Build Thread - New Turbo-Swapped 280z from WA

[cgsheen1]

Best of luck with the fender roller.  The rears of an s30 are stiff and the curve above the arch gets in your way.  Be patient.  We end up pounding them...

[Patcon]

I thought the Summit roller had gotten cheaper?

[grannyknot]

On 4/16/2018 at 8:07 PM, AlbatrossCafe said:

I am pretty sure I will have to roll my fenders before these will fit on my car. One of the hardest things with my 280z so far is finding a fender roller I can borrow for an hour... -.-

I bought the roller from Eastwood and it proved to be almost useless on my 240z, the tool is well made but I found the front/rear fenders don't lend them selves to that kind of roller. I had the same problem as cgsheen1 and ended up using well padded sheet metal ViseGrips to slowly squish the fender lips. Using the roller on the front is also useless as the front fender isn't really supported well enough and the fender just ends up flexing.

[AlbatrossCafe]

3 hours ago, grannyknot said:

I bought the roller from Eastwood and it proved to be almost useless on my 240z, the tool is well made but I found the front/rear fenders don't lend them selves to that kind of roller. I had the same problem as cgsheen1 and ended up using well padded sheet metal ViseGrips to slowly squish the fender lips. Using the roller on the front is also useless as the front fender isn't really supported well enough and the fender just ends up flexing.

Welp that's good to know. Potentially saved me $80. Once my coilovers come back from welding (hopefully by this weekend) I'll test fit and see how close it is. Now I'm kinda wishing I got a similar wheel but with like +5 offset. Might have been able to avoid touching the fenders that way.

[esmit208]

On 4/16/2018 at 8:07 PM, AlbatrossCafe said:

Got my new Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires mounted on new XXR 527 "Chromium Black" 16x8.25" +0 offset rims. I went with 225/50/R16 tire size. I got my tires for $99 each with free shipping. I am very happy with how cheap these very highly rated summer tires were!

I am even MORE happy with how they turned out! Freakin gorgeous! I don't even wanna put them on my car, I just wanna have them in my room so I can stare at them all day!

I am pretty sure I will have to roll my fenders before these will fit on my car. One of the hardest things with my 280z so far is finding a fender roller I can borrow for an hour... -.-

Nice and will look real agressive. 16's work but you have to stay under the car with the width. 7.5 in width works well P215/40x16 accomplishes clearance and keeps everything tucked in nicely. No need for questionable tools or possibly ruining one of the nicest lines on the car. The main reason I would never add fender flares on mine. Good Luck

[grannyknot]

Yeah but having the tires stick out bit beyond the fenders is a really good look so you have to really finesse the ride height to make it work.

[esmit208]

If they stick out you can count on them touching, normally at speed over an abrupt depression. Could be enough to take the paint off to the metal or cut through the sidewall. Trust me I've been there.

[grannyknot]

3 hours ago, esmit208 said:

If they stick out you can count on them touching, normally at speed over an abrupt depression. Could be enough to take the paint off to the metal or cut through the sidewall. Trust me I've been there.

This car was at ZCON a couple of years ago when it was held in Toronto, I mentioned to the owner that I loved the look of the tires sticking out a bit but was leary of doing it myself for fear of bending the fenders or cutting the tires, he said he didn't have that problem. I checked, no paint removed, no cuts in the rubber, he got the suspension just right. His tires were 1.5 -2" out side of the fender, wish I could remember his name, maybe someone will recognize his car.

 

[AlbatrossCafe]

Well I hope between my coilovers and fully adjustable TTT control arms I will be able to figure something out. The last thing I want to do is tear up the fenders of this car! I'll post my results after some experimentation.

[Patcon]

9 hours ago, grannyknot said:

I bought the roller from Eastwood and it proved to be almost useless on my 240z, the tool is well made but I found the front/rear fenders don't lend them selves to that kind of roller. I had the same problem as cgsheen1 and ended up using well padded sheet metal ViseGrips to slowly squish the fender lips. Using the roller on the front is also useless as the front fender isn't really supported well enough and the fender just ends up flexing.

That's too bad, but good to know...

[Zed Head]

On 4/1/2018 at 9:24 PM, AlbatrossCafe said:

Took out the old K&N air filter that the previous owner had installed. Don't even wanna bother cleaning it lol. I'll get a new one. Don't think this thing has been cleaned/changed since he did the L28ET swap back in 2004.

On one side you can kind of see the K&N red poking through. The other side is just black.

 

You do know that the K&N's let very fine dust through, right?  They're mostly for looks and hype.  They don't protect the engine well.

[Zed Head]

I thought people were using baseball bats to roll their fenders?  I've seen a few accounts about it.  Put the bat between the tire and fender and roll the car.