kamikaZeS30

^ Comments like this make me wonder if people read my posts? I know that. I'm not an idiot, despite popular belief. What I meant was that I'd like some "harder" or at least newer and less stressed (i.e. not 35 years of wear and tear) material for my studs in the rear. I also wanted extended length so that if I found some wheels that I really liked I could run up to a 20 or 25mm spacer and have a stud long enough to still maintain proper thread engagement. Evan Williams San Diego, CA

There are standalone ignition systems that would allow you to program advance curves, they're not that expensive, either, which means that if you can spend a little time jetting and setting the carb, you could dial in an appropriate ignition curve to match. Barometric pressure and humidity changes have to be pretty drastic before you need to change the main jets. I'm sure if I drove my car from Miami, FL to Las Vegas, NV I would start seeing the outer limits of serviceability with whatever jet size I started with, but the engine would still run and I don't think I'd spin a bearing because I got a few extra aerosol-sized-droplets of fuel in the combustion chamber. The fact of the matter is that with a budget of $1000, I don't think you're going to find anything more than a TBI set-up. For a fully integrated, super-amazingly-extra-efficient, tunable EFI system you're going to be looking for something like a sequential multi-port. TPI might be a cheaper, yet effective, alternative.

In a fuel injected vehicle, unless you're talking about late-late-model EFI (like after MY2000), you would still get a cylinder wash-down at cold start up. As the "choke" mechanism functions essentially the same on a TBI as it does on a carb. If anything, I'd think you'd end up dumping more fuel by it running from a pressurized injector than it would from the almost non-existent vacuum draw on a cold engine. It wasn't until they had computer controlled timing advance/retard mechanisms that would cause the engine to run leaner when cold (to warm up the engine faster and prolong the life of the catalytic converter) that much changed. Plus, I'd think for the sake of engine life, you'd want it to run a little rich at start-up, no? I'm far from an expert, but what you're telling me sounds counter-intuitive. Because chasing down bad sensors is less maintenance than checking balance with a uni-sync and a screwdriver? To me EFI presents more points of failure, with a carb you have one low pressure fuel pump and like 2 (3?) vacuum lines, with EFI you've got a whole mess of vacuum lines, 5 sensors, injectors, fuel rails, two pumps and a computer. Don't get me wrong, a well-planned, thoughtfully installed EFI system works better on average than a comparable carburetor, but I don't see how (unless you're talking about the newer OBDII systems with 3D maps) it really makes much of a difference on engine wear over a carb. If you live on a mountain at 5000 ft. and commute to your work at sea-level, then yeah, probably.

Well, I don't have my front hubs out of the car to verify for certain, but I believe (as zcarnut mentioned, as well) that the rears can be used in the front hub, which would mean the knurl is the same. I found a set (8) of 50mm extended studs for an S13, Ichiba NS-122550S, for $2.00 each. Google shopping is your friend. And, yes, they fit in the rear hubs.

I would get one of the aftermarket distributors with magnetic or optical triggers (can be be had for less than 300USD, significantly less if you shop around) and an external coil, call it a day. But, if you really need the inside of your cylinder head to look like a giant Van de Graaff generator or a Tesla Coil, you could go coil on plug.

If you want to drift, I would not recommend a viscous unit. I know a lot of guys swap them in their S13/S14s, but the units can heat-soak really easily (especially in the R200 longnose, which doesn't cool as well as its finned cover counterparts) and if the viscous gel overheats, it ends up being an open differential. Add to that you would need different half-shafts (and probably companion flanges, maybe even stub-axles), because the spline count for the Q45 R200 and your R200 are different (30 spline vs. 29 spline). An air-locker or clutch-type unit would probably be the better way to go. The 4x4 guys have cheap air lockers available for the R200A (the "front" version of the R200 on Nissan 4x4 vehicles) and I saw a Nismo CLSD for that one on eBay for like $250 awhile back.

A wheel that size is typically going to weigh 20lbs or more. But, you might be able to save a few pounds by using a low profile tire, to maintain close to stock wheel diameter you'd need to go with like a 35 or 40 profile. That wheel width would be awesome for 255s in the back. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't the stock wheel/tire combos (depending on model year) something like 45 lbs. for the 240Z? Not hard, even with cheaper aftermarket wheels, with today's wheel/tire combinations. I run the XXR 002s in 16x8, with a rather heavy 225/50 Yokohama tire and I'm still roughly two pounds lighter than that. I'm not sure how they'd compliment the look of an older Z, but they are stylish wheels. They would look rad on a 300ZX or 350Z.

I'm trying to figure out how fuel injection makes a cast-iron block, steel crank, rods and cast pistons last longer than a properly tuned carburetor? I understand the argument that fuel injection, to some extent, makes power more efficiently, but it also costs more to purchase and modify. If you can find a wrecked 1998+ F-Body or Corvette and someone who desperately needs it off of their front lawn, you could get extremely close to 400hp for around $1000, I suppose. Or, maybe find a chop shop in TJ? Then again, that's not a "traditional" small-block, it'd be an LSx. I do see lots of ads on Craigslist for performance longblocks (some come fairly dressed but, typically, less carb, manifolds, water-pump, pulleys, etc.) for at or less than a grand. Might want to look there.

I know a lot of the 240SX guys use the Ichiba 50mm studs with good results, they're only like $2 a stud. Lots of aftermarket companies make studs for the 240sx rears, which I know will fit the s30 rear. Like I said, I'm mainly concerned about the rear. That's where it's going to see the most "shearing" force from acceleration, I think. That's good to know about using the rears in the front, I may just do that. I'm ordering a set of Ichiba studs, I will report back with my results. I can get them for $2.05/each but shipping is like $10, which makes the cost like $28. I wonder if one of the local suppliers around here carries them.

I'd believe it. A "refreshed" bone-stock 350 can get you close to 250hp. I thought I went "all out" on my build and it didn't go much more than $2300. If you shop around you can get SBC performance parts for cheap. I got my forged steel crank for less than $400 brand-new. I'll probably be pushing something like 400~420 at the flywheel. This downturn in the economy sucks for the industry but it's a goldmine for the consumer if you've got the cash.

Well, I appreciate the feedback. I have a set of stock thread-pitch lug nuts that I want to keep using so I am going to exhaust my options looking for them before I change thread pitch. Apparently, the rear studs (which are the ones I'm most concerned about replacing) for the 280Z/240Z are 12.83mm. Which means wheel studs made for the S13 and S14 will fit in the rear. Edit: I guess I should clarify, the knurl on the S13 240sx, S14 240sx (rear), 240Z-280Z (rear) and 300ZX are all the same. A lot of places say the front knurl on the S30s is larger, 13.0mm, but I'm wondering if that isn't because some of the parts specifications list OD of the knurl and some list ID of the knurl. I guess I'll spend the $20 for a set of 240SX wheel studs and report my findings.

I think you'd have to determine whether or not yours is an early 260 or a late 260. The 240Z rails that Bad Dog sells don't necessarily reinforce more than their 280Z rails, as the 280Z was stiffer to begin with, so less is needed to achieve the same effect. Is there something wrong with your existing rails? You might look at just replacing your existing rails, then see if you need the Bad Dog rails. The only reason I upgraded is due to the fact that I tripled the low-end torque in my car with the V8 swap, a turbo L6 is going to have less drive-line/frame shock from torque because the power comes in more gradually.

I am in the process of gathering parts for doing the 300ZXT CV axle conversion on my V8 Z project. I figured since I'd be beefing up the rest of the rear end, it'd be nice to have some new studs up to the task (and what a better time than when the stub axles are out of the car?). It'll also allow for wheel spacers should the need arise (I'm running the 002 16x8s, currently). I realize many have suggested that the Quest wheel studs are a perfect match, with the Nissan thread pitch. However, I have been doing some extensive reading and I went so far as to call Dorman's customer service line. Apparently, the S13/S14, (according to Dorman and a few 240sx enthusiast websites), wheel studs will work, and therefore, by extension, the aftermarket studs made for both cars (with the exception of the s14 fronts which have a 14.3mm knurl diameter). 240sx wheel studs are widely available and relatively inexpensive (for aftermarket). The reason I am creating this topic is I wanted to see if anyone has done this before? I've found extended lug sizes for these cars up to 65mm. I have also seen the knurl size for the 240Z listed anywhere from 12.9mm (~.508") to 12.83mm (~.507") and was wondering if anyone had any "definitive" measurements. I am not necessarily in need of anything super long, but it'd be nice, for peace of mind, if I could find some with greater tensile strength and/or are not 30+ years old.

Shouldn't there be a hose going from the crankcase to the intake manifold? Or is it installed and I'm just not seeing it?

I wasn't involved in imported any Skylines, personally. I was using it as an example. The point I'm trying to get at is that the whole idea behind having to prove emissions and safety standards seems like a government protection racket for the domestic market. Given that the safety standards have become a little ridiculous, drive up the cost of ownership and the same is true for emissions. Ad to that the fact that in California, they've basically done away with anything over 91 Octane (labeling it as "race fuel," therefore not for use in highway vehicles) I heard a rumor that somewhere here in SD county there is a station that still sells 93, but I haven't seen 93 in a very long time. That could improve vehicle emissions by allowing a leaner burn with more ignition advance, but y'know, because it might let someone "go fast" they ban it. I suddenly feel like I'm one of those aliens from Star Trek: TNG. "We look for things... things to make us go."

To add to what Tony said, I've found that having a properly functioning PCV and properly connected charcoal canister actually made the carburetors easier to tune. I'm not a guru, though. I'd imagine that it has something to do with properly managing manifold vacuum?

I thought the gas smell was just part of the Datsun/other carbureted vehicle experience? If it's like over-powering and burning your nose there might be a problem. My car had a heavy gas smell when it had Webers. Then again, you could have stuck/flooded floats, eventually the bowl will fill up and you'll get gasoline dripping out of the intake of the carburetor. It's pretty easy to fix, even with brass floats. You'd notice other issues while driving, though, if that was the case.

That's the problem, and why I was saying it's really difficult to import any vehicles into the United States. It also depends on who first federalized the cars for importation, that was the whole scandal with the R32/R33 Skylines, whoever went through the process decided to do something proprietary like weld a non-functional washer in someplace and if you don't have that random washer welded somewhere during inspection the car won't pass. Sure it's POSSIBLE to import vehicles, but the way they go about the importation process, you might as well forget it. I don't see what the big deal is anyway, if I have a bill of sale, bill of lading, paid duties on it, why am I not allowed to have it, regardless? The point isn't that they were arrogant or whether or not what they were doing was legal, the point is that they're allocating federal money to stop people from doing something that isn't really harming anyone in the first place. It's not like they're importing Chinese, Malaysian or Thai slave-girls that've been sewn into the upholstery along with 40 kilos of heroine and disassembled Russian model full-auto AK47s in the glove-box. No, it's a sports car, that for whatever reason our nanny government has decided to make next to impossible to import this car--or anything quality into this country-- it's like they're afraid we'll remember what it was like to own something of quality.

Slightly off topic, but I figured that's okay because the thread has already been derailed: What is annoying to me is that we can't go out of the country and legally import vehicles, anymore. Surprisingly enough, California is one of the states where it is still legal to own a right-hand-drive street vehicle. Good luck finding one that conforms to CARB standards. I don't know whether it's to protect the domestic market here, or not, but there are very few vehicles you can import into the United States legally. Forget about anything sporty, due to emissions laws and "safety regulations"-- well, you know. It's all a bunch of crap. If I want to drive a vehicle without air-bags, that's my prerogative. The feds have started a modern day witch-hunt for imported vehicles, now. They've been going around snatching up R33 and R34 skylines, from people who paid duties and fees to import them (and register them as OHVs), don't bother to pay any remittance and just crush them! What for? "They're not federalized, durrhurr." These aren't even vehicles that are being driven on the street, so the point is moot.

Loose battery terminal? Melty fuse box? The fuse box shouldn't, to my understanding, interrupt power to the starter itself, but who knows with the crazy Z electrical system. But, I've had that happen to me before on a car and it was a loose/corroded battery terminal.

For my swap I went with a T-5, to begin with. But, to get the Datsun drive-shaft shortened, balanced, new GM yoke and joints (both ends) was like $110.

Yeah, I see what you're saying, now. The diagram I have shows the primary cables going to the starter, but then there are other wires going from the alt to the fuse block and then to the AMP gauge. But, I don't remember anything going from the fuse block to the gauge inside the car. Was there maybe a difference in how they were wired from the factory between the series ones and the series twos?

My vote is with the VG30ET, as well. Solid motor (not that the L28 isn't), better weight distribution when you're finished. I believe the VG30 is a little bit lighter and the transmissions you have to choose from are better, IMHO. I don't know why everyone is saying parts are not readily available, as they're everywhere (yes, even for the SOHC). In the long run you're going to spend less to get more out of the VG than with the L28. If you're not planning on running many accessories, changing the timing belt on the VG30 is a snap. Even heavily modded the motor runs smooth as cocoa butter due to the hydraulic valve design and far superior fuel injection system (the early Nissan EFI was ghastly). You're already starting with 3 Liters, also, which makes a difference especially with forced induction. You can get a lot of out a stock motor with a few choice mods, like an extrude honed (or swapped) intake manifold, slightly larger turbo and injectors. You could even do a water-injection set-up instead of adding more fuel. That's what I did.

Let me see if I understand what you're saying: all I would need to do from this point is disconnect the shunt, then remove the two power wires from the back of the gauge, replace with heavier gauge wires, but they will terminate at the firewall. These wires should then be connected from the alternator and the battery positive from this point and then I would run my stereo-power and electric fan power from this distribution, with a final smaller gauge wire running into the rest of the harness? That sounds simple enough, but I am having trouble visualizing it. I will see if I can find my Hayne's manual diagram...

I replaced the wires going from the battery, to the starter and from the alternator to the battery. The electric fan I have is wired up to the alternator (I figured I wouldn't need a fan running while the car is off, thinking that it'd be better to cool the coolant slowly with ambient air on cool-down). I've run the shunt with a 60amp alternator (it's the earlier 45 amp gauge) without issue. Basically, I just want something that will tell me if the alternator is operating, i.e. providing current, because if I know the car is running and I have a load I should see a positive indication from the gauge, I'm not really concerned whether or not it's showing actual amperage. The stereo system has its own power cable from the battery terminal. Which as I mentioned above, has been upgraded between the starter, alternator and battery (I replaced the ground side on the battery as well, because the original grand cable was looking rather tired and worn). I appreciate the input, I was doing all of this without a wire diagram, so there is another path the current takes from the alternator to the battery? Or is the yellow-blue (it might be white/blue it was a little faded) wire that was originally there just between the bat + and alt? That's the only connection I saw. The main reason I got the 140 for mine was it's design (size) and affordability. I believe I would have been okay with like a 70 or 80, but the cheaper 80 I had wouldn't mount/fit where I wanted. I also figured that a higher rated alternator producing a current that's less than 50% of its rated out-put (most of the time) might create less EMF drag and maybe last much longer than something that would "get the job done" but running at 90% most of the time. I do not actually anticipate loads that would severely tax the stock electrical system, 30 amps is just what the circuit for my stereo is fused at, it doesn't actually use that much.