JMortensen

Looks like you've set a 5 lug rim under the fender just to take a picture. Any idea what size rim you'll actually run? I've got the same flares, thinking 15x14 with 5" backspace.

I would do the mod if you have the parts, and just use Derek's cam tower shims. It seems people are reluctant to use the cam tower shims, but they're usually the same people that think that the cam towers are so sensitive that if you take them out and put them back in they'll never be right. IMO, it's really not that big a deal to run shims. I wouldn't let that stop me if you have all the other stuff to do it.

All of the real hardcore road racer guys are using these transmissions, so they're usually in the 250-300 whp range. The T5 is a POS in comparison as far as I'm concerned, especially if you're comparing a close ratio Comp box to a T5 which has very wide ratios and you have a high strung NA engine. Parts are really the only problem. It's not really that surprising that it's hard to find a 35 year old competition transmission that doesn't need a synchro or has a broken shift fork. I would say fix it and use it, and if it doesn't make that much of a difference to you what the ratios are, then sell it to someone that REALLY wants it and buy a T5 or something else. They do bring good money with the road race crowd because they are better.

OK, that's funny!

Pretend you know nothing about soccer. What does this picture say to you?

Tough to tell by the pictures, but when gears get hot like you described, I'd tend to want to just get another one. You can always just assemble it and see what it does. Cross your fingers.

I know nothing about the reds other than I've never heard anyone recommend them. All that I know about the yellows I learned here. I have experience with the Tokico blues, GR2's and the Illuminas, havne't used any of the higher end shocks yet so can't speak to them at all. I bought Bilsteins for my project, and if I were looking for a strut to run on a street car I think that would be my choice, I'd run an unmodified Bilstein.

Ouch. Well I added a post in that thread that the backlash doesn't usually change with Nissan LSDs and that you should check it regardless. Too late for you, but might help the next guy. Sorry about that.

If the thing was really getting hot I would be worried about the condition of the ring and pinion. Seeing as how a used R200 usually runs about $100 to $150, I'd be inclined to find another diff and put your LSD in that one. You can use the post in the FAQ section about installing an LSD into an open diff. It's not a tough job. Things get a lot harder when you have to screw with the pinion depth and preload.

Ron Carter's BRE replica also has megaphones out the center, and is also very loud.

You got it partially right. Setting the backlash shouldn't make the pinion hard to turn, unless the ring gear is actually loaded against the pinion. There is no reason at all to screw with the pinion when installing the LSD. Just set the backlash and that's it. As far as the axles go, that sounds like a tough one. I don't know if this is possible with the OBX, but with some diffs you can pull the axle out of one side and look through and see the inside face of the axle on the opposite side. If that is the case here, maybe you can use an air hammer or a brass drift and BFH to beat it out from the inside.

It sounds like you've seen the wear marks so you aren't guessing. Good job. Those stock diff mounts do suck. Mostly people have issues with the nose of the diff coming up and tearing the strap and the diff mount though. The RT diff mount changes the pinion angle, not sure in which direction, so that may or may not be a good thing. I know dimensions have been posted before. Might find them in the downloads section. Or you could buy one from roostmonkey. They aren't very expensive through him.

Exactly. Move the wheel back and the strut changes angles, but the control arm cannot compensate. The more the suspension compresses the worse the angle on the strut becomes, so the worse the suspension binds up. If you really need the wheel in the center of the wheel well you should swap out a different suspension system and set it up so that the angles are all correct when the wheel is centered.

Your stock diff mount should prevent the nose from hitting anything by moving down. It should have a big rubber pad in it. If you use the RT mount the poly bushing is pretty stiff and you can remove the stock mount, so you should get less movement and more clearance between the crossmember and the diff. You'll have to check the swaybar for clearance yourself, but I know that my car had the sway bar bound up pretty badly and I never actually heard it despite the fact that it was hitting the frame rails hard enough to leave dents. I haven't used a Quaife, but I've talked to customers with True-tracs which are pretty similar and they've described a crunching noise when turning one direction than the other with the unit in the front of a 4x4 and also when backing out of a tight spot. I can't remember anyone here complaining about noises from a Quaife.

From what I understand the blues are like Illuminas set on 3. Speaking from experience with a 200/250 setup with Illluminas, that would be a pretty stiff ride. You might be OK, probably depends more on your seats than anything else.

They didn't make a factory ratio of 3:1. It might have been available from Nissan comp, but unlikely that you have a very tall comp gear in your diff. Tallest factory ratio was 3.36, but it didn't come in any 280Z. Most (all?) 280Z's with R200s were 3.54. What you can do is pull the rear cover and it will have the ring and pinion tooth count stamped on it. It will probably read 39:11, which if you divide it out is 3.5454545454.

It's easier to assemble the case with the springs like this ((x)) because the tabs don't try and poke out when you're clamping the case shut. I don't know why you bought that shim that people use to shim up the VLSD. That's a bad way to shim up the VLSD (basically loading the gears on each other so that they're harder to turn, and it's probably too thick to shim the CLSD to any reasonable spec. I have a thread about shimming the LSD without the extra clutches, follow that one if you want shim yours without adding the clutches. Adding the clutches is a MUCH better way to go, as people in high torque applications have had the one clutch with inside tabs strip and then you basically have an open differential. The spirals in the clutches are there to hold oil and reduce chatter. They work fine without, and all older Datsun CLSDs like the old roadsters, etc. didn't have spirals. Pics here: http://www.gordon-glasgow.org/lsd1.asp

The differential cannot "slip" unless you have major teeth missing inside. If you had slipping, it's from the clutch or auto transmission.

I guess just that the sheet is so thin it seems like it might tear and create a fuel leak into the cabin if the car rolled. Maybe that's being overly cautious. It wouldn't be the first time...

I was figuring on stiffeners if I ran this stuff. I have enough to do it and a pop up "doghouse", just a little worried that it is so thin.

What thickness aluminum sheet would be suggested for the bulkhead between the rear deck and the fuel cell? I have some really thin stuff, like .032" and I'm feeling a little uneasy about using it.

You have a point Alan; he's got to get that roll under control. We're just talking about two different ways to get to the same place. I'm saying use stiffer springs all around (and especially if he's going to bigger yaw dampers [tires] I don't see a need to wait on the springs) or limit the jacking on the inside, you're suggesting a stiffer bar. If he wants to maintain the no rear bar setup, he really needs stiffer springs IMO, as going to a stiffer front bar will help, I just don't think it will do enough and I don't think it's going to help with the understeer. I've autoxed a truck that improved it's horrible understeer with the addition of a front bar, but I think Mark is past that point where the thing is set up SO bad that any reduction of roll will be a net benefit. I think droop limiters all around will be the more effective solution. Take a look at these cars with various spring rates and the last one with limiters. Softly sprung no droop limiters: http://lh3.ggpht.com/tube80z/R_0JCYGU_4I/AAAAAAAAAgk/fh6n7KdzxNs/s800/IMG_4064.JPG Stiffly sprung no droop limiters: http://lh6.ggpht.com/tube80z/R_0JL4GVANI/AAAAAAAAAjM/yKjNKjbtDOQ/s800/IMG_4088.JPG http://lh3.ggpht.com/tube80z/R_0JvIGVBSI/AAAAAAAAAr8/iD1JWzenIsw/s800/IMG_4172.JPG Stiffly sprung with droop limiters: http://lh4.ggpht.com/tube80z/R_0JlYGVA-I/AAAAAAAAApY/eMo310K4iho/s800/IMG_4146.JPG

If he's already having trouble with understeer and doesn't want to add a rear bar due to the traction issues with the Quaife, then I'd say a larger rear bar isn't a good solution to the jacking problem. Stiffer springs would reduce this a bit. I really like the idea of the droop limiters on struts because I think the angle of the struts cause the sprung mass to slide up the inside struts under lateral acceleration. I don't think any strut based suspension gets around this. If you have the strut straight up and down it would eliminate the jacking but the side load on the struts would probably cause a LOT of stiction. Not really possible to lean the struts out either due to packaging constraints. I don't think other suspension setups have nearly as bad a problem in this respect.

The front 240 and 280 struts are the same length. The rear 280 strut is longer than the rear 240 strut. The isolators on top are also longer on the 280 in back. There are generic coilovers available for both struts. Do some searching and you'll find all the info you need.

So do you guys think he didn't look at the motor? I'm inclined to believe that he did look at it.