ComicArtist Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Been thinking about this for a while. This is my current situation. Just swapped an L28ET out of an '81 into my '78. Project isn't completely done, starts and runs but roughly. Here's the thing. I want the Z to: A: be reliable. Like super reliable. Like daily driver and road trip reliable. B: get good gas mileage. For some reason, my gas mileage keeps going down the drain when I get into boost. Go figure. Honestly, I'm not really even into making it fast any more. I did my first turbo swap in high school, when I wanted it to be the fastest thing on the street, and now I'm just not really into it any more. Makes me feel kinda old. Anyway, just met a guy who just bought a good running '78. All stock. He wants to do a turbo swap. I'm thinking about trading him my '81 L28ET for his NA L28 and a set of wheels he's got. I only paid $400 for the ET setup, and in my opinion, the NA would be: A: more reliable. No tuning, less to mess with. Less parts on the engine means less parts that can break. B: get better gas mileage. Always a plus. After we swap, I'm just going to look into swapping these coilovers onto it I've got, finding a good set of wheels, restoring the interior, do some body work, put a good deck and speakers into it, and just make it a comfortable baller daily. Track down some JDM goodies for it and just drive it. Anywhere. That's where I'm at. Opinions or thoughts? Am I getting senile or just sensible? Cause honestly, I don't have the time or money for a 30 year old project car. I'm in college, and the Miata I'm driving now needs a rebuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 (edited) I was driving a pretty much stock 280zx, no real engine mods, just a rebuilt engine and I had a ton of fun with it. I was getting like 25-27 mpg on the freeway and 23-25mpg city on stock size tires and I took it cross country to school(from Los Angeles to Daytona Beach FL) 3 times with absolutely no issues what so ever. Once in the middle of summer(110 degrees through the desert) and 2 times in the winter. I've even taken it up in the mountains a few times to go snowboarding. I even towed a full small trailer cross county once. Compared to my triple webered 260z it felt comparatively slow, but it was a car that I wouldn't think twice about hopping in and going to vegas for the weekend. When I put it together it was just connect the wires and it started up, not difficult at all. Edited October 5, 2011 by BluDestiny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 (edited) I don't think the turbo setup is any less reliable, and I got great mileage on my car running a stock engine with the Z31 EFI -- 29mpg averaging 70mph in the Colorado mountains. But all told, an N/A Z is a lot of fun, and the stock EFI is as reliable as it gets. Edited October 5, 2011 by SleeperZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I used to get ~30 freeway with my turbo swap. A local car with a 3l turbo motor gets low 20s if he keeps his foot out of it, and will stomp most anything out there if he gets on it. Turbo is the way to go, just work on your tune. NA cars are fun and all but get old after a while, just ask my roommate with a NA 3l 12.5:1 setup... (he's itching to build a turbo motor) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 (edited) Sounds like a plan, I'm running a stock L28 out of a ZX but I only get about 19mpg on the freeway probably has something to do with it running pig rich and burning oil though. Edited October 6, 2011 by Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuoWing Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 My old 280ZXT which became the donor for my 280Z was super solid. I drove the thing for 3 years as my only car. In the winter it was one of the best cars I've ever driven, it would slide but was super predictable. It would even be out there starting up on the single digit degree days. The only time it didn't start was when we were well below 0*F other than that it did great. I only got 22mpg at best, but that was also with the lame-o 3-Speed automatic behind the motor. Actually I never did try driving it on long trips at 60mph, probably could have pulled a few more mpg out of it. As people said the stock L28ET as long as you don't start building it for power is rock solid and super reliable. People thought I was crazy when I would just take it on 4+ hour trips with no hesitation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I got the same daily driven mileage with the Shark car (17mpg) whether it had SU's on it, or Triple Mikuini Blow Through Carbs huffed into for 350RWHP. Same route daily, 26K miles a year for several years from Corona to Brea through Carbon Canyon. It amazed me that the horsepower increase was achieved at anywhere near comparable fuel economy. You had to work the engine pretty hard with the SU's to get decent performance, but with the turbo...I rarely found myself WOT all that often given the speeds reached! Yeah, I could get 5MPG on the track with the Turbo. But that also isn't much worse than SU's run at the track, either! If you use horsepower, you're going to pay a penalty. Frankly, the car was a misery to drive with the puny N/A output. It just didn't have (comparatively) enough power to get out of it's own way on the freeway. And that's coming from the owner of a 1200CC VW Bus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gk666 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 My dad always said the n/a 280 was the most fun car he's ever driven... and he's driven a lot of things. He said it could never keep up with the quattro that he always wanted but it had enough power that he didn't wish he had bought the turbo and he got about 30mpg so he always had his foot in it... partially because the fuel pump was bad haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neotech84 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 If your looking for a little more MPG why not megasquirt it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernS30 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 and the stock EFI is as reliable as it gets. Joke? Mine has not proved so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 (edited) Joke? Mine has not proved so. I drove my 280Z stock from 1990 (when I bought it) to 2000, 10 years, never had a single issue or failure in the stock EFI including the relays. I did eventually replace injectors, but never lost a sensor, and the only electrical issue I had was the headlight connections. No joke. Edited October 6, 2011 by SleeperZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzzydicerule Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Frankly, the car was a misery to drive with the puny N/A output. It just didn't have (comparatively) enough power to get out of it's own way on the freeway. And that's coming from the owner of a 1200CC VW Bus! This is the truth. My only experience was an L24 with DGV's but holy hell was it slow, especially if something stops working properly, it is just a pain in the ass. I had to go nearly WOT to get anywhere, which would usually overwhelm my fueling system. Id imagine EFI will be less prone to sucking, but you already have EFI, just with a turbo, which in the right setup and application, can actually improve Fuel economy. ComicArtist, if i were you, i would get the car tuned (like mentioned earlier, possibly convert to MS), and get the little odds n ends figured out and fixed, and then see where youre at with the car as far as reliability and fuel economy goes, and then, if they dont meet your specs, do the swap, but i wouldnt be so quick to throw out the work you just did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s30red240z Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 My old 1200 vg30et got 33 MPG high way, is a swap i know. but this is possible, a 280z with 30 MPG, i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernS30 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I drove my 280Z stock from 1990 (when I bought it) to 2000, 10 years, never had a single issue or failure in the stock EFI including the relays. I did eventually replace injectors, but never lost a sensor, and the only electrical issue I had was the headlight connections. No joke. Must say I am quite surprised. My 280z runs rich, I have issues with my AFM, I lost the main relay, that is pretty well impossible to find, cost 125 dollars I think advance auto could have got it for me, I tracked a used one down though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicArtist Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 All good ideas and advice guys. Honestly though, I'm just tired of messing with forced induction. I like the reliability and mileage of NA, and honestly I don't care about being quick or fast. I've been driving a stock Miata for the last few months, so anything will be an improvement. I've only got about $400 in the L28ET motorset right now, and it's looking like the guy will trade me his running L28 and a set of wheels for it. That's all I need really to get it running, and after that it's just going to be maintenance and restoration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Reliability, mileage, stock - you'll lose your Hybridz street cred (not that I have any myself). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 (edited) I enjoy driving my triple carb stock L28 in my resto-mod 240Z (maybe 140hp), just as much, if not more than my L28ET 280Z MSII with 300+hp. Just sayin'. Both are super reliable as casual drivers. Both get low 20's mpg, the way I drive on the street. The stock EFI/ECCS never really got me excited. Although they run great with stock N/A EFI, the motors feel so "plastic" to me. They rev slowly, they come off-rev, very slowly, there is negligible engine braking, the sounds are not right. These are all missing things, that to me, make a sports car, fun to drive. Edited October 7, 2011 by cygnusx1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicArtist Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 I'd rather stance it lol and make it reliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I enjoy driving my triple carb stock L28 in my resto-mod 240Z (maybe 140hp), just as much, if not more than my L28ET 280Z MSII with 300+hp. Just sayin'. Both are super reliable as casual drivers. Both get low 20's mpg, the way I drive on the street. The stock EFI/ECCS never really got me excited. Although they run great with stock N/A EFI, the motors feel so "plastic" to me. They rev slowly, they come off-rev, very slowly, there is negligible engine braking, the sounds are not right. These are all missing things, that to me, make a sports car, fun to drive. All of that can be alleviated by lightening the flywheel and putting on a better exhaust. If that's not enough, stick an early cam in it and get a few more rpm at the top end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicArtist Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 All of that can be alleviated by lightening the flywheel and putting on a better exhaust. If that's not enough, stick an early cam in it and get a few more rpm at the top end. That's what I'm looking at. If the stock motor gets unbearable, which I don't see happening, those would be the first things to do on my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.