Jeff G 78

Does anybody know how Hagerty feels about cars being used for occasional open track days? The car would obviously not be insured during any on-track (or would that be off-track? ) incidents, but I've never heard if that is within their rules. I certainly have more invested in my car than a regular insurance company would ever give me for it, so I don't want to get stuck with regular insurance. In my case, my Z is a rust-free southern car with the usual mild engine mods, new springs, bars, dampers, bushings, 16" Panasports, nice interior, etc, but the car hasn't been painted yet, so it doesn't look like much to the non-Z guy. The car will be in the garage 80% of the summer and will never come out in bad weather or over winter, but I do plan on hitting one or two track days each year once the car is completely proven out on the street. Even though it doesn't look pretty yet, I have between $6000 and $7000 in my car so far and would hate to have to settle for pennies on the dollar with a regular insurance company. I have owned the car for many years and am just now getting it ready to go on the road for the first time, so I will need insurance within about a week. Do I NEED an appraisal for Hagerty? If so. how do appraisals work on 'ugly' cars?

It looks more like he stole some handicapped bathroom railing and bent it up for exhaust. :laugh:

I saw the same C&D article and was shocked after reading many reports of how great the Ecsta MX's were for track use. I have also heard that the ES100's were lacking grip on the track like you mentioned. I don't know a lot about the Falkens, but people seem to like them. I know that the KDW's would be good, but I was hoping to get something a bit cheaper. I guess it's just like the wheels. You get what you pay for. Thanks for the tire reviews.

I can't wait to get them, but it will take me a bit of time to afford tires now. I was leaning towards the Rota Grids so that I could have spacers, tires and wheels for ~$1100 shipped. I'll have to dig a bit deeper now, but I'm MUCH happier with what I'm getting. I had all but given up on finding an ebay set, let alone a NEW ebay set for that price.

Yes, I was looking at the Yokos like you have as well as Kumho Ecsta MX's and Falken FK451's. I want summer only tires that I can run on the track without feathering or chunking too quickly. Most of the tires I'm looking at are around $100 each.

Done! Yay, I finally have my Panasports! Now I have to figure out how to afford some tires

Thanks Daniel. That's exactly the fit info I was looking for. Zero offset it is. Steve, I can't believe a set just popped up on ebay! Dammit, I don't have $1000 handy at the moment, but I REALLY want those wheels. If I don't act within the next few hours, they'll probably be gone. What to do, what to do...

Thanks for the offset clarification. Does it look like you have a few mm's of extra inboard clearance, or is zero offset the best fit in a 16x7? I really love the Panasports in gunmetal/polished, but the price is getting really high. I figure that with spacers and Rota Grids, I can get a second set of track wheels and still be cheaper than one set of Panasports. I too don't like the idea of spacers, but I think Locktite-ing them on, would cut the chances of losing the joint. As for vibration, yes, I expect that it will be worse. Our options are getting very slim for 16" wheels, unfortunately.

240ZMan, did you get your Panasports from MSA? I am still trying to get somebody to give me a definative answer on the offset MSA sells. I have been told it was +6mm, not zero. Since MSA no longer sells the gunmetal ones, I want to make sure I end up with proper clearance if I buy elsewhere. If that doesn't pan out, I might end up getting +40mm offset 16x7 wheels and Modern Motorsport spacers, but that would put me back to a zero offset unless I spec a different spacer thickness. From what I hear, MSA's Panasports don't rub while other Panasports do rub with 225/50R16 tires. Can you clear this up? If I go the adaptor/+40 route, I might do the Rota Grids like these http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=11033&cat=500&ppuser=5217 They are about 1/2 the price of Panasports even after buying Ross' spacers.

In case we missed anyone with the emails, our first club meeting is on April 22nd. Get the details here. http://www.createphpbb.com/semichzcca/viewtopic.php?t=2&mforum=semichzcca

Can anyone verify with an actual measurement what MSA's 16x7 offset is? I have been told that their wheels have a +6mm offset rather than the 'normal' 0 offset we're used to. From what I hear, the +6mm offset makes the fit about perfect with 225/50R16 tires, while the 0 offset/225 combination tends to rub a bit. If I buy them somewhere besides MSA, I want to be sure to get the correct fit.

I haven't called Panasport yet. I did do quite a bit of internet searching and couldn't find much in the way of dealers. There is a race shop in my area that sells Panasports, but they don't stock anything and their prices are very high. Thanks for the suggestion.

Yep, I was saving for gunmetal 16x7's and they're gone. Other than Centerlines, which I don't think fit the era, there aren't many 16x7 wheels left that direct fit. The silver Panasports are nice, but I really liked the gunmetal or bronze with the machined lip. I might have to go with Honda adaptors and modern wheels now. The problem is that very few look good at all on a Z.

That's good news. The vented rotor swap should fit fine. Have you had them on long enough to know if they rub the fender lips front or rear?

Which Toyota brakes are you running, the vented, or non-vented? How much clearance is there between the caliper face and the wheel? What brand of tires did you go with?

So far, nobody is very close to me. '78 HLS30 421384 8/77 build date I also found the VINs of two of my old Z's '72 HLS30 58088 (This one is within 777 of frankfou999's car) '73 HLS30 133814

Thanks guys, I'll send a note to Dave asking about his harness for use in a '78. Yeah, our Michigan roads really suck. I always laugh when people complain about roads in Texas, or California. I have driven in most states and nothing compares to the moon-like craters we have here. With all the road construction, you'd think we would have great roads, but they fall apart quicker than they can rebuild them. Oh well, that's what race tracks are for.

Hey guys and girls, I have been visiting this site for over a year now, but this is my first post. I am usually over at zcar.com and I figure that I don't really need to post in multiple places, though I do really enjoy and follow many of the topics discussed here. I have owned Z cars for over twenty years including two '72s, a '73, a '75, two '76s, a '77, two '78s, and an '87 as well as a 240SX along the way. My current car is a '78 that I have been working on for many years. I hope to get it on the road this spring after I drop the tank and clean/reseal it. I live in Michigan outside of Detroit and work as a suspension engineer at the blue oval. I haven't seen too many Michiganders posting here, but if there are any, we are trying (again) to get a Detroit area Z club going. If anybody is from around here, let me know. My car is a clean 280 from Atlanta and I'm building it to have fun on the street and for open track events. I have been following the headlight harness thread closely hoping that Dave develops a 280Z headlight harness someday. I upgraded to a Maxima alternator when my standard one died and I would like to take advantage of my extra power by upgrading the headlights and the harness. I still probably won't post too much here, but will from time to time. I will definetely continue to hang out here.