JMortensen

One idea: You can take the plug out of the oil pump, drill a hole in it, tap it for a large bolt, then cut the head off the bolt and cut a slot in it for a screwdriver and put it back together, now you have adjustable pressure. I think someone sells something like this, maybe MSA? A buddy made mine, and gave it to me when he no longer needed it. It works, but it drips just a little bit. I'm not a clean freak though. I'd rather have the oil pressure where I want it and have a little drip... Jon

It wasn't my 20 hp argument to start with (I don't know who came up with that #), but I was playing devil's advocate with Cody's post. I was trying to figure out how the HLA's would lose hp vs a solid pivot. I think the HLA's are run by oil pressure, and the spring just acts to keep it from totally collapsing and possibly even falling out when the car is not running. The spring in the chain tensioner does not provide the pressure, it just keeps the tensioner against the chain when the engine is off, so that the chain doesn't flop all over when you start the car. I don't think the spring pressure is what keeps it from bleeding down. I think its the oil pressure. I could be wrong. If I am right, more oil pressure would mean less bleeding, more lift. I think the lifter example is a good one because they still take up the slack in the valvetrain like a lifter does, and they are still subjected to pressure when the cam opens the valves. If they bleed, you would still lose lift. How much difference that makes is a question I can't answer. Mostly I'm just throwing ideas out to try and help. Jon

That fuel cell has no foam, so what keeps the fuel from sloshing? Baffles? Jon

That doesn't mean that the HLA's don't bleed. Look at the V8 guys. They obviously understand the difference in solid lifter vs hyd lifter. You can make 1000 horsepower with hyd lifters in a V8. Does that mean that it does the same thing as a solid lifter? Jon

That makes me wonder if Comp oil pressure springs might help. Might also wear the cam and rockers faster... Jon

How about if the HLA bleeds down at max lift on the cam basically robbing you of .010 or .020 lift? Don't know that this happens, but I'm sure that is the reasoning behind the theory that it loses hp versus solid valvetrain. Jon

Those rear discs are not vented, I'm 99.99999% sure. Jon

NGK spark plugs and if you need to replace the wires, NGK or Magnacor. The platinum plugs and all that are a waste of money IMO. Jon

That's so he can figure the distance he needs to hit 88 mph... Jon

Oh, I didn't sell mine with tires either. Too much weight for shipping. Jon

I sold a set on ebay for more than $250. Then I sold the center caps separately for around $50. I don't think mine were in quite as good condition as what you've got, but it's hard to judge from the little pics. Shipping was a PITA, and expensive as well. Jon

Don't run out and buy that yet, I'm working on a serious high performance kazoo mod for a 5" tail pipe, and I'm still in the design stages of a new harmonica tip that should be crazy fast!!! I'm gonna call my new company Plessy-beaux Parts "For the truly enthusiastic" Jon

So to sum up, I've read many many articles on rod ratio in the past few days, and I've searched this forum as well. It appears that despite the worse rod ratio of a stroker, the limits of rpms seems to be more connected to the oiling capacity than the rod ratio itself. That being said, more displacement gives more power, so the stroker seems to be the best way to go, and using the longest rod available for the stroker motor is a good idea. Anyone think I need a rectal/cranium extraction for saying the above??? Jon

I am really curious about this subject. What I wanna know is about rod ratios. If your rod ratio is 1.5, then you are subjecting the pistons to a lot of side load, and your pistons move faster, and they do not stay at TDC as long so aren't able to take advantage of the burn as much. Better rod ratio, say 1.8 means that the pistons move slower (higher redline), you have more leverage on the crank, and less side load on the pistons. How big a difference does that make??? Apparently most don't think that a 383 is a bad idea despite a less desireable rod ratio. Is .2 or .3 difference in the ratio a deal breaker??? Does this only come into play at 5000 rpm and higher? Still confused about rod ratios... Jon

I'm no big fan of TEP, but I've been to their shop and they know what they are doing, at least to some extent. Just don't believe their hp ratings. I would bet that they had a set of duals for a 510 or a 2002, and they grabbed another carb to throw in the box they sent to you. Sounds like maybe the third was a return... or maybe they ran out of the proper length stud??? I still can't understand exactly what the problem is, and I know that others have had problems of one sort or another with them previously, but this sounds like a simple mistake. Steve is the owner, and he'll usually listen to you if you are spending money there. He's given one friend of mine completely incorrect advice, and sent another the wrong parts, but in general he's not a complete idiot. Jon

Funny that this should come up. I just PM'd Jeromio this morning asking if he tried to find a poly bushing that would be small enough so that you don't have to cut the top of the crossmember. This post answers all of the questions I had. I like PParaska's mount or Ron Tyler's if you prefer, but I think I'm going to go with Matt's because I have an extra crossmember and diff mount to take measurements from... I love this forum, Jon

Are they the ones selling you a new windshield when it scratches so bad you can't see out of it anymore??? I would not use wipers on Lexan. I wouldn't even use paper towels on Lexan. Soft cloth and soap and water only!!! Jon

Yeah, go register for the draft too... Jon

ON3GO, weren't you just recently talking about putting a playstation in your car? Which way do you want to go? Lightweight, or electronics? No stereo, no speakers, no DVD, no Playstation no Monster Cables. That will save a lot of weight. I don't think the stock tank is all that heavy either. Maybe 15 lbs??? Lexan saves weight, but it scratches REALLY EASILY (even the "scratch resistant stuff), and when exposed to chemicals like gas fumes eventually gets a rainbow effect a lot like oil on water. I've got an extra set of quarter windows, and was thinking of putting Lexan in them, but then I thought that I might save 1 lb in glass on a good day and the effort involved wasn't worth it. The hatch glass would be worth it, but not on a street driver, not if you like to see behind you... Interesting side note about ADDING weight: I used to autox with this group that had 3 Manx VWs on slicks. They were really fast. One of the guys had 40lbs of barbell weights welded to the left front bumper. He said his Manx ran 11's, and I believe him. He also said that it was impossible to control at the strip without the weights on the front bumper, and without the tire pressures being something like 12 lbs left rear and 20 lbs right rear. Anything else and the car would lift the front end and make a sharp right turn right into the wall!!! Jon

What??? I don't get it??? Jon

That looks like very clean work! Are you going to relocate the battery? Doesn't look like you left room, and by your sig I'm thinking maybe you wanted space on either side for dual exhaust for a V8. Good job! Jon

Someone brought up before that the 12.19" rotors are used in circle track with steel wheels. He said it, and it made sense, but I never heard a confirmation on that from anyone else that this combo would work on a Z. If they would fit under 15" steel wheels that would probably be my route anyway, since the kit is already available and yes, the bigger rotor would be a huge advantage. Plus you can order any offset you want, and if you bend one it's $50 to replace... Jon

Juan, I really want to see what you come up with on this one. My beef with the Toy calipers is WEIGHT! If you do a Wilwood caliper you can probably cut 8 or 9 lbs off each corner vs Toyota. Jon

You would need shims under the valve springs because of the longer valves, which will get you the correct seat pressure, but it still won't help them with the main problem, which is coil bind. If you run a cam with anything over about .460 lift you'll need aftermarket springs. The aftermarket springs are actually longer, and the retainers are differently shaped to accomodate them. This and the higher spring rate (less coils per inch) allows the valve to move farther before the coils bind. I put Schneider valve springs and retainers from MSA in my last buildup, and so far have not had any problems, except that when my machinist was working on the head he found that at full lift the retainer actually hit the valve seal, so he had to turn down the bottom part of the retainers in a lathe to fix. Make sure you don't get a spring that is too stiff, as they will wear out the rockers and cam quickly, some of the aftermarket stuff is really stiff, but I can't remember which. I also can't remember the seat pressures and the compressed pressures of my Schneider stuff, but my machinist thought they would be fine for a long time. This stuff can get pretty complicated. Ask as many questions as you can if you're in doubt at all... Jon

OK but how about the way the intake tubing is bent all over the place like a bad exhaust system? I know what the engineers are doing, they are using the bends and sometimes pieces of tubing that come off the intake and go nowhere to cancel sound resonance, but surely the convoluted SHAPE has to hurt performance. Just a little devil's advocate here... BTW, I love the drop in K&N's and have put them in every car I've owned, except my Z which has an ITG. The only reason I buy them though is to save $$$. Use and clean vs. use and trash... Jon