel pressure, and 27btc timing on the stock motor and stock FI. The only FI upgrades: a walbro pump and FMU or (RRFPR). It even has 45 miles of road course time on it with these settings. I checked the plugs and they do show signs of pre-ignition. I've never heard it ping once and the power has been phenominal but it's time to back off the timing and boost about 3 degrees and 1psi until I get a better fuel system. I do keep it under 5000rpms but lean is lean. I think we can call this the limit of the stock FI. Ths plugs have a gray flaking on them...probably coated with aluminum It has been fun though.

Afshin, thanks. I finally got around to plugging up the factory "BOV" in the intake manifold and I love it. I can now hear my TurboXS BOV venting anger and the RPM's don't "hang-time" between shifts anymore. Grrreat! I can shift quickly again; like the old days of N/A motors. I am surprised that nobody mentioned that valve when I posted about a year ago. Just after the swap I was asking why the RPMs don't drop between shifts...btw is that your real name? just kidding dude Much GRATITUDE for that peice of info!

I have had my FMU apart already to remove the spring that is for Non-Turbo cars. I had gotten the wrong FMU. I am very curious to learn what you find. Of course until you get the WBO2, we wont really know. Definately give me the seat of the pants report when you get the part in! I may call them to get the same parts they sent to you. First, let me know how it goes with yours, as my Z is in 50% hibernation mode anyhow.

jjohart, they are only trying to help you..and doing a good job at that. I second, or third, the electrical connectors as a culprit. Also, half an hour hot-park is the perfect situation for vapor lock. Try leaving the hood open next time its parked for half an hour to see if it helps. Good luck with the car let us know when you find out what is causing the problems.

That's not a Cobra kit! It's the rare Aardvark kit! http://www.galaxyairportcars.co.uk/aardvark.jpg

I tapped holes in the front and back of the stock mount and bolted a metal/rubber strap under the crossmember to keep the nose of the diff from lifting. Similar to what is shown above but without cutting the mont in half. I like that one right above though. I may have to redo mine to look like that. Nice.

Little known section of Google. Check it out! http://catalogs.google.com/ 8)

First of all congrats on completing the swap! Second of all, how many times has this been said? Check your AFM, ECU, TPS connectors. Disconnect them, clean with electrical contact cleaner, smear some di-electric grease on the blades and reassemble. Better than 80% of the time, that is the problem.....TRY IT.

Don't panick. It's just a spacer. When customizing cars you need to remain flexible and open minded. "Think" your way around problems. All the research you do can only minimize the challenges; not eliminate them. Good luck.