James Z31 Engine Blueprinting

[DylPhil7]

Man i wish i could use a computer for more than trademe and datsun sites thats so cool .

haha and google!

dude! haha good on ya man how much would one of those set ya back??

[85_Z31]

well re designing a camber plate for one vehicle to another is no easy task (datsun boy - this is why you haven't received a file yet )

I have been fiddling around with the spring spacer design to suit my Z31 struts and springs and also trying to work in the maxim misalignment angle possible without things hitting

every-time I do a re design i get a little closer to things working nicely and I think of something else I need to check

If you see where I'm at for the moment this all looks well and good to go have it made, but really i know i should take measurements off the car and plot out all the suspension pivot points so that I can make fully sure that the Bearing has full contact at maximum camber ( before the spring hits the strut tower )

I think that I am much more likely to gain a CERT if i have evidence that these important safety aspects have been checked thoroughly.

Picture 1 Shows the shock moving through all of the bearings travel which gives me 9deg of angle from the shock to the camber plate



Picture 2 Shows the scenario WE DON'T WANT which is where the bearing starts to travel out of its housing and does not have full surface contact > potential leading to something failing = bad !! note the extra 10deg giving a total of 19deg



I have clearance d the spring spacer & shim nut to allow more travel without it hitting the bearing to aid installation and you want a big more wiggle putting things together.

so long story short is i need to draw up my Car's entire front end to make sure i can get some decent camber while things maintain proper contact.

I am entirely sure 9deg of movement is HEAPS but its better to check now than have it made and it dosn't work properly

[Bartman]

clever stuff.

[Mikewazowski]

Good stuff James. I'm enjoying reading about this stuff.

[crustywhip]

Im also enjoying what your doing.

[Bartman]

The hole computer modeling thing must be fantastic for working through any bugs, without having to make stuff, and trying to figure out all the conflicts of design just by using your eyes. It took me a few goes to get my head around the U13 rear disc set up.

[85_Z31]

Well the entire reason I learned CAD ( Computer Aided Design ) was so that i could make cool shit like this purely to benefit my own Nissan Z / BMW E30 related projects.

It certainly makes things easier, normally i would not go to such lengths to draw stuff up and just take it directly to my engineer to get welded or machined or whatever.

In this situation my Z is a heavy car its 1600kg with 2 people and a full tank of gas, its got a fairly heavy motor and front end so the loads on this part are fairly high to start with. Like Bart said "I'm no Saint " i like to go fast and enjoy myself and that puts it in my mind that its got to be right. I let my fiance drive this car and i don't want the bearing to bind up and bend the shock absorber shaft or some other detail to cause something to go wrong. I'm also not loaded so its got to turn out properly.

Easy to spend some time on the computer getting it right so the Missus can go for a good boost around the block and not worry about a thing

Another reason for the CAD is that nobody really mod's these Z's outside the USA and parts are just not available so i have to get creative or I'm shit out of luck.

I'm not an expert or even that knowledgeable on most things but I try and do a decent job and it would be pretty sweet to think that some of my work can help out some other GC's around the place !

So yeah if you want some CAD done there is a thread somewhere about "services to the Datsun club" which has a list of 3 or 4 of us who can do CAD

[85_Z31]

In other News I just ordered about $225 worth of oil change

One of these


and a heap of this



the ole v6 has had about 2000kms of boosting on some mineral oil for running in
I have no doubt in my mind she's run in properly ( oil has broken down already and I now have lifter tick )
so its time for some Man's Oil & a proper filter

[85_Z31]

Picked up some 20mm hub centric wheel spacers with all the gear required for $80 brand new, so they should get the factory 15's sitting a bit nicer out into the guards.

Just need some 15mm front spacers and I'm set



They look pretty decent, however i think i will Knock out the the unknown cheapo studs for some Genuine Nissan Made in Japan ones.

before anybody asks, I wont be using them Until i get cert.

[85_Z31]

16's finally mounted on the car, been waiting to see what these looked like for ages now !!




Front Fitment



Rear Fitment



Why I needed front & rear Spacers

Fronts to clear Brakes & Rear's to match the fronts



4 Pots and R32 280X30 rotors with plenty of clearance to the original 15" wheels



( still being able to fit factory wheels is hugely important to me as this entire car is quite modified but from the outside you can't really tell its that modified )