
When I first saw this 300zx at ZCarGarage I admit that I was surprised. I have a soft spot for this particular generation of the Z31 especially with its sexy fenders, side skirts, front/rear bumper and lighting design. I had to know more about the Z because it just hit me with its lowered stance: body-color Enkei 92s wrapped in just-chunky-enough Kumho tires stuffed into the wheel wells. Upon further inspection things got more interesting…the interior was all tan and almost homely, but there was a MOMO Competition steering wheel(I’ve got one on my Datsun!) and behind the seats lay an extensive padded roll bar!


I immediately asked Rob for the scoop: yes it was turbocharged! “REDZ31” belongs to passionate young owner Trevor M. Besides giving the Z31 some respect let’s also give it up for Trevor who built and modified the Z all by himself. Trevor brought the Z in for some tuning, as the mighty VG30ET was now running on a NIStune ECU.

Baseline dyno readings of 180hp/244tq also showed that the car wouldn’t pull past 4krpm. With Rob’s tuning it now makes 257hp/340tq at the wheels!
A new boost controller will smooth things out so stay tuned but for now this is one quick Z31 and a bit of a sleeper if you ask me 🙂
Long Live The Z!
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I have always had a fascination with Japanese-market wheels(wheels in general, really) and I appreciate an authentic set just like any other JDM-wheel junkie. Today I was lucky enough to test fit some genuine, real-deal WORK Equip type 01 AND 03 wheels thanks to a fellow Datsun Roadster owner and friend, Eddie W. He owns a show-stopping silver with an S15 SR20DE drivetrain.

Although I am a die-hard Panasport lover I got to satify my JDM-wheel fetish thanks to Eddie! Here are a few shots of the 15″ Equip 01s and 03s:



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The 2012 Nissan GT-R is an impressive machine leaving little to be desired for most mere mortals…well everyone except Walt P. You might remember
Walt’s new, brilliant blue beast that he picked up earlier this year. After driving the GT-R on the track at Laguna Seca and enjoying the twisty backroads of the Bay Area Walt is now ready to add more power.
Before ZCG begins upgrades a baseline dyno run was acquired. Rob enlisted the help of Christian at
034 Motorsport and convinced him to let a Nissan run on their all-wheel-drive dyno 🙂
496hp/469tq at the wheels! Remember, Nissan rates the ’12 at 530hp/448tq at the flywheel. With a 15% drivetrain loss that puts Walt’s GT-R at 570hp! Nissan underrated it just a smidge. If you are Walt, 570hp just doesn’t cut it so several choice upgrades from AMS with their Alpha 6 package should bring 1/4 mile times into the 10’s. Will Walt be satisfied then? Stay tuned for install pics, videos and dynos!


PS Did I mention that the GT-R is an incredible car? Check out Motor Trend’s current issue where they test 11 supercars in search of the Best Driver’s Car, see article HERE
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ZCG has big plans for this red Titan including:
Stillen exhaust
Berk Hi flow cats
Doug Thorley long tube headers
UPREV tuning
JWT Cams
Dyno results from each modification will be documented today, see below:

In the dyno chart above, the blue plot shows the baseline run of 284.05hp/332.58tq. The red plot shows impressive gains just from the Berk Hi-flow cats and Stillen Cat-back exhaust (+11.3hp/9.22tq). Finally, the green plot shows Rob’s UPREV tuning with the exhaust mods and even more gains for a final output of 309hp/355tq, that is gain of 25hp/23tq at the wheels!
Stay tuned for MORE power as we install the a throttle body spacer and cams tomorrow!
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From heavily modified builds to simple bolt-ons ZCarGarage can improve your Nissan/Infiniti to best suit your goals! Tetsuya M visited ZCG to find out about the UPREV tuning software and exhaust options for his yellow, 2005 350z. After discussing the merits of UPREV tuning Rob suggested the Bassani cat-back exhaust system.
Below you can see the Bassani true-dual exhaust system with their trademark “x-pipe” crossover just before the mid-pipes. Once installed one can really appreciate how straight the piping is compared to the OEM setup…and let’s not forget that incredible new sound which lets the VQ35 sing!



With UPREV tuning and the exhaust the yellow Z gained 9rwhp/18tq with more power throughout the entire rev range!

So stop by the shop or give us a call to see what ZCG can do to improve your Z’s performance…and enjoy the ride 🙂
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