Mikelly

I actually worked on the Z this evening... finished drilling the holes for the bolts on the fuel cell, as well as riveting the filler sheetmetal into place. I then broke out the light filler and filled in the areas I'd needed to smooth out in the engine bay where I had removed the radiator core support. The filler is curing as we speak. TOmorrow I'll go ahead and put filler in the trunk around the patch panels to smooth the transition seams from the patch panels to the hatch floor. Once all that is done, I'm actually gonna break out the paint gun and mix up some underbody and engine bay paint. Gonna do it all in a nice light grey instead of the silver-metallic I started with... no rattle cans this time... Mike

Dave, Over the years I've spoken to you no less than 40 times on the phone, and I visited your shop once while in Phoenix. I raced a 4 Barrel intake carb setup on a 260Z for a year in Solo2 and I think it boils down to the loose nut behind the wrench. I had all kinds of issues with the worn out pieces of junk that I scavaged from junk yards and used as my 390 carbs... Many times it was often the fact that the units were worn beyond belief. I could put a 600CFM carter carb on the car and it would run much better than the 390 Holley. But hey, such is life... I think a comparo on a dyno would answer a lot of questions, especially IF an independant shop was involved. Mike

Well I for one must say that I'm pretty darned impressed... You guys have a vendor willing to pony up a carb and intake for someone to use in comparison, for independant testing, and no one is taking him up on it? Dave, I'm glad you are here at HybridZ. I'm also glad to see you stepping up and doing EXACTLY what I was hoping you would do, which is provide technical data while you try to offer your products... Good to have you here! Mike 8)

I want to get back to something Art glossed over... Mr. K's V8 Zcar... So Art, what's the story there, and why the HELL don't you guys do a story on THAT? Mike

Nope, I sure didn't get it. These guys are new to this equipment, and only had it inhouse for two weeks. They still don't have a good handle on the software, and were using a 22 inch fan to move air into the front of the car. It was NOT enough to cool the car down as we saw temps in the 230 degree range on at least one run. Mike 8)

Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick.... I Can NOT wait to see that puppy installed in the motor, in the car! BTW, If all goes well, I'll have my new oil pan and Tranny in house by the end of the month! Mike

I learned long ago in the Ron Stoy battles, that no matter how intelligent a person, you can't reason with someone who is beyond factual practicle thinking... Throw in opinion-based emotion, and you can chuck any ounce of hope that the person might hear and understand your point of view. Comparing the Z to a 32 Ford, first Gen T-bird, or most other "American Icon" cars is just laughable... Why? They have HUGE aftermarket support... If the Z was such a desirable piece of Americana, why is it that we have the least aftermarket support of any of the top ten most influential cars? Do I love my Zcar? Damn skippy I do. But I am under no illusion... We won't see the kinda money that these other "Icons" are pulling down at a Barrett Jackson Auction. Jeff Sagan's opening remarks about MORONs putting V8s in Zcars is laughable... There must be some of the highest paid morons on the planet running around this BB... GeeZ... And Get off your arses and ORDER THE FREAKIN' MAGAZINE ALREADY! Mike

Mark, It is. 99c5 bone stock except for the Borla XR1 Catback and GMS cold air intake. The computer settings are likely the main cause for the "Low" numbers! Mike

Actually if you look in the non-tech Section, I thanked you! Mike

I deleted two posts concerning comments made by members... AZC clearly states what his shipping policy is on his site... Either deal with it and buy from him, or don't give him your business... But take your complaints about vendors (ALL VENDORS) offline. Over the last few years we've heard complaints about EVERY ZCAR Vendor on the planet. Sometimes it is the vendor, sometimes it is the buyer... HybridZ won't become a place where this back and forth is done, so please, take your issues with said vendors OFFLINE! Mike 8)

I have a question, and it is gonna sound dumb as hell coming from an "Administrator"... What the HELL happened with your account Mark? Mike

I've got my run sheet scanned in... See it Here: http://alteredz.com/image/misc/Mikelly_DynoRUN_27May2004.jpg Mike 8)

Last page of SPORT Z MAGAZINE's Summer issue... Pete wrote his opinion on the HybridZ transplant... I read both sides of the arguement and as ussual, Pete spoke logically, intelligently, and defended us and our cause in style. Mike Kelly 8)

Doug, Had Donna not been with me, I wouldn't have gotten the ticket... Not saying I would have tried to outrun the police because that would set a bad example for the younger set , but I was less than a mile from my uncles subdivision, the trooper was going in the opposite direction and had to wait for two cars before he turned around, and I slowed down so we wouldn't get pulled in front of the family reunion festivities. Had she not been in the car with me, I'd have nailed the gas and continued on, turned into the subdivision LONG before he ever could have seen me... Picken's Bridge road is a BLAST to drive, so much so that the cops are patrolling it around the clock now... I hadn't been there in 4 years, so I was unaware they had problems with speeders and fatalities, but apparently it has become a target for their enforcement... I love that area down there... Mike

I just got back from Tennessee... Was also POPPED by the Tennessee State Police doing 56 in a 35. Fortunately they don't report to Virginia... So I'll pay it and shut up.. As for the dyno Numbers, I'll pull up the sheet and scan in what they gave me. However, Based on what another Dyno Operator (The guy who will be in charge of the LS1 EDIT prgramming for my Vette) told me, These numbers are on par for the actual loss of power transfer based on the LACK of ability to do ACTUAL SAE corrections... That part was very interesting, but according to Jeff, the numbers are scewed by as much as 5-7% with the variables plugged in for elevation and humidity. Apparently the software programing used in the DYNO JET package isn't as accurate as those used in Mustang Dynos... I don't know, but I'm told that my car is more realistically pulling 310-ish at the wheels... Cost for three runs on the DYNO was $69.00... Not sure what yours will do, but don't be to disappointed if it pulls similar numbers on a bone stock motor... Guys over on Corvetteforum.com are seeing anything from 280-320WHP... So there is your range of expectations... The biggest, and best bang for the buck is buying LS1 Edit software and learning to tweek the PCM after each mod made. Mike 8)

The wife and I are headed to my family reunion on my dad's side of the family this morning... I'm under strict orders NOT to take my laptop, But if any HYbridZers in the area want to hook up, Ring my cell phone at 540-840-2476. I'll be there today through Sunday morning! We'll be in DAs' Vette! Mike 8)

Oh I'm not screwing with it... I'm putting the header and exhaust on when I do the motor swap. It's just nice to know what the car is running. If I come across a cheap computer editor, then I'll maybe screw with it, but I suspect I'll have the motor in house and possibly in the car with the next 6 weeks! Mike

Just back from the Dyno.. These guys have only had it in for 2 weeks, so god only knows how accurate it was, and the fan they were using was a 22inch fan, kinda weak, but hey... 1st run: 276.54 HP 287.70 FT# TQ 2ndrun: 293.08 HP 301.27 FT# TQ 3rdrun: 296.27 HP 301.76 FT# TQ Conditions during the runs were 89.54 Degrees F. and 29.54 in-HG, SAE 1.02. The car and drivetrain have 98,600 Miles and the only mods were the XR1 Borla Exhaust and the GMS cold air kit. General agreement among all present is that the car should have made about 305HP and about 310#ft. of torque with the right sized fan and less humidity. I'm very pleased, and it gives me something to provide the owner with when I sell this motor, as well give me a baseline for the new motor we're gonna install. I'm sure swapping in fresh converters will also help BIGTIME! They are on the bench awaiting the swap! Mike

I'm scheduled to dyno our Stock C5 this afternoon, so I'll have some real world numbers on what my LS1 with minor mods (Borla XR1 exhaust and GMS Cold Air Kit) and 98K miles on it is making. My kid found the place right around the corner (5 minutes tops!) from the house. Stay tuned! Mike 8)

I know that on the Vette you can't just swap a clutch disc out, that you have to replace the WHOLE assembly including the flywheel due to funky harmonics. This may be true with the Fbody as well... Good thing you caught it before Launch sequence! Mike

I've read about this on a couple of the LS1 related sites... Couple folks mentioned balance issues in the Flywheel/ clutch assembly, and they specified that exact RPM range... Mike 8)

Dave, Is this item gonna fit in a UPS Shippable box? I'd really like one, but I'm in Virginia... I have money to spend if you will ship. mike

Bang for the buck, you simply can NOT beat that wheel for the fivelug conversion. Those wheels can be had ALL DAY LONG for less than $700 sipped. Also, 17 inch tire prices have come down a lot, and I STRONGLY recommend taking a look at the Kumho EXSTA MX. Very good tire for the money! Mike 8)

I think it will be a better comparison once they breath on an LS1 with some head and cam work, and headers... The FAST intake should be good for quite a bit more power with the right combos, and especially in stroker setup. I'm sticking with the LS6 intake and Tbody, since I'm running stock cubes and the heads I'm gonna use have minor porting and polishing, although I could see myself with some AFRs... Mike

This has been brought up several times, and although the front end of the car has issues, the rear aerodynamics should never be overlooked. Downforce Vs. Drag has always been a serious issue, but one that needs to be applied to the application of the vehicle. If you are running the car at constant speeds never reaching above 100MPH, most likely a smaller "BRE" style spoiler will suffice. However, When we generate speeds in excess of that 100MPH mark, things tend to get a little iffy, especially with rises in the course or road, and with the already handicap of poor CD built into the car. A couple of good examples of tragic results of poor aerodynamics have been used in the past... One being the infamous Benz team cars experiencing undercar lift at the front of the vehicles while cresting a rise at Road Atlanta back in 1998/99 timeframe. The other is the Mazda RX7 from the Saltflats timed runs.. That car in particular is a good example of bad rear aerodynamic management, while the Benz example is a good example of dirty air under the front of the car, and building presure at the wrong time, causing the whole car to lift off ground and flip BACKWARDS at speed, end over end. In my own testing over the years, I've run several different types of smaller deck mounted spoilers, as well as several designs of the infamous whaletail spoiler. One of them being a ripoff of the 933 Turbo tail, and the other being the California Whaletail, which is cleaner with no lip on the trailing edge. Both spoilers generate significant downforce, to the point of cracking the fiberglass at the decklid mounting area. At speeds below 100MPH no evidence of serious downforce could be seen in the paint, finish, or fiberglass. At speeds well above 150MPH, there was evidence that the wing was under serious presure and that the bond/ body seam sealer was deformed to the point of chipping off fresh paint. This was experienced on the Yellow Z with an L6 motor/ MSA Front bumperspoiler combo/ sideskirts/ rearbumperspoiler combo/ California Whaletail, and then on the white Z with a V8 Conversion/ traditional bumpers/ MSA Standard spoiler with brake ducts/ 933Turbo Style rear wing/ rear flares. Doug, Pete and I have discussed this issue several times over beers and food and the bottom line is to get the car as low to the ground as possible, clean up the front area around the grill and below the grill, and then focus on something to aid in stabelizing the rear of the car. Some of the more modern import wings would probably aid in stability at the rear, but may not provide enough true downforce. The spoiler Terry shows in his pics of the red car would certainly show significant downforce, but would hender CD efficiancy and creating a drag management issue. So, how do you find balance? Good question. Chin Splitters, underbody trays, defussers, and side skirts are being employed, but can be deadly if the right testing isn't done. If you don't have access to a wind tunnel (And trust me, they are NOT inexpensive) then you are really just guessing and hoping, and likely making a bigger problem. I refer back to the M-Benz team at Road Atlanta in 99. Those cars were aerodynamic wonders to behold... Until they took flight. I'm not sure what the answer is, and if I were, I could retire from the gig I have and make serious money consulting for race teams... But if someone has the magic combination for a given circuit, then It might help to post their combos... However, you won't know if something works until you get it to the track AT SPEED, and I'm not sure there are more than 15-30 guys who take their cars to track events. So you can see that practical analysis is gonna be a challenge for this problem... Excellent topic for this board, NO? Mike