performance suggestions?
 

I have a '79 ZX that I am interested in autocrossing soon. Does anybody have some suggestions about what I can do to make the car lighter (it's a 2+2 model)? also, what kind of horsepower gains would a monza cat back system and a 60 mm throttle body give me? has anybody tried out the energy suspesion rebuild kits? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

The catback exhaust systems don't add much power at all. The large throttle body only adds power at high rpms at full throttle. That is not nessisary for autocross.

I would suggest trying to add torque to your midrange over anything else. Get a 2 1/4 inch pipe with new cat and chambered muffler. Shave the head a bit to raise your compression, put in a stage 1 cam and advance the timing chain upper spocket to the #2 position for more low end power. That'll raise your power noticably between idle and 4000rpm. Possibly higher too. Put in a lower geared differential.

For weight reduction, take out the spare tire and tools, remove all the interrior, remove any A/C or cruise control systems you might have, remove the large metal crash bumpers front and rear and get the MSA fiberglass covers for both. Light weight wheels... there are no fiberglass body panels made for the 280zx that I know of.

Thanks!
 

Who makes the stage 1 cam? can the stock valve springs be used with it, or should I just swap out the whole valvetrain? I've also heard about getting the cam re-ground. who can do this, and is it reccomended? Thanks a lot for your suggestions!

remeber this; For every 100 lbs you remove you lose a 1/10 of a second on the quartar mile. That may not seem like a big gain, but after awile it adds ups. most cars have a lot of fat to take off, the upholstry, spare tire, a/c, trim, and even body panels can be trimed up. if you are serious about lightning your Z you could just totaly strip the entire car and just have bare metal....although it gets quite hot!

Motorsport Auto sells the cam or Crane Cams. Basically stage one is the lowest end performance cam. Usually about 262 duration and 450 lift. Anything with 460 lift or less can use the stock springs. Always buy new rocker arms with a new cam.
Stage one cams are still a leap above the stock lift and duration. The longer duration you go, the more compression and torque you lose at lower rpms.

Cam grinding might work, but that's just cheap. A new cam isn't all that expensive.

MSA sells the cam complete w/ new springs, rockers, lash pads & retainers. Crane is cam only. www.WebCamshafts.com has regrinds or new billet cam. JWT says their cam is designed for the turbo, or both ( www.jimwolftechnology.com ) i forget; ask them.

The Motorsport Auto complete kit for about $400 is nice if you're rebuilding your engine/head. If you're just puttin in new rockers and a cam don't buy new valves and springs too.

http://www.importedcarparts.com has Japan made rockers (with Nissan part number on them!) for just $9.00 each! That's less than half what Nissan charges.

thanks again!
 

Thanks for all of the advice on the parts that I need to rebuild the valvetrain! I am wondering if the stock exhaust manifold flows good enough for the extra cam. Should I invest in a heder, or just leave it alone?

lotsa ppl bash PaceSetter exhaust, it has a 2" exhaust collector. still unclear about MotoSportAuto's but they are 2.5" & but an orig. Nismo header from www.CourtesyNissan.com is rather expensive, w/ 2.5" collector.

Well I was going to give you list of manufactures, but as I search the list gets longer. I one thing that I cant stress enough is the need for you guys to do research. Its not that I want keep all the info to myself I love to share the stuff! If I didnt then I wouldnt be here helping out this great site!www.built4speed.com this link has a large list of manufacters. Check out the list and see if somthing here fits the bill. One point that I want to get across is that we here may know a lot about a certain thing, this is a starting point to spark your ideas and to get you to go in the right direction. Now my two bits:D :have you seen that book on how to build L block motors? There are a few of them. They have great info. I would check that out! If you are going to build a motor for your car then I suggest that you get a spare. The last time that I was home I went to the local pick and pull. It was separated into two sections domestic and imports. I saw about 200 Z cars from early 70's to mid 80's it was z heaven. All i could do is think to my self was look @ all those parts. Its in Modesto Ca for anybody interested I cann get more details. I think the going price was $250-$300 a motor u pull. Go to Harbor freight or summit get your self a motor stand and build. By doing this you will be insured that you have a stock motor for the good ol smog check if needed. I'm getting carried away here back to the cams. When you find the cams that will suit the type of driving that your going to do make sure that follow the manufactures sugestion about
sprimgs and what not. I suggest that you change your spring too. Check out Manley valves there fairly cheep and they get better flow. I would get Isky's double spring set up and get a better spring for your oil pump. This will bring you red line up another 1000 rpm's or so. If you need more help on this let me know!

this is old :D

I already have the Monza Catback and the large throttle body. I can vouch for the high rpm hp increase. It helps from mid to upper. The only way I could test increases in power was on a steep valley hill. Before the upgrade Flat out on the hill she would top out at 80 mph on the step section with the big throttle body It kept on pulling past 100 mph until the hill rand out and then it kept going. My dyno is not big enough anymore.

The Monza exhaust is way to loud for my taste. Although it does sound sweet away from civalization. Is there a muffler out there that has the sweet looking tips with out the huge sound. I bought the Monza because it was cheap and there is not a Borla exhaust for the 280zx.

This is all on my memory. I parked my car about 15 years ago and am now just trying to bring it back to life. My son is 10 so it should make for a fun team project.