datASSun Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 so it took me 7 months driving from Austin to DFW to work on my car .. some help from Domz and a few others but I got my car done. Now it's my daily driver ! I have yet to meet another guy who daily drives his v8 z car but I'm hear to tell you " YOU CAN DO IT !" I run into a few problems and they are hear below. 1) While my 5.3 liter swapped Z car gets much much much better mpg cruising down the highway with it's T56 overdrive trans it doesn't like to sit in traffic without drinking gas like its holy water. I've yet to figure out what my mileage is seeing as I don't have a speedo at the moment but will let ya'll know when I can. 2) Every Honda / Mazda / Nissan with a fart can wants to race. Glad to say I'm 5 out of 5 while staying in 5th gear on the highway but this could be avoided by "being the bigger man" and not "racing" 3) I can't get a full tank of gas without someone coming up to me to tell me about the z car they had. The worst is when they want to be friends afterwards. I don't want to be your friend if you randomly come up to me to talk about a z car you used to have but drive a 95 neon now. Drive up in a Z car and talk to me about Z cars and we can exchange numbers.. 4) the chicks dig it .. 5) The dudes dig it (check number 3) 6) ZERO TRACTION . Here in Austin we recently received a good amount of rain and while spinning 4th gear may be cool if you're drifting at 90mph its not cool in the rain .. So am I the only guy daily driving his LS powered Z car ? I hope not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastTnZ Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 (edited) I daily mine all the time but it doesn't drink the gas when I'm in traffic, it just idles at ~900 rpm and purrs. I've got about 5400 miles on mine so far since April and it goes up almost every day. Mine is just a tuned 5.3 running on 93 octane. I get around 30 or better in 6th cruising my 22 miles to work and 22 miles home in the afternoon (all interstate). Helps keep miles off my truck and I love it! Getting lunch, gas, or going anywhere it turns heads and is a picture whore lol. But that's why i built it and I love it! I've made a few friends here recently that have chased me down to chat and we hang out on occasion now. But I agree everybody and their brother has had one, rode in one, wrecked one or is looking for one lol. After running the dragon in mine this past weekend I want to build another one with coil overs and another v8 swap with it's sole purpose to corner carve. 318 turns in 11 miles was awesome!!! Anybody else daily their v8 z? Edited September 24, 2014 by EastTnZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nullbound Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Not an LS car, but I daily drove my V8 240z for several years. I also had many people stop me to complement it, including some people that said my Opel GT was just like the one they used to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Gadsby Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Sadly, my project just started. But I need to finish it to save gas. The short trip to daycare/school kills my diesel's fuel mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datASSun Posted September 24, 2014 Author Share Posted September 24, 2014 I daily mine all the time but it doesn't drink the gas when I'm in traffic, it just idles at ~900 rpm and purrs. I've got about 5400 miles on mine so far since April and it goes up almost every day. Mine is just a tuned 5.3 running on 93 octane. I get around 30 or better in 6th cruising my 22 miles to work and 22 miles home in the afternoon (all interstate). Helps keep miles off my truck and I love it! Getting lunch, gas, or going anywhere it turns heads and is a picture whore lol. But that's why i built it and I love it! I've made a few friends here recently that have chased me down to chat and we hang out on occasion now. But I agree everybody and their brother has had one, rode in one, wrecked one or is looking for one lol. After running the dragon in mine this past weekend I want to build another one with coil overs and another v8 swap with it's sole purpose to corner carve. 318 turns in 11 miles was awesome!!! Anybody else daily their v8 z? NICE ! My suspension setup involves tokico illumina 5 way adjustable shocks with suspension tech linear rated springs. I was sooooooo happy with this set up when my car had a l28 but with all this power Its pretty sketchy.. I think that mainly comes from having shitty stock brakes and a 195/60/15 Sumitomo tire wrapped around it at the moment. Note to self next time everyone tells you a 5.3 with bolt ons will be enough power don't do a massive cam swap. I think my car would be more fun in the turns with less power I also have a 5.3 like yourself but have a custom grind cam from SNL Performance in Haslet TX. Well over .600 lift makes my car sound terrifying or terrific depending on who you are and I think that's the root to my gas guzzling problems. I also run only 93 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastTnZ Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Well crap that was my next job on this 5.3 was a rather hefty cam swap close to .600 lift. Hmmm I really want that increase in power though because I'm pretty use to this power level... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datASSun Posted September 24, 2014 Author Share Posted September 24, 2014 Well crap that was my next job on this 5.3 was a rather hefty cam swap close to .600 lift. Hmmm I really want that increase in power though because I'm pretty use to this power level... I'm not familiar with your cars set up but I went ahead and did the cam and double valve springs plus ARP Rod Bolts which got for just under 900 bucks. I replaced the rod bolts with the thinking " the more I rev this thing the more those stock bolts stretch little by little till eventually I spin a rod bearing" Thats what influenced me to do the rod bolts. The cam and springs were picked out by SNL Performance in Haslet and I couldn't be happier with the set up. The cool deal with these Z cars is they are so light we can get away with a massive cam and not have to worry about the jerky cam jump problem heavy cars have like f bodies and trucks / TBSS. The one thing I can recommend is some fat tires if you don't already have them as right now my car is sketchy to floor because it just blows the tires off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 (edited) I started daily driving my 280Z28 back in 2004 right after the conversion and am still at it. I was putting about 8,000/year on it when I lived in Texas but that has dropped to about 2,000/yr since I moved to Washington state. Winters are too tough on the car. Mileage varies depending on how/where I'm driving the car from 13.5 to 24.4. Generally it's in the 16.5 to 20 range. My car was one of the earliest LS conversions and probably one with the least amount of issues since completing the conversion. It's been driven at Motorsport Ranch, Texas Motorplex and Texas Motor Speedway for you Texas folks. For you NW folks its been driven up the Loop at Maryhill, Renegade Raceway, and Sand and Sage events in Tri-cities. Even my wife is riding in it now since we got some seatbelt issues corrected. The seats are comfortable, the ride is fairly smooth, and the sound system is killer. Yes, depending on where I am the car draws a lot of attention - even with 17 year old paint. Edited September 24, 2014 by Phantom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I drive mine regularly but I wouldn't call it "daily." Most days it's on jacks because of this or that breaking after racing. I drive it when it's not broken. Most of the rednecks that like my car want to know if it is one of them old "270" Z-cars. "I had me one a them-used to beat all them Corvettes!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLATA Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 (edited) I drive my sexy beast in fair weather, mostly on weekends . She runs like a champ and the maintenance is a snap . Edited September 25, 2014 by PLATA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeeboost Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 (edited) My '82 with a good ol 355 sbc / t56 combination used to be my daily when I was in college. It really wasn't too bad with that 6th gear, I could average around 25mpg and I'm pretty sure I was always running rich. But you must be doing something different b/c I rarely get approached at gas stations, nobody usually challenges me (with the exception of a new 911 3 weeks ago) and chicks could care less about my cars. In fact my Zs have ended more relationships than anything lol. Edited September 25, 2014 by zeeboost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Marry the first girl who likes your Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeeboost Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Hahaha, yeah pretty convinced those don't exist here in the land of lifted jeeps and diesel 4x4s But just to play out on that scenario, drop a few $k on a ring vs. T76 turbo, 2j 272 cams plus engine management, 8.8 swap for my Fd with custom axles, machine work to finish the 3.1 stroker, speedhut gauges, procharger f1r mounting bracket with different pully sizes, z32 trans swap, direct port nitrous setup for ITB setup, vortech supercharger mounting bracket and pullies, and the list goes on. At least with the parts I know exactly what I'm getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zfan1 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I would drive my Z a whole lot more than I do but I have yet to get the a/c hooked up and I get S-tty gas mileage. Damn 4L80E automatic transmission coupled with the cost of 93 octane gas sucks, I get probably 15-17 mpg but the auto with shift kit and big stall leaves good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastTnZ Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 (edited) Hahaha, yeah pretty convinced those don't exist here in the land of lifted jeeps and diesel 4x4s But just to play out on that scenario, drop a few $k on a ring vs. T76 turbo, 2j 272 cams plus engine management, 8.8 swap for my Fd with custom axles, machine work to finish the 3.1 stroker, speedhut gauges, procharger f1r mounting bracket with different pully sizes, z32 trans swap, direct port nitrous setup for ITB setup, vortech supercharger mounting bracket and pullies, and the list goes on. At least with the parts I know exactly what I'm getting. Hahaha I know exactly what you mean! I'm paying off the last 2 payments on her ring currently... I could've built another s30 lsx turbo for the price of that dang thing! I have a diesel 4x4 but she's not an all out car girl she just likes the big screen and nav on every car... Anyways yeah I'm hoping I'll get to build another car after we get married in march. We'll see. Get that ac hooked up it's awesome!!! Of course I got it finished for 1 week then the temps dropped...Murphy's law I guess Edited September 25, 2014 by EastTnZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rindoze Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I'm not familiar with your cars set up but I went ahead and did the cam and double valve springs plus ARP Rod Bolts which got for just under 900 bucks. I replaced the rod bolts with the thinking " the more I rev this thing the more those stock bolts stretch little by little till eventually I spin a rod bearing" Thats what influenced me to do the rod bolts. The cam and springs were picked out by SNL Performance in Haslet and I couldn't be happier with the set up. The cool deal with these Z cars is they are so light we can get away with a massive cam and not have to worry about the jerky cam jump problem heavy cars have like f bodies and trucks / TBSS. The one thing I can recommend is some fat tires if you don't already have them as right now my car is sketchy to floor because it just blows the tires off. Changing the rod bolts is a HORRIBLE idea. By you changing to ARP rod bolts you have most likely shortened the life of your engine and most definitely not improved anything. Stock rod bolts are fine unless you want to be doing 7k RPM, and moving up to a stronger rod bolt that gets torqued tighter can deform your rod caps causing beat up and maybe spun rod bearings. If you want a cheap bump in performance just go for a LS9 camshaft and springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zfan1 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Changing the rod bolts is a HORRIBLE idea. By you changing to ARP rod bolts you have most likely shortened the life of your engine and most definitely not improved anything. Stock rod bolts are fine unless you want to be doing 7k RPM, and moving up to a stronger rod bolt that gets torqued tighter can deform your rod caps causing beat up and maybe spun rod bearings. If you want a cheap bump in performance just go for a LS9 camshaft and springs. So true, the bearing will/can take a beating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datASSun Posted September 25, 2014 Author Share Posted September 25, 2014 Changing the rod bolts is a HORRIBLE idea. By you changing to ARP rod bolts you have most likely shortened the life of your engine and most definitely not improved anything. Stock rod bolts are fine unless you want to be doing 7k RPM, and moving up to a stronger rod bolt that gets torqued tighter can deform your rod caps causing beat up and maybe spun rod bearings. If you want a cheap bump in performance just go for a LS9 camshaft and springs. Sounds like you're the expert. What shop do you own ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datASSun Posted September 25, 2014 Author Share Posted September 25, 2014 I would drive my Z a whole lot more than I do but I have yet to get the a/c hooked up and I get S-tty gas mileage. Damn 4L80E automatic transmission coupled with the cost of 93 octane gas sucks, I get probably 15-17 mpg but the auto with shift kit and big stall leaves good! I grew up watching you run those DFWss fella's. Some damn good street racing is the only perk of growing up in Keller other than that there isn't much to do in Fort Worth. Last time I was in town and caught a race you ran a red talon and I was dumbfounded by how hard your car leaves and hooks up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zfan1 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I remember that night, that was a friend of mine who owns that Talon, it runs 9.20's in the 1/4. I diidn't have the bottle on the new LS set up so he got me, now that I am hitting it with a little shot of juice I want a rematch...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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