Nissan 370Z Forum - Daily Driver No Longer

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Nissan 370Z Forum (http://www.the370z.com/)

- Track / Autocross / Drifting / Dragstrip (http://www.the370z.com/track-autocross-drifting-dragstrip/)

- - Daily Driver No Longer (http://www.the370z.com/track-autocross-drifting-dragstrip/130255-daily-driver-no-longer.html)

JARblue

03-19-2019 09:19 AM

Daily Driver No Longer

Original Post:
Ok, I finally got serious about getting the Z out on the track. I've collected some serious parts over the years, and I'm open to any input from an experienced perspective. My goal is for the car to be street legal with a heavy emphasis on track performance. And since I'm not quite to the point where I can trailer it to a location (because I don't currently have a vehicle to tow with), reliability is the name of the game at this time. So while I prefer to stay focused on track performance, I don't mind sacrificing some to make sure the car can drive home after track sessions.

The vehicle has 100K daily driven miles. A lot of highway miles, but there are a number of hard driven miles in there as well. I change fluids frequently and never had any real mechanical issues other than a steering rack replaced under warranty at 80K, a broken fuel top hat, and a power steering leak fried my alternator.

Parts List:

( Click to show/hide )

UPDATE 05/2020
Oil pump gears are ready. Insurance is back on the car.

UPDATE 06/2020
Rolled the Z out of the garage for the first time in over 18 months. A quick spit shine cleaned her up nicely. Towed the car to Austin Z Clinic with the most of the front end torn down to minimize labor costs. Phase 1 begins.

( Click to show/hide )

Phase 1: oil gallery gaskets, oil pump gears, oil pan, oil cooler, crank pulley, thermostat, water pump, PS pump, PS cooler, coolant reservoir, intake, engine mounts, front sway bar, and front endlinks.

UPDATE 08/2020
http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...s-oil-pan.html. Moving forward as planned. A good bit of the upper gallery gasket was missing when it was removed.

Phase 1 is complete.
Post #217

( Click to show/hide )

UPDATE 11/2020
Hydraulics went out so Phase 2 gets a head start.
Phase 2: dropped the car off at Austin Z Clinic for clutch kit, slave kit, transmission mount, and test pipes.
Driving like a champ now :driving:

UPDATE 12/2021
A Tundra backed into the Z while I was stopped at a light. It was at the body shop for 10 weeks for a new front bumper and hood. Not particularly happy with the shop communication or the finished product :rolleyes:

UPDATE 02/2022
Got the Z back from the body shop and promptly put it up on a curb. That was 6 more weeks in the body shop for another new front bumper, new LH fender, headlights and a wheel :shakes head:

UPDATE 04/2022
The Z started knocking and smoking on the way home one day. Towed it to Austin Z Clinic. Had him replace all 4 accessory bearings, alternator, and spark plugs. Might as well move forward with Phase 3.
Phase 3: fuel assembly top hat and fuel starve solution.

UPDATE 05/2022
Phase 3 complete and the car is driving like a champ. Turns out the power steering fluid was seeping and dripping onto the alternator. Replace an o-ring but that doesn't appear to have solved the issue. Will be digging deeper. In the meantime, doing logs to update the tune with Eugene (Bythabay).

Chuck33079

03-19-2019 10:14 AM

I don't see where you've listed a BP kit?

JLarson

03-19-2019 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3835300)

I don't see where you've listed a BP kit?

It's in there, but you have to do some searching. He lists at as the "B" from the Billet Oil Pump Gears, the "P" from SPL, and "Kit" from the CJM RRP Kit.

FPenvy

03-19-2019 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3835300)

I don't see where you've listed a BP kit?

why would he want that garbage?

FI TT only way to go :tiphat:

JARblue

03-19-2019 10:32 AM

I knew the first comment would be something about boost :icon17: :tup:

Unfortunately, that would really blow the budget. Staying NA for now :tiphat:

Chuck33079

03-19-2019 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FPenvy (Post 3835309)

why would he want that garbage?

FI TT only way to go :tiphat:

No, he bought the correct transmission. He can use the BP kit. :stirthepot:

FPenvy

03-19-2019 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3835324)

No, he bought the correct transmission. He can use the BP kit. :stirthepot:

it's still garbage in comparison :bowrofl:

Chuck33079

03-19-2019 11:20 AM

Says the guy who never bought either, and then gave up and bought a different car. :rofl2:

You need to hurry up and mod that GTR so you can keep up with a boosted Z. ;)

FPenvy

03-19-2019 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3835328)

Says the guy who never bought either, and then gave up and bought a different car. :rofl2:

You need to hurry up and mod that GTR so you can keep up with a boosted Z. ;)

i still think the GTR stock is enough vs boosted Z. i win the traction war all day. the Z needs more than just a set of snails to compete.....like a build block, tranny, fuel, etc...

i just start it and hit the gas :tiphat: i gave up due to it being a waste of time and money.

now, doesnt mean that i dont have a list of parts i'm currently sourcing to go FBO and E85.

Rusty

03-19-2019 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue (Post 3835283)

Ok, so I finally want to get serious about getting the Z out on the track. I'm going to dump some money into maintenance stuff when I bite the bullet and pay labor for the install of numerous go-fast parts collected over the years. I'm looking for any input from an experienced perspective.

The vehicle has 100K daily driven miles. A lot of highway miles, but there are a number of hard driven miles in there as well. I change fluids frequently and never had any real mechanical issues other than a steering rack replaced under warranty at 80K, a broken fuel top hat, and some recent starter(?) issues.

With the future expectations of track and/or autoX activity, I'd like to go ahead with a few preventative maintenance items as is reasonable for the budget (only ~$5K so no boost). And since I'm not quite to the point where I want to trailer it to location (because I don't currently have a vehicle to tow with) driveability and reliability are the name of the game at this point. I don't mind sacrificing on-track performance and spending that money to make sure the car can drive home after track sessions (obviously that's not always possible and I will need to have a backup plan).

My thought was to assign a 1, 2, or 3 priority level to the item based on performance and risk criteria. A 1 rating would be high priority due to factors such as a high risk of failure due to mileage or cause racecar or high performance value for the cost or just basic maintenance that is due. A 3 rating would be low priority due to low likelihood of failure or cost prohibitions for now or something that has little to no impact on driveability as well as things that are good to keep in mind for the future. A 2 rating would be a medium priority and basically anything that doesn't fall into the other two categories. For example, this might be things that aren't a priority but are much easier to do while some other work is being done.

Maintenance Items
1 Starter issue
1 Clutch + CMAK
1 Fluids (engine, trans, diff, coolant, brake)
1 Spark Plugs
1 Injectors
1 Oil Gallery Gasket. Might as well do the oil pump at the same time since the front of the motor will be apart.

Performance Items
1 Driver Mod (w/ Instructor)
1 Seb re-tune (currently on Ecutek w/o RaceRom)
1 Hotchkis Front Sway Bar
1 SPL FUCAs (purchased)
1 Stillen Brake Duct Kit (purchased)
1 FI 34 Row Oil Cooler (purchased)
1 CJM Billet Top Hat
1 CJM RRP kit (purchased)
1 CJM Engine Mounts
1 Torque Solutions Transmission Mount
1 FI Test Pipes
1 Carbotech XP10/8 Pads
2 ARC Coolant Reservoir w/ Catch Cans (purchased)
2 SPL Differential Bushings (Whiteline poly currently installed)
2 SPL Subframe Bushings
2 Oil Pressure Gauge
2 Fuel Pressure Gauge.
3 Fortune Auto 500 Coilovers + related SPL suspension bits
3 Wavetrac Differential
3 Track Wheels (Enkei 18s likely)
3 Radiator (NOT CJM or miSHITmoto)
3 2-piece rear rotors
3 Billet Oil Pump Gears

I will do some work myself, but there are a number of things I've never done. And as much as I'd like to learn and have full confidence, I simply don't have the time to mess with them. I really just want to drive the car :driving:

My estimates with labor (for the priority items) already have me well over budget, but please let me know if you have any questions or any recommendations for go-fast parts or maintenance items to add to the list :tiphat:

Jar, if you want to play the autox game. You have to decide how far you want to go because of the restrictions in each class. Most of everything you want to do will put you at a disadvantage.

JARblue

03-19-2019 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty (Post 3835385)

Jar, if you want to play the autox game. You have to decide how far you want to go because of the restrictions in each class. Most of everything you want to do will put you at a disadvantage.

:tiphat: I'm aware but its not an issue for me. I'm not looking to compete with anyone except myself. So I don't care what class they have to put me in. At least one of the groups I know about I'm told is very lax with the regulations.

JARblue

03-19-2019 05:14 PM

Oil pump is tempting. But expensive. What do you recommend? Sucker Punch is $1300 new so that's a big chunk out of the budget. I am not interested in RJM. Boundary Engineering is another but I know nothing about them.

Rusty

03-19-2019 05:21 PM

Sucker Punch would the way to go. Just doing the galley gaskets and oil pump will eat most of the $5K if you take it to a shop.

Hotrodz

03-19-2019 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty (Post 3835402)

Sucker Punch would the way to go. Just doing the galley gaskets and oil pump will eat most of the $5K if you take it to a shop.

I would go with the Boundry Engineering gears and call it good if at all for now. Remember the engine may need to be pulled to do the oil gears so that time and labor will be about $1800. Also add to the list ATI super damper. If you want a bit more power get Z1 400 hp kit. It seems to be worth the money without going stupid.

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JARblue

03-19-2019 05:41 PM

Yeah ... the clutch and maintenance items are at least $4000 in parts and labor :ugh: :(

Galley gasket should be done though, right? I mean 100K miles. If it fails on the track, the motor probably gets toasted.

JARblue

03-19-2019 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz (Post 3835408)

:eek: almost forgot about the ATI Super Damper...

No Z1 kit. The value just isn't there and I'm not shooting for numbers. Probably won't even dyno unless a random opportunity arises.

How much more labor is it for the oil pump replacement if I'm doing engine mounts and oil galley gasket work? I don't want to go crazy, but I'm not interested in doubling up on labor down the road just because I didn't want to spend a few extra pesos now. The Boundary Engineering gears are $600 with new OEM pump housing plus rebuild cost. I like the Sucker Punch option because of the upgraded housing.

Hotrodz

03-19-2019 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue (Post 3835409)

It is a toss up in my opinion. If you haven't had any oil related issues with the motor you will probably be okay and if it goes boom then a good used motor is about $1500 to $1800. So maybe pick up a second motor and store it until that unfortunate day comes around or you get that big pay day and you want to add boost. That way you can keep running while your motor is being built. Keep it simple stupid if you're gonna stay NA. I would ask Eagle if he did oil pump gears. He beats the hell out his car on the track and also drives it on the street.

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JARblue

03-19-2019 06:01 PM

If the motor goes boom, I feel like boost will come into play at that time. Truthfully, I'm just trying to avoid that rabbit hole :icon17:

At least until the disposable income is burning a hole in my pocket...

Moved oil galley gaskets to 2

Hotrodz

03-19-2019 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue (Post 3835411)

Haha, who said anything about numbers in that way. The power band with their kit pretty good for the track. You asked for suggestions so I put it out there.

As far as the oil pump gears go I am just giving you the same information I got from Seb. I ran the CJ Motorsports oil pump gears and my OEM oil pump for two years and never had an issue until my rods fatigued. You got choices and nothing is a guaranty! You got to pay to play with a track toy.

Oh, and you will need to add tires to the list as well. You will need set aside a tire fund as they are your number one most costly consumable.

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Hotrodz

03-19-2019 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue (Post 3835413)

Racecar=rabbit hole!

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JARblue

03-19-2019 06:11 PM

Yes. I am trying to avoid the boosted racecar rabbit hole. It's much deeper in terms of both money and time :icon17:

Thinking if I pass on the oil stuff, an oil pressure gauge in cabin might be a worthwhile investment. Maybe move that up to a 1?

Hotrodz

03-19-2019 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue (Post 3835416)

Yes. I am trying to avoid the boosted racecar rabbit hole. It's much deeper :icon17:

Thinking if I pass on the oil stuff, an oil pressure gauge in cabin might be a worthwhile investment. Maybe move that up to a 1?

Agreed!

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madwi

03-19-2019 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue (Post 3835416)

Maybe hit up oldfart. I think he became a dealer for Speedhut gauges, a chance you might get a deal.

JARblue

03-19-2019 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz (Post 3835414)

Haha, who said anything about numbers in that way. The power band with their kit pretty good for the track. You asked for suggestions so I put it out there.

Didn't mean to assume... It just seems like a lot of people that go for the kit are only looking for good NA numbers. And for the limited power increase, I'd prefer to spend that money on seat time at the track. I'm just trying to build the car up so it will last for a few years while I get ready for the big leagues lol

But that's the kind of useful information I like :tiphat:
More research now :shakes head:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz (Post 3835414)

As far as the oil pump gears go I am just giving you the same information I got from Seb. I ran the CJ Motorsports oil pump gears and my OEM oil pump for two years and never had an issue until my rods fatigued. You got choices and nothing is a guaranty! You got to pay to play with a track toy.

Sounds good to me. I didn't realize CJM made gears - I don't see them on the website. I'm pretty much ready to play. My goal is to build up the car and replace parts that are likely to break at all once before instead of in phases as stuff breaks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz (Post 3835414)

Oh, and you will need to add tires to the list as well. You will need set aside a tire fund as they are your number one most costly consumable.

:ugh: Don't remind me. I opened a separate savings account just for tires. Been feeding into it for several months now. I think I'll probably roll on your Nismo wheels to start, but definitely keeping an eye out for deals on some square 18s with proper offsets.

jwick

03-19-2019 07:31 PM

Daily Driver No Longer

I thought Phunks gears were a one time group buy. Went on about the same time he did the baffled oil pan.

I never saw he started producing them outside the group buy and actually never saw that group buy went ahead either.

Rusty

03-19-2019 08:51 PM

2 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz (Post 3835415)

Racecar=rabbit hole!

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:iagree:

:driving:

Rusty

03-19-2019 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue (Post 3835416)

Oil pressure gauge is #1.

Brendan

03-19-2019 10:26 PM

Do you want to compete with the car at some point? Might be worth reading the rules and building within that.

BettyZ

03-19-2019 10:43 PM

As to the oil galley gaskets and related whatnot, took me ab 16 man-hours to do the gaskets, Defi oil pressure gauge, and a bunch of other ish... and I'd never taken off more than the bumper before that.

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JARblue

03-19-2019 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brendan (Post 3835508)

Do you want to compete with the car at some point? Might be worth reading the rules and building within that.

I've made the decision that the Z is the wrong platform for autoXing competitively. For me, at least. Unless I want to basically keep it stock, I don't feel it's worth modifying much for autoX.

I want to redline 5th gear. I want to threshold brake from 150+ mph. I want to throw my Z around corners on the absolute edge of traction at 80+ mph ... :eekdance: ... safely ... eventually. Can't do that on the street or autoX.

JARblue

03-19-2019 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BettyZ (Post 3835525)

With the help of a knowledgeable friend, I dropped the transmission in my garage on jack stands to replace the CSC a few years ago. Two full days of work over the weekend and it buttoned up beautifully for the test drive at 8 pm on Sunday night lol

I'm tempted. To do a lot of the work myself. But I need to carve out the time. Just a matter of priorities. And there are others right now.

JARblue

03-19-2019 11:07 PM

Oh and yeah... just bought those Ti shims cossie1600 posted up for the front brakes... $123 apiece for F/R sets. Couldn't bring myself to drop $250 for both.

Spooler

03-19-2019 11:20 PM

I would recommend the brake pads be top of your list. Next would be the galley gasket replacement. Then the CJM RRP fuel pump kit to prevent starvation. The very next thing I would recommend would be an diff upgrade. Wavetrac or OS Giken. The OS Giken will need a diff cooler. You can get by without it with the Wavetrac. The Clutch diff will generate a ton of heat. Oil pressure gauge would be wise but not a gotta have now. Going back to look at your list again.

Spooler

03-19-2019 11:23 PM

That is all I see that you would greatly benefit from. The diff upgrade is an excellent upgrade. I would spin my inside tire all over the Dragon with the stock VLSD. It's horrible. You can add all the other stuff later when your times start coming down.

JARblue

03-19-2019 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spooler (Post 3835536)

Brake pads are a consumable. To be switched out for track and street if necessary. Carbotechs for track. TBD for street if I don't like the Carbotechs on the street. I love how easy the Akebonos make it :)

So that's one confirmation for the galley gasket. I think it needs to happen. I really feel like it's not worth the risk to track it after 100K miles of DD.

Already have the CJM RRP kit. Even came with an extra Walboro fuel pump that I will put up for sale. I do still need some missing bits to install the RRP kit plus the top hat. Very tempted to DIY. Not difficult; just tedious.

I really want the diff. Just can't swing it yet. And it's a good single item upgrade to save for. Doesn't create quite the downward spiral of other work like taking apart the front of the engine does. Good to know on the cooler :tiphat:

Spooler

03-19-2019 11:33 PM

As far as the oil pump upgrade I would save it for a fresh motor build. You got 100k on your engine, it's not gonna last long on the track. Get a junkyard long block and have it built properly. Do the oil pump upgrade at that time. You don't have to go crazy with a NA build. I would do the CJM baffled oil pan, ATI damper, Test pipes or long tubes, JWT C2 cams, etc. I wouldn't even tune the engine until that time. Save the cash. Stash it away until the stock motor pops.

JARblue

03-19-2019 11:35 PM

Essentially, all the stuff that is listed as priority 1 is stuff I intend or at least hope to get done before taking it out full speed on the track.

Spooler

03-19-2019 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue (Post 3835539)

Then your set. You know exactly what you need. Galley gasket's upgraded. RRP you got. The next thing is the diff. You can watch my youtube video's from a couple years ago. The first ones I posted was with the stock VLSD. You can hear it brake loose the inside tire on tight turns. OS Giken is great, just 3K installed plus you will need a diff cooler at 1K. Wavetrac will be just about as good and you won't have to have a diff cooler. It would be great, but not a gotta have. When you sling diff fluid out all over the place on the track with the OS Giken, it's not fun. Diff may go bye-bye if you drive with low fluid.

JARblue

03-19-2019 11:42 PM

:driving:

jchammond

03-20-2019 04:20 AM

$5,000 Daddy...”Chicken Chit Money” :icon17:

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