Holy $h!t......

Since winter time has decided to descend upon us, i feel it is the time to let everyone know to please keep the street racing to a minimum unless the roads are dry or you're on a closed track.

I say this, because i was coming back from Toronto last night, and happened to witness a little highway racing. There was about an '89 Honda Prelude racing against a 4 banger Firebird, don't know what year, and they were going to beat hell. I stepped on the gas to keep up, and the Prelude lost control on some black ice just as i started to catch up.

He spun right into the side of one of those RVs the size of a bus.
The RV slammed on it's side, rolled into the dtich, settled upside down and caught fire. The prelude driver walked away with minor injuries, but his car was totaled. We never did see the Firebird again.

I used my cell to call for help, but kept on driving cuz i didn't want to get too involved.

The moral of the story is that this can happend to anyone, so please use caution during the snowy season.

Thankyou, and remember:

Work hard, race harder!! ;)

Damn, yeah i know what your talking about. Wet and slippery roads are a bitch.

Luckily in Southern California we only get rain, not much black ice... maybe in the mountains.

Reason why i love my truck in nasty weather, its very nice knowing you still have 85% of your traction compared to some people i see with those little tires on like stock econoboxes.

Ive never lost control of my vehicles in bad weather, cause i dont dick around. Not worth it.

Winter is time to slow down, save gas, and save money. Save up for spring so you can hotrod around all day then. :)

Glad that you weren't hit!

Its currently 85 degrees F here... so black ice isn't a problem. However, when I lived in the snow I drove according to the conditions. I'm not saying drive slow as fug, I'm just saying be 100% sure you're in control of the car.

Peace :smoka:

wet weather is not time to mess around too much.. butt it can be fun... i actually spun my van about 3 months ago..

it was the first rain in a long time, so the road was very slippery, i went into a corner semi-fast.. got on the gas as i hit the apex, hit a puddle of standing water as she downshifted, rear steps out.. then i'm almost all the way around.. no casualties though! so i'm super glad.. and boy.. am i ever so careful now!

Ah the joys of living on the west coast... we're expecting it to start freezing around mid december, and to thaw out around february this year...

In my little neck of the woods, we have rain. All the time. Actually, this year was quite dry, as part of the whole western drought thing... Still, we get our fair share of rain, and buy tires and drive accordingly.

only lost controll once in the rain, and wasnt on the gas at all, on a turn suddenly steped out and put me facing a wall, me and my friend were staring, as were all those behind us

me "didnt expect that"
him "nope..." both calm and blank, it was pretty funny actually

Dosent pay to drive on slicks *ok...bald tires,this was my trans am*

HAHA!! I dont need to worry about the Cold or Slippery roads...
you wana know why???
CUZ I LIVE IN FLORIDA!!!!! HAHA I DONT NEED TO DEAL WIT DAT SH*T!!!HAHAHAHA
:devil: :grey: :silly2: :smoka: :smoker2: :flipa: :finger: :devil:

yea, you just gotta swerve those alligators.

Definitely makes life interestng when the ass end swings out and you're not expecting it!

Wet roads are fun, i'll admit that. I still enjoy ripping through town after a rainfall, but when winter hits, it's time to take it easy unless the raods are dry!


Princess, enjoy the warm weather, enjoy the alligators. You don't need to worry about ice, but what about alligator-instigated blow outs? That could be dangerour don't you think????

:frog:

tru tru student!!! but hey i have been living here in fla for like 3 years never had any allegator problems. (well...except for the time i went fishing with my dad and grandfather at lake okachobee...that was like 2 years ago...lol) but hey i lived in the cold to an i F*CKING HATE IT!!!
later:alien2: :flipa: :frog: :smoka:

Ummm, it does rain out there, ,pleanty....

Heh, I was leaving a gas station during a huge downpour up near my friends house about a week ago and had the rear end come lose on me :D

I waited till both ways were clear, pulled out, making a left turn, calmly shift to second, give it some gas, the turbo spools up, the rear end breaks lose (bald tires), engine revs super high as the tires are spinning and I end up facing the gas station I just left... I pulled back in, go out the side exit and make the turn all over again. :)

It was funny some guys were cheering when I went back through the gas station :p

-Grendel

I like the rain, drifting is less damaging to tires in the rain :D

GD. Gran Doriftu!

The times I have been in Florida and it rained, it was almost as slippery as ice. Seems the intense heating of the blacktop brings all the oil to the surface, therefore the first time it rains in a while is slick.
Then you have all the retired folk from all over the U.S driving like 5mph and running redlights that they didnt see. Its kind of scary down there.

Maybe you should up the boost on your 280ZX, I think the factory level was a limp wristed 7 lbs or something.

Then again, you might want to freshen the engine a bit before doing that, basic rebuild and porting. After all, it is a 2.8 liter turbocharged engine, it should make at least 250 hp!

Originally posted by Cbass
Maybe you should up the boost on your 280ZX, I think the factory level was a limp wristed 7 lbs or something.

Then again, you might want to freshen the engine a bit before doing that, basic rebuild and porting. After all, it is a 2.8 liter turbocharged engine, it should make at least 250 hp!

I think the max it puts out is 4 lbs... the gauge reads to 7, but the needle stops way before there... about where 4 lbs would be...

:(

I was thinking about building one of those homemade boost controllers, upping the boost a few pounds and racing all the ricers around here for some quick cash before the motor takes a dump... Then I could pick up a 240sx :)

-Grendel

You know what's really sad, Grendel? The 280Z actually performs damn close to the turbo ZX. Until you grab that fifth gear (where the Z has but four) the NA 280Z, with lighter weight, more torque, and closer gear ratios, will be in a dead heat with you. I should know, my teammate has a 280Z.

Sometimes, I wish we could forget that there were Z cars built in the 80's. The Z32 series of 300ZX's had their moments, but the 350Z is the only Z since the S30Z platform died to have the old magic back in its soul. Affordable sportscar with quick pickup and stellar roadholding, that's Z-ness. Not luxury and boulevard style. They built T-birds for that sort of thing.

Of course, I'm talking factory. Yours probably kicks ass. ;)

Originally posted by Octagon
You know what's really sad, Grendel? The 280Z actually performs damn close to the turbo ZX. Until you grab that fifth gear (where the Z has but four) the NA 280Z, with lighter weight, more torque, and closer gear ratios, will be in a dead heat with you. I should know, my teammate has a 280Z.

Sometimes, I wish we could forget that there were Z cars built in the 80's. The Z32 series of 300ZX's had their moments, but the 350Z is the only Z since the S30Z platform died to have the old magic back in its soul. Affordable sportscar with quick pickup and stellar roadholding, that's Z-ness. Not luxury and boulevard style. They built T-birds for that sort of thing.

Of course, I'm talking factory. Yours probably kicks ass. ;)

My Z is factory stock except for a strut brace... Its quick enough to put most of the ricers around town to shame, but can't really hang with any real cars...

I really wanted an old school Z (not ZX), but ended up with my ZXT anyways.. it was only $950...

I raced a regular 280z w/ exhaust a while back, I pulled on him, but he had a passenger with him...

My car is even worse being a 2+2... I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it :(

Whats the S30Z platform?

-Grendel

Don't be so quick to discount the 84-89 300ZX, they were quite good cars if you put $1500 into them. Again they had the problem of the stock boost levels, but a boost controller, intercooler and set of injectors will fix that, with around 275hp. Then a little money into the suspension and a set of tires, you've got a competent, great handling car.

As for the 280ZX, they were unforgivably heavy... If I were you, I'd pick up an older Z in junk condition, and rebuild your turbo engine for it. With an intercooler, Saab APC boost controller and a set of high compression pistons, you'd have great offboost performance and wonderful low end torque.

The Saab APC boost controller has a knock sensor in it, it retards ignition when it starts to detect knock, and keeps your engine together. A 240Z with that engine would weigh about 2300lbs...

I agree that the later ZX's got too heavy, especially the z32. My car is an 88 200SX SE (S12 Silvia platform), so it's got the same VG30E, tranny, drivetrain, and suspension as the Z31 N/A 300ZX, but weighs about 300lbs. less than the ZX. I looove it.

To my recollection the S12 with the VG30E weighed in at a tad over 2900 lbs, and a 2 seater Z31 turbo weighs about 3100-3300lbs, depending on the year... I'd go for an 86, same body style as a the 84-85, but without the hood scoop.

The Z32 was way too heavy and soft, but the Z31 still had potential. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Grendel, are you set on having a newer car(240SX) or would you be willing to drive a classic(240Z)? There is great performance potential for either, but the 240Z would be much cheaper to do, and cooler(IMO). Of course, the 240SX might be more pleasant to drive on a daily basis, but damn, to cool factor!

BTW, I had a friend with a NA 280Z, and it had a 5 speed...

Actually, at least in the US, it was only later (86 I think) S12 Turbos that came with the scoop. My V6 has a bulge, but no scoop. That avatar image originally looked like this:
http://server4.hypermart.net/tsi200sx/imageposts/classic_200sx2_hatchonly.jpg
I got the colors changed and fixed the spoiler, but removing the hoodscoop without screwing up the color gradient was too time-consuming.
Many European S12's came with hoodscoops because they used the FJ20 engine and it was so tall the scoop was needed for clearance.

Yeah, I read a little bit about the S12 turbo, and even saw one in a parking lot(looked at it for about 15 mins), but I could never find any good info on the net... I know they used the CA18, but I'm not sure which variant...

Know any good S12 links?

Originally posted by Cbass
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Grendel, are you set on having a newer car(240SX) or would you be willing to drive a classic(240Z)? There is great performance potential for either, but the 240Z would be much cheaper to do, and cooler(IMO). Of course, the 240SX might be more pleasant to drive on a daily basis, but damn, to cool factor!

I wanted a 240z for a long long time, but to get one in good shape w/o rust, it costs a hell of a lot of money... As much as or more than a 240sx in the same shape...

I want a car that is easy to mod (engine, looks, and handling). With the 240sx, I can buy it, get great gas mileage and handling, and drop in an SR20 with some good suspension when I can afford it...

The only real way I see to make a 240z really fast is a v8 swap which would give me bad gas mileage (i have to drive 100 miles to school every couple days... gas mileage is important).

I want a fast car that handles, but I also want one thats reliable... I'm tired of fixing things that go wrong, I want to buy a car that wont give any headaches for a while, and spend my money on improving it... rather than spending my money on fixing it...

-Grendel

I think I have every S12 link which exists in my Favorites folder. But for starters, you can check out the links page on my website (see link in sig.)

Okay, here goes....

The S30Z platform is the collective term for the 240, 260 and 280Z cars that shared the same chassis/unibody/body style and had basically rethought suspension geometry and bored out engines. The rethinking was usually done in the quest to make the cars more comfortable, as opposed to better cornering. The 280ZX took the S30Z platform and cut it apart, changing both the basic dimensions and the locations of the shock towers, control arms, and engine/tranny combo. Thus, even though they shared many common parts, the 280ZX was totally different underneath than the 280Z.

As for the Z31, there wasn't enough to it, in my opinion. The car was too much boulevard flash, and not enough back road dash. A Z car is an inexpensive, lightweight, hardcore performance machine at its heart. The ZX cars were expensive, they were luxurious, they had performance potential. But there just never was any hope for them to fill in for legends like the 240Z. I say the Z32 was a performance car all its own. It was the best example of a ZX car. It was high-tech, plush, and still got the job done on track. The competition histories speak for themselves. Just ask Bob Sharp.

240Z's are fast as they are, and'll kill most any comparable car in the twisties. The S30Z platform held its own against Porsche 911's, C3 Corvettes, and Jaguar XJ-S coupes back in the IMSA Camel GT series. You don't need a V-8 to make them fast. The L24-28 series of straight sixes make good power (especially with *drool* three twin choke Weber carburettors!!!!!) and have great down low torque for their size. (c'mon, you aren't expecting more than 350ftlbs from less than 3.0L? Are you?) Give me the six before I bolt in a Chevy. I'll carve the corners and hear that sweet six burble any day of the month. JMA #4277! (John Morton Army, for you non-Datsun people)

I'd definitely keep the six, too. I love inline sixes. And a V8 would make it too nose-heavy. Inline sixes are smooth, have great torque, and seem to be some of the most durable engines around, whether they're Z or Toyota Supra motors, old Mopar slant sixes, or Jeep 4-liters. The seem to be practically indestructible.

good points about fla...BUT....
at the end of a good rain when everything is washed away THAT IS THE BEST TIME TO BE SPEEDING/RACING!!:cool: HAHA but hey i am tired right now and not feeling to go so im out! send me messages and ill respond (at some point or another..hehe):) im out peace

Originally posted by tsi200sx
I'd definitely keep the six, too. I love inline sixes. And a V8 would make it too nose-heavy. Inline sixes are smooth, have great torque, and seem to be some of the most durable engines around, whether they're Z or Toyota Supra motors, old Mopar slant sixes, or Jeep 4-liters. The seem to be practically indestructible.

I was reading on a website somewhere that you can actually make the SBC V8 have the same weight distribution as the I6...

Battery in the trunk, aluminum heads/etc, and it should come out about the same...

Still... those are major project cars (read hassle cars :D) I want a newer car with half the headaches... I'm just too lazy to bother with old cars... Maybe I won't care when I'm older and have more money to throw at a project...

-Grendel

I've lost control of this post i think!

Go nuts fellas. :frog: