STH Multi-Step Build Plan/Thread

[JARblue]

Originally Posted by SeeThruHead

I want to learn to work on the car over time. I'm going to take some mechanics classes as well. And do some online courses. I have plenty of time to complete this project. I want to do everything "right" even if that means taking 5x as long as spending 3x the money.

Originally Posted by SeeThruHead

I may not stay NA for years, maybe 1.5 year or so. I'm not sure yet.

Your timeline is totally unrealistic for your experience. Listen to these guys. Spend the first 4-5 years learning to drive the car, buying tools and increasing your mechanic skills, and building up the reliability of the car with various appropriate mods. That should keep you plenty busy before you consider boost.

I was where you are when I purchased my Z. I've spent the last 10 years buying parts and (sometimes) installing them on my Z and I'm still a ways off from getting even close to my end goals. Now it was a DD for 6 years, so that slowed things down; also I am a stellar procrastinator. But in that time I learned to drive the car and even had a few track and autoX opportunities. I had a garage and I purchased a ton of tools with still a lot more still on the wish list. I do all my own maintenance and have learned how to navigate the factory service manual (FSM). The last few years I have gotten more serious about purchasing track parts. I still have some more fuel system and suspension and rear drivetrain parts to install before I start doing some local on-track driving instruction courses. I'm well north of $10K in parts at this point with almost no increase in hp. But if I wanted to go boost at any point in the future, the only parts on the car that are incompatible are the intakes and exhaust, and pretty much every single supporting mod is already installed.

I know you don't want to just buy a fast car. But you might find it easier to just buy one of those and learn to work on it and do all the maintenance yourself and whatnot without all of the hassles that boosting the Z poses. Also, those stock cars are designed to handle the power. The Z in stock form is already too easy for young or inexperienced drivers to get into trouble. When you add boost to it, even experienced drivers find it to be an incredibly difficult vehicle to put down that much power. At higher hp numbers 1st and 2nd gears become essentially useless and just spin the tires without more advanced forms of traction control (some guys are putting in motec ecus and whatnot to address these problems). Not trying to dissuade you. Just something else to consider.

It seem like you have the potential to heed advice and be patient enough to be successful in your endeavour unlike some of the other clowns mentioned. It'll be interesting to see how it goes for you. Good luck

[SeeThruHead]

Originally Posted by JARblue

It'll be interesting to see how it goes for you. Good luck

Thanks! I will do my best to accelerate my learning. First thing I did after I bought the car is take advanced driver training at a track. I will be doing hundreds more hours of that kind of thing. I have no interest in buying any other car but I plan to do driver training in other cars, there are a few services I'm looking into.

[JLarson]

You've gotten some solid advice from people here, so I'll be brief. I think part of the issue with your lists is that although they're logical from a "my build should have this" perspective, there is a pretty large difference in difficulty between say the install of a Wavetrac diff and RJM Pedal, both of which are in the same 'stage'.

Some of the items you've got are easy tasks, both in terms of the tools they require and the time commitment, and some... well you won't want to do it in an apartment parking lot. Car knowledge is cumulative. Get a couple different kinds of sockets, do your intakes, your RJM pedal, change your oil, put in your bushing collars. Each one of those small things gets you closer to making a major change. My 2 cents.