Owen

Did some messing around with photoshop tonite, http://www.zparts.com/showcase/taillight_showcase/pictures/dcp_3319.html Colored the rear garnish red on one of Eric's pix to see what it would look like. This car changes a lot with a few simple color changes. Got rid of the blacks on the bumper as well. http://www.v8zcar.com/sanmaruz/z-redtail-00.jpg http://www.v8zcar.com/sanmaruz/z-redtail-01.jpg I uploaded this so people can play with it. http://www.v8zcar.com/sanmaruz/z-redtail-02.jpg Also did some messing around with Supra lites but I don't like the way it came out. I liked the tinted tail lites from before but couldn't find a good picture, I ended up tinting them some more too. http://www.v8zcar.com/sanmaruz/z-redtail-03.jpg Owen

I have Ross' setup too, everything fits great! http://www.modern-motorsports.com/

Thanks Eric! Maybe I can print these out and wander the junkyards with them I agree it's tough to make lenses from scratch, but I also think it's tough to find something from another car that would look good. I only wish I could post my pix directly from work instead of from at home! Owen

The Aston Martin Vanquish is how I imagined it should look, that or the BMW Z8. Owen

Thanks. The same huh? Hmmm. Would I pay more for a brand if the part is the same??? Maybe! Owen

ToplessZ, looking "naked" is fitting with your screen name. I agree though, not enough detail that makes the eye linger and wander as if looking at that Ferrari previously posted. I posted some pix in my thread but I think we're overloading this with pictures??? Right click on mine and you should be able to get the properties, copy the web address and paste into another browser address bar. Owen

Like said above, forward of the apex of the fender opening. I have mine a little further forward than that. You need to drill two holes as you can see from the bottom of the mirror. One to hold the base and one to keep the entire thing from spinning around. Then slide the threaded bolt thru the base and tighten the nut which will be inside the fender. Owen

I have that second can, it's nice and small. Haven't mounted it anywhere yet. I don't know if there;s baffles inside either. Owen

Sweet headers! What kind are they and do you have any shots of how close they come to the firewall, tunnel, floors, etc? Owen

Anyone?

Professor, I got an error message from that link, "Access to this page is denied". Underneath there was another link that said "Go to Home". At first I thought it said "Go Home"! Anyway, the horizontal line...that's what's been bugging me every nite right before I fell asleep (not really). I agree that if round lights are gonna be used, much care has to be taken, otherwise they just look too plain or too much like an afternoon job. Just my opinion and I don't mean to put a damper on anyone's creativity either. I bet if some of the original Z designers saw these round taillight posts, they'd be like, WTF? We spent hours and hours trying to get away from the Toyota 200GT look! How about something like a Ken-Mary Skyline (yes, this is the real name, can't remember how it came about) Owen

That's the first time I've ever seen a seller put his own picture on his auction... Anyway, it should work, don't know how much shipping is, but I got an R230 and 4 shafts for $250. As for the diff flanges, even with the R230 you have to make custom ones so if you're absolutely set on not looking for an R200LSD, then it's gotta be done anyway. Owen

Sorry to hear and see about the damage. It could be worse though. But hey, now you have an excuse to make one of those funky rear ends as seen in the 240Z Taillights thread a couple of days ago! Owen

Silicone Boy, don't forget the cost of the two turbos! Hee hee! I love the kill stories too, and Pete's post made me so jealous. I can't WAIT to get my ride on the road! Owen

Or do what I did and have it sticking out of the floorinstead of under the car Owen

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Currently I'm not even on the edge of combustion as the car isn't even running! Owen

Thanks for the comments, these lifters are pretty cheap and I since I may want to go with a new set of lifters, I may try these things out. Owen

Thanks for the gallery! Just my opinions but I think I like DCP_3347.JPG the best. It is similar to 00r10f09a.jpg and 00r11f17.jpg but the main difference can be seen in DCP_3348.JPG. I really like the extra effort made to sink in the lights, now if that car only had a different bumper...the silver DCP_3541.JPG is nice but the 3/4 shot really shows how sharp the rear is, too much for me. Can't wait to see what Terry has come up with this time! Owen

"I used the rays of the sun to eyeball the paint after I finished each pass - I must have looked like an idiot, bouncing my head up and down, trying to put the sun's reflection in just the right place." This is a great thing to do and you're right for doing it. It's always best to check the surface at many angles, I prefer a fluorescent light myself. As for your runs, try a run blocker, which is basically a file used to cut the runs down flat. I bought mine from a paint supply store but I've seen them in JC Whitney recently. Owen

"Ultimately, IMO, this large area, having lost the bumper's critical horizontal dividing line will become the design space in which any custom tail light treatment must be scaled and balanced to or the end result will end up disappointing and not look "correct" on an S30 Hybrid Z." I half-agree with this statement, when the new Supra came out years ago. I thought it looked so stupid with it's huge rear section. But now, I love the design. Although in my case, I'm probably more in love with the performance capabilities of the car, which in turn led me to accept the rear styling??? As to what looks "correct" on an S30, Nissan thought they knew this when they created the car and I agree with them. Some of the mods I've seen try to make the car look overly modern, I know it's a huge problem to balance the looks of the car, but one thing, it sure as hell is nice to see people making the efforts to change the appearance. I'm rambling , someone do a choptop like that photoshop picture that was posted before!!! Owen

DAW, I don't know how those halogens will work. What I ended up doing was swapping out the entire bulb/socket assy. I hate the two pin bulbs because the stupid spring gets weaker and the bulb also rotates, causing the pins to slip off the socket contacts. So what I did was switch to some wedge type bulbs, 3157Ks? These might be the same ones you're talking about. Now they don't have any problem with losing contact with the socket, etc. Owen

I heard the 1157 type LED replacements suck. Especially since LEDs are more directional than radial when emitting light. Our Z lenses would probably be too smoky too. Using these replacements, you'd most likely see two bright red dots right where you installed them in the tail lights vs. the entire lens being illuminated evenly. I used the JC Whit 3rd LED brake light for my tests and they where much better. Owen

Sounds like the counter guy gave you good advice. You mentioned o-peel, my first job was so bad it looked more like pineapple peel! The first time, I was too worried about runs and had the gun too far away. The second time, with the same gun settings, I moved the gun in closer and came out with much much better results. Remember to move the gun faster when you're in closer. You also mentioned cranking up the PSI, as well as spray coming out in droplets. Where are you measuring pressure? It's not the same as the gun INLET as the gun TIP. Depending on which gun you have, I was told to measure PSI at the tip (with a gauge at the gun inlet which measures this) when the trigger is all the way open. I also have not heard of the MTV paintline, is your gun the right tip size etc for it? Good luck! I just recleared my car this weekend and its much better, even with all the dirt and stuff. Can't wait to color sand it. Owen

Anyone use these? Yay? Nay? They are very damn cheap for what they say they can do. Owen

The LED topic was a hot one last year, I modified some spare taillites but decided the effort wasn't really worth it. I also want to stick with the stock style but hope to get a clearer (diamond cut?) lens. The S2000 taillites are pretty cool, I like how they are tinted, not the gaudy APC crap you see on every civic, IS300, and now American trucks! Here's some pix, good thing I only spent about $20 on all this. http://www.v8zcar.com/s30z/tail-led2.htm Owen