New Datto

[Philthy]

Hi All,

 

Just bought a 74 260z in Perth (well, a couple of weeks back). I'm reasonably sure I saw it posted here , but could be wrong.

 

Anyway, its the first Datto I've had since my first car..a 1600 back in 1985-8, so I'm back in the land of the living. Had an inspection done on it, and it appears to have virtually no rust, solid engine and all original. Expect its not a bad pick up for $7500.

 

Main reason for getting in here (aprt from shring the joy) is I'm intending to drive my Z in club events (hillclimbs, sprints etc) and was wondering if any of you have some pearls of wisdom regarding suspension set-ups suitable for this type of eventing? If so, be interested to hear from you.

 

Cheers, Philthy

[C.A.R.]

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Most stuff is common sense and would be covered in verious posts. Things like bigger brakes, sticky tyres, more power, suspension mods etc etc.

 

Let us know how far you were planning on taking it.

 

Welcome to the asylum

[Philthy]

Cheers...realised after posting I probably should have looked through the forums first...duh ! Found the suspension info I was after there.

 

As to how far I'm intending to go...at present I've fitted new exhaust and need to get the suspension done fairly quick (handles like a boat)...after that....I'm realistic enough to know that once you start....they can always be made better, faster, more comfortable...or they can multiply!

 

Its a good asylum to be in!

[FLEXZED]

welcome

enjoy the ride of building your zed

 

Loui

[.]

Go easy on the rear springs. Zeds go so much better with a nice soft rear end.

[Zedman240®]

Welcome...

A good order for mods to sprint I think are:

Tyres,

Brakes

Suspension

Seat/Harness/Cage

Power

Fancy stickers

[.]

In reverse order of priority?

 

oh don't forget. The trick to achieving a high performance car is purchasing an over priced minature model of the same car to stick on your shelf.

[Zedman240®]

In reverse order of priority?

 

If you value your life, I think its in the correct order.... I'd put brakes/suspension together really. Sprints now (in Victoria) run almost twice as long. Standard brakes used to just cut it but now it's another story. 4 pot calipers and vented discs should be the minimal for any motorsport. Unless your in Group Sc...

[.]

Yeah, I agree.

 

There are some serious brake conversions around. It really depends on Philthy's mechanical ability and budget. I went with a kit from Hoppers Stoppers. They use AU2 brakes. It was not the cheapest option but it did not require much mechanical ability so I saved on installation costs. The other advantage is availability and cost of pads. I have never run out of brakes yet....really happy with them.

[Scando]

Go easy on the rear springs. Zeds go so much better with a nice soft rear end.

 

Correct.  Don't let people talk you into stiffening the car up too much.

[PZG302]

Correct.  Don't let people talk you into stiffening the car up too much.

 

Nah, you blokes don't no what you're talking about!!!!!!

 

You want to throw in 450lb/in springs on the front and 420lb/in on the rear, plus drop the ride height at least 2" and run a locked diff to make it really handle.......

 

Ohh, and then don't go anywhere but the smoothest of race tracks, and you need to really run slicks with that set up.

 

My advice, before you do anything to the car, get the suspension checked out and replace the bushes with good quality mixture of rubber and nolathane. You do need some flex in the suspension to work well to give the car the flex it needs to handle well. And get a good wheel alignment from a shop that knows what they are doing, not the local tyre reseller. Talk to a few guys already doing sprints and suss out who does the best work in your area and be prepared to pay a bit extra for a decent wheel alignment.

 

If the shocks show signs of wear, get the best you can afford to replace the worn ones and you really only need to replace springs if they are well out of range for what will work, ie riduculously stiff like my set up above.

 

For sprints, even long ones, when you are starting out standard brakes will be fine, I do 10 lap sessions in my MX5 with bog standard brakes and all good. Just make sure that the pads are in good condition and the brakes bled the week before you go out. If the pads are down to half or less, replace with a good set of pads, Bendix Ultimates or equivalent will get you out of trouble on the fronts and the rears will generall look after themselves.

 

Don't worry about power mods until you can't drive the car any faster around the track after a few months of setting it up and really learning how fast you and the car can go.

 

Enjopy the car and don't worry too much about spending a lot of dollars for track work, just prepare it well, spend money on what's necessary, suspension check and wheel alignment, and get out there and have fun.

[Scando]

Just make sure that the pads are in good condition and the brakes bled the week before you go out.

 

Very good point, standard brakes with the right pads will work better than big brakes with the wrong pads.