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The King of Cadillacs Visits ZCG

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Performance
by Alvin G @ 12:09 am on March 31, 2012


Chris H. was a Zcar owner until he made the switch to a big, fast American muscle sedan: Cadillac’s CTS-V. ZCarGarage just installed a new exhaust system and dyno’d the supercharged beast.

The  power gains just from the exhaust alone were impressive with 18hp/26tq more at the wheels for a total of 472hp/478tq! It sounds amazing too as I spotted Chris in his CTS-V motoring though traffic on the freeway earlier this week.  With over 550hp on tap it must be an easy decision to trade that distinctive Zcar burble for some V8 thunder!





Simply Stunning: John’s Z34

Filed under: 370z,Performance
by Alvin G @ 3:47 pm on March 29, 2012


Subtle aesthetic touches and performance mods make this a very special 370z. Here is Rob with the full story:

I met John M. in 2005 when he came down to ZCG to have some issues with his 350Z sorted out. He is from Folsom, Ca and makes the trek to ZCG each and every time he gets the itch to mod his Zed.  From 2005 to 2009 ZCG and John built a beautiful 350Z together with WORK wheels, Brembo brakes, Vortech supercharger and all the usual ZCG supporting mods like exhaust, cams, headers and Tein suspension. John transformed a stock Z to not only look good but also make great power and provide years of enjoyment.

 

When the GTR arrived in 2009 John made his way to a local dealer and made arrangements for his next purchase. At the last moment before commitment he stumbled into another part of the showroom and saw what would be his next Z. Realizing the limited aftermarket stuff for the R35 and the expense associated with mods a new direction was mapped out…

 

Gorgeous SSR Professor SP3 wheels with S04 tires look so right on the 370. Filling the spokes are Brembo brakes, 380mm 6 piston(front) and 345mm 4 piston(rear):

 

Killer handling and stance are taken care of by Tein coil-overs w/EDFC while Hotschkis sways and SPC F/R control arms complete the package:

 

Underhood mods include Injen dual intakes, Berk HFCs and exhaust system followed by an UPREV tune by Rob:

 

The stock Z34 has rather polarizing styling. You love it or hate it. We think a few low-key changes make the Z look sexier and who better to help achieve this than Williams Auto Body. Their “Blackout Package” includes the roof and front/rear bumper treatments. The result arguably is how Nissan should have released the 370!

 

The EDFC was mounted in the dash and a nice touch is the GT-R start button:

 

I am a huge GTR fan but after looking at John’s Z34 vision and seeing the end result I think this tag line is most appropriate…
“ Long live the Z”






Memory Lane 510

Filed under: 510,Events
by Alvin G @ 12:38 pm on March 24, 2012


I was digging through old photo albums when I found this photo from 1998. Our friend Jan T’s Datsun 510 next my ’77MGB in a school parking lot. I can still remember Jan giving me my first ride in a Dime…he would make the rear end step out on a 1-2 upshift while turning onto a street…good times!





Trick Pony Update: Suspension and Boost!

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Performance
by Alvin G @ 11:00 am on March 22, 2012


Jeff V. is a bit different from your average Mustang owner…he wanted his car to be the total package with handling to match power and the ability to do more than just go fast in a straight line. He also does not mind being surrounded by a bunch of Z cars 🙂 Our last update on his 2012 Mustang GT included a few upgrades like a Torsen LSD, gears and short shifter. Jeff wanted to sort out the suspension before doing any serious power adders so a full coil-over kit from Stranoparts was installed f/r:

Eibach’s Multi-Pro-R2 kit has double adjustable coil-overs with remote reservoirs. These coil-overs allow for easy ride height adjustability of up to 2.7 inches and they can be tuned using a wide variety of Eibach springs, from comfort to curve-shredding tight turning. With between 7 and 10 rebound and compression adjustments, there are plenty of options to choose from.
The kit called for mounting the front remote reservoirs to the strut tower brace. Josh C. being the amazing technician that he is found a better place to mount them out of sight yet still accessible for adjustment:


The coil-overs naturally allow ride height tuning and if there was ever a car that needed a stance adjustment it’s the new 5.0. From 4×4 altitude(left) to hunkered down(right) for track duty: Look for Jeff and his trick pony at road courses throughout California!

 

 


With the suspension in Jeff wanted to try some basic power improvements. We started with Kooks long-tube headers and high flow cats but the sound was unbearable and header fitment was not the greatest:


We settled on the factory exhaust headers and cats with a Borla cat-back exhaust system. Jeff was now ready for a serious power adder so a call to Vortech was placed. Vortech has proven supercharger kits that provide factory-like installation/appearance and big time hp/tq gains! This is the black satin finish Si trim kit:


The Vortech delivers significant power gains and with only the Borla cat-back and basic tuning the ‘Stang turned the ZCG rollers to 535hp/461tq at the wheels.  That’s +151hp  and 81tq more than stock!

Next week we will finish the stiff-stuff with new sway bars and get even more power with a coid-air intake, fuel pump upgrade and tune from Brenspeed. The car will be tuned using an SCT tool and iPad via Bluetooth! Stay tuned for more updates!





Peter’s ’71 Skyline

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Performance
by Alvin G @ 11:25 pm on March 15, 2012


Hakosuka fans unite! Yet another vintage Skyline has graced the shop floors at ZCarGarage, and this one’s a beauty. Peter brought his 1971 2000GTX to ZCG for some ignition and carb tuning work. He acquired the Skyline through the well-known JDMLegends shop and earlier this year it was even featured on Speedhunters.

Yes, those are real, authentic Hayashi Street Type CR wheels! The car sports the L20A engine with triple 40mm Solex carbs and the same header found on Gary’s C10. We started with a baseline dyno of 91hp/98tq at the wheels:

Once the Skyline is dialed in Peter can continue enjoying the ride…then it’s time for a 3.2 🙂





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