Guest MCTomTom Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 My 76 280Z has a newly rebuilt L28E with the cylinders bored .40 over, and a semiperformance delta cam. I am wondering if electronic ignition would really make a difference, and really be worth it. What should I do first? I have some new bosch platinum plugs which I put in, but should I get a better distributor, coil, ignition, etc? I have $350 dollars to spend right now, what would up my performance, and give me the most horsepower and torque for that amount of money? It is very cold weather right now, because I live in Montana, (No I'm not a cowboy) and I am wondering why my car is sort of laggy, it could be water in the gas lines, or I am wondering if it may be not enough spark. All I know is that my dad's new 2004 Nissan Altima 3.5SE kicks my Z's ass when it comes to speed, and I want my Z to keep up with it. The altima revs alot quicker, (which I want my Z to accomplish), and it has 245 horsepower and alot of torque, my Z has about 200-210 horsepower, but it only weighs 2850, and the altima weighs 4200. Shouldn't I be able to keep up? I hope my Z is laggy because of this cold weather, clue me in, I am pretty new to my Z, and I definitely need some advice. Also, what octane of gas would my Z perform best with. Thanks, Mark T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2126 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 Well, if your engine is truely IN tune, including new fuel filters and fresh gas without water in it.....PERTRONICS has an electronic ignition assembly that installs directly into your stock distributor. With this upgrade and a good set of plugs and wires, you should experience reliable and easy starting (even in cold weather) and likely a little better performance on the top end. If I remember correctly this upgrade is under $100.00 Like most everyone on this site will tell you.....do your homework and research the subject and available options. This is exactly how alot of us learn new stuff. Hope this help you some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 His '76 already has EI. The Pertronix unit is meant to replace points in an older distributor. Forget about Pertronix, if you want to upgrade the ignition consider an MSD and a hotter coil. Your "laggy" problem sounds like it could be cam timing. If you get a service manual it will tell you about the 1, 2, and 3 settings on the cam gear and what they do and how to check it. There's no way an Altima weighs 4250. Not unless it has about 1200 lbs of crap in it. I'm guessing you looked at the door tag and saw the GVWR. That is GROSS vehicle weight rating, meaning the car with 5 passengers and luggage. You want CURB weight to see what the thing actually weighs. According to this http://www.autobytel.com/content/research/vir/index.cfm/vehicle_number_int/1014424/Action/StandardFeatures it should weigh about 3050 lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MCTomTom Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 Yeah, I felt like an idiot after I wrote that the altima weighs that much, I soon realized that it doesn't when I looked at the purchase sheet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MCTomTom Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 I figured out why my car was laggy, I called the machine shop where my engine was built, and I just need some adjustments in the valve train. Another thing that sucks though, is the last shop I took my Z to, they said that my injection system is screwy, so i'm thinking of the 4 barrel conversion. Alot easier to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2slo4u Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Whoaaa... Just keep the injection. A lot less tuning and maintenance, and easier if (when) you decide to go turbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Another option would be to keep the EFI manifold and use a MegaSquirt controller. Check this site to get info: http://www.bgsoflex.com/megasquirt.html The website has lots of info and other links with even more. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MCTomTom Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 That megasquirt system sounds pretty confusing, I am not very good with mathematical stuff, could most mechanics set this up for me? How much is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 I'll throw in the "get a set of SU carbs" here.. I had a 'screwy FI system' too and while the megasquirt seams to be a good system, I looked at the $$$ aspect.. I got my car running with $150. 240z Su's, manifold and zx distributor. Simple to tune, and they look cool.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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