Dan Juday

My wife and I made it to the show on Sunday for about two hours. I spotted your car and explained to a couple gawkers what it was. You must have been off getting a sandwich at the time.

Those don't look anything like the Starion seats in my car. But I don't know what model year my seats came out of.

Sectioning is not required. And yes, camber plates replace the rubber isolaters so this alone lowers to car about 2" (50mm). Since you already have the strut carts I'd recommend you continue with unsectioned struts. If you decide later to go lower you only have to buy two new strut carts. All the other parts can be re-used and you can sell your old Tokicos to another Z mate.

There is way too much info (and opinion) here on both the T5 and T56. You could search and read for days. I have a WC T5 in my 305tpi 240Z and I love it. The tranny is bone stock. My motor puts out about 250hp/300tq. I did a LT1/T56 swap for a friend into his 280Z. The T56 is also a great tranny. I got lost in the gears though. With all the torque of a sbc in the light Z car you really don't need six gears. Its also a big heavy pig compared to the T5. The T56 has a reputation for being quite robust. Not so much with the T5. However the T5 has some good aftermarket support and can be built to handle much higher power outputs than you are planning for. If you want a manual tranny either one should serve you fine. If you're getting the T56 out of your friends Camaro keep in mind the different versions (LT1/LS1). Read up. All the important details are here.

Just FYI, I have a 305 tpi with iron heads and a T5. I have GC coil overs with Eibech springs 150f/200r with Illumina 5 ways set to 1. My car is strickly street driven. I would rate the ride as better than my wife's stock '06 Mazda 3.

I've had a couple people ask me about spring rates recently specificly in regards to coilovers (why they ask me is a mystery as I'm no expert on suspension tuning). If you search and do a lot of reading you will find many different answers based on several factors but mainly how you plan to use the car. It might be nice if the real suspension experts here posted a sticky that would compile some of the general guidelines and at least give ranges of recommended spring rates. Then a "non-expert" (like me and a lot of others) could get a general idea based on his particular set of parameters of at least a starting point for choosing spring rates. What do you think guys? Does this idea come too perilously close to "spoon feeding"?

Tried all that. The only way I can get it to work without help is if I adjust the latch up to let some of the pressure off it. Do that and the hatch doesn't sit flush when closed. What I need is a stronger solenoid that will fit in the hatch.

My car is back under the knife for some big and some little improvements, and lots on little nagging things that don't work perfectly. One of those little nagging ones is my electric hatch release. Several years ago I installed a lock solenoid from a Q45 back there and it worked perfectly with my old, worn out, hatch seals. After the car was painted I replaced the seals and the new, more robust, seals put too much pressure on the latch for the Infinity solenoid to overcome. To open the hatch one person has to push down on the hatch while the other pushes the button in the glove box. This is very un-cool. I have searched the site, and while several people have mentioned the VB/Black Dragon electric hatch release kit, I hadn't found anyone who actually installed one give a review. I'm particularly interrested in a review with NEW hatch seals installed. Or if you have any electric solution I'm interrested in hearing about it. Thanks, Dan

Dude, I know exactly what the problem is. That dash cap is for a Camaro! Did you buy it on ebay? Sorry, sorry, I'm so bad. And my mother taught me not to take joy in another person's pain. I'm so bad!

Part of the problem with searching for reveiws on the T5 is that it is kind of like asking people if GM makes good cars. There were so many versions of that tranny used in so many applications by several automakers that you really need to narrow the question down to a specific version in a specific application with specific modifications with some idea of horse power and torque and how you are going to use it. There, does that muddy things enough? BTW I love the GM f-body V8 WCT5 in my 250 hp/300tq street driven heavily modified 305tpi V8 wide body 240Z. Now, that didn't help you a bit, did it? Who cares? For $60 buy it!

I saw Terry's rear end!

for your local Z car hero: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/113246 My good friend Dan says, “I've always known you to be a honest and trustworthy man. We don't need that sort of person in politics.” John Washington I tried to stop him guys. I really tried.

This is the real key. I'm not a professional mechanic and I don't design engines. But I am a HVAC contractor and I do design duct systems for buildings. I have some pretty sophisticated load calc software that I use to design these systems. I can tell you that the airflow inside a return duct is very different than the airflow in a supply duct. To get equal airflow the size, shape, and types of fitting can be very different. And the results are not that intuative. You can take the same fitting, lets say a square-to-round transition for example, send the air through in one direction and have a very low pressure drop. Send the same amount of air at the same speed and temperature the other way and the pressure drop and be three times that of the opposite direction. Think about it this way: A turbo is just a fan in the intake and a fan in the exhaust connected by the same shaft. Why doesn't the force of the air entering the motor spin the shaft with enough force to pull the exhaust gases out? Why, in fact, is it actually the other way around?

Send this guy to Nissan and fire the guy who designed the GTR body. The GTR is so ugly I wouldn't buy it at half the price. But I'd buy two of Grid's cars today.

My first thought was the exhaust. Specificly the drivers side manifold/header. Depending on the type of steering box you have the options are tight and tighter. It's a safe bet that you are going to have to fab your own headers, at least for the drivers side. Oh wait, New Zealand, are you guys rightys of lefties down there?

If you have the room get the whole car. When I did Steve Cameron's T'hawk we did a pull out. This required several return trips to the yard for various items we forgot the first time. It would have been much easier just to have the whole car right there but I didn't have the room.

Why would you want to do that? The canister costs you nothing in performance. All it does is save the gas that would otherwise evaporate into the air. At the price of fuel these days that could run into several thousands dollars a month.

If you look closely you can actually see the Pantera rusting right there in the picture. But, then again, Panteras rust in zero humidity heated garages too.

Pardon me while I "chime in" again. Absolutely right Terry. Good thinking always takes time (especially for us slow thinkers). It's been two years since I decided to redux my front end. If I had gone with my first idea it would have been a horror story. My second and my third ideas weren't much better. Thank God I didn't have any money then. Remember, sometimes the rear end of a sexy dream car looks good because it's on a sexy dream car. Copying that rear end is not going to turn your Z into a Mura. The design must compliment the entire car. So think, think, think. Do enough of this and you really begin to appreciate how tough a car designers job is. If you want to learn about good car design read anything by Robert Cumberford. This guy has been doing it for fifty years. Now that's a lot of thinkin'.

The GTR doesn't need anymore performance enhancements. What it needs a proper Italian suit. Imagine the impact that car would have on the world if it didn't look like something I picked up off my sons bedroom floor.

Pardon me while I "chime in" here. (j.k. all in good fun I know) John Washington makes a set of flares for the S30 that mimic the 944: http://www.reactionresearch.com/940z.html I must admit though, they are not near as nice IMHO is the the ones on that blue Z. They do, however, have the advantage of being obtainable by simply writing a check. They may also be a good starting point for someone wanting to duplicate something like the ones on the blue Z.

Here's a thought: Pull out a set of calipers and measure them?

Yup. The NEW CC5's clear with lots of room. What was fooling me is that at some point in time Sanderson changed the design of the CC5. I was looking at some old pictures. I ordered a new set a few days ago. Heads-up: You can get the CC5's cheaper from JTR than from Sanderson directly. Steve, if it were me I'd just get the headers from Sanderson with EGR tubes and the coating applied. You are going to get the same results in the end and will probably save some money that way. JMHO. Will Sanderson honor their warranty after the headers have been modified by others?

I have a set of those. To get the benifit of the extra height I have to jack the car twice as my floor jack doesn't reach as far as the stands can. The other issue is that the base on those stands is so wide that sometimes it's difficult to find a place for the floor jack and fit the stands where you want them under the small Z car.

Like I believe you without pictures? Pleeze! Just how gullible do you think I am?