pparaska

WAAAAAAY back when I was in college, she was pretty stock (T/C ball/socket kit, rack bushings, steering coupler, wide tires and wheels (14x7, 225/60-14), Air dam, 72 SUs, MSA 2.5" exhaust): After putting her away for years, fixing her, driving her with the 6, then tearing her apart for the 11 year transformation: More here: http://alteredz.com/mypics.htm

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8610362188397291938 A former work buddy emailed this. I was pissed he didn't tell me to grab a barf bag first!!! LOL I seriously thought it was a joke at first. Then sadly I realized it was a serious production!! Oh, the 80s!!! Can we ever live down the fact that we were alive and experienced them!!!???

I think Owen was the culprit. Dan and a few of us were on his "swappers" site, and it outgrew that. Dan Porter picked up the ball, and 7 years (?) later here we are! From a handful to so many. I'm grateful that so many have joined and given us their knowledge. If I were to build another, I'd do things ALOT differently - this place is such a great resource for the Z modder.

I'm going to tell you one thing - call an admin an ass in public, and you will not be welcome here. It's a private party and calling one of the hosts an ass, even if you think they are being one, is a no-no. Anyone that doesn't understand this concept is not welcome here. PERIOD. Read the rules, especially #12 and the paragraph below #15. http://forums.hybridz.org/announcement.php?f=58&a=2 How in the hell was Davy supposed to know that you searched, didn't find that info you needed? One simple sentence about a complex topic means you either didn't search or were too lazy to write out what you knew about the problem you were tackling and where your holes in understanding were. It's ok - We all make lapses in judgement. Can we start this thread over? Sounds like the FAQ could use some work if there are questions like this still rolling around...

Remember Point-counterpoint? LOL My eye finds that bolted on flares (especialy of a different color than the body) upset the sleek body lines more than molded on flairs. Opinions are like, well, you know! LOL

Well, I agree, if you are building a car from the ground up or doing an engine swap, just put the Turbo where it ought to be - up near the exhaust and intake ports! But for the guy that wants a bit of boost in a cramped car like those I listed, I don't see it being a big mistake. Sure there are drawbacks, but I think they could be overcome. Or just be careful with the car and understand the drawbacks and risks. A lot of people only travel smooth surface streets and don't have to worry about knocking stuff loose under their cars. Me, I have snow, ice, etc. to contend with. But my hotrod doesn't go out in that either. That Honda sounds very interesting.

Max, good points. I think ALL of those issues could be addressed if someone designed the system with those points in mind. Braided oil line, tucked up well and out of the way, wastegate positioned better, air filter positioned better, etc.

Is it just me, or does looking at that dyno graph make me question if I would care too much about any "drawbacks". Come on, tell me, didn't that system increase the performance, if we believe the dyno graphs? I'm not going to say it's the BEST way or even a GOOD way to install a turbo, but for some of the cars it's used on, it's damned difficult to fit a turbo underhood (LS1 Vette, GTO, Fbody, etc.) The tests I've read, including the one in GM High Tech Performance (which is known for doing fairly honest tests) show that the long return pipe doesn't cause the lag you think it might, and that you do get 100+ horsepower for minimal boost levels w/o an intercooler. 100+ hp, and it's not at all just peak - that's nothing to sneeze at, whether you think it goes against good turbo system design practice or not, IMO. And you don't have to worry about filling a bottle, etc. I agree, the placement of the air filter is bothersome.

I disagree about the area under the curve for the STS dyno graph. There is CLEARLY more area under the curve for the 5 and 7psi setups over the stock run. Sure, it's lower number from 2500 - 2650 rpm. But where was the throttle mashed on each run? Looking at the numbers at the low end of the dyno graph can be misleading - the stock run may well have had the foot mashed to the floor at 2500, whereas the STS runs may not have, or you may be looking at the effect of lag. But that difference is MINOR compared to the NOTABLE increases beyond 2650rpm.

Blended only for me!

Hey, Nice Job! G/F's and wives are replaceable :

Couldn't let you have the last post LOL If you ever split up, I expect an email

Dude, just post pics of that absolutlely gorgeous sweetie of yours at the end of each post and you will never have to worry about being the last post in a thread! LOL

It looks to me like it would seriously interfere with the tunnel in a 240-280Z, both the clutch fork and the bracket and cylinder.

John - great FAQ. Feel free to take or leave the extra info I've added below, and delete this post to clean up the thread: I cut the struts with a tubing cutter (pipe cutter), chamfered the edges, laid the parts inside of a piece of 3x3" angle iron, inserted an snug fitting strut cartridge into the assembly before any welding to make sure the two pieces were as centered to each other as possible. Used 4 C-clamps (2 on the lower part of strut tube, 2 on the part I was welding back on) to hold the pieces snugly in the angle iron. I then tacked the pieces together at four equally spaced places around the weld area, doing one, then another that was diametrically opposite the first, then the other two tack welds. Remove the strut cartridge if it is a good part you want to use later. If not, leave it in there. Weld around the joint, one side and then move to the diametrically opposed side, so that any warping will be imparted in a symetrical fashion around the tube. Once you've welded a third of the total joint, the insert can be removed. Finish welding. Clean the weld area, and fill the tube with liquid and leave the tube upright for a few hours to look for leaks. This is only necessary if you feel that oil or coolant/water between the cartridge and the tube are necessary. It's way easier to cut and weld the threaded portion back onto the cut down tube than to lathe or tap the tube. If you are careful, a straight, sectioned strut tube will be your result. If I can do it, anyone can!

Aren't there only a few companies that make lifters? Maybe Crane doesn't even make the lifters they sell? But you'd hope they'd inspect them.

That's a GM coolant "Tab". Also, many rebuilders put them in the water jacket before they ship out. The AL motors are a bit less forgiving than the iron ones, as I hear it. The "Tab" works for small leaks that occur at head gaskets, some small block porosity, etc.

PapaCreech - I'd LOVE to be a machinist - I'd feel like I was actually DOING SOMETHING USEFUL if that was my job - other than making fine pastry and doing BOOB JOBS, as grumpy points out!!! Many days my job is actually "powerpoint engineering" - making pretty view graphs/slides for management types about what the engineers are dealing with. All these credentials I have are not all that impressive to me. What IS impressive to me are people who MAKE THINGS, parts, businesses, software, etc.

I have been working with JDA on missile defense since 1999. We probably know some people mutually. Pete

ANOTHER Mechanical Engineer here. I got my BSME in 1986 and the job market was terrible, so I took a professor's offer and became a research assistant and got my thesis masters degree in ME, solid mechanics focus, thesis on composite materials - here's a link to a report that was basically my thesis with an administrative coversheet on it: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930015723_1993015723.pdf To show you how warped I am, I actually enjoyed doing that work!!! I like page 56 - a big long equation that equals ZERO - I remember someone asking me why I cared what the big long equation was if it was all equal to zero anyway!!! LOL What sucked was my thesis advisor telling me that if I had taken the PhD qualifying exam and passed, I could have used that masters thesis as a PhD dissertation and gotten a PhD instead! Oh well, I don't test well, so that probably would not have happened anyway! new and future ME's - the field is so broad that I highly recommend doing a masters degree right away to learn your specialty better. About 3/4 of the way through getting my masters degree, I started work with the Navy as a structural engineer, learned finite element analysis and worked on structural analysis of ship and submarine structures, hydro-acoustic analysis (think submarine stealth), and then ship topside synergistic stealth/structural design. Change, change. Went from structural to dynamics design and analysis to infrared and radar cross section reduction engineering mixed with structural design - interesting stuff! I got tired of the horrible commute around the NW quadrant of the Washington DC beltway and the many-years-long promotion freeze at the civilian level of the DoD, and got a job working 1 mile from where I grew up and where my dad had worked for 50 years full time and then semi-retired - JHU Applied Physics Laboratory. I've been there for 8 years working on a team doing "threat characterization" - providing info to defense designers as to what their sensors will see when looking for and at their "targets". I can't really say much more than that, but the targets are going several km/s as are the things we are hitting the targets with, and the targets can be much larger than a 240Z. The people I work with are generally mental giants - I am often in awe at the brains of the people I work with. No idea how I got to work at the same place as they do!! Yeah, that was change for the better - better commute, pay, benefits, environment, funding for projects, etc. I really envy those of you that have the creativity and drive to own your own businesses.

Realize that this was a long time ago that this was done, relative to HybridZ's birth, etc. I didn't want to have a "race car", and wanted to keep the stock tank to not have to deal with the issues of filling the fuel cell, etc. I thought about using another tank that would allow a muffler on each side, but just got lazy about finding one that would work and have enough capacity. This way, the tank is no smaller than stock, and I have two HUGE mufflers to handle flow and noise. But all the bends to get to the mufflers may well have hurt the flow too... Always a compromise. Since doing this, the fuel cell has been done many times in these cars, and I'd probably go that way if I did it over. I'd probably do a 2.5 into 3" single too, or mufflers in the tunnel, etc. etc.

You can see my complete system here, with description and photos: http://alteredz.com/exhaust.htm With the X-pipe, and the mufflers in the back sounds very even - not like a typical uneven sounding V8 at all, past 2000 rpm or so. It actually sounds very European if you ask me. It is a bit loud for my tastes at idle, but only really old snotty people think it's too loud.

I hate to say it to a newbie, but this may not be an FAQ. But maybe it is??

Damn, that wasn't me, but sure looks like my 92 GSX!! 1st Gens didn't have a crankwalk problem.

Ugh - another hit to the ego. Thanks Mike! LOL Seriously, I think I"m going to scuff up my engine bay and do the same thing - easy to fix when you gouge it. Pete