zguitar71

Nothing wrong with the 2002, but I have read that the carbed models are less pricy to modify for power. IMO the 240 will out perform the 2002, not sure about acceleration but in the handeling department it will. As far as modifying the cars the 240 has more potential due to the larger displacement and lighter weight for both handeling and acceleration. One of my favorite cars is the Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV. The 510 was the Datsun answer to the 2002 and the GTV.

Very nice wheels. Are they light? What is the price?

You would need the intake for a z and all the linkage stuff but the carbs themselves should be good if they are DCOE's which is what I assume you are talking about. What size are they?

Yes and no. The early 260 strut tubes are the smaller diameter like the 240 but the later 260's are the larger diameter like the 280's. Sorry I do not know the cut off dates or part numbers.

Smaller diameter wheels are lighter, 225/50/15 would be the best choice. 17's are going to weigh more potentially making stoping distances longer and probably not feel as good or handel as well (with identicle tread compound). The money saved on 15's over 17's could be used toward very nice and light 15" Volk TE37's 9.2 lbs each, very nice forged wheels. A little sidewall is not a bad thing in a Z, 225/50 is still a low profile tire. Stay with the same size tires front to rear, it will handel better.

I run around town with the Illuminas on 2 and the car is very stiff for the street (we have very bad streets here, much like the North East, freeze thaw, frost heaves, ect...). On one the ride does smoothe out a bit but I think it is a little bounce, the rebound on 1 is a little soft but keep in mind I drive the hell out of my car when I get it out of the garage and do my 50 or so miles a week, so I like to keep the suspension pretty stiff and under as much controll as possible. On 3 the car is too stiff for my crappy street tires and it gets a little skatey sometimes. With the race tires on a cold day I run 3 and when it is warmer I run 4. I tried 5 but it was a little skatey again. In the rain and cold (last race last year, 45 and rain) I ran on 2 with the race tires. I think on 1 you could tollerate the ride around town, probably not on 2 though. For an autox/street car the Illumina's are great. They are the best compromise street/track shock around. Any more toward race and the suspension would be too stiff for the street and any more toward street and the suspension would be too soft for the track. IMO you should get the stiffest springs you are willing to run (225 rear 200 front?) and get the Illumina's and drive. The street ride will not be Caddy on the 1st setting but after all your driving a race car.

With the correct offset/width wheel and tires that are not too wide you certainly have something wrong with the steering components or the suspinsion components or something else. I would not start cutting the frame, find the problem and fix it properly. I would also look for a different body shop guy, if he is too lazy to tell you to fix it right then he is too lazy to do the rest of the work too, I would not trust him.

Never seen an L20 but I have seen an L24 crank used With 89mm pistons and I am not sure of the rod length but I believe they were longer than L24 rods. In the end the displacement stays about the same but the potental to be a longer lasting motor at high revs is there. A conventional L28 motor can be balanced and made to survive revving 8k+ but the motor you are talking about, if built correctly should have a longer life span at the same revs. I bet the power would be about the same for either motor, it is all in the head. Of course the life span for a 8500-9000 rpm motor is only measured in hours not miles. For the street I think staying with a l28 is the way to go. If you need power then look into a stroker or an over bore, displacement is the way to get power and reliablility, not reving to the hevens (though it would be fun).

If you build a 3.1 and use the P90 head off the ZX Turbo (stay away from the P90A with hydro lifters) then the comp ratio would be around 9.5:1(mabey slightly less). I think they are the head to use for the stroker motor, they are said to flow better than the other heads out there because they are designed for a turbo. A set of bored SU's from Rebello should work for the stroker, stock ones probably would work too but the rpm would be limited due to the small size bore and only two of them. Tripple 45mm Webbers or 44mm Mikuni's carbs would be great though.

I have a 2.8 with an e-31 head and a mild cam with SU's. It is certainly a fast car, rev happy and fun to drive. The extra tourque from the 2.8 is nice in a 2300 lbs car. If you can go to a 3.1 I say do it. I like the 2.8 but there is no replcement for displacement though. But the 2.8 is the cheaper way to go and you can still make a fast car with it. Try to go with flat top pistons for the higher comp ratio, you'll get better power throught the rev range and you could use a hotter cam too.

A set of new Illumina's (front and rear) on ebay goes for around $360. If you are just street driving your car then a set of Tokico HP's is just fine too. I do not know why your mechanic does not like Tokico struts but many very knowledgeable people on this and other Z sites think they are very good struts. If you are running spring rates over 250 in. lbs then you would need to go to a stiffer shock like the koni, but that does not mean the Tokico is a bad strut it is just not designed for higher spring rates.

I think this year the requirement has moved to M or SA 2000 or newer for autocrossing from M or SA 95 last year. I agree with the statements above, get the newest rating and you will get the most time out of it.

Nothing wrong with Tokicos.

Most all of the differentials will spin both safts when they are not under a load of varing torque from side to side. I could spin both wheel in a straight line from a start with my open diff, just not around a corner. If you can spin the shafts in opposite directions with your hands or spin the input shaft and hold one of the axels still then you do not have a LSD.

Arizona Zcar heavy duty springs are not progressive and they are 180 lbs in front and 200 lbs in the rear. I have them and love them and they are $200 for the set of 4. They are a good match for the Tokico HP's or Illumina's. http://www.arizonazcar.com/springs.html

The internals of the different motors seems to be of the same build quality, I think they are all good motors. I do ot know about the external stuff like FI and different sensors ect. I have an L28 with and E31 head and all the other stuff is from a 240 (carbs ect). The bottom end has not had any problems and it is driven very hard all the time.

A correctly built motor will yeild a nice power band, so if you build an l24, 26, 28 or a 3.2 all the same way you will gain (obviously) power with the larger displacement. An L28 in a light weight 240 is faster than an L24. The later cars were slower due to there weight more than the motor. All the motors can be problematic if build poorly and can be very powerfull and reliable if built properly.

You should have about 1.5" of clearence past the stock wheel wells. You do have to cut the fender for clearence, not a big deal in the front but the rear will have to be cut and then the inner and outer fender rewelded together. A 7" wheel with big spacers pushing out the wheel, IMO, looks wierd. The inside of the wheel well is not filled out. More importantly the handeling of the car could be effected. You are better off getting a larger wheel with the right offset and width to fill out the inside and outside of the wheel well. A 16 or 17x8.5 -12 to -19 offset wheel with a 245 section tire front and rear would do the trick. If money is a problem then wait until you have more and do it right.

The KYB's are less stiff than the Tokico HP's and I agree that you do not need the Illumina's, major over kill. For a nice ride what Enigma said is great. Imo KYB's are not needed either. You could go with a set of Monroe or Napa Golds or some other good basic non performance shock and retain a nice ride and still have decent control of the suspension around town and they would cost less than the KYB's.

Once the bolts are out you have to rock it back and forth to get it to come off or lightly pry it off. I assume you have taken off the clutch. Do not forget to use a thread locker when you put tit back on (clutch too).

IMO bore out the L28 .040 and gowith flattops and a stage 3 cam or something close to that and get a set of Rebello bored SU's or a set of tripples. The Ztherapy SU;s would work too but for a little more you can get the bored ones and have a more top end power. There is no reason to worry about a .040 over bore on an L block. Personally I always go for more power.

All that should be able to be done on an L28 block with out the over bore.

HKS makes a gasket with a 90mm (I think) bore.

An over square motor has more potential to rev high without comming apart so with the right head work, intake and exaust and cam the motor could rev to 8K+ thus moving quite a bit of air in and out of the motor making a lot of power. The bump to 3.0L does not hurt either. I do not know the reality of making a street motor like this, it is more of a dream than anything else. I agree that changing the displacement without making the head flow properly can be a waste of time and money.

The pistons from the pickup trucks (I can not remember the part number) with a 135mm rod and l28 crank is the combo I would like to have. The pin height of the piston and the 135mm rod combo would put the piston flush with the top of the block. I think the L20 motors have the longer rods but I am not sure, the L24 rods are 133mm, I might have to get custome made rods too. In the end the result would be a high revving motor (assuming it is built right). A high revver is more appealing than a lower revving stroker, no real reson, I just like to wind up a motor. The hole thing would cost as much as a stroker too.