I forgot to mention this back when I owned an s30 (240z, 260z, or 280z), but Datsun wheel lugs are threaded exactly the same as tie rods.  That means that in a pinch, you can use a lug nut to hold a tie rod on.

I wouldn’t recommend keeping them installed for long periods, as the factory castle nut has a cotter pin securing it.  I never ran into a problem with them, but I checked and re-torqued mine regularly.

Small tricks like this could save you a lot of time and effort if you ever break a component on the side of the road and need a way to limp home.

I’ve always been a big fan of simple cars that are easy for owners to maintain.  Older cars with carburettors and distributors are wonderful first cars to work on, since they don’t have any complicated electronics to work on.  A test light and timing light is all that’s needed to test the electronics for owners, and the mechanical tools you’d need really aren’t required.

I have to agree with Kenwood Tire (a local tire/repair shop) when they say that shadetree mechanics are a dying breed though.  Pretty much any vehicle made after the obd2 standard was created requires special scanners (many obd1 cars also require specialized tools).  It’s more important than ever to go with an old car to keep the tradition of working on cars by hand alive.  They’re less expensive to buy, less expensive to own/maintain, and offer a special kind of class that newer, more complicated cars can’t offer.

Back by popular demand, a wiring diagram for the obd0 b18a1 in an MPFI 88-91 CRX (that’s HF and Si, not the DX).  This should also apply to EF/ED Civics, but I’m running on memory here and don’t have a car to verify this on.

If there are any questions or corrections (as I’m sure there will be), feel free to leave them in the comments.

I’ve always been a big fan of the CRX HF as a platform to build upon.  It’s lightweight and lacks the extra luxury components from the Si, yet is outfitted with MPFI (multi-point fuel injection) instead of the CRX DX/STD’s DPFI (dual-point fuel injection).  With a little creative swapping, the CRX HF shell can be made into a lighter, more purposeful driving machine than an Si or a DX with less work.

HF Rear Brakes

The stock CRX HF brakes are small, light, easy-to-maintain brakes that suit the stock 1900-lb HF perfectly.  The stock drums do suffer from brake fade as soon as the car is driven moderately roughly, so an upgrade isn’t a bad idea.  The problem is that the trailing arms (which are the parts that your brakes bolt to) are completely different designs.

Si Rear Brakes

The CRX Si rear brakes use a stronger, heavier trailing arm to mount onto.  The whole assembly needs to be swapped for it to work on the CRX HF.

At the end of the day, this setup just makes maintenance simpler and decreases brake fade.

Installation

These images offer a look at the differences in the rear braking system setup between the CRX HF and Si.  The first notable difference is the trailing arms, the part that supports all of the bearing housing and the area that the brakes bolt to are in fact different.  The holes around the si “axle” hold the brake “plate” on, then the caliper covers that and the brake system is complete.  Also, in doing this swap, be aware that the brake lines will be vastly different.  I think the parking brake is shorter on the HF also.

Just for reference know that the lower control arms are also different.  The parts are interchangeable (you can fit SI lca’s on the HF) but the HF lca’s don’t have the hole for the rear sway arm.  If you are switching everything from an SI to HF the sway bar also wont bolt up to the body.  There are holes for it, but they are only empty holes and are not threaded..

I didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked, so if you do this swap and don’t mind sharing your pictures let me know and I’ll post up more details.

I spent a lot of time researching options to control fuel delivery in my l28et for the Sinister s30 project.  Xenon’s website is a great resource overall, and answered the majority of my questions, but I had trouble finding a concise explanation as to what common fuel management choices were available.

Fuel Storage

First off, if you’re putting an l28et into your own s30, you’ll need to decide if you’re going to keep the stock fuel tank or not.  The stock tank is un-baffled, so fuel sloshes around when cornering, accelerating, or braking.  If the tank isn’t full, the fuel pickup will sometimes run dry and won’t deliver fuel to the engine.

If you don’t mind replacing the stock tank, make sure you get a baffled tank.  These essentially have doors that keep a small amount of fuel at the pickup so the fuel pump never runs dry.  Many s30 owners install baffled fuel cells, which are the ideal solution but are time-consuming and require a welder to install.

If you’re keeping the stock tank without modifying it, you’ll need two fuel pumps and a surge tank.  The surge tank is a small container (less than a gallon) that holds fuel.  The first fuel pump feeds the surge tank, and the second pump pulls fuel from the bottom of the fuel tank into the engine.  This is a simple, economical option if your stock tank is in serviceable condition.  I’ll be using an old  1.5liter fire extinguisher as my surge tank, and I’ll post up a diagram of exactly how it works later.  For now, you just get a picture of the extinguisher.

The third, more uncommon option is to fill your stock tank with a sponge-like foam.  The foam holds fuel and keeps it from sloshing.  It reduces lateral weight transfer and is relatively inexpensive, but render conventional fuel gauges useless.

The final option is to keep the stock tank but add baffles.  I can’t come up with a compelling reason to do it unless you’re really into keeping the car looking completely stock.  You’ve gotta be pretty OCD to care what the fuel tank looks like, though.

ECU

280zx-t ecu is pretty much a paperweight that uses electricity.  For most cars, it’s better to unplug the o2 sensor, which feeds information that would be absolutely critical to any other car.  The z31 ECU is pretty much plug-and-play and will improve mileage somewhat.  There are aftermarket ECUs available, such as the Wolf, which come highly recommended, but are expensive ($1000+ USD).

I came to the conclusion that the ideal solution is to install MegaSquirt, but it’s a time-consuming ordeal.  First, you’d have to decide which version of MegaSquirt to purchase.  There’s MS1, MS2, and MS3, and there are various versions of software that can be run on each.  Without getting into too many details, my recommendation is a pre-assembled MS2v3.  It’s worthwhile to purchase a relay board, a cable to connect the two, and another cable to run to the engine itself.  You’ll still have to connect all the wires to the correct sensors and inputs, but it’s a straightforward affair.  You can get away with building the whole thing for around $400 if you don’t value your time very highly and have a moderate amount of experience with soldering, but I highly recommend the pre-assembled kits.

Sensors

The most crucial sensor on for fuel delivery is the air measurement sensor.  The stock AFM (air flow meter, uses a flapper to measure air being sucked/pushed into the engine) is inferior to a MAF (Mass Air Flow sensor, measures air density/velocity), which isn’t quite as good as a MAP (Manifold Absolute Pressure, measures how much pressure is in the intake manifold).  MS2v3 comes with a MAP sensor built-in, and can accurately read up to 15psi of boost.

The second sensor that’s important to note is the o2 sensor.  It measures the amount of unburned oxygen that leaves the engine, and the ECU adjusts the fuel map based on what information the o2 sensor offers.  I’ve heard from several people that the stock 280zx-t ecu goes a little crazy with an o2 sensor plugged in and they recommend removing it for better performance and mileage.  It’s strange and contrary to normal logic, but it’s become common knowledge at this point.  That’s just one more reason for me to dislike the stock ECU even more.

If you’re installing megasquirt or making a major change to your engine configuration, you’ll want to borrow or buy a wideband o2 sensor.  A wideband displays just how rich or lean your fuel/air mixture is.  It’s much more useful than a traditional o2 sensor that essentially only tells you if you’re rich or lean.

The more accurate the information you’re feeding into the ECU, and the more information you’re feeding it, the more accurate it can be.  The faster and smarter the ECU, the more precise the end result will be.  There’s a big difference between accuracy and precision, but you want both, not one or the other.

Conclusion

Fuel management is where you’ll gain almost all the mileage gains on an older efi car.  There can be significant performance increases as well if you end up fine-tuning your setup and spending a respectable amount of time getting it right.

Having every conceivable tool for a project does you no good if you can’t find the one that you need. Reorganizing may seem like a huge task, but the gains from having an organized workspace far outweigh the time invested to upkeep it. This week we’re going over how to clean out your garage, then organize it:

Clean out your garage

By clean out, I mean get everything outside. Put it all in the yard, or in your driveway if you have one, or go through this one bay at a time (putting clutter from one side to the other, working on one at a time). Once the garage is bare, start by sweeping the floors, clean the cobwebs from the corners, and you may even want to paint the walls. Any broken cabinets or shelves should be removed, and you’ll want to start from a good, clean slate here. Keep only fixtures that you intend to make use of.

Remove excess junk

Everyone has extra stuff lying around the garage. Anything that’s of value should have its picture taken and put into a box to be sold on ebay or craigslist as soon as possible.

Now that your garage (or bay) is empty, break everything down into three piles:

Excess:

Maybe you have half a broom that could still be considered useful but you have a better one. Old gaskets, broken manifolds, old spraypaint, old oil, and anything else that isn’t likely to be needed can be thrown away. A good rule of thumb is If you haven’t used it in a month, put it in storage. If you haven’t used it in 6 months, get rid of it.

Storage:

All those Christmas decorations, tool receipts, and once-a-year tools (most gardening tools are hopelessly underused) can go into storage. If you don’t have a storage area set up, it’s probably a good idea to get some big cabinets or even a shed to put this stuff in. If it isn’t absolutely necessary to have in your workarea, it should be out of the way. Cabinets are nice because they keep contents readily accessible but tend not to be in the way, and their contents are less likely to overflow into your workarea.

Workarea:

Figure out exactly what you plan to accomplish in this workarea, and limit the possessions you keep to what you’re planning to do in the space. Eliminate or pack away everything else. Personally, I need:

• Hand tools
  • Metric wrench and socket sets (Hondas and Datsun body)
  • Multiple ratchets (3/8″ and 1/2″ drive)
• Shop manuals (a small bookshelf should be plenty for this)
• Air compressor (and a small shelf for air tools and the hose)
• Low-profile Jack
• Safety equipment
  • 4 Jackstands (if they aren’t easily accessible, you’re more likely to try to skip them… safety first!)
  • Safety goggles (you’ll use them much more if they’re on-hand)
  • Mechanix gloves (some people prefer disposable gloves)
• Paper towel rack with shop towels (I don’t really care for shop rags, I like prefer shop towels)
• Oil drain pan (if something springs a leak, you don’t want it to make a mess… always have a clean drain pan on hand)
• Gojo hand cleaner (or whatever brand you prefer)
• Sprayables shelf
  • WD-40
  • PB Blaster
  • Touch-up spraypaint (this is when I really appreciate having a flat black car)
• Fluids shelf
  • 10w-30 (It’s the most universal of oils, I promise you’ll use it!)
  • Grease

Once you’ve established what you actually want in your garage, you’ll need to figure out how to keep it on hand without having it constantly in your way.  I have a few suggestions on cheap ways to organize your shop:

Wrench and Socket Holders

Many times, wrench sets and socket sets come with plastic ‘cases’ that just don’t cut it.  You may want to keep one of these sets under your driver’s seat, but in most cases I suggest ditching the locking case.

Hansen Global Regular and Deep Socket Tray – 3/8in. Standard

Final Pass

The main goal is to have everyday tools readily available, and everything else in accessible storage.  Clear plastic boxes and labels will save time and frustration in the future.  I’ve found that a big box to throw miscellaneous nuts and bolts into comes in very handy, especially for keeping the floor clean and uncluttered.  When you inevitably need some generic bolt to secure something in the future, you can just dig through your bolts bin rather than going to the hardware store.

I haven’t finished cleaning my garage, and I’m not convinced it’ll actually look much more organized when I finish it, so if you have a before and after shot of your garage cleaning, let me know!

Tales are told around the campfire on moonless nights about the CRX’s dreaded bitch pin. If you haven’t heard of this terrible monster before, gather ’round and I’ll tell you about it.

There will come a day when you find that your engine must come out of your car, and while your breaker bar will get those motor mounts, and your old rotting rubber hoses can be cut and replaced, the bitch pin is there to stay. Every swap is fraught with danger, but none so great as the bitch pin. It’s an impossible hydra-like beast, meaning every time you hit it it gets stronger and embeds itself further. You may find that perfect punch and a big mini-sledge, but the bitch pin still refuses to move. Never fear, though! This bitch pin has a great weakness to be exploited.

After I had already screwed my bitch pin into a pulp of metal that refused  to move, I looked around on the internet to find that everybody else just whacked it with a hammer.  Eventually it’ll come out, right?

Wrong. Actually, using physics for dynamic pressure and using only enough force to move it is the key. Experimenting with a c-clamp and a wooden dowel yielded positive results, but I came across a better way. This article gives nice pictures and a good walkthrough of what needs to be done:

bitch pin removal

Add this “bitch pin removal kit” to the budget of any swap you tackle.

1. C-clamp
2. sockets (deep and shallow) that fit the bitch pin inside
3. small drill bit set (for putting pressure on the bitch pin itself)

There’s definitely a science to it, but hopefully this will help you work that thing out.

DISCLAIMER:

All images are exactly to 1:1 scale, there is no deviation in any of these parts from their real-life counterparts.  I spent months drawing these extremely accurate models, so please point out anything that might be considered even slightly different from factory specifications.  Also, I’m colorblind.  The color scheme is pretty much just so you can tell the different parts from each other.

Since I got so many questions about my l28ett design, I decided I’d write up the basics of how this will work.  Bear in mind, this is different from a standard twin turbo setup, or a sequential turbo setup.  I started writing it up, then quickly decided that words just aren’t adequate to describe this and broke out a pencil and some paper.  I drew up how it would all work, then realized that was just as confusing as words, so I sat down in front of my drawing tablet and I’m gonna walk you through it now.

Base design concerns

Here’s an l28et block and head.  It has 6 cylinders inline with each other (instead of assembled in a v with 3 on each side), and 12 valves (meaning 12 ports).  The 6 holes on top of the head are intake ports, the 6 on the bottom are exhaust.  I was a little creative with the valve cover, and it’s decidedly not to scale, but I don’t really care.  I’m explaining something here, not re-engineering an engine.  This engine is a little abnormal because the status quo of engines is known as ‘crossflow’ meaning that air goes in one side and out the other.  Crossflow designs make turbochargers a little more complex to route, but that’s a solved problem and we aren’t going to worry about comparing the two.  Just understand that the intake and exhaust are on one side of the engine, and the spark plugs are on the other.

Exhaust

Tube steel is the best choice for exhaust routing, since it can withstand heat, is relatively easy to work with (the term is called welding) and doesn’t cost a whole lot.  A mild steel manifold will most likely cost around $100-$150 in supplies for a hobbyist like myself, and makes the front end of the car significantly lighter and also allows exhaust to be routed in an efficient way.  I’m basically taking the front three exhaust ports and collecting them into one, which feeds one turbocharger, and collecting the rear three ports to feed the other turbocharger.  The collectors also have a tube that runs between them, with my wastegate in the middle of that tube.  Let’s explore the wastegate idea a little more, it’s the most important part of any turbocharging setup and often gets ignored.

Wastegate

A wastegate is simply a pneumatic valve that opens to let exhaust gases through.  It’s engaged by air pressure, which is available as soon as the turbochargers start to spin.  When the turbochargers have enough air in the compression turbine side, the wastegate opens allowing exhaust to bypass the turbochargers, and they are no longer powered (exhaust gas is what spins turbochargers).  Without a wastegate, turbochargers would spin out of control and some part(s) of your engine would just explode under the air pressure.

When my wastegate opens, exhaust gas from both halves of the exhaust will be allowed to escape, rather than having to push the turbocharger around before going out the back of the engine.  This allows me to control the air pressure going into my engine, and the cross-pipe keeps both turbos relatively in sync.

Turbos

Normally, both turbochargers would pull air from the front of the engine.  My engine bay is long enough that I can pull air from the rear with the rear turbo, and from the front with the front turbo, and the exhausts of each can merge efficiently and seamlessly between each other.

This is also where the non-crossflow design comes into play.  Instead of having lots of bends and ductwork to get my compressed air to go into the intake manifold, my compressed air points straight up.  If only an intake manifold existed that could take advantage of that…

Intake manifold

I’ll just have to make an intake manifold.  All I need to do is make a plenum, then 6 runners that point toward the ports of the engine, and cut two holes in the bottom of the plenum.  50mm and 60mm throttle bodies are readily available, so I can use two: one for each turbocharger outlet.

This provides instant throttle response.  Turbo lag is slightly present, but pressing on the gas pedal will give a jolt like no other turbocharged vehicle is capable of.

Fuel delivery

Delivering fuel to this is as easy as drilling the correct holes for an injector at each intake port of the engine, then installing a fuel injector there.  I have a great set of injectors from osidetiger, and pallnet has excellent fuel rails available, so this would be a simple process.  However, the stock Nissan electronic control unit would be completely confused by this setup (don’t tell anyone, but it’s confused by pretty much any setup, including the stock setup from the factory).  Megasquirt is a great alternative for controlling fuel electronics and newer versions can control boost levels, so I’d go with that.

Design problems

There are some notable issues that I can see, just looking at this design.  The one that really matters is heat.  A turbocharger generates quite a bit of heat, and throws out compressed, heated air.  Two turbos do … double that.  Normally, a turbocharger is routed into an intercooler (like a radiator, but for cooling air instead of radiator fluid).  This design has no room for an intercooler, so it throws a lot of hot air into the engine (that’s bad).

The proximity of exhaust and intake is always an issue, and that’s compounded even more when there are two turbochargers stuffed directly under the intake manifold.  There isn’t a whole lot that can be done about this.

The main problem with all this heat is called “detonation“.  Detonation occurs when your air and fuel mixture is hot enough that it explodes too early.  If this happens a few times, it’s nothing to worry about, but if it happens as a regular part of driving, you won’t be driving very regularly at all.  To combat detonation, you can add extra fuel to the intake mixture, which is called ‘enrichening the circuit’.  It’s not very efficient, but helps cool down the inside of the engine.

Another option is to run coolant through the intake manifold.  This is a significant amount of work, so I’d suggest settling for the next best thing: running coolant through the throttle body.  The 240sx has a 60mm throttle body that’s perfect for this application, and has coolant lines installed on it from the factory.  Both these techniques will go a long way toward preventing detonation, but let’s take it a step further.

Higher octane fuels are resistant to detonation.  That’s their only advantage.  They don’t make your car faster or burn cleaner or make the car gods love you any more than they already do.  It’s not a bad idea to run higher octane fuels on any high-compression or turbocharged engine.  It costs a bit extra, but if you’re reading about making an exhaust manifold and intake manifold for your two turbochargers… you’d be willing to spend a little extra here and there.

Adding water or a form of alcohol (nitrous oxide or methanol are two popular examples) before the fuel is mixed in will enrich the circuit and drastically reduce detonation.  If you end up going this route, add another injector or two between the throttle bodies and set up megasquirt so they fire alcohol into the compressed air whenever a ‘knock sensor’ is triggered.  You can also add a heat sensor into the intake manifold for this.

One more way to reduce detonation caused by excess heat is to reduce boost.  Opening the wastegate will immediately drop pressure and power in the engine, and will stop the increase in temperatures, but won’t do anything to cool down the engine if it’s already in a dangerous state.  This is best used as a preventative measure, so reduce boost BEFORE your combustion temperatures are excessively high.

The final, and most important thing you can do to prevent detonation is to minimize ‘heat soak’.  The hot air in your exhaust and turbos generates a lot of heat, and that heat wafts up to your intake manifold, making the gases inside even hotter.  An aluminum plate with a fire blanket or another type of insulation as a barrier between the intake and exhaust is a must.

Conclusion

I don’t see the twin turbo setup as being worth the work.  While cool, I won’t really benefit from this design.  I can push as much air into my engine as it can safely burn off with a single t3/t04e turbocharger, and it’s easier to use an intercooler with it as well.  I won’t have the instantaneous throttle response the dual-turbo setup would offer, but I think I’ll be perfectly fine driving across the country with just one turbo.  My goals are only 300hp or so, and that’s very easily attainable with a good turbocharger and an accurate fuel delivery tune.

It’s the most common caveat long-term CRX owners share: we got no love in the cupholder department. If I adjust my passenger’s seat just right, and the stars are aligned, and I never hit a bump, I can keep my Aroma Joe’s coffee cups between the ebrake handle and the seat. That doesn’t quite cut it. Another solution that doesn’t quite cut it is the armrest that came in JDM and EDM EG civics. They’re too expensive and there just aren’t enough to go around for all of us.  All sorts of other terrible attempts to screw, rubber band, or hang cupholders in a crx have cropped up, but none really fit the bill if you ask me.  Three cheap, stock-ish alternatives have cropped up that I have been able to find.

Option 1: Nissan Sentra cupholder

OZ wrote up a nice DIY on using a Sentra cupholder, but this requires cutting into your console.  It’s a moderate amount of work and can’t be undone if you decide you don’t like it or want to resell the car.  Generally speaking, custom irreversible changes aren’t worth doing if there are other options available to you.  Read on.

Option 2: Taurus SHO Cupholder/Coinholder

The Taurus SHO cupholder fits into a DIN slot, so if you don’t mind moving your stereo head somewhere else, you can fit this beastie in there for around $10. If you’re skilled with fabrication, you can cut your own DIN-sized hole and line up the bolts yourself. Also, heater controls use a DIN space, so if you don’t mind leaving your climate just the way it is you can replace that with this cupholder. Here’s how the SHO cupholder fits into a CRX dash:

Option 3: Acura Integra cupholder

Lastly, the 94+ Integra cupholder fits toward the bottom of your center console. This is a clean replacement for the cigarette lighter and ashtray, stays tasteful, and is common/cheap enough for me to recommend. I’ve ordered one of these to replace my current Taurus SHO cupholder, it fit pretty well.  You need to be aware of where your fingers are when shifting into third, though. For further research, check out honda-tech’s forum thread here. If you have any alternative ideas for cupholders in your CRX, leave a comment below!  If you’ve already installed one, send in an email with some pictures  and I’ll feature your car.

Inside your engine, dead dinosaurs (or synthetic dead dinosaurs) get pushed around by modern machinery.  The sloppy mix called oil makes sure none of the carefully crafted pieces of metal grind against each other and keeps efficiency much higher than would otherwise be possible.  While dinosaur fossils tell us about the time the dinosaurs were alive, used motor oil tells us about the time it spent inside the engine.

Blackstone Labs can definitively test your oil and tell you exactly what’s wearing, how fast, and whether or not your engine actually needs the “standard” 3,000-mile prescription of an oil change.  You’ll only get a report since the last oil change, but it’s an inexpensive way to learn a lot about how your car has been driving for that time.  Their standard oil analysis only costs $22.50 (as of this writing) and will tell you all the bare essentials you could want to know.

All you have to do is collect some of your old oil (bear in mind, this can be transmission, differential, or engine oil) in a sealed glass container at your next oil change and send it in to them.  While I haven’t tried this myself, I’m intrigued as to the results.  Have you had your oil analyzed before, and was it actually a useful endeavor?