johnc

Drew, Honestly, if I was building a car like yours for myself (which I actually am) I would do the following: 1. Shortened struts with coil overs. 2. EMI Racing camber plates. 3. Hyperco springs 200F and 225R. 4. Tokico Illumina shocks BZ3099 front and BZ3015 rear. 5. Suspension Techniques ARB kit 52095 (25mm front 19mm rear). 6. Off the shelf 15 x 7 wheels with 225/50-15 Toyo Proxes RA1s. 7. Replace all the suspension bushings with polyurethane except the rear bushings on the TC rod. Use rubber there. This is a good starting point. You can experiment with spring rates withing a 200 to 250 lb. in. range (go bigger on the front, remove the rear ARB, etc.) to see what you prefer as a driver. But, as Keith inferred above, going fast around a race track has much more to do with the driver then any particular spring combination. BTW... the only difference between what I recommend above and what I'm actually going to install is spring rates. I'm using 175F and 200R. I've gotten older and I want my daily driver/autox/instructor car a little more comfortable.

Tokico engineers will tell you that the BZ3015 and the BZ3099 (typical 240Z shortened strut inserts) are good to 250 lb. in. I have run 275 lb. in. springs with them but you're basically stuck on adjustment 5 where the comrpession damping is way too stiff.

Tokico engineers will tell you that the BZ3015 and the BZ3099 (typical 240Z shortened strut inserts) are good to 250 lb. in. I have run 275 lb. in. springs with them but you're basically stuck on adjustment 5 where the comrpession damping is way too stiff.

One thing that's nice about dealing with Burns Stainless or SPD is that you can get things like a 3" U bend on a 3" center-line-radius. They are more expensive then Summit but the bends are a constant 3" OD and can be super tight. You can also order .49" thick mild steel bends.

A spring rubber does the same thing for a lot less and would be quicker to install/remove.

OK, basic welding 101. Aluminum does not have imbedded impurities. It develops a thin layer of oxide on its surface as oxygen reacts with the surface molecules. This layer of Aluminum Oxide (same stuff they make sandpaper out of) is very hard and melts at a temperature that's over double the melting point of the base aluminum. The oxide layer must be chemically or physically removed PRIOR to welding to get a clean, strong weld. DC Electrode Positive welding with an Argon shield breaks up any remaining oxides ahead of the weld pool and carries them off in the shielding gas. AC welding also breaks up the remaining oxides from the force of the current switching and the time spent Electrode Negative with the oxides deposited on the edge of the weld pool.

Hiten Patel's wreck at LVMS was a single car front impact into a berm and then multiple rollovers. In those types of wrecks the energy is dissapated quickly wich gave the Autopower rollbar a chance to do its job. My concerns about the Autopower roll bar are a side impact followed by a roll over where the roll bar mounting is compromised by the initial impact and then fails on the roll over.

Nope. Helium does not provide the cleaning action that Argon does when GMAW welding aluminum. Helium is used to increase penetration at the expense of cleaning and arc stability. You don't need an AC power source to weld aluminum. Aluminum can easily be welded using GMAW. DC power source MIG machiens are mostly Constant Voltage machines where the amperage (current) is varied based on arc length and electrode stickout. Just set the mahcine up as Electrode Positive and use 100% Argon as the shielding gas. FYI... most aluminum is welded using GMAW.

5 XL ordered.

All things aero: http://www.mulsannescorner.com/ Splitter are flow control devices and are more appropriately called contractors. They are basically the air inlet for air flow underneath an enclosed wheel vehicle. Splitters work in conjunction with diffusers to generate downforce. Typically these diffusers are on the rear sides of the splitter and direct air to the low pressure area in the front wheel wells. Flat plate splitters (as required by some rule making bodies) can also generate downforce by controlling and accelerating air underneath the vehicle creating a low pressure area. But, this is very tricky as I learned when building one for my racing 240Z. The air acceleration must be significant and constant or the splitter will not work as deisgned causing large amounts of lift. Changes in vehicle ride height and pitch must be tightly controlled and the gap between the splitter and the ground remian as constant as possible. A very general rule of thumb is that the air gap should be 3 to 5% of the total vehicle height. There should not be any obstructions or interruptions in the flat plate for its entire length (it should be as long as possbile or at least as long as it is wide) and there should be no underbody or suspension parts lower then the plate along the center mass of the vehicle.

Oops! Never mind, the first image hadn't completely loaded (I'm on dial-up) so it appeared to me that there wasn't a front hoop and you had built a NHRA type 6 point roll bar. Your cage looks fine.

Although you most likely won't be questioned at an open track event, SCCA and NASA normally won't allow unsupported door bars.

Look on the side of the casting on your rear strut, opposite the side where the two holes are drilled to mount the e-brake bracket. You'll see a single letter stamped in the casting. Its typically a "B" but sometimes you'll see an "A" or a "C". That letter must match the letter stamped into the side of the spacer used in the hub. Its OK if the inner bearing doesn't bottom in the machined section of the hub. When torquing the stub axle lock nut down, torque it to 150 ft. lbs. first and check to see how freely the stub axle spins. The FSM says preload as measured by pulling on one of the lug studs should be 28.7 ounces of pull or less and axle shaft end play should be between 0 and .0057 inches. Tighten or loosen the stub axle lock nut to hit these numbers. I just assembled a set of rear struts and the final torque value for one was 147 ft. lbs. and the other was 190 ft. lbs.

I once heard a very drunk best man announce how he would have loved to bang the bride before his buddy married her... my girlfriend and I left the wedding just as the fight started.

Dang it! I should after all come by a get the rear 1/4 panels and the roof. Is the car leaving Saturday?

I'm always used as a (bad) example... Just to clarify, the quote of mine that Norm is using as his SIG was from a private e-mail (not a HybridZ PM or post) responding to an e-mail of his (which I won't post). Also, Norm wasn't banned because of the gas boycott thread, Norm was banned after a number of attempts spanning months to get him to follow the rules here. Even that oil boycott thread wouldn't have triggered the ban. His subsequent post regarding speed limit discussions finally tipped the scales.

You can always negotiate for a starting line advantage because you're running a 2.4L block... I know of one 240Z here in SoCal running a true 2.4L engine that is making lots of power on 100 octane unleaded and SUs. He's spanked more then a few strokers even without a head start. Even after the losers count the freeze plugs in the block they just won't believe that a 2.4L on SUs can beat their 3.2L running webers. Displacement sometimes gets beat by good tuning.

Its not a "bad" idea at all. Remember, this is HybridZ. You'll get opinions here offering alternatives and some of the wording of those opinions seem kind of absolutist, but that's typical of text based communication. If we were all sitting around a picnic bench, body language would show that this whole thing is just bench racing. Ultimately you do what you want to do and we would look at your car and say "cool!"

"Magnetic Cyclonification" Sounds like a very violent enema.

Option A 1. Sell everything except for what can fit in one suitcase. 2. Take a bus to the new home. 3. Go shopping. Option B 1. Buy a used commerical truck. 2. Load it with your stuff. 3. Move. 4. Unload your stuff. 5. Sell the truck. Option C 1. Insure everything to the max. 2. Burn the old house down with everything in it. 3. Collect the insurance money. 4. Drive to the new home. 5. Go shopping.

Racers who build displacement limited engines do so because of rules. Those GT2 2.4L engines spin to 9,000 rpm because they have to to make the power needed to win. Tony D is crewing for a Z running a L20A in a Bonneville car that redlines at 9,300 rpm. They did that to meet the regulations for yet another class. For a street engined car that is not limited by rules, displacement is the most logical and lower cost path to power. But, having heard a 2.4L engine in front of a sequential transmission bang to 9,000 rpm 4 times as it accelerated down the front straight at Laguna Seca, I can say that the sound will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. There's a certain emotional value to that, which I have yet to experience with a stroker shifting at 7,500 rpm.

They are 8,000 + rpm motors.

Well, if you're building it for the rear of a 10 ton truck that's doing wheelies I think you're on the right track. But, for a passenger vehicle you can expect maximum loads of 1,500 lbs. 10mm steel plate would be more then enough for the upright and I would use 8mm for the side plates. If you're worried get some high strength steel in both of those thicknesses instead of regular mild steel.

I periodically host a "Race Night" at my home where guys I've raced with come over and we drink beer, eat pizza, and watch Grand Prix, Le Mans, Bullit, Gumball Rally, Two Lane Blacktop, Funny Car Summer, or something else.

Or, if you have Tivo like me, you recorded the HDNet High Definition broadcast of the movie last year...