wstar's Journal

ZforMe · 06-16-2009, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDMotorsports

Found one! Its made by Password JDM and is on sale right now. This will work in the stock location if you secure the base of it to the stock battery tray.

Password:JDM Billet Aluminum Universal Battery Relocation Kit | Your Price: $89.99 | Password JDM

90 Bucks?!?!?!?!?!?!?

wstar · 06-19-2009, 10:02 PM

Installed my Hotchki's swaybars this evening, haven't done the test drive yet, but that's coming up in about 30 minutes when I go out for a late dinner. Didn't bother taking pics, the existing DIYs by ChrisSlicks described everything pretty well (nice work on those btw):

http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...ion-front.html

http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...tion-rear.html

I set my rear sway in the middle position for now since the rest of the suspension setup is all stock, we'll see how it feels shortly.

wstar · 06-19-2009, 11:38 PM

Got some test driving in on the swaybars. Very impressed so far, could easily be one of the best bang for the $$ (and installation difficulty) upgrades I've done yet (although it's hard to beat the HFCs in that regard I guess).

Car is much more predictable and flat under acceleration in corners (not that it was that unpredictable to begin with). With the current medium setting in the rear and an otherwise stock suspension/tire setup, the car seems to have slightly shifted in favor of oversteer if anything, but not by much. I'll be able to tell better after a few more trips. One particular corner that I often fly through has an abrupt change in pavement grade (as in angle) between two lanes I swoop through, which when driving at my usual comfort limit causes the car to "skip" a little, which is somewhat unsettling. At the same speed with the new sways, the tires stayed planted all the way through it, which was really pleasing.

Again, very happy with the results for the money and time invested, and definitely worth the weight tradeoff too (these are heavier than stock).

RCZ · 06-20-2009, 11:35 AM

Good to know wstar, thanks for the update, I've been waiting for someones review on these.

ChrisSlicks · 06-20-2009, 01:54 PM

My driving results were similar (I gave a brief review somewhere here). I have my rear sway set to full stiff which seems to be a good track balance if you are a smooth driver. If you are throwing the car around in high speed auto-cross like I was last weekend it was actually a little too much and I will probably dial it down to the middle position for that.

The downside to the large front bar is that there is more low speed understeer with aggressive turn in as it is much harder to load down a front corner. An adjustable front bar would be ideal for those that do both auto-cross and track. On the freeway on-ramps the car feels very flat and balanced, feels like it adds a fair amount of grip in that case.

wstar · 06-25-2009, 01:26 PM

Re: oil changes and oil cooling:

It's about time for my next oil change (it's about 200 miles out now, which is really nothing for me, by monday for sure). I had been hoping to see what oil cooler kit upgrades Stillen came up with before this change, but looks like they're not quite ready yet. Apparently their original kit is out of stock right now as well, so I can't even get that here in time as an alternative for now. I strongly considered picking up the GTM one, but really I don't want to get into the install issues with that one, being a universal kit.

In any case, I do have the oil change supplies and AAM's VQ37 oil pan spacer here in my garage, which should add some capacity and help a bit for now. I think I'm going to just go forward with my change without a cooler (again) this time around while I wait out the Stillen situation, and maybe do my next change earlier than necessary as soon as the cooler becomes available (and say ouch at the $$ on an extra Motul change).

On a related note, I was calling several Stillen resellers today trying to find anyone that might have an oil cooler kit in stock somewhere that nobody knows about. One of the shops did have one of the official Nismo 370Z coolers (21300-SS370) in stock and on hand to look at, which was surprising considering it seems like nobody here has first-hand info on this kit. They said they ordered 3 and had gotten just 1 in so far, were planning to use it on their in-house car but were willing to sell to me.

I passed on it at $795, but did get to confirm some details over the phone from the guy who had it in his hands: Yes, it's a Setrab core, and a larger one than the 19 row unit in the current Stillen and GTM kits. The sandwich plate is not a thermostatic model, it's just straight though (which was a negative point for me, esp at that price). Also the guy commented on the lines looking larger diameter than the Stillen ones, but I think that's just eyeballing, I don't know what the sizes of either are specifically. If someone's seriously interested in trying to pick this up from them before they put it in their own car, send me a PM.

wstar · 06-25-2009, 03:45 PM

Editing my oil change plans again, looks like Stillen will have one good to go early next week, so I'm going to hold off on the oil + spacer + cooler until Tuesday.

ChrisSlicks · 06-25-2009, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

Editing my oil change plans again, looks like Stillen will have one good to go early next week, so I'm going to hold off on the oil + spacer + cooler until Tuesday.

Interesting. Any word on the core size?

wstar · 06-25-2009, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

Interesting. Any word on the core size?

Not the new one, the one they're getting to me on Tuesday is the existing kit everyone has. I don't have any official details on the upgrades that may be coming.

travisjb · 06-25-2009, 06:53 PM

My shop should be announcing an alternative next week as well

miguez · 06-25-2009, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

Editing my oil change plans again, looks like Stillen will have one good to go early next week, so I'm going to hold off on the oil + spacer + cooler until Tuesday.

Is this the oil spacer you are referring to, the one for the G37?

wstar · 06-26-2009, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miguez

Is this the oil spacer you are referring to, the one for the G37?

Yes. If all goes well that and Stillen's oil cooler will be installed Tues or Wed of next week.

miguez · 06-26-2009, 09:49 AM

Alright, keep us posted on the fitment!

wstar · 06-27-2009, 06:59 PM

Got my brake stuff installed. In a rush to get ready for the evening now, but some quickie updates on the process/parts:

Speed Bleeders: I'm an idiot, and didn't realize there are two bleeder screws per caliper on this car. I ordered 4, you need 8. I left the speed bleeders all on the front calipers at the end, and my final bleeding for air bubbles solo suffered a bit I'm sure as I swapped the speed bleeders in and back out in the rear to do those calipers.

RBF600: I bled 2.5 bottles through the system as I went, saving some in case I need to fix any leaks and top off. Once I get more bleeders I'll probably bleed another bottle or two through to be sure.

Braided Brake Lines: routing on the front ones is not obvious. I suspect the path I took is not what was intended, but I checked for clearance/stretch/etc and I think it will work, we'll see. Rears are easy to see. On the front I basically ended up with a straight shot between the hookup points, with a lot of the length coiled in a loop for suspension/steering travel (as opposed to wrapping around the arm/shock like the stock one).

Pad Swap: Akebono deserves an award for these calipers. Pad swap is super easy. Once you have the wheel off, you only need needle nose pliers and a small clamp to compress the pistons. Caliper doesn't come off the rotor to swap pads, you just pull two cotter pins, two large pins, and slip the pads in and out of the back side of the caliper.

Car is still on jack stands, I'm getting ready to go out for the night. Going to think about things more, doublecheck everything, put wheels on and test things tomorrow sometime.

tru_Asiatik · 06-27-2009, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

Got my brake stuff installed. In a rush to get ready for the evening now, but some quickie updates on the process/parts:

Speed Bleeders: I'm an idiot, and didn't realize there are two bleeder screws per caliper on this car. I ordered 4, you need 8. I left the speed bleeders all on the front calipers at the end, and my final bleeding for air bubbles solo suffered a bit I'm sure as I swapped the speed bleeders in and back out in the rear to do those calipers.

RBF600: I bled 2.5 bottles through the system as I went, saving some in case I need to fix any leaks and top off. Once I get more bleeders I'll probably bleed another bottle or two through to be sure.

Braided Brake Lines: routing on the front ones is not obvious. I suspect the path I took is not what was intended, but I checked for clearance/stretch/etc and I think it will work, we'll see. Rears are easy to see. On the front I basically ended up with a straight shot between the hookup points, with a lot of the length coiled in a loop for suspension/steering travel (as opposed to wrapping around the arm/shock like the stock one).

Pad Swap: Akebono deserves an award for these calipers. Pad swap is super easy. Once you have the wheel off, you only need needle nose pliers and a small clamp to compress the pistons. Caliper doesn't come off the rotor to swap pads, you just pull two cotter pins, two large pins, and slip the pads in and out of the back side of the caliper.
Car is still on jack stands, I'm getting ready to go out for the night. Going to think about things more, doublecheck everything, put wheels on and test things tomorrow sometime.

good to know thanks for the info on that

06-19-2009, 10:02 PM	#167 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3594	Installed my Hotchki's swaybars this evening, haven't done the test drive yet, but that's coming up in about 30 minutes when I go out for a late dinner. Didn't bother taking pics, the existing DIYs by ChrisSlicks described everything pretty well (nice work on those btw): http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...ion-front.html http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...tion-rear.html I set my rear sway in the middle position for now since the rest of the suspension setup is all stock, we'll see how it feels shortly. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

06-19-2009, 11:38 PM	#168 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3594	Got some test driving in on the swaybars. Very impressed so far, could easily be one of the best bang for the $$ (and installation difficulty) upgrades I've done yet (although it's hard to beat the HFCs in that regard I guess). Car is much more predictable and flat under acceleration in corners (not that it was that unpredictable to begin with). With the current medium setting in the rear and an otherwise stock suspension/tire setup, the car seems to have slightly shifted in favor of oversteer if anything, but not by much. I'll be able to tell better after a few more trips. One particular corner that I often fly through has an abrupt change in pavement grade (as in angle) between two lanes I swoop through, which when driving at my usual comfort limit causes the car to "skip" a little, which is somewhat unsettling. At the same speed with the new sways, the tires stayed planted all the way through it, which was really pleasing. Again, very happy with the results for the money and time invested, and definitely worth the weight tradeoff too (these are heavier than stock). __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

06-25-2009, 01:26 PM	#171 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3594	Re: oil changes and oil cooling: It's about time for my next oil change (it's about 200 miles out now, which is really nothing for me, by monday for sure). I had been hoping to see what oil cooler kit upgrades Stillen came up with before this change, but looks like they're not quite ready yet. Apparently their original kit is out of stock right now as well, so I can't even get that here in time as an alternative for now. I strongly considered picking up the GTM one, but really I don't want to get into the install issues with that one, being a universal kit. In any case, I do have the oil change supplies and AAM's VQ37 oil pan spacer here in my garage, which should add some capacity and help a bit for now. I think I'm going to just go forward with my change without a cooler (again) this time around while I wait out the Stillen situation, and maybe do my next change earlier than necessary as soon as the cooler becomes available (and say ouch at the $$ on an extra Motul change). On a related note, I was calling several Stillen resellers today trying to find anyone that might have an oil cooler kit in stock somewhere that nobody knows about. One of the shops did have one of the official Nismo 370Z coolers (21300-SS370) in stock and on hand to look at, which was surprising considering it seems like nobody here has first-hand info on this kit. They said they ordered 3 and had gotten just 1 in so far, were planning to use it on their in-house car but were willing to sell to me. I passed on it at $795, but did get to confirm some details over the phone from the guy who had it in his hands: Yes, it's a Setrab core, and a larger one than the 19 row unit in the current Stillen and GTM kits. The sandwich plate is not a thermostatic model, it's just straight though (which was a negative point for me, esp at that price). Also the guy commented on the lines looking larger diameter than the Stillen ones, but I think that's just eyeballing, I don't know what the sizes of either are specifically. If someone's seriously interested in trying to pick this up from them before they put it in their own car, send me a PM. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

06-25-2009, 03:45 PM	#172 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3594	Editing my oil change plans again, looks like Stillen will have one good to go early next week, so I'm going to hold off on the oil + spacer + cooler until Tuesday. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

06-25-2009, 06:53 PM	#175 (permalink)
travisjb A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: GSO Posts: 2,803 Drives: VIR Rep Power: 188	My shop should be announcing an alternative next week as well __________________ 2009 370Z #104 For Sale

06-20-2009, 11:35 AM	#169 (permalink)
RCZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami Posts: 6,403 Drives: '09 370Z Rep Power: 1118	Good to know wstar, thanks for the update, I've been waiting for someones review on these.

06-20-2009, 01:54 PM	#170 (permalink)
ChrisSlicks A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: North East Posts: 6,203 Drives: 09 370Z Sport M6 Rep Power: 653	My driving results were similar (I gave a brief review somewhere here). I have my rear sway set to full stiff which seems to be a good track balance if you are a smooth driver. If you are throwing the car around in high speed auto-cross like I was last weekend it was actually a little too much and I will probably dial it down to the middle position for that. The downside to the large front bar is that there is more low speed understeer with aggressive turn in as it is much harder to load down a front corner. An adjustable front bar would be ideal for those that do both auto-cross and track. On the freeway on-ramps the car feels very flat and balanced, feels like it adds a fair amount of grip in that case.

06-26-2009, 09:49 AM	#178 (permalink)
miguez Enthusiast Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 359 Drives: '04 Cavalier Rep Power: 181	Alright, keep us posted on the fitment!

06-27-2009, 06:59 PM	#179 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3594	Got my brake stuff installed. In a rush to get ready for the evening now, but some quickie updates on the process/parts: Speed Bleeders: I'm an idiot, and didn't realize there are two bleeder screws per caliper on this car. I ordered 4, you need 8. I left the speed bleeders all on the front calipers at the end, and my final bleeding for air bubbles solo suffered a bit I'm sure as I swapped the speed bleeders in and back out in the rear to do those calipers. RBF600: I bled 2.5 bottles through the system as I went, saving some in case I need to fix any leaks and top off. Once I get more bleeders I'll probably bleed another bottle or two through to be sure. Braided Brake Lines: routing on the front ones is not obvious. I suspect the path I took is not what was intended, but I checked for clearance/stretch/etc and I think it will work, we'll see. Rears are easy to see. On the front I basically ended up with a straight shot between the hookup points, with a lot of the length coiled in a loop for suspension/steering travel (as opposed to wrapping around the arm/shock like the stock one). Pad Swap: Akebono deserves an award for these calipers. Pad swap is super easy. Once you have the wheel off, you only need needle nose pliers and a small clamp to compress the pistons. Caliper doesn't come off the rotor to swap pads, you just pull two cotter pins, two large pins, and slip the pads in and out of the back side of the caliper. Car is still on jack stands, I'm getting ready to go out for the night. Going to think about things more, doublecheck everything, put wheels on and test things tomorrow sometime. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

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