To those who daily drive their s30 what mods have you done to make it bearable?

[nzarano]

I just got a 240z and although its been restored everything was done to original specs besides the stereo, i want to know what people have done to their cars to make them easier to cope with on a daily basis.

 

After a week of owning it all i have done is install dynamat as sound deadening in some areas but i plan on doing something to the brakes and a few electrical upgrades

[brianZortiz]

I use to daily my car, got a 5 speed, 3.9 r200 LSD, coilovers with Tokico Illumina, a Nardi Deep corn Steering wheel for a smooth grip, a semi upgraded engine, made sure cooling system was up to date, and other mods. It was reliable but hated when my rear wheel brake cylinders leaked (3 times total), so I did a rear disk conversion. Fun to daily drive, I would do it again, but needed more mpg.

[Tony D]

Turbocharged L28 at 12# boost with MS, ported head with mild Isky Cam,, 2.5" exhaust no Center muffler, 3.70 R200 with OBX ATB, urethane bushings, sticky street radials, Porterfield R4S pads with Motul RBF 600 fluid, tokiko illuminas on 5, one cut coil on all corners, 400wpc stereo with 10" sub on a 500w desiccated amp where the spare went, and AAA Premium...

 

Last on list: 240SX Tranny Swap and maybe a freer flowing exhaust and better hybrid turbo... That woul be it.

 

What's dynamat for? Resonance suppression in the speaker area..??? I just turn it up. For 25 years.

 

I had a Nardi Deep Corn steering wheel once...rats ate it. I stick to leather or wood since...

Edited August 16, 2013 by Tony D

[B. Whisky]

Rebuilt an f54 block, didn't touch the head w/200k or so on it, t04b-25, >10psi, front mount ic, stock turbo efi tweaked with the aid of a uego controller to handle the deletion of the emissions and idle speed hardware, 16gal fuel cell, spec aluminum flywheel, stock turbo clutch (MISTAKE!), vintage air, new brake hardware all around, skimped on the suspension (mistake #2), no head unit, just an amp with a headphone to RCA adapter, and a nice kill switch.

It has served me quite well, but honestly, having recently purchased my mostly stock all-trac the z has become my lady on the side, and driving it less has made its foibles so much more evident.

The clutch does not tolerate the new setup at all. As soon as the wastegate dumps I lose all acceleration. The I caught the efi leaning out up top under wot, the suspension is poorly suited to handle Philly streets, my windshield leaks on me, and I have less than desirable driveability in the low rpm, light throttle range. But that car is still the s@#t of s$@ttown around here.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Don't forget

 

headlight relay upgrade

dash light relay upgrade

modern blade style fusebox

internally regulated alternator

 

 

and I threw a couple of light strips under my dash for some added light at night if need be.

 

 

[ComicArtist]

Coilovers, kenwood stereo with kicker speakers, truck short throw, Jdm white wood steering wheel, new carpet, all stock l28 with unknown mileage, wire tuck, misc shaving and simplifying

[1 tuff z]

Power windows & cruise added and no regrets.  Ditto on what Andy posted in #5 for more reliable electrical.

[Pharaohabq]

MegaSquirt makes an amazing difference.  Switching to a MAP based system really smoothed out my engine a lot. Sure it ran decently under the stock bosch system, but I was really amazed at the difference in how the engine ran and pulled.  Though the car is still all torn apart now since I'm swapping in the VQ.  I just got 350Z seats for it too which should be nice.

[PLATA]

A/C,+ a babe  

Edited August 17, 2013 by PLATA

[Tony D]

Oh, I got a light flywheel in EVERYTHING!

[S30Turbo]

I got a Rebuilt l28et with Sds on it. Runs amazing. I also made sure the cooling system was in place. I'm running 5 psi on a t3/t4. It's still breaking in only 400 miles on rebuilt, also upgraded to dapper hid lohjts.

[BLOZ UP]

Unlimited towing from Hagerty.

[socorob]

You're not allowed to daily drive your car with haggerty.

[BLOZ UP]

No, but it makes it a lot more bearable when I do take it out.

[cgsheen]

I just got a 240z and although its been restored everything was done to original specs besides the stereo, i want to know what people have done to their cars to make them easier to cope with on a daily basis.

 

After a week of owning it all i have done is install dynamat as sound deadening in some areas but i plan on doing something to the brakes and a few electrical upgrades

 

 

I'm wondering what it is about your Z that makes it UN-bearable to cope with on a daily basis...

 

I daily-drive Goldie.  The only thing I have to cope with is how much I like driving her...

[MAG58]

I cant DD my car anymore because apparently old Z cars aren't "professional", but alas when I did, the biggest things I did to make it reliable was nix the mechanical fuel pump and put a reliable electric unit it, got rid of the crappy lights and put in relays. Between that and making sure the carbs are well tuned was all I needed. In the winter, just washing it as often as possible (2-3x a week) to keep the road salt off of it, and making sure the heater circuit was working well and the fan could keep the windows defrosted. 

[RebekahsZ]

Sounds like you need to go get a new Lexus.  Or a pair.

 

If dudes can show up to work smelling like hemp and kiss their boyfriends -I'm sorry, husbands-goodbye when they drop them off for work, why the heck can't you show up with a few bugs in your wind-blown hair smelling like a rich tailpipe, sweat, rotting horsehair and antique vinyl?  I think you might have grounds for an anti-discrimination suit.

 

Just drive the damn thing!

Edited August 19, 2013 by RebekahsZ

[yamahondarider]

I daily drive my 1976 280Z. The things I did to make it a little nicer to drive include a grand total of installing the door panels and window cranks, new wiper blades, and I cut the stupid 30 lb muffler off and straight piped it 

 

I haven't changed much but since I used to drive a 1973 VW Bug with no working gauges, rotted floor pans, and no suspension, I'm pretty comfy in my mostly stock Z 

[Phantom]

Daily drove my '77 280Z in totally stock form for 5 years before I started modifying it.  The car already had AC so that definitely helped in Texas.  It's still nice here in central Washington. The dynamat is a good start to help with the tire rumble and drive-train noise.  Forget the aftermarket carpet kits available and have someone install a good grade house carpet.  They are definitely pricier but also help with noise and heat. I then put a seven speaker 500 Watt Alpine sound system in.  Don't notice any road/wind noise when that is cranked up.  Get some good struts under it and take a look at your tires.  If you're running lower than a 50 series profile then you're kidneys are going to suffer.  I'm running the new Techno Toys coil overs with Koni struts on 225/50-16 Dunlop Direzza tires.  Car is handling sweetly and the struts are tunable if I want to take it to a track.

Also - pull the covers off your seats and beef up the bolsters with some with new foam. Made a world of difference in mine.  I get excellent support - both vertical and lateral with the rebolstered stock seats.

All that made it more comfortable but what really made it enjoyable was sticking in the LS1 and T56.  Once I had those I really haven't noticed much of anything else.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Phantom

[ktm]

As Phantom said, running low profile tires is the real killer on these cars.

 

Replaced my stock seats with a pair of 2008 Mazda Miata seats.  Everyone who has sat in them has threatened to steal them when I am not looking.  I have 245/50 R16s on my car and it soaks up bumps and minor imperfections nicely.  Rewired the car which helped with eletrical stability.  Make sure it is tuned and running correctly, make sure all the gaskets are still pliable and functioning as intended goes a long way to combat the exhaust fumes.

 

MAG, good to see you post.