JMortensen

Have you considered what class you'll be put in with a motor swap? You'll get your butt handed to you in a Mod class, but it might still be a fun car to drive. Jon

The ZX has a closer ratio than the 280Z 5 speed. It could be that they mean "relatively" close ratio. Then again it could be a full on Nissan Comp tranny. Jon

Because they sell. $$$ The idea sounds great to someone who doesn't know better. Jon

OK, my $.02 now: If you're driving a street car and you want a comfortable ride on small road imperfections, but you want to push the car a little harder than the average driver, progressives or dual rate springs will work. For anyone even 1/2 way serious about handling, autox, road racing, track days, hard street driving, etc, progressives are a bad idea IMO. The reason being that the suspension has to blow thru the soft spring rate to get to the "real" rate, causing excessive body roll when turning and excessive nose dive when braking hard. Also, if you're in a nice steady state sweeper and you hit a bump, the car will probably bounce into the softer rate, then have to settle back into the real rate again. This situation of loading/unloading/loading the suspension is hard enough for the suspension to control when you have a good single rate spring, but progressives will make it worse. Someone posted a few months ago that Susp Tech was offering a setup for a ZX IIRC with progressive springs in front and linears in back. That is, AFAIC, the worst setup possible. If you're the "princess and the pea" type, or you don't really care about handling that much, then consider the progressive springs. Otherwise just get a good linear spring. Jon

Just realize that it could be the gauge too... Jon

A lot of guys put a quart of diesel fuel in the oil and run it for a few minutes then change it out, or add a quart of ATF. ATF has LOTS of detergents in it. I wouldn't trust the stock sender. Might be worth getting a cheapo auto parts store mechanical gauge (~$20) just to check it. You don't even need to mount the gauge, just use it under the hood, then disconnect and reconnect your stock gauge if the gauge is not the problem. If the stock gauge is bad, then run the hose inside the car and mount the gauge. Jon

I think you can get a decent amount of power out of a simple cleanup job on the head, and unshrouding the valves. On my head there was a LOT of work to be done in the combustion chamber, which I think is something most people overlook. This has all been discussed before, so search the archives, but I think Turbo's assessment that there is no benefit to be had without welding on the head is a little harsh. You won't get huge hp gains, but its a little bit here, a little bit there... I can't wait to see Turbo's DOHC head though. Jon

Well I went out on the track with slicks and a stock oil pan for 3 years, then one day my ex-roommate blew his engine in the long sweeper at Buttonwillow on his 3rd lap of the day. I upgraded my oilpan despite never having had a problem before. To me it is just extra insurance, and since I like driving my car a lot more than fixing it, I'm gonna do it. Plus the more worn the LSD is the more it will slip, the more heat it will generate. Jon

That's funny baddriver! I always wondered how you turbo guys can monitor 17 gauges at the same time. I would prefer idiot lights for most things, with gauges for the simple stuff: coolant temp, oil pressure, volt or amps, gas. My ex-bosses 911 race car had a what seemed to be 2000 watt bulb hooked in for low oil pressure. Made those shift lights that come with autometer tachs seem dull. Seems like that is the way to go, so that you can concentrate on what is in front of you... Jon

240zprace, why didn't you just disconnect the sway bar? Seems easier than lifting the engine to me, so that's what I've always done. Jon

I've tried stock, 15", 14", and 13", and I think 13" is the way to go. With the bigger wheels at autox I'd constantly hit my hand on the door panel, and I "shuffle steer". Jon

Could you make some spacers to space the bar down away from the connnectors? I've been contemplating doing the same thing to avoid CV shafts and not have to replace the rear bar. I don't even have the CV's yet, just trying to think ahead... Jon

I've run mine with a 79 ZX cover for about 4 years. No problems at all, and I've had it out at the track many times. I am going to get the LSD cover on there eventually, because LSD's do generate more heat than an open diff. Jon

No, it is a viscous LSD in the '88 SE. IMO, the clutch style gives better traction since the VLSD needs to start slipping before it does anything, but the VLSD will be smoother and won't affect turn in as much. Supposedly you can tune the VLSD to be more aggressive by changing the fluid in the VLSD unit itself, I've never tried it but that's what I hear. Jon

http://www.ups.com http://www.fedex.com Both sites have rate finders. Fedex Ground is usually cheaper. Find a box that will fit 2 wheels and send 2 boxes. Put a couple pieces of cardboard in between the wheels to keep them from getting scratched. Jon

Yeah, but that '78 Toyota Celica that some redneck runs on 1/8th dirt oval that would do a 20 sec 1/4, yeah, that's a REAL racecar. Sorry, still not buying it. Jon

Yeah, I wouldn't want to drive Bastaad's car with it running on cords on the right rear! Jon

As someone who has thrown a lit cigarette into a jar of gasoline to prove that it won't catch fire, I can tell you that walking by gas fumes with a lit cigarette will not start a fire. There MAY be some ideal set of circumstances, ie you just took a drag and the cherry is as hot as it is going to get, and the fumes are at just the right density, but under normal circumstances it won't happen. LIGHTING a cigarette near fumes can. And yes, even though I knew it wouldn't catch the jar of gas on fire, I still winced when I threw it in. It's that whole self preservation thing, I guess. Jon

I don't know for sure about this, but it seems to me that in a previous post there were pics of the mating surfaces and this was not a locker. I know it looks like one of the little "lunchbox lockers" like an EZ Locker or a Lock-Right that you would get for a 4x4 that takes the place of the spider gears, but I seem to remember a friction surface in the middle of the 2 plates, not teeth like a locker would have. I would imagine that anyone who had one would have complained like hell if it was a locker. If you've ever been in a 4x4 with an EZ or Lock-Right you know what I mean, clunk BANG, clunk BANG, clunk BANG around corners. FWIW, a friend of mine did have an actual Detroit locker in his R190 in the back of a 510 about 10 years ago, and that thing was FAR worse than a 4x4, probably because there aren't leaf springs and shackles to isolate the clunking from the chassis. I swear the first corner he went around I thought the diff had to be in a million pieces in the middle of the street. VERY LOUD. He took it out after driving in the rain and trying to exit a freeway off ramp that had a sharp turn. Only took one... Jon

All I have to add is that when you get this thing done you HAVE to get it on some scales. I'm really interested to see where your weight is and what your weight is... Jon

Sorry no. I just looked thru all my old backup CD-R's and nothing. I had to format the old hard drive a while back and apparently lost ALL of my old pics of the Z, which included my engine buildup and headwork and everything else... BUMMER! Crappy thing is I know I had pics of the engine going together and the pan going on and pics from all different angles of the engine compartment and suspension, so I KNOW it would have been in there. Got 5 copies on 5 different backup CD's of my wife's school projects from 5 years ago, but no old Z pics... Jon

The fins hang down, but that's about it. I don't think it is significantly lower than a stock pan. It does not hang really low, maybe 1" or so under the crossmember. The benefit of the engine getting oil under braking and in turns would far outweigh the danger of it hitting anything, in my case with my ride height at least. And the cost of a Nissan Comp pan is pretty ridiculous if you ask me. Don't try going direct to DP for the comp pan, BTW. When I called him he told me I had to buy direct from Nissan, so I ended up with the AZC pan instead figuring that $400 could do lots of other things for the car. Jon

What if you're SCCA national champ in the stock autox classes? I'd say it is a race car... Jon

Nope, they use a pipe plug and mine actually tightens about 5 threads into the pan, so it is well protected, if somewhat leaky. Might be that someone had the same pan and didn't like the drainplug and made their own, or perhaps that was an older model. Jon

I think this piece can fall out of place and down inside the booster. Should have mentioned that before... Jon