I'm back, and sharing my NA build

[LIBRILZ]

A/c compressor? I thought you were all anti a/c? Hahaha

[ArticDragon192]

A/c compressor? I thought you were all anti a/c? Hahaha

When did I say that? I love me some AC lol

[ArticDragon192]

I finally got the heads on, but forgot to take a pic, lol. But I figured I'd show some comparison shots between an OEM 90 intake valve (30), an aftermarket OEM replacement, and the 0.5mm oversized Supertech intake valve I have installed.
OEM (s*** 90s soft intake valve)
Btw, that's less that 10k miles of build up. It was perfectly clean when I did this Frankenmotor initially.

Aftermarket OEM replacement:

And Supertech (bowled!):




And also some comparison of a same spark plug both in an NA head and a TT head. Spoiler alert, no real difference, lol
TT head:

NA head:

[ArticDragon192]

Got more work done on the motor. All this was last night.


Backing plates on. PS pump and bracket installed.


Idler pulleys installed onto Ramey studs



Lower plenum installed with new gaskets.

Trusty old injectors going in for the break in. Bigger injectors will go on once it goes to get tuned.

Half of the lifters rebuilt and chilling in some Royal Purple (the older good stuff, called HPS now).


Also now crank sprocket washers installed. The old ones were a wee beat up.



And tonight, I'm here.


BDE adjustable VTC sprockets for old style cams

New o-rings and new OEM VTC springs were installed as well.

Intake cams installed with the rebuilt lifters. For anyone asking, they are JWT regrinds. I'll be degreeing the cams once I have everything installed.


The VTC solenoids were tested and installed. I had previously added the billet solenoids caps already, so that's all a part of the mix still.


Also installed my Stillen ceramic coated headers.


New OEM 02 sensors installed as well. Also had my buddy tack weld some flange nuts onto the headers. Makes for much easier installation IMO.


And that's it for now.
Currently, I still need to rebuild 12 more lifters before moving onto the exhaust side of things, and a bit a fab work still needed to get done.

Oh, and almost forgot. It's done. I just need to pick it up now.


Excited to hear how it sounds.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Looking good, keep up the good work!

[ArticDragon192]

Rebuilt hydraulic lifters in. JWT S1 cams in. BDE adjustable cam gears installed. I will be degreeing these out next. Also installed the timing belt. So close to getting it 100% complete.

[z32loverboy]

I'm excited to see what you'll make power wise. I'm going to be building my N/A as well since my motor blew up as well. Looking good for sure.

[ArticDragon192]

I'm shooting for 250whp on 91 octane.

[z32loverboy]

That'll be good stuff in a N/A. I'm thinking of staying stock compression with mine, seeing if I can avoid tuning and injectors for now. What kind of timing are you gunna have to run with the upped compression?

[ArticDragon192]

stock timing. I'll have SpecialtyZ worry about ecu ignition timing once it goes to get tuned.

[z32loverboy]

Hmm, good stuff for sure! I'm excited to see it done.

[ArticDragon192]

Slowly but surely, more progress.

Degreeing the cams tomorrow. also working on a 2-piece passenger t-belt cover for easy access to the cam gears.

Not the prettiest thing so far, but it'll be better once the second piece is on.

[ArticDragon192]

This just happened.


Pardon the blurry pic. The shrink wrap is on because the valve covers are still at the powdercoaters.


I had the opportunity to have my neighbor help me install my motor and drivetrain last night and his show, so I took it and popped the motor in, even though it wasn't 100% completed yet.

The renovated exhaust set up.



Still with my ceramic coated Stillen headers, I got my 2.5" resonated test pipes ceramic coated as well, and my modified x-pipe with my Veilside Evolution exhaust. Can't wait to start it up. Shooting for Monday start up and dyno break in.

[ArticDragon192]

FINALLY got my valve covers back and I am not disappointed.




Forgot the RTV, so this is as far as I get tonight. (note: the exhaust covers are NOT bolted in)


Oh yeah, also got this back, for a different smaller side project for the Z.

[DCaff300ZX]

Had to log in just to say that those valve covers look awesome, nice choice!

[ArticDragon192]

More pics of the valve covers in sunlight. Too bad the motor will barely see sunlight under the hood, lol



Installed!

Paired with the BDE aluminum half moons, it should be leak-free!

And this is where I am at now.


Looking to start it up TONIGHT! Just need to wire it up, install the fan and radiator, and bleed the coolant. Oh, and add motor and transmission fluid. Dyno break in tomorrow!

[z32loverboy]

What's the benefit of a dyno break in rather than a normal road break in?

[ArticDragon192]

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
here you go. Plus, it's faster, since I have a tuning session at SZ in 2 weeks.

[z32loverboy]

Well that's good stuff.. I may invest in doing that as well whenever I get my motor back together. Thanks for the info!

[ArticDragon192]

Finally get to do a proper update. Here is video of the start up. Pretty awesome how everything got plugged in, and boom, starts up without any major issues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db8PcsYEAtI

Got the coolant bled and ran her on the dyno to break her in. She had a slight power steering leak from the new SS line I put in, but I got that all fixed now. One of the fittings was just a bit loose. No more leaks.
Some videos of the dyno break in
First set of pulls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZaYwsPw3Ds
And the final set of pulls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_vXUpytjUo

Did a final dyno pull to 6k rpms on the 104 octane. Good baseline numbers. Going in for a tune at SpecialtyZ this Friday!


And finally, some video of my car on the street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vcc4R6x27M

[BlackWidowZ]

Would be great to see this car around 280 to 300 HP thats where I think it should be.

[z32loverboy]

I wish the N/A Vg responded to upgrades like we think it should. That'd be incredible.

[ArticDragon192]

Got the car finally tuned, but not without its hiccups. Let's catch up with what I have done these past few days first.
Pulled the plenum to change out the injectors. I was given some TT 370cc injectors, which I sent out for testing and cleaning. The flow test showed them flowing at 450cc which I found odd, but didn't question too much. I probably should have. More on that in a bit.
Also bought new seals for the spark plug rocker covers.

I love new seals.

Gave the car a wash (she can't be looking all dirty when out at the shop getting worked on, lol)


Then finally tuned today. Seb at SpecialtyZ was having issues working with the injectors, saying they seem to be acting like "ported" injectors. Uncontrolled flow in the low end, and leaning out on the top end. He was able to work with it, but I just have to deal with a momentary rich condition in the lower rpms if I smash on it. Has to deal with the spray pattern of the injector due to the modification. If I would have known about it beforehand, I would have avoided using them. Oh well.
Next issue, the VTC wasn't working. The solenoid was engaging. There is sufficient oil pressure. However, the cam wasn't phasing over when the solenoids engaged. We suspect the BDE cam gear might be preventing the cam from phasing over, but I won't be able to confirm until I get some stock gears back on. The silver lining to all this: NO LIFTER OR VTC TICK! Lol.
So with the VTC issue, we decided it was best to leave the cam tuning for another date. I will be purchasing some Nismo 740s and solving my VTC issue before coming in for another tune with more consistent injectors, and to do the cam tuning. At the end of it all, these are the numbers and the curve.


Notice the lack of midrange due to the VTC not working properly. VERY healthy top end though All on 91. And with room for more power too. Happy with the inital results, but still shooting to pass 250whp with my set up. 13hp is definitely reachable.

[z32loverboy]

Looks good man, your getting the power out of it that you wanted so it seems! glad it's running halfway right.

[ArticDragon192]

Looks good man, your getting the power out of it that you wanted so it seems! glad it's running halfway right.

More than halfway. It's just the VTC that isn't working right. It doesn't hurt the car in any way, just less midrange. I still have 200 ft lbs from 4500 to almost 6500, so still more torque than 95% of the NA VGs out there haha. But there's still room for improvement. Still shooting for that 250 whp mark.

[z32loverboy]

Yeah that's really impressive, you've got a lot of good work into that motor. I should get somewhere near-ish where you're at now. What're you planning on your rev-limit set at seeing as you've upgraded your valvetrain, or do you not plan on messing with it?

[ArticDragon192]

I'll prob have SZ raise tit to 7400 or 7200. the valvetrain is mostly stock though. But as shown in the dyno graph, it still is making power up top, so extending the rpm range would seem beneficial. It's interesting having a flat hp curve to high in the rpm range. Pretty much around 235 whp from 6k to 7k rpms, give or take 2-3hp. The top end rips in this thing, not a common thing with VGs haha.

[z32loverboy]

Yeah, that really surprised me as well. That's why i was wondering about the rev limiter. Honestly with all the work you've go in it I'm surprised that you didn't go a head with retainers, springs and such and finish out replacing all the valve train and then push the rev limiter up until the curve starts to fall off. That way you benefit as much as you possibly can out of what's in there as long as you stay with in "safe" ranges. Just a thought, possibly for a later upgrade or not. I'm still impressed with the VG that could that you've built.

[johnshop]

Wow I did not know about all that misfortune. I remember seeing your car in a feature when it was white and inspired me to buy a z, thanks for the inspiration and for what is worth, I think you have one of the best looking z's period. Good luck in the latest engine BTW, hopefully is reliable like your first engine.

[Rager]

^ epic sig picture!!


keep up the good work edgar!