Afshin

I got this digital gauge on sale from harbor freight for $15 (~$25 with shipping and tax..) http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=95998&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=

As already mentioned in the thread, the 300zx harnesses appear to have better connectors, which are a common source of poor connections and EFI related "gremlins" in the 280ZX. So despite the easier/cleaner fit of the 280zx harness, I would select one from a 300zx, if starting from scratch.

I bought a Forge unit after looking into various unit with little objective information at hand, despite much searching. I have a MAP based EFI and run my BOV as open, but got a recirc unit to ensure that the outlet was solely designed for flow and not noise generation. You can certainly hear it from inside the car as a whoosh but nothing loud, which was my goal. Had it for over a year now and can recommend it. Came with 3 springs and hence good adjustability, solid built and excellent customer service. My friend got a similar unit for his supra after my positive experience and is also very satisfied with his purchase.

I have been asked many times for new photos, but they have been lost and I no longer have the Z31 set up, so I can’t retake them. However, there are some links that have photos: This is a good supplement as the title suggests by 280Z Turbo and has some picture and additional links that are useful: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=114687 Also as Nismopic already posted in this thread there is the JWT on how to install their Z31 set up PDF which has a lot of useful info in one place (wish I had seen this before). http://jimwolftechnology.com/wolfpdf/280%20Z31%20450HP%20UPGRADE.PDF Bumble Zee also has provided a write up with many pictures: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=99620 I had thought about cleaning up this post, but apart from being too busy, I think it is useful to see how it evolved. These additional links should provide more than enough extra reference material. It still comes down to only a handful of wires being swapped. If you have the diagrams and have studied them ahead of time, then the upgrade can be done most easily.

Great info Yasin. I will be ordering one to have as backup in case they re-disappear off the market (they certainly have failed on me before). Thanks for documenting it so nicely and sharing it.

I searched a bunch of systems previously and ended up getting a progressive unit from Devils own: http://www.alcohol-injection.com/forum/ Does everything, nice pump, good price ($300 for full progressive unit) and service. Also if you have not browsed it already, the forum is a fantastic source for meth injection info.

Hi Mike, I actually have not seen the car yet, I had my cousin pick it up for me. It should have the extra turbo, but I won't get to check it out until mid november. If it's good and you still need it then I will let you know and certainly give you a good deal on it.

Certainly a decent deal. I'm looking forward to tearing up the suspension and having time to modify it before installing it in my car. Planning to go with coilovers and some modification of the rear control arm mounts..... No down time on the primary car should be great. I'm off of 95 in between Baltimore and DC. You're welcome to stop by when in the area.

Well, was finally able to pick it up for $600 with the extra dash and all. It seems like he wanted to keep it and the spouse wanted it out (hence him not being eager to sell it). Tranny had the synchro's replaced, which is great as mine are going. Now if I can convince my wife to let me bring in the spare engine, suspension... in the house so I can work on them during the winter, I'll be set. Maybe I can go with the modern art-deco theme argument.

Great info Frank. The pictures add a lot. Thanks!

Well he seems hard to get a hold of. Spoke with him after a bunch of calls, agreed to the sale, was supposed to call back and give directions but did not and did not answer the phone.... I'm back in maryland, but I asked my cousin who live in north jersey to try to pick it up for me this week, if we hear back from the owner. I would certainly like to get it, but if not, at least my wife will be happy.

Thanks for the head up, I was looking for a parts car. I'm going to take a look at it today and probably take it.

Good point Mark, I already have the upgrade, it's just that it is a very very limited data-logging and not nearly enough to fine tune the MAP to my taste. I do like Warren's approach, but it does bring up the cost of a new 02 unit with data-logging provision which is hard to justify, as I have a working standard type wide-band meter (to my wife, that is). All in all I'm still quite happy with the SDS unit, just listing the pros and cons as I experienced them.

I purchased an SDS a couple years back for full easy programmability (after having played with the Z31 ecu set up). and have mixed feeling about here is my summary: - Very reliable sturdy unit - Very easy to understand how to program when you are new to the system - Very easy to program on the fly - The hand programmer unit is great - Wiring is a piece of cake - Putting the magnets on the crank pulley along with making a mounting bracket was not difficult, but was annoying. Plan on spending a full weekend getting it done (at a leisurely pace) -Great customer service, if ever needed Nonetheless, the lack of real data-logging, which I thought I would not mind too much when I first got the unit (priority was on reliability by far, and simple to use was a bonus) is now most annoying to me. At that point I could not decide between the MS and SDS, and since only a handful of hybridZ had used it and a few were having a hard time getting it to work reliably, so I opted for SDS. At this point in time, however, MS experience is high, you can easily get it pre-made and avoid most of the reliability issues that some have had and MS II is available and cheap. Once you get comfortably with the system, being able to data log and see all the info at different RPM, engine load/boost, throttle position, temperature…becomes increasingly desirable. So at this juncture, I would opt for MS (or a unit with data-logging). However, if you believe that you will not want to look at all the cool the data and tinker and just want to have it dyno tuned once and drive without playing with it, it would be hard to go wrong with the SDS unit (I still tinker with it all the time, however it would be much nicer and more productive if I could data-log in between). Regarding the wiring you pull out the entire original ecu harness (everything that plugged in to the ecu unit) and then put in the sds harness. It’s all bundled together and labeled, hard to go wrong. The SDS directions are detailed, downloadable from the website and quite good (better than what most of us could write up).

I was thinking more about another forum, which I did not see a need for. Yes, a website is certainly different, I took a look at it and it seems to be off to a good start. If people contribute, it could be a great repository for s130 related information. BTW, the fiche section was not working for me. Thanks for all of your work.

it's very nice to finally see some s130 coilover options being discussed. The s13 set up being adapted to the s130 sounds most promising, as the s13 setups are able to adjust the strut housing height from the bottom, without changing the spring perch height and hence suspension travel, which would be a big benefit. I saw the z31 write up on how to cut and weld the front strut housing. My main question is can anyone confirm that the s13 rear set up is a real bolt in (after adding a third stud for the top plate). In other words is the length and travel of the s13 rear set up appropriate for the s130 (I saw bulletproof-Z's post with the length and travel but could not tell if that was the front or back)? Has anyone here actually purchased a s13 coilover set and installed it in an s130? If you have, please share

I’m most enthusiastic about bringing together more s130 related information. However, I fail to see how having a separate site with no input from s30 owners, which undoubtedly would result at best, to having one tenth of the vast body of technical information and experience than here, would create more useful s130 information. The only information that has been lacking is s130 specific suspension set up information. All else, engine, turbo, differential, EFI, camshaft…mods are the same. Why start from scratch when there is already so much collective experience, just add to it what you think is missing. My concern is that a separate site could further limit the s130 info here and would not have the experience and large membership needed to create valuable info on its own. For example, I have argued with Jon about the semi-trailing set up being equally competitive for most applications, yet I have mostly learned how to set up my suspension from him and John C, along with some other S30 owners with track experience. Odds are, they and others will use their experience to add useful comments to s130 specific discussions, losing that, would be just that, a loss!

Most of the bottled additives don't work as pointed out. However there are some with MMT and ferosene that actually work and can raise the octane rating by about 1 to ~2.5. The small bottles of toluene do not work (you need gallons of it). See articles: http://www.europeancarweb.com/tech/0503ec_octane_boosters_tested/index.html (click on the bottom right box for results of the test) http://www.automotiveforums.com/t87087.html (nice review, but old, so some products may have changed. I have used one of the nos racing formula with good sucess (able to raise psi by 1-2 along with 2 degrees of timing). The ones rated for off road use are often the better ones (I think some add a little lead as well) and often not the best for catalytics or 02 sensors if used often. It may be hard to get these days. I also had read that one of the previously well rated ones changed the formula and is no longer good, unfortunately I can't remember which one.

The L series engines are pretty tuff, failure is usually not due to the engine components but due to poor fuel and ignitiion management with associated detonation. Point being if you blow the engine and rebuild it you will have made no progress. You already put more than most into the engine and not nearly enough into the EFI system. The stock EFI is really not adequate for performance cams and high compression mods. Instead of planning for another rebuild, my advice is plan for an updated EFI such as MS. You can get the system pre-assembled for cheap. Believe me, it will improve your performance much more at his juncture than any further engine work. Stock EFi and injectors are way too limited!!!

Yup, going from 5 to 10 psi certainly makes a huge difference. Question, are you certain that your compression is really as high as 10:1? Also do you have a wideband O2 sensor?

I like your answer Jon Fortunately, I have not been put into any trees, as of yet. Mercedes cars, 280zx, 510 and others were plenty stable with semi-trailing and front mounted engines. Current 911 GT3 with rear engine and non-trailing suspension are also plenty stable. What I believe made the earlier Porsches so unforgiving was the combination of semi-trailing along with rear engine. Mind you I would rather have a multi-link suspension set-up. However, my personal view is that the real life disadvantage of the semi-trailing set ups are often grossly exaggerated. This is based not only on professional racing successes with such set ups, but also based on my personal non-professional experiences with a first generation Z, 280ZXT, 300ZX, 3rd and fourth generation supra turbos and a 3 series BMW which I have owned and pushed to their limits (the supra twin turbo was actually not mine but I drove it for 3 months straight). Fact remains that my 280zxt with proper front and rear alignment (with helpful tips from yourself), proper bushings, comfortable eibach springs and tokicos has outhandled and/or matched STI’s and other “better†designed machines at several tracks. Stiff rear control arm bushings and some rear toe in practically speaking resolve the off- throttle instability from the associated toe “out†change. And the camber gain with compression can really help with keeping the rear planted and to some is enough of a benefit to more than offset the camber loss during extension (still a debatable issue). It really takes very little to get them to perform admirably. I fully agree about softer suspension not helping.

I think that people make much more out of the semi-trailing arm theoretical limitations. Porsche was running semi-trailing suspension until the 90’s and 280zx,s won enough races as well to show that the real life difference is not always as significant than suggested by theory. According to theory current 911 should also have grossly sub-par handling with a rear mount engine, But then they dominate. Here are Bernard’s numbers with a 280zxt with stock pathetically soft and worn suspension: 60ft: 1.6909 330ft: 4.9192 1/8 mi: 7.5660@93.21 1/4 mi: 11.7589@117.55mph This was with slicks, time was I believe in low 12’s on street tires. Point being, while the suspension design is not “optimal”, it’s certainly not the limiting factor at this point in the game. You fist need to control the wheelspin. Also with a trap speed of 98 mph you probably don’t have the power to break into the 13’s no matter the tire. I would expect low 14’s with good tires and good launch. Here are some of the numbers from other members: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=115056 BTW, what amount of boost and EFI are you running? You seem to have enough goodies on the car to make much more power than you currently have.

I have been a subscriber for several years now. They used to be excellent but unfortunately the articles have been falling in quality and are now mostly marginal. However you get access to all the old articles and there are enough novel articles and unique DIY tips to make it more than worth the cost of a lunch. Enjoy!

Glad you got her to run, must be having a blast. Well now it’s time to ditch the stock EFI, really!!! I’ve gone through a few EFI mods and each time the gain was huge. You won’t believe how much more power and how well the car will run when you update. I first updated to the Z31 set up and then updated that to reprogrammed chip and Z32 ECU set up, each time with noticeable gain. I then upgraded to a SDS system which has been absolutely wonderful. It’s almost criminal to have a set up like yours with stock EFI. Also the connectors and harness have a limited lifetime and gremlins will keep reappearing (that was actually one motive for switching from the Z31/32 set up, to get rid of the old harness and intermittent problems).

Well non-load and rpm dependent makes temperature sensor, O2 sensor and AFM less likely culprits (but of course life is full of unexplainable surprises). You already went thru the TPS and it usually does not cause so much poor running anyways. Perhaps the ECU is not getting the right rpm signal, in other words at 2000 rpm it is thinking you are at 1000 RPM and not sending in the extra fuel. I believe on the NA set up the ECU gets the rpm signal from the positive lead of the coil (as opposed to the electronic ignition in the turbo). You should check that circuit. Also if you are using a MSD, as you know they change from multiple spark at low rpm to single spark at high rpm. The MSD feeds the coil and any problem with the unit could lead to faulty signal to the coil and hence faulty rpm reading by the ECU and then no increase in fuel delivery. Since the MSD has 2 circuits for feeding the impulse to the coil, one could be faulty (low RPM) while the other high RPM circuit is functional. SO if the MSD is on disconnect it!! If it is not on, then check the circuit from the coil to the ecu (? Pin 18 on the ECU). That’ all I can think of for now.