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well since I hadn't messed with any of the settings before (except R&R the dizzy), I figured I was still on the money. And according to the timing light, I was.

EDIT: ^ in terms of my adjustment that I made yesterday without the light, my initial setting of 0 degrees was a super retard feat of ignorance.

This post has been edited by Oddmanout84 on May 11 2009, 09:39 AM

Cool, so did advancing it help low end any?

Based on his previous statement, I would venture to guess that it probably did.

Yes...

YES
YES!!!


The difference in performance is unimaginable. I can't believe I was so stupid as to overlook the ignition timing like that, let alone setting it to 0 instead of 10 like in the book.



[ Post merged on May 12 2009, 08:30 AM ]
add to that, I'm hearing less popping in the exhaust (less unburned fuel), and should be getting much better fuel economy. There are no words that can describe my embarrassment for this oversight. WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


[ Post merged on May 12 2009, 10:51 AM ]
So checking off the things accomplished yesterday/today: fixed spark timing issue, zip-tied ECU (original ECU reinstalled, works), ordered some sound deadening mat, ordered a new engine/tranny backplate (my bottom half is gone, exposed flywheel).

I also have the buffer ready to rub out the paint job, but I think I'll wait until I get finished with my trim... Next on the agenda; need new window channel rubber and door weatherstrip, rear hatch weatherstrip, MOAR plastic rivets to reinstall the interior trim... then I dunno.

wheels/tires?
strut bars?
install my short throw shifter that gathering dust?
HID kit?
or should I start dumping $$ into the turbo motor...

So much to do, so much time, so little money...

Hehe, don't worry man, we've all (well, all who've worked on our own cars long enough ) had our facepalm moments.

I still have the sticker on my hood that still reminds me lol

But doesn't apply to me anymore because of my motor swap

This post has been edited by AK-Z on May 12 2009, 01:55 PM

Damn it, now I'm in the mood to buy more horsepower gaining, track time shaving, wallet draining performance modifications all over again.

Are you getting crazy body roll like my Z is? If so, I'd totally vote this. If not, wheels/tires. Then dump money into that turbo motor. Short-throw shifters are always optional in my opinion, as I've only driven cars with relatively long shifts. Doesn't bug me any.

Nothing insane in terms of roll... but I like a tight car so there are plans for strut bars down the road. And yes, these 14" rims and balloon-like tires are pretty squishy. I already have the short throw shifter, which is why I mentioned it. Only thing holding me back is that I have to do some tedious grinding of the ears on the tranny to install it, but most of all the threading is different/thicker than my current shift knob. I like my shift knob, and the one that came with the short throw is geh looking and doesn't feel right.

body flex, body roll?

Strut bars will help with flex, sways bars for roll

Sorry, I always get them mixed up. My bad, my bad.

Glad to hear it was fixed! We have all had the stupid moments! I would for for suspension and wheels/tires first. Then focus on the motor after your body and chassis is prepared for it.

I certainly can agree with that, although engine parts tend to have more of an air of excitement to them.

Of course, because we all love speed. A gain in acceleration is more noticable then a gain in corner exit speed.

And you know your car is simply 'faster' in broad terms.

Well the car has been bended like a twizzler for its age. I say making the car at least a reliable daily driver instead of sitting for a "project car" before venturing even further.

This post has been edited by DOHC on May 12 2009, 08:18 PM

What? The car may have a little bit of a rigidity problem, but no more or less than any other Z.
From all his shots, I didnt notice anything unusual, no folds or rust that would cause any problems.

No good reasons I've seen to even consider shelving the plans for this car.







Oddmanout, if you haven't already done poly bushings, do it.

Get more stopping power before you go turbo. I saw your rear brake conversion, it's a good idea, but the main benifit is for prolonged braking and heat issues rather than stopping power. I did it on the DemonZ too.
If you havent already, grab a pair of 85 Toyota Pickup or 4Runner, 4 piston calipers(make sure it's the 85 or older 4 piston, the 4 piston from 86 and newer is built for vented rotors and will not work) and a 280ZX 15/16ths master cylinder to take up the slop in the pedal the 4 piston calipers will cause.
They are direct bolt ons. You will have to cut the dust shield a bit as the 4 piston caliper is much larger

Literally twice the surface area on the pads. much better stopping power.


After you know you can stop. Then go on with the turbo motor.







*Edit*
For shits and giggles, my old rear disc conversion:



This post has been edited by TexasDemonZ on May 13 2009, 12:04 AM

Heh, overhauling the suspension was the first thing I did to this car. Everything is poly except the front swaybar and I perforated the inner T/C rod bushing to make it softer (no sense using the old rubber, it was too far gone).

I've been thinking about what to do with the front brakes for a long time, and I've considered the 4x4 calipers. I also wanted to slap on bigger vented rotors or something too, so I was holding out for the Wilwood kit. Even so, the front brakes seem to be fine for stopping the car, despite the horrendous SCREEEEECH they make when stopping. The PO who installed the pads must have contaminated them, or didn't break them in right. I tried spraying brake quiet on the caliper side of the pads when I took the calipers off, but that didn't help at all. Go figure the rear brakes I installed don't make a sound (big surprise there!!). Dust shields aren't a problem, by the way. I removed those a long while ago. I didn't know that the 4x4 caliper swap was for heat though, that's interesting.

This post has been edited by Oddmanout84 on May 13 2009, 04:44 AM

Actually I was talking about the rear disc conversion when I mentioned the heat issues. Drum brakes actually grab much better, but fail when they start getting hot, and they get a lot hotter a lot faster.
The rear discs are better for extreme braking applications such as AutoXing and racing, but really dont offer much of a difference when it comes to stopping power.

This post has been edited by TexasDemonZ on May 13 2009, 11:17 PM

To add to this-

drums are made of aluminum which looses rigidity when heated. that is why on the Z32, they used aluminum calipers and then switched to the steel versions in the later model Z32.

Oh, I see. To be honest, I "guessed" that disc brakes were more efficient/effective and maybe had more stopping power. But the reasons I did the conversion were mostly because I hate working on drum brakes, and similar to what AK-Z said. When I removed the drums to unsieze the wheels last September, I hated how flimsy they felt, and how easy it was to make a mistake and get them out of round. Really though, no matter what you have on the rear, its only about 25% of your stopping power at the most.

Disc brakes look sexier too.

Actually drums are more efficient as far as stopping the wheels, but you are more likely to lock up the wheels. And everyone knows what will happen when you lock up the wheels at speed. And as heat raises, efficiency decreases.

brake shoes have alot more grabbing surface area than brake pads do. because of the properties of aluminum, no one really makes any performance brake shoes for anything any more .

This post has been edited by AK-Z on May 14 2009, 01:32 PM

I'm really crossing my fingers on this latest install... I DO NOT WANT to put a resonator on my exhaust... But f*ck its loud.

aww i condone loud at a certain degreelol

It depends on how loud it is, if its really obnoxious (Spelling?) and doesnt sound good at all, then I would install a resonator in the exhaust. If it sounds great but its really just that loud, then I wouldnt worry about it, unless the police will try to get a repair order on your car.

It sounds AWESOME. Don't want to change the note. But rev anywhere past idle and he can't hear anything above the drone inside the cabin. Radio? Forget it. Even with upgraded speakers I can't hear a thing. At highway speeds you should wear earplugs because the resonance at 3000rpm (80mph) is a killer. And my gf refuses to ride in the car because of it!