silicone boy

I know there has been all this rice slamming over the past month or so (at least), but I think we should all take a step back and look at things with an new perspective, after all, we drive Japanese cars too. I have to admit that I used to hate hotrodders, just like you all hate ricers. I've been tuning German suspensions (BMW, VW) since my early teens and I used to make fun of bubbas who only cared about the quarter mile. That is not a test of a complete car. I think 0-100-0, lateral g-force, and autocross times are far more important for evaluating a vehicle. From what I'm hearing on these boards, most only care about quarter mile times. There are those like Mike and Mike and Pete and a host of others who understand that the stock Z underpinnings suck and need attention, just like the engine bay. I think we should respect those who deserve to be respected, no matter what the make of the vehicle--after all, isn't it astounding how you could even make a wrong wheel drive car accelerate like a Z06? Let's all give serious car people some credit--we can still make fun of those with more stereo wattage than horsepower. It was this acceptance that drew me into the Hybrid Z world. I was tired of spending thousands to gain a handful of horsepower, and I was extremely jealous of the American V8 fans cause they could make power so cheaply. What I couldn't accept was the lousy handling that usually comes with the territory (C4 and C5 Vettes and 3rd and 4th gen F-bodies excluded). That's why I set out to build the ultimate street machine, one with a lot of power and could be made to handle. If I had stuck to my old prejudices, I wouldn't have been able to accept a Hybrid Z. As a wise man one said :"can't we all just get along?"

Like I said, you might want to look on Ebay first, cause there are a lot of systems available for great prices. If you want to go new, either Summit or Jeg's carry what you need for about $1300.

Not to be crude, but I'm a plastic surgeon specializing in breast surgery and when it comes to implants, we also say: "There's no replacement for displacement" Maybe this is what prompted me to pick up Fast Frog's 383.I hope this doesn't offend any female members of the board. By the way, are there any?

I saw a review in one of the magazines lately about the six speed Richmond. It was sweet. There's only one overdrive gear, which is preferable in my mind. It was also expensive and could require even more clearancing of the tunnel

Are you sure the T56 is stronger than the two automatics? I thought that with the viscous coupling, an automatic was bound to be stronger (maybe not when the torque converter locks up). I have a T56 sitting on the shelf that will replace a well set up 700R4 (it be for sale at a reasonable price later this summer). Now that I think about it, I could have gone with the T5WC and saved a lot of headaches. I'm buying Fast Frog's 383 (which was blown) and he had one of these. I don't do any drag racing, I'm building more for street performance/road racing and I think a World Class would have been just fine. I would also have saved about 40-50 pounds and several hundred dollars in transmission and miscellaneous parts

I think the last two posts are right. As I said, I kind of got seduced by MPFI and I had the extra cash lying around. By the time all was said and done, I paid almost as much as I did for the entire car in the first place. . The TBI would have been just fine--it does give away some in the low end torque department, but I think the differences would be hard to notice in a daily driver. Besides, if you look on ebay, Holley TBI units are always on sale for about the same price as a good carb. For everyday use, they are fine. On the other hand, I don't regret my TEC3 purchase despite the steep price. I'll learn tons about fuel injection and I can tune it for just about any application

I recently mulled this question over for about 4 months. I started out by thinking TBI would be OK, but really, it's the equivalent of a great carb. I got talked into MPFI and I had my eye on the Holley system with the Commander 950. Either that or a TPI with an accel DFI. Then I got moved upscale to the Electromotive TEC3.It really set me back quite a bit more than the Holley, and the worst part about it is, the intake, fuel rails, etc. are from Holley! The big advantage with the TEC3 however is the direct fire ignition. You basically chuck the distributor for a high voltage crank fired unit. Whatever you chose, the MPFI route will give lots of flexibility if you decide to add lots of goodies on (bigger cam, better heads, nitrous, forced induction, etc). I'm saying that because I have a Z with about the same horsepower, and it doesn't really feel all that fast to me. Sure, it might run low 13's, but it doesn't feel all that fast. As many have seen with their projects, they tend to spiral out of control.

I'm right in your horsepower range, and in combined driving, I'm getting around 19-20 mpg. I'm not sure that I'm getting quite 28 in highway miles though, more like 25

I know I've posted this website before, but it's so funny I have to post it again. It's relevent and hilarious. Enjoy http://www.goingfaster.com/spo/you_might_be_a_ricer_if.html

Can you beleive it? I just shortened my struts for coil overs (by the way, a tip, get the giant pipe cutter from Harbor Freight and forget the Sawzall, its big enough to cut the Alaska pipeline and it's cheap). Since I am a rotten welder, I was going to take them to a body shop but decided to stop in to a local Ricer speed shop, just to stir up some mischief. The owners are actually pretty cool guys and know their stuff-they've been featured in the national ricer mags. They said they would weld the struts for me. We talked about 12 second Hondas, and we both agreed that they are few and far between (but that they do exist). The conversation throughout the shop, however was less humble. The average age was about 17.5 (apologies to those teenagers on the board) and the average E.T. was around 12.9 secs. That's quite an accomplishment, especially with a rear wing that weighs around 150 pounds (again, would someone please tell me why a wrong wheel drive car needs downforce on the back--if someone knows how to make a FWD car oversteer, please let me know. I have an Improved Touring GTI that could use your help). Interesting crowd, those ricers. Have to admit they've done well with those 4 bangers, but as they say in my line of work (I'm a plastic surgeon specializing in breast surgery), there's no replacement for displacement . The sad thing is, most of these kids were more interested in PIAA fog lights and Momo shift knobs. I wonder if that's what gives them the 12 sec ET's? If so, maybe we should look into it.

Cool. Sounds like he has a great combo. Of course, I'm biased cause I'm buying Fast Frog's 383, which had been supercharged. Try to get him online. I'd like to hear his input regarding supercharging. What blower is he running?

The long awaited Electromotive TEC3 is out, and I just got mine yesterday. I was so psyched. Then I realized that it was a giant jigsaw puzzle that I'm going to have to put together. This isn't a plug and play unit like the Holley Commander 950. Even the manifold (a Cutler/Holley, just like Mike Kelly's)and fuel rails require assembly, and there are no instructions. I'll have to look at a lot of pictures and hope for the best. Anyway, it'll be a great learning experience. I'll let you know how it goes.

Great thread guys, very informative and I love the math. I guess what it all amounts to is thatI have to get a lot more atmospheric pressure up here in Denver (or spend more cubic dollars )

Having taken apart my Z suspension this winter, I have these words of advice to offer: It's a PITA but you'll appreciate it in the end, much like any other job you do on your car. One thing that has made life a lot easier for me is to get compressed air and an impact wrench. If you don't have a compressor, get the electric impact wrench from Harbor Freight for about $59--it's well worth it for taking off the gland nut on top of the strut. I did one side without it and it took about a couple of hours of WD40 and heating with a blowtorch to get it off. The other side took a couple of seconds with an impact wrench. What a difference.

"My advice is to find one with a V8 and improve upon it." Good advice, but beware. These projects have a way of spinning out of control. I bought a great conversion for just over $4000. Real clean with a decent engine. Then, I decided I needed a world class suspension and brakes. I've become intimately familiar with the Z suspension over the winter, having ordered a couple grand in parts. It'll go on soon and I can't wait. I got so Mustang Cobra wheels cheap, but I expect to spend a pretty penny on tires. This summer, I'm looking at putting in a 383 with a T56 behind it and fuel injection on top. Seems these projects never end.

Question for Mike SCCA or anyone else who knows the answer. I got all the parts for the conversion, as well as the bracket, but how do you get the 5 lug hub? I assume you get the Z31 rotor and redrill the stub axle. Also, what bolts are you all using? The stock ones are awfully short, especially when I compared it to a Mustang Cobra R wheel. I see Mike uses Chevy bolts on his hubs. Is there a part number, or what is the size (I'm sure I could get them at the local PEP boys)

Thanks Grumpy for the info. I always assumed that I had a 15% handicap in horsepower because of the altitude. Looks like it may be a bit more depending on the altitude (humidity is a constant, there is none here). I don't feel so bad anymore. On the other hand, it makes me think about forced induction more and more.

OK, today I saw a Honduh Prelude (one of the last years of them) and it had this giant wing in the back. Now, it's not the first time I've seen a wing on a Honduh, but a thought just occurred to me. Why would an understeering front wheel drive car add a downforce inducing rear wing that would make the rear end stick more through the turns. I mean, it makes no sense. Maybe all that weight helps out with rear wheel spin on hard launches. Nice theory, if it were a rear wheel drive. What a dope. To Honda's credit, the Prelude is probably the best product they ever produced. What a way to ruin it.

A V8 Mini. That's the most incredible thing I have ever heard of! I love those little things. They must be the most overacheiving vehicles in the history of cars. Nice find Nion!

Well guys, I'm taking the plunge. I ordered the TEC III just the other day--It just came out and they will start shipping in a couple of weeks. It seems that the TEC II has been discontinued and is no longer available. I'm allergic to distributors, so I really like the direct fire ignition. It cost almost as much as the entire care when I bought it ($3400 including manifold, harness and sensors)I probably could have done better with the Holley multiport system with the Commander 950 and added Electromotive's direct fire ignition system (it's surprisingly cheap). The reason I'm going with the TEC 3 is that I have an EFI guru here in town who is really helpful and suggested I get it. He can help me out if I get into trouble and that's worth a lot. I'll let you know how it goes

I know this isn't the right board for this, but it's too funny not to share with you all. I haven't stopped laughing yet. Follow the link below. http://www.goingfaster.com/spo/you_might_be_a_ricer_if.html

I found this on the net. Thought you would all get a kick out of it. http://www.goingfaster.com/spo/you_might_be_a_ricer_if.html

Hey folks, I was calling around today trying to find out about aftermarket fuel injection systems. As a result of discussions on this board, I've moved from TBI of MEFI. I was looking at the Holley system and had my heart set on it. Then I called around to see if any local shops serviced them just in case I messed up on the installation. A local shop reccommended the Electromotive TEC II, which has total engine management capabilities. Basically, I could chuck my distributor. I've seen them work on track-only cars but I know nothing of their use on a street car. Does anyone here have any experience with it. I costs about $1000 bucks more (ouch) but having a shop nearby that is expert in tuning it is a big plus.

Yeah, I was asking around today locally about fuel injection systems and a local shop highly reccommeded the Electromotive TEC II system that includes a crank-fired, distributorless system. I didn't like the idea at first, but I checked on their website and I found it interesting. It really doesn't look all that difficult when you look at their online manual. Also, it does eliminate the distributor, giving more room there at the back. There's one huge drawback. At over $3000 it's almost as much as I paid for the whole car!

You must buy this thing. It really does make an impossible job easier