Glenn350zHR

iTrader: (5)

im running stock rear arms and am sitting at 2.2 rear

Flier129

Mmm beef, one step closer.


Yes, I realize these aren't hoosierstones. I'm not going to spend $1200 on tires at the end of the season for an under prepped car that I need to learn.


Other news! I learned the bushings/sleeve on the rear spc arms are the same size as stock, yay one less thing to do. Working with a friend that does cnc(just need his lathe) for delrin bushings on the front uppers.

Swapped to a stock fuel pump over the weekend, wasn't too bad of a job. I'm currently on the hunt for some hfcs, car just threw some BS evap CEL codes. I chalked it up to the test pipes on the car.

Getting accustomed to the car, mainly the notchy *** transmission particularly 3rd gear. I've been told a crunch into 3rd is pretty typical *shrug*. Comparing the Z and the miata....1st and 2nd gear don't seem to far apart from each other. But my experience with bigger cars is they definitely don't have the same butt-dyno feel. Either way, it's amazing to finally out accelerate all those damn minivans.

Hopefully I can get some rpf1s soon and get some seat time!

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

Good progress so far.

Flier129

Well, I did one autox run in the car just to see where it was at with sound. This local region has a lower limit on sound than tours, 97.5dB. My miata actually puts out 99-100dB at the location with this limit. Miata clip for sound reference.... It's a hilly area, so it's almost like a bigass bowl. I was extremely considered that my Z that doesn't have any cats and a small "muffler" wouldn't be anywhere close! So I purposely got the car as loud as I could, going wide before the fastest element of the course, and broke wayyyy past the braking point. Got done with the run, went to the sound ****........ 97.4dB So the car should be fine on sound with some HFCs!


Also, I've found some wheels locally. I just can't decide how they'll look on my white car.

These are the spec STU Z wheel, 18x10.5 RPF1 +15. I can't find any pictures of this bronze on a white Z, but I think it'll look alright. Worst case I can dip them. Thoughts?

If I can get these wheels before Oct 17th I'll be able to do an event on that weekend with the RS3s. Then I'll actually be able to get some decent seat-time in the car.

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

I have not seen those on a white Z but one of the guys I race with locally had gold wheels on his white Z and looked pretty good.

As far as the wheels themselves....pretty much "spec STU Z" like you said. lol

Flier129

Sure wish I already had my HFCs........

Flier129

So as I'm thinking about having to take off the plenum spacer, I got concerned about the longer bolts that came with the spacer. Mainly, the three bolts in the middle of the plenum. I don't think these are thru-bolts so I'll need to either put the spacers on top of the plenum, cut the ones I have, or source some stock sized bolts. I'd actually like to source all "stock" bolts so I can include these bolts with the spacer when I put it up for sale.

Also was wondering where the power would be after ditching the spacer and putting HFCs on the car. For a "base-line" I asked the PO for the dyno-sheet...... holy **** did the UPRev tune do wonders for this car......dotted line was pre-tune stock ecu, solid line is post-tune with UPRev



That was on a mustang dyno too. Engine seems healthy enough, I may not worry about the tune lol.

Flier129

I need help deciding.....

Kinetix HFCs or Berk HFCs? I can get Kinetix for $350 +shipping or Berk for $415 shipped.
I doubt there's much power difference between the two, looking for longevity. I DON'T want a weld to go bad when I'm 9 hours from home in the car lol.

SilverGLE

iTrader: (3)

... I'm in ur threadz, stalkin' ur STU buildz...

Flier129

lol, at least somebody is paying attention to my build!


So I ended up just buying some new RPF1s in silver, mounting them up tonight, they guna look gewwd!

Flier129

Man, I really love how these wheels turned out on my car.



The car is completely different now, as expected but damn. This car is very large compared to what I'm use to and the front end feels very nimble. The rear-end hooks up sooo much better, no more wheel hop/spin in 1st/2nd, I even got it to rotate on-throttle a bit too.

I'm heading to an autox at zMax with CCR next Saturday. It's a nice lot with national sized courses, I'm excited about it!

SilverGLE

iTrader: (3)

I'm test-driving one of these tomorrow... If it doesn't disappear before I get there!

Love the why RPF1s look on a Z!

What are the specs, square/staggered...?

Flier129

Nice! If it does, I wouldn't sweat it. Nissan made a **** ton of these, part of the reason for their price point.

This is the "spec stu z" setup, well one of them Haha. 18x10.5 squared, best tire option is 275/35/18 re71rs. On 285 rs3s right now because I got such good deal on them. Plus, I didn't wanna burn new rubber while I'm learning the car.

SilverGLE

iTrader: (3)

Gotcha!

I typically pick some midrange tires and run them until I need a new set, then repeat. At least with something that's 2WD, I won't have to worry about all 4 tires matching.

Would up driving 3... An 08 Coupe (me likey!), 06 vert auto (meh, but the drop top was kinda nice), and a 03 coupe. The coupe was ragged out to hell and back, and had so many rattles and such, nevermind the previous owner did some questionable mods to it... But, for the third one, it was some small dealer in N. ATL and he basically just threw me the keys. Yeah, I had fun.

I don't know if I'd want 03-04, 05-06, or 07-09, or if it'd even remotely matter!

The 08: Link. It was a perfect example of a used HR Z. Kinda reminds me of the first STi I test-drove, a WRB 06 at Carmax on Parkside. I did love those LED tails, though!

Fridge Gnome

Damn, I was going to buy those craigslist enkeis!

Flier129

Rattles and such? Haha, coming from miatas I wouldn't know if a Z had a bad rattle or not. Hell, mine probably has several rattles but it's a dream ride compared to most of my miatas.


The bronze wheels? I didn't buy them, I think he sold them on eBay though. They had a tiny crack on the lip(where the bead meets it) that kept me away. The seller is a buddy of mine, so he let me know about it since he knew I'd be pretty hard on the wheels.

christoc

iTrader: (2)

Ditto!

SilverGLE

iTrader: (3)

$h!t, son, I drive a STI, I know all about those creaks & rattles... There's a noticeable difference between normal noises and unhealthy ones... This one's clutch felt like absolute crap, and the transmission/rear diff was making some unhealthy noises. Very much unlike the first 2 I drove yesterday!

Realistically, my better half wants a Z, and the 08 I test drove would be ideal for her, not so much for me. I think an early Z would be best, 03-05, without doing research on tire fitment and such. I'm going to hold off for now and enjoy the STI until the winter offseason.

I do need to look into aftermarket seats and see if I can lower the driving position a bit. And look into 4-point cage options.

Flier129

Got the car aligned..



Wanted more camber up front, but that's the most he could get. No toe in the front, I've always ran 0 toe in all my cars and I feel like front toe settings is almost a personal preference. Happy with the caster numbers, but maybe Zs always have a lot of caster with the mcphersion strut setup?

Set some rear toe to help put the power down and -2.5 camber is actually more than I asked for, but close enough.

Looking forward to the autox this weekend! I'll report back with video and such.

SilverGLE

iTrader: (3)

YOUR ALIGNMENT WILL DESTROY YOUR TIRES!!!!

Firestone...?

I've always run 0 toe, but again, I like to help my tires last on the road.

in for some videos!