Hello i am completely new on here and just picked up a 280zx for $300. I know. A great deal. Anyways its running fine and everything but i would like to make it some type of race worthy (more power). i am buying part by part and would just like to know where to start. i do not have much experience but i have worked and 240s. The first thing i had in mind was to upgrade to a cold air intake. Could you help me start on the right path as in upgrades? thank you.

 

Welcome and congrats on a good find!

Did you check/search the 280Z forums here? Your question comes up a lot and has been handled here many, many times. I would read what has been asked & written already, narrow your questions down a bit and ask them here in the forums. Lotsa 280z enthusiasts here, plus real pros who have done exactly what you want to do. They are all happy to help you with specific Qs.

Don't forget your factory service manual (FSM) and owner's manual (OM) - you can get them for free at XenonS130 - S130 Reference Loads of other free docs too. They will come in handy as you work on your new Z and make your decisions.

Welcome again!

 

bro dont every worry with cold air intake. if you want power with s130 your going to have to do some head work. first thing you need to do is compression test see where you stand and go from there. But power in theses cars can really be simply bolted on. easy power is a turbo swap. real power is a built NA engine lots of time spent on the head. cam. fun stuff

 

alright thank you! now what about intake/exhaust manifolds?

 

What year is it ? what options ? every year varies some

 

If your keeping the fuel injection you need to get a larger throttle body off of a 240sx "search" about the mod, the s130 already has a "cold air intake" on it, next you need to remove the intake and port it out with a nonferrous carbide bit and some sanding cartridge rolls, you need to match the new 240sx throttle body to the beginning of the intake manifold, after that the head needs to be port and polished, the cam needs to be upgraded, and a new 3 angle valve job is in order, a new header should be bought and fitted. now the stock efi is only good to about 180hp Nismo correct me, so you will hit a power wall there. but that will give you good power in a naturally aspirated engine. im running triple Webers which is the bomb. not turbo fast but very fast.

 

i have a 1983 i thinking lonewolf performance? they have a intake manifold with a fuel rail. thinking about upgrading injectors but dont know much about that either

 

I port and polish intake manifolds for z cars you could send me yours or I have one on the shelf for 300 I also port and polish heads.

 

how much for porting and polishing the head?

 

300 for the head's intake runners or 400 for the heads intake runners and combustion chamber polish. If I do a head and intake at the same time I discount. I also do bead blasting. and hand make .080 cam tower shims from t6 aluminum for the p79 p90 head mod for 70$

 

First of all how much do you have to spend and what kind of HP are you looking for. Significant HP gain for an NA L28 engine is VERY expensive... Just the price of a set of triples and you have have an L28ET swap with intercooler, etc and blow the doors off the car with triples on it.

 

I agree turbo is easy power but triples just make it so much more fun!

 

I've seen the 4 barrel conversion on a rebello 3.2 and that thing was boss!

 

I wasnt impressed by the 4bbl whatsoever. If carbs are your goal its triples.. let it be mikuni weber or dellotro... if not su's are excellent save the 4bbl for american petrol heads over carbing trier poorly built v blocks

 

When is comes to a fuel injected ZX, the first thing you want to do to improve horsepower is intake work. These engines start loosing airflow at about 5500 RPM and the AFR's will start to drop like crazy towards 6000 RPM, loosing tons of power. This is mainly due to the intake runners only being 53% the size of the intake valves.

A decent cure for this would be to pick up a Turbo ZX Manifold. Though with that you will won't be able to use the cold start system. A 240SX TB mated to a ZXT Manifold on an N/A Will get you some moderate gains in the midrange, and top end RPM's.

Rick is right. The stock ZX intakes are cold air intakes, though they are a bit more restrictive than aftermarket ones. BUT an aftermarket CAI Won't give you any significant gains (Maybe 4-5HP if you're lucky) with the factory intake system, but the engine will sound nicer.

Agressive Cams/Headwork will not do your car any good with the factory EFI. It's a closed loop system, so the ECU can't adjust to a lot more air and fuel going into the engine, and will probably not give you much gain in HP and can have negative effects on the way your car runs.

 

A 240SX TB isn't going to do anything for you - it's the runners that are the restriction. Switching to a turbo plenum isn't going to do much either - you're only gaining 2-4% over the NA plenum. With a stock ECU you're wasting your money on mods - maybe a less restrictive air filter and headers/exhaust but unless you go with a stand alone ECU you're wasting your money/time. Your money is much more wisely spent on a good tune up - go through the whole FSM and take care of the suspension (bushings, sway bars, upper strut bars particularly on the front, probably needs new struts, performance springs). Upgrading your suspension makes the car a lot more fun.... if you want performance spend your money on a turbo swap.

 

These are really good comments as I have decided to mod mine. I know for sure I will go with the turbo manifold. But I also heard that these turbos work on the S130 too:
Mitsubishi Starion, 300zx. Is that true?

 

the z31 turbo is the same as the 280zx turbo...