Anyone Auto-crossed a 280ZX?
 

I was talking to a local tuner about Zs. He says that the 280ZX is a difficult car to auto-cross because of the rear suspension. According to him, it is difficult to get the rear trailing arm suspension to perform well in the curves unless you stiffen it up to be rock hard.

I've always wanted to get ahold of a 280ZX to keep as a little racer, but if they are really hard to run well in an auto-cross, I might not.

Any info?

I used to autocross against a well prepared 280ZX in FP. It was never as quick as a well prepared 240Z. National champion Andy Craig commented once that it was the wrong "horse" to choose.

I autocrossed my 280zx 2+2 with stock suspension. It was a fun event to participate in once... end of story.
The rear end sags when I just take off, and yes I would like to have it much more stiff. It might not be too bad of a car if you lighten it up as much as possible. Get a 2-seater hardtop.

The wheelsbase is just a little wider than a 240Z although the front sway bars are interchangable between the two.

If you want to compete and not just do this for fun, maybe a 240Z or prepared 280Z would be a better choice. For some reason I thought the S30 rear suspension was simular.

I autocrossed my '83 turbo and it did just fine. I put Tokiko non-adjustable struts and springs on it. I've also seen other ZXs do quite well. All of them had suspension work, but what autocross car doesn't?
-Kel

Yea i got the tokico blue non adjustable struts and the tokico springs and the msa sway bars and it is really good now. The only thing id really need to make it perfect is new bigger rims and tires for les sidewall flex. the reason we see 240zs run all the time is probably more due to the less weight of the car and less work youd have to do makeing it race ready. Considering a stock 280zx is something like 400+ pounds more than a 240, there is alot more stuff to gut and the body itself is a little bigger (and stiffer) so even with all the accesories and stuff off its not gonna be quite as light as a 240z. Although you stick a rollcage and strut tower bars in a 240z, etc... that isnt a problem. So yea, a 240z is probably easier to just take out autocrossing, but Paul Newman didnt win all his SCCA and IMSA championships in a 280zx for nothing.

Thanks everybody.

A lot of good input for me to consider. I don't think I will ever become a hard core auto-crosser, but it would be nice to go do that from time to time just for the fun of it. So, maybe a 280ZX won't be a bad choice after all. If I really wanted to be competitive, I would probably need to buy a Datsun 510 or a Toyota MR2...and I don't care to own those cars.

Thanks again!

Let me just say that if you are searching for a 280zx to autocross with, the chassis will probably be a little bit stiffer and have a little less flex in it if its one without t-tops. Ive heard stories about guys in late 70s TransAms with t-tops and the t-tops actually pop off when in hardcornering cause the body flexes so much. But I dont think the 280zx ones are bad in that manor at all.

I autoXed my 1980 daily driver last year at 5 events just to get experience. The best I did was a 7th place out of 16 cars. Mostly Miatas(YUCK!). My car would have been more competitive if I'd gone through the car and replaced some of the original worn out suspension components....238k miles on them...doh! It can be a competitive car still.
First find a 1981-83 NA base model with out t-tops. These are the lightest of the ZXs. They have no AC, manual rack steering, no power windows...etc. Plus the 81-83 have the better head and higher compression.
You should go through the suspension...what you do here will determine what class it'll put you in. I like the Tokico Illumina struts. These should help out a lot on the cars tendency to squat. Stiffer springs are also a nice upgrade here especially since stock zx springs are probably sagging by now. Serious ZX racers drill out the rear control arm mounting holes and weld on slotted washers to adjust the rear toe. Due to the trailing arm design on these they gain a lot of toe out when the suspension is compressed. Off set bushing front and rear also help on the rear toe and camber and for front camber. A good alignment is key in autoxing. You usually want 1/8" toe out in the front and as much camber as you can get away with. The toe out helps the car change directions easily.
There's lots more that can be done to these, but I'd have a lengthy book written before I'm done. Get a plan going and budget accordingly. Good luck.

the 82-83s only had all the power goodies on them, none of those cars had manual steering or locks and stuff, im pretty sure they all had t-tops as well, but if they didnt, good luck finding one, im pretty sure they are scarce. If youare thinking of having one with manual steering and windows and locks and no t-tops you could always change the head on it to get the compression similar to the 82-83, or higher.

mines 81 and has ALL the gadgets lol cept the talking lady :)

hey speedracer25 is there a website or book you know of that i can purchase to get lots of info pertaining to the 280zx and its suspension mods etc. you seem to know a good deal regarding it is all just from 1st hand experience or what

There's no specific book on modifying 280ZXs that I've ever run across. All the knowledge that I've got pertaining to them is from chatting with the guys who used to autocross and road race them over the years. Wish I could still find all their names and email addresses...doh.
Gary