SpeedRacer Posted October 20, 2001 Share Posted October 20, 2001 If you want a comfortable ride but a car that will corner like it's on rails you might want to try one of these http://nsx.vtec.net/pics/nsx_suspension.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedRacer Posted October 20, 2001 Share Posted October 20, 2001 Idaho Z Car - I hope Dr. Porsche isn't reading your comments "I built this Z car to allow me to play in and hopefully make a good showing with the car in as many different venus as possible. Many V8 converted cars enjoy better than super car acceleration performance at a fraction of the cost. At 3475 lbs. your TT would have to develop 700+ Hp to match the power to weight ratios many V8 conversions here have. I simply do not believe that even if you could develop that kind of HP that you could access it as quickly as a high compression normally aspirated V8 can. By the time you spooled up turbos big enough to develop 700 hp, the V8 would be in a different zip code." He might take exception to that statement. Careful if you go up against a 911 GT2 with it's tiny little turbocharged 3.6 litre flat six. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 21, 2001 Share Posted October 21, 2001 Speedracer, We have been bench racing a TT and V8 Z. No "Porches" allowed. Didn't you read the antifreeze requirement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedRacer Posted October 21, 2001 Share Posted October 21, 2001 Sorry Idaho Z Car - my bad. That antifreeze would probably screw up the polar moment anyway! Have a good one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MegaShaft_2000 Posted October 21, 2001 Share Posted October 21, 2001 Mikelly and Idaho Z, I agree that when we start talking about modded cars, it's hard to compare performance without directly testing them against each other. I know my Z would never compete successfully in a drag race against a V8 240 because my car is heavy and the V8 has loads of low end torque. My engine isn't like a GN engine with big turbo though, my spoolup is almost instant, but at a higher RPM. Hopefully I can own both soon, so I'll have the best of both worlds! I just need to find a 240Z in New Jersey that isn't a pile of rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MegaShaft_2000 Posted October 21, 2001 Share Posted October 21, 2001 I daydream about cruising around in a 240Z with that nice V8 with headers sound... How easy is it to get 500 or 600 HP in a street driveable chevy V8? I know with my current Z, 300 was stock, 400+ is easy (right now I have about 410) and with larger turbos and injectors 600 is about right on stock internals. With the V8, the parts are so much cheaper, so I'd do a total rebuild to the engine. I dont' need outrageous amounts of power, but I'm hoping for low 11's, high 10's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted October 22, 2001 Share Posted October 22, 2001 Mega, If you do it right and with the right parts you can get 11 second potential in a small blcok chevy for less than $5000 complete. Lots of crate engine builders out there are making crazy HP for cheap. If you do it yourself, shop for steals and go to swap meets, You could easily cut that price in half. Getting 500HP is easy and that will give you 10 second- 11 second quarters and if you build the chassis right, you should have something that should do more than be a 1320 queen! Bench racing is fun guys, and I'm glad we have been able to keep it that way. I'm going back to the garage now... Got all my pretty blue powder coated stuff bolted back to my car! I'm ready to put the wheels and tires back on it and roll it outside so I can clean the garage out! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 23, 2001 Share Posted October 23, 2001 BLKMGK, It took me a while, but I weighed my 10/70 240 Scarab. Here are the results. They are very close to the figures I got from NHRA scales four years ago. The car is complete with no fiberglass parts. Brakes are stock. No stereo or speakers. Adds are: 200 mm rear end, and small fire Extinguisher Driver weight: 183 lbs. Gas tank full to "top edge of bumper"(looking down into the fill tube)(125 lbs.) Original spare and jack etc. in place. Front tires: 225-60-14 Wheels: Supra wheels, 7 x 14 Rear tires: 245-50-15 Rear wheels: 8.5 x 15 Centerline ConvoPro Motor is all aluminum top end, W/P, and Radiator. Single 3" exhaust, long tube headers With driver in car and full tank of gas: Total weight: 2749 lbs Front axle weight: 1405 lbs Rear axle weight: 1344 lbs Curb weight less driver and fuel: 2441 lbs. Curb weight no exhaust + gas(NHRA): 2440 lbs. Conclusions: "Fully loaded" Front axle is now 2.22% heavier than the rear. Total of 61 lbs. Total lbs. increase from conversion: 85lbs. Power to weight 1970: 15.59 lbs/Hp (dry) Power to weight 2001: 5.0 lbs/hp (dry) Total change in P/W: 320 % increase I would like to compare weights of various cars. Would anybody be willing to give it a go? I am working on weighing a 1978 JTR car. No bumpers, glass hood with equal size and weight tires and wheels all around. (The owner hasn't licensed it since 1999 so we will have to trailer it to the scales.) This could take a day or two, but by then perhaps others could get a full dress weights as well? I am also interested in how different brake combinations as well as coil overs etc. effect the total axle weight equation. (This may be a topic better suited for Suspension and Brakes than here.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted October 23, 2001 Share Posted October 23, 2001 VERY interesting, thank you! How did you weigh it - corner scales? Unfortunatly the person I knew who had them sold them with his car (sigh). Heavier than I'd hoped but reasonable IMO. I'll be VERY interested in that JTR car is it'll come close to mine if it's got aluminum bits except I've got a fat T56 P.S. A glass hood weighs half what a stock one does - 15lbs in my case. Stock is only 30 (shrug). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aaron Posted October 23, 2001 Share Posted October 23, 2001 If I remember correctly, that power to weight ratio is roughly the same as the legendary 427 Shelby Cobra!! 2100lb, 425hp, 4.9 lb/hp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MegaShaft_2000 Posted October 23, 2001 Share Posted October 23, 2001 How was the Shelby Cobra's engine rated? I know HP was rated differently back then, and a 300 hp car from 1968 would only be rated at 200something nowadays. They measured gross HP then while today they measure net HP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modern Motorsports Ltd Posted October 23, 2001 Share Posted October 23, 2001 "I would like to compare weights of various cars. Would anybody be willing to give it a go?" 1980 280ZXV8, 3110 with 3/4 gas (95lbs) and my 190lb frame in it, 50.0/50.0 f/r at that time (David Carroll rocked my car, he didn't believe 50/50, at that point he started taking notes, Shasta'00 ) I had only my spare removed for the autox and when I waded thru the numbers the car came out lighter than stock and the spare/any cargo gear/full gas tank makes it rear weight biased. Very neutral handling. I have full corner weight info at home somewhere. My dad got full corner weight info on his 240ZLT1T56 lately as well, I'll see if I can chase that up....be good info for a FAQ or Andrew's specs page... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Referring to the debate between the 300zxTT and a 240 v8, a friend of mine just bought a used 300zxtt(a '93) and put a boost control on it and is probably running close to 400 horse at the wheels. After being cordially invited (for the 100th time) to the street races in the stockton area of CA, he finally came and impressed a lot of people; that is until he raced a guy with a v8 (my inspiraion). Since I recently bought a 240 to do a v8 converion, my friend wanted to see what he was up against for when I finish. For over $14,000 dollars that my friend paid, he was destroyed by the 240 that cost around $6,000, I believe, including the price of the car! I dunno about anyone else, but I think I could make a 240z handle better than a stock 300zxtt for that extra 8 grand! To me, it's the math, for under 10K you can get a super fast, well manueverable car that has nostagic value on top of raw performance, can u get a suitable 300zxtt for that much....no. If you think I'm biased, look at it this way, 2 years ago I used to laugh when someone mentioned a "fast, old car". Now, I laugh everytime I hear the bumble-bee exhaust from a rice rocket. I love chevy's now, and they are so simple, my roomate even compared putting a small block together to making hamburger helper tonight during dinner. Any mod you want to do to a 90's 300zx takes some knowledge or money. Personally, I go for more bang for my buck. I payed $1100 for my 240z in running condition. I bought a 350 with TH350 auto trans for under $300 bux. If I go with that tranny, I can get the car running with the v8 for under $2000. Imagine what that extra $12K difference between this and a high-mileage 300zxtt could get me if I had it to spend? Just think super car. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of 300zx's, I'm a valet(when not in school) and have driven a few, but I can tell you my favorite memory wasn't the 911 Turbo or the 360 modena, but the 87 Iroc camaro with headers, chip, cam and exhaust(I asked the owner) and the zo6 vette. It's hard to compare to low end torque and lots of rwhp. The 300zx's are tight, but the question is can you buy and mod a 300zx to handle as well as a 240z v8 for the same price? Even with a zz4 or a bbc and a modded to fit T-56 tranny you would still be paying a lot less than the purchase price of a 300zx. For $10K-15K, you could build a 240z that can consistantly run sub 10's in the 1/4 and outhandle most other cars. Also, someone pointed out that the GT2 could beat a 240z v8. I sure hope so, the damn car only costs $150,000+! We're comparing apples and oranges. If someone can get the turbo setup from a GT2 on their car for under $5K and still pay under $10K total and beat a 240z v8 with the same amount of $$ in it, then I will bite my tongue. You want a suitable competition, get a early 70's porsche 912 and put a 350 in that. It's possible,the 912's were 4-bangers in 911 body's and they handled better than just about every other car from that decade. A friend of mine sold his for $3500 and the conversion kit for the 350 is about $2K. Now we're talking apples and apples again. If anyone knows differently, please post, I love to learn and wouldn't mind being proven wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 El mono loco, if you are crazy you are in good company. In the past I too was wondering how to spend the $100,000 bucks I saved building a 10 second V8 z car. (Lingenfelter's newest $106,000 twin turbo Z06 is a tenth slower to 100 than old yellar.) I decided to use the money to build a home for old and disadvantaged Z cars. So far I have adopted almost 150+ of them. I save all solid rust free first generation cars as completes just to preserve brood stock for future V8 cars. It is a rare person who a after a test ride/drive and doing the math won't agree that the Z V8 isn't the best bang for the buck out there. Someone mentioned that converted Z cars rarely can be sold for what it costs to convert them. As a point of comparison, the depreciation, interest, tax title and insurance, in just the first few years of owning a new car performance anything, would build a dandy Z V8, and you won't have the remaining payments to make! It is sad for me to see nice Gen. 3 turbo Z cars sell for 20% of their new cost but that is economics of straight line depreciation. I seriously believe that the Z V8 cars which are being built today will come to be ultra high performance classics in their own right in the years to come. Just because it wasn't factory sponsored (Alpine to Tiger, AC Bristol to Cobra etc,) takes nothing away from the final performance result we achieve with far less going for us. This board and the people on it are the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 150 Z Cars! How do you even house that many cars? You'd need a garage the size of 2 football fields. Well, I know the big debate has been between scarab and jtr conversion kits (or at least lately), and I had planned all along to go with jtr (and still do), but the reason for this is not because I think one os better than the other, but because I haven't even seen a scarab kit for sale! I figured I would just buy the motor mounts and speedo cable from jtr and then buy their book, to help put the engine in and for future reference, but I dunno if I will need that much or that little. I know a guy with 2 z's, mostly for show, but he said all he did to put his 383 stroker motor in was buy the mounts and make a speedo cable. Realistically, how hard is it to do a v8 conversion? Also, I planned on using the 5-spd out of a 3rd gen v6 camaro, think it can take the pressure of a 350? I figured it could as long as it's in gear before I stomp on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Heh, Scarab needs no "kit". Pull the L6, slot the stock horns on the crossmember, slip in th eV8 using mounts with the studs sticking out and slide the motor back. I THINK it's as easy as that. You might need some spacers, in fact I'd thik you would, but it's not much harder than that I believe. Can a Scarab owner speak up and let us know? It's supposed to be pretty easy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Scarab is not an option here. This gentleman would like to use the T-5 option. Spacers for a Scarab are 2x2 square tubing, angle cut and offset drilled for 1.25 inch setback. These mounts are very simple and strong. Motor torque pulls more directly over the original motor mount center (but this has never been a problem regardless of the amount of setback.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 im not mad at a scarab conversion at all. true, motor is not in the most ideal place, but im not mad. i may go jtr with the next motor, my hotboy forced induction motor(w/ my main man muncie), but the scarab is very simple, just about any chevy v8 motor mounts will work really easily.n ive driven the car really hard on the street, no track for me yet, really want to go, and im convinced that the scarab is not bad at all, jtr looks better and probably had some advantages to it, but ive been living on the other side of the fence for a long time, with no heating problems or handling, traction that is another thing altogether, i think jtr is better for traction (ive broken so many rear end parts i now ease it off the line out of paranoia), and parrallel parking, i hate small parking manuevers really much, the jtr makes a lot of sense handling wise too, a lot of sense, but ive been over 30k in my z car, granted i dont autocross or bracket race or anything, but for over a year and a half i drove this car daily, raced it almost daily, and burned rubber for sure daily,AND I LOVE IT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 25, 2001 Share Posted October 25, 2001 ...And that is why you are the man... I bet you have street raced more times than you can remember...like me!! I sure can remember all the faster cars I've beaten and a few that spanked me... in any position v8Zcars are very formidable opponents... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 25, 2001 Share Posted October 25, 2001 Rod327, it says you are from Dublin, have you ever been to the street races in Tracy, Stockton, Modesto or Concord? 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.