Guest DoctorZ Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 My doors have been shaved and I am now ready to buy and install remote-controlled solenoid "poppers" on my 240z. My research here at HybridZ.org has provided much information on the subject, but the posts with photos no longer have viable links. If you have some photos of your installation, I would really appreciate seeing something. Also, since I have not yet chosen the brand and model of solenoid, if you have any suggestions on what to get, please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twoeightnine Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Hey. first I dont know dickey about the door poppers but earlier today when snagging a seat belt replacement for my Bug, I ran into a link for door poppers. I eyeballed it a bit and it may apply for you as well. In basic, the kits are pretty universal and I did notice one thing. There is not a lot of options for mount posistion on alot of cars. The common spot, to avoid the window and it's mechanizm, is the door "toe" or jam area under the latch mech. A cable is lashed from there up to the lever that would have had the handle attached to it. Maybe that will get you running. Post what you find out. I know there may be some folks that are interested in the "shaved" variety! http://www.customtacos.com/tech/index.php?article=51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seth Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 I can't find my pictures at the moment... but what I did was mount the actuators at the bottom middle of the door (Bolted right below the lowest hole in the inner door skin) The 1st time I hooked it all up i did it directly to the pivot point the inner door handle is hooked up to (where the movment is changed from front/back to Up/down). This didn't really work because of the power it took to open the door in the closed position wasn't enough to relyably open the door all the way. So I welded some threaded rod to the end of the pivot and hooked the actuator to that (Really only adding an inch to the bottom of the pivot)... Man I hope this makes some sense...I will go looking for my pictures Edited for clarity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DoctorZ Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Thanks; I appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynekarnes Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 Seth, there is a spring set up on the stock door opening system that pushes the opening rod back in place, insuring the door latches and stays closed. i did a test run on mine, door would not stay latched. checked to find out why. the rod wasn't moving back to normal closed position. in stock configuration there is a bracket that holds the rod and spring, sort of looks like the spring set up on a retractable ball point pen. what did you do to keep that spring in place ? i leaning towards the use automotive glue to hold solenoid in place at the bottom of the door instead of bolting it in place. people at 3M distributor say will work just fine. only problem may be if need to replace it. door handles are welded over ( friend did it for me ). no turning back. thanks, wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinhZXT Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 I got my selenoids and door poppers from A1electric. I've search around and they have the best price. I suggest you not getting the remote control module with the package. You can just buy a cheap remote alarm with 2 or more outputs and use them to open both doors. The alarm at the same can prevent people breaking into your car. I installed mine on 3 of my ZXs so I don't know which location would be suited for earlier Z cars. All I know is you don't have much room to work with for earlier Z cars. GL Vinh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seth Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 I on my 260 I pulled the rod that went up to the outside handles completely. But I still use my inside handles. I am assuming that the spring there is the one you are talking about. If so I am still using it, for me it is more convenient to use the inside handle. To explain further (as I am still not sure where these dammed pictures are) the cable that is used to pull the latch is parallel with the lower rod (for the inside handle) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icesky Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 Hope this isnt jacking your thread, but I was wondering what youi guys used as your poppers for your doors, cus mine just look fugle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynekarnes Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Seth, thanks, friend of mine shaved the outside handles. he started the conversion. removed interior door handle from driver's side. i agree about keeping the interior door handles. in event of emergency be nice to be able to open the doors with stock door handles. i will be putting driver's side back in. i may be wrong, but appears with out that rod with the spring on it, door latch mech won't reset into the latched position. what did you do to keep get the mech to roll back into the latched position. on mine, without rod and spring in place, i can grab the door shake it and it will eventually pop open. thanks, wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two40MuscleZ Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Talk to Tim240Z. He shaved his doors and added poppers. He should be able to help you with that. Also, you might want to ask RacerX (Ernie). He is pretty knowledgable. VAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynekarnes Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Ernie looked at my car on saturday. trying to talk him into helping me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forces Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 DoctorZ, I just mounted mine up a few days ago, as mentioned, all of the kits are pretty universal. I put the selenoid in just about the same spot as Seth mentioned, on the bottom of the door skin, about 10" from the rear of the door. that didn't run any interfence with the window, but the 280z doors are a little different than 240z's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seth Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 I just can't find the picture... I am starting to think that it was one of the files that I lost on when my HDD crashed... Sorry. I would assume that that spring is there to do something. If you wanted to remove the handle completely I would just add a spring somewhere else to keep the tension on that linkage. If someone posts a pic of the inside of the door i can draw on it to show you where I mounted everything and how I extended the leaver. If you need that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I didn't want to start a new thread, but I'm in the process of shaving my door handles now. I got the kit from Summit Racing VIA-80158-35DP and it seems to be a good quality kit. It comes with solenoids and poppers, but my doors open fine without the poppers so I probably won't use them. Here's a pic of my solenoid installation on the passenger side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 When I install poppers I ALWAYS make it so that the popper is attached to the lever that used to be attached to the outside handle. I have found on every vehicle I've done this with, that this lever takes less linear motion, and usually less effort than attaching to the inner door handle. The other reason I do it that way, is because using that level won't actuate the inner door handle when you pop the door open, which to me looks cheesy. To do this, in just about every case, I have had to mount the actuator at the rear of the door, facing up. Sometimes, depending on the latch I will bolt it through the door skin, people rarely notice a properly selected bolt that looks like a factory bolt is extra. My preferred method is to weld a bracket to the latch itself that will support the actuator. This has a couple benefits, the latch can be tested on the bench, and you can also set the cable length, on the bench, no trying to work inside the door to adjust the cable length. There is also the advantage of the cable length being shorter in most cases, that will help reduce the amount of cable stretch that happens over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Just to be clear I think you're saying popper when you really mean solenoid. My kit came with a popper too, but that's a purely mechanical devie that helps physically open the door after the solenoid releases the latch. From your post I don't know if you've every installed on an S30, but you're very limited on space in the location you mentioned - especially with the window when it's down. The inside door handle opening when the door opens doesn't bother me and it would be pretty hard for anyone to see it unless they were inside the car when the door was opened with the remote. I don't know that I have the best solution, but I'm happy with it. Mine uses a rod instead of a cable and the amount of throw from the solenoid is pretty close to exactly the throw from the inside door handle. In addition the solenoid supplies an almost identical resistance to opening the door as the spring that was used on the inside door handle (I removed it after the install). That being said it would be great to see other solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I haven't installed a solenoid in an S30, but there's enough space. (I've been into these doors quite a bit and the solenoids I've used will fit, it will need careful planning, but they'll fit there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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