bjhines

I autocrossed that chassis for 10 years with various modifications to improve grip and quicken response. The car is RUST FREE!! and always has been, But my autocrossing years had begun to crack it up. The bottom side of the framerails were falling apart. I could see puckers with cracks around dozens of spot welds. The front sway bar had literally ripped the bottom of the framerails off in that area. The crossmember mounting area had puckered into the bottom of the framerails. The car had a few hard "offs" in it's life but nothing serious. The abusive driving with stiff suspension parts and hard bushings proved more than the Z-car can take. It is more than fixed now.

I was also concerned with the loads on the framerails. I chose the later model crossmember with the extra gussets from the factory. I also boxed the engine mount standoffs. I added 14g 1"x3" framerails from the TC buckets all the way back to the rear cross frame behind the rear seats. I clad the framerails in 14g and plugwelded them. I also wrapped the clading around and under the crossmember mounting area. Then I gusseted the TC buckets and I tied the inner fender/tower apron to the top of the crossmember with 16g triangle gussets. Then I added plenty of cage tubing for further reinforcement of the front end. I also reinforced the firewall near the framerails for good measure.

This arrangement at least makes room for the link bar.

WOW... I am using a group 24 size Optima YELLOW TOP. It is 4 years old and in the black track 240Z. It is discharged right now. I can go out and charge it up and use the car. It has been completely discharged dozens of times. I have not noticed any degredation in performance from the YELLOW TOP Optima.

Shoot...^^^ I wanted that motor to begin with... I'll probably just go LS for the next one.

The only issue I have with the latching relay is one more mode of failsafe is lost. If damage occurs to the kill switch wiring then the relay cannot be switched OFF. In the system I am using the switches are wired in series and if there is ANY damage to the switch wiring the system will disconnect automatically. I was considering installing a rollover/impact safty switch in the system to further improve safety. That way if I am out cold the electrical system will be too.

Hehe.. A redneck way to check if there is a diode on your solenoids is to connect a 9v battery across the coil leads. then hold the wire ends with your fingers and make and break the contact with the battery. If there is no clamping diode you will get a strong jolt from the coil every time you break the contact. If there is a diode present then you will get no jolt.

I have started building the 2g battery cables. The wire has a tough clear insulation jacket. I could not get red or black at a good price. I am using heavy copper lugs. I Have drilled holes in the wells in the lugs to allow soldering from the inside. This ensures that the cable is well soldered and there is no contamination of the battery cable with solder or flux. I have a 250W iron for stained glass work that evenly heats the lugs and the wire for a good solder joint with good wire flexibility at the terminal. The ends are covered with high quality heat shrink tubing. Then I pull braided nylon sleeve over the wire from lug to lug. Then I use glue coated heavy wall heat shrink to permanently bond the braided sleeve to the ends of the wire. ...

Thanks Dave, The STARTER-solenoid and the small Bosch relays have them built in. The Constant-duty KILL-solenoid does not have a diode. I have some heavy duty 30V rectifier diodes I will install in several places when the small guage wiring is added.

The main components of this rig are mounted and fed. It weighs 3lbs-3.2oz. I have $200 invested in this thing including all of the heavy guage wires to all fuse panels, alternator, and battery. That beats the $200 kill relay offered to Porsche and BMW owners. I have more functionality and nicer buttons to push. I have remote start, main circuit breaker, rear battery relocation, and a fuse panel thrown in for the same money. I can easily move the alternator feed to several different points depending on what tech officials require. The mounting frame is a battery mount for an Odyssey PC-680 motorcycle battery. 680 cranking amps/1200amps shorted, with a 17-Ah capacity. The large solenoid is the kill relay. It is a contuinuous duty type with a 16 ohm coil($50). The small solenoid is the starter relay. It is for intermittant duty with a 3 ohm coil($10). The circuit breaker is a Buss CB185-150Amp($27). The small fuse panel is a Buss 6-circuit rated at 30amps per circuit, 150amps at the stud($15) The 4guage wire is a Rockford Fosgate amplifier install kit($70). It was the best quality I could find without a lot of other junk in the box. The starter cable is 2 guage that I found for $1.88 per foot. It is tough jacketed and flexible. The grounds are the same stuff. The silver 6 guage wire is silver plated fine strand wire with a TOUGH thin-walled jacket(more leftovers). I will only use it inside the car. I am sheething the cables in braided nylon protective sleeving. It is tough stuff and willl bundle them nicely(~$90 roll). I have a roll left over from another job that is paid for and collecting dust. Flush mounted screws to prevent damage to the battery. I had to make a bunch of solder lugs to suit the 4g cable and the various sized terminal studs. ...

Thanks for the input on this guys. I have come to realize that there are a lot of ways to do this. There are a lot of little issues that crop up. Dave, The "I" terminal is beautifully simple. Thanks for the idea!

Ha, It seems that many sanctioning bodies require that the alternator wire is connected to the battery side of the kill switch. This ensures that the alternator cannot continue to run the electrical system with the system killed. I have shown my diagram with the alternator wire on the car side of the kill switch. I am definitely going to leave enough extra wire to allow the system to be set up EITHER WAY, depending on what tech inspectors decide about my system. I prefer the way I have shown in my diagram. The reasoning is that the alternator wire runs the length of the car from the rear battery/solenoid tray to the alternator +post. If I wire the alternator directly to the BATT+ side of the kill switch then there is still a LIVE wire running the length of the car even after the switch is KILLED. In my diagram the alternator is wired to the CAR side of the kill switch. The Alternator wire is removed from the battery when the system is killed. The tendancy for the system to "run on" is eliminated by the IGN KILL relay. This means that the system cannot continue to run and the alternator wire goes stone-cold-dead as soon as the engine stops turning. This also eliminates the need to fuse BOTH ends of the alternator wire. Another issue that crops up comes from the remote starter solenoid I am using to ensure that the 2g starter wire is dead except when it is starting the engine. I show a jumper between the starter BATT wire and the starter-mounted solenoid. This would work fine in a factory style starter. The problem comes from the fact that I am using a permanent magnet starter motor. The permanent magnet motors can generate electricity if the pinion does not instantly/completely disengage. The electricy generated by the starter motor will energize the jumpered starter solenoid and KEEP the starter engaged until the engine overrunns it enough to kick the pinion off the ring gear. This is noisey and damaging to the starter. The fix for this is to use the KEYED start signal wire to engage both the rear-remote solenoid AND the starter mounted solenoid(without a jumper). Unfortunately the starter signal wire is heavily taxed in the factory system. Forcing this wire to run TWO high current solenoids will not be smart. The answer is to add another BOSCH 30A relay near the starter to take some of the load off the starter signal wire and get rid of the starter jumper in my diagram. DAMN this gets complicated quickly.

I ordered the emergency stop switches I will be using. http://web2.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopping/Catalog/Pushbuttons_-z-_Switches_-z-_Indicators/Eaton_Cutler-Hammer_22mm_(E22_Series)/Emergency_Stop_-z-_Mushroom_Pushbuttons_-a-_Stations/E22LPB2B ...

Here ya go http://www.mouser.com/catalog/628/1040.pdf ...

There are LOTS of ground points in a vehicle. More than you might think. Also consider that each sender and sensor uses chassis ground as well. You could end up FRYING something that was not meant to take the loads when you disconnect BATT. GROUND with the engine running. I am posting this diagram just for kicks. It is detailed in my thread. ...

I installed a demo copy of SMART DRAW and got to work. KILL SYSTEM COMPONENTS: The START and KILL relays are starter solenoids. The KILL solenoid is rated for continuous operation. The starter relay is a cheap FORD unit. The Alternator protection relay and the IGN KILL relay are BOSCH units. Notice that the Alternator is wired to the NC terminal. The IGN KILL relay is wired to the NO terminal. The KILL switch(s) are 40mm Mushroom button, push to kill, twist lock ON switches. Multiple switches can be wired in series. Opening any switches' contacts kills the system. FUSING: I have fused the important points in the system. 80A fuseable link at the alternator. 80A fuseable link at the solenoids(near the battery). The BOSCH relay coils are fused with 5A. The starter-mounted solenoid jumper is a 40A fuseable link. REAR BATTERY: The battery is rear mounted so there are some long runs of cables. I decided to use a remote starter solenoid to prevent the heavy guage, battery-to-starter cable from being live at all times. With the rear mounted starter solenoid, the large cable will only be hot when the IGN switch is in the START position. I will use a 40A fusable link as a jumper between the starter cable and the starter-mounted solenoid. POWER JUNCTIONS: The main junction block will be located near the battery and solenoids. I will attach all of the vehicle power systems to this junction at the back of the car. I will reroute the original fuse panel power wire to the rear junction, I will add an additional front fuse/relay block, and a rear mounted fuse/relay block. ALTERNATOR: I will be using a 3 wire DELCO 12SI alternator. I decided to use the CHG light, and the SENSE wires in their proper configuration. I will run the sense wire all the way back to the main/rear junction block. This will ensure that the vehicle systems receive a properly regulated supply voltage. WIRE GUAGES: The curved red battery cables are all 1/0 guage. The battery ground cable is a short 1/0 guage bolted to chassis ground. The curved red/white power cables are all 8 guage. All other wires are 16 guage. I will add large ground straps to the starter/engine block to ensure a good chassis ground. The entire chassis has been seam welded and there are heavy guage subframe connectors that should make for a better than average chassis ground system. MOUNTING POSITIONS: The battery, the solenoids, and the junction block will be mounted behind the passenger seat. I have unwrapped the entire harness so I am pulling out wires that are no longer needed and I am adding less than 2' to the original factory fuse panel supply wire. ADDITIONAL CIRCUITS: The AUX FRONT fuse/relay panel will accomodate the headlight relays, cooling fan relays, and ignition power relay(not the ignition kill relay) The AUX REAR fuse/relay panel will accomodate the dual fuel pump relays, differential cooler pump relay, differential cooling fan relay, as well as the fuel level sender power circuit, onboard camera/D.A. power, and my cool-suit system relay. ...

I have been doing some reading. Alternator Tech: http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/AlternatorGeneratorTheory.htm http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/howitworks.shtml http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/delcoremy.shtml Remote cutoff switch tech: http://www.pezzano.com/work/batterycutoff/# There is a difference between an Alternator Disconnect Relay, and an Alternator Protection Relay. It seems that the Alternator disconnect may be redundant depending on where you actually disconnect the system. I am interested in the remote operated "Kill Relay". This device will allow several remote switches to kill the system. This $200 relay duplicates the function of the available kill switches with protection circuits. Here is a typical wiring diagram for the key operated switches everyone uses. The operation of the devices is the same. The kill system interrupts the battery power and kills the ignition circuit at the coil to eliminate alternator-feedback run-on. The same switch also grounds the alternator charge circuit through a resistor when "killed". It seems that the function of the alternator protection contacts are to keep the alternator from "dead heading" into an open circuit from a fully operating condition. The field and stator coils must "collapse" AND the alternator continues to turn for a moment before the engine stalls. This can create a voltage spike and damage modern semiconductor regulators. The alternator protection cicuit is not in series with the alternator to Battery wire. It is simply a shunt to ground through a resistor when the system is Killed. It does not have to withstand constant high current operation. The alternator protection contacts are normally closed. This means that... When the Kill switch is ON the alternator protection contacts are OFF. When the kill switch is OFF the alternator protection contacts are ON. They shunt current from the Alternator Batt. terminal to ground through a 3ohm 15watt resistor when the switch is killed.

OK, So I need a master battery shutoff for the race car. I would appreciate anyone who can chime in on this. I have seen quite a few hack jobs in this area. It seems that the old positive battery kill switch will not "cut it" in a modern car. I have been looking into the remote/relay disconnect switches available through a variety of retailers. These things are expensive, and they are often incomplete. I need to shut off the battery and the alternator power circuits without damaging either one. I am also concerned with any diode or resistors that should be included in the disconnect system to prevent alternator damage. I seems to me that a pair of starter relays(one for batt. and one for alternator) and some mushroom cap emergency stop buttons are all that I need to cheaply shutoff my car's electrical system. Why spend $100s on the store kits.

How about some Aluminum Door Hinges.

I filled up at the local airstrip 15 years ago. The airport technician said that I cannot use containers, I had to directly fill the tank. I told him that there was no restrictor plate in my old car and he said ""as long as you can pump it straight into the vehicle then no problem". It did not make any noticable difference, and it was a pain to go to the airport every week.

Can someone post a link or list of the specific gravities of various fuels listed here. I am also interested in how Toluene and Xylene rate in comparison, Either pure or mixed. Just for kicks and hazard prevention... what about the poor fella who mixed up his brake cleaner and his carb cleaner one day? I know there are variations of each. Also what effect do normal dosages of Marvel's MO, other preservatives, and top cylinder oils have on the fuel performance? Alcohol is EVERYWHERE... uhhhh? For you Aircraft guys.. I have read in Smithsonian's "Air and Space" a story of how a pilot lost his life due to large quantities of Marvels' Mystery oil in the fuel tanks. Not a very good preservative in his case...

Hehe.. I pulled mine off in a downshift into a turn(on the racetrack). I will only use threaded knobs from now on. I double checked the construction of the factoy replacement to ensure that does not happen again.

Holy mackeral, What a great deal. $600 in the classifieds. I paid $900 for a WCT5 from a 1988 Camaro with no history. I did get ALL the related parts with it, so that counts for something.

This $$$ is EXACTLY why I jumped onto the HybridZ bandwagon. I am not building something I want to polish and look at all the time. I want to beat it like a redheaded stepchild, and then replace it when it is done. I figured out that I can buy a GM-Performance crate motor for roughly the same amount it would cost to build a ~decent~ L-series. The GM engine comes with a warranty and ready-to-ship replacements. The bonus is that the GM motor will put out as much power as TWO L-series motors. I have an L24 powered 240Z with triple Webers and some headwork. It is lively but it only gets 165 RWHP. It needs a fresh tune to do that. I'll likely keep the L-24 car and repaint it and detune it for street use. The V-8 car is the one I want to drive on track. The little L-series can stay on the street.

OK... This kind of thing always needs a "tricked out" answer. It is due to trash in a wheel sensor causing the computer to brainfart into the stability control system. Is one rear wheel getting hot due to the brake being applied. It is probably a mechanical problem. Get a friend to watch the rear wheel for any visible shifting while you drive in reverse and jab the E-brake.