Zed Head

You'll have to measure temperature also, as shown in your plot, even with a lookup table. Why use a narrow band when wide bands are available?

It might not even really be flooding, explaining the dry plugs. It's more of a choking. No air flow in to the cylinders to pull the CSV fuel. Also explains the gas smell, the intake manifold is loaded up with CSV gasoline that never moved.

This does make the most sense. I feel bad for getting distracted with the other stuff. The assumption was that you removed a functioning AAR but if your AAR was stuck in that position, never fully closing like it's supposed to then the idle adjustment bypass would have been adjusted down to almost closed to make up for the AAR opening. When it was removed you're left with no air with the throttle closed.. If you want to take CO's suggestion one step further just open up your idle speed screw, the screw with the big head and a spring under it. Turn it counterclockwise a few turns. Then you'll still be on the idle circuit of the TVS, but with more air. You'll need to do that anyway, probably. Hope that's it. Now you are an EFI expert.

I might do both, plus one. Disconnect the injectors and it will probably start and run for a few seconds on CSV fuel. Disconnect the CSV and see what happens with the injectors connected. Disconnect them both and start it on starting fluid. By the end you'll probably be certain about spark.

If that's a lot of fuel for the amount of time cranking, and your temperature sensor reading at the ECU is in range, then bad ECU comes to mind. Disconnecting all of the injectors might get it to run for a few seconds. It might be flooding due to the ECU keeping the injectors open. Just one thought, for the action plan.

The facts are getting kind of random and don't fit well. Your video showed that it l almost started, more than just a pop, it sounded like a short series of ignitions, on just gasoline. But you said you didn't even get a pop before with a much more potent fuel, so the focus was on spark. Now you're measuring output at the injectors but they really don't squirt much at low RPM. Not clear if what's in the cup is a lot or a little. You're kind of at the point where it might pay to just write down what you know and put a methodical plan of action together. Many people get to this point via different ways. A bunch of disconnected observations that don't really show a solution. No offense, it happens to many.

You'll probably need to do the rears again. When I had my front calipers on the wrong side I couldn't generate much pressure or flow because the big air bubbles up front took all of the travel.

The video kind of "blew by" it but he did show the catch can with a filter on top, at 3:31.

I couldn't tell how that catch can works. If both ports are open, with no check valves, then it seems like he just moved the typical little breather down below the manifold and off of the valve cover. Really, he could have just blocked the valve cover port and run the one hose to the catch can. It wouldn't be "positive" ventilation anymore, there's no vapor flow, it would be like a 1960's set up. I don't think Nissan gave a crap about crankcase ventilation until EFI days. They don't seem to write anything about it until then. Here's a diagram showing gas flow. I had a friend who rebuilt the engine in his Camaro and it would just spew loads of blowby out of the valve cover breather when he got on it, until the rings broke in and sealed. The whole point is "what do we do with this blowby?".

So, it does pop, I heard it. You have spark. Sounds like the timing is way advanced. Is the distributor cap tight? Check firing order and rotation direction, as suggested. Maybe the distributor adjustment screw is loose and it got twisted when you were working up there, skewing ignition timing. Could also be that something major coincidentally broke. Timing chain, camshaft, distributor shaft. You might remove the distributor cap and the calve cover and just make sure things spin like they should. While the valve cover is off, set the damper mark on zero and reset your distributor and wires to be sure that ignition timing is correct. Might be time to just start from scratch to be sure.

I do know about Koni's. I had a pair on my dirt bike. Waaaaaaayyyy back when. I'm just not living in the past. Much has changed since then. Joseph gave a great answer.

Part 2

You might be out there beating, burning, and torturing things but make sure you do what Patcon suggested first,

Here's some good stuff. http://www.koni.com/en-US/Cars/Technology/Adjustment-Guides/

That's the "take it or leave it" approach. Give a good comparison and you'll get more "take it"s than "leave it"s. Without a comparison, KYB's are a known quantity, the Koni's an unknown quantity. In today's world it's very possible that these "new" Koni's are just rebranded "other" shocks. It's the world we live in. Koni could just be a trademark. Today's world is littered with old well-known brand names on low quality parts. The more info supplied the more likely people will make the jump. Please don't reply with "I can assure you". Just data, it's all that matters. Good luck. They look promising.

Usually it's a two part problem. This is the second part. If you can get them to spin then spinning and pulling at the same time can get you started over the ridge. It's tedious and difficult. Pull, spin, wobble, pound....

Any chance you could post up the dyno plot? No offense, but that's the most interesting part to me. I assume it's a bone stock 280Z engine? That would be nice to know also. The number look about normal for a well-tuned L28.

You should post a link to the instructions so people know what's involved and how they work. Looks like some special bits involved. Also, are you selling the "proper" bump stops, or will people have to figure that part out on their own? I've seen where bump stops come with the Koni strut. They don't do that anymore? Nice to see some new options besides KYB and hard-to-get brands. @James@TheZStore

Here's a much cheaper one - https://injector-rehab.com/shop/Bosch-Denso-Pintle-Cap.html

I think that the tip of the plunger is called the pintle and it's often protected by a pintle cap. You can buy the pintle caps separately. I think that this link below, Z1Motorsports, might be a "Rick-roll" link. The header shows "never gonna give you up" but I have sound muted. Beware. Not sure why they call it a pintle. There's supposed to be a gudgeon involved. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pintle https://www.z1motorsports.com/fuel-rail-and-injectors/z1-motorsports/fuel-injector-cap-early-style-p-3225.html

The early factory injectors just squirt a stream. Pretty crude, disappointing. Volume and balance are the key, I think.

You should still measure resistance back to the battery, at least. I have a flashlight that only works if I unscrew the base slightly. It looks like it should have a nice solid ground but the bulb won't light until I loosen the cap on the bottom. Ironic.

Mass + inertia. Bang the top on the top of your work bench. Then shake it like a tiny shake weight. Here's a note from a guy who did a bunch of work on some Z stuff. He posted a lot back when the internet was just words on a blue screen. https://yarchive.net/car/injectors.html I have problems with the concept right off the bat because I've seen bosch injectors rust literally before my eyes after getting a bit of water in them. I have one here in which, being lazy, I dipped the tip in an aqueous solution in the ultrasonic cleaner. The pintle rusted and stuck literally before I could dry it. JGD]

Suction would act on on a very small area, the pintle seat. Probably not much force generated, atmospheric pressure on that small area. I've tapped some open, with a heavy screwdriver. You could probably just tap them upside down on a board or soft surface also. The spring holds the pintle down, the solenoid pulls it up. You might even just blast them with a full unresisted 12 volts, a tap at a time, maximum magnetic field. I know that people worry about having resistors in place but that's for current, which causes heat. A short full current blast won't overheat them. They still see 12 volts before they're grounded, they just don't see maximum current when the resistors are in place. Pretty sure you know all of that, it's just a reminder.

Is it a pub type brewery? Awesome place to display a Z. Have it behind some glass, a work-in-progress. People could come down just to check it out. Be careful with those tires. They look ready to blow.