Valve cover color?

In conjunction with KS Development, we are going to build a track-only car starting next year and hopefully to compete in the SCCA....anyway, so we want to do something cool....like all the Top Secret cars that's all gold in color, we are thinking about painting all our valve covers the same color...the thing is..what color???
so what do you guys think?
Bronze (the color off the bronze TE37 with that ripple finish)?
Gunmetallic gray?
Cherry red (from the 91-94 DET motor)
it's going to be these 3 colors...most likely we'll go with the Bronze color :)
btw, KSD and Digital Racer are taking orders for carbon fiber valve covers for the SR20, anyone interested? we made some for hondas and they turn out to be around 3.7lbs or so...if anyone has lifted the OEM valve cover, u know that 3.7 is AMAZINGLY light! price is not determined yet though :D

hmm.. i say red!! call me crazy but its classic DET :)

ANYHOW...

carbon fiber valve cover....

WHERE AND HOW MUCH?!?!?!? luke, you'd think after talking to you everyday you wouldnt be withholding info from your brother brian over here!! lol...

yeh, i would go with the cherry red..however, the other guys drives a 1st gen eclipse, a integ type R, RX-7...so they probably wont wanna do it hehe...the only other car that's a nissan is a 180sx but he had to spend $5k for a newer DET motor which comes with the black top.
as for the carbonfiber valve...it's in the planning stage, hopefully sometime next year =)

one thing you may want to concider... the 2000+ g20 valve covers are different than the 99's. i guess because of the roller rockers. i noticed the 99 has a different part number than the 2000+ valve covers.

oh yeh...u're right...well, i guess u lucked out! hehe cuz we made the CAD design for the 91-99 SR20 already...the thing is, there aren't that many 00+ SRs around so it wouldnt be sound business if we created a mold for that too.

*brian kicks luke where the sun dont shine!!!*

i have a 2000 lol!!!


hmm.. theres 2000/01/02 g20's and the new sentra se-r i'm sure has the same valve cover :(

If the QR valve and the newer SR valves are the same (i doubt) then i will try to get those made for sure....but anyhow, it wont be till sometime next year though :o

woopz... sorry i dont pay much attention to sentras!!!!

what the hell is up w/ not having an sr20 anymore? :p


scratch that lol...

Originally posted by G22DET
In conjunction with KS Development, we are going to build a track-only car starting next year and hopefully to compete in the SCCA....

Are you talking about SCCA club racing or Solo II?

I'm racing a ITS 91 SE-R in SCCA club racing. :sun: We have a mailing list for ITS racers. It's an invitation only list, but if you start building an ITS car, I can get you an invitation.

Originally posted by G22DET
anyway, so we want to do something cool....like all the Top Secret cars that's all gold in color, we are thinking about painting all our valve covers the same color...the thing is..what color???

I prefer blue. :-) I have one blue valve cover (and also a black one) that is very similar to the blue Nissan uses on its race cars. I also have seen another wrinkle blue that I want to use on the DET.

Originally posted by G22DET
btw, KSD and Digital Racer are taking orders for carbon fiber valve covers for the SR20, anyone interested?

Depending upon the price, I may be *very* interested. Does KSD autoclave their valve covers or no?

George Roffe

Just as long as we're talking about valve covers, I have a couple of related questions :)

If a VC is polished, will it oxidize again? I suspect that once some roadsalt gets to it, it will start to look skanky again.

And Jason (G-Forces), where did you get your VC done here in TO?

At a place in Aurora near my place. I'll try and dig up the number for you.

Originally posted by spnx
Just as long as we're talking about valve covers, I have a couple of related questions :)

If a VC is polished, will it oxidize again? I suspect that once some roadsalt gets to it, it will start to look skanky again.

And Jason (G-Forces), where did you get your VC done here in TO?

It will. You could get it powdercoated clear however. Or, you could consider getting it anodized clear.

Heh, hey George! You're everywhere! :)

Thanks for the answer. Makes me think that if I decide to do anything, I might as well powdercoat it. Either that or just keep my hood shut all the time ;)

BTW, Jordan White is selling polished VCs on the SR20DE message board for $145 US. It probably works out cheaper to just get them coated here, and stick with CDN funds (I would guess).

Originally posted by spnx
Makes me think that if I decide to do anything, I might as well powdercoat it.
<snip>
It probably works out cheaper to just get them coated here, and stick with CDN funds (I would guess).

You can do some nice things with powdercoating.

Have you seen Al Abadilla's (PrimerAl) valve cover? It looks much like the blue VVL valve cover.

Originally posted by P10DET
It will. You could get it powdercoated clear however. Or, you could consider getting it anodized clear.


OK I was going to do this (powdercoat clear) with my VC but it had a lot of oxidation on it....that 'white rust' crap from all the salt the put on the road in the winters here. Anyway my VC looked like crap. I wanted to get a nice clear blue tinted coating but when they did it, it looked bad. So I got a nice opaque coating. If you want a clear coat on your VC it needs to be pristine to begin with, or it will take a lot of elbow grease and prep time to make it look good.

Well you could not do anything to the valve cover and acheive some things like: one: save a small amount of money, and two: not let any of your competition know you put some money in your engine. The whole psych-out factor and stuff.
If you do end up making it look better, you can go the old-school BMW Motorsport route, and powdercoat the valve cover black, and then brush and polish any lettering on the valve cover.
Stripes could be cool too, or you could paint it to match/reveal the inner workings of the head.
Personally, I would spend the money eslewhere, like towards some more sets of Hoosiers!

hmm.. powder coating a valve cover is only around $50-70 if you dont get ripped off..


i dont really see this as a waste of money :rolleyes:

another alternative is that you dont really have to get it powder coated...regular paint for the body would be just fine as far as VC goes. dont worry about it getting too hot or anything, your hood gets pretty much the same amount of heat as the VC....so that's one way to go...but either, as b00gie said, it would only cost no more than $100USD to get the VC painted.

P10DET - it depends on what kinda car we gonna get...right now we're working a deal on a EVO 3, so if we race that, it would most likely run int he ITE class..but that's a very very competitive class, cuz u know how there's a whole bunch of restrictions and then based on these restrictions, they place u in the a class...well, in ITE, if they cant find any cars that's comparable, they'll throw you in the ITE so imported cars most likely run in that class. dont know if you seen him, but i have a friend who runs inthe ITE class, baby blue integra Type R with JDM headlights running with a B16b (not a typo)...well, WAS..cuz he blew it in sears point...12700rpm :bloated: he's really fast...and the car is VERY nice...a yummy cwest carbon fiber spoiler...hmm..but cant tell you much hehe, it's top secret!!!

Originally posted by qab5b
Personally, I would spend the money eslewhere, like towards some more sets of Hoosiers!

Well you're not going to get too much Hoosiers for what it cost to powdercoat your VC. It cost me about $60 CND plus I had a couple brackets done at the same time. Powdercoating resists oxidation pretty damn good also so I saw it as an investment.

$75 dollars to me is three oil changes, or three tranny oil changes, or three diff oil changes. I am poor, so 75 is alot to me!

About running in ITE: it is very uneven, at least here on the east coast.
Cars in that class are: Corvettes (the most competitive), e30 m3's (they aren't competitive), Mercedes 190 2.3-16valves (not competitive either), and other dumb ass cars. the e30 m3 and 2.3-16's have more power and a bit more handling than the G20, and still aren't very competitive. Its just a stupid class. No-one can compete with the Vettes, and other big motor cars. In some regions you may be competitive, depending on the cars that usually show up, but overall I dont think you want to run in ITE if you want to win. You will be running against cars with much more engine. If you do end up running in ITE, then your "interpretation" of the rules may need to be a bit loose :D

well, on the west coast is a bit different...i've seen a few R32 and a R34 as well as some Griffins and TVR (it's like granturismo but real life) but i do agree with you that it's not a good idea to run in that group, it'sjust that if we do import over the EVO 3, that'll most likely be the group we'll be running. However, racing is fun for me and since this is for testing purposes as well as promoting Digi-R and KS Development, winning would be nice but more for personal joy hehe..cuz most likley i'll be the driver :D

Valve colour.......anodize it in a blue or red :) :)

I am the same way: I would just race for the fun of it. The good thing about ITE is that since it is a wide variety of cars and performance abilities, you would end up having your own race within ITE with some cars, while still being beat by the vettes and stuff.

Originally posted by G22DET
another alternative is that you dont really have to get it powder coated...
<snip>
as b00gie said, it would only cost no more than $100USD to get the VC painted.

Nah, don't do that. Al Abadilla (PrimerAl) will powdercoat it for about $60 IIRC. Check his website.


P10DET - it depends on what kinda car we gonna get...right now we're working a deal on a EVO 3, so if we race that, it would most likely run int he ITE class..but that's a very very competitive class, cuz u know how there's a whole bunch of restrictions and then based on these restrictions, they place u in the a class...well, in ITE, if they cant find any cars that's comparable, they'll throw you in the ITE so imported cars most likely run in that class.[/B]

Man, ITE is tough. It's pretty much where they throw cars they don't know what to do with. The competition can be very tough. We have a turbo Supra in our region that often sets FTD. It's outrageous. We also have a couple of supercharged Cobras.


dont know if you seen him, but i have a friend who runs inthe ITE class, baby blue integra Type R with JDM headlights running with a B16b (not a typo) [/B]

Nah, not likely I'd see him. I'm in Texas.

Originally posted by qab5b
About running in ITE: it is very uneven, at least here on the east coast
<snip>
Its just a stupid class. [/B]

I agree from what I've seen.

OTOH, a B13 SE-R or NX can be a very competitive ITS car. We are still developing our car, but it gets better every time out. There is plenty of development left and I think next year we can compete at the front.

I agree: ITS is a better class fo the G20 . RIght now on the east coast, it is mostly E30 and E36 325is and second gen rx-7's (non turbo) that win. A G20 can be competitive in this class because the G20 can handle as well as these cars and can make up for the power difference though smart suspension tuning and rule interpretations. The weight to power ratio and the engine size and output of the G20 would make it a much better match in ITS. I would petition SCCA to run a G20 in ITS rather than ITE, and get the weight reduced (the G20 DOES weigh more tha the SE-R which is in ITS) to maybe 2600 lbs. I think that the SCCA wouldn't have too much trouble putting it in ITS. The SCCA refused the numerous requests to reclassify the e30 m3 (2700 lbs 195 hp) to ITS because it would be too dominant, but a 2600lb 140-145 hp G20 would not have that much hp advantage, so it should go though pretty easily.

Originally posted by qab5b
I agree: ITS is a better class fo the G20 .


Actually, the G20 isn't even classified by the SCCA. I'm driving a Sentra SE-R in ITS. I don't think the G20 would do so well in ITS. It's a better handling car than the SE-R (I also own an SE-R as a road car), but I don' t think the handling would overcome the weight.

Originally posted by qab5b
The weight to power ratio and the engine size and output of the G20 would make it a much better match in ITS. I would petition SCCA to run a G20 in ITS rather than ITE, and get the weight reduced


I've heard rumors of the G20 being classed as low as ITC. I find that hard to believe though. It would be most appropriate in ITS, but if it were classed in ITA it would kick bootie. I was on the track with last year's national championship winning ITA 240SX and the SE-R blew it away. I think the G20 could as well. Moot point though because eventually I think it would end up in ITS.

Also, the SCCA does not adjust weights for competitive purposes in IT.

well, i wont be racing the G20...like i said, we are importing something over from japan.

sorry, i sometimes skip words/sentences/paragraphs/pages/etc...

planning to paint my vavle cover soon.
wanted to know what grit sandpaper to use to scuff up the valve cover before i spray it?

Wow, I'm sorry i didn't get to this thread sooner. Yeah, i've checked into the SCCA stuff for the G20, and it's pretty much not in there :mad: At the local auto-x they were like... umm... what kind of car again... uhh... welll... umm... but i ended up not running (morning deadline passed, and i worked that afternoon, DOH!) and as far as the valve cover... Don't do anthrocite please (That's what i'm thinking! :D ) And I may be interested in a CF one, depending on price... It would match my hood (whenever that happens).

Oh! I almost forget... I took this picture Right here in Scottsdale, Az. :D
:jump: :jump:
[Homer Simpson]
AAAHHHH.... VVL!
[/Homer Simpson]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Team-NISMO-AZ/files/Justin/NeoVVL%2016.JPG

Originally posted by JustinP10
Oh! I almost forget... I took this picture Right here in Scottsdale

Whoa!

What car is that? I noticed it's right hand drive. I love that valve cover color. A couple of guys here have their valve covers done like that.

wow, you took this pic in AZ?
looks like it has P11 headlights yet it seem to have a grill in between the lights with the hood open, so it's not a Primera...i dont believe. the only car some standard with that motor is the P11 Primera TeV with the VE motor and 6 speed automatic..??

Hmm, yeah now you got me curious too. What the hell is that thing?

WOW! I managed to stump a few people with that picture :jump: I'm trying to remember the exact model, but IIRC it's the Sunny VZ-R. And yes it's RHD, it was the car used by the Nissan test center to test suspension setups for the new SE-R. :D I have more pictures of the cars (Sunny, S15, 2 R34's, altima (before it came out), and a supercharged longbed pickup. There are a couple here...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Team-NISMO-AZ/files/
There are some in the folder Justin, and some in the Nissan NRD car pics.

Originally posted by G22DET
wow, you took this pic in AZ?
looks like it has P11 headlights yet it seem to have a grill in between the lights with the hood open, so it's not a Primera...i dont believe. the only car some standard with that motor is the P11 Primera TeV with the VE motor and 6 speed automatic..??

That's the 1.6 not the 2.0 Luke.

Originally posted by P10DET


That's the 1.6 not the 2.0 Luke.

Right again! What I would have given for that VIN plate. SR16(VE) At least that's how i thought it was... it's been a little while, all i remember is that i wanted that VIN cause of the VE and i wanted the S15 one cause of the DET :-) Oh well, maybe eventually the US will be gifted with one of these motors *crosses fingers*

luke i am also intrested in the carbon fiber valve cover
can you get bacto me about the nismo parts
axionoff9@aol.com

Ok, I've had enough of all of these cars that I can't buy, I'm moving to Japan. . .

when replacing the vavle cover gasket.do i need to put that gasket maker silicon?

or just remove the old gasket and replace it with the new one?

In the FSM is shows you needing to clean, and then add new rtv goop. From personal experience, you need to use the rtv when you pull the VC gasket, otherwise it'll leak or ooze oil.

Originally posted by GtRider
when replacing the vavle cover gasket.do i need to put that gasket maker silicon?

or just remove the old gasket and replace it with the new one?

My understanding was that you need not do any prep work or use any other type of gasket maker (rtv) When i replaced mine on my Primera motor i just took the old one off and put the new one on. I belive we may have coated the new one with a little oil. The vavle cover has since been taken off and put back on twice with no leaks. This is the procedure i was told to do by Infiniti and it works, but correct me if i'm wrong.:p

Originally posted by Blue93G20
My understanding was that you need not do any prep work or use any other type of gasket maker (rtv)

Actually, you need to make two 10mm strips of gasket goo at the corners of the distributor where the gasket goes over.