Looking for info on talented VHR builders.

Spooler

No disrespect to the guy but if he hasn't built a +1000whp Z he has no idea what will be needed. You can decompress it down to 9:1 and they will still lift the heads and cause destruction.

FL 4Motion

Imo, $20k otd for a fully built to the hilt motor ain’t too bad. At this level you really gotta pay to play.

But, proper race motor and daily driver don’t belong in the same sentence. Isn’t it only around $7500 for a stock long block? Why not just slap a FI tt kit on it and run 500-600 whp relatively reliably and if or when you lose a motor, only be looking at around $7500 plus install instead. Your car will be helashiosly quick and it won’t be ******** the bed constantly or having little issues all the time. Race cars are high maintenance bitches.

oldskoolchuk

That's where I'm at now. The builders and owner who had the build done initially decided to delete the passenger side pcv to make room for turbo piping, they were running it on pump gas at around 425whp. Since I've got it I've switched to e85, and as soon as we noticed the lack of a pcv on that side we fixed it... which took me machining up an elbow fitting at work by reverse engineering the pcv valve dimensions and then making a hose barb that threads into that to get a low enough profile fitting that would fit under the pipes. The problem is the damage is already done, and now that there's a pcv (feeding to the intake) I'm blowing big blue smoke at idle. So the answer is clear, swap another motor in for the time being and enjoy my 600, and build the one that's in it for more power and hopefully also reliability. The goal is to beat the CTS-Vs and the boosted mustangs with Coyotes and 10 speeds in the local late night racing scene... and so here I am looking for wisdom and advice.

FL 4Motion

Ok, swapping in a new to you stock long block and then using your old motor to build up w/o going thru as much downtime is a good idea. Also, then when you swap again, you’ll have a spare long block on deck just in case. Even a fully built motor done by the best shop around and tuned by the best tuner etc could still easily go boom just bc at those power levels, 800+ whp, there’s just no guarantees on anything. Be prepared to be chasing down little gremlins on a regular basis too, that’s part of the game at that level.

You’ll see in spooler’s thread, but your going to need to address your 6mt at some point, I’m assuming you’ve got a mt cause the at won’t cut it at that level afaik. You should look into Phunk’s thread about swapping in a bmw dct so you can put the power done better and w/o trans breakage. He’s CJ Motorsports btw, great guy and great company.

Alright, so you want to be hot sh1t at the local drags and do it in a 370z platform.

First, I’m going to assume all this will be taking place at the local drag strip.

Two, as others have already said, you need to grow your skills into the car. Master 500whp, then 550, then 600, etc. experiment with various tire setups, work on your 60 ft, work on your shifting, car control down the track. Work on improving not just your times but also your et’s. Get safety equipment professionally installed, like a cage etc.

Three, you’ll probably end up needing a reliable daily driver, cause you will break sh1t, even at 500whp once in a while.

There’s more but I’m kinda tired and I’ve got other sh1t to say…

oldskoolchuk

I feel you about easing into the power. I don't do dragstrips, but we don't need to go further into that convo... 40 or 50 rolls are better for axels anyway... at least until I hit big power I'm going to leave them for now. Roll cage and such are something I'll look into after I need the frame rigidity, and again, we're just in the planning stages... but I do understand that problem solving and chasing down issues is part of the game. Just so you know, I'm a 20+ year machinist with a fairly good grasp of the complexity and expenses we're discussing here, and I'm not taking any of this flippant. This money I'm going to spend is earned the old fashioned way, not inherited or anything, so I'm looking towards the solid group of people here to guide me. In the end I hope to have a machine that's solid, and an experience that was a challenge and a blast to do. A guy with no kids or wife needs something to keep him occupied... why not set a lofty goal to work hard for. Lastly, if I'm going to build, I'm going to try to do it as prudently as I can, and doing it in small steps only to go bigger later and throw more money at it at that time to upgrade what I just installed 2 seasons ago isn't a route I wish to follow.

FL 4Motion

That roll cage isn’t just for chassis rigidity, it’ll help there obviously, but it’s to keep you alive in the event of god forbid, the worst case scenario. If you’re roll racing in Mexico hypothetically, thats just as important as for the drag strip.

Congrats on 20+ years as a machinist, that’s awesome, we need more folks like that here.

Ok, I get wanting a fun hobby and not being tied down, just watch your spend cause builds like this tend to spiral outta control, all of use here have seen this movie many times over many years on this and other forums and in real life and some of us have even gone down this road. Bring a trailer is littered with 1/2 finished and 3/4 finished builds that the seller got too deep down the rabbit hole and then cut bait at a massive financial hit. Just wanted to try to help you not end up as that guy.

redondoaveb

You could also do what I'm doing. Just keep a spare low miles long block as a backup

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Fast Intentions "Stage Seb" twin turbo #098- Specialty Z/Tial-Xonarotor/CJM/Ecutek/HKS/KW/SPL/Hotchkis/Rohana/Toyo
750whp/700ft.lbs

Spooler

He wants 800 to 900whp, that won't cut it.

redondoaveb

My response was to what FL Motion mentioned about buying new oem long blocks. My answer was an alternative to that.

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Fast Intentions "Stage Seb" twin turbo #098- Specialty Z/Tial-Xonarotor/CJM/Ecutek/HKS/KW/SPL/Hotchkis/Rohana/Toyo
750whp/700ft.lbs

FL 4Motion

That, and a rainy day fund in cash of at least the cost of a built motor if going that route or a stock motor if staying that route.

Spooler

Another food for thought. How much WHP do you have now?

oldskoolchuk

Sitting at just over 500. We were waiting to for me to machine up the pcv elbow fitting to tune it up over 600... but again, that's when we found the damage was already done.

Spooler

OK, then 700whp is what you should tune for first go around to get use to the power. If you would like to go to 800-900whp, then as I stated your choices are SOHO or Mazworx. That's it. Just go slow turning up the power.

oldskoolchuk

I'm not just going to jump out the window, with a car I don't know yet, with power I'm not used to. I appreciate the advice, good looking out. I appreciate it, I do. If I'm going to go up from here though, it's going to be a full build, rather than spend 7 grand on a stock long block to stay at the 500-600 range. Truthfully I'm going to have to upgrade my turbo system at the same time, and go to twin fuel pumps... and look at axels and a dif. I am going to have a look at your thread with my free time at work here, and glean what I can there... but again, if I'm going to spend money like this, it's not going to be a lateral move... it's going to be spend the money once and do what I want for long term goals. I have a lot to learn about what "do it right the 1st time" means... besides lots of overtime at work... or cashing in on equity. The planning is happening now though, and you guys are an incredible resource of knowledge and experience to learn from.

FL 4Motion

I’m going to go out on a limb that you’re a young guy, correct? Pls, pls if you hear nothing else, hear this, NEVER cash out equity, (home or investments, or retirement savings), to “invest” into a depreciating asset that will actually loose value the more $$ and mods you dump into it.

It’s no accident that the vast majority of us folks on here with heavily modded z’s or higher end fast cars and toys are middle aged or older. We took care of the student loans, the house, the cars etc and now have a bit of bit of disposable income to play.

I know that’s probably the last thing you want to hear but unless you’re a trust fund baby, (nothing wrong with that btw’), then you need to live in the real world.

Next topic, why a z?

If your goal is drag racing superstar, your way way better off looking at a different platform.

If it’s bc you love the z, and appreciate the heritage etc, I get that but just know this is the wrong tool for the task you’ve set out to conquer.

Unless your sponsored and getting paid, making a living to race then at the end of the day beating other people is just for your ego, and maybe a quick lay with a girl you definitely don’t wanna bring home to momma.

It’s easy to lose sigh5 of what really matters in life especially when you’re reading this forum and seeing all the IG hero builds etc, but you need to create a list of life goals and milestones you want to achieve both personally and professionally and I’m here to tell you, you’re 1/4 mile time and beating those stangs and camaros shouldn’t make the cut, that’s just entertainment and hobby. Making $$, becoming financially independent, owning your own house etc, that’s what makes a successful life and the playtime stuff will come naturally.

Alright, I know I sound like a old fuddyduddy killjoy but I’m not wrong.