***Dear Customers and Friends we want to remind you that Z Car Garage will be closed from 12/24-26, 1/1/15 and 1/2/15***

We want to say thanks to our customers, friends and the crew at ZCG for making 2014 a wonderful and productive year!

 

 

Three for Thursday! Here are 3 owners that visited Z Car Garage for upgrades so they could Enjoy The Ride. Thomas C was experiencing brake fade/overheating with the Akebono caliper setup on his G37 Sedan. We installed a Stoptech Sport Kit with our favorite SS309 pads:

 

Slotted rotors also help shed heat, before/after shown below:

 

We also UPREV tuned the G now making 291hp/247tq to the wheels:

 

Rich M wanted firmer shifts from his automatic-equipped G37 Coupe. We installed a TransGo shift kit followed by UPREV tuning:

 

TransGO kit:

 

The dyno plot reveals the benefits of UPREV tuning and the TransGo kit. Firmer shifts are evident by the absence of the “loop” (blue curves) seen with OEM automatic-equipped Z/Gs.  Huge peak gains of 20hp/18tq to the wheels and increased area under the curve everywhere means this is power you can feel!

 

Garth J brought his 2003 350z to us for Stoptech lines, 5/16″ plenum spacer and MREV2 lower intake, and new Bridgestone PP S-04 tires:

 

With the intake mods and UPREV tuning Garth’s Z picked up 7hp/5tq to the wheels. More importantly are the mid-range and top-end gains:

How can we help you enjoy your Z or G?

 

Just over a year ago Brian K visited Z Car Garage for several bolt-on parts on his 2006 350z including a JWT Pop charger, Motordyne 5/16″ plenum spacer, Bassani cat-back exhaust system and UPREV tuning.

 

 

As we all know it is hard to resist adding upgrades to your sportscar and after enjoying the Z with its new mods Brian came back to ZCG for full 60k services, Hotchkis sway bars and Brembo brakes.  The OEM Brembo calipers were sourced from Gabe V’s G35 coupe. Gabe upgraded to a Stoptech Trophy setup, full report on his build soon:

 

Brian’s stock calipers and the Brembo calipers front and rear. Two-piece rotors are from Giro Disc:

 

Looking good through the ’06 wheels!

Just a friendly reminder that Z Car Garage will be closed this Thursday (11/27) and Friday (11/28) for the holiday. Don’t forget to Enjoy the Ride!

 

We are pleased report another Z Car Blog success story!  Anthony K recently acquired this Datsun 240z that we built and featured in our FOR SALE section. This powerful, tastefully modified S30 was seller Scott W’s creation and it was well-received by viewers. A day after we posted it for sale on the blog it was featured by our friends over at Bring A Trailer!

  

Here is proud new owner Anthony K sharing his journey from picking up the Z in San Francisco and driving it all the way home to Vancouver, B.C. Thank you for these beautiful pictures and Enjoy The Ride!

This is my first Z. In fact it’s my first “second” car solely for pleasure driving. I used to ride sport bikes (most recently a yellow Ducati 748) until a near fatal accident. I’m lucky to be alive. I figured some steel around me was in order, so I wanted to get a car with a “pure” driving experience, without much of the insulation, refinement and weight that come with modern cars. Then I came across this great video on Petrolicious.com. I had somehow completely forgotten how much I like the original 240Z. The styling takes so many cues from the Ferrari 275GTB and Daytona, two cars I think are among the most beautiful ever made. Everything clicked. I wanted a beautiful, classic driving car with good power, great sound, and (relative) reliability. The original 240Z with a Rebello engine fit the bill. I started my search.

 

I searched craigslist along the West Coast, from San Diego to Vancouver, as well as ebay motors for a finished car with a Rebello engine. As you know, they’re hard to find. I found Scott W’s Z on craigslist and the Z Car Blog. He is a class act and was very helpful throughout the entire purchase process. Together with the detailed photos of all the work done on the car by you on the Z Car Blog, it was easy to learn everything I needed to know about the car.

My wife and I drove from San Francisco to Vancouver BC over about 5 days. We don’t have a car in San Francisco, so Scott very generously drove the car from Cupertino to San Francisco on Tuesday for the sale. We talked a while, and it was very clear how much he was going to miss the car he spent so much time making his own. It’s nice to purchase a vehicle that’s very personal to someone because of the care that went into it.

 

We drove up to Sonoma county and spent Wednesday to Friday afternoon wine tasting in Glen Ellen/Sonoma. That period was the test drive for my wife.  I’m sure my driving would have been more spirited without her, but taking such a great trip along the beautiful Pacific Coast was so much better with her as my companion.

 

We headed to the coast late Friday afternoon and drove up to Mendocino, where we ate a great dinner and spent the night. That first day of driving was just awesome: endless 2nd and 3rd gear turns, sweepers and bends from Sonoma, over the hills to Gualala and up the windy coast to Mendocino. That’s where I became addicted to the Z’s great handling, power and raw, intoxicating sound.

 

Monday morning, we did some shopping in town and then drove West to the nearby Willamette Valley wine country. It was mid afternoon by the time we finished wine tasting and figured it would be dark by the time we hit the still foggy and rainy coast. At that point, we would either stay in Salem or Portland for another night so we could head to the coast the next day and enjoy the drive, or just hit I5 and plow through.  We fueled up at Stumptown Coffee, my favorite coffee shop in Portland, and kept going till we hit the border. Droning along the highway isn’t the Z’s natural habitat, but we steadily made our way back to Vancouver by ~1am Tuesday morning.

 

We’re both grateful for the awesome, fun, safe, and mechanically event-free road trip. Special thanks to Scott W and Rob and crew at the Z Car Garage for the great work, turning an already great car into an awesome one. Looking forward to making the trip back down to San Francisco. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to Google “best roads around Vancouver.”