LeonV

Nice job, looks great! She'll be a beauty and sound good too when back on the road.

That is just fantastic work! Молодец!

You can always call MSA and ask where they get their seats from. I'd also try contacting the shop you'll be using to see if they have a source. They might if they've worked on the L-series before. Good luck!

Hey, if the "it's going to be the kid's car" is just a cover to get it by the wife, I'm all for it!

I wouldn't get my kid a Z as a first car either. I'd like to think that I was pretty responsible when I was a teenager but I could only imagine if I had a sports car as my first car. They are just too "provocative". Stupid friends will try to coax you into things, it'll be tempting to drive it faster, to "race", and then there's showing-off for the ladies at school, etc. When the time comes, I see myself getting my kid something slow and boring as a DD. They will find a way to damage the car, no matter what. On the other hand, father-son projects are awesome and if the kid understands the value of the car by putting his blood and sweat into making it into what it is, then use it to go hit some autocrosses and learn car control. I still don't know if I'd trust a teenager with a sports car, even if they are responsible and mean well. Reasoning and proper critical thinking skills usually don't kick in until at least your 20s.

"1 tuff z" on HybridZ sells a lot of replated parts, I'm sure he either has or can get you a nicely plated inspection light. Replated s30 240z, 260z, 280z parts for sale - Parts for Sale - HybridZ

If I were to buy a 1st gen RX-7, it has to be the GSL-SE (EFI, CLSD, 4-wheel disks, and stiffer suspension). It's a fairly light car with a willing engine, and should get ok fuel economy if driven conservatively. With that said, I'd never consider it as a first car for a teenager.

What does this have to do with rear control arms?

I see no good reason to go to shorter air horns.

Thanks, glad you are taking in the info! My goal was to have as many people as possible understand exactly why and how this stuff works, instead of constantly perpetuating myths. I dumped a ton of info into that thread and now just reference it whenever necessary. You definitely won't get it all from one read-through, it took me a lot longer than that to learn this stuff!

Glad you found it useful! Feel free to ask questions if you need clarification. As for exhaust fabrication, that was easy. Step 1: Install header Step 2: Print out photos of Fairlady Z432 exhaust Step 3: Take the photos and Z to exhaust shop of choice and toss them a few hundred bucks I told the exhaust guy how big I wanted the pipes, what kind of mufflers to use and where, and had him put in a couple O2 sensor bungs and exhaust tips to finish it off. When I replace it, I'll be going to a single (2.5-3") with either the stock manifold or header and quieter mufflers.

I wouldn't wrap, it's too time consuming and traps moisture. If you're that worried about heat (you already have a heat shield, right?), put a header blanket on it. I believe MSA sells one.

Excellent!

The stock intake manifold on EFI Zs isn't as restrictive as you think. First get rid of the restriction in the head, then it might be worth it to look at the intake. Simply trying to cheat the system by upping pressure or changing fuel injectors when putting in a bigger cam won't work, at least not well. The fueling curve will be much different. Headers won't give you much of anything on a stock engine, performance increase from compression without changing anything else are also minimal as well as limited, port and polish won't do much either without supporting modifications. A lightweight flywheel, on the other hand, is a great upgrade! It's not as easy as it sounds. Basically, if you want to keep stock EFI, it's not worth it to heavily modify the engine. If you plan on serious modifications (e.g. headwork, cam, etc.) then either triples or standalone EFI give you performance and ease of tuneability. There are other ways of improving performance without doing engine work, besides giving it a good tune-up and making it run as good as it can, including closer-ratio trans, lower geared diff, lightweight flywheel, big exhaust (keep stock manifold).

1. Loosen and remove 4 nuts holding the seat to the brackets. 2. Lift seat and carefully manuever through fully open door. 3. Put the spacers back on the seat mounting screws and thread the nuts back on so as to keep everything together.

Besides, although good to know, the OP wasn't asking about what theoretical tire/rim size combo will squeeze out every inch of performance. His question was more geared towards just being able to use it, i.e. safety. To once more explicitly answer the OP: Yes, 225/50-16 is fine. It will open up a lot more tire options, as I mentioned earlier.

Correct, and Tire Rack has actual width specs for each tire they sell. In your reference to "best performance", are you talking about the rim width as rated (e.g. 16X7) or edge-to-edge?

Sounds good to me!

That's what I'm hoping for! Is Mark still up for hosting? It would be wise to time it so that we can try out Keith's new innovations once he's got them figured out.

I was an R&T subscriber since 2000 and did the same thing, cancelled it a few years ago. I also got tired of the same "super-car" crap over and over. They've got new leadership now and are supposedly going to a different, more grassroots approach. With that said, the only two magazines I subscribe to are GRM and CM, and don't plan on adding any more. I have trouble keeping up with reading them all as it is...

Precisely!

Thanks for the corroboration, Jeff. I was starting to feel like a broken record (CD?)!

Wow, that would be quite a trek! Hopefully we can set something up in the spring. Any plans, Rob?

Maybe in the UK, but no way are you going to sell a 280Z distributor here for $150. More like $50 if you're lucky. Take the $300.

Not a bad list at all! I'd love to even drive an NSX. I have flogged an Elise for a few laps around an autoX course, and although fun, it is nowhere near practical or liveable! Two >6' guys sit shoulder-to-shoulder in that thing. Plus, I don't fit unless the top is off. Oh wait, I have a crappy video of the flogging (video or it didn't happen, right?)... Go to 1:25 for take-off.