i recently picked up a 1981 280zx non-turbo.

doesnt really neeed anything.

im new to looking into performance things and this is my first nice/fun car.

what should i do under the hood that will give it more power?
ive just purchased some iridium sparkplugs. but other than that everything is original under the hood. i dont really want to put major things that require alot of tuning, and might kill it. I want stuff that will give it good power but also stay reliable.

the car only has 97000 original miles, has new oil and oil filter.


other than that, i dont really know alot about it, but i would love to learn.

any helpfull info u may know of would be greatly appreciated.

 

Oh boy here we go again haha.
Save your money and buy a 280zx Turbo.

 

datsun are impossible to find in newengland...im lucky to come across one that i picked up with no rust and has good components.

any info on how i could make it perform extremely well, but stay reliable at the same time?...any info u got helps me.

thanks a bunch!!!!

 

hmmm how to make a 280zx fast...

step one, KILL IT WITH FIRE!

lol imo the cheapest way is engine swaps, either the l28et or the other plethora V8's and blaa blaa blaa

you will learn the pros and cons, alot of this depends on your mechanical skills

 

heres my little diagram for ya....


[Power]-------|-------[Reliability]



the closer you get the red marker to one end, the farther you get from the other



If you want to make your NA fast, or even do a swap, its going to take real work and require tuning.

 

^^^ assuming you want to stick with the stock engine... other wise the scale jumps to a higher scale or performance and reliability



lets get our x and y axis'ses right



.LS series Vates
.
.
. RB26
.
.
.
.[Power]-------|-------[Reliability]
.
.
. SR20
.
.
. stock L28




just my opinions, some may weight the benefits of an sr above a V8, but guys those aren't real men

 

suspension mods are the best way to make a ZX faster.

 

thanks guys for your help, most of it makes sence so far...haha

 

how does modifiying suspension make a car faster?...not trying to be mean or anything....but how does that work?

 

Read this book:

 

Oh... my... god...

Is this your first experience of the internet?

 

no, im just trying to be polite. im also new to learning about working on cars, thats all.

 

You can have all the HP in the world but if you cant hook up on a launch or take a good corner its not worth a ****.
Suspension is equally as important as engine work. Every part of the car works together to get the final result.



and that is a great book

 

alright thanks. apprciate it.

 

Header, full exhaust, racing cam, triple carbs, electronic ignition = pretty quick NA. I'm keepin mine NA so I'm pretty much in the same boat as you.

 

/\ head work

 

I would also take the diff out of an 87-89 300ZX turbo for a cheap lsd but I would re-gear it to a 3:90. If I remember correctley those came stock with 3:70's. I hate open diffs. Also follow all of the machine work that that book suggests.

 

Man... if $600-$900 is cheap for you, you must be a high roller!!!

 

first you need spinners on your ride. your z will look fast even when you stop at a light, and if you go with the spinner hub caps and you can't find the right size you can always use zipties to jimmy rig it on your wheels.

Now buy some nitrous, it's probably the easiest way to add power to the car. You need a wet kit for the fuel injection system and I don't remember what people say the stock l28 can handle but it's a fairly tough motor.

Ok now to be on a serious note. Strip off as much weight as you can off the car. It's the cheapest way to gain more performance. It's free if you already own a ratchet set. You can also consider the nitrous option if you want.

 

fixed

 

That's funny I was thinking about the hood on the zx. That thing weighs a ton and hacking up the ribbing underneath should shave a decent amount of weight. You would probably need some hoodpins afterward to hold it down well. Some people out there are weird about hoodpins though. oooh, and acrylic windows. The rear hatch uses a flat pane of glass. It would be easy to replace it with light acrylic. Someone told me they did that with their zx for drag racing.

 

We used 1/8" lexan for hte Volvo's windows. If you do anything thinner than 1/8" it'll break on you after good use. The Volvo's held up for all 4 years and it mostly held for the roll. Just be careful washing it, you can scratch it easily.

 

lexan sounds pricey. How much would a sheet large enough for the rear hatch set you back on a zx you think?

 

We bought ours from some local store for $160 for a 4'x8' sheet. I'm not sure if that was a good deal or not... But it replaced the entire rear window and both rear door windows on the Volvo with plenty to spare for other cars

 

Dude I can get 3 R-200 LSD diffs right now for $150 apiece.