do you see any problems running a 1/8" (6mm) piece of aluminum (rather than alumalite) over the rear axle? Any insight on the front area / areas? or insight in general?

I have access to a 6mm or 10mm thickness ... do most people run 6mm thickness?

any insight would be appreciated

Goals for 2020 Airstrip Attack:
-Dry Carbon Hatch (painted in Pikes Peaks white)
-fabricated under tray
-under 2800 lbs
-tuned to 600hp

 

Glad to see this coming along so well. Can't wait to see the results of your runs at the airstrip

 

I use 6 mm and have not had a need for anything thicker but guess 10 would not be much heavier.and may require less support. As for the back axle after reading about the development of the 350Z and particularly their aero work on the under floor decided to leave mine alone. Some cars seem to have diff overheating problems which could be related to airflow issues, my conclusion was that a bigger finned diff cover would be sufficient. With yours being a turbo and so putting more power through the diff I'd be keeping cooling air flow to the diff very much in mind. Like your build

 

Cool - thanks for the insight/opinions!

and thank you - the build has been a blast...

 

I thought about getting a finned diff cover but noticed that for the application I’m going for would prevent installing a diff brace. I wonder if there’s a way to counteract that.

 

not too much going on but plenty on the horizon...

I really want to get the car out but it's been pretty windy and cold ... I could do it (as it's dry) but damn it's cold!

I found a sign shop locally (about 5minutes from my office) that can get 6mm alumalite for $140 a sheet ... so I ordered two sheets and likely it'll be in tomorrow. I ran some very basic layout sketches and I think I have a pretty good plan moving forward.





really been crunching on my buddy's single turbo setup ... we wrapped up installation and much of the 'small stuff' and we started up and aside from a few hiccups with the relay on (hooked up to the fuel pump circuit = bad idea) we did everything right and the car sounds really good, lots of gurgle, pops, burbles (technical terms) ... it makes boost pretty early on but we'll pay for top end though ... we got a re-tune on Thursday. I'll see about some pictures/videos.





also gonna pick-up a second Z33 over the weekend ... actually, just a roller ... gonna get a bunch of parts off of it and recycle the carcass. 4 decent wheels/tires, hatch/glass, roof, windsheild, front/rear bumpers, headlights, driveshaft, VSLD, axles, seats, fenders, and a cabin wire harness,

also has a front sub-frame which I may need for a batsheet crazy idea to get my 4" exhaust to the back of the car.

 

substantially complete on the blue Z33 rear-mount.

hat-tip to DPhoenix - who threw my buddy a deal on a legit set of Bosch 650cc injectors … slipped in and wired up like you'd expect.

Tuner came over and I watched over his shoulder as he poked around on Uprev … love Uprev but damn I don't understand their software...and nor do I want to!

Tuner and buddy did some road-tuning to get fuel dialed in and adjust timing for a safe driving before he can get it on the dyno.

After it was all said & done, I took a ride with the road-tuned car. It was tuned safe-enough for WOT runs but timing was set stupid safe and made only 3 to 4psi of boost … was awesome to see the car up and going. It was pretty quick but damn, a lot left on the table!

Gonna revamp my exhaust pipe and go hood exit (as previously mentioned). I cut 4" stainless steel pipe at/around 7degree angle to pipe-cut to bend forward and up …





also got a jump on laying out and cutting the alumalite … I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need another sheet and I think I'm gonna use alumalite on the rear-diffuser.

 

Worked on the exhaust a touch more and tacked it up...excited to see how it comes out ... will need to weld-in bungs at some point. It's been windy and cold but I want to get the car out ... especially after riding in my buddy's setup.








Picked up the roller ... $4 bills for it. Want to take a few things for myself, part out some stuff, and then aforementioned buddy wants the carcass to do (I guess the kids are calling it) a 'death' ... 'cart' ... 'build' ... ie, strip everything down to the frame, weld in a cage and cause ruckus (I feel old)...

 

More time on the exhaust ...

got everything welded-up and it turns out the exhaust pipe is about 1" to 1.5" too short to clear the hood... I was gonna cut the last segment off and put another 4" piece on it but I didnt have anything that long. So I added a 3" piece and I'm gonna taper it back 8degrees or so.

I was also able to trim the hood so the exhaust pokes through without trouble. It sucks to see this hood in this bad of shape. It's rough, very rough...I look forward to replacing it at some point in time. I've taken pride in keeping the exterior as nice as I possibly can. Aside from catching a light-pole concrete base and ripping into the bumper (it was replaced) and a lady rear-ending me at 3mph the car has never seen damage. It punched my pride letting the hood fly up and damage the roof.

but ... 'every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end' ...

I also welded in two bungs for my o2 sensors.

I anticipate poking the waste gates off as well - wont be nearly as complicated.

too short of a pipe:


finished product



loosely installed



punched through




I have Monday off for MLK Day and I think I'm gonna work on the front end splitter / flat floor ... I want to get that rolling (at least on the front end) to protect the turbo-setup.

I also anticipate putting an OEM bumper on the car in-conjunction with the splitter/flat-floor.

 

Why two widebands in one pipe?

 

The link is setup to take two sensor inputs and I left it this way for redundancy. I think this is for running different banks but I think I turned that feature off. I dont know if the link will average them out? use one as a primary and the second as a backup or a check? I should look into this.

The link does have a feature where if a sensor operates outside a given parameter it will default to a specified value that is used in the tuning. Meaning, if the sensor is reading 5:1 AFR (and this is obviously outside it's range) it'll 'lie' to the fuel maps and use a value of 14:1 (or whatever value you specify) and then it'll also give me the ability to run the car in a limp or restricted mode.

 

If the link thinks they are in different banks, and you have a sensor that starts to go out it could potentially cause havoc. The ecu is going to compensate for what ever the bad wide band is reading potentially causing one bank to either run rich or lean. Also the positioning of them side by side could cause erroneous readings due to how the air flow over one can cause turbulence for the air around the other I would think. But that's like fluid dynamics or some other smart person specialty.

 

I've got to look into it - I believe you can turn the system to a two banks or one bank setup with fuel. I hear what youre saying. I had my wide bands switched on my greddy / haltech build and when you graphed the O2 corrections it was nuts! Member 'Binder' sniffed it out and helped quite a bit. Im worried about fuel control but not crazy worried in that I have a built in factor of safety in my high load, high rev areas. But I hear what youre saying.

Finished up the hood exit, hooked up the o2s and my EGT sensor...it wasnt working before and I think it wasnt getting a 12volt power signal. So, resourced it power, and it's up and going.

I had to adjust the brightness/aperture on the camera as it was well into dusk. Also it should be noted that air temps were around 30degrees ... so I speculate the 'white-ish' exhaust is from the cold temps and not from blown headgaskets (or at least I pray it not headgaskets!!).




some audio/video

 

the headers get hot - no kidding ... at some point in time I will have them ceramic coated but for now they are bare - I didnt have the time nor the funds to do this before install. Next best solution and will carry-on when the headers are coated will be to wrap lines - fluid lines, sensor/signal wires, etc.

With the hood exit wrapped up and O2 sensors and EGT sensor right by the header wrapped the wires. O2 sensors are essentially impossible to wrap. Solution: depin and use a new connector. Did this for both the two O2 sensors and the EGT.

 

Awsome that we are starting to hear the engine running more. Have you thought about how dirty your windshield will get with the hood exit. That is a lot of fire wrap but very cleanly executed

 

Thank you kindly Rusty! Orange is starting to become my favorite color!

I got the car out today for about 10 to 12miles / 25minutes and it's a mind funk...I think I'm pissing out excessive exhaust...I did roll some video on the go-pro (and I'll try to upload). It doesnt necessary look blue'ish and I dont really smell burning oil but I could be completely wrong.

likely causes (if I'm missing any let me know):

1. f'd-out piston rings - will check my catch can and see if any build-up present and will perform a compression test.
2. f'd-out oil-turbo seals...I run my feed line off the block right past the oil pressure sensor and it goes through a large filter and a cooler before it arrives at the turbo and I am running a 40psi reducer ... so I am not sure ... this may be something to check if the piston rings are ok / comp test is solid / nothing in the catch can
3. coolant leak in/around the cylinders or on the turbo cooling chambers. Not 100% sure how to test this but my radiator was maybe an inch down. Maybe it's not 100% bleed-out?

Looking at my data logs (and also keeping an eye on the computer - the car only reached an ECT of 135degrees - is it possible that my ECT enrichments are too high and this is excessive/unburnt fuel? The car gurgles and pops quite a bit.

I think I'm gonna seek some help from my landlord (who's a master tech / mechanic) and get some insight from him. Might do the compression test under his supervision as that's the most critical test.

 

Personally not much of an FI guy even though i would like to be. Fundamentals tell me to check plugs first. They should tell you quicker what is going on.

 

I wish I had the level of expertise (and funds lol) to complete a build close to the level of yours. It has been amazing to watch this all progress.

 

good call … didn't even think of that. And, I've gotta take them out to do a compression check anyways...

It's been one step at a time - rome wasn't built in a day. I realized that I've had this car for 15 years come November. There was a time back in 2006 I was taking the car to the dealership for maintenance/upkeep bc I didn't have the knowledge base to do it myself.

As far as funding goes (and let me be a hypocrite) do your absolute best to stay out of debt and manage your finances down to the single-dollar or maybe the ten-dollar mark. Live on less than you make, have an emergency fund, cover your living expense first, save/invest every month, and live on a budget. I eliminated credit cards and credit score out of my life back in 2017 and my life has been better ever since and I use cash/debit for everything - if I don't have the money I save and/or work more. Essentially Dave Ramsey … I can spend money on my car because I have lived by his principles (once again, a little hypocritical as I borrowed money on my pickup - my ego and my principles got in a fight and my ego won).

 

This is exactly how i would like to handle my finances but the Mrs doesn't let me influence her much. We have a larger blended family right now and bleeding money where it shouldn't be going due to other adults sheer laziness or health. Personally just do my best to keep from being pissed off and enjoy what i can. Feel guilty sometimes upgrading my Z but what i spender personally a year is way lower than everyone else in the house so i say screw it. Do want to enjoy some of the money i contribute, especially being fixed income and not allowed to make 1 penny. Although i do help neighbors occasionally to make 10-40$ here and there.