New to S130s Nedd a little help!

[BluDestiny]

If you want to drift WELL in a 280ZX, you're going to have to be committed to the car 200%. The only reason I still rock a 280ZX is because of my undying love for the car.

 

Brofist

 

Also as to the performance ECU and carbs, He could have meant going with Meagaquirt and EDIS to control the spark as Josh817 did. Although I doubt it. Highly.

Edited May 22, 2012 by BluDestiny

[Madhater]

theres a lot you can do leave the fuel injection alone ,a mild cam advance cam timing to the 4 degree mark and it will have a good low end punch and autocross well.these are mine,the orange one is turbo charged on the factory computer and wiring harness

 

Thansk alot man! and as for the post when i said carbs and an ecu, my bad i wasnt thinking right i guess, Or i didnt think through the post.

[Gollum]

Yay for the slicktops! Mine ticks in around 2700 pounds, much lighter than people expect, and I still have power windows, power steering, etc.

 

Personally, I think these cars really start to shine once you get around 160whp+ and down bellow 2400 pounds, both of which are easily attainable. The turbo swap is definitely great dollar for dollar, but if you're handy there's a plethora of engines that will made decent power that are viable options.

 

But most importantly, I think that weight reduction is the most overlooked area of upgrades. Lower weight can dramatically improve acceleration, cornering grip , braking, and around town MPG. So lets cover some basics on that.

 

Your car should already have an R180 which will be quite a bit lighter than the indestructible R200, but your R180 should survive just fine unless you want to run 300+ft/lbs and run quite a bit lower than stock ride height.

Get some good lightweight seats. Stock seats are heavy for a simple manual adjustment seat that isn't very comfortable.

If you don't mind the hazzard, run without bumpers, front and back. You can use a fiberglass MSA front end without the support like the recommend. Saves a lot of weight.

Ditch the AC if you can bear it.

Convert to the later rack and pinion power steering if you currently have power steering. Being a '79 there's a chance it's manual, but to convert the 79-81 power steering you'll need the rack + the cross member from the 82-83, plus the hard lines. And run new tie rods, as old worn ones are no fun. The steering pump is the same on all year power steering models. The reason though for all this hard work is that the rack and pinion isn't just lighter, but feels better, communicates better, and also place the weight much lower. The recirculating ball is a good 2.5-3 feet off the ground, while the rack and pinion is less than 1 foot.

This isn't for everyone, but a lexan rear window will save a TON. I'd guess (after having carried quite a few) the rear hatch complete at around 60 pounds for the rear wiper model. AT LEAST 2/3 of that is the glass. After removing the glass you can easily lift the whole thing with your arm outstretched for a nice shoulder workout. Pull the rear wiper too, since you won't want to use it on lexan anyhow. That'll save another 5 pounds.

Remove the AC if you can bear it, but you're in FL, that's a good reason to live in CA like me I was amazed that though subtle, I could feel the cornering difference with just removing the AC pump + condenser.

Don't run larger rims and tires than needed. Stock turbo 15's will fit a 225 just fine but even a good 205 is fine for most street cars honestly. But running more rim and tire than needed is probably the biggest mistake I see done on a daily basis and it's just plain scary, since it's 99% looks driven.

Ditch the hood if you can afford a fiberglass one. Stock hood is HEAVY. Removing the hood springs will save you some extra weight too which makes hood pins start to look attractive.

 

Then tie it all together with a lightweight flywheel and good clutch and it'll feel like a completely different animal than stock. You'll go from being a 17 second car that barely out handles fox body mustangs, to being possibly a high/mid 15 second car that can now hold it's own in the corners with much of what you'll find on the road, leaving the game in the hands of the driver, not the car.

 

Pay attention to the details as you go and you can easily have a sun 2400 pound daily driven S130. Mine is probably under 2700 right now and I'm still running full glass, full bumpers, and all stock body panels. I'm also running a R200 though and the recirculating ball power steering, The only reason all that is true is because I got my last S130 for free (yes free, didn't even know the guy really), and it's hard to invest money into something that you're not already invested in.

 

Good luck with the car, looks like a decent start other than the bit of front end work to be done.

[BluDestiny]

Psh I ditched the AC and I moved to FL from CA. It really sucks though.

 

I'd keep at least the rear bumper since you are more prone to getting rear ended and these bumpers can take a hit easily.

 

The rear hatch is probably closer to 50lbs, but yeah like 30-35lbs is glass. Only real reason I kept glass is because it can take the weather. I've been told that Lexan would get scuffed and sun beat and probably only last around a year, especially on a street car.

 

Yes my tire sizes were driven by looks mostly, but I have a spare set of 15x7 rims if I really need to switch back. The rims/tires I currently have have enough gripping power to help me keep up with the bmws during an autox

 

The stock hood weighs a bunch, and a fiberglass hood is on my wishlist.

 

I have a lightweight flywheel and a stage 1 exedy clutch, still haven't gone to the strip yet though.

 

I could probably shed 100-120lbs easily if I went full lexan windows, just removed my rear bumper, and got a fiberglass hood. On top of that when I'm only using half a tank of gas I'm saving 60lbs versus a full tank.

[Gollum]

The rear hatch is probably closer to 50lbs, but yeah like 30-35lbs is glass. Only real reason I kept glass is because it can take the weather. I've been told that Lexan would get scuffed and sun beat and probably only last around a year, especially on a street car.

 

Yes that's true, but it's not "the truth", which isn't always the same. Clear plastics come in probably a thousand plus different varieties. The stuff they use for race car windshields is extremely durable and can handle rock chips, wipers, etc and more. Getting this stuff in curved varieties for windshields is cost prohibitive for most of us, but getting it in flat variety for a rear window isn't all that bad. And you can add special UV coatings to prevent (mostly prolong really) the discoloration from sunlight. In many cases what you find might already be treated, so find out. It's a bit of work to do all this homework, but when you're trying to save weight past the obvious stuff, doing the research to save that 30-35 pounds is very intriguing. I've spent many more hours on this site researching engine swaps!

[BluDestiny]

Yeah I was talking to JohnC about the rear windshield. He was saying most coatings will last about a year or 2 in good conditions. If I had a garage I'd probably do it.

 

As for an engine swap, I could save more weight than all those things combined if I switched to an SR20 on boost. Which may or may not be the goal later on. depends how I like my L28 when I boost it.

[Gollum]

Yeah I was talking to JohnC about the rear windshield. He was saying most coatings will last about a year or 2 in good conditions. If I had a garage I'd probably do it.

 

As for an engine swap, I could save more weight than all those things combined if I switched to an SR20 on boost. Which may or may not be the goal later on. depends how I like my L28 when I boost it.

 

O rly? I would beg to disagree. I think you'd be HARD PRESSED to save more than 100 lbs at best between engine and transmission when swapping to a SR20DET over the L28ET. Check the definitive weight thread, the L motor in NA trim comes in pretty darn light, especially for an iron block inline 6. I'm not saying the SR is heavy, or that there isn't a differences, I'm just saying that block weight and length are only an aspect of engine weight. I'd bet money that an SR20DET head complete weighs more than the L6 head complete. I also bet you're not saving any weight when it comes to the transmission, though that's not a huge argument if you want lots of power since the stock L transmissions won't hold a ton.

 

John C of all people will also argue tooth and nail that the weight PLACEMENT of the SR20 swap isn't as meaningful as people like to presume, and that a NA L28 can achieve near identical weight placement when moved back like IT CAN! Typically 3" back and 1" down isn't a hard feat to achieve, and more can be done if you don't mind some firewall reshaping.

 

By contrast, just removing the front bumper can remove a similar weight amount, and it's MUCH further forward in the car, lending to a much more impacting inertia change. Oh, and it's free if you don't mind the look.

[PurePontiacKid]

Oh, this has turned into another theoretical discussion a Z forum... How original.

[BluDestiny]

First contender, the bone stock completely assembled L-24, (240-Z). Minus Smog pump, fuel pump, oil and water. WITH;Early SU Carbs and intake manifold, fuel hoses, exhaust manifold, dizzy, damper, alternator, cooling fan, flywheel. No fuel pump, no oil, no water. 389.4 lbs. Minus the flywheel, fly wheel bolts and backing plate, 362.8 lbs.

 

 

SR20DET.... With aftermarket clutch, top mount exhaust manifold, external wastegate, cast pan, oil, and alternator.No water, starter, air filter, MAF, intercooler & piping...349.8 LBSWith aftermarket intercooler, complete intake piping and MAF... 365.9 LBS(Tare weight zero'd)

 

 

L28ET with an intercooler would probably add some weight to the L24 (maybe 30-40lbs) so maybe not the 120lbs I stated but a fair amount. Tranny is almost negligible since I'm going to to use a KA tranny and it has almost no weight difference to the tranny in my ZX.

[roger280zx]

If memory serves me the last time I weighed a s130 hatch glass it came in a 18 lbs. I know, I was astonished too. Mine will still get lexan as the weight is up so high.

[zeeboost]

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Edited June 28, 2012 by zeeboost

[zeeboost]

Madhater, if you ever want to trade your analog speedometer (boring) I'll reluctantly exchange it with a totally awesome 80s digital dash out of my '83 280zxt. Chicks love it

[BluDestiny]

madhater any progress?