Planning Project Eco-Z
 

For some time, I've been wanting to swap a GM LSX into an early Datsun Z-car (240, 260, 280 Z). I've always LOVED the way they looked and drove, and it's the only sports car that fits me (6'5", 250 lbs).

As gas has gone up and up, and I've become more and more concerned about the environment, I've decided against the LSX. Lately I've been thinking about going in a completely different direction, and swapping in an I4 and going hypermiling with a Z.

Stock, they only weigh around 2500 lbs. Swapping out a cast iron I6 for an aluminum I4 should be worth at least a couple of hundred lbs. Swap on fiberglass front fenders a fiberglass G-nose (more aerodynamic), and a carbon fiber hood and it should come in around 2000-2100 lbs.

Not only that, but the lighter aluminum I4 is also shorter, so the already good CG would move even further back, I think it'd handle on an autocross course.

I'm trying to decide about candidate engines. I'm thinking something under 2 liters, with MAF OBD II fuel injection.

There's a forum for Z swaps (hybridz.org). Some of the guys on there have swapped to I4s, but they've been doing it for power, not economy.

There's actually a cradle available to swap in an SR20DET I4. The "T" stands for turbo, though, and it's just not what I'm looking for. I can get a non-turbo JDM SR20DE, though that might be more up my alley. I can get a RWD SR20DE with PCM and transmission for around a grand, but I still wonder if this would be the best choice.

I figure I'd like to come in around 100-120 hp, miserly enough to squeeze out 40-45 mpg, but with enough power to at least feel like a vestige of a sports car.

I've gotten some advice from the guys on hybridz.org, but no one there has yet to do anything like this, so no one has any experience. A lot of them are also skeptical, and I find myself wasting a lot of time defending the concept of a sporty hypermiler, etc.

I'm wondering if anyone here might have any thoughts/advice. I'm purely in the planning stages with this, so I'm not married to anything.

Are you dedicated to having a nissan engine in there? Honda made a nice obd II 3-stage vtec engine from 96-00 that is 1.5 liters and puts out 130 hp.

No, I'm not stuck on Nissan at all. The big issue is that the Z is RWD. Most of the time, it's either not possible, or a nightmare to convert a FWD engine to RWD.

That's the 1.5 they put in Civics and Del Sols, isn't it? Is there a RWD version?

It's the 1.5 they put in EK civic ferios in Japan, :p

Convert the z to fwd, :p

1.9 vw tdi !
Yes I'm serious, I've seen them in toyota pickups.

You can easily hot rod it to 150 wheel hp, with little loss in economy, and you can run it on alt fuels.

Turbo 3 cyl suzuki/geo engine with a 2wd geo tracker 5spd trans? They bolt together and it would be a rwd combo.

Give you lots of power(for a 3 cyl) with a good mileage engine that weighs like 200lbs total. No idea how easy it is to find a turbo 3 but it might not be hard to add a turbo to a normal 3 cyl. If you can get the car down to 1800lbs or so then it would still be plenty fast with a combo like that.

Might be a strange combo but at least nobody else would have a similar car :)

Intersting... 3cyl turbo and TReacker 5 speed.. I like...

If that was the direction, I think I'd prefer the 1.3 4 cylinder to the 3 cylinder turbo. I'm a big fan of natural aspiration.

I looked for the turbo gas mileage on fuel economy.gov, but couldn't find it. What I did find was this:

2001 swift 1.3 31/38

2000 metro 1.0 31/41
metro 1.3 31/38
swift 1.3 31/38

1999 metro 1.0 34/42
metro 1.3 33/39
SW 1.3 33/39

1998 metro 1.0 36/44
metro 1.3 33/39
swift 1.3 33/39

1997 metro 1.0 37/44
metro 1.3 33/39
swift 1.3 33/39

1996 metro 1.0 37/44
metro 1.3 33/39
swift 1.3 33/39

1995 metro 1.0 37/44
metro 1.3 33/39
swift 1.0 37/44

1994 metro 1.0 38/44
metro xfi 1.0 51/54
swift 1.3 31/39
swift gt 1.3 24-32

1993 metro 1.0 38/45
metro xfi 1,0 43/51
swift 1.0 38/45
swift 1.3 33/39
swift gt 1.3 24/32

Pretty consistently, the 1.0 gets 4-5 mpg better than the 1.3. Project Eco-Z will be heavier than a metro/swift though, I'm thinking the 1.3 maight be a better choice.

Another interesting thing I saw was a 1.6 I4 in Sidekicks. I'm thinking that engine miht be tuned more towards torque, as it was in a heavier vehicle, and might be even better suited for Eco-Z

By the way, what is it about the Swift GT than kills the mileage?

Another possibility would be the Mercedes-Benz I-5 turbodiesel out of a Sprinter van. These are just now becoming available at recycling yards. Sprinters get fabulous mileage but as a van they are slow, slow, slow. Getting the DIN bellhousing to match up to your Japanese transmission might be a machinist's nightmare. You'll need to regear the rear axle. Details, details.

An engine that gets nearly 30 MPG out of a van should give you staggering MPG in a Z.

ya' gear it to idle at 70 mph :thumbup:

There is a 3 cylinder turbo diesel (1.2?) from vw. gets mid 70's in a Polo.

also a 1.4 tdi.

I'm a fan of the 1zz toyota also, but don't know how it would do mpg wise.

the swift gt has a dohc engine instead of the sohc engine that is in the normal 1.3L and it has a lot more aggressive cam. Plus the sohc has 3.52 gears compared to the 4.39 i think in the dohc.

It would be a pretty easy swap to get a 1.6L rwd tracker/sidekick and stick it in pretty much anything. They are small engines and fairly common. Plus you could always find someone to grind the cam down to a lower lift and duration to give it more bottom end power than stock and put 2.73 rear end gears in it for really nice tall gearing.

But a 3 cyl would be much more unique in that car. You could always put a second one in to double the power when you need it :thumbup:

Nice thing about a diesel is that they easily can be juiced up for short bursts using propane. Since they operate on excess air the auxilairy fuel is blowtorched into combustion by the diesel. The trick is getting the injection rate right and not advancing your injection when on propane.

The effect is like that of a gas engine on nitrous.

The M-B (Sprinter) engine can take the additional pressures. The VW might be iffy.

I have no Sprinter High performance experiance, but the vw 1.9 motor is highly reliable to 200 wheel hp (300 tq), will do 250 in a daily driver, and 300 has been done. No need for propane, just Big nozzles, a tune, and a turbo if you want to make big #'s for long periods of time (keeps egt's down). the 1.2 can be hot rodded, not sure how/ how much.

The 1.9 Vw is 36x lbs ready to run the 1.2 is 19xlbs ready to run.

Any idea on sprinter engine weight?


That being said, If the car was heavier I'd definitely be gunning for the Sprinter (great motor), and obviously it all depends on performance expectations, the sprinter motor would need crazy gearing, the vw would be more normal . . . .

I could think of quite a few fun nissan engines.

cd17 diesel

sr16de (hard to find)
sr16ve (sweet revving engine)
sr16ve N1 (only 500, front drive)
sr20de (there is a 160hp version of this that has some type of valve or cam timing system for the 240sx)

sr20ve

Personally I'd go for a 200hp sr20ve, variable valve timing, 10-1 comp, header, exhaust. Should put down 180whp with a good header intake and tune. You could use 240sx trans.

have fun doing that swap.

Here is what you could put in that is from a Mercedes and is diesel.

the OM617.952 is the famous 5 cylinder turbodiesel with the iron head. Indestructable but slow. It can be modified to get more power ( www.superturbodiesel.com ) The finnish have gotten close 300 hp out of this 5 banger

The OM60x series ( OM601,602,603 or the 606 twin cam)

the 603 is found in the 86/87 300SDL, the 601,602 are the same as a 603 but with one or two cylinders loped off. They are all mechanical injection but do yield a solid 30 mpg on the highway. The 603 will give 30 on the highway in a big S-Class. The smaller engines will yield more because they were put in smaller cars. They do have one computer for idle and EGR, IIRC. Finnish have squeezed 400 hp from this one

Downside of this engine, the head is aluminum and if overheated the head likes to warp or crack. So records are a must. Plus some of the early cast heads are said to be more prone to cracking (#14 head IIRC) so some upgrade to the #22 head.

The big daddy, the OM606 is found in the later W124 chasis E300D's and are non turbo's. They recieved a turbo in the E300D ( W210 chassis) in '98 and in the '99 model year and will give a low 30's to mid 30's on the highway if driven normally. The downside is the injection pump does not have a mechanical govenor, but the finnish( diesel tuning gods) have proven the OM603 injection pump can be used on the 606 with no ill effects. Tuned properly it will put 500+ hp and ooooh soo much torque to the wheels

However, the biggest drawback on this the glow plugs. They sometimes like to get stuck in the head and snap off. This is largely due to the fact they are longer than the plugs used in the 617/60x series engine. Why, because the twin cam setup. When they break off its not the end of the world. Mercedes has an extraction kit to get it out ( check out youtube for a vid of the procedure, it's very interesting) But if the kit fails or you fubar it ( you can do it at home with a left hand drill bit and tap but, you have to be perfect!) You will have to take it to a machine shop to be removed or if you dinked up the head, plop down 3k for a new head.

here is the break down

om617 - Durable, tunable( takes some work but proven), but slow compared to the rest... rated 123 hp, 175 ft lbs

om603 and 60x series. A modern diesel engine that puts out a very good amount of power
stay away from the OM603.97. It's a 3.5 version of the 603. All of Mercedes's diesels use cylinder liners instead of a straight up bore into the block. But the 3.5 is sans liners and likes to suffer from bent rods, no one can pinpoint the reason why but every 3.5 is prone to it and if they were not given the upgraded rods they will bend eventually. But the crank from it installed in a 603 will yield a nice stroker motor

om606, the most efficient and modern of the diesel but most complicated electrical wise. also, most expensive if found.


So, if you want to go the diesel route, let me know.



for those interested, I did not cite any source other than personal knowledge ...

I really just don't see myself going with a diesel. I want to stick with a gasoline engine.

I love my 5 cylender turbo diesel in my 300d.. those motors are virtually bullet proof.. there feel semi slow in the benz but then again the bens id 4000 lbs, the dang thing weighs more than my V8 grand Cherokee by almost a quarter ton..

ALways wanted a MB 300d motor in the Grand cherokee.. maybe some day?

Easy Diesel Z swap
 

Im currently collecting the parts for my swap. So far I have a 81ZX, the engine, harness, intercooler, ecm, cluster, misc spare parts. The Engine is from a 01 engine code ALH 1.9l TDI. Im planning on having the ecm re flashed to eliminate the immobilizer and egr program. Eliminating the immobilizer means you don't need a VW key, reader coil or instrument cluster. Eliminating the egr program allows you to remove the egr valve, egr cooler and solenoid valve. The biggest benefit by removing the egr is not having the intake manifold plug up with carbon (very common tdi problem)

What I need to complete the swap;

Acme Adapters, adapter plate
Toyota 22r 5spd transmission
Custom drive line
Fuel Mods (Pump, lines, cooler)
Motor Mounts
Exhaust
Time and Money

I dont think the swap will be that difficult, once the engine bay is stripped and the mounts are correct then everything should bolt right in, plenty of room for intercooler piping, fuel filters, ect.


I think your fuel economy with the vw tdi would honestly bring you 60-70 mpg on the freeway, Ive been on Fred's TDI Page. TDIClub.com. VW TDI Enthusiast Community for a while and have seen people getting as much as 65 mpg in a 3000lb+ Jetta!

2100lb hypermiled tdi 240ZG :eek: 60, 70, 80mpg???
Mix a little propane in there to increase the combustion efficiency and a fuel/air separator, probably see another 10mpg

4-banger Z-car
 

I can't tell you how much in favor I am to your project.I'd considered putting a 16-HP, V-twin riding mower engine, into a Corvette for a Sierra Club TV show back in the 90s.It wasn't to be a road car,just to point out to viewers,how little horsepower the car actually needed for daily driving.The Z-cars (all of them) are still quite advanced,and would make great platforms for ecomodding.I'm useless to you with respect to engine candidates.Sorry! I'd be tempted to pull the guts out of a '93 toyota pickup and shoehorn it in.It's not OBD-2 and its not all-aluminum,but it is EFI,they can get in the 30s as a truck,and have a pretty flat torque curve and plenty of grunt.A neighbor did the Chevy 350 swap into a Z-car.He no longer owns the car.That may say something about how rewarding that project was for him.Also,Bo Jones,a local hot-rodder,in Woodland Hills,Ca.,where I grew up,had a favorite car,a T-bucket roadster with a little Iron-Duke I-4 power.The thing was so light.he could embarrass the hell out of a lot of muscle-car owners.He new power-to-weight and used it to his advantage.And in spite of the terrible aerodynamics,the little hot rod put other cars to shame at the gas pump.I think,with modest power,you could still have a ball slinging her through the S-curves,and have no guilt at the pump.It's your call.I'd love to see you do it.

Unfortunately, Z cars have terrible aerodynamics. The 240s are like .46 cd. Even with a g-nose they're still in .40 territory. Its a shame, because they're beautiful cars, with an engine bay that can accommodate just about anything you can think up.

Don't be afraid of turbos, even though they make more power, they actually get better economy too (in general)....as long as you stay off boost. Plus, you can use a physically smaller engine without sacrificing enough giddyup to not be driving a slug. Something like a suzuki 3cyl turbo would be a good choice....they only weigh like 150 lbs! The stock l24 is like 500lbs, so thats a gigantic weight savings.

My second vote would be TDI....probably the only way you're going to see 40mpg or higher in that car. I don't know if this has been mentioned or not, but nissan made a diesel version of the inline 6. Its a LD28, I think? It would be a pretty much bolt-in conversion. No weight savings there, though.

Have you considered electric? I originally was going to do the 350/LS1 swap into my 240 but went electric and haven't looked back. You can commute on pennies and still burn rubber. I'm on my 2nd electric Z project now....if you have the skills to swap engines you have the skills to drop in an electric motor. Really depends on your range requirements if it would be practical. Plus you can do so much more with the aero....like a complete grill block, full underbody tray without exhaust getting in the way, etc.