Biggest bang for the buck? L28ET

[Gollum]

At most junkyards you'll pay over $150 for the ECU and all the little tidbits you'll want, maybe more at some actually. The fully built MS board can be had for not much more. The REAL cost is in the OTHER things you'll need ANYWAYS in either situation, like a wideband, laptop to tune with, etc.

[Tony D]

The long pipe issue is a bit overblown IMO, the piping is maybe 36" longer than need be, and given it's HOT iar that is in that section of piping it boosts intercooler efficiency. The biggest issue is non-mandrel bends on the piece going behind the engine---I could think of several items on the list that I would attend to before monkeying with a functional part like that! (A.K.A. getting the engine running...) At most, reclock the turbo to shoot 'down' and run the pipe you have under the back of the oil sump and up the other side...and then that's more cosmetics than practical change. It's a turbo, run 0.50psi more boost and the 'piping loss' is compensated for, it's not an F1 engine, it's an L-Engine on the street and not anywhere near the full potential of the engine where that kind of pressure drop would be anything near a 'practical' advantage or disavantage.

 

Megasquirt: Bone Stock the increased drivability ALONE should justify the swap over anything else done to the car...if you are looking at an ECU or any appreciable costs to repair what you have...do the diagnostics and violate the 'always start with a running car' rule of the MS and just start from scratch. Really all you need is a CAS that works on your engine, and your MS will work from there with non-Nissan parts as (cheaper) replacements.

 

Other than that, I'm in the "C-Camp"...

[Pyro]

Need to cover the basics first.

 

fuel and spark.

 

you have some spark but you feel it is weak. try 12V's to the coil. need to check the ohms on the the coil.

 

have your checked fuel pressure? have you checked to see if the injectors are getting a signal to fire?

 

I'm guessing you have a 81 to 83 turbo ecu, right?

[cygnusx1]

Lmao. I'm a little embarrassed about the intercooler piping joke - I've only worked on n/a cars before this, and my logic was more pipe = cooler air. Here's some extra pictures. I plan to change add on to the interior and take away the hideous blue harness, as well as delete the rear bumper and add a ducktail. Shoot. Not looking forward to learning the megasquirt...  Anyone have any knowledge about swapping to the Z31 computer? Is it worth it?

 

I was planning to clean up the engine bay as soon as I got it running, which shouldn't be a huge deal. I'm hoping the coil is bad...

 

Wow Sarx, you have the untra-rare early BMW/Recaro 318i sport seats in there!  I have them too.  They rock!  If you ever want to unload them....give me a PM. 

Edited November 18, 2010 by cygnusx1

[Sarx]

Are they really rare seats? Definitely adds a coolness factor to the car I won't be looking to get rid of them though, they seems to fit better and looks a lot nicer than the Sparcos I have in my garage.

 

So I did a lot of reading into the MS. Although I'm not entirely confident... I think it's something I can take on. I think it's definitely worth it all things considered.

 

I'm not adjusting the piping unless I have a ton of spare time and extra money on my hands - I'd rather upgrade the injectors/ECU first.

 

Does anyone know if I can use a Macbook Pro with XP installed to tune the MS? Also, are there any guides you wish you read when you started MS? I looked into the one here on Hybridz, but its going over my head.

 

I will have this car up and running by Friday at the latest, and I will do some tinkering in the morning. I love the reactions this car gets. Either people hate it or love it. I'm very thankful there's a community out here willing to share the Z experience - makes it a lot easier for me to dump money into an awesome care

[cygnusx1]

Read the megamanual, over and over, and over, and over.  Then play with Megatune...and read more. Rinse and repeat.  Yes, those are really nice seats that are pretty sought after by the BMW 2002 crowd...and the some of the Z crowd.

 

http://www.megamanual.com/mtabcon.htm

 

 

[Sarx]

Thanks! I will definitely check out/read to death the megamanual.

 

I'm wondering if I got a good deal on this Z. What would you all pay for this car?

 

EDIT- So, after reading the Megamanual, I'm fairly certain I can pull it off. My question now is, will the v2.2 be good enough?

Edited November 18, 2010 by Sarx

[slownrusty]

You have been ridiculed enough on the intercooler piping, so need to go there. But question for you, does this car have a good exhaust with a good 3" down pipe? Nice car by the way.

Yasin

[getoffmyinternet]

You're too honest dude, makes for a real easy target, but don't take it personal, that's just the nature of Al Gore's series of tubes.

 

Indeed, the drop in pressure is way more significant than what minute cooling it gets from the warm air around it. The more bends and length the greater the drop, of course I used cast elbows to make mine fit so who am I to cast the first stone as well.

 

Note that it's also difficult to tune an engine which does not run.

 

Kudos on the xp macbook, but, WHY??

 

The car does look sexy, even if it's like those tamiya models where the wheels are glued on and nothing moves.

 

Alright, I'm done, you've been great.