Gollum

Yup, that's the catch of CA smog. The laws are so complex and convoluted that laws seem to be more "subjective" than anything else, thus smog techs and even many refs lack the knowledge really needed to do thier job to it's full obligation.

Sorry, I didn't even think of searching. I assumed I was the only person this insane. Parently I was wrong Thanks for the recomendation jon.

So, late one night me and my brother had too much time on our hands and our minds got a little scientific (or has scientific as we get). What whould happen if you filled your tires with helium for a race day? How much weight would you save? How stable would be it? At what rate would the gas diffuse? So, does anyone know if helium is flamable at any rate? Or if it's pressure combustable? I found this decent article on the web. I'm sure there's more stuff out there. http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99085.htm Seems like a viable idea, just possible diminished returs. Although it seems like it couldn't hurt. Let me know what you guys thing.

Well in the news report they state the he's been asked to build some prototypes for the governemnt. So we've got a couple of senarios. 1. The News station is full of BS 2. The owner of the company is full of BS 3. They've been asked to prove to the government that it works Ok, so a few options, not a couple. Now, of number 3 there's still several sub possabilities. 1. He showed it to the governemnt but they didn't like it becuase it cost to much money for how little it improved current equipment. 2. The government like it but put it to use on a small scale thus it isn't wide known - yet. 3. The guy flopped and the government showed him the door. 4. The whole is too recent for anything to be finalised yet, thus not wide known. Any way it's happened or happening we'll just have to wait and see.

Your mom rocks m/ o.o m/ I'll trade you moms, or at leasts mother's vehicles.

Yea, from what I hear that was a big part of the fugi redesign in japan - drainage. I also love the fact that on the nurburgring you can actually have multiple weather conditions at once.

Long, straight, flat, roads.... dude, i'm liking the sound of kansas. Do they have strick speed enforcement?

I admire the idea and the vision. I'd love to see the kind of race something like this would be capapble of. My dream that's way out there that will probly nenver happen is I've always wanted to build a track that would rival the nurburgring, but on USA soil. I've got the whole thing drawn out and i've envisioned every turn. It's about 11 miles long so I figure even in current economics it would probly cost well over the 10 million mark, so i'm not holding my breath that it will ever happen. But I still believe it's important to dream and to try to figure out how to do somethng.

I actually know a guy who's done alot of body work on deloreans. It's an art to say the least. Only someone inexerpeinced with SS body work would have to use filler, unless the panel is completely thrashed in wich case you're screwed anyways. I saw a delorean the other day wich is always a treat, I've always liked them. They really could pass off as a 80's supercar imo. The delorean is quite the common hybrid though, since the stock motors don't have much potential and are pathetic to begin with. If you search the net you'll find some wild swaps. I think one of my favorite swaps was a northstar v8. I think the car was yellow with GT500 corner panel scoops. If memory serves correct.

Well, I remembered to put oil back in last time, but knowing me my subconsious would force me to forget out of spite. Looks like I'll be pulling it all apart again tomarrow. fun fun fun

Neat, although I'd like to find out what the emissions truly are, and if there's any other waste gases being produced. Definately interesting at any rate. When I saw the title of the thread I thought for sure it was going to be about the new 6 stroke motor design that uses two extra strokes for a steam cycle that improves economy and lowers chamber temp.

Another car the 351 can in with EFI was the broncos. The bronco also ha a 302, and both were carb until 85 when they got EFI. They also had a HO model for the 351 that got the sam HO treatment as the 302 in the mustangs of the time. Still a poor performing 351 though. I might be putting a bronco 351W in my ZX (this is the first i've mentioned it on HZ thus far). I could get it legalised to get my engine label and then it's party time. I could go wild with part mods without anybody knowing the difference. Main thing I need to look at is what EFI to run, since it would probly only get like 14 MPG city with only 210HP.

Anyone here notice a trend? No wonder so many people have pertetual project cars. I'm a partner in a small buisness that deals with IT administrative activities for small buisnesses. (basically we take care of computers for companies that aren't large enough to have someone on staff) I used to agressive inline back in the day. Back in the mid 90's I wasn't far behind where the pros were, and I probly could have gone pro if I'd stuck with it. I don't regret stopping, but I sure want to get back into it every now and then. I also used to paintball, but it got really expensive for just a kid. One thing lead to another and everyone I played with stopped playing so I was stuck by myself basically. I also used to program video games. But i've reduced that hobby to mods since I decided I didn't want to go into that industry. Nowdays I play LOTS of guitar. I could go on for hours listing my inspirations. And I could direct people to my myspace page but that would be pointless as the recordings are so old (over a year old and I've only been playing for 3). I've also started my first luthier project of building an electric guitar. Lots of fun. I also enjoy the movies, more often than I should. I probly see 60% of movies in the theater. I also love books, as my handle here would hint. Dune, Lort, Narnia, ect. Epic novels really rock. I also like cosplay stuff, but I don't do that much. I HAVE gone to episode 2 & 3, Matrix Revolutions, and all the LOTR movie premiers in costume. I figure if I'm gonna stand in line for 8 hours I may as well look like I came for a reason. Oh yea, I used to be really into computer hacking when I first got into computer in my pre-teens. I've been out of the loop so long i'm as harmless as vasoline on the kitchen counter. As you might assume I'm into many aspects of computer technology and one of the main ones that I plan to start making a profit at is custom computer building. My most recent system I built cost of 7k to build, and no i didn't overpay for things. That's the true cost to build it. I could have sold it for 10k easy but I was building it for a friend. I also bowl. I maintain a mid 180's average and i'm still getting better. My brother's far better than I am though, wich keeps me in the sport since I know I can be alot better. Summary for those who skipped: Computers, cars, guitars, books, bowling. And all surrounding areas

I didn't break anything, that's for sure. And I didn't remove the shaft. I guess it's possible that the shaft isn't sitting up as high as it should thus spinning freely. I assumed once I got it all lined up and I was able to easily put the pump back on that it would be fully enguaged. I don't have an owners manual and none of the local auto shops have on in stock. I've got access to alldata so I might check for information there. I don't know how to check for TDC EDIT: Oh yea, now that you mention oil pump I feel like an idiot. Oil pump, duh. I'll be banging my head about that one for a while.

1. Taking a cross country trip. Rolls Royce Phantom 2. Arriving at a local hot spot (club, reunion, etc) Highly modified car wich even car guys wouldn't reconise. Probly Z based 3. Blasting down the autobahn. Bugatti Veyron 4. Crusing the local strip. 68' GT500 KR Convertable 5. Tour of Italy Lotus Exige 6. Daily driver Factory Five Daytona Coupe powered by a 427 windsor based small block with street AFR heads, mild cam all mated to a T-56 with 3.15 rear gears 7. SUV WRX Wagon with a 2.5 turbo 8. Any other favorite and why R34 GTR - Because it's one of the first modern cars to cheat it's weight. It's heavier than the R33 yet it's faster around a track and it's easier to mange right on the edge. It's ease of track drivability was unrivaled in it's time and is still one of the best out there.

Ok, so now my car won't even start. I'm thinking whatever this thing is (see pic below) could be the problem. When I was leaing water it looked like it was coming from here, so I pulled it off, only to have oil rain down, my bad. I should have known better and looking back it should have been obvious that it was ties into the oil system. Lucky me I had a bucket near by. So I put it back on quickly and bolted it back on. Once I found the leak from the water pump and changed it out and got it all put back together it didn't run right all of a sudden. (plus I was leaking a little bit of oil from this thing I took off). Now, my car has never ran PERFECT in the past but I'd never had it run THIS bad. So someting definately changed. I'd gone over everything I thought it could be, although I havn't taken my AFM or TPS apart to see how they look on the inside. So I took this thing off again in order to stop the leak. The gasket had one small crack so I just cleaned everything up real good and used some gasket repair spray. Now the car won't even start! And this is the only thing I'd changed. Ideas anyone? Could the AMF or TPS be going down hill that fast? Or could messing with this thing that I have no idea of what it does be the source of my problems?

Still not considering oakland? Man, oakland's got it all. High rent, high crime, and high stink during high tide. Oh yea baby. All kidding aside I liked VA when I was there a year ago on vacation for a week. Even the DC area didn't seem as bad as I've heard from people. But then again, I grew up in richmond, highest crime rate in the bay area. The only thing I didn't like was the humidity. I'm not a fan of that. I'm sure other east coast places are better though. I hope you find a place you can truly call home.

Didn't I semi-adress the no tourque issue? Even cruising it's hard to see below 3k cruising on the freeway. The tranny is geared to EASILY keep the motor ABOVE 6k. And consider this, these motors rev so fast on thier own that even if starting off the line the no-tourque range quickly dissapears and isn't a factor. Now, they don't FEEL like a V8 tourque monster. But that doesn't mean it's not fast. I personly think the thing that makes the CRX I drove fun is the fact that you CAN stay above 6k if you want, becuase it redlines at 8k and is geared so perfectly for it's powerband. It's just dang anoying for cruising beucase anything above 60MPH you're above 2.5k easily. You can hit 4k on the freeway without even noticing it. 4k in my ZX feels like it's stressing. I don't know though. I have too much fun in so many cars. So i'm not trying to downplay the beuty of a V8 but at the same time I've found ways to respect all well built motors that do well what they're meant to do.

I got to drive a 180hp 13 sec CRX the other day. I thought it was a fun car. Not really my idea of a money pit project car but my idea of the perfect commuter/daily driver. The weaker low end means you don't need an insane clutch or anything and you can cruise around with a very tame vehicle that acts like pretty much everything else on the road. But wind it up and it's got some nice pulling power. The only thing I didn't like was the gearing. It was nice for track use and for getting through the gears but it left me wanted a 6th and maybe even a 7th. I think the owner said it was 4.6X or somewhere around there. Hondas get pretty high up there. I think some of the tpye R trannys were even as high was 4.7X. The good thing about a gearing setup like this though is that you bring it up to 8k and it doesn't drop bellow 6k (or there abouts) wich means you stay in the motors power range. I personally feel this is the most over-looked aspect of low tourqe high reving motors. Sure they don't have tourque, but they've still make good power, just not in the lower band. And you can keep it in it's power band so who cares? It's good at what it does in it's own right. I don't get why some many people look down on that type of a setup (other than most of these motors don't have the same potential for HP as a big displacement motor). Anyways, my point is that your definition of "fun" can change depending on what car you're talking about. A 180HP crx probly wouldn't be much fun for street racing or for driving around a road course but it's a dang fun daily driver that can get over 30MPG easily.

Well, techniacally if they're bringing down the temp slowly isn't that reffered to "nutralising"? At least that's what we call it in the blacksmith biz. There's two main factors in tempering. #1 Temperature brought to and #2 How fast you bring the tempurature down. As far as I knew letting the metal cool on it's own was as about as nurtal as you really ever needed. At any rate I think AK-Z was just trying to suggest something that would help the metal have an even temper. I can see how this could effect things greatly. But I don't have a ton of headwork knoledge so i'm just here for the ride. So i'll just keep reading 8) Oh yea, I knew that the whole epoxy thing was mentioned with the head in consideration and I didn't think it was a very bright idea but I just wanted to offer what I knew in the subject of super epoxies.

I've done some research on the lotus cars (espirit exige) and have found out these tidbits of valuable information. They use an expoxy to bond the entire aluminium chassis together and rivet certain joins for collision proteciton so that if the glue gives out during an accident it doesn't just fall apart. The bonding is so much stronger than welds that they were able to use even thinner pieces. This is becuase the welds become the weakest points so normally you use thicker stock than you need in order to compensate. This bonding doesn't pose this problem. I just wanna find out what kind of bonding agent they're using. I've looked to no avail.

Ok, long story. It wouldn't have been such a long story if I had come here alot sooner for help 8) So my car was overheating bad lately. Turns out i'm loosing water... from my water pump. Yay. So I go to autozone (i'm starting to hate them) and find out that a new water pump that comes with a gasket isn't very expensive and has a lifetime warrenty. Cool, so I spring for it. The gasket that came with it sucked major *** but I used it anyways but checking tension on all the bolts after I got it on I snapped a bolt, :woops:. Dang it. So I pull it off and drill it then use an easy out thingamajig to pull it out. Cool, gasket is destroyed now so I go back to autozone to get a new one. There's another couple of bucks gone. BUT this new gasket is actually nice and thick and looks like it will last a decent amount of time. Ok, so I get it all back together and it's not starting... Turns out my belt is too tight. So I loosten it and it starts. But it's running really rough. And my exhast leak has gotten WAY worse for some reason. Odd eh? I didn't touch the exhast but it's gotten worse. One the car warms up it's still overheating and it seems to be missing bad. Like every could of strokes one of the cylinders misses and the whole car shakes. Ok, so I figure maybe it's the AFM. I clean it out. No change. Maybe the TPS? So I took that apart today and it seems fine. I had trouble starting it but you can kinda adjust where it sits nutral when you tighten down the screws that hold it on, so adjusting that I got it to start easily enough. So while it's running i'm messing with the flapper door on the afm and I'm able to get it to idle ALOT smoother and get it to run great. But adjusting the bolt on the AFM doesn't seem to be changing anything. Upon closer inspection of the AFM again I notice THERE'S NO AIR TEMPERATURE SENSOR! BAH! It's just gone, MIA, missing. So, will not having the air temp sensor lead to slow overheating, missfiring, ect? I'm sure I need it but i'm not sure it's the root of all my problems. Any help would be appreciated. I've also put injector cleaning in my tank before all this work thinking maybe it's a sticking injector.

i ended up taking it off. So maybe I'll snag some pics before I put it back on. If you finished it up right it would look good. It definately can obtain that muscle look that the S30 can. But at the same time the body lends itself to smooth lines well.

I might have to pull the bumper off today due to random idle overheating... I guess the car is just forcing me to make it look better I think the ZX has great lines, but to me it looks VERY 80's and that just doesn't cut it for dream car for me. I think I've started to sort out what it's gonna look like in my mind. So hopefully by next winter I can park it and start working like a mad man.

Apparently I was never 16 I havn't really done anything ricer-ish that I know of. Although I plan on spraying all my chome trim black soon. I'm sure sure if I'll gloss it so it might just be primer depending on looks. I think that's about as rice as I've gone. And I live in the heaven of all thing rice.