rudypoochris

Is thatwith or with out NOSMS/Arizona Zcar uprights? Thanks for the info.

Flexicoker, how hard would it be to make a similar wheel for a Z? Or are you wary they will break on normal roads?

That was the one I was refering to as very good. Takes a while to load though. It is nice to see it draw you a picture.

I can't view the image for whatever reason. I think it is a dead link. If I am understanding corrently though, the concern I have with notching the brace is that it will lose the rigidity that the bent piece gives the brace. Hmm.

B and M radiator in Sacramento. I am currently at UC Davis which is why I got it done up here. I would just look for a radiator shop on the white pages. B and M said they wouldn't coat it since my tank was baffled and it would build up or something. I went ahead and coated it anyway making sure to remove as much of the liquid as I could. I think it came out fine.

Oh, interesting!

Ya. I have been looking at the NOSMS part, but I am wondering if it is compatible with stock uprights. I just don't want to keep dumping cash into the rear here. I am also sort of curious on how everyone who bought these braces plans on running a sway bar - unless it is a front style sway bar.

Here is a fuel table for a standard EEC-IV car. I think right under 14.7:! is where you want to be at. (Like 14.6 or so). Note in the case of light load (say 15mph or 25mph rolling test) the AFR would probably be around 14:1 though. Interesting...

Why would you make it run very lean? If you made it run lean wouldn't you just fail the NOx test?

I think I wasn't clear... I have a finned cover and thus run an auxilary brace and have the stock brace cut. Thus the way bar runs right through where the new brace is positioned. Sorry for the confusion...

Well they boiled it, then they said they dumped acid in. When I picked it up a day late (my fault) there was already a consistent thin layer of surface rust. I will take their word for it. Interesting about the coating, I guess we will have to see.

There are 4.11's in certain late 80's 200sx's. That will work. It is an R200 long nose. Be careful thoguh others are solid axle or 3.7's.

I ordered a Suspension Techniques 3/4" rear bar for my 240z. I got around to installing the new uorights that allow the bar to be mounted in the rear ward position. I came to a hiccup though. I am running an LSD and have the brace for it. Unfortunately the brace runs across the back in the same spot the bar would run! Has anyone else had this problem, what did you do? I don't think spacing the brace out is a good idea. Maybe there is a bar from another car that will plug right in? Thanks! I am contimplating making my own or just ordering an AZC rear brace. Hmm.

An R200 short nose gear will not fit in an R200 long nose... The long nose is like 6" longer. How is the pinion going to measure up? Both these questions have been asked before. I would search. Might want to try the stickies in the drivetrain forum... one of them contains the ratio information, the other probably the gear swap info.

When I get an ounce of free time I will go ahead and do a little write up about backspacing and such considering I had to go through all that stuff with the Rota group buy (I am sure tons of others are qualified to write something like this as well - its just there isn't one yet). Here are the calculators I wrote a while ago for these calculations. They are very basic and I have seen better ones written with pictures and such, but the last calculator will calculate backspace for you based on tire width if your tire section sticks past the lip. Some might find that useful (probably not in the S30's case since it is MacPherson and the farther from the axle CL you go the more spacing you get... thus the rim is usually the issue, not the tire buldge - on a double wishbone this may different... hence the calculator). http://autolounge.net/calculators/tirespacing.html If one were to plug in the 17x9" -13 which is a size that fits and is being specified for the Rota group buy, the numbers are: ~4.5" BS and ~5.5" FS. Thats about the maximum in both directions I would recommend generally. A bit more can be squeezed out on the BS, but then T/C rod and frame interference may become an issue at full lock (also perch clearance possibly if you don't have coilovers). More FS can be achieved, but I am not really sure how much. I know that 6" looked too close for comfort for me when it came to loaded distance between front air dam and tire (275/40/17). I am sure 6" of FS could be run with a little finagling and such, but I felt 5.5" was really a better place to stop at. The rears are much simpler. Give them 4.5" maybe 4.75" for stock suspension, more for coils and then the FS is super simple since it basically comes down to flare width.

If you got the acid you need to coat it RIGHT AWAY. It will rust a bit over night (I just noticed). I did my Hirsch a few moments ago. I used a pint. Just tape it up, dump it in, roll it around, drain it out. Don't let it puddle. Let it air out. I have a 240z replacement tank which has baffles in it (wonder if this is a rare tank??? It is a 1986 replacement but the 240z style). The stuff will be a pain to drain out if you have baffles. I had a bit of a puddle I couldn't drain so I took the end of my hydraulic jack handle, coated it in paper towel and duct taped it on... then I swabbed. Helped a bit.

Mine was $95 in Northern California to have it boiled, acided, and washed out. Picking it up tomorrow. The sealer from Hirsch arrives tomorrow as well.

Nice write up! I would like to add though... now this is how I measure back space and may not be technically correct... but I add an extra 1" to the overall width of the rim before claculating back space. Reason being the lips take up around a 1/2" on each side. Once your run the calculations for backspacing from offset you will be left with the real distance between mounting face and inside edge of tire. Just a thought.

I just bought a differential from him... we will see how it goes.

Yep. Called sometime mid last week. He said that everything was going as planned and that the up and coming RB-R's should be around ~1 month more to make. He mentioned that the RB's are in production as well. If you want more specifics than that I can give him a call and see if I can find wait times.

Might try the Rota RB group buy... 17x9" -13 front and 17x9.5" -19 rear.

I plan on running #3 with Paulo's lower air dam. It doesn't look too great in that picture, is it possible to Photoshop the #3 option onto the head on photo like the first example (I am not PS savy)? After looking at my Gnose upper and Paulo's lower I think I can make it work just fine, if I remember correctly though the valance mount points do not match up flawlessly though.

Not building an all out race car, and I definitely agree that proportioning is a big deal. At the same time being an ME major just makes me ask those questions that bring up minuscule details that in the big scope don't really matter. Or do they?

Great question - I don't really know. BUT I do figure with all the different offerings on the standard 3.5" mount one of them has to be 'the best' (I hate using the term 'best'). Just wondering if any particular caliper shines or if any of the particular designs happen to be better at one thing than another. If no one knows this information though, thats a pretty good indication that there probably isn't much big of a difference from a functionality standpoint.

After reading this a while ago: http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_monobloc.shtml I came to the conclusion that 2-piece calipers probably aren't all that bad. Which is why I mentioned the number of steel bolts bridging this F88i US Brake caliper compared to a Superlite.