zredbaron

Well, I've always had a crack in the iron of one of my exhaust valve housings (still pissed at that %$@! guy), and it's time I rebuild another head. I have an idea of what I want to do, but I figured I consult the experts before I drop the big $$$. And yes, I just spent an hour reading threads. I couldn't find anyone asking questions about setups/uses similar enough to be completely comfortable with just doing it. I did see a lot of profiles that looked like the kind of guys I want to talk to! What I have: 3.1L L28 stoker with triple weber 40mms, Electromotive ignition, and headers of course. I just totally revamped my suspension and brakes. Soon to be: 3.9 or 4.08 R200 with Quaiffe ATB. I will remove my KN chrome filters and replace those pretties with a ram-charge intake. I will use a scoop from the radiator area that will have a pressurizable collector for the carbs. => NA boost. Use: Uh, I'm in the Navy. The car is my wife. Like all good wives, she takes my paycheck while I'm gone, and like a good husband I let her. It runs 110 octane whenever it is driven. (the compression, although unmeasured, is too high for 93) The car is 90% entertainment, something to look forward to when I come home. I intend to kick some ass at autocross and perhaps do a few road race events years down the road. The goal: the best NA engine attainable. Damn the price, whats the best? I've got another, perfect condition E31 head. I planned on rebuilding with that. So I offer the question: is it better to have the high compression of the E31 head? Is the reason most people recommend E88/N42/P90 simply because E31 is so impossible to find and compression is too high for the 3.1L? Given the fact that it will likely continue to drink 110 octane, do the experts agree to go for the compression or is there something I am missing? The head, whichever one I do end up with, will have each head flowed identically and the combustion chambers will be matched. (the goal is 6 identical mini-engines pushin on the same crank. why not? each cylinder has its own intake system separate from the others) I'm currently trying to find the best machine shop in the area of the car (Arkansas) (I know....) As for camshafts...I have wrestled with this for 2 years now. Do I want the nasty cam that has power above 4000 rpm or something more streetable? I have had a hard time. The main concern is that it will require some skill to wield a car constantly above 4k at an autocross. Enter the quaiffe atb and a lot of fun! I am currently leaning toward a less streetable cam (~ .500" lift, 290 dur) since gas mileage and practicality was never what I had in mind. What grinds do you guys recommend for this setup? Any experience would be appreciated! Have any other 3.1L L28 owners regretted a decision with a cam? Anyone love theirs? What was the grind and where did you get it? Thanks a lot, this was a long read!

I too went with Ross C's Extreme 13" package. One word. WOW. After the recommended warmup and a few street miles I couldn't wait to take the Z out for a test drive (not to mention I put his coilovers w/illuminas and swaybars in at the same time). The car was a beast, it beat the hell out of a poor condition winding road, no easy feat! I went to an open road and hit the brakes at 75mph a few times, just to get a feel. On the last run I slammed on it as hard as I dared. Silly me, I forgot I had a tool bag in the back hatch...it flew into my dash, breaking one knob and spewing tools everywhere... Oh yeah, and that was with drum brakes in the back (that are WAYYY old!). I also got his rear disc conversion but I was unable to install since I hadn't found a pair of 240sx calipers (still looking -- Arkansas isn't a source for used import parts!). Needless to say, those monsters up front are the way to go! I was very hesitant at first, big brakes cost big bucks, but they are worth every penny! Not to mention they are beautiful! You can see for yourself what they look like installed in my personal picture gallery here on HybridZ. Thanks Ross!

I too have dropped more cash into Ross' parts than into any other single place, and I was more than twice as satisfied with the quality of parts and customer relations than any other vendor. Thumbs up to Ross for his customer dedication! All hail!

No, I'm not going all that wide. 225/50R16 front and either the same in rear or 245/50R16. I'm leaning toward 225 all the way around, I want to keep the nimble sports car feel, plus I'd like the ability to rotate tires all the way around down the road. Being NA, I don't have a huge need for a supersize footprint, especially when I get the Quaife ATB in a 4.11. I've got a pic of the forged wheels I'm putting on in my gallery, SSR Type-C, a mere 11.5 lb. I can't wait to see the difference. I read that unsprung weight dramatically affects accelleration and braking, but I have yet to experience the difference. Can't wait!

I am about to make a > $3k purchase from Ross C's Modern Motorsports and I just wanted to make sure of some specs before I order my wheels. I haven't heard from Ross for over a week now (must be very busy!), and just wanted to verify the info about his Z to Honda adapters. I need to be ready to order asap, I plan to work on the car in a small window two weeks from today. The Z-Honda adapters make the bolt pattern 4x100, right? A 42mm offset is ok to keep wheel centerline where it is supposed to be? (putting in coilovers) (16x7.5 wheel) Also, is there any reason to choose the 5lug over the 4x100? Just a matter of preference? What offset is needed with his 5lug? Thanks again, guys.

Okay, guys. I really feel like I'm getting the runaround here. I am getting 20 different stories from 10 different people...maybe some of you can share some of your experience/setups and, of course, your infinite wisdom! The short question is this: What spring rates can the Illumina's handle? My car will be a streetable weekend warrior (~250hp) for the next few years, and I intend to be very competitive with autocross. (I am looking for a stiff ride, but not too ridiculous for the street.) Down the road (2-5 yrs), the car will not be on the street much and I will want to move toward road racing. I aim to get a setup that I won't have to redo when I move to road racing! I am currently working with Ross Corrigan (who has been immensely helpful) to get a set of coilovers, shocks, and brakes. I am having a hard time choosing spring rates, and appropriate struts. I have decided the car will ride on 225/50R16 all the way around, 15lb wheels. He wants to set me up with 250fr/225r with the Koni's. He mentioned the limited spring rate capability of the Tokico Illumina's. I like the idea of the Koni's, but I have to admit that the car is currently in Arkansas and finding a set of 280z strut braces is approaching impossible. So I'm thinking I might be willing to sacrifice a wee bit of spring for convenience of installation and of course the screwdriver-click adjustments with the Illumina's. I call Tokico and they say the strut the have paired with the 240Z can handle spring rates of 160fr/190r. According to them, anything above that and the Illumina's "are just along for the ride, it's all spring at that point." I trust their engineers, but perhaps people are installing a different model number than they have in their system. I call MSA, their MSA springs are 173fr/243r, which they use with Tokico's and say work great! I call Top End [insert verbal bashing here] and they say that the Illumina's can handle the 250fr/225r setup just fine. What gives? I've read in these forums that the Illumina's are limited, but just how limited are they? If anyone can share their setups or offer some advice I would really appreciate the help. Thanks!

ok, i've been reading this forum for over an hour now, and im hoping that there are others out there with the stoker who have tried various diff setups and can offer some advice from their experiences... first, just to make sure my newbie impressions are correct, the higher ratio (ie 3.9 vice 3.364) the better the accelleration and lower top end, right? or is it more complicated than that? i am leaning toward the 4.11 r200. thoughts? how vital is it to find a LSD? seems to me it would be crucial for high hp apps but since i have <250hp at the wheels should i still try to find one? i intend to autocross mostly, perhaps roadrace down the road. thanks! oh, and what does "RBs" stand for? -mark

I finally can afford to put in the suspension i have always wanted! I had originally planned on getting eibach progressive spings with the tokico illumina struts, but from browsing i see these coilovers from modern motorsports, which look awesome. I am under the impression that progressive springs dont get put in the coilover kits, is that right? why or why not? my Z is primarily a street performance car, but i want to be able to take it to the track/autocross and still be competitive. my previous research indicated to me that i should go with progressive springs. any thoughts on this? if putting these on coilovers is a no-no, then what spring rate would be appropriate for my application? thanks for the help. mark