Craig P has been a ZCG customer since the beginning with his pretty ’95 300zx Twin Turbo. Craig is an Apple employee, and he even devised an ipod connection that works with the factory Z32 stereo. The Z has a stock engine with bolt-ons including Stillen intercoolers, dual BB 530 turbos, and a full 3″ exhaust. This 300 never had problems going fast…it puts out just over 400hp/400tq at the wheels:

Like most Z32 owners eventually footwork and braking need to be addressed with increased power. At the end of winter Craig found himself with bald tires in need of replacement…what better time to upgrade!
Red Stoptech 332mmm brakes were installed up front:

The stock rear calipers were color matched ZCG-style to the Stoptechs. Slotted rear rotors, 309 pads, and stainless braided lines throughout:

Beautiful 18″ SSR SP1 wheels frame the Stoptech’s nicely! These are black spoke/polished lips with 245/40 front and 265/35 rear Pole-Position S-04 tires.

Wheels/tires are always a great upgrade:

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!

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!

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 🙂

Drag Race on Wednesday, Road Race on Monday! Walt has certainly been Enjoying the Ride in his 2012 GT-R last week at the Wed. Night Fun Drags and today doing a track event at Laguna Seca. Here are some impressive shots of the car, enjoy!