Thank you. :tup:

Hotchkis sway bar review.
 

Ok, I got some mile on the Hotchkis sway bars. Review on them is positive. :tup: DD on them, you really don't notice them. It's when you pick up the speed. :driving: They start to shine. :D There is an off ramp that I use as a gauge. It's tight, flat, and about 270deg around. Bone stock Nismo. I could do about 38 mph before the tires started to make noises of protest. With the big Mich PSS's. I could do about 42 mph. Now with the PSS's, and Hotchkis sway bars. I'm about 46 mph now, and ran out of nerve. The tires just started to make some noise. On a rough road. The ride is a bit stiffer. Overall, I like them. :tup:

Nice build, can't wait to get myself a set of Hotchkis, next year!

Got my rear SPL sway bar links installed. :D The stock links feel tight until you install one SPL link and begin to adjust it with a stock link on the other side. Then you feel how much movement there is in the stock links.

Is there a benefit of having the adjustability built into the sway bar end links or does most of the benefit come from the reduction in free play compared the the stock link?

The only thing I could think of would having the ability to preload the bar for one side of the car based on track setup for individual race tracks based on the majority of left or right hand turns? Just an idea.

You got the idea. You can preload the bar. ;) And reducing the free play in the links.

Have the upper SPL control arms installed. :D

In the second picture. After I removed the bolt that holds the upper ball joint in the spindle. The upper arm popped up by it's self. The bushings in the upper arm don't rotate, they twist in place. :icon14:

Third picture. The bolts that hold the arms in place doesn't have enough clearance with the coilover to come out. You have to remove the 3 nuts on top of the coilover so that you can move it down enough for the bolts to come out.

Side by side of the SPL and the stock arms. The stock arms are lighter.

When I installed the SPL arms. I had a bolt that was sticking out from the right inner fender that would hit the arm at full up travel. So I grounded it down.

Got an CEL the other day. Cleared it and it came back. So when I was jacking up the Nismo for the control arm install. This is what I found. :icon14: The plug for the right rear O2 sensor was broken. The day that the CEL first came on. I remembered hitting a dead ground hog. :mad: I tired to miss him but couldn't, and this is what I got. :mad:

Just got done fixing my under tray. I keep on losing the 3 plastic fasteners on it. So I come up with a fix. :D

http://www.the370z.com/exterior-inte...nder-tray.html

I thought the idea was to remove preload with adjustable endlinks...

You could do either one.
I know of a few who preload the bar to one side for differance track conditions. I don't think I could feel the differance.

Thanks for this, mine is rattling like hell usually on backroads when i get on the brakes. When i brake the nose drops slightly changing the airflow it rattles. Sounds like the things tearing apart under there.

Installing the SPL lower control arm bearings today. Got the arms off in about an hour for both sides. The machine shop charged me $80.00 to press off the old bushings and install the new bearings. The shop said that they had to torch off the old bushings. They was on that tight!

Great Job buddy!!

Here's the write up I did on the complete SPL front suspension install. :D

http://www.the370z.com/brakes-suspen...uspension.html

Got the Nismo aligned today. Specs are; front camber -2, caster +6, toe zero. Rear is camber -1.7, toe zero. Raining today. Didn't want to push it too hard. Will have to wait after I recover from foot surgery. To push it harder. That will be 4 to 6 weeks. Just in time for snow. :icon14: From my driving today. The road noise is about the same. Steering is more inline on what you expect it to do. Going over bumps. I can tell the difference. More responsive. :tup: the only problem doing the alginment was the sleeve collar bolts. They can be hard to get at if they turn when adjusting for camber and caster. It's best to have them LOOSE. Other then that. The adjustments was easy.

I forgot to post these pictures when I did my SPL camber arms. I also installed the Hotchkis billet sway bar brackets. Did I need them? No, but what the hey. :D Also, I got a tube of the silicon grease that Hotchkis sells.

dude... those spl parts look sooo fugin sexy.... mad money right there...

Thanks! :tiphat:

Man you have a great build over there!!! Nice work!!

Thanks!:tiphat:

BTW sorry for ask but the only power mods that you have are the F.I. CBE, Stillen Gen3 CAI, and F.I. headers?? and you make that power.... man if thats true i think im going to go the same way lol!!!

Thanks!!!

The dyno runs was done in the morning when it was still cool. And I did some other stuff. ;)

hahaha!! great man!!! i hope want to reach the 300whp for now... in the future i want to go Turbo ;) i miss the turbo soo much...

A turbo might be in my future. Depends on how life works out. ;)

sounds great my friend!!! but your car have to pull really great ;) 300whp+ on N/A = fun car :tup:

Got to rant some. Everything that I planned on doing starting in March to the Z got put on hold. The rear SPL links, gauges, and some other stuff. The company I work for. Duke Energy. Is selling 13 power plants in Ohio and Pa. I work at the one in Pa. They said it will take from 12 to 18 months to sell the plants. So, no buying anything until this is over. :shakes head: They said that nobody is safe from the group's president to plant management. :icon14:

That's sucks man, no good gov'ment full communists that hate the free market system. We should really blame the people that don't want to work for a living but rather VOTE for a living. "Me i vote for whoevers giving me a check and free health care, free food, free place to stay, free phone, free tv."

Wait i want free stuff also....

Well that sucks Rusty. Hope it all works ou for you... sooner than later.

****, sorry to hear that. I'm still riding this sinking ship to the bottom as well over here.

I'm close to retirement. I want to go when I'm 60. That's in 2 years. I'm secure with what I have saved for retirement. I could go now, and not worry. But that would limit me on a couple of things I want to do for now.

I'm no where close to retirement but my Dad is and we both work for the same company. Our buy out will be done sometime this year. My dad was set to retire at 60 currently 56, but doesn't know now. His pension got froze and is losing his retirement medical because the new company doesn't have it. To bad my mom took half his 401 when they split or he would already be golfing everyday.

You sound stable but it still sucks when plans change by no fault of your own. Good luck!

That sucks, but I'm glad to hear you're at least in a good position if the worst does happen.




In other news, it's not a Z but I'm back in a Nissan again. I just picked up an Xterra last week so I can go back into the woods, I can be the little truck now :rofl2:

You coming out to Rausch Creek in June? You and Snowflake can tag along. LOL

Hey!.. Snowflakes aren't black :p

I've been trying to decide if this truck is even up to it, apparently I've got to be a lot more discrimiating with what I plung into now :rofl2: and I was shocked and disappointed to see it's got the suspension travel of a covered wagon so i don't know yet.

I think it may have to stay parked at a camp site and just tow dirt bikes, or get a solid axle up front :driving:

Sorry to hear that man. I actually work with Duke on some of the "issues" they are dealing with right now. It's no bueno for sure. :(

Think I'm safe where I'm at. Control room operator. They need me to run the plant. Management is sweating bullets. They are in the worst position.

You working with the ash issues? :eek:

Take a look at what the nice guy in the white truck dropped off. :D