I'm just wondering something here.....Try this and tell me what happens with your cars. When you check the timing, we all know that 15 degress +/- 2 degrees BTDC is recommended. Obviously when you rev the engine, the timing advances. How far does your timing advance when you rev the engine to approx 3k RPM's? I don't mean gradually raising the RPM's to 3,000. I'm talking about Portugese tune-up/rev it 'till it clears out type revs. When I aggressively rev the engine, the timing spikes almost instantly (before 2000 RPM's) to almost beyond the timing measurement lines (30-35 degrees BTDC). I'm just curious to see if this is normal. The reason I ask is because in hot weather (90+) my car pings very badly. Obviously since it's cold now, I can't duplicate the problem. The car seems as fast as ever. It runs incredibly smooth. There are several maintenance jobs that I have done, i.e. replaced PCV valves, cleaned throttle bodies, installed grounding net. I plan on changing the o2 sensors and rebuilding the AIV's as well, so I may stumble on something and not even know it. The car also has a tendency to high idle. It's intermittent sometimes it idles @ 800. Other times it idles at 1200. I've checked for vacuum leaks, but have been unsuccessful. Any suggestions?

 

Intermittent idle is usually representative of bad contacts on the throttle position sensors. Usually!

That's a weird condition. I'll see if I can come up with something.

 

Thanks. I'll check out the TPS. They're easy enough to get into. I'm interested to hear what you come up with for the timing advance. Let me know.

 

I was told that the stock timing map shows timing to be somewhere between 35 and 44 degrees for 3000 RPM no load, so I'd say you're about right.

You could stand to advance the timing a slight bit. Hope that helps.

 

That's right where I'm at. I'm betting that my pinging is due to the old O2 sensors. I haven't run diagnostics, but I think they may be original. I bought the car with 75k miles on it. It has 148k now and I haven't changed them. I should have that done in a few weeks. I'll also be putting in an ACT clutch, Specialty Z SS downpipes, a Mueller lightweight flywheel, a PTI (from Stillen) 1 piece aluminum driveshaft and a Top Speed short throw shifter. Now that I mention Stillen, they pissed me off yesterday. I'll start another thread on it. Anyway, I haven't put anything into the Z for awhile, so I may have gone a little overboard. I just purchased the UR underdrive pulley set, a Z1 larger capacity oil cooler to go with the Z1 aluminum radiator with a 2.25" thick core. I think I actually heard my Visa card cry for mercy yesterday. Can you think of anything I missed?

 

What's a PTI from Stillen?
I know I'll feel stupid as soon as you tell me, but for now I'm racking my brain!
If you're doing the cooling system, a hard pipe lower radiator hose from ebay for about 60 bucks would be good.
I'm hoping you did the 60K maintanence at 120K. If not, now would be a great time to do it. Especially since you're already pulling the radiator and pulleys for new ones. Low temp thermostat from Nismo would work great in there, as well as the Nismo radiator cap. Hell might as well go with the Nismo oil filler cap too! The sponsor, Nismo.us, is pretty inexpensive for those parts.
I'm thinking maybe you should've gotten the one piece driveshaft from Z1 as well. I bet that aluminum one cost you alot more than their steel units. But you got quite the list there, pretty much all the stuff I want too!!
I hear ya about the plastic too! It seemed like that no sooner had I payed mine off that it was maxed again! Damn credit cards!!

 

PTI - PowerTrain Industries. They make the driveshafts for Stillen. I only know this because when I got it, I noticed there was a 4 bolt flange at the U-joint. The constant velocity joint that it's bolting to is 6 bolts. I called Stillen and they told me to call PTI. As it turns out, 4 of the 6 bolt holes will line up. I ordered the Timing Belt kit from SGP, so that that is on the list of things to do soon. Especially considering the water pump is leaking. I've ordered the aluminum lower radiator hose also. I would've gone with the Z1 driveshaft, but checkout my thread on Stillen in off-topic and you'll know why I didn't. Stillen charged me $366. Z1 had it for $275. It wasn;t as big of a difference as I thought it would be either. I'm not a big fan of the low temp t-stat. I'm upgrading to a larger radiator and a larger oil cooler. I think the T-stat will drop the temp too far for normal everyday driving. Cars generally run more efficiently at higher temps (to a point of course). I think the radiator and the oil cooler should suffice.

How much horsepower do you think I'll be looking at with the following items on my TT.

Dinan ECU/Chip upgrade
Stillen Intake
Stillen Catback SS exhaust
Specialty Z SS downpipe
UR underdrive pulley set (accessory pulleys included)
Mueller lightweight flywheel
PTI driveshaft


Cheers!

 

I beg to differ on the driveshaft. $91 is a big difference. To me anyway.

As far as hp goes, I couldn't estimate. I'm not sure what else you've done to your car. Do you have a boost controller as well? I'm not familiar with the Dinan ECU, either. With the new clutch, flywheel, and driveshaft, I'm guessing that you'll experience a great difference. I've heard that the lighter drivetrain components will take some getting used to, since it not only accelerates quicker, it decelerates quick as well.

I can't believe you bought a Stillen Cat Back.Or that you've spent so much with them. Reminds me of those Geico commercials, specifically the one where the parents are disappointed in the child for not shopping around for the best price. Granted we're talking about car parts and not tongue rings but you get the idea. The only thing I'd buy from them would be their aero stuff and now I'm thinking that maybe I don't want even that.
The only thing that I've bought from Stillen was a set of brake pads and the front clear corners when they were first available. Never doing that again. It took forever to get here and later I found out how much I had overpaid for both items. The pads suck too, WAY too much brake dust!

Can I ask how much you paid for the SGP Timing belt kit and what all was included? I've got a 60K coming up and am looking into prices. I'm hoping to keep it under or around Courtesy prices. Keep in mind that the TT prices are different.
http://www.courtesyparts.com/z32/z32-tbkita3.html

 

It was less than Courtesy. It was $280 (left off the belts since I'm changing to an underdrive pulley). It comes with basically everything you need/are supposed to replace. It's on the SGP site. Just click on factory items. The only things I needed to buy were the idler pulleys, the main crank sprocket and sprocket plate, plus a tube of silicone gasket stuff. I got those items from Courtesy.

 

Cool, thanks. I'll look into it.

 

Well man you seem to be very knowledgable about the subject. (of which I need help) and I know Riz. And now its time to buy parts for my project Z. I'll list the parts I need, and if you could, give me a good site or two to find them? Here they go:

(NOTE: All new)
-Gaskets
-O2 Sensor (if this is neccesary)
-PCV
-Silicone hosing kit (aftermarket... Is there a kit made?)
-Fuel delivery system (im not sure how to describe it... There is a kit where you can buy different angles of connectors, and braided lines for fuel delivery... Any idea what im talking about?)
-Fuel Presure regulator (I think im going AEM)
-Fuel rail (once again... AEM)
-Alumnum lower radiator hose (think im just gonna hit Ebay)
-New radiator (dont think its necc. but just for price)
-Low temp thermo? Good? worth it?
-Oil cooler? Good? Worth it?
-Cam gears (CHEAPEST!!!!)
-Underdrive pulley (what all has to be changed with this setup?)

Thats all I can think of at the moment, if you can think of anything else that needs to be done, shout out. O and by the way, Riz is aware of my problem, for the rest of you:
When I purchased the car, I was aware that the car needed a valve job, when we cracked down the cam covers, the timing belt was SOOO loose that the tensioner would spin like a bearing if you move it, there was a good 1/10 inche clearence there! Thats why the timing slipped... So I am replacing the heads, and harness, and tubing, and it seems im finding more and more as time goes on. Another thing. 91zxtt, there are these two valves on each side of the plenum that snake from the back underneith, the attached about 3 inches back from the TB's, plush up against the under side... Cant find out what they are, or what they do. I think its a part of the EGR system (Exhaust Gas Recurculation), but I cant be sure... the one on the passenger side is clogged with some sort of gunk. Any ideas???? (The openings are on the side, facing the center of the engine, they are right near cylinders 1 and 2.) If you have any ideas, post back. peace

 

I purchased new PCV valves from Kragen's for $2.99 each. That was a few bucks less than anywhere else I saw them.

The gaskets, well there are a lot, so I'm not sure which ones you're talking about. If you're looking for turbo gaskets, I'd reccommend Courtesy Nissan of Texas. www.courtesyparts.com. Their prices are very competitive and their people are very knowledgeable. Anything you can't find on their site, they probably have. You'll just need to call them (1.800.527.1909). I spoke with Butch.

SGP racing (http://store.yahoo.com/sgpracing-store/index.html)has a sale now on a Timing Belt Kit and the Unorthodox Racing Underdrive Pulley + the new shorter belts. The pulley requires shorter belts, that's about the only thing that needs to be changed. If you want to change the accessory pulleys also, you can go straight to UR and order them separately (www.unorthodoxracing.com). You'll pay a little more for shipping, but less overall because SGP includes the belts. Most places have the underdrive pulley set for about $450 + $50 for the belts. RVM racing also sells their own underdrive pulley, but up until a couple of days ago, I had never heard of them. It looks to be less expensive, but I know nothing of their quality. www.rvmracing.com

www.Z1motorsports.com is where I went to get my oil cooler; which they said was almost identical to Stillen, but $50 less. It is supposed to drop your oil temp by 30-40 degrees, but it will give you more oil capacity. It's always amazed me that the Z32 only takes 4.5 quarts of oil. It's not necessary, but I think it's $ well spent. I also picked up the Z1 aluminum radiator. It appears to be very similar to the Koyo radiator, but has a slightly larger core (2.25"), and is less expensive ($345). Plus, it should be a direct bolt-on fit. I haven't installed it yet, so I'm telling you what they told me.

I picked up a couple of Bosch O2 sensors at Napa for about $65-$70 each. If you'r looking for factory O2 sensors, try Courtesy again, but IMO I think Bosch is better than factory.

You're probably right about the aluminum radiator tube. Ebay is the cheapest, but I've had some bad experiences with eBay, so I bought mine from Courtesy for $79.

If I'm on the same page as you on the Fuel Delivery system, SGP sells a kit for roughly $1500. Check it out. It may include way more than you're looking for, but it looks like it includes all of the fuel related items you were asking about. I haven't purchased it, and I haven't priced any fuel delivery items. I haven't priced Cam gears either. SGP has some as well. You can also try Z1 again.

I found a low temp thermostat at www.splparts.com for $101, but I decided against it. It is IMHO that cars are more efficient and generate more horsepower at the temp Nissan designed them at. I live in an area of California that is consistently between 95 and 110 degrees in the summer, so a larger radiator makes sense. Cold air intakes generate more power, and the larger oil coller reduce internal oil temps which will extend engine life. I don't know how much of an effect, if any the lower temp T-stat will do, but that's my opinion. Others may have something different to say.

Silicone hose kits. I'm assuming vacuum hoses. Stillen sells them, but I'm not promoting Stillen. I had a recent negative experience with them. I haven't seen them anywhere else. They'll run $30-$40. I advise shopping around. Try these sites...

www.courtesyparts.com
www.z1motorsports.com
www.sgpracing.com
www.overboost.com
www.splparts.com
www.ultimatez.com
www.boost-solutions.com

I think that's everything. Happy hunting. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

If the hoses are about 3" behind the TB's on the underside of the plenum, it may be the turbo water bypass hoses. I really don't know what they do. The info you've given made me think of this diagram from Courtesy. Check out the site...

http://www.courtesyparts.com/z32/oe_...ater-hose.html

The EGR valve is in the back of the engine, so I don't think it's that.

It sounds like it's too far back along the plenum to be PCV hoses, but here's a diagram.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/z32/oe_pcv.html

Hope this helps

 

Haha thanks man, most of that crap is outta my reach, only got one G to spend. My rents dont believe in giving any of us kids money for our cars... But I like it, so I can really call the car MINE. By the way, my car isnt a turbo... So I cant figure out what these "valves" are???? , and tell me more about this Stillen hose kit... Do you know what hoses are included? Diagram? Color choices? Installation instructions? If you could get back to me, that would be cool, peace foo's

 

Oops. Didn't know you had an NA. Try this site for the NA by-pass hose diagram.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/z32/oe_na_water-hose.html

When you say valves, what are you talking about? Do you have access to a digital camera? If so, take a picture of it and throw it on this post. Does this diagram look even remotely similar to what you have?

As far as the hoses go, You can go to www.stillen.com
Select your car from the menu.
You'll find it in miscellaneous items under the performance web tab. They don't give descriptions. It looks like they come in red, yellow or blue. I'm guessing that they give you a long piece of vacuum hose, then you cut the lengths you need. Your best bet would be to call them. I would tell you to buy it elsewhere, but I haven't seen these advertised anywhere else. You could maybe try a local autoparts store (Kragen, Napa, etc). This part is most likely not Z specific.

IMO-I agree with your parents. It'll teach you the value of $. It will also make you feel better when you do it on your own.

 

Yea I got great parents . Its great, rather than them giving me 6g to buy a good running Z, I only had 2500, so I bought one off autotrader.com for 2100(after searching for over 2 and half years!), and payed 350 for shipping... And I've been working on her ever since, its really a great experience, and Ive learned a LOT. So for all u future parents out there, remember this reply! Haha. So Im thinking I need to call up Stillen and find out more about this lil kit. Hose is no big deal, as long as it includes a good diagram, i'll be ok. Im not sure what you would call these things, they seem to be some sort of EPA ****, they dont appear to have any use... So im not sure. I thought I had my digital cam working, and all of the sudden it wont upload again, so give me a while. Haha, peace foo's