johnc

Actually, the first post is a legit question and is not Tool Shed material - IMHO.

Bad idea for two reasons 1. It won't work. RCA's have no affect on static camber, they just affect the realionship between the strut and the LCA. 2. The threaded bolt holes in the strut casting are parallel to the vertical axis of the strut tube.

I agree. When you post a question on a forum like this you leave yourself open to the the first responder. That could be an easy-going, no care in the world member or it could be a "...just got kicked in the nuts again at work..." admin who's short fuse is already burning. You play the game, you take your chances. That's life.

Normal, especially for an engine with some miles on it.

The BIG reason the admins and moderators ask people to search and dump messages into the Tool Shed is: To make the search result more meaningful! We get complaints all the time about how the search results are too big, too many threads to read, duplicate threads, etc. We are being hard assed about searching because you folks have asked us to solve those problems. Eliminating duplicate posts, requireing meaningful thread titles, remiding members to search before posting, and Tool Shedding posts are all part of our efforts to clean up the search results. There is 8 years of posts on this site! All are available through the search function. And, like any gold mine, you've got to sift through some dirt to find the nugget. Just posting a question because you don't want to get your hands dirty is just lazy.

Best bang for the buck is a big wing on the back. Period. Given other parameters (rules not allowing wings/spoilers, style concerns) a diffuser can give some downforce gains, although no where near as much as a wing.

You're seeing the combined effect of the wing and the diffuser. In F1, CART, IRL, ALMS, etc. the rear wing and diffuser are designed to work together, multiplying their effectiveness. That's why you see some incredible downforce numbers for diffusers/underbody aero. The rear wing helps the diffuser extract air from under the car. Also, a Gurney lip on the bodywork above the diffuser (where the high pressure moves off the back of the car) increase diffuser effectiveness. Audi used one on theri R10. http://www.mulsannescorner.com/audir10-2.html

Could be that, could be that we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express the night before the race... . Its anecdotal information so its not something you can take to the bank. Now, if you want my experiences with a front splitter that DIDN'T work...

Yes and yes. The poly bushing replacements require the removal of the press in rubber bushings which leaves a steel sleeve behind. You have to remove that steel sleeve which can be as much of a pain in the butt as pulling spindle pins. You will also have a lot of corrosion to deal with (these cars are over 30 years old) and will most likely break sometime.

Funny, both myself and Chet Whittle (of ITS ARRC fame) made diffusers using custom fuel cells and few other tricks and we both saw positive improvements in rear grip. The underside of a 240Z is basically flat, you just need to get the car low enough to the ground to make the diffuser work. You won't see any huge gains but you will be able to give the car a little more throttle in the turns.

Nissan is on the 10th revision to that transmission and in 2006 they finally got it right. Its one of the reasons I waited until 2006 to buy a 350Z. The SCCA T2 racers have all switched to the "09" transmission and have been able to run a full season on one transmission. Before they had to pull them after a couple weekends. The "09" has triple cone synchros on first through third, double cones on fourth, and single on fifth and sixth. The gears themselves get an additional heat and surface treatment and assembly tolerances are tighter.

http://www.google.com

See my post in the other thread regarding "bolt-on". Your best bet would be a set of 4 shocks and OEM style springs. Tokico is the most common choice and you can run either HPs or the adjustable Illuminas. Spring selection ranges from Eibach and Tokico progressives to the Arizona Z Car OEM liner springs at 185F 200R. You should be able to do springs and shocks anywhere from $375 to $575. That will leave enough money left over for the Suspension Tehcniques anti-roll bar kit (25mm front, 19mm rear) and a complete urethane bushing kit. You'll have about 20 to 40 hours of labor to install all those parts but its something you can do at home, one end of the car at a time. A weekend can get the front done and another weekend and you'll get the rear finished. If you need to replace the ball joints, tie rod ends, and other worn out hard parts you'll probably go over your $1K budget.

I don't like the term "bolt-in" because whenever a vendor tells me that I know that I'll need a $10,000 mill and a $5,000 lathe to bolt the part in. So, I don't ever tell my customers the "bolt-in" marketing lie. Generally when you're installing the strut kits I sell you'll want to: 1. Slightly oval the two mounting holes in the top of the strut towers. 2. Take a wire brush on the end of a drill and clean out the underside of the strut tower. 3. Install new bushings in the rear LCAs. 4. Figure out a new way to hang the front brake line (the old mount on the strut tube gets cut off) or, better yet, install a new braided line. 5. Replace all the bushings in the suspension and steering. 6. Replace the ball joints and tie rod ends. So, while "theoretically" you could just "bolt-in" the strut kits I sell, in reality you won't.

That's a very good point. I built the ROD to run in an unlimited class so the changes I made in wheelbase, track, ride height, and other things might be illegal in more restrictive race classes. Buy the rule book first! 8 degrees of caster sounds like a lot, but its not that unusual. My 1986 Mercedes 420SEL had 11 degrees of postive caster from the factory and my 2006 350Z has 9.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfactant

With a wider tire (wider then let's say 245) you generally reduce the amount of static negative camber based on your tire temp readings. IMHO, caster is a good thing because it allows a further reduction in static negative camber in front and helps load the inside rear wheel in corners. The tradeoffs are increased steering effort, worse scrub, and more tire/body interference. On the ROD with 275 width tires I ran about 8 degrees of postive caster and 2.8 negative camber on the front. When I was running 225 width tires I ran 6 degrees postive caster and 3.5 degrees negative camber. Again, all the above is IMHO. Other people have different opinions regarding caster and camber.

Nope. There are other camber plate options: http://www.betamotorsports.com/products/EMIPlates.html

I disassemble, inspect (penetrant test the spindles and hubs), cut up, media blast, shorten, and paint a set of 240Z strut tubes for $550. That's a pair of struts ready to assemble with your shocks, coil over kit, bearings, etc. I also sell complete strut kits as Mark mentioned above.

Yup. Many road racing tracks won't allow regular anti-freeze in the cooling system because of how slippery it is if it gets spilled. I used water wetter and water exclusively for years in the ROD mainly for the anti-corrosion additives and pump seal lube.

Search at McMaster-Carr and you'll find casters that can support up to 20,000 lbs. I'm sure you can find a set that can easily support a heavy workbench.

Possibly true if the bolt is loaded in tension. But these bolts are loaded in shear so you're relying on the join clamping friction and the shear strength of the bolt (which is always less then the tensile strength).

Nope. I was the fabricator, not the car owner, entrant, or driver. Its not for me to decide what others want done with their race cars.

I wouldn't purchase that kit for a 240Z.

Another great sounding car: