Mikelly

You guys have me worried now... I didn't do anything special when I installed mine, but I'm also not running a roller solid, but a roller hydraulic cam setup... GOnna have to dig out a couple of books and do some reading... Mike

So I ordered it Tuesday, got the Triax Shifter for it, the speedo setup for a Chevy Cable drive, and the transmission and it arrived TODAY... Thursday... Two days later... Gotta love it... Shoulda done this a long time ago and not screwed around with Bubba's barn yard parts... Now I just need my bellhousing and a differential adapter flange for an infinity setup and I'm done with the driveline... Mike

So John... How did you come by this little nugget of first hand knowledge? I kill me... Can I still come play with you guys at CMP??? I"m jonesing to get to the track!!! Mike

Yup, spoke with them for about 30 minutes... They were still over $100 more expensive than D&D performance for the same exact tranny... Mine is ordered and will be here by Friday I'm told. Mike

I'd quote the worthy phrases in the Officer's commentary, but I'd do better by just cutting and pasting the text... Bottom line is this war was worth our attention, our participation, and it was damned sure worth the lives lost in setting a nation free. We are not done there, not by a long shot. But we have given a nation their own independance. The insurgent terrorists working within Iraq now have but one mission. Their intent is to turn Iraq into the next Beirut. We've come so far, as have the Iraqi people... We must assist them in finalizing their freedom and independance. semper fi! Mike

Just to give a comparo... My tired old LS1 with some headers and ls6 intake, ported TB and 3 inch exhaust turned 335HP and 353#ft. torque... My new heads cam motor should spin the rollers at 430HP... No boost... Mike

That is what I would do... Except I'd leave off the turbo part... Drax, I drive V8s, and suffer very few failures... As a matter of fact, I'm knocking down 25pmg today in the Vette, and I'll have it at the track in three weeks for another track day, and it has yet to strand me, at 114K miles... No oil loss, no smoking, no engine trouble to speak of... Car is tip top and I could drive it to canada and back without worries... Mike

I know John, I was just hoping for the T5 solution to save the additional 25-30#... Guess instead I'll have to go start Jenny Craig... On another note, I'm going to look at a 24ft. trailer sometime over the weekend... Mike

After yet another few dozen calls made around yesterday, I decided tot go ahead and order the Tremec TKO600 transmission. Seems D&D Performance has it for $1730+ shipping, and they had it on the shelf, ready to go, and honestly provided me the most valuable insite into my purchase... I will drop the bellhousing off with Express Auto today so they can ship this one for the T5 back, and they've ordered me the Tremec unit instead. Guess I'll need the clutch fork and other than that, the 11inch CF DF clutch kit I bought should work out. Getting there... At least a decision has been made and I can close this chapter... Mike

It'll happen, don't stress it... You're in my thoughts! Mike

Spoke with the guys at D&D today about the T5 woes I've been strugling with since G-force left me high and dry... Gforce makes a strong argument for the Tremec TKO600 as the tranny of choice for road race situations... Stronger, beefier parts and case, and more parts availability for TRUE 600#ft. torque, seems like this is the route I'll go... I'm gonna spend the rest of this week searching and chatting with other companies, but it looks as though I'll be eating that weight I was hoping to safe by going with the Gforce fortefied T5... SUX... Oh well, now to unload the T5 Bellhousing I've got... Mike

Uh, that Z is Mark Icards (Mark here on HybridZ) and those other guys are advanced/ instructors... They're all haulin' azz... Don't get me wrong. That yellow Z was the talk of the paddock at the February event at VIR! Mike

Richard, For everything you have stated, I can counter it... Especially with LS1s these days... Knocking down respectable fuel mileage and drivability is a non-issue... My Vette is 500-700# heavier than a Zcar and gets 26mpg with a modified setup. It also is extremely easy for anyone to drive, even your granny. My point is that, as Scottie stated, We can argue the pros and cons all day long, but you're gonna believe what you will, and so will I... I remember getting into a discussion about this topic previously, right around the time I was building the stepson's turbo setup and how I weighed his honda turbo stuff and found that his intercooler, DT25 turbo, plumbing, and added support hardware about made me pass out when the box of stuff landed 63#s including the box... AND throwing in John C.'s comments about the drivability and tunability (Assuming a road race setup here, which is all I care about!), it is hard to argue the issues... More weight than standard, and possibly more than a V8 if done correctly, and you simply won't be able to argue the complexity, and added possibility of failure of parts... more parts added into the equation simply mean more parts that can fail. I'm not saying turbos are bad, and I've HAD and DRIVEN a turbo car and DONE a turbo swap (Not a Datsun or Honda, but still), but I stand by the comments above... And Nitros or superchargers fall into the same category as far as the failure/ complexity issue... If I have a V8 (or L6) non turbo'ed car, will I have an issue with turbo oiling? NO. Will a piece of pipe coupling BLOW OFF under boost? NO. Will detonation become an issue? NOT under normal circumstances, and highly unlikely that is easily changed while driving! Will I have to worry about a BOV or Waste gate related issue? NO. Will EGTs be as much an issue to monitor? NO. The list can go on and on... EVERYTHING that you would worry about a V8 or other powerplant suffering CAN be said about a Turbo powered vehicle... Unfortunately you can't make that arguement in the other direction... Cheers! Mike

The question you need to ask youself is what you want to do with the car... I say this a lot, I know, but it is especially true here. One reason I steered clear of the intoxication of boost is simple... complexity... Now Now, don't all jump up and throw a fit without hearing me out... If you take the "swap" portion out of doing the V8 or the Turbo, and once you've sorted and done the "Swap", then we're left with day in and day out driving, either on the street, at the track, or both... One simply can not argue the fact that a turbo'ed drivetrain is more complex, expensive and difficult to build and live with... it only takes a look into our turbo section to see the posts from members who are getting quite proficient at doing head gasket swaps. Driveline upgrades are also a non-issue as the HP requirements climb, since 400HP is 400HP... Parts break because of the power, not because of the method chosen to make the power. Weight also will suffer, and maybe surpase the V8Z when doing a turbo application, as the unit, plumbing, intercooler, and electronics (if done properly) will add to the net gain in weight. It is much easier to build a moderate compression V8, making 400-ish HP and living with it day in and day out, driving it in rush hour traffic, and being able to knock down low 11s... That is much more reliable, less expensive to maintain, and funner in the long run, because you are spending more time driving, and less time wrenching... Just my $.02 Mike

Go with the Konis Ross and John recommend... they will serve you well... And will be a better compromise when you decide to move beyond cone shagging, and start HPDEs... Mike

So I mounted up the motor in the bay, plumbed the brake lines, and got the car sitting at what I thought was a decent stance before the guys came over yesterday... And today I mounted the rear hatch, added the strut to hold it up, mounted the sprung hinges and the hood so it would stay upright, finished up some brake line work, and got the garage rearranged... the pics show some of the areas I've been working lately. They also show what I believe, now with the motor sitting level in the chassis, with plenty of ground clearance... I'll need to either employ bumpsteer spacers, or use the extra holes I drilled in the crossmember, or a combination... I'm now looking at the suspension and seeing that the front is gonna be sweet and should be easily adjustable to 7 degrees posative caster and a bunch of negative camber if so desired... I'll be running the tire sizes that are on the car in the pics... 245-40-17s on the front and 255-40-17s on the back in hoosiers... I'm also looking at putting a larger, and adjustable (Rider-ish) wing on the car for functionality. I might try to also make my chin spliter for my front air dam next weekend... Making progress is good! Mike

Check the cycletrader.com section of traderonline. I sold the ZX9R the first day it was in the trader and bikes in the $1000-2000 range are out there... Mike

Dudeboy, I'll let you know how they work out because we're getting TWO... One for my project and one for JIm's. THanks for the info! Mike

That's the one.... Makes us look a bit lax, no? Mike