Gollum

So, can a free meal or something persuade this thing out of napa, say to benicia or something? I've love to see it. You planning on coming to the get together June 6th in Berkeley?

In theory the T5 will hold up to a bit more abuse in the Z due to less weight to move around, plus the rear diff is shorter so that should help too. If the engine is free, it's rarely a bad choice, as long as it doesn't cost too much to put in. If you're a fabricator then any free engine is a good choice. Oh, plus I love the 5.0 as a budget V8. I like it more than the SBC swap, but not as much as the LS swaps.

A car moving at 100+ mph down a main straightaway when you're less than 40 feet from the edge of the track... With a cheap point and shoot like mine I can only go up to 200iso, which means I have a hard time getting enough exposure with bearable shutter speeds. When I get good action shots I consider it mostly luck.

Luck is getting that perfect shot when you're being attacked by a tiger. You were photographing the moon... doesn't move very fast. My point is that you're good, and that's all there is to say about that.

Looks much better. Notice much difference in the way it runs? I can't image the previous setup being "bad", just not so pretty. And my only complaint with the writing before was that it's just a block font. A prettier font could have been picked. But as Daeron said, it fits you anyhow. And I'm in 100% agreement in regards to the tax write off aspect. I run my own business and couldn't understand more.

I'd reason that if you put the seat that far forward, and in the middle than the view would be quite spectacular for hitting your apex. I've never seen anyone do it though, but it would be quite the impressive engineering feat.

Nope, it was only 2 heads cut up into 3 usable sections. The reason for the 3 sections was to get the correct cylinder spacing.

I seriously doubt "just anyone could do it". User here 1 fast z is a very experienced and knowledgable machinist, not even considering his age! You'd have to find a very brave machinest who's willing to take the gamble to try it out. And there isn't any DOHC that's truly worth having for the cost in my opinion. 1 fast z did it for almost entirely his own labor. The cost of parts were nothing compared to the blood sweat and tears I'm sure went into it.

How strange, I was just looking at BMW prices recently as donor vehicles. They've REALLY come down as the market has shifted lately. I'm sure you could pick up one with just slight engine problems for pretty darn cheap. All options sound exciting to me though, and I'll be eager to hear about it and watch it progress.

You booger. You get my point. People with welded chambers are in the minority these days, and you don't see such work advertised with people like rebello. It seems that any time I go to an event with lots of Z purists and they wear "rebello" engine on their sleeve it's more of a bragging right and they can't give you a single detail of their engine other than displacement and what spark system they're running. I'm not mad, upset, angry or anything, my point is that with a custom chamber like that I don't think his head can easily be compared to other engines out there. The head makes the power, and the fact he's making power at such a high rpm with that cam should show how well the head's been worked and matched so that all the parts in the system are working very well together.

Regarding the Carb discussion - I'd say that very few carb setups that are street driven will ever reach max power potential like EFI can. Sure you can tune a carb for max power, but it WILL be a sacrifice somewhere else. Even companies like sunbelt, robello, etc won't be giving you an engine with carbs that are tuned perfectly for peak power. They're going to give you what you paid for - a good street motor in most cases. I don't see the torque figures that unbelievable. Sure the cam isn't too extreme, but we all know it's not just about cams. MONZTER has shown well enough that he has an engineer's mind and loves to think things through. Just look at his head, how many people have welded chambers on a street driven Z?.... Also, lets not forget that he's running very low rotating mass. Do you know your rear wheels weights MONZTER? If he's running a R180, with light wheels, with the flywheel and clutch setup he mentioned in this thread he could be putting a very good percentage of his power down to the ground. Also, let's say the dyno might be slightly off (which MONZTER admitted might be possible), if it's only 5% off that would be over 10hp at that level, which adversely affects the estimated crank numbers. Oh, and I've seen well over 100 03' Cobra dynos and you'd be amazed at the factory variances. Engines DO vary, regardless of how tight the tolerances are. That's why many crate engines come with a dyno sheet. Ford rated the Cobra at 390HP, yet there were guys putting over 350 to the ground stock on the same dyno that others on the same day put 340 to the ground on. Everyone in the know admitts that SVT underrated the engine a bit, but most tend to agree it's due to the variables, and they didn't want to get caught in what they'd gotten caught in before, which was people filing lawsuits against Ford because their precious cobra came with 10HP under the rated HP. I would be willing to bet people at sunbelt and rebello feel the same way. It's better to take off 5-10% of their best numbers so that the small variations don't come back to bite them. My personal conclusion though is that with a head and intake as custom as MONZTER's it's apples to oranges to most engines with the same cam. He's running around 11:1 compression correct? He also has insane amounts of quench. Could it be that his flame propagation is just that much better that he's just squeezing a tad more efficiency out of it? I think both dynos prove his torque range though, which to me seems perfectly acceptable for the engine. The fact his rev range seems so good considering the cam is pretty special though. I'd be interested to find out the concrete reason why, but I'm sure it exists.

Just saw it. Meh. At least it was miles ahead of the 2nd. Better than the 1st? Probably. Better than tokyo drift? Not sure. The CG was more prominent than the other movies, and just as ridiculous. Although the story had potential, I felt like I was watching a soap opera. They took themselves too seriously. The first movie and tokyo drift might not have been as "well done" in many ways, but at least they were a bit more light hearted and didn't over extend themselves too much. I'm half expecting the next installment to be fully CG, or maybe even anime. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 6. Worth seeing (not a 5 or bellow), but definitely not for everyone and definitely not worth being a single soul's "favorite movie".

Am I not saying the same about the S130 all the time around here? I guess one of these days I'll have to commit myself to make such an example. It's ironic it's such a headache to fit a LS in the Z32, seeing as the LS fits with room to spare in the S30 while the VG30DETT is such a tight fit and a pita to get around the steering linkage. I guess that just shows how well they design a chassis to fit a particular engine these days.

There's a ton more than just firing order that makes the sound of an engine. Compression, rev range, valve timing, flame speed, exhaust design, intake design, mass, all have an effect on sound. Ask any good ford enthusiast, a 351W has a very distinct sound compared to other Ford engines. Though it shares a firing order with many other Ford V8 engines it just isn't quite the same. A good example I think is the fact they used a 351W for all the audio in the newer Gone In 60 Seconds. That engine encapsulates the sound of Ford, even better than the original 427 to the movie makers. And grasping that concept it should be no surprise that Ferrari engines always tend to sound similar. Their history is deeply rooted in racing, and their older engines still have a certain exotic sound to them. I think in reality a race engine has a sound, which has been attributed to the sound of a "Ferrari", rightly so in some ways.

Struts don't carry any weight of the car. The difference in how easily the car's move compared to each other is 100% spring difference, possibly a bit from the bushings, but not much if any. I'd say keep what you have in the currently running car, and work on making it work better for you. Get lighter sway bars if you can, go with stock if you have thicker aftermarket sway bars. What rims are you running? Reducing unsprung mass almost always improves ride quality, not to mention improving tire to road contact over bumps. It seems to me a lot of times when a ride seems harsh it's not just due to a harsh suspension, but also a weak chassis. Any chassis flex makes a car feel like it's falling apart to me when you go over harsh bumps. A good solid chassis will just beat your ass to jello while feeling very solid and planted. Installing some good strut bars can go a long way in improving chassis flex at the suspension points, and if you're making a cage I find it pointless to do all that work and not tie in the cage to the shock towers, which will improve overall rigidity immensely. There's several people on these forums with highly modified S130 cars, and I'm a huge fan of them. If I lived in a state where I didn't have to smog them, and land were cheap enough I could own many inexpensive cars, I'd own many more S130 cars. They're a blast to work on and have lots of potential. Oh, something else, what's your ride height? Some of the poor suspension manners might not be due to the spring rate, but screwed up geometry from too much drop. I owned a CRX for about 8 months that was a long term loan from a friend. He had over 2K into the suspension and only handled marginally better than stock, even with nice tires on it. All I did was take the time to raise the car up a bit and make sure the geometry looked fine. When I took the previous owner for a short test ride he couldn't believe how well it handled. Sure it didn't feel as "sporty" in some ways, but it had loads more grip in the corners and was overall much faster. It also didn't bottom out so easily...

Paul, It looks to me like some of those MIGHT work, but it's always hard to tell in pictures. Would it really be THAT disheartening to have to have custom headers made? You might be able to achieve 85% of the performance of the best manifolds with some good log manifolds and clear everything without modification. I'd hate to see the swap halted on the pure complication of exhaust. Now, oil pan clearance is one thing though, as it can make or break an engine location, thus swap.

I understand the whole "path less traveled" mindset. I've been the same way in the past which is why I have at least basic knowledge on probably a hundred engines. I love engines, period. I have very little brand loyalty and I can find good points to swapping nearly any engine. The CA I consider kinda like the B16 of the nissan engines. Very good rev potential, smaller displacement range, mostly square engine. It doesn't have quite the same HP range out of the box, but it's also an older engine that didn't see long enough life to be OBD-II compliant. The main limiting factor I see in them is that their cam design, though allowing lots of revs with little problems as long as you have enough spring pressure, doesn't allow for much camshaft lift before you start hitting the walls of the head. There is no rockers so you can't achieve more lift with higher ratio rockers, it's pure cam lift. I don't remember how much it's limited to, but it's not necessarily a problem with force induction. With force induction you're more concerned with duration and timing, with as little overlap as possible. The SR is the "cool" swap right now. The KA is either respected or rejected, but many people won't even know what the CA is, which is nice in my book. Oh yea, and I've never had to wait on these parts for an L series engine: Water Pump Head Gasket Valve Cover Gasket Head Temp Sensor Coolant Temp Sensor Oil Pressure Sending Unit Knock Sensor Thermostat Distributor Cap/Rotor Though, many times I need to call around to find out who has it. My good luck might have to do with my location. There must be at least 20 auto part stores within 5 miles of my house. I'm not trying to prove anyone wrong, I'm just showing that in many areas there is more support for the L series still than many other engines due to the fact they were put in almost every datsun made.

Oh come on! Don't be so vague, you're killing me. What are these "future daily driver plans"?

Actually, yes, I can and have. The L series engines have a ton of interchangeable parts between generations and 4-6 cylinder variants. It was also put into probably over half a million vehicles in the USA, thus there's still huge support for it. And yes there are some interchangeable parts between the USDM FWD SR20, and the JDM RWD SR20. Though there ARE parts that don't, some because of the difference between the USDM electronics and the JDM electronics, and some because the FWD engines are different in many ways to begin with. And to Grim: I think the CA is a fine engine to pick. The CA18DE was in the 200SX here in the USA, so there will be some part support right there. I personally don't really think the stock HP is truly worth the swap, but I think that with your goals in mind it fits the bill. A lot of engines are good engines for that power range though, so I think it comes down to other factors such as driving style, weight, ease of install, fabrication skill, etc.

I understand what you're saying, but think about this: The 3D art group that did the largest chunk of designing the models for transformers actually took the time to figure out how to do it right, and developed a space for everything to go somewhere. They didn't simply have the CAR, and then the TRANSFORMER, and an animation sequence to make people go "ooo, ahhh", they figured out how to make it work, physically. How can we pack all of this transformer model into a real vehicle frame? That was their challenge. It's also one of the main reasons why the physically larger transformers were larger vehicles. It just works better. It's that kind of thought and creativity that makes a movie BELIEVABLE. I find it hilarious that a "fantasy" movie like transformers is in many ways MORE believable than any of the FnF movies I've seen (all the first three). The movie experience for most isn't just about a good story, good action, or good acting, it's about how well it draws you into the world it's creating, which is how a movie becomes more than the sum of it's parts. THAT'S entertainment. A "popcorn flick" is when a movie fails to realize the ability to encapsulate an audience and has to rely purely on good looks to get by, not talent.

These are some disappointing reviews. I was hoping this movie might bring some hope to the series, but I'm afraid not. Why aren't there any good car movies in recent years? Why does this generation have to look toward Gone in 60 Seconds to find characters that actually seems to know something about cars? Why can't directors/producers/writers at least TRY to make the real car guys believe what's on screen? I don't think I'm being a purist/narrow minded either. There are geeks out there who are salivating at the movies now that comic book movies are being done RIGHT from time to time, and showing the rest of the world how entertaining they can be without being "nerdy". Why can't anyone do that for the car genre? Although they've been decent "popcorn flicks" the fnf franchise is making me sick to call myself a gear head. They're tainting our name in culture imo.

I have to ask, in this economy... how much yasin?

As well stated in this thread already, the VG ownes a lot of engines really hard, hands down. It's got more displacement than any reasonable 4 cylinder, so it has lots of off boost torque, and dropping in a turbo engine, or converting one over to turbo is still cheaper than any engine swap (save maybe the KA if you do every little piece of work yourself, and you still have to turbo it...). If they fit easier into the S30 I think more people would do it, but maybe that's just my thinking since I find them to be such an amazing little engine. They're also very light for being a "heavy iron block" and have a lower center of gravity than an inline engine.

What he said... I've got a good 200+hp, maybe even over 200 at the wheels and I'm mad I can't get 20mpg right now.... 10 mpg in a L28 at anything except a race only setup would make me think it REALLY needs some attention.

Not so secret now, now is it? I could care less about an aluminum block, it'll only save you a maginal amount, probably about as much as the 4 valve head would increase weight. A DOHC head would be nice though. It'd be even nicer if it used over the counter cams and valvetrain. I'm seeing the movie this saturday. Be safe everyone.