AkumaNoZeta Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I put this here because its not really a question and I don't want to waste room in the technical sections. I am stuck between two ideas for the way I want to build my 260Z. First is with just the average front airdam and a 400-500 horsepower CA18DET with 16X8s and the other is with a modified 280YZ widebody (sugar scoop headlight graft and bring the airdam in a couple inches so it doesn't stick out so far) powered by a twin turbo LS1 with a mild profile 4/4 cam, 15X12s in rear and 15X10s in the front. Both would have basic aero, shaved emblems and side-marker lights, and custom suspension. After day dreaming about driving a high powered LS1 and seeing the pics of grafted 280YZs made me kinda lean towards there. But I love the little Nissan engines so much that I feel like I'm betraying them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nizm0Zed Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 daydreaming allright...... have you considered how much each option will cost? take the cost, and triple it, thats normal. you also need to work out a timeframe (double that) and wether you can afford to do the project in the time you have given. dont commit all your time and money to it, if you do that, you'll get sick of it quickly and it'll sit in the corner for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustrocket Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Maybe i'm just ignorant, but i dont think it's very cost effective to build a 500hp CA18 and especially have it streetable. If you're willing to settle for that sort of horsepower, why not just pickup a cheap Lq9 and do some mild mannered mods to get it there? If not, you can still pickup a Lq9 super cheap and turbo that. edit: based on costs of what Nizmozed said...tripling it is a good idea. I started out my tube chassis triumph wagon thinking it would only cost me $12-15k. I'm sitting right around $25k into it right now, and it's not even close to being done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I'd say do the first, and replace CA18DET with LSx - no turbo. You'll probably find just a stock LS1 is enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Whats an LQ9? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Ok, off topic question. I just put a new altenator on my Mustang because the old one only pulled 25 amps (supposed to be 75) and the new altenator tested good because I had them test it before I got it. Well, at idle the voltmeter guage goes down quite a ways and picks back up whenever the revs rise above 1000. I never drove the Mustang with a good altenator so I don't know if its supposed to do that (because its a Ford) or if theres something else wrong. Anybody know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B00STDZ Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Why the CA18DET? Why not an RB? And as for a twin turbo LSx.... Really? What are you planning on doing with that much power? Drag only? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Depending on how much boost is run, it can be as low as 600 horsepower or up to 800 or more. And I love the inline 6s but I love having all the wieght of the engine behind the front axle more, thats why I prefer the inline 4s, V6, and V8 swaps. Weight distribution is the biggest deal with me. It wouldn't be built just for drags, but a drag strip is the only type of racing close to me so I want to be able to have some straight line speed. But I also want to tackle the corners, note the 15X12 and 15X10 inch wheels I mentioned. Like I've said in so many of my posts, this is gonna be a long term project and I only have a for sure plan for the chassis and suspension, I still dont know what I want to do driveline wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nizm0Zed Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 but the cars allready have a very good weight bias with the stock cast iron block. Replace it with a straight 6 alloy block and you'll allready have an advantage, and still have plenty of torque. Just remember, torque is what makes it fun to drive, not power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 "Torque is what makes it fun to drive, not power." Thats the main reason why I started to think about the LS1, getting my Mustang running again also made me turn towards V8s again. It is almost 50/50 from the factory, but I want more weight to the rear. Like 54, maybe 56 to the rear. Especially since its IRS and you cant get anti-squat from it, now if I was to put in a solid rear axle then I could use the rotation of the axle housing to my advantage but I want the smoother ride and lessened unsprung wieght from the IRS. Plus with the 4/4 cam the LS1 would sound a lot like a Ferrari and I think that would be nice for a small sports coupe like the Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazycat5 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Grim, I'm with you 100%, torque = fun, power = fast, both = v8 with power adder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted March 3, 2009 Author Share Posted March 3, 2009 I have an idea. After I get the L28 running again I could use the Z as a daily driver like it is now and fix up the Mustang, maybe make the chassis eligiable for 9 second runs (because drag racing is so popular everywhere) and look really good. Then I could sell the car for probably around 5, 6 thousand (I've seen full caged rolling chassis without engine and trans go for higher) and use that to buy another Z car. Then I could have the classic looking Z with just an airdam and probably just a stock CA18DET and then have one with the 280YZ body kit and twin turbo LS1 running 20 pounds of boost. I really love how my Z looks right now with no flares and the 14" rims. Maybe if it runs alright with the Arizona Z car manifold I could just slap on the airdam with bumpers (I have none right now) and just drive it like that while I build the race car one in my 5 car garage right next to my 2 story house with the 100 acre race track in the backyard...I love daydreaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Ok Ok.. You are all over the map here. Big turbo v8, small high strung L4, different body kits etc. I think you need to just drive the car for a bit and have some fun, and do some more reading. For instance. You mention that you want 15x10 and 15x12. Have you looked for those rims/tires? I know I have, and they are not easy or cheap to find. Tires are another thing. Even if they are still available big enough to fit the rims, your selection is quite small, and most likely an older tire design. If you want that kind of wheel setup, expect to pay 3-5 $K for anything decent, and if so, you may need to swap to a 5 lug setup. (unless you buy custom wheels with our bolt pattern, and in that case you will be on the higher end of my scale) Now I may not have the most wild body kit out there, but I CAN tell you it ain't cheap. No matter how good the kit, expect 3-6 $K to get it installed properly IF the rest of your car is in EXCELLENT shape. A nice paint job will be another $1-2K. Minimum upgraded brakes. $1K in parts Suspension. $800-$1000 parts Driveline? motor/tranny 3-??? $k I list those a minimum due to the fact that you want 400+hp in a 35 year old car. NO labor on the mechanicals are included, so that is where the whole "triple your estimate" comes in, because once you get into it, who knows what may turn up, and "while your at it" can also creep in. Soooo even if you do all the work yourself, including body/paint/engine/wiring/suspension/brakes etc, you could be looking at 7-10 $K in Parts!! I don't mean to sound like a know it all, but I have had my Z for 20 years, and have owned another 17 Z's, and I can pretty much say that "I have been there and done that". For every car like Blue Ovalz, there are a 1000 that never leave the garage. You can pretty much double your tripled estimate for anything over 600HP in our 35 year old cars. BTW I like daydreaming too...but mostly about dropping another 50 $k into my beast. Scott 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.