Help Please? Good/Fairly cheap upgrades for a 280zx?
12-30-2007, 01:04 PM
#1
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Location: North Carolina
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Help Please? Good/Fairly cheap upgrades for a 280zx?
Hello to all who read this.
I bought a 1982 280zx 2 1/2 weeks ago.(my first car! lol)
Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone could help and tell me some good upgrades I could to to the engine.
I was also wondering what would be a good Air intake kit and what you think about Cherry Bomb Mufflers because I was thinking about buying one.
So yeah, please help a poor 16 yr old lol.
Thanks
I bought a 1982 280zx 2 1/2 weeks ago.(my first car! lol)
Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone could help and tell me some good upgrades I could to to the engine.
I was also wondering what would be a good Air intake kit and what you think about Cherry Bomb Mufflers because I was thinking about buying one.
So yeah, please help a poor 16 yr old lol.
Thanks
12-30-2007, 01:30 PM
#3
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Location: North Carolina
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Engine runs great. My mechanic checked it out and said it was in great condition.(he is an import specialist and used to race 280's)
So far the only things I have done to the engine is change the spark plugs and wires, changed the oil, coolant, and power steering fluid.
Oh yeah, it has 110k. It's auto which I don't like. I do have a parts car that is manual and I would like to swap the tranny, but that's over my head lol.
So far the only things I have done to the engine is change the spark plugs and wires, changed the oil, coolant, and power steering fluid.
Oh yeah, it has 110k. It's auto which I don't like. I do have a parts car that is manual and I would like to swap the tranny, but that's over my head lol.
12-30-2007, 01:33 PM
#4
More Than Meets The Eye
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Mesa, Az
Posts: 5,120
Welcome to Zdriver man. Oh and this upgrade question has been asked before. Feel free to use the search function. And type in what you need. You should find some threads on this, and other questions you may have. But if you still need help, we are here for you. 
12-30-2007, 01:42 PM
#6
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Originally Posted by tonsoffun300zx
nice z! you could put headers or a cold air intake
Cause like, I want to fix it up kinda nice, without taking shortcuts that might come back and bit me lol.
Oh yeah, thanks!
12-30-2007, 01:44 PM
#7
West Coast!
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Corona,CA
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www.blackdragonauto.com has alot of stuff for z cars you should look throught their stuff. and ask your mecanic he said he used to race em right?
12-30-2007, 02:07 PM
#15
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Lol that puts a hole in my boat.
Well, tranny swap from my parts car to make it a 5 spd.
Cold air intake, but IDK what brand to go with.
I would like to put a Cherry Bomb Muffler on.
I would also like to put a turbo on it, but can I do that without
swapping the motor?
Maybe a flamethrower kit...
I want to find a front air dam and a nice spoiler but that can wait for now
Well, tranny swap from my parts car to make it a 5 spd.
Cold air intake, but IDK what brand to go with.
I would like to put a Cherry Bomb Muffler on.
I would also like to put a turbo on it, but can I do that without
swapping the motor?
Maybe a flamethrower kit...
I want to find a front air dam and a nice spoiler but that can wait for now
Last edited by Caleb 280zx; 12-30-2007 at 02:14 PM.
12-30-2007, 02:31 PM
#16
The Cake Is A Lie!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: WA
Posts: 5,690
Originally Posted by Caleb 280zx
Well, tranny swap from my parts car to make it a 5 spd.
Cold air intake, but IDK what brand to go with.
I would like to put a Cherry Bomb Muffler on.
I would also like to put a turbo on it, but can I do that without
swapping the motor?
swapping the motor?
Maybe a flamethrower kit...
I want to find a front air dam and a nice spoiler but that can wait for now
Last edited by entropy31; 12-30-2007 at 02:35 PM.
12-30-2007, 02:48 PM
#17
Big Poppa
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Mission, British Columbia
Posts: 4,499
hahahahahaha e good one. the iar intake kits are cheap from ebay, theres thousands of them and they all work just fine. its just a cone filter that ya stick in place of the stocker. the header can be bought from pacesetter, it works good enough for street applications. after that, install msa's 2.5" exhaust kit. i love it, comes with a nice muffler. please dont do the cherry bomb thing, they are very raspy, and ppl will call you rice, and the cops will follow you. for 50 bux you can install a msd blaster 2 coil, or which ever brand you prefer, and that will make a noticable diff. for you money. drive it for some time, get to know it, then start to play. get a factory service manual and read it front to back, then youll know what to call stuff if you need to ask.
12-30-2007, 03:27 PM
#19
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FYI if you plan on doing headers, brake jobs, exhaust, and upgarde electrica. the manual tranny swap isnt over your head. its really easy actually. takes a few hours of work, but pretty simple.
on the manual take off the brake aand clutch master, then un-do the pedal cradle assembly that holds the brake and clutch pedal together, undo the clutch slave and un-hook the plumbing for it (only one line) from the body/firewall. then the like 6 bolts from the tranny and the 4 from the driveshaft , drop them. now the 8 from the clutch, the 6-8 from the flywheel. then do the same thing from your car, and then do the reverse with the pparts you have. it will take you prolly 2-3 days worth of work if you work on it 4 hours at a time. its really no big, just a hassle, no real intelligence to it.
on the manual take off the brake aand clutch master, then un-do the pedal cradle assembly that holds the brake and clutch pedal together, undo the clutch slave and un-hook the plumbing for it (only one line) from the body/firewall. then the like 6 bolts from the tranny and the 4 from the driveshaft , drop them. now the 8 from the clutch, the 6-8 from the flywheel. then do the same thing from your car, and then do the reverse with the pparts you have. it will take you prolly 2-3 days worth of work if you work on it 4 hours at a time. its really no big, just a hassle, no real intelligence to it.
12-30-2007, 05:59 PM
#20
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Originally Posted by snwbrderphat540
FYI if you plan on doing headers, brake jobs, exhaust, and upgarde electrica. the manual tranny swap isnt over your head. its really easy actually. takes a few hours of work, but pretty simple.
on the manual take off the brake aand clutch master, then un-do the pedal cradle assembly that holds the brake and clutch pedal together, undo the clutch slave and un-hook the plumbing for it (only one line) from the body/firewall. then the like 6 bolts from the tranny and the 4 from the driveshaft , drop them. now the 8 from the clutch, the 6-8 from the flywheel. then do the same thing from your car, and then do the reverse with the pparts you have. it will take you prolly 2-3 days worth of work if you work on it 4 hours at a time. its really no big, just a hassle, no real intelligence to it.
on the manual take off the brake aand clutch master, then un-do the pedal cradle assembly that holds the brake and clutch pedal together, undo the clutch slave and un-hook the plumbing for it (only one line) from the body/firewall. then the like 6 bolts from the tranny and the 4 from the driveshaft , drop them. now the 8 from the clutch, the 6-8 from the flywheel. then do the same thing from your car, and then do the reverse with the pparts you have. it will take you prolly 2-3 days worth of work if you work on it 4 hours at a time. its really no big, just a hassle, no real intelligence to it.
I have a couple friends who are pretty good with cars that can help me out with that. Thanks for explaining it, I though it would be a lot more complicated lol.
12-30-2007, 06:01 PM
#21
NisTuner
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Posts: 2,800
Do the headers actually do much for the car, or do they just add more sound than anything? I've heard many times that just enlarging the exhaust on these cars especially the turbos can alone help to make some more power.
Is the MSD blaster coil really that much better? I have one, I just haven't gotten to installing my mallory ignition and msd coil, primarily because I want to get my car running a bit smoother before I throw mine on.
As for putting a turbo on the non-turbo engine, it can be done, but it would require a good bit of work, you'd need the exhaust manifold, you'd need to run oil lines to the turbo, and you'd have to get the turbo oil pan so you can have the return line, you'd need the turbo ecu, afm, and wiring harness, the turbo injectors etc, it'd be so much work and then you couldn't run as much boost as just swapping the turbo engine over.
Is the MSD blaster coil really that much better? I have one, I just haven't gotten to installing my mallory ignition and msd coil, primarily because I want to get my car running a bit smoother before I throw mine on.
As for putting a turbo on the non-turbo engine, it can be done, but it would require a good bit of work, you'd need the exhaust manifold, you'd need to run oil lines to the turbo, and you'd have to get the turbo oil pan so you can have the return line, you'd need the turbo ecu, afm, and wiring harness, the turbo injectors etc, it'd be so much work and then you couldn't run as much boost as just swapping the turbo engine over.
12-30-2007, 06:23 PM
#24
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12-30-2007, 08:29 PM
#25
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Originally Posted by duowing
Do the headers actually do much for the car, or do they just add more sound than anything? I've heard many times that just enlarging the exhaust on these cars especially the turbos can alone help to make some more power.
An MSD coil will help the upper range of the rpm band. I had a misfire a long time ago when my Z was above 5000 rpm that didn't go away until I swapped out the coil and installed a Crane Cams ignition box.
Anyway, the tranny swap isn't too bad if you have some spare time to work on your Z. I did the swap about a month and a half ago. The main parts you'll need are basically the hard clutch line, the pedal assembly, a 2+2 driveshaft if your parts car is a coupe, clutch master cylinder (you don't need to change the brake master cylinder), clutch line to the slave cylinder, pilot bushing, and clutch kit.
The swap is easiest if you swap out the pedal assembly first, and also hook up the clutch master cylinder while you're at it. Then start the tranny swap. If you need more details let me know, I had a bunch of notes I took while doing the swap as reference. Have fun with your Z, they're pretty easy to work on, and a great car to start learning the basics of tuning.
