wheelman

You might consider Kumho V710s if you can get them there in the size you need. They are almost as good as the Hoosiers but last longer and generally are a little cheaper, at least in the states.

I don't find that impressive, but stupid.

Jon, If you were able to produce axles of the correct length for a reasonable price I'm sure you could sell a few the problem may be finding the 300ZXT CV ends if you don't already have them. This brings up a question, what are the CV ends on a 300ZX (Z31) non-turbo? Are they the same as a 280ZX or a 300ZX Turbo? Reason I ask is a buddy of mine has a pair of non-turbo axles I'm trying to talk him out of but if they have different joints then I don't want them.

With an LS2 swap you don't a dorifto hand brake to induce loss of rear end grip, just use the loud pedal on the right!

Here are some pictures I took while assembling the new axle using the Pathfinder parts: This picture shows the lengths of the center bars from the 2 300ZX turbo axles and the V6 Pathfinder axle. The shortest is the Pathy part. This picture shows the relative lengths of the shorter 300ZX turbo and the Pathy axle. This is the 300ZX CV joints temporarily attached the to Pathy center bar. The newly assembled axles. The longer of these is actually the shorter 300ZX axle with new CV boots. The other is the new axle made up of the CV ends from the longer 300ZX axle and the Pathy center bar. The spacer I fabbed up to make the new Pathy based axle long enough is also shown. Here are the same axles but this time with the spacer shown on the axle, its just pressed on not bolted. This is the tripod joint from the other Pathfinder axle I bought, it can from a 92 V6 4x4 model. I verified this joint has the same spline count and diameter as the 300ZX axle by attaching it to one of the left over 300ZX center bars I have. I hope these pictures help.

What Nigel is referring to is the traction of the front tires on an FWD car is providing the acceleration and turning force at the same time, only a portion of that traction can be dedicated to each of those activities. A RWD car can theorectically put 100% of the traction of the rear tires to acceleration and 100% of the traction of the front tires to turning. My personal opinion about the FWD vs RWD vs AWD debates found on the internet is that they are mostly pissing contests by boys trying to defend their choice of car. I prefer a RWD platform but thats because it's what I'm most comfortable with, I have no illusions about it being the "best" layout in all situations.

The 300ZX Turbo axles don't have tripod joints, I used the Pathfinder axle that had 1 birfield and 1 tripod, removed both joints and installed both joints from the 300ZX turbo axle. The splines and diameter of the Pathfinder axle with a birfield and a tripod are the same on both ends and match the 300ZX axles. The Pathfinder center bar is ~1 1/2" shorter than the shortest 300ZX center bar (I think). I measured them but can't remember the dimensions right now. The other Pathfinder axle I got had tripod joints on both ends, one end was smaller diameter so the center bar wasn't usable. I think this actually came from a 4-Cyl Pathfinder or truck but is marked as a direct swap into a V6 Pathfinder by the JY. Neither end of the Pathfinder axle is compatible with our Z car setups. I can't remember the exact configuration but I believe the inner tripod joint has a 5 bolt setup, the outer birfield is designed to slide through the hub and has a retainer nut on the outer end. I have driven it, raced it actually, no binding what so ever and no sign of movement from the 1/2" spacer. I had figured out a setup that prevented bind up in the old setup but it meant I had to run almost 0* negative camber, now I can run all I can get, which is too much (over 4*), with no binding. Edit: After work I checked the Pathfinder axle I still have and now I remember what I found and why I was surprised (old age and time are conspiring against my memory). I bought 2 Pathy V6 axles. 1 was from a 90 the other a 92. The 90 unit had 2 birfield joints, I used this one to create my shortened drivers side axle. The other had a tripod inner joint with a 5 bolt pattern housing (this one confused me), I put it aside without removing either end or even removing the bellows from the outer end assuming it was actually a 4-Cyl unit. Turns out it has a tripod inner and a birfield outer, not 2 tripods as I had reported earlier. I still need to remove the outer birfield on this one to verify the diameter and spline count but my suspicion is they will be the same as the 300ZX turbo axle.

I actually made it work! I bought 2 "V6" Pathfinder axles from the local JY assuming both would have Birfield joints, not tripod joints, on the inboard side. Turns out one had the tripod joints on both ends and the other had a birfield joint on the inboard side and a tripod on the outer. The one with the birfield was the same diameter and spline count as the 300ZX Turbo axles. So I moved the shorter of my 2 300ZX axle assemblies from the driver side to the passenger, gives a good 1/2" of clearance. Then I took the CV joints off the other 300ZX axle (a pain in the ass until I figured out the secret) and put them on the Pathfinder axle. This makes an axle that is too short so I machined a 1/2" thick adapter from 6061-T6 aluminum. It's not a perfect solution as the 1/2" thick adapter plate is required to make it work but it's better than axles that bind or cost a fortune.

Heres my setup, how I drive the elements you are referring to and a few questions: 73 240Z LT1 V8,T5 5-Speed, JTR mount location, huge torque (353ft/lbs) , lots of HP (320). R200 3.54:1 CLSD, 300ZX CV axles DP bolt in camber plates Same ARBs as the OP Kumho V710, 265/45-16 (sticky DOT legal race tires) Camber -2* front, -1.5* rear (approximate values) Caster ~3.5* (I'd really like more but its not possible with my current setup) Koni Yellow single adjustable struts (softest setting front and rear) 350 lbs/in front, 325 lbs/in rear springs Ride Height: ~4.5" at bottom of frame rail My car is pretty neutral with a tendency toward oversteer, especially with generous throttle application, I like it this way, some people find it hard to drive. You are going to find 180* elements to be the most challenging auto-x element no matter what car you're in, period!! It takes a lot of practice to get them right. Those other cars may look totally composed with no under steer, I bet if you ride along in one you'll find they push just like your car (maybe not as much) when trying to navigate the element with too much speed. The best technique I've found for 180 elements is to over brake just a bit just as I enter the element, get the car settled in the turn, try to backside the cone and slowly add throttle until either the front or rear just starts to wash out. Trail braking can also be used effectively to get the car to rotate but it's really hard to get the speed right. Being as tight as possible on the cone is not always the fastest line. Carrying too much speed into the turn and expecting the front to hold is always an exercise in frustration, you'll never tune that out with suspension mods or sticky tires, its a driver cured problem. Some questions: 1. When you say your car under steers are you saying the front tires are sliding or you have to crank the wheel tighter and tighter in a corner to maintain the line? 2. What tires are you running? Tired good or new crappy street tires are not going to work no matter what you do. 3. What pressures are you running? Front? Rear? 4. Have you tried adding pressure to the rear to free it up a bit? 5. Have you tried a bit of toe out in the rear? Be careful with this, it can make the car very tail happy if you over do it. 6. Have you tried running the rear bar but with the end links a little loose, not torqued all the way down? This has worked well on my car. 7. Are you shifting from 2nd into 1st for 180* elements? Experiment with staying in 2nd if you are shifting down. 8. What setting are your Illuminas set on? Have you tried a stiffer setting in the rear than the front? Again, be careful with this, it can make the car tail happy. A word of warning, the DP camber plates may not be as bolt in as you think, most likely you'll have to expand the hole in the top of the strut tower to clear the Illumina adjustment knob. EDIT: Also does it help any to have a slight rake with the front being at most 1/2" lower than the rear? I used to have that, now I'm using the 240 upper rear strut mounts so the rake is gone. I ran my car like that for a couple of events, made it real squirrelly so I set it back to level.

Jon, You're correct, I'm after some more negative camber but I'm really more interested in squaring up the car. I took it in to have it aligned and found the left side has about 1/2 degree more negative camber than the right and with the bisquit type plates I have I'm not getting as much camber as I want. I'll have to contact TTT and see what they're willing to do, I don't forsee ever shortening the arms beyond stock length so if they'll set them up to be at max short being same as stock I'll go with them. I also have more tie rod length to play with for adjustment than stock due to using the Subaru/Toyota tie rods with the power steering conversion, I think I can go out ~3/4" from where I'm at. Any idea how far I need to go to get 1.5* camber change? I'd like to end up with -3* front and -2 or -2.5* rear. The alignment shop measured the rear at almost -4 so I reduced it but haven't measured it since. What are your thoughts regarding the TTT rear control arms? I seem to remember some folks here expressing reservations about that basic design but not specifically the TTT units.

Its too bad the article isn't available to read online, or at least some pictures of the install. I had a 58 Ghia when I was in high school with a warmed over 1700CC motor, 65 transaxle (still swing axle) and original front end. Lets just say the brakes left a lot to be desired. I loved that car, had a blast in it running the mountain roads around Coeur D'Alene Lake and St. Maries Idaho, although I almost put it under a logging truck one day (remember the sketchy brakes), scared the hell out of me. Before I bought my current Z I considered looking for another one but then saw the prices and remembered all the rusted bolts and impossible to find Ghia specific parts, changed my mind real quick.

I did an LT1 swap into a 73 240Z by modifying the stock harness from the donor car. I found all the wiring diagrams and PCM pinouts in the field service manuals at my local library. It cost me $.10 a page to photo copy the schematics I needed, then I simply removed the wires I wouldn't be using. I removed things like the EGR and air injection pump control, A/C and power steering pressure sensors, all the auto tranny connections (I went with a T5). I use TunerCat to tune it and remove variables associated with the systems I deleted and the VATS. Modifying the harness wasn't hard but it was tedious and took several hours. The car has been running very well now for 5 years and puts down 275 RWHP (measured on a dyno). Hope this info helps.

I'm exploring options for adjustable front control arms and have found the following: Futo Fab Arizona Z Car Techno Toy Tuning I've also seen several posts here that document various methods of modifying stock arms but I'd rather not go that route unless someone has a pair they're interested in selling. Anyway, I'd like to know what you guys think of each of the options linked above. I'm leaning toward the Techno Toy units due to price and they seem to have a good reputation. The AZ Z units are my last choice due to price, they aren't adjustable on car and seem to be more bling than necessary.

Thats exactly what happened.

You have to experiment but start with a 4.7k. When I first installed my LT1 I placed the PCM in the front right corner of the engine bay, didn't have to place a resistor inline with the tach signal, then I moved the PCM to the passenger foot well and had to add a 4.7k to get it to work.

Both, You want the bleeder nipple higher than the rest of the caliper because air rises in the fluid (to the top) and it's possible, even likely, that a bubble will get stuck in the caliper and be very hard to purge if the nipple isn't the highest point. But you're also forcing the air from all the lines by pushing fluid through them. I tried using a vacuum bleeder but found it didn't work very well, ended up using the vacuum reservoir as a catch can for the fluid when I pushed it through the caliper using the brake pedal. Worked much better that way, made flushing the system of the old fluid much more convenient. I'm running 300ZX CV axles and had no clearance issues with the p-brake bracket.

If you run the Toyota 4x4 front calipers on the rear you'll either have to run separate parking brake calipers or a line lock to have a parking brake. To answer the questions about the kit from the guy in Vegas, I have it mounted up now. It uses Maxima calipers and modified brackets, the parking brake cables hook right up to the p-brake acutator on the caliper, no mods required. The only downside to this kit is the calipers have to be mounted on the opposite side of the car they were designed for. This means bleeding them is a "little" more complicated, you have to remove them from the hangers and orient them so the bleeder is higher than the rest of the caliper, once you do that they bleed just fine. I'm real happy with the setup, ran them at the first auto-x event this last weekend, it's amazing how much of a difference working brakes makes!

Looking forward to meeting you and seeing your car. I completely understand about not making it this season, I won't be making all our local events either, work is crazy busy and I'm working almost every weekend to keep up. It should slow down this fall once the new instrument we're releasing is finally on the market but until then it seems like one loooooooong week.

Jon, When I did the Subaru rack install I started with a 280 cross member, they're beefier than the 240 units. I had to cut reliefs into the left side engine mount tower and the main beam of the cross member just to the left of the rack mount to clear the valve body. I braced these points by welding angle iron to the opposite side from the cut. Does that make sense? A few comments in relation to the statements you reported hearing about other power racks: 1. You wouldn't have been happy with an electric rack that adjusts the assist based on speed, the scrub you are going to run won't reduce enough at speed to eliminate the need for PS and auto-x speeds aren't that high. I run less scrub than that and would go home with arms that ached pretty bad after a day of auto-x. 2. I'm running a Forrester rack with a stock GM pump from a 95 Caprice. It feels light and quick but is in no way vague and the pump has no problem keeping up, even on an auto-x course. 3. The Forrester rack is 2.5 turns lock to lock which is quicker than the stock Datsun rack and has a longer movement, very nice for auto-x. 4. A good fluid reservoir with some baffling in it is essential, my current setup doesn't have baffling and I get aeration which causes the pump to whine after a run. I've reduced the problem by running a higher fluid level but it's time to get a new reservoir. The rack you bought looks very nice, I'm going to watch this thread to see how it turns out. BTW: Once you get the car running you should think hard about coming over to the Tri-Cities or Spokane to auto-x with us, help me beat up on all the Vette drivers we have over here.

I promised a follow up after I got some track time, attended the first auto-x event since the upgrade so here goes. I have the following setup: FRONT 86-88 S12+8 Toyota Calipers (not the larger piston S12W units) 84 300ZX vented front rotors Basic street quality pads REAR 84 Maxima calipers and mounting brackets (even the parking brake is usable) 84 300ZX solid rear rotors Basic street pads Wilwood 1" bore master cylinder Adjustable prop valve found on eBay, not a "brand" name unit Steel braided flex lines at all 4 corners Valvoline DOT 3, 4 synthetic brake fluid The brakes worked great, very linear, easy to modulate and actually slowed the car rather than locking the fronts. It is possible to lock the brakes but it takes a very quick, hard stab on the pedal to do it. Statements have been made that a 1" bore is too large, I disagree. For street use the pedal effort may be a bit higher than some folks like but for auto-x I feel this is pretty close to an ideal setup, road racing may benefit from larger rotors that provide better cooling. Bottom line, the 1" bore is not too large and once you take care of the quality issues it's a good fit with the Toyota calipers and rear disks.

I took the plunge and decided to go with a Wilwood 1" bore brake master cylinder. After searching for a decent priced 15/16" unit from a 280ZX and not finding any I gave up and bought the Wilwood unit from Jegs. The price was Ok ($113.00) considering it included the reservoirs and it's a "Wilwood". Anyway, the fit is acceptable but the mounting holes need to be elongated as reported in this thread: http://forums.hybrid...-grabby-brakes/ The poster in that thread reported he used a larger 10" booster and it worked well. I don't know which booster I have but it wouldn't be possible to install a larger one as the clutch master would be in the way, so maybe I have the 10" booster. I did replace the original several years ago during the build but can't remember if I got a larger one or not. Here is the bad with this "Wilwood" unit: 1. The bleeders are aluminum and one was crushed in my unit when it arrived. It was very difficult to bleed the master. Took me a while to figure this out, fortunately my other master had brass bleeders so I swapped them. 2. The valve in the outlet for the rear brake circuit was bad. Couldn't get fluid into the rear circuit. Again it took me while to figure this out and a re-install once I swapped the one from my other master. 3. The outlets it came with have SAE threads. This wasn't really a problem, just the way they are, I was able to swap the ones from my other master so didn't need to bend new pipes. The outlets included with it were also aluminum so it's a good thing I was able to swap them for the brass units. The bottom line in this so far is I was surprised at the low quality parts included with the Wilwood but once I swapped in working parts from my old master it seems to work well and doesn't seem to be too large for the calipers I'm running. This process just re-enforced how much I HATE working with brake fluid. Being forced to remove the master after trying to bleed the system only to find no fluid going to the rear brakes was extremely irritating, especially considering this was a brand new unit. Once I have some track time I'll add more info to this thread on how the 1" bore size works out.

I checked with AutoZone, O'Reilly's and Napa Auto, none have one, nearest Pepboys is 163 miles away. Everyone of them has told me to call back in a couple weeks, maybe they'll get one in at the warehouse. Hadn't considered JCWhitney, they're site listed one for $136.00 but I'm skeptical they actually have it. NothernAuto also shows they have one but again I'm skeptical. I found the Z source of AZ before the original post, $251.00 is more than I want to pay, even for a "new" one. I ran across another recent thread on this topic, the poster found a 1" unit from Walbro that works, other than requiring a little more pressure on the pedal is there another reason these are "too big"? The price is $131.00 for a brand new unit and the car is pretty much auto-cross only so requiring more pressure on the pedal is not a bad thing at all, what do you guys think? Wheelman

Thanks for the suggestions but MSA lists it as not available and BD shows it as back ordered. I attempted to order one through RockAuto yesterday, they initially accepted the order but canceled it today saying the part is NLA. Wheelman

I just completed upgrading my brakes from the Toyo 4x4 fronts with stock rotors and rear drums to disks all around, vented rotors front with the smaller Toyo 4x4 calipers and Maxima calipers on the rear. The "smaller" Toyo 4x4 front calipers are the ones that have the same piston size as those that work with the stock solid rotor (I believe they are S12+8 from an 86 Truck, not the S12W) but have the wider slot for use with the vented rotor. Anyway, the brake master cylinder is now just a bit too small so I want to upgrade to a 15/16" or 1". I've looked around for one from a 79-81 280ZX but they are becoming rare and I haven't been able to find one for less than $190.00, which is rebuilt and doesn't include the reservoirs. I read through the brake upgrade sticky and saw a reference to 1" master cylinders and the 280ZX units, where can I find a 1" unit that will work with the stock booster or a reasonably priced 280ZX unit? Just so nobody wastes their time the $190.00 price is from Silvermine Auto so don't tell me to go look there. If it's the cheapest source I'll buy one from him but the price is more than I want to pay, especially considering I can go to a dual master setup for not much more. Heres an example of a Wilwood setup from Speedway Motors for $190.99 plus shipping. Wilwood dual master Wheelman

Ok, now I see why you said it wouldn't work and I agree, it won't. I guess I'll either have to move the inner pivot or go the Pinto route at some point. Wheelman