Matt K Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Hello everyone! This will be my 5th Z-car, 2nd S30. I swapped my 5.0 that I got bored with after 18 years of tinkering & modding in December. The Z has some fairly decent work done to it in the past year, to include paint, body, interior, but was mostly stock (Weber TB, CAI, Mallory ignition) albeit well maintained. In the past 2 months, I've swapped in Tokico springs & HP shocks, MSA ceramic coated header, 2 1/2" exhaust, stainless brake lines, and a Nardi steering wheel. I recently got some Brembo replacement rotors, Toyota 4-piston brakes with Porterfield pads, but got ripped off on the ZX master cylinder, so have to source another before installing the better brakes. I just bought an SR install setup from another friend's 240Z, with a Vildini engine cradle, trans mount (which I'll have to modify for my 280Z) custom driveshaft, and intercooler with piping, cut for the S30 body. I lucked into a cheap SR from one of my old room-mates, who just happened to have an extra he was looking to sell...but it'll sit in his garage until I get enough to pay it off (damn lack of money!). Big things I still need to address is strengthening the chassis (frame rails have a bit of rust...) so I'll be getting some Bad Dog rails in the future & also stitch/seam weld reinforcing the entire body, to include the shock towers. Not my first time with that...my old 240SX must have had 200 pounds of reinforcement for it's 600hp setup! I'm going to slowly work towards ~350hp. My plans are a GT2871R, 256 cams, 740cc injectors, Z32 mafs, Power FC, & Greddy Intake...with standard supporting mods. One of my old S13's had that setup & it was a great streetable combo, which was very responsive. Anyways, here are a few (cell phone) pics... I will probably be looking at replacing all the factory gauges with something that gives better visibility (DEFI or maybe whiteface style) to go along with the new setup...which will remain mostly stock as I work out the little issues & ensure it's sufficiently reliable for my tastes. I had planned on going with a Toyota JZ setup, but with gas prices going out of control & the great deals I fell into...I had to change my plans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted March 5, 2011 Author Share Posted March 5, 2011 Tossed on some JDM headlight covers...love the way they look! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 (edited) I'm at a crossroads with wheels...considering Rota RB 16x8" +04...but am thinking it might be better to go with 17's due to more tire choices. The only thing is 17's look pretty huge on an S30 chassis. Thoughts? Enkei also re-released the Model 92, but is only offering it in 15x7" +38, or 15x8" +25 sizing...which is ironic, as they are using a Fairlady Z for their demo car...I did email them, but am not confident of them responding back...I'd love to be able to have 16 or 17" Model 92's...rather than the 14x7" set I have in my storage unit. Enkei Model 92 Link Edited March 15, 2011 by Matt K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashintar Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 (edited) I'm in the same boat with tire choice for the track. 17s just look too wonky to me, but 16s you max out around 245. With my current stock sr20 I was using ad08 street tires and it was pretty managable no crazy wheel spin. If you wanna keep in the 15s xxr 02s are coming in 15x9 in couple months. I'm gonna run my 225 nittos on my 15x8s next saturday at the local time attack event I think that will be more than plenty for the power I make. How does the power hit on the 2871r? I'm still in limbo between it and the disco. Edited March 15, 2011 by ashintar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) I have no interest in 15's...not enough decent tire choices for what I want (speed rating better than VR, low profile sizes that will fit & stick in a non competition compound). If you go with the .64 AR 2871, with cams, it spools just like an S15 T28 for response, but gives you about another 50-75 rwhp. Yeah, there are more modern turbos (Borg Warner, twin scroll, etc) that can spool just as well & support more hp, but the added expense of a decent top-mount manifold (that will fit an S30) and external gate doesn't fit my current budget...not to mention you start to lose street-able nature in a car like our Z. Would be a lot more manageable with power steering & more modern suspension setup, but I think keeping it under 400hp is probably the best way to go to keep it balanced. My car is going to be an occasional daily/fun street car. I'm looking at running front tires no wider than 225's & rears no wider than 245's, in order to clear the fenders & spring perches. Maybe someday down the road I'll upgrade to coilovers, but that's not a priority for me at this point. I wouldn't waste my money on anything smaller than a 2871, especially given what you'll be spending even for a disco-potato (I hate that term)...a couple hundred more gets you a better turbo, with more room to expand. The best I hit on my old S13 (SR) with a T28 (S15) was 300 rwhp, with HKS 264 cams, Greddy intake, Z32 mafs, 550cc injectors, tubular manifold with HKS actuator & Greddy outlet pipe (and normal supporting mods). With the old .86 AR 2876R (AKA GT25R from cheapturbo.com), Q45 throttlebody & 850 cc injectors on the same setup, I hit 390 rwhp, but boost was spikey & inconsistent with the internal gate, and it was more laggy than I hoped for. I upgraded from that to a customized Full-Race GT3567R (GT35R with T04R compressor) with 1000cc injectors, blow through mafs, Greddy top mount with Greddy Type-R wastegate, V-band outlet, and hit 522 rwhp on pump gas...and wound up breaking my OS Giken Triple plate clutch & OS Giken full (1-5) Crossmission. I de-tuned back to 740cc injectors & stock turbo manifold with a .64 2871 & it was 10X better as a daily driver! Still fast enough to beat 90% of what I'd come up against, but reliable enough to not break everything. Edited March 16, 2011 by Matt K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 Some recent pics...she's getting there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeoster Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 I like the maroon color, looks good. I also feel the same way about 17" wheels, they look weird on a Z but the tire choices are there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 Not too much to update, as I'm trying to make the transition from military to civilian...Got some Watanabes on & was driving it to work yesterday. It died on me in between two appointments & I had to hoof it around until I had a chance to see what the issue was. I came outside & started it up, but it died almost immediately. It would restart for a moment, then die again...I did this maybe 10X until I had to go onto my next appointment. I looked underneath & saw no fuel coming through my (pre-pump) clear fuel filter, so figured it was a plugged pickup tube from gas tank corrosion. When I came back later on in the day, she started right up, with no issues. I ran the engine for 20 minutes & drove it to a shop to have the gas tank refinished. Their prices were very fair ($160 to drop the tank, boil it out, reseal & re-install it) so I'll pick it up Monday. I got more stuff for my SR swap, re-tuned Enthalpy ECU, S14 turbo (for now), Greddy copy intake, Z32 mafs, clutch & more...I'm going to use an RB20 speed sensor (with the original Z gear) on the Z cable to keep my speedo. I'm debating on using a factory throttle cable, or paying McKinney for one of theirs... I need to sell off the two extra sets of wheels I have now...one set of four 15" Epsilon meshies & a set of five Enkei 92's, also in 15". Once I get a new job offer on paper, then I'll drop off the car to my buddy & get it all done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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