Hugh

I need to find a reliable body shop that some Z owners can vouch for. I've spoken to some collision shops, and they all seem a little iffy to me and I don't trust them with my Z. A shop with some good Z experience would be nice. I need some collision repair plus custom shaving of the rear roll pan done. The floor pans need replacing, and I need to have brackets fabricated for my GT-R seats, as well. I would like to find a local place to Orange County, California. Here's a pic of my POS:

Just curious, how much is dirt cheap for a FWD SR20DE? How much will you have to invest in it to make it run like a stock SR20DET? Right out of the box, the SR20DET can be pushed well over 300rwhp reliably as hell. I'm thinking to get the benefit of the SR motor, you're gonna have to build that FWD motor with pistons/rods/etc... Not to mention the intake manifold fab work, requirement of standalone, tranny adaptor to run a weaker tranny than a stock SR tranny... etc.... It seems like you're gonna save $500-1000 on the cost of the motor up front and lose a lot more in the long run. (just guessing on the cost of the motor) A straight SR20DET longblock and tranny can be had for under $1500 if you're gonna run a standalone and don't need all the electronics. That motor will push 250rwhp like its cool... stock turbo and all. I'm just speculating, but I don't see the FWD motor doing all that for the same or less money. I'd keep an L28 in the car first.

Nah, I love the open wastegate. You can still sleep with one... I've done it many times to people. In my old 180sx, I would roll along side someone who wanted to play and just stay out of the boost. I might spoolup slightly keeping the wastegate closed but pop the blow off valve. This gives people the sense that you're turbo, but nothing too special. When they drop the hammer, and you open the wastegate... the look on their face is priceless. I've seen many people go from grinning to mouth hanging open to pissed very quickly. It also makes a nice F#%& You horn when somebody does something that pisses you off in traffic.

That looks nice. I only see one thing that scares me a little... That wastegate dump tube is dumping right in front of your oil return AN fitting, right? I don't know about yours... but my wastegate dump tubes in the past have been known to melt stuff, cook rubber parts, and generally heat the heck out of anything it exits towards. I'm afraid your wastegate dump will be heating your oil as it returns to the pan, and on top of that, it will decrease the life of the hose near the fitting. Unless my perspective is wrong... and its not dumping right in front of that fitting. Aside from that, its looking great. For idle control, you could just temporarily kick it up with the throttle return stop screw and idle around 1000rpm or so. Richen the mixture nicely for warmup, and you should get along just fine. The climate you live in down in Arizona hopefully won't require severe cold starts anyway. I ran my car like this for a long time in Okinawa, Japan... the weather never got very cold there.

Didn't say it was the best. I said it was "kick butt" Sorry if I offended you with my comments on your ignition system. Like I said in my first post about it, it looks great. I hope it performs as well as it looks. We're way off on a tangent here now, so I'll give this one a rest. I'm sure if we were sitting in the same room, this conversation would've been a lot clearer and friendly. I'm not so cynical, I just like discussing things.

Not splitting hairs... just that coil on plug means no plug wire by definition. In a sense, we're both saying similar things here. I can see why many people may not want to drop the money on the ignition system.

While that ignition is pretty sexy, I wouldn't call it coil on plug... as it has plug wires (albeit damn short ones!) Maybe coil per plug or something like that. I understand not wanting to be strapped down to one ignition option, but thats the whole driving force behind Electromotive. They did the ignition first and then added the total engine control system. If you don't want an electromotive ignition, you sure as hell don't want their TEC. However, I can't imagine why you would need something other than the Tec3 ignition. It works really well, and doesn't need upgrading in just about any reasonable case. It's like you're putting the Cadillac on from the get-go, and no stepping up from the little stuff that peters out when you're making sick horsepower. I have to admit, I bought this computer with huge power in mind... like a 600rwhp 2.0 liter motor. You sure don't need all this to make 300hp. I did 300-350 with an SAFC on a stock SR ECU. If you're planning a huge investment and you want to do it all right piece by piece, don't skimp on engine management. You'll be upgrading later. I'd still love to try out the Wolf sometime. I was dead set on it for like a year back in 2002.

I was looking at the Wolf3D back in 2003 when I bought my Tec3. I decided to go with the Tec3 for a few reasons, but mainly because of the kick butt full ignition system that comes with it.

If you want the S2000 motor that bad, just do it!! I've seen plenty of other cars with that motor swapped into them... maybe you will have to google S2000 swaps on other chassis' to figure out what problems they ran into. That will give you some idea of where to begin.

Damn, thats funny. That made me laugh pretty hard.

Thats cool if you don't mind watching the world of technology pass you by... like rotary telephones, B&W TV's, typewriters.... They all worked just fine, why change? Sorry if this sounded rude... I was kidding around and my sarcasm didn't translate well.

Man, I hope some of your guys' luck rubs off on me. I could sure use some of it.

Nissan Largo 4wd Van - Mid 90's - Rear diff is large R200 - it has the hump like an R230, and the shafts/pignose are like those of an R230... but the rear cover swaps out with the R200, and it has no ABS/HICAS/etc... so its narrow like the R200. I have never measured the ring to see how big it is, though. Largo - 4.90 gear ratio with a very stout VLSD. Nissan Serena 4wd Van - Mid 90's - Rear diff looks just like the Largo Serena - 4.66 - very strong VLSD as well. I bolted up the Largo diff in my old 180sx and ran it for a year wit heavy abuse. That diff kicked butt.

Wicked!!!

Good job goes to Vildini, they hung the motor for me. I do the tuning.

I'm thinking SR20VE. There's a guy with a 510 running one making like 200hp. He seems to love it. The power band is sorta honda-ish. It builds to almost redline. A small turbo'ed SR can make a lot more power with a fat torque band... even the stock T25 pushes 250hp. Mine spools around 2500rpm and makes power to beyond 6000rpm. I'd say thats fine for autocross. (just a thought)

Oh yeah, haven't made any bets on races with the stock turbo'ed SR20DET 240z yet... but the list of kills keeps growing: 3 WRX STI's (all of them hooked up) 2 or 3 EVO 8's E46 BMW M3 (lightly tuned) Newer Benz SL500 Just to give you an idea.

The RB20 doesn't have a power band advantage over the SR20. Comparable weight cars with an SR always beat the RB20's. There was a rash of Japanese pulling RB20's out of Skyline GTS-T's, Laurels, Cefiros, etc... and dropping SR20's into them. For example, here's a pic I took several years ago while living in Okinawa, Japan: Thats an R32 Skyline. There's a reason the RB20's can be had for so much cheaper. They're all over the place in the junk yards over there, and keep piling in. The motors are not as reliable as the SR, contrary to the popular belief that the RB with its iron block is somehow going to keep its pistons or bearings together pushing high horespower. They have a tendency to overheat a lot, and many of them you find will be covered in rusty water spray, due to this overheating. The coolant necks are usually rotting off of them when they're ten years old or more. I'm willing to bet you've seen some of this with your RB install. Now I will admit the RB20 sounds freaking sweet. Any inline 6 sounds better than an inline 4 in my opinion. I just don't see sound as the biggest factor, though. I've built more than one SR20DET to 350-400+hp at the wheels on stock internals. Thats right, stock. No pistons, rods, bearings, head work, cams, or anything. Just a rocker arm stopper to push the redline to around 7800rpm, and bolt ons for air and fuel flow. While you're quoting redlines, bear in mind the S13 redlines at 7500rpm on the stock tachometer. The rocker arm stopper is a mild band-aid that lets you reach around 7800rpm safely. If you're building the motor, then solid lifters with proper lash adjustment makes the sky the limit. These motors hit 9000+rpm like its cool. (with fresh bearings of course) The RB20 doesn't make any power at 8000+rpm without a huge turbo, at which point you will need to rebuild/refresh the motor to make it hold together. At this point the motor gets pretty laggy, losing its 6 cylinder feel. The stock RB20 winds out pretty quick and feels good and torquey, but the top end is not impressive. The power band is not any wider than the SR20's stock for stock. I bought my SR20DET long block for $1250, engine and transmission, stock turbo, and no electronics. I already owned my Tec3 from my previous car, so standalone was a given. The bottom line, the "240hp" RB20DET you dyno'ed hit 187rwhp. I've dynoed stock turbo SR20DET's at 250rwhp with a little boost and a front mount intercooler. The stock MAF and stock turbo are the only thing holding it back at this point. Bigger turbo, Injectors, MAF, tuning, and 350rwhp is right around the corner. This power level can be sustained safely for a long time. I ran 18 months racing every weekend on a stock internal SR20DET making 395rwhp. Near the end of its life, it just needed new piston rings. I finally killed it boosting 22psi on a T04S 60-1 that was burning off oil so fast it blew the turbo and engine all in one fell swoop. (whoops) However, it held that 20-22psi for a long time before this happened. Not trying to be argumentative or to disrepsect your engine of choice... but your opinions of the SR20 sound pretty strong. I'm just arguing the other side of the coin using my personal lengthy experience with both motors. Now for ease of install, that sounds great. RB definitely wins there. If you're totally worried about ease of install being the biggest factor, why not keep the L28?

Sweet. You're gonna love it.

The stock oil pan on the SR20DET is a perfect fit using Vildini mounts. I couldn't use my ARC aftermarket oil pan without modifying the front cross member to fit it... so I sold it for good money and reinvested it elsewhere.

If you're going RB, then go all the way. Do the RB26DETT, or just put the SR in it.

We've never compiled a shopping list, really, but Vegas isn't too far from Vildini. (only 4 hours or so, the way I drive) so you could bring it to them. If not, they've been known to sell the mounts to hang the motor. I would reccomend a standalone to run the engine. You will also have to convert to fuel injection from carbs, so the fuel system needs attention. The driveshaft is custom.. you'll need a good radiator and intercooler, and custom piping for that and the exhaust. It's not a super cheap swap, so be prepared to drop some cash on it.

Dude, that post you quoted is from 4 years ago!! The world has awaken, and realized the SR20DET is no joke.

Rotaries with solid engine mounts are much smoother than typical piston engines on solid mounts. The rotating motion of the engine just doesn't send the horrible teeth rattling shake at idle. I have several friends who daily drive solid mounted rotaries, and they don't seem to mind too much. I've driven a couple and they were not so bad.

Well I chose the SR20DET because I've been building them for years now. I swapped to a Z from an S13, and transferred my parts over to the lighter chassis. I'm running the stock turbo, and I see full boost at 2500rpm or so, and the power climbs past 6000rpm. I'm pretty happy with a 3500rpm power band for now. It's a sweet daily driver... gets decent gas mileage, and its got probably 250rwhp on tap when you drop the hammer. There are several turbos available that maintain a lot of mid range power, such as the small GT turbos with T28 back ends. These turbos can spool fully in the 3000-3500rpm range, and make 350hp or more while running past 7000rpm. (I built one that made 363rwhp on stock internals with a fat power band, 12 second 2800 pound car - same setup in a 2300 pound car or so would kick ass) I'm just throwing some ideas out there, so you can consider everything thats available. FYI: it's not cheap to build a little 2 liter to make 350, 400hp. You need an entire fuel system and computer system, as well as a turbo big enough to push it... plus intercooler, etc... etc... The satisfaction is worth it to me, but may not be to others. So long as you keep turbo size within reason, the power band will be fat and the car will be fun to daily drive. Big turbos are great for drag racing, but can be annoying on the street.