Sorry to hear that too, DaveB.

And my 4 yr. old son loves the pen too, Tony.

 

any updates on the new products?

 

Sorry to hear/read about your loss DaveB - hang it there, time heals... I lost my dad this time last year (he was only 66) - I found out in Jan '05 he had terminal cancer and he passed about a month later so this is a trying time for me - but time definitely heals... My thoughts are with you.

As for Tony... I never got a pen!

I think MotorDyne decals would be cool! Especially a small one I could put somewhere in the engine compartment!!! BTW, nice to see you again (at dyno day) sweet new Z! Nice test car... glad to see the gains on your new mods too...

 

Thanks for the kind words guys. It's really tough because everywhere I look, I'm somehow reminded of him. He loved my 14 month son so much and my son took to him like no one else. It eats me up.

Back to a much happier subject, I'll be traveling to Atlanta for about 5 days to do some house shopping, but when I get back I'll be installing the spacer. It's about time I added to power to this thing. I'll post my review after it's installed.

 

Have any of you guys had trouble getting the bolts for the strut bar to go in all the way? For some reason the bolts that were provided have a very tough time going in all the way. Am I doing something wrong?

 

Could they be cross threaded?

In some cases, I found that Canadian and Australian 350Z's were using M8 strut bar bolts rather than M10 bolts. ...but in these cases, the supplied M10 bolt wouldn't fit at all. What have you noticed on diameters or thread pitch? Same/different?

 

I finally got around to installing my MD 5/16" spacer. I was going to borrow a friend's in/lb torque wrench, but I was feeling a little rich because last weekend my wife and I bought our dream house in Atlanta for $15K less than were expecting to spend I bought a Craftsman torque wrench ($74) today and tested it out to learn the feel before starting the install. The wrench is very easy to use, but you need to understand there is no clicking. The head simply breaks away 1/8" when you reach the torque setting. I can see how some people over torque these bolts when they're expecting a click. Like many other spacer owners, I highly recommend a torque wrench because 30 to 100 in/lbs is hardly anything.

Install was easy and it took me about 1 hour. I was a little confused as to why the center six bolts (1-6) were to only be torqued to 60 in/lbs vs the 100 in/lbs for the outside rim bolts (7-18). I kept reading the instructions over and over to make sure that this was correct because the FSM called for 108 to 132 in/lbs on all the upper plenum bolts. I figured I'd follow the MD directions first.

I got the install buttoned up and started the car and everything seemed fine. I went for a spin and noted part-throttle acceleration felt the same (a good thing). Once the engine and tranny were warmed up, I went WOT and was pleasantly surprised that there was a notable increase in power and the induction noise definitely got louder. I did a couple stand still runs, but the 25 degree temps made the tires spin too much in first. Once underway there was more power in the mid to upper range. I was actually surprised that I could feel something since most late model car mods take a while to set in as the ECU reconfigures the A/F and timing to compensate for the additonal 02. I imagine the car will get even quicker as the ECU learns. The gain reminds of the installing a Y-pipe on my old Maxima (12whp/12wtq gain). It's not a massive increase, but it's a solid one that extends the G's already long legs in terms of acceleration. On the highway in D at 70mph and going WOT (double downshift from 5th to 3rd) results in a noticed shove in the backside that wasn't there before.

The spacer is defititely worth the money. A mod that doesn't change around the town driveability and volume is always a good thing. This mod is "skeptic" approved

 

Good to read that your spacer install went well, Dave. Enjoy!

 

Today I checked the torque on all the bolts and the center 6 bolts were really loose. The outer 12 bolts were still perfect. I retorqued the center bolts to 60 in/lbs as instructed, but I don't think that's going to hold in the long term. It's hardly any torque at all (5 ft/lbs). I should have gone ahead and used a little red loctite like I had debated during the install.

 

Actually, I need to recheck those 6 center bolts since the last time that I checked.

 

Bump.. where are the new mods Tony?

 

Dave
Good call on your part about the center 6 bolts. I talked to Tony about this and my feeling is overkill, but some type of sealant should be used on the threads. and possibility o ring the top of the six center bolts. My currant setup has this. When I have time, I will switch to a stud setup with cap bolts. IM planning on doing many plenum swamps and do not trust the threads. Remember guys! oil the threads before installing.

 

Trey
As of last Friday, Tony is not building rocket ships anymore.
He is full time Motordyne. The Mods are coming.

 

Dennis,

Tell Tony to pick up the pace . . . lol.

 

Here She is! All 900 miles and ready for some serious mods! This is going to be FUN!