260DET

Not a damn Porker that's for sure Easy choice, HR31 GTS Skyrine coupe, stick a LS3 into it and go have some circuit fun. What's not to love?

Managed to get a Corvette PS pump from the US after finding out that a Commodore pump would not fit my setup, Corvette pump does, yay. Getting closer to having the car ready to send off for specialist work including some nice welding, an exhaust system, installation of the Haltech and a dyno tune. Sump is supposed to be ready next week so with that the final lube system stuff can be installed, including the factory sump tray and oil pickup area cover, to which a oil catcher slot has been added, see the arrow on the pic below.

Unless you get them really cheap then used race tyres are not a good option I reckon. Tyre consistency is helpful in sorting the suspension out for a start and with proper use a new set will last quite a while. Looked at Achilles semis? They are cheap and seem is be good for the money.

If they are warn to near the indicators they are probably cycled out anyway but if the cracks are only superficial then they should be safe, into the corded structural part then junk them.

Dunno what your car is like but the long circuit can be hard on brakes. Other than that it's pretty well what you see is what you get, sprint circuit is fun although others prefer the clubman. What brand are the slicks, not Kumho are they?

Agree about the importance of the sills, when my 260Z was built nearly 20 years ago the sills were reinforced right along and then tied into the engine bay mmenbers. As far as the rails go, the 280ZX was built by the factory with them going right through to the back, probably one of the reasons why the S130 chassis was stiffer than that of the S30. A stiffer body is a quieter body too, less noise from drumming etc.

Obviously all suggestions are subject to what is settled under the rules but pushing them makes sense, not trying does not. As far as X drilled rotors go, changing over to a set of plain ones would be an easy job if necessary on the day in the pits. On foam filling hollow sections, this is being done by some high end manufacturers with production cars now so obviously the safety aspect is under control and obviously it's considered by the engineers involved that it's beneficial and the car is still repairable. For a S30 it has even more advantages which are once again obvious including improved safety and improving a floppy chassis. It's easy to do too, I did my drivers side door. It would not be surprising if some of the more forward thinking Sc blokes have quietly had their cars done.

No problem with Sc racing at all but I like driving powerful cars because of the challenge and the fun although it would be easier to build and drive a Sc Zed. Getting the last bit of performance out of a Sc, rather than build just another also ran, would be a real challenge which is why a bit of thinking outside the box and looking at using modern ideas where allowable comes in. To each his own of course, although it does no harm to discuss what might be possible I would have thought. EDIT: To add to a previous comment on drilled rotors, following is a link which sets out the advantages of cross drilled rotors over plain. I seem to recall seeing a Sc Zed that did not have cross drilled rotors, amazing http://www.ebay.com.au/gds/Drilled-vs-slotted-rotors-what-is-better-/10000000005243690/g.html Took five minutes to find.

In that case fill the hollow sections with structural foam, now is the time to do all that sort of basic good things that tend to be forgotten about once the car is built. Use epoxy resin and structural foam sheet in the roof to stiffen it up, would help in a roll over and be quite light too. An idea I've had for the solid front rotors is to drill them radially from the circumference in as far as possible, mainly to help cooling. And do the same with the rear brake drums but take the holes right through there.

Allowed to fill hollow sections with structural foam? Makes the car much quieter, good for hearing health Have heard of sneaky people opening up hollow sections like sills to add structural members, low weight is preferable to high weight too. Anyone drill holes in the rear drums and backing plates? This rule business could be fun.

It would be interesting to actually know where a S30 chassis needs stiffening, while tying in the strut tops is obviously of some benefit they are long way from the actual suspension pivot points where load is fed into the chassis. A simple way to basically check a chassis would be to jack the car up under one wheel and measure diagonal flex, that would be a start. I wouldn't be going overboard with an elaborate cage unless each extra piece is added for a specific and needed purpose.

Don't agree with that Mr Lurch, a stiffer chassis is a faster chassis.

Haha, Jason at it again. Except for wheels, tyres and aero a road registered car will be considered basically legal if it's significant mods are officially approved. Most are above the minimum 100mm legal ride height and have lights, horn and so on. That's talking about older cars like Nevs, Sinishas and mine for example, the later model stuff have much stiffer chassis for a start which is a big advantage. Like Matt said with the BMW, throw a set of semis on them and start going seriously fast. Can't do that with an older chassis.

Matt, you do realise that Callum is very fast though the slower corners at Lakeside, where aero has little influence, don't you. While there are differences between your cars, as much as is possible I reckon the two will have overall similar capabilities. So don't give up in advance

Sump is with a fabricator to get all its bits done and welded, meanwhile lots of little things being done to prepare for the final engine installation. Mainly waiting on others at the moment for stuff now, did touch up the engine bay paint using one of those cheap plastic spray bottles which did quite a reasonable job. A proper spray gun is just too big for what was needed. Pic below of the Xtreme twin plate clutch kit which includes a flywheel to replace the OE dual mass item. OE plate is a huge 290mm (11.5") diameter job, the Xtreme has two 260mm (10.25") sprung organic faced plates so it should be good for a bit of controlled slip when driving on the road or loading on the trailer. OE all up weighs 30 heavy kg as do most replacements, twin plate is 27kg with less momentum due to less diameter.

Callum's times are a good benchmark, while still in a genuine road reg car he has done some nice DIY aero work and is a very tidy driver.

Have a good one Sinisha, hope to get back to PI some time before the DT's set in

For Lakeside you will have enough power to do great times Matt, one of the many lessons I have learnt about that track is watching some Corvette in car. He was catching multiple MX5's in corners when the 'conventional wisdom' is that cars like Corvettes only do good times because of their power. In fact he was catching them around the back and tail gating them through the twisty bits, only getting room to pass on the straight.

I'm sure it's legal if you are doing it Matt, rules Agree with your reasons for picking the S chassis too, it's a pity that Nissan did not use it for the Z car instead of creating the luxo 350Z lump. You do realise that the pressure will be on you don't you, lots of great times for the S out there to be compared against.

It just struck me, a S chassis car is a 'sports car'? More like a two door sedan I would have thought, like the BMW equivalent for example. Anyway, good luck with the project, the S chassis is certainly a proven competition winner. A flat brim drift favourite too

These can come up really nice, can't understand why they are so completely ignored. Guess that they are not on the 'mate approved' list.

Plenty of progress being made, the sump mods may be of particular interest. Instead of going the dry sump way I've decided to back my judgment and go with a modded lubrication system including a wet sump, modified by adding three weld on box like enclosures to it's outside. Holes have been cut in the sump so oil may flow between it and each box in a controlled way. Gates are not being used because they would require the location of the holes to be compromised. Adaptors for a large sump vent and an oil drain down are being done at the same time.

Great work Darius, like your SR20DET concept too, definitely one of several very viable engine changes. And probably the most balanced choice of the lot.

Couple of pics featuring the manual throttle body setup, a lot of work went into the throttle lever so it would open fully with the accelerator to the floor. On the other side is the LS1 type throttle position sensor. It had to be spaced out with a made 2mm thick aluminium 'gasket' to stop it binding, just one of the sorts of unexpected problems that are all part of a build. Engine is now ready to be removed for some engine out type work, next time it goes in it should be final. Hopefully

I know a good suspension bloke who will sort it out for you, no more crashing over ripple strips. But I'm terribly jealous of anyone who gets the chance to drive through Eau Rouge, to be honest