Mikelly

I agree, but again, I reference my post above... most members don't have coil overs and sectioned struts. We will be going at it from a whole 'nuther perspective for round 2! I'd think that closing off the grill, dropping the car low to the ground with maybe 2 inches or less clearance for the air damn, and using all the other tricks we learned would get us deep into the .3Xs I don't see a Zcar getting into the .2Xs though. However, I'd love to be pleasently surprised! Mike

Our "goal" was to test parts that are so popular among our Zcar Members and with the various vendors... Do those "cool" looking parts "work?" That was the goal for the first 20-22 tests. Once we rolled Roddy's car in, it was more an excersise on "what should work on the track". When we go back, I'd welcome your participation, Michael. Mike

Thank you very much... One day closer to a dirt nap... whoopie... I think... Mike

On the Chevy Corvette (97-04) they did away with the return line off the fuel rail. At the fuel filter at the rear of the car, there's a return line. The excess fuel returns to the tank from that point, instead of having the fuel run all the way up to the engine compartment... pretty trick if you ask me. Mike

Let me put it another way... I have received a number of offline comments from other SENIOR members who were around when we stood up this site... And how it was different back then from the "tone" we have now, as we've evolved and gained popularity... I'm all for new members coming to the site and wanting to join in... I'm not for our senior members being bullied or steamrolled by some who think they "can" do it better... If that's the case, DO IT ELSEWHERE. IF I get the particulars from Ernie, and IF I deem it justified to have those individuals GONE, THEY WILL BE... Better yet, those who felt the need to contact Ernie offline, Have you got the stones to contact ME??? Bet you don't... There are a number of us on this site who would like to retain the feel of HybridZ from its humble beginnings... We won't lose that to those who have "other" intentions... I hope this message is CLEAR... Mike

I've been out of town and just got this... It saddens me to no end that some assclown pricks would send you notes offline... I wish you'd have directed them to me, Ernie... My fuse is short with crap like this... One of the few members who posts real technical data, and useful info, and some keyboard commandos bulley him into bailing on the site??? I hope those responsible feel as poorly of their actions as I do, and god help them if I find out the specifics... Mike

Dave, I wasn't offended or trying to be contentious, only trying to provide more insite into my comments... I've owned several of the cars being discussed, driven several at the track where all their warts come out, and figured the comparison was one of interest. Other than the difference in HP/cost to maintain on the early vs. late MZ3 based coupe or roadster, I feel my views are of value to Thumper, who contacted me offline... I wouldn't put the early Mroadster/coupe in the running, due in no small part to the 240BHP rating. It's a fine car, but by no means in the same category as a C5... The later model MZ3 Roadster/coupe closes the gap... As to the comments about the porsche, I was simply providing that data as another comparison... If someone got offended, that wasn't the intent. Thumper, Contact me offline if you want more info, otherwise I'm pretty much done with my "opinionating" in this thread... Mike

Dave, I have no clue what the car cost to modify, nor do I care. I paid $71000 for the car as is with a 48Kmile/48 month warranty. I can tell you that having owned Mustang Cobras, Chevy Corvettes (both of which were modified), BMW M series cars (stock) and the 996TT, there's simply no way I'd recommend a 240HP Mcoupe/roadster over a 97-2004 C5. I'd have my head examined otherwise... The 2001-2002 cars were margainaly better with the HP/build qualitu factor/ and margainly worse with the cost to own/operate factored in... Quite honestly, there is no comparison to the car that now owns a spot in my garage. Just took a former Z06 owner for a ride, and he was simply "stunned" at th level of performance and the level of quality/options... I'll never step down, so long as I can afford it. There's no comparison, and if we're ever in the same place at the same time, you'll get to sample it... There's not enough words to explain it, so I wont bother failing to try. Mike

Dave, I can only speak to the car that I owned, BUT my insurance agent rattled off the costs to replace things such as the fenders and hood and came up with higher numbers than if I were to replace those hard parts on my 996TT. My costs to insure the 996TT went DOWN over the 2002 Mroadster. Now to the maintenance end, There is that oil cost issue that drove me nuts... It actually cost MORE to maintain the S54 MRoadster than it does to maintain my 996TT. Want to talk about those rear subframe issues they're talking class action suit over??? THAT IS A HUGE issue... It's a great car, and I'm glad I owned one. Build quality is hands down better than any C5 with more than 10K miles on it. But everything else being even, the Mseries coup/Roadster is an expensive proposition, and once you cost everything out, you start realizing you're paying serious money for not so serious amounts of performance. Mine was making 315HP, and cost more to maintain than my 600HP 996TT. Am I the only one that thinks that is NUTS? Brake pads and rotors are AS expensive as on my 996TT, as is the suspension... Exhaust upgrades? $1800 on average for an Eisenmann catback. Any other mods to get more serious power? $$$$ Nope, glad I bought it and lived it... Nice car.. GREAT PAINT. Excellent fit and finish. But dollar for dollar, I'd buy another C5 before I'd do the Bimmer again. I did not own a 99-2000 Mcoup/Roadster, but the lack of HP (240 vs 315 in the 2001-2002) was what turned me off those cars. The other shocker was the weight of my 2002. The car weighs 3180#, which is as much or more than my wife's 97 328is 4 DOOR. And if you plan to track the Roadster, prepare to instal a rollbar of some time approved by SCCA, because the hoops on it from the factory aren't legal for track events... Mike

There's no way I'd buy another M-Roadster/Coup... The cost of maintenance is outragious on them, when compared to other cars of similar performance. The Vette is going to have less quality in the build department than the BMW, hands down, but the performance is amazing and bang for the buck, its hard to argue the LS6 performance edge. The 350Z is a nice car, and has a ton of aftermarket support at a reasonable cost. But it's still a fairly heavy, underpowered car...I'd pick the Vette. Mike

Contact me offline... I need to know where I'm getting them from and arrange a time... Mike

Rear stock arms weigh 11 pounds. The AZC arm weighs right at 6# without the sway bar links. Actually, I'm pretty sure that the aluminum hubs Jamie made to go with the Mustang Cobra setup are the lightest hubs out there, and MMLs hub is a close second... And I can weight the Mustang Cobra sized wilwood 13inch front 2 piece brake rotor for you, but I already know it weighs about 50% more than a stock 240Z front rotor... so you eat all the weight savings up with JUST ONE of those mondo rotors... Quite honestly, WHO CARES when you're doing 150MPH and need to stop... All you want to do is... STOP!!!!! Mike

Jim's car is one of those that "got away" from me... It was for sale, and he and I talked on the phone quite a bit about it... Now looking back on it, I wish I'd bought it... Pete bought a significant amount of parts from Jim back in the day, as Jim would improve on the car, and Pete would be in the right place at the right time and grab them up... Mike

Let me add further to "why" we made a rule... Lately, it seems we've gottem a lot of posts titled "Whats the best UMPTYFLUNKNUTBUSTER?" and it's just getting a bit old... What these posters are trying to do is bipass the SEARCH function in their own subtle way. Not to mention the fact that we've all got better posts to create, read, or learn from... The goal and intent of this site is to keep as many of the posts as technically oriented as possible. And of course, Zcar.com is the best site... for "them". Mike

The more I look at Jim's car sitting in my shop, the more I'd like to redo the rear strut housings... There's a "cant" on the sectioning and I'd like to fix that and also make them just a tad longer for more adjustment of the coil overs... Anyone have a decent pair of rear 280Z strut housings by chance?? Mike

And to touch further on what Bob stated, I don't think there's a huge performance difference by going with the Porsche brakes over say a properly setup wilwood/MML/AZC/Mike Gibson-Outlaw brake setup... If your goal is to lose weight in the brake system components, you can do it within reason by going with any two piece rotor and you can have custom hubs made for the center lock wheel design. That stated, Those hubs for centerlocs are not as light as you might think. Also, As Bob stated, Look at other areas to reduce unsprung weight. From a purely cost standpoint, you'd be better off with overhauling the stock suspension, and going with AZC control arms front/rear and their aluminum mustach bar, along with coil overs. Mike

How about some video of it moving??? Such a tease! Mike

Most guys I know running the GT3/Yellow calipers are using the aluminum centers and steel standard type rotors. The ceramics last a long time, shed a bunch of heat, and are really great performance items for the top of the top... But the rest of us have to deal with reality, and $5500 ceramic rotors don't fit my beer budget! Mike

So I've been working on Jim M.'s car to get it at a point to get it shipped to North Carolina for a series of software tuning/fixes to finish up the mechanical portion of the work done on the car... We cut off the pitiful excuse of an exhaust and those damned mangled S&S headers the other shop installed... I'll have what's left of them at the shindig for some to check out... I'd suspect Jim was losing well over 50HP on those headers and exhaust alone... I had to drop the tranny after I had everything buttoned back up, due to not being able to attack the master line to the release bearing on the wilwood... Got that accomplisshed last night and a much better driveshaft installed. I am modifying the mounts for the tranny so the drive shaft lines up better... The previous shop did a horrible job in so many areas, I'm embarrased every time I stumble across one of their "mods"... Once Jim's car is out of the way, The modification to the existing shop begins and I'll have the truss mods complete in a day. Then its just sheetrocking everything in the ceiling (With insulation) and painting the walls/ceiling/floors. The wooden benches that surround most walls are being ripped out and replaced with lots of above head storage, to keep the floor space freed up. I hope to have much of this work complete by the Zcar shindig. However, due to this work, I wont' be spending much time on my own Zcar while I finish the shop up... It's killing me to have a lift and not be able to use it... Once the lift is done and the shop mods are complete, I'll get the electric company in to run the new service to the building. Panel is done and all work is complete, except the drops for the compressor and the lift. Mike

After having my own brake issues at the first track event I attended in my 996TT, I did a little shopping and got an education on the ceramic rotor costs... The ROTORS alone are a $5500 replacement PER ROTOR. That did not include pads, and did not include calipers... After they revived me, I decided to try and "fix" my own brake issues, and found that good pads, fresh SRF fluid, and brake cooling ducts (Real ones, not those GT3 pieces of junk) and I'm good to go... Didn't have a single issue all last weekend! Mike

Absolutely... This has NOTHING to do with Ross or MML, other than the fact that he sold the part... That's it... It's good for the community, and for Ross... It'll help him develop a solution that will be stronger in the long run. For people to get their panties in a bunch, and run off and drop a dime is just plain SAD on so many levels... The spin is that there was NO BASHING of the company or product... Had there been any, I'd be the first to defend the vendor, but this is simply NOT the case... Jody and Ross, Keep us posted on future developments for the stubaxles... We're all ears... As to anyone wondering about who I shop with. I always visit Ross' page FIRST before I look to other vendors for support... So it's not like I don't "support" Ross and his efforts. Mike

Hey there Fast Frog!!! How you been? Mike

Pete, You know we keep all measuring devices away from the wife...Lord knows what might happen if she found out the real meaning of 6 inches! As to the other comments, I have no interest in spending $6000-8000 on a "lawn" tractor... The $1900 I spent was stickershock to me... I hate lawn work, and it was a strech to spend the money and get a replacement for the old Murray riding mower that was procurred at Walmart about 10 years ago and did just fine. I'll keep it in the garage for now, and once Jim's car is out of the other garage, I'll relocate the motorcycle there along with the dirtbike that's there now, and reorganize a fair amount to make more useful space and storage... Mike

You know, Sometimes I just don't get some of these responses... Especially some of the "reactions". Jody, You broke a part and posted pics and your experience... You didn't trash Ross, or his product. In my mind you owe nobody an apology. If one is expected from the other side of the fence, well... Mike

I'm all ears... Bob Smith told us that you'd not see anything above 15-18MPH coming out the backside... Interesting... Mike