Mikelly

One thing I'd do to mine if I had it to do over again is do as Katman suggested and get the dash bar closer to the trans tunnel... Mike

Good for you... That sounds like a great deal... I was amazed when I started pricing Diesels at how much you spend in a hurry on a truck... $49K is not unrealistic on anything that can safely tow 12K pounds like itsn't towing anything at all... Those Titans are getting great reviews! Mike

Yup, and that gap in cost is what a lot of consumers don't see when comparing the two. I think the EVO fit and finish is maybe a little better, but not a lot, and the performance difference isn't huge. For a change, I'm with you. I like the styling of the EVO more, but if I was shopping for one of these, I'd have lean towards the STi Unless I could get within 3K price difference... Then I'd consider the EVO. Mike

OIl brands are as hot a topic as women. GUys there is plenty of data out there to support spending good money on certain vehicles. The toyota rustbox Commutor that Pop mentions is one kind of exception (And there are many, just ask in threads like this) where spending that extra money on extra protection is senseless to the owner. In my Vette, and in the Datsun, I'll use group 4/5 synthetics. In my wife's BMW I use group 4/5 sythetics. In my Dodge HD Cummins Turbo diesel I used Shell oil Rotella... However, in any commutor car, and especially in hondas, I use the cheapest crap I can throw into them. Why? Those cars are utilitarian and serve me one purpose... Getting there the cheapest. So they get crappy gas and cheap oil and they don't seem to mind it, so long as I keep good filters on and change everything with regular frequency and keep it in a good tune... My dad does the same thing with every ford festiva crapbox he has commuted in over the years. He's logged over 600K miles on one of them... With cheap gas and cheaper oil... Hard to argue that, isn't it? Mike

THe Gforce unit is stupid light... Even with the bellhousing attached (Lakewood on his) to it, the weight isn't more than 110#. Mike

MIke Gibson (goes by the name of SCCA on this board) used to sell Outlaw brake setups for Zcars. I owned one and sold it to a member here. JOhn Coffey has also used Outlaw calipers on his Zcar for racing, but not in SCCA ITS. Nothing wrong with those calipers, except for the lack of dust boots. As for colors, well you can disassemble any caliper and have it powder coated or anodized. Mike

1 5/8th should be, but make sure the wall thickness is correct. Go to SCCA's website and download their rule book in PDF.... Mike

I give mine to Jack Daniels... Come on guys, let's keep it fun and civil, while being lively! Mike

John, There is... Pretty much the same as the regular TKOs. I chose the road race gearset. I'll be using the Q45 gearing, 3.54s! 1st is 2.87 and 5th is .82! Mike

No, Jeff, It is a good point you bring up, and one that has been discused before. Most of the guys using Wilwoods on the street haven't had issues with failures, but you're right about track only calipers. They do require more maintenance due to this issue. Mike

That brings up a good point... One of the reason's this thread was started. My Ford Cobra Calipers were $220 Shipped and included bolts and pads, along with the mounting craddles. I had Jamie Taylor Make me a set of his 240Z aluminum hubs for $425, including the bearings and races. I also had him make my adapters for the calipers to bolt onto the factory strut "ear" caliper mounts. That was $50 for the brackets. The rotors run about $200 for the pair, and are a bit heavier than a two piece setup, about 3-4# each, which is unsprung weight and is significant. So all in all the front setup, including the new upgraded aluminum hubs cost me $875. This is more expensive than going with a 12 inch Wilwood kit, but also provides more lever effect for stopping. The rotor is probably as thick as the 12 inch wilwood setups, and is directionally vented. For more endurance, I could have spent about $700 on the Wilwood GT rotor kit we put on Jim McNemar's car. That brake rotor is supposedly good for a full season of road racing, according to the Mustang boys that are running the same setup. If cheap is the solution, and you're never gonna track the car, and the car will remain sub-300 HP, then maybe the 300ZX rotor/ 4Runner caliper or this Wilwood alternate "kit" is the way to go... Just depends on your intended use... Mike

I believe the bushing Katman is refering to is the one inside the strut tube insert housing. Not the bushings on the tophat assembly you would traditionally associate with "bushing" kits for the street. In road course "stuff", the energy transfer and heat are significant enough in most applications that is isn't uncommon to heatsoak shocks and struts, which is why any series that allows external dampers (Ohlins and Penskys) does just that. This is also the same reason you read here that we tell people not to run cross drilled rotors, then go to ALMS or other professional racing series and see... Cross drilling on the rotors. Big budgets and special treatments allowed for in professional (And more and more amature) racing does not translate well to the street. You'll be fine with Konis or Tokicos on the street. You'll never abuse them the way 30 minute road course session will... Nothing hurts suspension and brake parts like doing road course laps. Mike

I believe the bushing Katman is refering to is the one inside the strut tube insert housing. Not the bushings on the tophat assembly you would traditionally associate with "bushing" kits for the street. In road course "stuff", the energy transfer and heat are significant enough in most applications that is isn't uncommon to heatsoak shocks and struts, which is why any series that allows external dampers (Ohlins and Penskys) does just that. This is also the same reason you read here that we tell people not to run cross drilled rotors, then go to ALMS or other professional racing series and see... Cross drilling on the rotors. Big budgets and special treatments allowed for in professional (And more and more amature) racing does not translate well to the street. You'll be fine with Konis or Tokicos on the street. You'll never abuse them the way 30 minute road course session will... Nothing hurts suspension and brake parts like doing road course laps. Mike

I just had this debate Saturday with Pete Paraska. The LS# based motors are in my opinion the absolute best V8 swap candidate of ANY V8 out there. The heads flow phenominally, the OEM based software tuning has truly gone through the roof, and the motors can be made to be so bombproof it is umbelievable... Factor in the weight savings on a traditional shortblock and you're lilghter than an L-6 Nissan motor by about 50#. What's not to like? Mike

There is so much good info and part numbers, that this thread qualifies for a "sticky". Keep the tech info coming guys... This one will be around for some time. Mike

There is so much good info and part numbers, that this thread qualifies for a "sticky". Keep the tech info coming guys... This one will be around for some time. Mike

MAS280, Did you use LS1 edit on that thing? My guess is that in a lighter Zcar (RX7 weight with the LS2?) would be about the same, since it would be even more traction limited. You might be in the mid10s, but I don't know, the RX7 is under 2900# stock! Dave (Qwik240) was down with his 240Z LS1 project car on Saturday and that car weighed in at 2500# and has full interior, full metal bumpers and A/C. Gorgious car BTW, if any of you get a chance to see it. Mike

Couple of comments... I was an Amsoil dealer until this past July. It is some of the best stuff on the market at any price, right up there with Redline and Royal Purple synthetics. And right up there with Mobil1, which is where the problems started for me... Mobil1 is 2 miles down the street at the local WALMART. Amsoil is a drive to Richmond, or paying extra to have it shipped. I did some oil analysis on my Amsoil oil and found the stuff to be very good for upwards of 12-14K miles on all three of my vehicles. We even did an oil analysis on oil that had 7K miles on it and a track day. It came back GOOD for more use. I then went to http://www.bobistheoilguy.com and started reading and found that most group 4/5 oils that are true synthetics are going to give you this kind of protection. So I will be swapping everything over to Mobil1 as soon as my storage cabinet is empty of the Amsoil I've been using. The only reason I'm doing this is for conveniance. The cost of a case of Amsoil Series 2000 0W30 isn't that much more than the cost of 12 quarts of Mobil1 (Maybe $10 per case?). But the drive to Richmond to go get it is not "conveniant", so there you have it... Mike

We got one GForce unit provided to us by Paul Cangialosi at 5-Speeds. It works great and is probably one of the nicest shifting transmissions I've had the pleasure to run. It is now in Jim McNemar's red Zcar. Unfortunately Paul got into an arguement with Bubba at Gforce over the other 6 cores they were back-ordered on for him... for 6 months. There was basically an "F-U" shouting match over the phone and Paul lost out. They made him pull all his "Gforce" stuff off his website and he is no longer able to get them, so I was left high and dry. I never did like the guys at Gforce, but was happy with Paul at 5-Speeds.com! He is extremely knowledgable and I still call him on occassion for tech advice on drivetrain related items. The boys at Gforce are completely swamped with NASCAR Bush series and ASA series customers, so those teams get first priorety. Because of the volume those series generate, the regular joe's out there are pretty much screwed by "Bubba". I ended up going through D&D to get my TKO600. It ran about $1750 shipped with the speedo adapter and the Triax shifter. We weighed my TKO and it came out to a little over 100# (103-105). HOwever, the McLeod Bellhousing brings the weight up another 20-25 pounds! Mike

..."But dude, Chip Foose builds cars in like one hour man! I saw him do it myself last night!" Good write-up Mikie! Now move to Virginia and become one of the flock! Mike

I have one, but it isn't in the car yet... Mike

JT, You are my hero! I really need to get at least one more contract before I head back out there for a track weekend... Need more revenue coming in! There is NOTHING like running full course... The3 uphill esses all the way through Oaktree are a segment that must be run fully from T5 T5a and T6 to be appreciated. I'm toying with signing up for THSCC in February. Mike

Ah yes, Yet another one into the fold! I made the tough decision about keeping my C5 or selling it and paying off the wife's car with the money and being less out of pocket all together every month. Scew it, I'll keep the payment! The C6 platform is just such a gorgious and stable platform. Mike

Guys, Every Story is different. It all boils down to how good you are at shopping for deals, how good a horse trader you are, how much of the work you can do yourself, and how much time you are willing to invest. If you want it in 30 days, break out the plastic and checkbook. If you have time to spend and can do the work yourself, then it'll be cheaper. However, If you want a motor to last for many years, you might be better off having one custom built to your specs with the best of the best. Every story is unique to its owner, as is every hybridZ. Mike

260DET, You make good points... Here's my opinion on why the MML kit is probably a better choice than the AZC setup... The MML kit employes all factory Ford calipers and pads, which means rebuilds or replacements are CHEAP compared to Wilwoods. The Caliper is the same caliper used by BAER for their brake setups. The Caliper is strong, light and doesn't seem to flex. Plus you do retain the E-brake with the rear caliper. The drawbacks to the MML setup are rotor size and weight, which require a 17 inch wheel I believe (Ross can Chime in) and the 13 inch rotor weight is substantial compared to a 10 3/4 inch rotor on 1st gen 300ZXs. It should be though, because it is substantially better. If you want good performance and moderate looks, the Wilwoods will do the job, but if you want the ultimate in performance and looks, Check out any of the 13 inch rotor deals... Nothing beats the impressive look of a a 13inch rotor and bright red caliper filling in between the spokes on a CCW wheel. I like both kits, but if you're shooting for 400WHP, you want as much brake as you can get under the car. If you TRULY plan to drive the car to even 8/10ths, you want the most out of your brake system. Jamie T. and a couple of others have similar kits for large brakes... Check all your options and do your research. Mike