Savage42

As mentioned, a person can out brake ABS if they are good at threshold braking. I ran a BMW 540i 6-speed at Laguna Seca, which worked pretty well until the brakes got hot and the ABS started acting up. It was a bit unnerving and BMW has one of the better systems out there. I prefer cars without it. It's more of an aid for people who tend to "panic stop" by just stomping on the brakes to avoid or incur an accident. As for weight.....it doesn't make the car faster, so I wouldn't want it.

Phantom, you aren't kidding about "braided armpit hair". Nothing more nasty than chicks with more hair on their legs that I do. YIKES!! If you come across one of them "stacked up Texas women" I can import to Oregon, let me know. The only disasters we have around here are the Oregon Country Fair (Hippy Fest) and the days when the Grateful Dead came into town. Crazy stuff!

OK, now that you brought all this up, here's my 2 cents. (born & raised in SoCal) Living in Oregon for the last 15 years, I've noticed: There are no inspections or smog here in Eugene. (Great for car guys) We don't have the beach, it's "the coast". (I miss Newport & Huntington! No laying in the sun...no sun in Oregon) We don't have hot chicks, just girls wearing Berkenstocks, tye-dye, knappy hair and hairy legs. It's still the '60s here, MAN! The good stuff: I can be in California in a few hours.

NO, don't do it!!

Heck, I'd do the same thing if I were you. Never have been impressed with the lack of power of the stock setup. If qwik240 is right about being close on size, then it may be more of a matter of sheet metal and wheel well work than anything major. Good luck, I know that many of us are rooting for you. 8)

I'll take a hat and a couple of shirts, too! Stickers are a must! 8)

Guys, is there a popular conversion where you can get rid of the push button setup on the rear hatch to get rid of it? Anyone come up with something with a remote open via cable or electronic? Thanks.

I hear ya. I have to wonder who would use a mechanical fan on their V8 conversion, anyway. They are ugly! At any rate, most accessories will draw a little power, but not enough to make a huge difference the to daily driver. Shoot, even the new AC compressors only take 7HP when on and it's not like you'll feel much if you have 400RWHP to begin with. Bottom line is that almost all your power comes down to compression, headwork, & a good cam. Other factors are intake & exhaust. So, no magic HP "silver bullet". It's all about "how much do you want to spend".

Actually, it's a variation of a hood on a 1970 race car that my dad drove and I do. It was a design by NASA and first used on the factory AAR 'Cuda Trans-Am car. Of course, there have been several variations since then. http://datsun510.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=3093&ppuser=49&thumb=1 Marcus, that is very cool. I'd do it on my car!!

I'll bet you a dollar you won't see a measurable change in fuel mileage from the lower friction of roller rockers. You will probably spend more money to upgrade the rockers then you will ever see in fuel savings. And yes' date=' the idea that electric fans/water pumps save gas is BS provided they are doing the same work as there mechanical counterparts. Think about it. If alternators didn't put load on the engine, why not hook up 10 of those bad boys and power your house for free? Unfortunately most changes you make to conserve gas comes at the expense of HP. David Vizard wrote a book about building for economy and power. Might be worth a look.[/quote'] I would have to agree about the rollers and the small amount of HP you'd actual feel. (maybe) Probably wouldn't feel it with the butt dyno. The key with rollers is that you can get steeper ramp for more lift w/o having to have a ton of duration, which makes for better power. You can't think that a stock fan and electric fan take the same amount of energy, do you? At least the electric can be turned off most of the time, but turning a big fan at 3-4k rpm takes some effort, more than the alternator would by just doing it's job. I would have to think the same would apply to the electric water pump, but probably not worth the money. I'd recommend a lightweight flywheel to free up HP actually at the wheels. I've always run electric fans & aluminum flywheels. Like you said, you always sacrifice something.

I did the Electromotive/TWM setup on my 510 about 7 years ago. I built a L22 with headwork, cam, etc, etc. The reason you can't recommend it for a street car is the size of the TBs, just as you stated. I went with dual 48s and really wanted something closer to 42-44mm, but they were on back order and I didn't want to wait. Anyway, I had a little of the same problem, where the throttle was sensitive off idle. I'd highly recommend the setup, but going with the low 40mm units instead. They'll flow more than enough for any L series, considering most run Mikuni or Weber 44/45, respectively with 38mm chokes, so the unrestricted 42s would still flow more and the throttle response would be much better. Anyway, there's my 2 cents. More on that car at: http://www.dimequarterly.tierranet.com/articles/readers_dime_2_3.html

So, no version for the R180? I know that you'd sell them to the guys who want it for the practical application and those who just want the "oooh-aaah" factor. I'd think a 510 version would sell to all the guys putting SR20DETs in them!

Compression and the right cam are major contributors to mileage & power. Higher compression makes it more efficient and you don't want too much overlap from a cam, keep the duration under 280 degrees in most cases. Definitely the electric fan, don't know if the electric water pump is worth the money for the little you'd get. Good exhaust system, one that's not too big, either!

No sites that I know of, but the roadster list is a great resource. A buddy here in Oregon that has done nearly a dozen SR20DE conversion on Roadsters and has a waiting list for a dozen more. Sweet, simple conversion that looks OEM when he's done. Good luck.....& you thought Z parts where expensive. I hope you got a complete car, as parts are "gold". A 2000 Roadster grille goes for over $800. Front end rebuild (tie rods, ball joints, etc) $1000. Have fun!

I thought the cool part was the poll. Bottom line: 80% think it's cool or they don't mind what others do to their car, only 20% thought it was just wrong. (aka bastardized) I'd say those close-minded purists are now a minority. 8)

I've often referred to my car as "being a silver bullet", but since the car is going to be painted in '01-03 Corvette silver which GM adequately call "Quicksilver", so I figured I'd go with that. Must beat Z06s & Vipers on the road course.

I ran front arms with heims & adj. T/C rods similar to their setup on my 510 with great results and they are still going strong after a decade of street, track, hillclimb, & autocross abuse. I'll be going with that type of setup on my Z. There are a couple different ways to get the same thing. Here's how a fellow 510er did his. http://datsun510.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=983&papass=&sort=1 http://datsun510.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=980&papass=&sort=1 You really don't need to go to that extreme unless you are autocrossing or running track days where you need to get the most out of the handling. Good tires is the cheapest way to go a lot faster!

PHat & PHamous, you da man!!

Finally, we get to the point. Yes, RWHP might be slightly lower. Of course, turbo cars make better power when under load, so it would probably be fairly insignificant with your car than a NA car. Gearing is also a big deal with a turbo car. I see that you run 3.54s, which is the way to go. I had 4.11s in my 510 w/ VG30ET and went to 3.70s and it was much better!! A little more flywheel weight is a good thing with a low compression motor, as it keeps the low end from bogging down. It's all a compromise, but you should be fine.

Well, I went to my first local Z show here in Eugene, OR at the Nissan dealership. It was put on by the Northwest Z club & Lithia Nissan, joined by the Southern Oregon Z club. There were about 40 cars there, so not a bad turnout. I had my buddy's black 240Z with 400 SBC (since he was at Disneyland with the family & my car isn't done, yet) and was parked next to the only other V8 Z, which was a very nice, orange 240Z with 350 w/ 5 speed. Not only did he win best modified, but he also won best 240Z. For typically be the "shunned bastard children" of the Z crowd (in some instances), it was pretty cool! Oh, the owner (forgot his name, dang it) also runs the car at a good half dozen track days. All show and go! That's what I'm talkin' about!!

Shoot, that's not bad at all. I only got 12 mpg in my 510 with a 4 cylinder with half the HP. Considering it's either full throttle or decelerating, that's about what to expect. At least the hwy mileage is pretty good. Anyway, I don't think a 400HP motor with 26 mph hwy can get much better.

I know...I know.....I"ve got the answer! Rear disk brakes!!

Make sure you get the lug nuts with them, too!! They are special OEM Nissan lug nuts that run $70 or more for a complete set of 16. I used them as race wheels on my 510 with great luck and they look good when polished.

Shoot, what it would cost in shipping, I figured I'd just blast mine and have them done locally. At least he's offering to do it. Pretty cool!

With a couple hundred pounds of additional metal in a 280Z, I don't think you need to worry about it unless you turn it into more of a race car. For what you are looking at doing, you should be fine. Strut bars are always a good idea, anyway.