[Tyson(280z)]

Coming back from Wisconsin this afternoon, I had an open stretch of downhill highway, so I punched it for fun. Well at 110 I started to get a breeze inside, and I smelled exhaust fumes. My first thought was "Wow i've never heard of taillight panels leaking that much!". I looked in the hatch of my car and noticed my hatch was open almost all the way from the suction above it. Got out, closed it and no more fumes =]


Anyone else ever not slam their hatch hard enough and have this happen?

 

[Zuber]

Not enough to raise the lid, but enough to tell that it wasn't closed all the way. I can tell in one block if I've left the lid partially open.

Really demonstrates the low pressure in that area, doesn't it?

 

[ian240z]

You've got more guts than me to turn around and look in the back doing 110!!!

My car smell of raw gas when I go round a left hand bend - I think that just worn pipes though. Gotta find the time to sort that out, have to time it right when lighting a cigarette!!!

Once had the hood come up and slam into the windshield on a ford though - at 90mph, that's a bit scary - and expensive!!!!!

 

[Tyson(280z)]

heh

I dont know if it has anything to do with it, but my rear end is still stock, and my front end is lowered real low (4" on the front X-member jack point) My Z has that "jacked" look until I swap my rear suspension. Anyways, not sure if that helps push the nose down or anything but the only diference I noticed at the high speed was a slight vibration in the car, probably a bent rim or U-joint starting to go bad, who knows. The Z actually feels pretty good even at 130 (Z speedo, who knows what the real speed is), but granted I havent turned the steering wheel at that speed =]


Suspension mods

KONI Adjustable struts
Lowering/Stiff springs
Front camber/bumpsteer plates
Urethane bushings
Shorter steering knuckles
Bigger swaybar
Urethane swaybar bushings

Before someone says "your stock Z cant hit 130!" Well a STOCK Z will get smoked by a 5-0 mustang too. And I dont worry when a mustang lines up against me.

 

[escanlon]

One of the problems that the Z has, due to it's body shape and specifically it's rear end, is that it generates a strong vortex of turbulent air behind the rear end. It's this vortex that causes the smell of gas within the passenger compartment, since the air can be forced back into the cabin through the tail-lights, the hatch and any other opening back there. That's the reason they discontinued the hatch vents from 70 to 71.

At 110 mph, it is conceivable that you actually generated enough upward wind pressure at the hatch to actually lift it up, and sure enough you encountered that. In order to make sure this doesn't happen again, you need to check the latch adjustment to make sure that it is in fact closing completely and not just to the safety latch position which might be what happened to you.

The Safety latch on the hood is obvious, it is that handle we have to press in order to get the hood released to open AFTER we've released the hood latch. On the hatch, the mechanism throws part way, then finishes it's travel and latches a second time. This is similar to the latch on your doors. There is a preliminary latch point, followed by the final cam action that closes the door tight. To check that you are closing properly, close the latch in a normal manner, then pull up on it. If there is some play upward, then you either did not latch completely or you are out of alignment. For the first, you need to raise the latch strike and for the second, lower it.

FWIW

 

[yo2001]

no smell out from my 78 car at 110. I have the window rolled up thou

 

[Tyson(280z)]

Same here....unless I forgot to close the hatch tight!

 

[ariem]

Must be somthing about Wisconsin...no problem at 125Mph racing a new Vette up the interstate, other than I couldn't do anything more than 125 (thus the swap to a 5 speed)

I agreed...takes some guts to take a look back at 110.

 

[Tony D]

My kid did!

Go to
www.groupz.com
and download the pdf of the Aurust newsletter. My nine-year old son wrote a 3200 word diary of our trip to Toronto and beyond for the National Convention this past summer. In that month's installment, he related that you couldn't roll up your window at 110, and had to slow down to 80 to get it to go up.
Mom wasn't too happy reading that in the newsletter when it arrived in the mail...