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how much can it handle?


Guest z31_drifter

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How much H.P and TQ could a 280Z handle with a upgrade to the frame?

 

You have the question backwards.

You upgrade the chassis to match the power. If you are going to increase your torque by 100 ft/lbs than certain minimum chassis improvements are required. If you are going to increase it by 1000 ft/lbs than other chassis improvements are required.

 

How much power are you going to have?

Members here that have Z's with similar numbers can offer first hand advice on how extensive your chassis modifications will need to be.

 

Make sense? :wink:

 

Welcome to Hybrid.

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Guest Magnum Rockwilder

The question isn't unanswerable, it just requires some assumtion to answer properly. He wants to know how much HP a 280Z can handle with "a upgrade to the frame".

 

We'll assume he's going to repair any damage, install subframe connectors, and strut tower braces. In that case, the chassis will probably be good for 400hp. Any more than that and a roll cage would probably be a good idea. With a roll cage and additional bracing, the sky's the limit. The most powerful Z's I know of with stockish unibodies are in the 750hp range.

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No offense to any "new members" but we seem to be getting a whole lot of unanswerable questions lately.

 

it's a very vague open ended question, kind of like 'what kind of power will i put down with a v8?'

 

a v8 what? lexus? chevy? ford? dodge? jaguar? bmw?

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Not just the Hp and torque, but also you need to consider if you are going manual or auto, and if auto then what's the stall going to be? I read a post here where a guy put a very high stall torque converter in and had the original car otherwise but ran very low #'s without breaking anything. Does anyone remember that one?

You would expect that your first gear ratio combined with the output of the engine at peak torque would be the best metrics for what to design to. It's probably easiest on the car with an auto and high stall RPM.

 

anyone agree?

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1. The 280Z is a unibody car so it obviously has no frame, so to speak.

2. Mine is currently running 365 HP & 325 lb-ft. or torque with only strut tower braces and a 4-pt. roll bar. It has manged to hold together for 13,000 miles so far with no indication of any progressive failures or cracking.

3. I would recommend reinforcing the sub-frame connectors if they are not in perfect condition if you are planning on more than that. They are relatively thin material and it would not be a bad idea to have some extra steel there just to enable jacking the car with more piece of mind. A 28 year old Z does tend to suffer some degradation in those areas pretty easily.

4. If you're planning on using the car for drifting you may want to consider replacing the rear suspension with a solid axle set-up. The Z is very prone to wheel hop.

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The question isn't unanswerable' date=' it just requires some assumtion to answer properly. He wants to know how much HP a 280Z can handle with "a upgrade to the frame".

[/quote']

 

The question is so vague that the only answers you can give are purely speculative ones, like the one you just gave. (No offense man, but it WAS purely speculative.)

 

Aux, exactly. Or "Which is better, turbo or v8?" Or, even better "what should I swap in my car?"

 

Come on, people, think about what you're asking. And SEARCH first. There are a lot of well-thought-out questions that were asked along those lines and are archived here.

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Guest z31_drifter

Sorry if the question was a little messed up. Thanks for the answers though. Reason I asked was because I heard that the "frame", yes I know it's a unibody. I heard that it can twist under high H.P. and I wanted to know what the limits are if you have an upgraded frame and now I have a good idea. I just got into Z's a few months ago so you gotta bear with me, and I do use search, still a newbie, got a lot to learn.

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