heya guys. im about to land a job.. finially. and im gana work my *** off to pay my Z off so i can mod it.. i was wondering, if any of you had suggestions to wat i could do to get the most hp with a N/A engine. i dont want to turbo it. but i was looking to get lighter flywheel, full exaust, cam, maybe port and polish and blueprinting. ballancing. if there were some companys anyone would suggest i should go with..i dont want it real loud, but i want to b able to hear when to shift. and have a nice tone to drive with also. i wanted to NISMO my Z but i dunno if that would b a good idea and it would cost an arm and a leg..fyi i have a 79 280zx

 

If you're looking for an exhaust, I'd order a muffler from a reputable company [Flowmaster, Magnaflow, DynoMax, etc.] and have an exhaust shop build you a mandrel-bent [that's the key word there] system in the correct size, then add a header to that. That should square away your exhaust.

NA mods, like you listed [cam, flywheel, balance and blueprint, port and polish] will go a long way in your engine build. I plan on all of the above for my engine, though I'm going to add a small shot of nitrous oxide. I want to not only keep up with, but beat, most Mustangs and Camaros in my area at the strip, and as far as my research has taken me, nitrous is the most effective power adder [for me anyway] within my budget, and without going turbo.

As far as I know, there are no longer NISMO parts made for our cars. I could be wrong though.

With companies in question, I'd say to stick with MSA for most all of it. They buy from the most reputable companies around and get the specific products required for your build. I'm going through them for everything besides the stand-alone management [MegaSquirt, most likely] and blueprinting.

Hope that helps,
-Dave-O

 

alright.. and just roughly with all the modifications i suggested.. just roughly wat would you say the hp would b up'd to?

 

What I was looking at for my engine was this:
-port and polish
-milling the head a couple thousandths
-port match intake manifold
-6-2 header, and 2.5" exhaust
-lightweight flywheel
-"Stage IV" MSA cam
-ignition amplifier box w/ rev limiter, thicker wires, plugs one heat range colder
-280ZXT injectors
-adjustable, rising-rate fuel pressure regulator
-complete valvetrain replacement/work
-three-angle valve job and polish
-thinner metal headgasket
-forged pistons, stock CR ratio [MSA, when they sell them]
-blueprinting by Clegg Auto Machine [local engine shop]
-spin-balance to 7800 rpm
-NOS or NX 75 shot [wet] nitrous oxide system

All that should net me 260-270hp [off spray, expect 320+ with] to the crank with a stout powerband, if I'm thinking correctly. That's not bad at all, considering the stock output is 180 to the crank, and only about 135hp of that is seeing the rear wheels.

Also, if I remember correctly, a fellow on this board netted 238rwhp from a very lightly tuned '79 ZX with a 75-dry-shot of nitrous. So, my numbers don't seem that far off.

With the weight reduction that I've done to my Zed, I can expect, with the above setup, to run mid 13's with slicks in the quarter mile, and turn around and run a touge road with ease.

-Dave-O

 

holy **** i just creamed in my pants. for no turbo thats bad at all... hrrm.. soudns expensive though

 

Very expensive and we all generally over estimate our HP...

I have an acquaintance that has about $10k into his NA engine alone and he's still only making 312 crank hp and 278 rwhp.

His current setup is:

F-54 block bored and stroked to 3.2L
J&E forged pistons with 10.5:1 final compression
Carillo forged rods
Ported/polished N42 head
Rebello Racing custom ground cam
5 speed
R200 rear with 3.90 gears/disc brakes/BFG Gforce drag radials
Steel billet 11.75 lb flywheel
Centerforce dual friction clutch
Comp 3/2 ceramic coated header into 3" exhaust and Borla XR-1 raceline muffler
Triple Mikuni 44's with TWM intake plumbed for nitrous nozzles
BHJ dampner
MSD Ignition

He's also good friends with Rebello and lives nearby in Walnut Creek, CA.

The friendship basically gives him a crapload of free time on the dyno for tuning and he's still 'only' getting 278 rwhp. Of course, in a 240z that's a pretty damn good power to weight ratio. Good enough for 12.90's in the 1/4 at over 106 mph.

A good driveable 280ZX with no power adders is going to have around 210 to 220 rwhp and will out perform any 80's Mustang GT.

That's not bad on a little inline 6 that's half the displacement of a 302 Mustang GT.

I don't doubt Dorifto is going to get to his target at some point, but it always takes more $$ and time than we originally expected or planned...

My recommendation is that you get it paid off first. Don't even think about mods at this point. Once it's paid off, you should enjoy it for a little while before you start mucking with it so you can save some money.

I've mentioned before and others have supported my observations with their own, piece mealing your upgrades can often lead to performance LOSSES until you get the rest of the compliamentary upgrades completed. This will result in frustration and is a primary reason why 98% of all 'upgrade' projects never get completed.

You have what can be an incredibly reliable motor. Don't muck with it until you are ready to do the whole thing.

Make sure your suspension is working right first. Then I would do basic bolt-ons first (Cold Air Intake, Header, 2.25" Mandrel Exhaust and a Muffler to go with it).

Don't do the always popular 60mm TB upgrade until you can get headwork and intake manifold porting done.

Oh, I almost forgot. MSA is a great source for finding the right parts that 'should' fit your Z. But the generally DON'T have the best prices. Find out what you want from the MSA website, then go to:

http://www.summitracing.com

Then:

http://www.courtesyparts.com

and see if you can find the same part. It's almost always about 20% cheaper if you can get it there. The rest of the parts are also available elsewhere for substantial savings. The only thing you can't get cheaper somewhere else are items specifically manufactured for MSA like the fuse box replacement for the 240z's but there's virtually nothing for the ZX that is an MSA exclusive.

 

alright.. so a new head whole exaust and cool air intake u say should b my first step.. i dont really think cool air intake does much of anything other than looks.

 

Headers, not head. The head is the most expensive single part to modify.

The cold air intake will improve your throttle response without impacting your torque and will give you back some of the engine speed feedback you lost with the new exhaust.

When you hear that thing wailing at 5500+ rpm, you'll know what I mean and you can make your own for under $100 if you don't care about shiny chrome.

I know a guy that used 3" PVC and put a K&N cone filter on the end of it, painted the PVC black it looks pretty professionally done. You would never guess it was cheap plumbers PVC unless you knew it already. Add a $50 K&N cone filter and you're done.

You could either route it behind the headlight or put a couple of light bends in it route it out through the hole in the radiator support where the stock plastic pipe goes and get it in front of the radiator.

If you want a chrome one, you can get them for $125 off eBay.

 

im not for show. am for performance. chrome is crap to me.. actually not that it would on a intake bcuz there is no liquids, but my old friend shane had a 68 camaro and he started modding it with chrome and he said chrom has problems leaking. as to where when he replaced it agian with a non chrome part it didnt leak

 

i would say this best applies to N/A models... Turbo Models are ALOT easier to modify without doing these major things like headwork.. i did an R&R on my head and replaced all the gaskets and polished up the heads and removed all the crap and she flows nicely.. the head wasnt warped whatsoever.. and then if you can buy the parts and do the work yourself you can save alot more money and then take the head to a professional auto shop and get the head milled for $100-200 and you can upgrade a turbo to produce great numbers without having to spend gob of money.. but doing a full rebuild and paying someone to do is gonna cost 10k$

Your car is not turbo however so it is much more difficult to produce higher numbers without forced induction.. i prefer turbos over supercharges, but i prefer both over N/A.. some like N/A and thats cool.. N/As do have a nice purr to them and i love classic american cars like the old small block v8s with a dual holley carb and 8-4 headers that could scream like monsters.. but if you can turbocharge them all your doing is adding more air to make them get there faster.. N/As just cant push half as much air so its harder to create bigger numbers..

My goal for my Z is as follows:

Purchase FSM
Full Engine Rebuild w/ Twin Turbo setup
2 T3/T4 Hybrid Turbos
24"x18"x3" Intercooler with V setup
Full Valve & Head Job with .001 or so taken off the Head
Full Suspension Work
3" Exhaust straight back w/ interchangable Pipe/Cat piece for emissions.. no muffler
Invest in a longer duration cam, like 292 duration with .450 lift

i added it up to be like $2400+ and if you can do the work yourself you wont have to spend too muc more.. and the relationship you build with your car in doing so brings her sentimental value way up and having a car thats nice like that is worth a pretty penny..

 

I wouldn't increase the duration on that cam with a turbo. With the intake and exhaust valves open at the same time, you'll just blast your air charge past the cylinder.

Basically, you'll be running a much lower boost level then you thought.

The stock turbo cam is good for nearly 400hp.

 

i understand that i was told that before but im shooting for 420.. rwhp..

 

yeah well the reason i dont want a turbo or supercharger is i dont want the sound. i dont want the blow off from the turbo. i want my car to b quick but b able to tell. it want it a sleeper.. i know i can take most of the ricey 4 bangers around here cuz 4 bangers are just slow unless u have a s2000.

 

for air intake. i just stuck (on a 03 ranger) a cone filter where it connects to air houseing. and for exhuast i just took a socket to thebolts. ford got smart sticking the cat before this bolt off point. but that cat allows me to have the proper back persure, so i am cool with the cat. it bolts off right under the cab, and sounds like a pissed off weedeater. but it is just a daily driver.

 

The reason you don't want to do that is because you'll pull hot air in from behind the radiator.

Pulling cold air in from in front of the radiator keeps the air charge temperature as close to ambient and will give you a denser air charge and more power.