RB30DET 240Z Circuit Car

[garvice]

I know the RB25 box is much stronger but by the time you pay $1500 for a box and then buy the fitting kit to fit it to an L28 it turns into an expensive exercise!

That is why I bought a z32 gearbox, only $500.

But you are right, once I am done with it, machining, adaptor, speedo etc, etc, it will be much more then the VL Box. No need to explain yourself anymore.

[Scando]

That is why I bought a z32 gearbox, only $500.

 

That's very interesting.  I didn't realise they were so cheap.  How much do you reckon it has cost you to fit it?

[Vindicare]

I went the RB25 gearbox route and it run me close to 4k, but that was with someone else going the installation. I'd recommend you stick with the Z32 box, my reasoning is with the remote shifter it moves the shifter slightly back and puts it in a nice spot. The rb25 box puts it more or less in the stock location but tilted more towards the driver, also makes your shifter boot difficult to fit and as yet I haven't got off my arse to fix it, so I can see the tunnel through the console. My rb box was 1500 but nowadays they are down to the 1200 mark. And obviously to make it work with current available adapter plates, you require a Z32 bell housing anyway, unless you want to drill more holes in the bell @_@. The rb box is MILES better then the old zed box, but not as tight as I'd like it to be, so I'm gunna install a short shifter and see if that band aids the feel. First gear feels ultra short as well with 3.54 diff in, but second gear is sweeeeeet RB25 box is also meant to have better synchro's then the z32 ones

[garvice]

Here is my current running total, mind you I haven't put the box in yet.

- Transmission $600 (sorry, I thought I paid 500, but was wrong when I checked. Have seen these go for less then 500 though, just have to be patient).

- Machining for adapter plate $200 (was going to do it on my mates bridgeport, but his mill was about 15mm too short to fit the bellhousing, so had to pay someone to do it).

- Transmission adapter plate from 240hoke on hybridz $350usd, $381 when I bought it.

- Also bought a shifter mount off him as I couldn't be bothered making my own (although it would be hard to make) $160

- Also bought a short shifter because my transmission didn't have a shifter at the time $84 off ebay (once again, seen them for cheaper).

- While I had it apart I also replaced several seals etc lets say $75

 

So I am currently staring at ~$1500 and I haven't put it in yet. Will still have to get a driveshaft made, and I will get a mate to move the transmission mount (unless I use that as an excuse to buy a welder ).

 

So, I think I should be able to do it for under $2000, and that is by paying for extras. I think you could probably do it in Aus for under $1500 if you waited for the right deals and had a nice mill.

[Scando]

Thanks for all the info guys.  The Z32 box definately sounds like a good option.  Especially while the Aussie dollar is so strong to buy the adapter plate from the US.  What machining is involved Garvice?

 

Got the VL box in the car and the electric pump fitted in the water feed line to the turbo.  Also changed the head gasket because we've been running 15-21 psi with a standard head gasket and it hasn't been changed in a couple of years!  Turned out we wasted our time cause the old one was still perfect when we removed it.  Went and did a fairly long stint at Baskerville yesterday and the temp stayed fine and it didn't spit any water out into the overflow.  The gearbox also felt good so hopefully we're all set for PI

[garvice]

All the details are on Hybridz. There was a machining document in the Downloads section, if you can't find it, P.M me your email and I will send you a copy. Basically you take 720" from the bellhousing where the adapter sits and a little more from where the starter interferes.

[sco_aus]

Look forward to hearing your results from PI.

[Scando]

PM sent, thanks Garvice

 

I'm not expecting anything too spectacular results wise Scott.  I'll only be running 15psi over there to look after the gearbox so it's probably back to around 220rwkw.

 

I've been getting in a bit of practice on the V8 supercars game and it's good signs so far, I went 17 seconds under the lap record last night    I got disqualified for shunting people though, better not do that when it comes to the real thing 

[Scando]

Well all in all I had a great weekend.  You Victorians have no idea how lucky you are to have Phillip Island in your backyard!  Results wise I didn't end up so good, I only finished one of the three races with my battery dying in the 2nd race and the teeth off my crown wheel disintegrating in the final but that's another story!  Despite the couple of break downs I still got to do plenty of laps of what is a truely amazing circuit and ended up with a best time of 1:48.

 

http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?08/11/2009.PHIL.Q5

 

In the first practice session the track seemed very daunting.  Lots of corners where the quick line isn't obvious and I think a track you could do 100's of laps around and still never get right.  Also, I was hitting the limiter at about the start/finish line!  I managed a best time of 1:50.8 which I was quite happy with for my first run on the track.

 

In qualifying we took the Bridgestones off and went for the Dunlops which I was expecting to be about a second quicker.  The car didn't actually feel as nice and while I did go 4 tenths quicker I think this was mainly due to me learning the track a bit better.  I qualified 9th out of 24 cars which I was quite happy with considering it was a very strong field.

 

For the first race we decided to go back to the Bridgestones.  I don't use them in Tassie and since the times didn't seem to be much different I thought I might aswell wear them out!  I had a great battle with Simon Gillett in a tarmac rally spec STI and just managed to hold him off.  That was the end of saturday and we decided to put the old R180 3.54 weldy in for the next day.  I didn't think this would make the car any quicker but I hated sitting the car on the limiter for about 300 metres of the straight!

 

Sunday morning we had a re-qualifying and the car felt fantastic.  It actually felt to handle better with the weldy than the LSD and it allowed me to punch out of honda corner and lukey heights in 2nd where with the 3.7 it was either a quick bit of wheelspin in 2nd then change to 3rd stick to 3rd and bog down.  It was still just hitting the limiter before I'd back off at the end of the straight so the gearing was spot on.  This is when I got my best time of 1:48.8 which put me on 5th which I was absolutely stoked about.  When I do the calculation with a 3.54 diff, 0.759 5th, 255/40 17 wheels and 6,300rpm it comes out at 278km/h, but that doesn't seem right?  The poor old thing would fall apart!

 

Unfortunately that's when the weekend went down hill.  When I went to start the car to go out on the track for the race it wouldn't wind over.  I got a push start but as soon as I booted it at the start it was breaking down.  I persisted with it for a few laps keeping the revs low and only loosing a few positions but then it completely cut out.

 

A quick check and it still seemed to be charging so we put another battery in and went back out for the last race.  Starting off the back I got a ripper of a launch and made up about 8-10 positions before the first corner.  I was getting through the field but then a couple of laps in the poor old R180 started skipping teeth.  I figured it was the last race so I might aswell drive it til it stopped and made it up as high as 6th before it completly lost drive.

 

It was a bit disappointing not to finish the last couple of races but all in all I was wrapped with the way the car performed and left with a huge smile on my face.  I was only running 15psi for the weekend and would have loved to jack it up to the 21psi which I know the engine can cop just to see what it was really capable of but since it was such a warm weekend the engine temp was already getting high and I knew it would be detrimental to the drivetrain.

 

I have a bit of video I'll post up when I get a chance.  Unfortunately the memory card was full before the final which would have been by far the best race to watch.

 

The only bad part about all this is knowing that I'll most likely never get to race at that amazing track again!

[PZG302]

Shane,

 

Glad you had a ball at PI, even if the weekend did turn sour at the end.

 

You must have been punishing the diff to get it to break like that, though I have never had a diff let go like that in my car

 

The locker would have been nicer to allow you to just launch out of the slower corners, just that little bit better than the LSD would plus the better gearing would make a hell of a lot of difference as you were able to flow through the corners better and also better use the torque of the engine to drive out nicely, just where you make up most time. Also with the slightly more understeer setup the locker would induce, that may have helped in getting round the slower corners a bit better than with the LSD allowing a bit more oversteer, if you didn't change the suspension set up between diffs.

 

Sounds like you may need to change the alternator pulley to a slightly larger one with the revs you were pulling. Mine used to have the same symptoms until we fitted a larger pulley to underdrive the alternator. The insides would spin themselves apart at the high revs, but still show it would charge in the pits. Took a little while to sort that one out. The only problem I have now is that I flatten the battery on hill climb events as the time spent at high revs isn't enough for the battery.

[Scando]

I've never busted a diff before either.  I think it's just the way the power comes in so hard with the new turbo now.  And combined with the heat generated from it spinning so quick since it's such a high speed circuit.

 

It's weird, the car was understeering through the tight corners with the LSD.  When we put the weldy in is stopped understeering!  Makes no sense?  Anyway, don't think I'll bother with LSD's anymore after I bust the one I have, I'll just go back to weldys but use R200's now instead of R180's.

 

I reckon you're dead right about the alternator spinning too fast.  I usually change at 5,500-6,000rpm.  It never normally hits the limiter.  Having said that, people rev L6's well past 6,300 all the time so it shouldn't really be a problem?

[Zedman240®]

Excellent time at PI Shane...well done. It is a hard track to master. I keep stuffing up the sweeper coming onto the main straight; it's like a double apex that you just have to keep the power on all the way through. I'm dissapointed I couldn't make it there to watch. I hope you do make it there once more, would be worth a looksy.

[Scando]

Thanks Dimitri, it sure is a hard track to learn.  Some of those corners you could apex in about 20 different spots!

 

The corner coming onto the straight is very tricky and very important.  In the first practice I dropped my rear wheel off the edge of the outside ripple strip, an STI a couple of cars behind did the same thing and it sent him sideways across the track and had a big shunt into the pit lane wall.  Not nice at all!

 

Pics from the weekend here:

http://www.graphicdakphotos.com/search_results.asp?championship_id=53&events=6244&activity=&keywords=

[Scando]

Race 1 video..............The only one I finished 

 

[Scando]

Pulled the car apart last night and it appears I'd been a bit premature blaming the diff.  It was actually the gearbox again.  This time it has destroyed the key that holds the front gear to the lay shaft.

 

Obviously the steering wheel spacer forgot to try 4th when it lost drive 

[garvice]

z32 gearbox here we come.

If you break one of those, then I think we are all going to tell you to get an auto.

[Zedman240®]

Might have to settle for a 2 speed Powerglide... that will be unique!

[waxhead]

Use a late model nissan auto and hook up the paddle shift

[Scando]

Thanks heaps to Garvice for all the info he sent me on the Z32 conversion.  99% sure that's the way I'll go 

 

The guys I race against are telling me a 6 speed sequential Hollinger is the only way to go............but by the time I finished selling body parts to buy it I wouldn't be able to drive the car anymore  :-\

 

Might have to settle for a 2 speed Powerglide... that will be unique!

 

Good idea, I could even set it up with the push button shift on the dash!

 

[C.A.R.]

Brand new current spec HS6 Hollinger is 22k...

 

Riverside Racing Parts here in Melb. have a couple of freshend HS6's for 11k atm.

[PZG302]

Don't bother with the Powerglide, if you want a good auto you need the good old Torqueflight from an early Val, even comes with the push buttons 

 

Hope the Z32 conversion works, might also be worth looking at a Tremec, Mal Wood at Warwick is the agent. Could be worth getting some specs on size, weight etc.

[Scando]

Brand new current spec HS6 Hollinger is 22k...

 

Riverside Racing Parts here in Melb. have a couple of freshend HS6's for 11k atm.

 

Yeah, there's two guys here running them and 22K is about what they paid for them.  Would double the build cost of my car!  Shoud be able to do the Z32 box conversion for around $1500 which is a bit more in my price range 

 

Don't bother with the Powerglide, if you want a good auto you need the good old Torqueflight from an early Val, even comes with the push buttons 

 

That's what I was thinking of, got confused sorry.  One of my mates has an AP5 he got left to him from his grandparents which has the push button 2-speed!

[bluerat]

Steering wheel spacer, I like that!! does the said spacer use it's clutch much?, It not a go-kart you know Scruff!!! Those poor Smurfs who gave there lives so your box could live...Now, Dodgy Rog has a brand new T110 Nascar dogbox in stock, you won't smash that, and you don't need the clutch....LOL.

 

Just watched your in-car, your right it's a great looking track. You sure make that straight look short!!, Was that PJ in the black Torana just ahead? We might have to plan a trip next year, look's like a lot of fun.

[Scando]

Right foot is for accelerator, left foot is for brake............I don't have 3 feet so how am I supposed to use that 3rd pedal 

 

Yeah, that was PJ ahead.  Apparently he looked like he was about to have a heart attack when he got out of the car after the race!

 

My house is supposed to be started this week or next week so I think funds will be a bit tight to do another interstate trip next year.  Bathurst 6 hour regularity in 2011 is the go me thinks 

[WogsRus]

scando, any news on the skyline, still for sale?

 

Ta