heavy85

I also think that SFC are not the most elegant solution it's just that mine are trashed and need replaced anyway so why not go all the way back with them. Also, only looking at the 2.5" ones since they are the same weight but 44% stiffer than the standard 2x3 most people use. I've been looking at modern higher performance cars and from what I see they all tend to use the rockers and the trans tunnel as the main structural members. I'm just not sure how to tie the front frame rails into either the rockers or the trans tunnel (and then how to adequately re-inforce the tunnel) and I'm not looking to completely redesign the uni-body .... quite yet. Have to get the yet-to-be-purchased-but-have-green-light-from-wife-LS1-swap completed first. What about like someone said below run like a 1x3 (3 tall, 1 wide) along the inside of the rocker then tie it at the front into the T/C bucket. Not sunk in like Cary's pic just to the inside along the floor. Thinking out loud here. Cameron

OK so I did a little math today and this is what I came up with. Keep in mind that A (area) is proportional to weight - lower is better, and I (moment of inertia) is proportional to stiffness - higher is better. Then the ration of I/A is an indication of the efficiency of the design - higher is better. I'm assuming that the SFC will be bending vertically. Also, if I measure my beat to hell frame rails they are about 2.5" wide and roughly 9/16" tall. (EDIT: the formating of the table below does not come through so you'll have to interpret) Tubing size (w x h x t) A I I/A 2.5x1.5x0.12 0.90 0.325 0.36 3x2x0.12 1.14 0.743 0.65 3x2x0.083 0.80 0.541 0.67 2.5x2.5x0.083 0.80 0.779 0.97 So obviously of these choices the best (most stiffness for the least weight) answer would be 2.5x2.5x0.083 tubing for the SFC - same weight as the standard 2x3 design but 44% stiffer. Given that the factory rails only stick down roughly 9/16" I dont think I want the new ones more than one inch below the floor. That would leave 1.5" stick above where your feet are. Above everyone said that 1" isn't bad but I wonder about 1.5"? I'll have to tape a board to the floor and see what it's like. Any other thoughts on this? Thanks Cameron

I heard two seperate newer M3's at an autoX earlier this year. Both appeared to be stock but I dont know for sure. I could not believe how UGLY the exhaust sounded. I'm not kidding they sounded like ricer Honda's. I actually argued with the other guy working the timing van with me over one as he swore it was a Honda ... until it hit the finish line and he could see it was an M3. I'ld wait for the new rumored super-duper vette. Good to hear your business is going well. Cameron

Copper is also able to handle higher temps than aluminum. Once you get above about 250C aluminum looses its strength real quick where copper is good to well over 300C ... not that you should see those kind of temps out of your turbo but you can with large diesels. Cameron

BWRex and Mikelly - I've wondered how Pete's design affects your feet and using the pedals with the hump in the middle - what's your guy's experience? Also, did his dimensions work exactly as printed or due to tolerances of different cars did you have to tweak them a lot to fit? Mine is actually fine if I set it down on the TC buckets. It's when I sit it down with jackstands placed under the rails at the base of the firewall the front end sags to the point the doors no longer close. This is why I think it's the rails. The SFC are just part of a strut bar / roll-bar (no cage for head clearance / safety reasons) system so I think in the end it will be a fairly stiff and safe package. Any others like to comment? Thanks Cameron

I'm in desperate need to replace my framerails. Unfortuneately not from rust as there is none but because they have been jacked on in all the wrong places about a bazillion times and as a result the front end sags when I put it on jackstands - it's a 240 with the short rails. So I've looked at and read about all the various methods (Jeronimo's u-channel, Baddog, Pete's recessed into the floor, etc) and am pondering which is the best method to go. So of those that have been there and done it before any advice and what you would do differently next time? Thanks Cameron

You could take it to the next step in lightening. I guy worked with built 1/4 midgets for his daughter. He was very detail oriented and experimented with wild stuff. He's the reason the rule book is so thick kind of stuff. Anyway he would take every fastener off the car and take it to his lathe. Drill 1/3 of the inner diameter out (neutral axis) and faced off the top of the head off each bolt so there was just enough to grab with a wrench. He only used allen head since the heads are smaller. Also cut each fastener to exactly the required length. Said in all many hours later it saved a couple pounds. Cameron

A guy I used to work with built a twin turbo system for his Pantera

If you take the puddle jumper from Denver to Gillette Wyoming that plane has those vents. Dont remember what kind of plane but it's maybe 20 passenger - about ten rows of one seat on each side. Kind where the pilot come in gives the seat belt speech, turns around and sits down so you can actually watch then during the flight. First time I saw the vents I thought they need to be in a hot rod. Cameron

I got this message when I clicked on that link "You do not have permission to view the images in this category." Any idea whats up with that? - and yes I am logged in. Thanks Cameron

Hey buZy how did you know it was the wheel bearings? I just spun them and they roll smooth and there is no noticable slop. I was talking to an old time hod rodder on the plane earlier this week and he said just rolling the wheel up in the air and you may not see any noticable issue but put a load on it and it's there. If that's the case trying to work through a diagnosis procedure. Thanks Cameron

I agree subframe connectors would add a lot of stiffness. Reason I say this is my 240 with the factory short rails sags right at the firewall. Extending them all the way back rather than just stoping them in the middle of a flat plate (the floor) would help tremendously. If I put jack stands under the frame rails directly under the firewall as I set the front end down it sags so bad that the doors wont shut! I'm convinced framerails would fix that. Now my question is how to weld them in upside down. I really dont want to strip it and put it on a rotiserie but am concerned with the out of position welding that would be required by welding from underneath. Anyone have some insight on this? Also still considering the add-on baddog ones vs fabbing up out of tubing. Anyone have overall pics of the Baddog framerails installed? I looked in Jons post on T/C mods but cant really see the whole thing. Thanks Cameron

I can't imagine this has not been covered before but I searched and couldn't really find anything. Question is I have a 280zx motor with the pointer on the passenger side (marked 0 to 30 degrees instead of the 240 style single point). I have a crank pully of unknown origin that has five marks on it and the bottom one is bigger than the rest. So does anyone know where this pulley came from and if it's compatible with the 280zx pointer? Which pulley marks line up with which pointer marks? Thanks Cameron

Any reason to not just use a brush to make is smoother and avoid the bubbles? Waaaaaay back at least some cars were factory painted with a brush. Remember seeing one - it's engine had exposed valvetrain that you had to periodically manually squirt with an oil can. The paint on that car looked very smooth and shiny with just a hint of brush marks in a few spots. Cameron

15X10 w/ 5" backspace Diamonds. Only took a week or so to deliver. I called around and about the fourth tire shop I called had a balancer to balance on the lugs - they had really nice newer equipment. Thanks Cameron

I just cleaned mine, scuffed with scotch brite pad, and painted the whole thing with rattle can of high temp engine paint. Turned out satin black and IMO looks very good unless you are looking for show quality super high gloss or something real fancy. Cameron

I can't be happier with my Hoosier slicks - fun factor is HUGE. By far the biggest improvement. If you are not interested in being competitive in your class but just looking for the fastest raw times this is the way to go. Thanks Cameron

Thanks for the carb advise - I'll soon be ordering some jets. On the timing I have what I think is a 240 pulley that has five grooves. The bottom groove is the wider and deeper than the rest and is painted white. The top two grooves are also painted white but are slightly smaller. On the engine side it's from a 280ZX so it has the 0-30 scale instead of just the pointer. Wouldn't the bottom groove be 0 deg so if I set the timing light to 36 degrees total and lined up the bottom groove with the 0 mark it should be set right? Why are you saying use the second from top? Thanks Cameron

Quick update (if you go back several pages) - the new Koni single adjustables feel very good both on the street and autox w/ 225F/250R springs. They actually seem smoother and less harsh than my old Illumina's. Between those and the slicks my car is now way faster than I am - now if my driving skills could just keep up. The two autox's this year I've been 2nd (behind SS Z06 who almost always gets FTDI) and 3rd (behind BM Lola and same Z06) in overall raw times and in the top 20% of PAX running a very streetable FP set-up so I'm very happy with the results so far. Cameron

Quick update (if you go back several pages) - the new Koni single adjustables feel very good both on the street and autox w/ 225F/250R springs. They actually seem smoother and less harsh than my old Illumina's. Between those and the slicks my car is now way faster than I am - now if my driving skills could just keep up. The two autox's this year I've been 2nd (behind SS Z06 who almost always gets FTDI) and 3rd (behind BM Lola and same Z06) in overall raw times and in the top 20% of PAX running a very streetable FP set-up so I'm very happy with the results so far. Cameron

Originally posted in the Misc forum with no replies so I'll try here: It's been a big pain so far but it's finally working and I've got to say it's pretty slick. I've got the Innovative Motorsports (or something like that) LC1 (or was it LM1 ...) with the gauge in the dash. My A/F ratio's are ~14.0 at idle, mid 13's cruising down the interstate, and about 10.0 at WOT. Now I know why it stinks so bad at WOT! This is with my L28 w/ tripple 44 Mikuni's and I'm looking for some advise on where to go from here. Any takers? One other thing is it bucks once if you punch it from part throttle and it stumbled coming out of one corner pretty pad at the autocross yesterday but other than that it runs pretty good. Well the idle is pretty random as it always jumps all over the place. Last thing is yes fuel pressure is set at ~3 PSI, I have a heat shield and insulators, yes it is still deadheaded (but I'm working on that), and the carbs have all been fully rebuilt and set per the manual. Jets are 200 air, 150 fuel, 57.5 idle, 40 accel pump. Thanks for any help. Cameron PS - it may be running a little retarded because when I set the timing (38 degrees total) there where three marks showing on the pulley so I picked the conservative one ... another thing to figure out.

Thanks for the info. By the way these are 9.5 x 15 FA Hoosiers in R35 compound on 15x10 rims. So in general is less (pressure) more (grip) or vise versa? Cameron