Hiya, long time reader fist time poster. I am looking at creating a hill climb car for club events out of my 83' 280ZX 2+2 (in Australia thats all we get -_-*sigh*). I am looking at replacing the stock suspension with a fully adjustable setup and bringing the front shock arms forward. I am also looking at rebuilding the N/A motor with a stage 3 steet cam.Are there any other suggestions to be made in setting up? I am aware that a turbo is cheep horse power, except I dislike the feel that they give and the lag that they provide. I am unaware if I am going to swap to carb's or keep the current injection setup. Any feed back would be appreciated. Thank guys.

 

Carbs? On a Hill Climber?????

Why would you want to do that?

It's either gonna run great at the bottom of the hill, or at the top of the hill... but not both.

Stick with EFI.

Rod.

 

the small stock turbo on a NA compression at low boost will basically have no lag. It will have good torque and spool very quick. That might be a good way to go. Keep the FI

 

Hill climb?? Like Pikes PEak?? In a ZX???

 

That would be cool to see...

Rod.

 

That sounds like a helluva lot of fun ...

... I'm really torn on the N/A vs. Turbo deal right now, so I'll stop from suggesting anything engine-wise. ALTHOUGH, Individual Throttle Bodies on either an N/A or Turbo setup would be the sickness.

Quite a project, getting a Zed to do a hillclimb ... and as s/cL3.0 asked, is this like Dirt Trials hillclimb, or is it a pavement, canyon-style climb?

Hey, don't worry about having a 2+2 ... I think of it this way - if I folded the rear seats down in the back, I could get it on with a girl. :P Anywho ...

-Dave-O

 

well a hill climbing Z doesnt sound too far fetched to me. i just found out the the 240's used to be considered one of the more prominent WRC cars in the early 70's. The vids i saw of these Z's were nuts. beefed up suspension, huge flood lights. . .. the works. i say go for it!but stick with the FI.

 

[QUOTE=Dorifto]
Hey, don't worry about having a 2+2 ... I think of it this way - if I folded the rear seats down in the back, I could get it on with a girl. :P

That is the best excuse for owning a 2+2 I have ever heard.. At least the only one that makes sense

 

^ True that. My Zed may never have seen any action on the street, but in my driveway, she's got some miles on her.

 

hill climbing in a z DOES sound far fetched to ME, ur in oz....there arnt any freaking hill too climb lol
na good luck with it dude!

and dorifto, the 2+2 seats in the back.......hmmm how do i put this... really dont work.. unless ur and amputee midget that is!

 

That's why I fold them down ... adds another foot and a half to the "bed area" ...

 

Thanks for the input. I have seen side draught carbie setups on some hill climbers but I was leaning towards the FI due to advantages at altitudes. Ive been driving ZX's since I was 16 and I am yet to find something that can replace it. Additionally I was going to bore it out and run a 10:1 compresion with extractors on the motor. But is there any suggestions in relation to the suspension setup?

 

Sorry forgot, I am looking at tarmac stages. From what I understand they block off a public mountain road for the stage. But they also visit some circuits, which I feel arn't as fun.

 

Nice. Like a legal version of canyon carving ... I'm down with that.

 

Going to an overbore is not worth the effort. It's cool to say you did it, but the cost/time vs. the result is not worth it.

Go T3 Turbo and you don't need the overbore for the extra torque and you get great spool up with no perceptible lag. A properly designed, sized and installed turbo setup will have little to no lag.

Dorifto, you guys have no imagination. In a Coupe, slide the front seats all the way back and then fold the backs all the way forward...

Damn, you kids don't have any problem solving skills...

 

I THINK that you will want to change gearing to make more lower end pull ....
the EFI will work well ......BUT if you put a stage three cam in then you should also install a bigger throttle body and port that intake and head ......that way you will get the most out of your new cam......as for uphill raceing with your Z set the cam gear it self to #3 and set your valve lash 2mm more than the stock lash setting .... ONLY after you have broken that new cam in ....by that time you will want to install a lsd with some nice low end gearing , to get that beast moving for your uphill pull

 

LoL... I personally like to shove a loveseat in the back of the truck & hit the mountains... more room, more privacy, & a lot more comfortable!

 

^ I'm with Nismo on this one ...

 

Whatever happened to just taking her in the house? If you want comfort, privacy and room then get her in the bed. Besides the whole point of the car is the whole cramped not so private setting. You know risk taking.
But Anyways, Definitely get the LSD that should be the first thing on your list. All that power ain't gonna do you any good in a rally (dirt or tarmac) or any race for that matter, without an LSD. Anyone who thinks they can go fast without some form of limited slip or locker JUST-DONT-KNOW . If you're losing speed during and out of the turns then you're losing momentum. It takes a LOT of power to make up for momentum. Also brakes. You NEED brakes for racing. Pads and lines at the least. The longer you have to spend braking the less time you get to spend accelerating. Until you get that stuff dialed in, power should be at the bottom of your list. The Z has enough power to get it going, so if you can keep your speed up then power gains aren't as important.

Alot of people always talk about power adders for racing but in reality a properly tuned suspension, LSD, and brake setup will make up for loads of HP on anything but an oval track. All in all though if you get those tuned in then I'd say Black's got some good advice on what breathing mods to make. A turbo will definitely work wonders for rally work. Good luck with you endeavor and keep us posted when you start racing.

 

I'm so going to copy that color scheme on that rally car. Man, I really want to do rally. But the suspension is so bad on my car. It would probably bottom out a lot

 

That would look sweet man, 2-tone rules. I thought about if I get a 280z, I would paint it almost like that. It is a great color scheme!

 

JFairlaidyZ I agree with your statement about suspesion and breaks thas why in my last post I asked about suspension setups. The motor is at the bottom of the list as without the correct driving style a big motor will do you no good. I already have put slotted rotors on as the previous ones reached the condemming line when I got it. The brake pads I am running at the moment are a performance pad, but I know where to get softer compund comptetition pads. As for the lsd I will put that in when I pull out the motor and get the gearbox strengthend and refreshed.

 

check out www.arizonazcar.com for your suspension and brake needs...

i've dealt with Dave before, he's a great guy!

 

I've heard good things about them 007, and I'll let lww reccommend another good place called www.modern-motorsports.com Well atleast he can still vouch for them And don't let their website fool you, they can make anything you need, and have some stuff that's not listed on the site (like front coilovers). And they ship around the world on a regular basis according to the guy I was talking with.