Jon 74 260Z

Only on HybridZ are guitar necks compared to throttle bodies... I'm not a musician so I'm wondering: Do guitarists actually ask the salesman what the coefficient of friction is when purchasing a new guitar?

Get someone good -- I mean really good -- to drive your car with you in the passenger seat. If they turn lap times 2-3 seconds faster than you, then you'll know that you need to "tighten the nut behind the wheel" before you do anything else. You'll be able to see what your car can really do and where you are losing time at specific places on the track. It's scary to hand over the keys to someone else, but if you've got the right person, you'll feel comfortable because it will be such a good learning experience. (btw, I don't think the typical NASA instructors are good enough for what I'm talking about. Not trying to bash them -- just basing this on my experience, which is that they're good for teaching the basics and HPDE stuff, but not so good for pushing a car AND driver to the limits. Find out the reputation of the instructors or racers there -- if you get a 100% response of "oh-yeah-he's-fast," you've found your guy.) My experience also has been seeing drivers slow down their learning curve by putting go fast parts on their car. Example: Guys put slicks on and go 2.5 seconds faster per lap then with street tires. The increased grip made them turn faster laps but it hindered their development because it hid flaws and made up for their mistakes. It's almost a question of do you want to go faster or do you want to become a better driver... As anyone moves up the "pyramid of speed," eventually they have to decide whether they are going to have a street car or a race car. Sounds like you're pretty close to being forced to make that decision. Oh, one other thing, you mentioned that you're basically as fast as some Z06's. Hmmmm....., same speed as a car with 30+ years more safety technology (impact zones, air bags, etc etc) -- think about it.

For those keeping score at home, the "huge percentage" of those who drive without a license or insurance in CA that are "illegal citizens" is.... 100%. But you're right in that if someone does something stupid, illegal and/or dumb, it doesn't give me the right to ridicule said person. I already had that right. It may, depending on my mood, give me incentive to ridicule, however.

Lemme get this straight: You mention that it's the law in CA to have insurance, then you mention he was driving without insurance, but you say he isn't an "illegal citizen"???!? Do you even know what the definition of "illegal" is? Similarly, he WAS being "reckless." That's what driving without insurance is... along with being "not smart" and against the law. But if he wants to turn in his lifetime bus pass and move permanently to another state where it is legal-but-stupid to be uninsured, that's fine with me. And sorry, if you have money for parts to fix your Z, then you have money for insurance. If you don't have money for insurance, then you can't afford the car -- it really is that simple.

I'm another local who is paying more because of people like you. I hope his insurance company calls you back, you proved he lied and you get a niiiiiiice settlement out of the deal. Then buy a lifetime bus pass and never drive again.

Two years ago, I would have replied with something like this: "Want to talk yourself into CA? Try to find another place in the country where after living in a house for five years, you sell it and the bank gives you bank all the money you paid them -- down payment, principal, interest, insurance, taxes plus repairs and whatever you spent at Home Depot." But today...., errrr......., ummmm...... I'm not saying that anymore. To quote a friend of mine, "Living in CA is like crack: It's addictive and you can't afford it. So don't start."

zeeboost, you should move here -- we need more taxpayers.

I could be wrong but I doubt this really is one of the "Nissan restored" Z's. The hatch seals and the upholstery around the shock towers seem to be showing some wear... (at least it's more wear than I would be willing to pay a premium for.) And you know, why would someone pay 25k for a Z in original condition and then proceed to spend 10k or so in mods? If you're gonna mod a Z, wouldn't you start with a non-pristine, original Z at one-tenth the price? (Not that all of my car-related decisions have been this logical tho)

"I went to the profile to delete the data, I saw people requesting me...how does that work, How do they see my profile, I don't even know them." There are a lot of lonely internet dorks out there, looking for friends. (Not referring to anyone on this board tho...) Example: A guest posted pics of my wedding on facebook. Since I wanted to see the pics but I have zero interest in being on facebook, I created an alias with absolutely no personal data. By the end of the day, I had a dozen friend requests! (which I believe is the modern definition of "desperately lonely") I don't want to sound like a lonely internet dork who gives relationship advice on a car message board BUT... your wife is holding you to an impossible standard -- you can't be held accountable for what other people do.

"I just want a simple life, with her, building my Z car..." Errrrr......, you want a simple life AND to build a Z car??!?!? Lower your goals, my friend, and set the bar a bit lower. Simple equals Prius, not a Z. (Of course, it also equals boring...)

Only one moving violation in my Z: Failure to yield to an emergency vehicle because I made a left into my driveway instead of parking it on the right. He didn't like it when I told him to turn off his lights because "this is a quiet neighborhood." After conducting a meeting of our Mutual Admiration Society, he wrote me up. Kinda lame, but coulda been worse... Props to Tony D for the clockwise-counterclockwise Indy 500 line. (Oh man, you know that's going to be the only thing going through my head if a cop uses the Indy line with me. I don't need to add smart-@ss comments to my repetoire...)

As I recall (it's been a few years now), I had a tough time finding this panel for my early 260. I seem to remember MSA not having them in stock, then when they did, it didn't fit despite their assurances that it was the right part number for my car. I'm not trying to bash MSA -- just trying to emphasize what I difficult time I had with this part. And my point is that I finally gave up trying to purchase it. In true hybridZ fashion, I made my own. In my ever-so-humble opinion, I like mine better. The wood trim matches the shift knob and the faux wood trim on the door panels. just my $0.02

Well, it isn't the worst pain I've experienced in my life but... Reading this thread while trying to eat lunch in my cube was NOT the most enjoyable thing I've done today.

Maybe I'm a bad person but the first thing I thought of (in terms of his career) when I heard the news was yellowbook.

I too would go with 3 single doors and I think 9' will be plenty. And I have to agree with those who said to put the lift in the middle stall -- from the drawings, it looks like your tool chest/work bench is going to be against the back wall. When you're wrenching on the car on the lift, everything would be a lil' closer... Not trying to hijack the thread BUT... I'd put a sink in the garage. Looks like it'd be easy to do (plumbing through the wall where the bathroom off the laundry room is at).

Repainted the front fascia on a car that I wanted to be absolutely perfect -- happy with the outcome but I paid 1.5k to 2k (don't remember exactly). Now that I think about it, he also fixed some scratches and a small dent on the tailgate of a 2 yr old truck I had. It was a quick job and didn't need to be "show quality." As I remember, it was about $200 -- on the high side, but reasonable. btw, he charged me what he quoted me and the cars were ready when he said they would be. iow, he's not like some knuckleheads that are in the bodywork business...

I've used D-Rod's in San Jose and been happy with the results (on other cars besides my Z, coincidentally). I'm certain he can do a very good job with exterior, engine bay, etc BUT... He ain't free. If you're looking for something cheap, he's probably not the guy.

Rather than wonder why, maybe we should just accept it... I say we start a pool about who is the next Z driver to end up doing time. (Hmmmmm...., now that I think about it a bit, we probably need a separate pool for which statutes get violated.)

You are beyond doomed: It is a neuro-biological-socio-economic fact that autocrossing leads to the "hard stuff" (like HPDE events and wheel-to-wheel racing). Did you hear a loud "whooooooooosh" sound? That was the sound of your spare time, cash and sanity rushing past you and forever leaving your universe...

Hey, when God wants you to go to church, you should just GO because He will get you there one way or another. When you're able to part the Red Sea, making a station wagon fly is child's play... Or maybe, the church needed a new roof and this was His way of getting it paid for. Hmmmmm, could be this as well.

Trust me on this one: "The last thing" you should do before your first race is: STAY HOME!!! It's addictive and you can't afford it, so don't start. Have you thought about developing a crack habit? Sure, the rush isn't quite as strong but financially, it's better for you in the long run. Don't listen to the people on this board -- they all have that monkey on their back and like all junkies, they will encourage you to join them in their addiction. JUST SAY NO! Relationships, careers and other interests are all going to suffer the minute you first feed this rat. Your life will be divided into two parts: "racing" and "preparing for the next race." There will be nothing else. Example: You will develop a new type of currency: "sets of race tires." As in, "my daughter needs new braces but it is going to cost three sets of race tires..." I'm trying to kick this habit myself (I'm up to Step 8 in Racer Rehab: removing Summit Racing from my speed-dial list) so you should listen very carefully to me when I tell you NOT to shoot-up. Stay home.

That was a great tribute to your father and thanks for sharing. I am very sorry for your loss... Refering to him as your "go to guy" (which is a great moniker, btw) would have made him proud. My condolences...

Oh, this is just great! All these people agreeing with me... I'm gonna be the "responsible party" if things go south and JSM ends up homeless. Geez, he'll probably end up stalking me and planning some sort of revenge, Virginia Tech style. (Does anyone know if he owns any guns?) Not sure if I can handle the pressure...

Yea, that 1.75% also sounds like a teaser rate on an ARM... Justin has a good point about what is happening with that 12k difference in the loan amount. Even if the delta is banked as an emergency account, I personally still wouldn't do the Obama loan since he's underwater. I'm not the type to go further underwater but, as that MSN link says, it is cheap money. Some people have a high risk tolerance and some will even make money by going further underwater with a cash-out refi like this one appears to be -- I'm just saying I'm not going to be one of them. FWIW, I agree with most of what that MSN link said IF it had a caveat that you have a loan-to-value ratio of 80% or lower. When you're around 110% LTV as JSM is, I'm not so sure that article's advice is applicable. YMMV.

I wouldn't do this refi because you think it is worth 275k. This means that if you had to sell it now, you'd end up about 35k in the red. (I'm assuming the 293k is present balance on your loan, not initital value; also assuming 6% realtor fees, which is what they charge where I'm at -- might be different in your area...) Getting an Obama loan means that if you had to sell now, you'd be 47k negative. Call me "old school" if you want, but I think it's better to be 35k negative than 47k... Also, being 4 years into the loan, you're starting to get into the steeper part of the curve where your monthly payments begin to measurably reduce your principle. This is a slow, lousy way to build equity but it is working in your favor, and it doesn't depend on market conditions. Be careful about paying additional principle -- many loans say that if you do this, it is applied to your LAST payment. If your loan is like this, you are simply giving money to the bank, interest free, for 26 (or 30) years. Better to open a separate savings account, put the additional principle there, collect the interest and when your loan balance equals your savings account, pay off the loan. (Contingent, of course, on having the discipline not to tap into the savings account for go-fast parts for your Z, but it sounds like you're smart enough to know that.) Gee, the gov't is coming in and saying your house is really worth 30% more than what you think it is! Isn't that what got us into this mess in the first place??? Disclaimer: People have different comfort levels with debt and risk. There is no one "right" loan for everyone. I've just given my opinion for what I would do...