stickninja

grassroots motorsports magazine had an article on a turbo 240Z that used a draw through turbo and a holley 4 barrel. the issue is volume 19, number 5, august 2002. maybe you could use an intake setup like this:http://www.racetep.com/tish.html dunno the effect of forced air on the carburetor/throttle body throttle butterflies though...

so what many of you are saying is this: if it isn't named "Z", then it isn't a "Z", right? at what point does a name define a vehicle? is a nissan fairlady z the same as a datsun 240/260/280Z? There are mechanical differences(i.e. different engines/transmissions/prescence or lack of limited slip diffs, etc.). or is it that they just share similar sheetmetal? and what about a "ZX"? is a 280/300ZX the same as a "Z"? names are just names. maybe you should all check out nissan's japanese website before you start to believe the marketing about infiniti. nissan.http://www2.nissan.co.jp/SKYLINE/V35/0301/index.html the skyline coupe is what we americans call the infiniti G35 Coupe. americans (i can't speak about the rest of the world) like to make separations amongst ourselves, and we readily believe when someone tells us we'll be different if buy this or that brand. even the major automagazines will tell you that infiniti's quality isn't better than nissan, and isn't up to par with the major luxo brands (bmw/cadillac). all modern car manufacturers use parts from a corporate parts bin. for reference, the nissan skyline was designed and built in japan. it's multi-link rear suspension and powerplant were then incorporated into the nissan altima in the states. the same rear suspension (and front) and powerplant was then used for the 350Z. and then later for the skyline coupe. the skyline gtr will use the same suspension design, and possibly the same powerplant, but will look completely different from the other skylines. is it a different car? and just remember that even the fairlady z was derived from humble beginings to keep costs down, this is unavoidable in mass production engineering. the reason domestic clubs (in my limited experience) allow so many different cars (from the same brands), is because most domestic car guys recognize and embrace the similarities in their cars. it's less about being a mustang or camaro guy, than it is about being a ford or chevy guy. i will forever be a nissan (and ford) guy, not just a z guy.

i like something caroll shelby said when ford was deciding what they should call the then unamed GT350. "The name does not make the car, the car makes the name." caroll shelby then named the car by counting out the number of steps between two buildings (which was 348), and decided to call the car the GT350, and thus history was made. think about this: is a nissan fairlady z the same as a datsun 240/260/280Z? or: how related is an S30 Z and a Z32? and how about this: a G35 coupe is built on the 350Z platform, while a G35 Sedan is the Skyline Sedan, and the upcoming Skyline GTR is a completely different animal (sheetmetal wise). So how confusing can Nissan make it? Nissan marketed it's cars in the US as Datsuns because they didn't want the good name of Nissan to be soiled if they failed in the US market. Nissan markets Ifiniti to fool people into paying for illusionary prestige. it's all marketing, and has nothing to do with engineering.

the infiniti owner you describe would probably never join a club like ours, so that's a moot point. however, if a G35 owner did want to join a Z car club like ours, you would deny him based on the fact that the rebadged Z isn't a Z? do you think mustang clubs deny membership to shelby or saleen owners, these companies are separate and independent manufacturers (in fact, it is not appropriate to refer to a shelby or saleen mustang as a ford, they are the manufacturers of said mustangs). these are cars that have less ties to ford than a G35 has to nissan (assembled in non-ford plants, by people not under ford's control, etc., where as the G35 is assembled by nissan). it's one thing to deny membership to someone with a completely different carmake (i.e. someone with a corvette), but it's other to deny someone membership if their car is from the same family, especially if the two cars are closely related (350Z and G35). clubs are about comraderie, and this idea should come first, before we start drawing lines in the sand that separate us. personally, i think if you own any car in a related group of cars, you should be allowed in a particular club (i.e. you own a skyline, or 510, you should be allowed in the Z club).

except that the G35 is a nissan, not an infiniti... i wouldn't consider infiniti as a separate brand, since the G35 is the Nissan Skyline in Japan. and a mercury cougar is a mustang, and are allowed in mustang clubs (i'm a former mustang owner, and cougars and capris, as well as t-birds, are included with that group). what counts is the mechanical heritage of the car, i.e. if they have the same chassis. that's my opinion anyway.

i have a 260Z with what i was told was a '78 2.8L motor. it's setup with the twin hitachis from the 2.6L motor right now. the hitachis both need new floats and need to be rebuilt. the cost in parts is like $80 from autozone, so i was thinking of switching to webers. i'm also concerned about vapor lock issues since Arkansas has such a hot and humid summer/fall. i eventually want triple weber DCOEs (already have 1), but i didn't think this setup would be a good idea for a stock motor. i was considering the weber DGV conversion. i know i could get the ford manufactured DGVs (DGAV i think from the pinto) pretty cheaply around here. pierce offers a manifold and linkage kit, and they've also been popping up on ebay lately. so what would be a good setup to go with, rebuild the hitachis, dual DGVs, or triple DCOEs? thanks everyone!

just bought my first Z, a 260Z. i'm very excited, the Z-car holds so much nostalgia for me because all i could remember my dad owning for most of my life were Z cars. we lived in japan when i was a kid and he owned 2 Skyline GTs, a G-nose Z, and a 1980 Fairlady. he brought the Fairlady back with him, and i thought that would someday be my car... course as fate would have it, it was wrecked in 95... 8 years later, and i've bought my first car (as opposed to the 3 given to me before), and it's a Z! it's in rough shape, needs to be pretty much completely rebuilt, and it doesn't have the original motor (it's a 2.8L), but at least it's not the V8 that i thought was in the car. i'm glad to be part of this club, already the information i've found on this website has been very useful... and the jokes keep me in good spirits! if anyone is in the central Arkansas area, let me in know, it'd be nice to meet other Z people.