dmoralesbello Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 I have searched for improved alternatives to the OEM starter on the forum and there seems to be no information on the subject. California Datsun advertises a starter: " LIGHT WEIGHT AND HELPS START YOUR ENGINE FASTER. NO MORE SLOW CRANK ON COLD DAYS WHERE IT ALMOST KILLS YOUR BATTERY, THIS IS YOUR ANSWER! NO CORE REQUIRED. NO MODIFICATIONS NEEDED THIS IS A DIRECT BOLT ON. PLEASE SEE OUR OTHER AUCTIONS FOR THE STARTER RELAY KIT THAT ADDS TRUE 12 VOLTS TO EXTEND YOUR STARTER LIFE! " It certainly looks much nicer than stock but is there any functional advantage over OEM? The starter relay they mention is an extra $15. Opinions from more experienced members would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrel Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 gear reduction starter. stock on any 280zx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmoralesbello Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 gear reduction starter. stock on any 280zx. 280Z as well, right? How about the "light weight" claim or the use of a relay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 It is lighter, the gear reduction allows for the use of a smaller motor. Relay, dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmoralesbello Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 As far as I've been able to tell, the California Datsun starter is simply a stock 280ZX unit, painted and polished. In all fairness, I wrote California Datsun asking for details and I'm still waiting for a response. I will post as soon as I get an answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 I know you posted this on classic too. Not sure why you think something better than a stock unit. A gear reduction unit like pictured is a later year STOCK unit. Best advice is to take your starter and find someone who rebuilds them locally. Maybe they can throw a few more winds in there so it will have more torque Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Guys, this is a non-gear-reduction unit.For those who may not know: The Gear Reduction Starter is HEAVIER than the standard starter!So yes, a standard starter is "lightweight" and will start your car. Woah!The Gear Reduction Starter was used on TURBO cars with the ECCS because it had a lower cranking draw, and consequently less chance of frying the ECCS Unit on cold days starting due to excessive voltage drop and board components overheating and going 'poof'!The gear reduction starter allows you to use a lawnmower battery and reliably start your high-compression N/A Z, so even though the starter is heavier, it's down low and near centre of rotation, while the battery which is up high is considerably lighter.So the gear reduction starter / lawnmower battery combination is a 'handling improvement'....Muahahahaha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Why do you need a better alternative to the stock unit? Some underlying problem? Most starters are usually wired directly to the battery and triggered via a solenoid aka a starter relay. I guess you could wire in a relay to the battery directly to bypass the old wiring, but it would still be supplying battery power. I guess if you wanted to run without the solenoid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmoralesbello Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 The reason is a search for a better performing part which may have been developed in the subsequent model years. As I mentioned before, my starter works fine as is but I thought there could be something better and still be a direct bolt on swap. "Lighter weight, more torque, heavy duty" sounded enticing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 It's not any of the things it states. It's a standard replacement part. If you have a lawn tractor battery in your 13.75:1 L28 Track Car, I got news: that starter won't turn it over really efficiently, but the gear reduction unit from a turbo will spin it like there's no tomorrow. If you can deal with "RUH........Bwaaaa!" when it starts then you can have lightest weight: non gear reduction starter, and a lawn tractor or motorcycle battery. the RELAY KIT is for guys with 260's and 280's who have wire harness drop that won't allow enough voltage to the starter solenoid, and uses a 6V Ford Starter Relay (which will trigger and close down to 2.8V) to switch battery 12V directly to the starter solenoid and pull it in smartly for positive flywheel engagement. This trick has been around since the 70's when older VW Busses with 12V starters were dropping voltage. If you kept your 6V starter it cranked just fine....Marketing, whatcha going to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmoralesbello Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 Thanks for all the information fellas. Definitely seems like nifty marketing. What am I going to do? Clean up my OEM starter and just make it look pretty with a little spit and polish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob L Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 http://www.tsimportedautomotive.com/gearreductionstarters.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 ^^^ That starter page is interesting... it mentions an old Japanese Trick they would use on the Turbo Multicab starters --- the solenoid would get hot as hell, so they drilled a couple of holes in the casing so the solenoid would self-ventilate... stopped the 'won't start hot' issues they had when run up on the expressway after disconnecting the governor system! I'd forgotten all about that... I just replaced the starter on my F10 Van and had totally blanked on the holes solution. Damn there went 3,500 pesos... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrel_Ball Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I'm sure some starter reduction gears are planetary gears, so they look like a stock non-RD starter. I know mine has the higher-pitched whine, and a lower cranking speed of an RD starter, but looks like a stock one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 The 78 and on starters are gear driven, with an offset drive motor. They seem to be reduction starters, but I've never actually seen the gears or a description of their ratios so can't say for sure. They're not direct though, and it would be kind of pointless to offset them without taking advantage. It should lessen the voltage drop allowing more juice for spark and other electronics, as noted above. Never heard of the turbo car gear reduction starters, and the 78 + starters weigh less than the big motor direct drive pre-78 starters. So it looks like three different types are out there. At least one manufacturer describes them as gear reduction, for what it's worth. Picture from Rockauto site. Just a few more factoids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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