My Z gathered lots of attention once again at our local car show. We got there early and got some prime spots. Jimmy (black Supra) and I were the only import cars on our row, the rest were mostly Mustangs and Cameros with a Viper thrown in. The Viper had twin turbos and claimed 1300hp. Two other MB Zs showed up and that was pretty amazing to have three MB Zs at the same time and place. The only other Z was GM. All of the Z owners are forum members so we got to meet in person which was really nice. The GM Z is getting the FI twin turbo kit installed soon. I volunteered to help out if they need me.

We got there before the field was opened up so we shot the breeze until we were allowed to get on the grass. When I started the car it was not happy! The SES light was on, the Skid light was on and the car barely had any power. I limped it onto the field and started checking things. Fuel pressure was good and nothing was wrong under the hood that I could see. Started the engine and everything was fine except the SES light was staying on. Weird! At the end of the show the car drove home fine but the SES light remained on so a code was set. I'll take a look at it when I get home this evening.

It has been a long while since I have updated my build thread so here goes.....

As some of you may already know, my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about a year ago. Well she pasted away right before Christmas (the 19th of December). She went peacefully and I was with her at the time. May she rest in peace.

The last thing I had posted about the Z was a strange running thing that happened. When I got the car home I checked the code which was 1239. That is the code for a throttle problem. I checked all of the connections and everything looked fine and the car was running great, at least at the moment. Well about two weeks later, while driving into work it happened again. This time all of the dash lights came on and the engine would not respond to any throttle input. It was idling fine but that was it! I pulled over to a parking lot and shut the engine off. Restarted it and all was well except I had a check engine light.....

Got home later that day and the 1239 code had been set, again. This time I undid my beautiful wiring tie downs and relaxed the wiring and then put back on more wire ties. It appeared that the problem was fixed.......or so it seemed. Several weeks later it happened again. And then again and then it started happening almost every time I drove the car. Frustrating!!!

I kept trying different things and it would be fine and then it would start acting up again. Intermittent problems can be very hard to fix! I was trying everything I know to do (I'm an electronics engineer so that means I was even doing weird sh^t). Finally one night while taking my wife out for dinner the problem happened THREE TIMES just going to the restaurant. Ch-ease! At least the fun part was when I pulled up to the valet parking and the look on the valet's faces. They LOVED my Z. Then they look at this old guy getting out and did they look puzzled. Hey, some of guys are only old in years, not attitude! Anyway, the car was in valet mode so I knew they couldn't do hardly anything with it. Valet mode is awesome!

When they bring the car around after dinner the valet said that it was not running right,(he,he). I got in and closed the door so he couldn't see and I took it out of valet mode and did a full on burn out right in front of the place. The valets were cheering and waving there hands in the air. The restaurant owner was probably not happy about it but for what a paid for dinner, he can stick it.

Meanwhile, back to the 1239 gremlin. This time I took the extension cable for the front throttlebody that Stillen supplies and wrung it out with a intermittent cable tester and it did not fail the test. So this time I rerouted the wiring so that the throttle cable extension had plenty of slack and tied it back in place like before. So far I have not had anymore issues, at least for now.

Last weekend my brother-in-law was in town and I took him for a ride in the Z. He had ridden in it when it was stock and was impressed then. The look on his face when I did a 1st through 4th gear pull was priceless.

When June rolls around I will be doing some more mods to the car. Until then I'm just enjoying the heck out of it.

Glad you sort of solved your problem. Seems like a lot of people have problems with those Stillen extension cables.

Hi TBatt,
The same thing happened to me and I got my shop to fix it and they told me it was a bad connection on one of the pins on that Stillen throttle extension cable. It has not come back so far.:driving:

My condolences to you and your family buddy.

Glad you got your car worked out! I kinda grinned when you said your brother in law was even more impressed this time around. My brother in law has a WS6 Trans Am with a couple bolt-ons, nothing special, but he thinks it is. Cant wait to take him for a ride in my boosted G this Spring!

I called Stillen yesterday about the 1239 code problem and the tech there told me that they had changed the design of the TB extension cable because so many people were having this very problem. The redesign happened late last year. If you are having weird throttle problems and the 1239 code is getting set call Stillen and let them know. They are sending me a replacement cable under warranty. They were very friendly about the whole thing.

My new cable just arrived from Stillen. I'll get it swapped out this evening. Hopefully this will solve the 1239 code issue.

So far, so good on the cable fix. Hopefully that demon has been eliminated.

Speaking of demons, have you seen the YouTube videos of the Dodge Demon? 840 freekin' horse power and turning the quarter in 9.6 sec at 140mph.

https://youtu.be/N6fc_LZLWfI

It looks like the new cable from Stillen has cured the dreaded 1239 code and limp mode. I'm glad that issue is over with. It is not much fun not knowing when your car will lose all power and you have to coast to the side of the road to shutdown the engine and restart.

Like I said earlier, I'm getting ready for more mods on my Z. Ordered the RJM V3 clutch pedal and CNC master cylinder as part of my clutch upgrades. I have the V1 pedal and it works WAY better than stock.

I'm now researching the clutch kit to buy. Right now I'm leaning towards the Z Speed Southbend Stage III daily kit and the 19lb flywheel. Any opinions on my choice?

I'm perfectly happy with my Z1 Clutch/Flywheel combo... and is cheap! =)

I have an RJM pedal sitting in a box that I impulse bought on black friday.... On the fence if I will install it or sell it though because I am not really unhappy with the feel of the OEM pedal.... either way, it's sitting at the end of a long list of to-do's...

I have the stg 3 south bend endurance clutch n pressure plate fs. All needed would be the flywheel. Pm me.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8278d5251c.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...66d3852cfe.jpg


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How is the engagement? I'm looking for a more stock like feel but with more torque holding capability. Pedal effort is not a big concern as the RJM pedal works so well and has tons of adjustment.

For the Z1? To me it feels OEM with a little extra effort, so perhaps exactly what you want. I am using the full face disk as opposed to the 6-puck disk. John@Z1 did recommend the 6 puck disk to me explaining that it would handle a lot more abuse (burnouts, power shifts, etc)... but I don't really drive like that. I have absolutely not complaints!

Got test pipes and leader pipes with Mil-Spec cats ordered today from Fast Intentions. I'm planning on installing these when I do the clutch upgrade.

Still studying the clutch selection. Way too many options.......

I finally made my clutch choice and went with the Southbend stage 3 daily along with ZSpeed CNC CSC upgrade. These along with the RJM V3 clutch pedal and CNC master cylinder will complete the clutch system upgrade. Install is scheduled for August. :excited:

In the mean time I'll be installing my Tial BOV and the 2.75 down pipe upgrade that TopZ has come up with some time around the end of June.:driving:

BTW: NO MORE CODE 1239! :happydance: