James H came to ZCG for chassis upgrades on his black 350z. The Z already sported a sharp NISMO bodykit and 19″ wheels:

The suspension was upgraded to coil-overs with Eibach springs, SPC front/ rear control arms and Hotchkis sway bars followed by an alignment:

The brakes were treated to a Stoptech Sport Kit consisting of slotted rotors, 309 pads and stainless flex lines.  Here are the brakes and suspension before/after for the front and rear:

James felt the Cusco diff was a little too tight so the clutch pack was changed to bring the lock-up down from 100% to 60%. New differential bushings were also installed:

Mazda’s 3rd generation (FD) RX-7 is one of the sexiest looking sports cars to come out of the 90’s. Ok, second to the Z32 🙂 Lou S found this silver FD in a Monterey garage with 80k miles on the clock. It had been sitting since 2006 and needed some ZCG TLC. Lou plans to do an LSx drivetrain swap and we think it will be a great complement to his brilliant Right-Hand Drive 240z.

The ocean air surrounding the car rusted out the suspension and exhaust so these were removed and replaced. Here is the new Racing Beat exhaust:

New shocks/springs and a Stoptech big-brake kit were installed:

MMM…Stoptechs! We love the new stance how the red calipers pop through the period OZ Monte Carlo wheels…

Note how much larger the rotors are compared to stock. The rear calipers were treated to same red as the front:

 Stay tuned for more updates as Lou’s RX-7 transforms into a large-displacement beast!

Z owners are truly in love with their cars: When Kailash got married he rode in on a stallion of course….a white 300zx Twin Turbo stallion!

Congratulations Kailash and we like how you included the Z in your ceremony!

If you are a fan of vintage racing come out to Laguna Seca August 17-19 for the Monterey Motorsports Reunion. ZCG is hosting a VIP Car Corral for your Nissan/Datsun/Infiniti. To park in the corral you MUST purchase the corral tickets through ZCG! It is only $10, allows you to park with other Datsun owners, and it’s literally footsteps away from the track and venue, unlike general parking. See you there!  You can download the flyer in .pdf format below: Monterey Motorsports Reunion – 2012
Pictures from last year’s event are HERE

Steve S. is our kind of enthusiast: extremely meticulous and passionate about his car and it shows. A litte over two years ago, he bought a low mileage Ivory Pearl G35 coupe, but something was missing: Power. Through his intense research on the G35 and the 350z forums, he came across ZCarGarage. To increase his power, his initial source of inspiration for going with the Vortech Supercharger was from a write up found on Z Car Blog entitled Little By Little: G35 Gets the Job Done.

Steve’s main reason for going with the Vortech Supercharger was after the test drive with Rob. Here is how the car stands with the beautiful 20 inch D2forged wheels with Z CarGarage special touches.

To feed that power urge Steve chose a  Vortech Supercharger. Steve’s ultimate goal was to keep everything simple, clean and somewhat unique.

 

You are probably thinking, “what do you mean somewhat unique?” With most forced induction gauge set ups, many would use the 3 gauge pillar for displaying any combination of Boost, Air to Fuel, Oil Temp, Water Temp, etc.

Steve came across a nice find with PLX Kiwi Wifi. This device connects to your OBDII port and retrieves information from your car’s computer as well as from PLX sensor boxes and wirelessly transmits real time car vital information to his iPod touch. The iPod touch is located in the display compartment.  Check out the clean install:

 

The other cool feature with this device is that it gives you a description of the Check Engine Light as well as clear all codes.  ZCG was able to figure out a way to play downloaded videos off of the iPod touch through the stock Bose head unit.   Many hours were spent cleaning up the Innovate A/F gauge located in the ashtray compartment. With all compartments closed, it looks completely stock:

The V3 Vortech supercharger is fully polished with supporting mods including Tomei headers, Upgraded intercooler, ZCG Cold Air Intake, JWT cams, upgraded clutch/flywheel, Bassani exhaust with Berks HFCs and a ZCG oil cooler.

 

On to the tuning process…where Rob works his magic. Check out the progression of tuning over the past 2 years:

Boost/Serpentine Pulley Progression:
Note: SS Box and Vortech FMU with 3.12 serpentine pulley……..416hp and 336tq at the wheels on 91 Octane

 

Upgraded to the following items: DW600cc inj, Walbro Fuel pump, GTM 56mm radiator/Fan and Shroud, and UpRev Software with PMAS HPX………91 octane

 

Next upgrades: Larger Intercooler and 2.87 serpentine pulley yielded 443hp/353tq on 100 octane:

 

At this point, some may have been content with the power, but Steve was now hooked on pushing for “More Boost“.

Now the best for last. The changes made for this tuning process are listed below, but keep in mind this is still the “Stock Motor” on 100 octane fuel.

725cc injectors, Aeromotive 340lph fuel pump, GTM MAF, changed Cog Gear, and ARTs Test Pipes and 100 octane.  The results are impressive!…501 whp / 399 tq SAE or 514 whp / 409 tq STD: We think Steve is happy 🙂

 

Will Steve’s boost addiction continue? We will have to wait and see…