Mitzone are outlawed in SCCA due to the 145bhp increase the red powder coating adds.







Same reason the 57bhp Nismo emblems are illegal unless it's a real Niz.

 

So, red looks cool and all. But I looked up alot on mitzone valve covers. i think ill get oem. i do appreciate the advice on why theyre favorable. I just looked up alot of stuff on them. It seems like theres more issues, like wanting to use oem gaskets, drilling vent holes, threading problems, needing to sand off left over metal flake. It seems like every possible quirk with those aluminum valve covers is fixable, but i want something perfect out of the box. That is easy for my shop to install and it work perfectly without modifications. Plus i think it may make them feel good to buy a part for me. Let's just hope my engine lasts that long

 

Nothing fits better than OEM!

While we're spending your money that you don't have at the moment, if you're replacing your valve covers, it would be a good time to install a plenum spacer to give you a couple extra hp's since everything will be off.

 

Yeah prob no. lol. Im just so worried about my engine and idk exactly how much this will be with my shop buying expensive oem part, and me already behind on other finances. Im attempting to sell a couple of items i didnt want to sell yet as well, like shoes and pokemon cards lol. I also gotta change these tires esp the rears. i like to think im a good driver but this is getting ridiculous. the rain is dangerous. Im debating whether to get a 500 dollar avg set of decent new tires, or goto some used tire place to hold me by and save for valve cover.

Please though explain the plenum spacer. I may be able to do it at some point. My plan was to prob get suspension next because i dont enjoy driving it really. I also want to get way too much and its looking ridiculously expensive. I do want the engine running perfect. It seems like the last performance mods along w tune are cheaper than suspension. It is tempting to do it first, and even skimp on it and not get a couple things. I definitely wanted the tomei headers to be part of it. I was thinking either tomei headers, 75mm, my intake. Or same thing except lmt 4in intake too. all installed with tune either before or after suspension.

im a dummy though and idk what a plenum spacer even is. I thought u couldnt have headers with it and it was mainly for hr 350s


i also do already have motor mounts, that i prob will install when they do my valve cover

 

flame me

 

No need to flame you. Your rims will do it for you soon enough.

 

lol prob going for the two used tires tommorow because thats all i can afford until friday. I dont have much faith i can make it 60 miles each day until friday. Plus, i can save more, to do valve cover soon as possible.

 

Used tires.

And Dugan day is still six months away.

Dude, there are things in your “build” that you could have easily skipped or bought a salami version instead of near-caviar. Like an overrated (IMO)Tomei exhaust. And yet, you’re gonna cheap out on the only four points connecting you to the road? NOT. A good idea.

Just gonna say it…. Every “build” from a nice street car to a race car needs a plan with priorities and budget factored in. Up front. Didn’t happen here and here you are looking at used Chuck Taylors with oil on the soles. Don’t do it.

 

yeah, youre right. I did plan on it being a slow, less stressful "build". But its like i want and need everything at once. I definitely wont be buying cheap tires once suspension is good too.

 

Your alignment is way out of spec. I'm certain I mentioned this before that if you alter the suspension (as you have) and don't get it aligned, your tires will be toast. If you don't plan on addressing it soon, you may as well get used tires which will be trashed shortly and suffer the same uneven wear. Just burning through money at this point.

Do all your suspension stuff.

Go get new (not used) tires.

Get it aligned.

Avoid doing sick drifts in the meantime.

 

Yeah i need alignment bad. Ill get a basic alignment friday when i get paid. Then i will get ready for valve cover gasket, and suspension work soon after. Im getting 2 used tires now actually, I just didnt want to pop these or wreck in rain. They dont look too bad. 120 bucks from a latino place and i think they balanced them actually

 

“Basic alignment” is throwing money down the terlet. But you ain’t listening so no point.

Heel nicely listed the to-dos in order. You no follow. Psh.

 

Post up the alignment sheet after Friday. I'm interested to see how far off everything is. I'm guessing the camber and toe is pretty bad as it is right now.

 

Get new tires before the alignment. If you get an alignment with trash tires, you'll need to re-do it when you replace them. Tires that worn changes your suspension geometry.

 

OP is "flush with cash"

 

Ok so i looked up the plenum spacer, and theres also a plenum power mod. but anyways the spacer on z1 is 200 bucks which really may be possible to install while doing head gasket, thats pretty cheap. Will it make me need tune soon after? the car didnt seem to get power from the straight pipes although im being easy on it. I dont want to lean out too bad before tune.

and also is it really more convenient to install while doing a head gasket, vs while doing headers?

 

yes, it seemed fine really except the camber, after shocks and springs. but when they put that control arm and the ball joints on, it got worse. now its def out of alignment and steering wheel vibrates at fast interstate speeds. which is why im doing the non special alignment first, to try to fix that issue.

The "specialty"alignment i need the arms for, and i plan on doing seperate from head gasket, which im freaking out about. (Commute really may get shorter soon thankfully.)That shop also is expensive, and backed up schedule. May be why i have my shop throw everything on, and them align it. Thankfully ill have the arms they dont have to remove, to adjust. The two shops are a few miles from each other

 

The only thing you were semi flamed on was taking a loan out for a car needing work that you don't even really have the money for. By this point the tire part is expected. Unfortunately you are starting to see the headache it was destined to be that we all warned you about lol

 

A couple things...

The HEAD GASKET is not the same as the VALVE COVER GASKET. Just like the strut tower brace is not the same thing as the sway/anti-roll bars.

In order to replace the valve cover gaskets, you need to remove the plenum. Hence, the perfect time to install the plenum spacer if you are going that route. A plenum spacer is usually a milled piece of aluminum which increases the amount of air in the plenum or it spaces it.

You will be running lean after a plenum spacer install, but it will still be driveable. A tune will help maximize that modification.

A plenum spacer install does not involve touching the head gasket.

Installation of headers does not involve removing the plenum, head gasket, or valve covers.

Anything with the plenum involves the intake side of things where headers are an exhaust component.

 

Yes, i like the car alot, but i need the suspension fixed to enjoy it. and i wish so bad i could afford all of the power mods and suspension and tune instantly, but no. I think socalz is going to exchange the transmission or something, its just moving slow.

Thanks for all the info heel! Im a little worried about running lean. Im not sure how much damage it could cause honestly. You say i can drive like that, but it already feels less responsive to throttle, even though ive been using low rpms lately. With how slow the financial stuff is moving, if i do the plenum spacer now, it may be 4 months of daily driving before the tune. Maybe even 5! As I plan on tackling suspension first.

speaking of rpms, i still hear a noise that i actually mentioned early in the thread, and I dont like it lol. It has barely changed, and i believe when i described it before i said it had a hiss to it too, but thats my intake on top of it lol.

but anyways its like a ringing noise, like loose metal vibrating. and it happens when you accidentally go too low rpms, which is sometimes unavoidable in traffic if you take off without a space cushion. Like 2000 and below. I know all cars kind of vibrate and struggle when this happens, but mine rings lol