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The new cam sensors arrived so I'll be installing those soon. but it's peak vacation time so I'm putting in heavy hours while employees take off work and don't know if I'll have time to do this.... I'm going to set up the snake camera to see what I'm doing around the back side of the engine. I might have to take out the TB.
If I can't get it done by the 10th, my local shop will do it for $200, but that's the price of the track day... so paying that money to get it done to save my track fee would be pointless. If I can't get it done I'll just not make it on the 10th. this is exactly the reason why I wanted another car and I'm irritated lol 😂. but I never go out unless a car is completely trustworthy. coming up on my 20th track day next weekend, and I have not had a breakdown or a crash yet.
after sitting in the garage for 2 months, I decided to take the Cayman in to work today. it's an hour drive each way. The shifter cables are still bad but not outright failing yet. not good enough for the track but okay. it's important to drive these cars at least once a month. I wouldn't want to leave it on jack stands LT like I did with the Z. anyway, what surprised me was the difference in the brakes. The Akebonos with SS lines and motul 660 fluid was an awesome upgrade and I noticed a big difference when driving the Cayman this morning because it just doesn't compare at all. I need to put in SS lines and replace the fluid. they do both have the same HP pads so it was a good comparison. these Nissan brakes are no joke and just incredible for the price.
on an unrelated note, I'm getting the 98 Z3 prepped for sale. The new soft top will set me back $1,800. ouch! I'm still struggling to let this car go. it's just an amazing driver with the 5MT. it's got shitty old tires and original suspension, 25-year-old rubber, and you wouldn't know it behind the wheel. I'm just thinking, how great would it be with new suspension and new tires? damn!
I was talking to the upholsterer. he was a BMW tech before starting his own business. He worked on z3's at the dealership and said it's a brilliant car, and whatever you do do not buy a Z4! they don't even begin to compare. I'm not sure if that's fair to those cars, I think what he's saying is the driving experience doesn't compare. The Z3 is very analog.
****. I don't think I can sell it now. I'm talking myself out of it.... I kind of envision this car being a badass little mountain screamer. you wouldn't know it only has 200 HP. it's fast as hell. The later models had the 3.0 and the M overall is better, but I can install most of that M equipment in my 2.8.
thats cool you have had that many track sessions without a failure or crash, thats success right there alone. I agree on the brakes, the brakes in the Z with the DTC70 and akebonos are insane. The first thing I noticed on my cayman was how bad the brakes felt compared to the Z. Im excited to drop in the DTC60 pads up front, hopefully they make it better.
with the new slotted rotors and HP pads on the Cayman, I thought it was exceptional braking last summer, except now driving it for the first time since taking the Z to the track with the Akebonos, I'm shocked at the difference... driving home today, I was a little more confident but immediately wanted better brakes in the Cayman. they are comparable to the 350Z Brembos. both have ~ 13-in rotors , similar calipers. it's in need of plugs, coils, and I might do the O2 sensors. similar age to the 350Z, these electronics wear out. I'm eager to get it to peak performance.
I talked with quite a few people the last 2 days, Friends, relatives, forum members, and finally settled on keeping the Z3. so that decision is settled. won't have to bring it up anymore 😆 but it was a hard choice! lol.
have you taken the Z with akebonos on track? Its insane how good they are for the price. On the back straight at VIR im at 145-150 mph and can brake so late its crazy. Im just staring at a tire wall going 145+ at the 100 marker knowing I got this
have you taken the Z with akebonos on track? Its insane how good they are for the price. On the back straight at VIR im at 145-150 mph and can brake so late its crazy. Im just staring at a tire wall going 145+ at the 100 marker knowing I got this
yes, 3 weeks ago, and they were awesome! and with just HP pads.... I'll be getting DTCs for it. but I had problems with the cam position sensors so the engine wasn't producing full power.
I haven't been able to hit anything over 90 mph anyway because the track is small at thunderhill West, 1.75 mi, a very technical track with a 160° turn, a 120, a couple '90s, and the only straight away is only about 1,000 ft with a 90 in front of it so building speed is hard.
I've had some fun around that turn trying to do it in third in order to get faster down that straight and always end up spinning or fishtailing, lol. which is fun..... If they would open it up to the full width and cut out the "swamp" then I could break 100....
actually if you look at this map... between 5W and 6w I can hit almost 100. 95 pretty consistently. That's a better straight than the finish line straight away.
Last edited by Aeneas137; Jun 2, 2023 at 05:14 PM.
BTW, if your interested in running a catch can, which I highly recommend for your cars especially the track Z, I have one for sale in the marketplace.
oh? I've had one in my wish list at a couple sites for a while and haven't gotten around to it. which one do you have? I was thinking of getting the one by GK tech.
It's 85 this morning but I'm already at 11am needing another shower. doesn't bode well for this summer in the garage... changed the oil in one of my business vans and got the cars swapped around in the garage so the Cayman finally has the prime spot.
I found the cam position sensors in the Z but haven't pulled them yet. TBH, I'm thinking about skipping the track day next sat...too tired to get them done. I'll see if I feel up to it after hours this week. I've tossed $400 in track days this year so far. clearly I just need to quit for the year because of other priorities. I prefer losing that over taking the chance of a 100 mile tow.
lifting the Cayman made me very grouchy, which is a blood sugar moment... need to go eat. I definitely need a quick jack and a whole set of 12-in wheel cribs. The 10s are nice for sure (love them) but I want four 12s. so I can lift the car with the QJ, place the cribs, remove the QJ, and then set up the heavy jack stands. this is a reasonable alternative to a lift with a low garage ceiling.
I'll share one photo just so you can see what I'm talking about. I won't do this with OT cars much... you can see the car's had a fun year... scrapes along the sides, lots of rubber marks, and the front bumper has UV discoloration, needs to be repainted. I'll be raising it up about another whole foot to make plenty of room for doing the shifter cables, etc.
oh and PS, I'm planning on taking the body pieces to the shop myself instead of the whole car. so the bumpers, side skirts, while I've got them off I might replace them with something else...
Last edited by Aeneas137; Jun 4, 2023 at 10:51 AM.
Titan-7 TS5s
I wanted the bright silver but they were OOS so these are titanium color. I'm really lazy about cleaning off the brake dust. this is what they look like cleaned up. very light weight. idk if "forged" means billet forged or rotary forged but idc. they're very strong and a sponsor of SpeedSF.
his comment at the end of about the quaife is good to hear because I was looking at a torsen which is also a gear-based rather than clutch based diff. not as much performance but better strength and longevity. it'll be a while before I order a new differential from Z1, but that will be my next Z upgrade. meanwhile, I'm still working on electrical items and gauges.
did you guys see this? just popped up. I'm thrilled that Z1 is still producing interesting new products for the old z33. like the new six-pot brakes launched 2 weeks ago. this is timely because I'm planning a differential in the near future.
Garmin Catalyst is on sale now for $899. I wasn't planning on getting one for a while but with the sale I might as well grab one. Amazon even has a 5-month payment plan which I can't resist. I like the profile options for multiple drivers/cars so I can use this in more than one car.
assuming I get the Z running correctly... I might have to sign up to an event in the worst month of summer just to try this out. what also sucks is with the wonderful cool weather right now, I have not been well so I haven't been able to get anything done in the garage. but anyway just thought I would pass on news about this sale. for anyone following this thread.
