rudypoochris

Considering that the post is out of context it is quite hard to tell what he is trying to say exactly as most of his post is in direct response to something someone else posted which is not displayed here. What I gather from it in relation to what you think: 1. I do not think he is saying brakes are rocket science... sounds a lot more like he is saying there is a large possibility for one who doesn't know what he is doing to mess up an otherwise good thing in hopes of making it better. 2. I don't think he is saying there is no point in upgrading brakes... then again this is out of context. It sounds more like he is pointing out that BJ is running a race car and thus different rules apply. 3. I do not notice him saying this either, but it is not linked. Maybe he is trying to say that the system must be viewed as an entirety and a whole scenario from someone who knows what they are doing. For instance I started my brake tinkering with the plans of going S12W front and 240sx rear... eventually I decided I wanted to run Wilwood fronts for various reasons (brake clearance, weight, brake fade, cheap replacement componentry). Then some time later I realized that the Hawk Black compound I ordered would pretty much destroy my rotors on the street... so I ordered HP+... then I realized that the 240sx piston area was only ~10% or so of my new front piston sizing and thus I needed more rear brake power. So I decided I would do Wilwoods in the rear as well... Now I am where I am. I am sure there is a lot I am still missing. Still trying to figure out parking brakes and a bunch of other stuff.... I haven't even driven the car yet either. Not the way a lot of people would advise me to modify the vehicle, but it is the way I have chosen. Point being - we all may think such and such a thing is an upgrade, but a lot of the time is is quite easy to make a good thing bad by missing out on the little details. Unfortunately it takes experience, time, knowledge, learning, etc. to avoid said details. Just my 2 cents.

His name is Kim Bong and his work phone number is: (510) 786-1726 What email address did you mail him at? kimcosmic@juno.com He is very busy, hopefully you do not have any more issues getting in touch.

Interesting... I wonder if it lives up to the claims. With that filter it would be quite easy to reuse synthetic cleaning the filter at say ~7000 miles and replacing oil at ~14,000.

Wow. I really need to look at my stuff more closely. It looked all the same to me in passing. Heh. Thanks!

^ Hahah. If it is leaking, maybe the cover just cracked and the rear is sagging causing very bad angles? Have you checked for a cracked cover?

Now I am interested... BUT for the wheels to stop I would think it is a bearing failure of sorts causing crazy binding. Hmmm

This is big time news to me (not saying you are wrong at all) as I am about to reinstall my rear suspension. Would of been terrible to get the two mixed if there is a length difference! Nissan FAST does appear to have two different P/N's for the different sides. I am assuming the short shaft goes on the passengers side (Right side while sitting in the car)? Maybe the original poster has the axles reversed?

Depends which wheel you are talking about. On the RB the lip is 3" front and rear. For the RB-R (coming out in 2-3 months) the lip should be staggered front to back and more than 3". For the RB-R the spokes are like the picture above on the right. The RB is like that on the left. So yes, the RB-R has a "flatter" looking spoke. Yes there are center caps included in the price. The RB would better cover the front hub/spindle. There is no dust seal to cover facing outside of the hub. There is merely a cap that covers a large nut (22mm IIRC????) with a cotter pin in it. The cap is what seals out contaminants. Center caps have been a fitment issue in the past with Rota RB and RB-R's from what I have read on this forum. I cannot comment whether or not they will fit with out modification as I have not been given a set to test. It is not a safety or reliability issue in the least if they do not fit - merely an aesthetics issue which is still important as well. Hope that helps!

I wouldn't use ZG flares until you space the wheels out ~25-30mm but then its kind of like "whats the point" - might as well have gotten the wider wheel and tire. I would think that you could easily resolve your rubbing issue with coil overs and a bit firmer springs. Not everyone wants to go that route though.

What I also didn't understand is that someone mentioned that there were 300zxT shafts with two different lengths... I was under the impression they were the same length... the SS VLSD shafts are different lengths, but not the Z31T... right?

Everywhere... So it is rubbing at the T/C rod, at the frame rails, at the spring perch, at the fender, and the lower valance? Those Sport Max wheels are 16x8" 0 offset correct?

Just for clarification, all of these issues are with Z31 Turbo axles, NOT 280zx axles correct? If so, is the issue with the billet or with the modified companion flanges? Or both?

Thanks! I spent a ton of time compiling the specifications sheet, but got burned out on it and haven't really analyzed the data much. I think my favorite one was the understanding horsepower bit where I actually finally realized the value of horsepower under the curve and how it relates to displacement.

hughdogz got it right. I wrote these calculators a while back. Try #1 and #2: http://www.autolounge.net/calculators/tirespacing.html The third calculator is only for tire setups where the section width sticks past the lips of the wheel.

Gollum is correct. Basically the entire wheel center and spokes will be pushed in towards the center of the wheel. To maintain the same offset (which the RB-R will have) material is removed from the back of the mounting surface. This provides for more lip but maintains the same offset and same widths. It is difficult to notice the difference between the RB-R and the RB based on the photos on Rota's website. Think of the RB as more curvy and almost like a "flower" in the way the spokes pop out from the center. The RB-R is more recessed with out any spokes popping out. Below is an image for clarification. On the right is RB-R on the left is the RB (this is just an example, not an image of the 17x9 or 17x9.5). The RB is the one currently in production, the RB-R is the one that will be entering into production in ~2 months.

I honestly do not know because I have never seen the California Z Wide Body kit. It should not hang over the edge at all if you are adding 4"+ to the width of the car. Would the wheel wells need cutting... what part of the wheel well? The only thing that possibly would need cutting is the fender and lower valance or air dam, and that would depend on what spring rate you are running, what tire, and how much lower. At 2" lower you would have to run a pretty high spring rate to keep from rubbing the stock fender I WOULD THINK, but I am hardly sure. If you ahve removed or cut away the stock fenders for the California Z Wide Body - it shouldn't be an issue. With a 9.5 +22 and 2" adapters you shouldn't have interference problems or need spacers. This all sounds a bit dangerous in my opinion though... 2" is quite think. Your choice though. Just makes a lot more sense in my opinion to just do a 5 lug hub swap. As for large rotors and brakes... I would think an 18" wheel would fit something like a 15-16" rotor. That is mighty big. If that is what you are aiming for though than cool. If you are just looking to stuff a 13" or even 14" rotor under there than you would probably be better off with a 17".

I don't know if this helps... but when I did the measurements you really want around 4.5" back spacing front max. and probably amount the same, maybe a little more rear. So you have an 9.5" wide wheel... add 1" for the lips, you are at 10.5". Divide by 2... 5.25"... +12mm. 5.75" back spacing which is excessive. Now you put in a 2" adapter, knocks you down to 3.75". You should be fine in that scenario when it comes to T/C rod and frame rail clearance. If you are running that size on the fronts you will definitely interfere with the air dam/valance and will have to trim the valance and probably the air dam. The rears should be fine interference wise. In either case you are looking at flares or fender rolling as these tires will stick very far out. I am not a fan of adapters personally so I would have to say that I would rather just get a wheel that fits properly. That is up to you though. Does that answer your question?

I am at 194,500miles (313km) on my 1992 Explorer. It has been abused plenty, but now a days it is well taken care of - maintenance wise. It is still fun to drive. I really feel like a car is meant to be driven. Kudos to you for giving it a work out.

The negative offset is what this group buy is for. Rota typically does not supply many negative offset wheels. The wheels listed on their site are all positive offset pretty much. The RB page has not been updated with our group buy wheels, but they are available through the representative. Why would you want an 8" wide -13? That would move the wheel out further with out adding tire width. Maybe that is what you want, I don't know. You would want coil overs if you started going positive offsets on an 8" wheel. Negative offsets will only give you more space.

Good question. I do not see why not. If you are interested in the 17x9.5" Rota RB (current available style) go ahead and ask the representative if they can do a 17x7.5 front and 17x9.5 rear... alternatively there is a 17x8.5" option that might fight IIRC (you would have to look into that). If you are inquiring about the Rota RB-R's then you would have to wait ~2-3 months to find out. Hope that helps.

Where and why is it rubbing? Just out of curiosity?

They would look appropriate with a 25-30mm adapter probably (I am not endorsing the use of adapters) and ZG flares. With out the adapters it would look funny imho. Just my thoughts looking at the car.

Good point Gollum. I was thinking that too, but it got lost up in my head somewhere.

This is the kit I used: http://www.jskinnovations.com/datsun.htm and here is the parts list: http://www.jskinnovations.com/wilwoodpartslist.htm You save ~$50-100 if I remember correctly since the shipping is not redundant. --------------------- I just got off the phone with the representative. The manufacturer let him know that they will need to be making multiple costly molds to make the RB-R as specified ($20,000+ of molds to be exact). The complication arises in the way the wheels are made. Apparently there are multiple molds per wheel - at least two, probably more. To make them the factory requires a new side and front mold. The representative sees potential in this group buy though and has agreed to go ahead and do it despite the additional cost for the larger lips. Now we sit back and wait, they are making molds for us now. I think the representative has really helped us out in this regard and has big time "gone out on a limb" so to speak. I hope that after the general public sees more of the wheels they and possibly other HybridZ'ers can return the favor. Thats the only news for now. Hang tight guys!

The contact is: kimcosmic@juno.com As for the staggered fit. I guess it depends what you consider staggered. That is the 9" front and 9.5" rear, but the lip is 3" on both. So the lip itself isn't "staggered" but the sizing and offsets are different between the two.