by "415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
Published 04/25/2017 at 15:44
by "415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
Published 04/25/2017 at 15:44
Tags: Dots
STARS: 5
Poor 280Zs, S30s that were just shat on, good thing you can’t see the wheels, awful spiral rims that look like they should be on a terrible resto modded 33 Ford. Nothing super interesting, I did see an Aston Martin Vantage that was set up for the track, it was loud as fuck, mean car, too fast for me to get a pic leaving the city on Lombard.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
04/25/2017 at 15:54, STARS: 2
The 280z really shines out on the open road. If you are going to do a long stint behind the wheel a 1978 280z with a 5 speed and good door and trunk seals is hard to beat.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/25/2017 at 16:58, STARS: 0
I put a 5 speed in my 240, huge highway difference, I just hate what the bumpers did to Jaaaags and Zs. Everything got heavier really, fuel injection is pretty bad too. My car would not be an ideal road trip car for a passenger, I do plan on getting good sport seats that would make it easier. Mine is pretty bare bones and with the sporty suspension it isn’t something my wife wants to feel for several hours haha, my dog hates it too, he has this look of total discomfort and fear of the noises when he is in it, he likes to look out the back window though. My friend there gave me a big roll of dynamat and I might cover the spare tire area and foot wells, in the summer the heat comes through there, we’ll see.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
04/25/2017 at 17:04, STARS: 0
My dad and I drove his race prepared 240 from Missoula to Portland once. It was fast and furious. We were exhausted by the time we got back to MT. Next time we went over we took my Subaru.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/25/2017 at 17:36, STARS: 0
Yeah I go up the coast for a few hours on Hwy 1 etc. which is all curvy and I am beat when I get home.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/26/2017 at 06:45, STARS: 0
It’s a shame they sold really poorly here in the UK as 280Z ownership seems like the best way into S30-dom to me. 240s are much more expensive now, and 280s are just a bumper delete (free) and perhaps a set of carbs away from being 90% there.
The extra crash structures are regrettable in terms of weight, but probably not if you actually prang it! How much lightweighting stuff is available for them to offset the difference?
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/26/2017 at 12:32, STARS: 0
The sheet metal itself is thicker, all over, so they do end up being heavier in general, as is the engine, and from the racer I talked to it isn’t worth trading the lightness in turns. But if I were to build a rally car I would probably pick up a late 260 or 280 and stroke the motor to offset that. I wish I had more room and cash or I would buy one that wasn’t too bad and keep it for a later project like a rally car. A guy in my union had a 280 for sale, no engine so I couldn’t park it around somewhere.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/27/2017 at 05:38, STARS: 0
Ah gotcha. I did wonder how they’d managed to add ~200kg to the car with just bumpers and bracing. All-over thicker sheetmetal would do it...
200kg is a tall order for lightweighting too. Lose the bumpers for ~20kg each is an easy win (if it scales properly with the diving boards I took off my X1/9). That still leaves us with 160kg to lose :S
Lets say 10kg for a fibreglass bonnet (again, scaled from my Spit bonnet), 5kg each for wings, 10kg each for doors, 10kg for the hatch (if you want an FG hatch), 10kg all round for plexi windows (not the door ones or windscreen), 5kg for lightweight alternator, 5kg for lightweight flywheel, 5kg for lightweight starter, 5kg for scrapping the (probably) cast iron manifold for a stainless tubular one, 5kg for an alloy radiator...and I’m starting to run low on ideas (although I’m sure there’s more).
That’d get you to 90kg over a 240Z, or about 1175kg. Of course, you could do pretty much all of that to a 240Z and wind up with a sub-1000kg car...
I definitely like the idea of using one as a rally car though :) definitely worth picking one up now before they start to creep up in price. That’s something that’s bitten me in the arse one pretty much all the Alfas I want :(
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/27/2017 at 11:37, STARS: 0
Yeah I try to explain the difference to people, not many people know anything changed, they call everything a 240Z, all the way up to a 280ZX which isn’t even close! They make everything removable in carbon too, there is a Z that races that is very light with all that, good racing seats would be way lighter too. You know what weighs a ton in the later cars? The seat belt retractors! I saw a pair of 280 retractors at a swap meet and holy shit they were big and heavy. The 240 had no retraction, just lock you in place and it annoyed my wife, so I got modern replacements that are small. If that is part of the 280 weight, it could be ten pounds of weight to take out.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/27/2017 at 11:51, STARS: 0
Yeah there’s tons of little in-year changes to stuff that you just don’t know unless you dive into the cars in particular, although calling a 280ZX a 240Z is a little extreme!
Neat idea! It’s little things like that that are gold dust for lightweighting stuff :)
Interesting question, what’s the lightest anyone’s got a 240Z to while still retaining the bodyshell and engine? i.e. no tube frame silhouettes.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/27/2017 at 12:33, STARS: 0
I see Daniel Moore got his 240z race car down to 980kg WITH half a tank of fuel and him in it. Then so extra weight was put back with fire extinguisher, cage, and strut brace plus stitched seam welded front. It sounds like he is the lightweight champion on the race forums.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/27/2017 at 18:13, STARS: 0
That’s not bad going at all :) lightweighting’s a bit of a thing for me. I’ve put loads of effort into trying to cut down the weight of my spit6. Adding in a sodding great cast-iron i6, bigger gearbox, roll hoop and steel hardtop...but trying to keep the same weight as the stock Spitfire. It’s really interesting stuff :)
Always useful to get other people’s ideas on too. I’d never have thought of the seatbelt reels :)