A few noobish technical questions...

[HijackTheLeft]

I'm not sure if correct forum ettiquet is to break the questions up into different posts or to combine as much into one post to keep the forum clutter down, but I'm all about eliminating clutter, so here goes...

I bought a 1990 240sx about a month ago or so, and I love it. Maintenance on it had been lacking, so I got an oil change and I changed the plugs and wires. I posted when I first got it asking some general questions. Well, now I have more specific ones...

1. I have a short shifter on it, and it seems like if I shift too quickly, it takes a while for the transmission to upshift, and it really hurts my acceleration, as you can imagine. i've never owned a car with a manual transmission before, so i don't really know whats going on. Is this what a "slipping clutch" is?

2. The car has an Injen short ram intake, Monza 4-2-1 headers, Monza exhaust, true short shifter, Eibach Sportline springs (2” drop), and Tokico Blues shocks. It has new tires and no visible modifications other than being lowered. I like the stock look. It doesn't seem like it's much quicker than stock. That also may have something to do with the transmission. See question #1. But is there anything that i can do other than an all out engine swap or adding a turbo to get a few more off-the-jump horses?

3. i know this kinda contradicts the "I like the stock look" comment I just made, but I'd like to get some rims for my 240. Nothing too flashy... I'm leaning towards some gunmetal 5stars. They'd be the same color as the car. Whats the largest size that will fit without having to worry about the tires rubbing the wheelwell? keep in mind that it's been lowered 2 inches.

4. My center console has a hole in it. It's not where the ashtray goes, although its about that size. and its not where the lighter goes either. It's right next to all that though. What goes there?!?

5. I'd like to paint my headers, since they were originally white and are now half covered in rust. Is there anything that I'd need to know before I undertake that job? Like, am I going to have to replace any gaskets or anything? Or, is taking the headers off an extremely complicated procedure?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone has to offer.

[popogto]

welcome to NICO!

1. what do you mean by "it takes a while for the transmission to upshift" ? does the transmission not move as fast as you shift? or does the clutch not bite as soon as you pop it?

3. i got 16" motegi MR7s (gunmetal baby!) with a 1.5" drop and it scrapes some times. as long as you are willing to pay for the low profile tiires, you can go 17"

4. thats where the power mirror switch goes, im assuming that you don't have power mirrors.

hope this helps

[HijackTheLeft]

thanks...

1. I guess the transmission's just not moving as fast as I shift. Cuz I shift pretty quickly and even after I totally pull off the clutch, it wont actually shift gears, itll stay in the same gear for a couple seconds until I pull off the gas a little. And I know it may sound like I just don't know how to drive a stick, but I do. I used to work at a car dealership, and delivered many manual cars, mostly new corvettes, to customers. Needless to say, I broke them in for the customers. I talked to my dad about it when I saw him the other day and he said it may be the linkage. I don't know what that means though.

3. Awesome... I was hoping to get 17s

4. haha sure dont... i'm assuming nissan supplied some sort of cover plate for it when the car was new, right??

[dft24ds]

you could go with 17's but you would absolutly have to go with low pros. Go to motegi's website and look at the RT5 and the DPK. Those are the 2 I was going to choose from. I don't know if you can order directly from them but you can get them at SEARS.

On a side note if you decide to go with Motegi and you are going to get them from SEARS hit me up [email protected] and I can get 10% off of everything tires and wheels because I work there

[kane2g]

FYI there is no linkage in the transmission. Its not a honda.All there is, is the shifter itself, that goes into the transmission.

[HijackTheLeft]

Yeah... I really like the DPKs. I think I'd go with the TRAK_LITEs though. Theyre more the look I was going for with the car.

If not the nonexisting linkage, what might it be? god I hope I dont need a new transmission....

[SlidnSideways]

When you put your foot on the gas after just shifting the gear do the rpms still drop a bit when your back on the gas? if you see the R's dropping slowly and then start rising after you have been on the gas a while its probably your clutch.

[HijackTheLeft]

The rpms dont usually drop immediately. I have to let off the gas a little first, then they drop slowly, and then they rise. Keep in mind though, that this is only when I'm accelerating and shifiting quickly.

Also, when I go to buy a new clutch, should I just get a stocker, or are there any performance clutches that are actually worth the $$??

And I'm still lookin for an answer to #2!!!!!!!
Modified by HijackTheLeft at 3:49 PM 5/10/2005

[SlidnSideways]

when you shift and get back on the gas the R's should stop right there and start climbing again no matter how fast you shift. Mine were dropping slowly and then rising like your describing and i needed a clutch.

I didnt swap mine with a stock clutch i got the disk clutch from ACT and the thing is fun! Its all up to you what you want to do with you car though. All im saying is its great fun to chirp third gear right by a civic owners window. heh

[SlidnSideways]

I guess i coulda included this in the last post but if your looking for a better launch and your clutch is as bad as you say it is then a clutch will definitly help. Especially if you get a ACT.

[HijackTheLeft]

I just looked online, and the cheapest ACT clutch I could find was $240 before shipping. Is that about what I should expect to pay?? I also found Exedy and NPN clutches that were much less expensive. Are they more of a stock replacement?

[SlidnSideways]

Im not sure about the prices i didnt do much shopping around. I got the disk clutch from ACT not a puck clutch because my brother got it and i liked how it grabbed but i think thats the $400 dollar one. Im not sure of any types of differences or anything.

[dft24ds]

Yeah... I really like the DPKs. I think I'd go with the TRAK_LITEs though. Theyre more the look I was going for with the car.

They are nice but have you priced them? If not be prepared to s**t your pants!

[98s14inaz]

I'm not sure if correct forum ettiquet is to break the questions up into different posts or to combine as much into one post to keep the forum clutter down, but I'm all about eliminating clutter, so here goes...

I bought a 1990 240sx about a month ago or so, and I love it. Maintenance on it had been lacking, so I got an oil change and I changed the plugs and wires. I posted when I first got it asking some general questions. Well, now I have more specific ones...

1. I have a short shifter on it, and it seems like if I shift too quickly, it takes a while for the transmission to upshift, and it really hurts my acceleration, as you can imagine. i've never owned a car with a manual transmission before, so i don't really know whats going on. Is this what a "slipping clutch" is?

2. The car has an Injen short ram intake, Monza 4-2-1 headers, Monza exhaust, true short shifter, Eibach Sportline springs (2” drop), and Tokico Blues shocks. It has new tires and no visible modifications other than being lowered. I like the stock look. It doesn't seem like it's much quicker than stock. That also may have something to do with the transmission. See question #1. But is there anything that i can do other than an all out engine swap or adding a turbo to get a few more off-the-jump horses?

3. i know this kinda contradicts the "I like the stock look" comment I just made, but I'd like to get some rims for my 240. Nothing too flashy... I'm leaning towards some gunmetal 5stars. They'd be the same color as the car. Whats the largest size that will fit without having to worry about the tires rubbing the wheelwell? keep in mind that it's been lowered 2 inches.

4. My center console has a hole in it. It's not where the ashtray goes, although its about that size. and its not where the lighter goes either. It's right next to all that though. What goes there?!?

5. I'd like to paint my headers, since they were originally white and are now half covered in rust. Is there anything that I'd need to know before I undertake that job? Like, am I going to have to replace any gaskets or anything? Or, is taking the headers off an extremely complicated procedure?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone has to offer.

Ok my friend, let's take these one at a time.

1) The thing with the transmission...make sure that the douche that had the car before you put GL4 gear oil in the transmission. Redline makes the stuff MT-90 and it has the frictional additives to allow the syncros to mesh properly. The GL5 which is probably in your transmission now corrodes the syncros and is too thick for them to engage properly...ie the lagging feeling you are getting. Don't feel bad I didn't know either until I read the fsm.

2) NA bolt-ons don't do a whole lot. I have nearly every bolt on you can think of including cams and ecu tuning by JWT. I might be at 160something at the wheels. Next step is boost...sorry bro these horses don't really wake up till you go forced induction.

3) Your wheels won't rub as long as the offset is correct. For the money 5zigen FN's are the best bang for the buck. For example I am running FN01R-C's 17X8 +25 front and 17X9 +35 rear with 235/40/17 front and 255/40/17 rears on my S14. They fit almost flush, don't rub, clear Z brakes, light weight, and look clean. I was in the same boat as you before I bought mine...everyone recomended them to me and it is by far the best money I have spent on my car. I would not run anything bigger than a 17" rim. It will make your car slower and is generally considered rice unless you can back it up with some serious whp.

4) I am assuming you have an s13, I don't really have an answer for you and I have no idea what you are talking about.

5) Painting the headers. If you want it done right you will avoid paint all together and have them stripped and ceramically coated. Even high temp paint will eventually burn off and make a mess. Like anything else in life, you get what you pay for. Do it right the first time.

Good luck

[HijackTheLeft]

slidnsideways- I'm going to save up a little and get a decent clutch the end of next month. I can get a decent ACT for about $230

dft24ds- Yeah, I priced em after I posted that, and they are way out of my league. I'm not gonna be able to get rims for a while though. The wife thinks school is more important... psh what does she know?? lol

98s14inaz- 1) It sounds like I'll definately have to change the gear oil before I buy a new clutch, because under normal driving conditions, the transmission feels fine, and I was told that if the clutch is going, it wont matter how you're driving the car, you'll be able to tell.

2) Yeah I figured that. I'll probably install turbo one day. It's definately on my to-do list... but then again, everyone on this forum has a to-do list for their cars, and 90% isnt ever going to get done. lol... are the cams and ecu tuning worth the money. I've heard that ecu tuning is a waste of money unless you have an already really high powered car that you plan to seriously race.

3) I like the FN01R-C's a lot. Actually that was exactly what I was looking for. How black is the black? Is it like a dark gunmetal or is it like the newer painted black rims (that are getting pretty popular but I think they look cheap)?? It's hard to tell in the pictures ive seen. And I wasnt planning on running anything bigger than a 17. The top inside corner of my tires on my stock rim are only a couple inches away from the wheel well as it is.

4) ill probably go to a junkyard and find a car like mine and grab that piece.

5) Yeah, I wasn't sure how paint would work out. I know they make high temperature paint that wont burn off though. I work at Lowes, actually, and I was talking to a guy about it last night. He was buying some paint that they use to paint some kind of furnace or something, and he said that it can be sprayed right over the rust and everything. It stops the rust and its thick enough that after a few coats you cant even tell the difference in texture. I'd still sand the rust off though if I were doing my headers. But I think I'll look into the ceramic coating. It sounds like it would look nicer anyway.

Thanks for your help everyone. I'm planning on posting pictures soon. I just need to get out there and take some.