Our friend and fellow 350Z racer Scott Smith did track day with Trackmasters on 3/2/13. Several ZCG cars were present including Allen B and George K. Enjoy the pics and videos, thanks Scott!
Allen, Jen, and I met George and his buddy promptly at 7:30am. The GreenZ was loaded up, and the X5 made it’s maiden tow voyage with power, pride, and ease. George was ready for a day of fun in his Nismo 370z with Toyo R888 race tires, as was Allen in his Vortech 350z (on same tires). George’s friend in the C6 had never driven Seca, so he was excited. Jen was excited to take her first laps – in a car – around Laguna, as she and Scott had walked the entire track last fall at a PCA event.
It was still chilly for the first session, which Scott and George were in, so Scott and Allen took out Scott’s new, 2010, completely stock X5 Bimmer (video). Both were impressed at its control, handling, and sheer power. Full throttle up past the sound check – score!
The day warmed up, and all 3 Zs performed flawlessly. A few other ZCG customers were there as well in their Zs, as well as a plethora of 240Zs from the folks at Unique Towing. Big dollar Ferraris, 911s, BMWs, a Maserati, Lotus, and even a McLaren were in the mix for the day.
All-in-all it was a fun and safe day, and track temps were perfect. Here are some laps in GreenZ! (SpecZ prepped):
Kevin R has a long time relationship with Z Car Garage and he has put plenty of miles on his 240z. We wanted to help Kevin out with few things that needed attention like the dash. Dim lighting and non-functioning items led to pulling the entire dash out:
With the dash removed we restored the gauges, center stack and cleaned up wiring. The heater blower motor was replaced with a modern, more effective unit from a Honda:
The result is a beautiful, fully functional interior:
In the suspension department we installed Motorsport sway bars front/rear. S30 Z cars do not have camber adjustment so we installed Techno Toy Tuning rear control arms to dial in the alignment:
Underhood, Kevin’s 240z sports a hot D.L Potter engine built many years ago. The triple carbs needed some tuning and a heat shield. No triple carb setup is complete without the ZCG heat shield in place:
From the interior refreshening to the carb tuning Kevin’s Z is ready for more miles of enjoying the ride!
We tuned Daniel F’s G37S last fall and he came back to ZCG for driveline upgrades. The rear end was treated to new bearings, seals and 4.08 gears. A NISMO finned aluminum differential will help keep things cool:
Transmission upgrades included a South Bend clutch and Z Speed throw out bearing:
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Ray has been with Z Car Garage for several years and owns this limited production SMZ 300zx Twin-Turbo. In 2008 we did a fully built engine with 740cc injectors, JWT dual POP, full 3″ exhaust and mild porting. With 15k miles on the build now the intake cam sprocket was wearing out due to the Sport 500 cams.
Luckily there is BDE Performance who specializes in improving Z32 products. They have rebuilt VTC intake cam pulleys that are designed to eliminate the noise/wear that comes when running the stock units with aftermarket valve springs/hotter cams. BDE also offers a fully adjustable exhaust cam pulley for the first time.
Intake VTC(L) and adjustable exhaust pulley:
Stock(L) and after both pulleys are installed:
This is our first time using the BDE parts and dyno tuning was much easier with the new cam pulleys:
Ray’s SMZ also features VOLK GT-7 wheels,TEIN coil-overs, Powertrix T/C rods and Brembo brakes. Look for more updates on this special Z32.
It really is a small Z car world. Gabe H had talked about supercharging his 370z and was actually referred to Z Car Garage by Juan Felix. Thanks Juan! Gabe even knows Peggy and Dennis Hale from making the drive through the Santa Cruz Mtns, so he’s definitely Z-car savvy.
To satisfy his need for boost and keep things straightforward we installed a full bolt-on 370z supercharger kit from Stillen:
A few more shots of the install including the heat exchanger, oil lines, and intake:
To subtly improve handling we installed Hotchkis sway bars front/rear:
Gabe’s 370z now makes 420hp/316tq to the wheels with the supercharger kit alone; improvements of over 100hp/55tq over stock.
Are you looking to easily add 100+whp to your Z? Stop by the shop!
