Mikelly

Actually Paulo told me in a PM that he will be setting up a web store so we won't be having anymore unhappy people coming here from other sites to cause trouble for us while trying to do or resolve business with Paulo, and I for one appreciate that. It boils down to vendors being able to delive parts in a manor that is timely enough for the customer. And lately we've had a rash of well intended folks who simply have found out how hard it is to be in business and meet schedules and deadlines. What we, the admins don't want is for there to be threads where you folks get upset when you deal with these folks who are low production, low volume and less than ideal production capabilities. Someone steps up and mentions they are "making" parts, and due to the LACK of parts sources, everyone comes running to see if it's worthwhile... And some get upset. This in turn makes a mess for us, the admins... I know that we have actually discussed doing away with the Vendor forum all together, due in no small part to the issues we've seen as of late. Superdan would have done away with the forum had a couple of us not voiced our opinions about keeping it... so to everyone who wants a vendors forum, my advice is to deal with "issues" offline. How do you do this? PMs. PM the vendor, PM other buyers who've posted... But don't hammer quality, fitment, delivery or other issues in a flame fest... Some of us would like to see the Vendor Forum stay. But we're not gonna provide a place for you guys to duke it out. Be smart in your purchases and deal direct with the vendors. And BUYER BEWARE! Mike

I added the "Not Work Safe" comment to the title. That idea wouldn't work around here... There'd be drive-by shootings for clogging the roadways and increasing traffic. Mike

Just orderd my 8610 Races thru Shocks.com... They should be here on the 29th of November. Cost was $159 each... I have also decided to forego the hassles of "designing" a new version of my own rear control arm. I'll buy the Arizona Zcar control arm for the rear and use their Toe adjustment primarily. I plan to continue running my own design upfront, along with a modified version of myTC rods. I'll also be running camber plates at all four corners. Mike

Just orderd my 8610 Races thru Shocks.com... They should be here on the 29th of November. Cost was $159 each... I have also decided to forego the hassles of "designing" a new version of my own rear control arm. I'll buy the Arizona Zcar control arm for the rear and use their Toe adjustment primarily. I plan to continue running my own design upfront, along with a modified version of myTC rods. I'll also be running camber plates at all four corners. Mike

MAS, the company jbc references in his thread linked above sells these flares still and sells them stupid cheap, like $50 each... Mike

Thanks BJ! I finally went back and caught up on the thread and read you guys are doing windtunnel testing... I'm still in if you need another set of hands... I'll drive down for it. Mike

So in the last 24 hours the noobs have hit us hard with some very basic and obviously NOT SEARCHED topics... Dude, We're not spoonfeeders here... If you want to be "wetnursed" then go elsewhere. If you want to educate yourself on what it takes to put an LS1/6speed combo into a Datsun Zcar, then SEARCH using the SEARCH FUNCTION... You can also GOOGLE it. Not trying to be the jerk of the day (Although a few of our members will certainly give me their votes) but we've all got lives and this subject has been beaten into the ground. Mike

Silent, Here's a tip... DO NOT tell an ADMIN to back off... We're trying to get new members steered to using the search feature in the begining so the get used to using it often. If this bothers you, then maybe you should BACK OFF... Your admin staff...

Austin, Count me in as well... I need a kit ASAP... Mike

Well then, if they are cast, that's a bit pricey, and I bet they're fairly heavy to offset the effects from Gravity casting... Hmmm Maybe I'll end up with CCWs afterall... Mike

Bullshyte... Take it to court dude. You can make every excuse why you shouldn't, but trust me on this, One trip to the court house and one trip through a small claimes event and you'll never get screwed by some scumbag again. It's his word against yours, but if you pay the fee and have him served in HIS county, then I'd bet dollars to donuts it won't even make it to court. I've been this path a few times and I can assure you that the judge will be sympathetic in most cases. However, you'll never know unless you take that first step and find out. And you're right... He'll do it to the next guy, until someone stands up and says NO MORE. You gonna be that guy, or just another victom? Mike

David, This is very good timing.... I'm just getting ready to order wheels for my Z...I need to speak with this chap to see about construction and weights... If these are a forged wheel, this is a GREAT price... Mike

BJ, When are you planning to do this and do you need help with turning wrenches? If I'm not actually at the track event driving, I'd be happy to come down and hole up in a hotel and assist with the swaps and data collection... Let me know... Mike

Let me comment for a second on a few things... I showed some pics of LCAs and TC Rods without the Jam nut in the past ONLY to show design of the units... In my opinion, Running any adjustable part without a locknut on ANY of them is WAY Dangerous. Now, BJH, I can't tell you with any degree of certainty what my previously sponsored car ran legthwise, because the car was adjusted to lengths from 4 degrees on up to well over 7 degrees. We employed a 7.5 inch threaded 3/4 inch tube threaded onto a "J" bar that was adjustable from lengths one inch shorter than the stock TC Rod to well over 2 inches longer than the stock rod... We DID unfortunately use a Clevis only because folks wanted a bolt on solution... However, I can tell you all that this whole design will change, and a number of improvements will be made this coming year with my planned testing. Time, Funding, and Resources should allow me to play at the track a LOT more in 2007 and I'm all ears for ideas on things to try at the track. And I must say that I'm truly impressed with the level of technical discussion in this thread folks... Keep up the good work... Many people will benefit from what's being discussed here for years to come... This thread is an EXCELLENT example of why HybridZ is here on the web. Mike

Typhoone, You really need to utilize our well honed search tool man... We do NOT spoonfeed here... Meet us half way...Start reading FIRTS. Mike

For the sole reason of parts availability, the LSx platform would probably be the better choice. But if we're talking "make two of the most durable for racing" motors side by side and target a reliable 550 crank HP, and build both to similar configurations (Forged bottom ends/ internal balancing/ARP everywhere), I'm not sure which would cost more... As a comparison, I had $6800 in my setup on my LS1 motor and that was professionally balanced and blueprinted. But it also was a year long build. We used ARP fasteners everywhere, and we ended up using poor choice heads that actually hurt my HP. My motor only made about 450Crank HP, but the heads were easily costing me 30HP at the wheels. to get to a reliable 550 Crank HP, I'd have had to get a different set of heads (About $2200), a fast intake ($800) upgraded injectors (Another $300) and a more agressive valvetrain/cam (Another $800-1000). That's another $4500 I'd have had to spend. Some of that expense could have been reduced in initial cost planning and purchasing, but I was buying most of my stuff when the LSxs were just gaining popularity and the aftermarket hadn't fully embraced the motor... If I were doing it now, I'd be building something like a 402 stroker... Mike

You'd be surprised at the people who buy or build these cars and don't know squat about them... I've had a number of people come to me over the years with these cars, spouting unrealistic numbers about weight, power, torque, costs, prices, other stupidity... If it isn't a scam, the guy probably does believe the car is that light... He'd be shocked to roll it across a scale... Mike

We'll find out... I sent him a note asking him to contact me if the car didn't sell... For $4500 (his reserve), I'll take a trip up to Elkton Md. to take a look... Mike

Pop-N-Wood: I know that the design was "changed" on them, but I've also seen the same issue with oil in the intake is still present. So the "fix" isn't fixed. Also, that fix that is refered to on the LS1 valley doesn't fix the oil in the intake. We've seen guys with 2003-2004 Z06s at VIR puking oil out the intake. It's still not fixed... Pete: The two main reasons I'd have gone LSx over the old school V8 were design in head technology and the supposed weight savings. Now, The fact that we're seeing some various anomolies in weights on some of these LSx based motors, that changes things considerably. All: I bring these issues up ONLY because I want people to realize fully what they "may" be facing. The LS1 is a fabulous motor all around, and I know people are driving them hard without doing any of the mods I've described. That said, If you start pushing the parts in a number of back to back 30 minute road course sessions, as you will at an HPDE weekend, then you can throw the reliability out the window. I have a very good friend who races an LS6 based Corvette In SCCA T1 and his car was down 16HP after only 3 weekends of HPDEs before converting the car to T1. T1 doesn't allow any mods to the oil system, other than an accusump and oil cooler. Since installing those, and after some retuning of his ecu, he hasn't lost any power, and that's at the END of the season... Sounds like oil starvation has been staved off enough to help him run it a second season. Just food for thought. Mike

How about a V8 Guy answering it here? I know of two people right now in the middle of RB swaps... My stepson is doing an RB25 into a 240SX and JamieT. is building a RB26 for his 240Z. I've also owned a fairly modified custom LS1. There are issues with both swaps, due in no small part to parts availability on the RB side, and making a well built and strong (read DURABLE) LS1 on the chevy side. From my personal perspective, and after windowing the block of an LS1, I can tell you that there are things that need to be corrected on the LSx style motor to do everything well. If you're just going to drive it on the street and do a little light duty drag racing, then a run of the mill LSx will do fine, but I'd shoot for a 2001 or newer motor to get away from the ring issue/ piston slap issue/ and the weaker rod bolts of the 97-99 motors. Also, if you're going to autoX or track the car on a road course, where serious Gs will be encountered, then you're gonna have oiling issues. The LS1-LS6 motors have a horrable PCV system that allows oil to be drawn into the intake manifold. This happens on every Corvette, GTO and Fbody I've seen at the track. A quick read in the road race forum on http://www.corvetteforum.com will verify this. If you pull the coupler off the T-body the oil is very evident behind the butterfly on the tbody, sometimes running out the Tbody. GM recommends adding a quart of oil for hard road course driving to stave off oil starvation/ windage issues, but many guys suffer from oil starvation over time. To fix this properly, you'd need to plumb in a fitting into the block and run a line to an accusump, or go drysump all together, which is what Mark (Mark Icard) on this site is doing on his Zcar. Having seen first hand the engineering gone into the RB motors, and weighing the expense of correcting some of the LS1 issues above, I'd say it's gonna be a push on the whole "cost" thing if you build an LS1 with forged bits and have it balanced well, custom cam and heads to make it push the reliable 450-500 HP that these motors are capable of. The RB is more expensive for sure, and parts accessability is another concern. I know that Jamie T had to custom make an oil pan, and others have had to have them made as well, running several hundred bucks... All that said, at the end of the day I'm not so sure you're gonna have more in the RB than in a custom LSx build... Youll have $700-800 in a custom clutch/flywheels setup on the LSx, since the stock Z06 unit will die under anything over 405 crank hp... Just some things to consider... Mike

This is EXACTLY the kind of car I could see driving everyday... Instead of a Porsche or Viper... Hmmm.... Mike

Guess I was to premature in posting... Jamie's plans to have the weekend free to finish up the car came to an unexpected and premature end... I hope to have the car back in my mitts by the weekend... I REALLY HOPE TO... Mike

I have had a number of Zs over the years in many colors... I've chosen the most recent color from the Dodge lineup... If you look in the PPG catalog, it's their Viper Silver (I don't have the code number, but will get it later today with the car). Colors I've had: Corvette PURE WHITE in two stage urethane. Only downside is white cars show ALL dirt... Some of you will rememer my Flared and whaletailed Zcar with this color... Corvette YELLOW - This color worked pretty well and had about the same shock value as the Laguna Seca Blue does on my MRoadster... It is remarkably easy to keep clean and is cooler in summer than I would have thought... IT is a ticket magnet though, and probably second only to red at drawing negative attention... Pewter Silver metalic, which was on my C5 corvette. It was the easiest to keep looking clean of any color I've had on a car, except maybe primer. It hides dirt well, and hides scratches even better... Black... Don't do it unless you have a perfect shell and panels with ZERO wave. If you do it, prepare to constantly be cleaning it... I have black on my Dodge Cummins Diesel and it is a BIATCH to keep clean, which is why I may have the dirtiest truck in Spotsylvania County... Mike

Looks very good Jody! Mike

I hope to get more and better pictures between tomorrow and Sunday. I'll get it back between tomorrow and Sunday and I'm DYING to get it back! And the color is really dark silver metalic... It's not gunmetal, or pewter, but the flourescant lighting did no justice to the pics... More to come!! Mike