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From the latest RACER magazine (September): “The Run†is a new, 6-minute DVD, directed by John Bruno from Nissan North America, Inc. for $9.95. Get it from your local Nissan dealer or http://www.z.com You’ve seen the ’04 Nissan 350Z, but here you watch as a new Z blasts through the city of Prague at dawn as fast as possible, caught on film by 14 different cameras. There’s no faking this one or use of any special effects, and you can choose your vantage point—behind, in front of or behind the wheel—for one of the wildest rides on DVD ever. The best thing is the elimination of a story line. You won’t have to fast forward to get to all the good stuff." It’s an obvious take off on the old classic “Rendezvous†8-minute video by Claude Lelouch which is also available now on DVD for $27.95 from various places, including Motorsport Collector at http://www.motorsportcollector.com/Recent.html For those unfamiliar with “Rendezvous†it is a hoot! It's a dawn high speed drive through Paris without any commentary. I haven't seen The Run yet but for $9.95, it's not a big monetary risk. John

There are a variety of different amp ratings for alternators and common sizes seem to be anywhere from 60 to 100 amps. Some of the performance catalogs advertise alternators as high as 140 amps. As someone not very well versed in electricity, I've often wondered, but never asked, what the pros and cons are to larger amp ratings. Over the weekend, I saw an article about a race truck built for Baja off road racing that had a 325 amp alternator. Hmmmmm.....now I've got to ask. Does a higher amp rating mean it's going to take more horsepower to run? Does it mean it's going to be significantly larger in size? I'm guessing large amp ratings mean the alternator will cost a whole lot more. Why would a off road race truck need such a high amp alternator? I'm guessing that serious racers would not get into the 'bigger is better' rat race unless there were good reasons. Thanks! John

Ross: just as food for thought, here are a couple of web sites that talk about the acoustics of vehicle exhausts. This information might be valuable in case you aren’t able to solve the noise problem through use of different mufflers or resonators. On the other hand, being knowledgeable about engineering, you may know all about this already. 1. Saveguard. It’s a UK “manufacturer and supplier of high temperature resistant textile products and acoustic and thermal insulation materials used mainly in fire protection, thermal engineering and vehicle exhausts.†http://www.saveguard.co.uk/ Their “Acousta-fil material has been designed for controlled expansion on initial contact with heat and is intended to fill complex voids with acoustic insulation media to a pre-determined density." http://www.saveguard.co.uk/exhausts/index.htm There is a great photo of the material at http://www.saveguard.co.uk/acoustafil_image.htm I’ve thought about using this in a home-built side exhaust system to control noise and heat. I contacted them and learned they don’t have a North American supplier but they said they’d be happy to ship. I didn’t ask about costs. 2. Aerotech Engineering http://www.aerotecheng.com/ . Even though they do "computational fluid dynamics analysis consulting for motorsport" they have several heat shield products that can be used for noise attenuation and acoustic damping. Click on ‘products’ and then click on ‘material properties’ for each to see their data on noise attenuation. It’s another UK firm and I don’t know if it’s available in North America or what the costs are. http://www.aerotecheng.com/CirrusGIIIx.htm 3. At the “How Stuff Works†site ( http://auto.howstuffworks.com/muffler2.htm ) there are a series of descriptions of canceling out sound and several other muffler-related articles. It might be fairly elementary to someone that has studied headers/exhausts as much as you have. 4. The Australian National Occupational Safety & Health Commission site http://www.nohsc.gov.au//ohsinformation/ohssolutions/noise/soundf.htm describes sound movement in ducts and exhaust systems. I found it interesting but it might be elementary to some people. John

I checked the WorldCat database using OCLC (I don't know what the initials stand for but "OCLC is a nonprofit membership organization serving 43,559 libraries in 86 countries and territories around the world") and found that 21 U.S. libraries have the book. When I ask my friendly, local librariam to obtain a rare book for for me via "interlibrary loan", it's very simple, painless, usually free and usually only takes a week to get. I don't know what kind of time constraints you are facing, but if you have a little time, visit your public library. I'm guessing that getting a book from the U.S. sent to BC shouldn't be too hard. Ask your librarian for the best options--I've actually had a librarian fax some pages of a book to me. Libraries with Data power: using racecar data acquisition AL AUBURN UNIV AAA AZ PINAL CNTY LIBR DIST FX8 CA SANTA CLARA UNIV STA DC LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DLC IL CHICAGO PUB LIBR CGP IL UNIV OF ILLINOIS UIU KS WICHITA STATE UNIV KSW LA STATE LIBR OF LOUISIANA LSL MA WENTWORTH INST OF TECH WEN MA WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INST WPG MI DETROIT PUB LIBR EYP MI FORD MOTOR CO, RES & INFO SCI EEF MI GENERAL MOTORS R&D CTR LIBR EYG MI UNIV OF MICHIGAN LIBR EYM MN MINNESOTA STATE UNIV, MANKATO MNM NC NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV NRC NC UNIV OF N CAROLINA, CHARLOTTE NKM SC CLEMSON UNIV SEA TN CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIV TEB VA DEFENSE ACQ UNIV DSM WI MILWAUKEE SCH OF ENG WLD

Nezzie, who posts on Hybrid periodially, may know the details. I could be wrong but I think they were working on some fiberglass projects before he started serving his time. I don't know Nezzie's email address but perhaps he will chime in. You might want to read the previous posts in this thread; I'm sure there will be a lot more details. I've been sending him magazines and articles but I don't know Larry beyond his several letters of appreciation he's sent me for the things I sent him in the mail. John

About every other week I send him the magazines I've accumulated in the interim (Autoweek, British kit car, Race Car Engineering, Race Car Technology, Car Craft, Hot Rod, etc.) along with a series of photocopied articles I've saved about V8 and high performance hybrids. It sounds like he is holding up as well as can be expected. I'm sure he'd love a note, some photos of your car or anything else from other people on this list. I'm sure the days seem like each one is 48 hours in length. John

Does anyone know about this car and it's taillights? Are they Corvette or....? The photo is from MSA's site of photos from the West Coast Nationals in April. Thanks John[/img]

You might want to check out the last two issues of Grassroots Motorsports magazine to see a two-part series by Dave Vizard titled "The Weighting Game." He covers how less weight equals more speed but he focuses on the tremendous impact of dropping weight on things that rotate (assuming the structure of the vehicle is not compromised). Rotational mass. He covers the impact of weight reduction on non-rotating parts such as lightweight seats, Lexan windows, fiberglass fenders, etc. versus the impact of reducing the weight of rotating items like engine, clutch, flywheel and wheels. He states, "The savings delivered by lighter brakes and other suspension components are easy to see, but wheels can deliver far more benefits than [just] a reduction in unsprung weight. Not only do they have mass that is moved up and down with the suspension and forward with the car as a whole, but wheels also have rotational inertia. And reducing such inertia adds up to a whole lot more in terms of performance gains than just the weight savings itself." As with any Vizard article, it's very thorough. Check out the magazines and get a FREE copy of http://www.grassrootsmotorsports.com/ Grassroots Motorsports (Click on the link that says 'Get a Free Issue.' Part II of Vizard's article appears in the June, 2003 issue which just came out. I have nothing to do with the magazine except that it's very down to earth and practical. John[/b]

Larry seems to be holding up OK with the stress of his incarceration. He has gotten every one of my three CARE packages of photocopied Z articles, last month's car magazines, etc. He has written me several notes of appreciation so I know he would appreciate anything anyone else wanted to send him. His address is listed in one of the earlier, but still fairly recent, posts. (I forgot my address book at home). It has only cost about $2 - $3 per package to mail the thick packages at the book rate which takes 5 days to get to Oregon from Denver. John

SUCCESS! I got a long letter from Larry last night. All of the articles and the magazine I sent were given to him. The only thing they wouldn't give him was the self addressed, stamped envelope. So....any of you who were thinking about sending Larry some articles or letters, go for it. I will ask him in my next package if he can receive a magazine subscription. While prison is prison, he's in a minimum security place without walls, razor wire or mean guards. He showed a good sense of humor in his letter so it looks like he is making the best of things. John

On 4/4 I mailed Larry a substantial package of 5 articles I printed off the web from Total KitCar (British site) and last week's Autoweek. I included a SASE and asked him to let me know if all of it got through. I'll let you know when I hear from him. John

Could you repost his snail mail address? I will send him an article or two of possible interest. Thanks. John

What do you think about making separate fields for city and state in the Memberlist section? I was interested in seeing how many people are from Colorado but with the city and state in one field, it was difficult to get a good read. To most people, not from my area, I just say I'm from Denver. In reality I'm located just two blocks across the border in Englewood, which no one has heard of unless they are familiar with the area. Perhaps there could be a section that asked for the closest major city. Anyone have any ideas? Of course, I could just post a question asking who is from the Denver area but some people might miss it. Just some rambling questions from me. Thanks. John

I browsed the site looking for an answer before posting this. Did the site ever have a set of FAQs about common Z topics? For example, Strotter had a great write-up (http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=139782#139782) in response to the new person's question of "How hard is the actual conversion using the JTR kit?" I seem to recall there was talk about this once upon a time but I also seem to recall it didn't go too far because of lack of people to do some write ups. Perhaps I'm just not looking in the right place. Thanks. John

I echo Pete's comment. Outstanding description of the process! If ever there was something that deserved to be in an FAQ section about Hybrids..... John

That sounds like a deal to me! I've got mine up on jackstands at the moment to replace a ball joint. John

Bryan: I've been following with interest your posts about strengthening the rocker panel area. I've wondered how much strength the stock rocker panels themselves could provide in a Z (or ZX in my case), given that they are just sheet metal (and sometimes pretty rusty sheet metal). From the perspective of my armchair , it wouldn't seem like they could provide much. I've wondered about whether it would be possible to tuck some side exhausts into the rocker panel area to avoid them hanging down very much. Of course, there is the heat and noise to contend with so....... I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment of your project! John

I'm curious if the Feds have let Larry send a letter to the outside world yet. Has anyone heard from him? John

I spoke to Carl Beck who does a lot of work with the IZCC site about the 12mm question. He sent the following but recognized it wasn't a definitive answer to the question. "According to the Nissan Competition Parts Catalog: The R200's used in the 280Z/280ZX used 10mm ring gear bolts. "Some" of the R200's in the Z31 used 10mm and some used 12mm ring gear bolts. You would have to inspect them - if a 14mm socket fits the head - it's a 10mm bolt.. if a 17mm socket fits the head - it's the 12mm bolt. As far as I can see - they give no application dates, nor specific models as to which had what size bolt in the 300ZX R200's." We're slowly gathering some information. John

I'm assuming that since Larry posted his new address, that snail mail will get to him. Based on that assumption, I suggest each of us consider sending him a printout of a thread from time to time. Perhaps a photocopy of some hybrid-oriented magazine article. Perhaps a photocopy of a chapter out of a technical book. For example, perhaps a chapter every week or two from the Forbes Aird book on composite construction. I'll give it a shot and see if he gets it. Maybe if we all pull together, we can make his sentence go by a teeny bit faster. Just a thought. John

Ron: I'd like to see the photos of your Panasports as well. Any chance you could post them online? John

Yasin: I'm very impressed with the work you have put into your car! Well, to be honest, I'm also a bit envious! I'd love to see it in person some time. I live in Englewood near Porter hospital and I think you mentioned once that you live in Golden. Any chance I could visit and get a tour of your car? John

Hmmm.....so that's how they make accurate plugs of cars! http://www.kitcars.com/Classifieds/AdDetails.asp?classified_id=1767

Hmmmm....worked yesterday but it was slow. Now its not working at all. Try their main page and do a product search on Grote. http://www.waytekwire.com John