Jonah R is a chef at an East Bay restaurant during the week and an avid road racer on weekends. He met fellow track junky Scott Smith at SCCA school and Scott recommended ZCG to help with braking issues. Jonah was overheating his brakes so he visited us to have the calipers rebuilt along with other track preparation items.

The AP Racing calipers were extremely heat discolored from track abuse. The calipers were refreshed with new seals and dust boots:

The major Achilles heel of the Z34 for track use is engine cooling. When oil temps rise the car will go into IC or “limp” mode which is a complete bummer when one is trying to race against the clock….or other cars!  We addressed this issue by installing both engine oil and rear differential coolers. We also improved fuel pick-up to avoid starvation under high-g corners and transitions. You are probably wondering if all these modifications are necessary…for a guy like Jonah who is an absolute genius behind the wheel… of course!

Earlier in March we installed engine and differential coolers:

With improved cooling and fresh brakes Jonah was turned loose on the track to remain competitive in the SCCA’s Super Touring Over(STO) race class.

More track prep including windows, gauges, switch-panel, OS Giken Super-Lock limited slip differential:

Jonah simply needed more braking capacity.  We chose the Stoptech Trophy(RACE) Kit. This is Stoptech’s latest design with mil-spec coated calipers/hats and improved rigidity. They even offer the Trophy kit in a street-friendly package. *Spoiler Alert* Stoptech’s Trophy kit may have helped Jonah win the trophy!
Behold these burly binders in all their glory:
14″ 6-piston fronts

13″ 2-piston rears

With brakes that could withstand Jonah’s incessant need for speed he started serving up dishes of “I am faster than you Porsche” with a little “take that Viper!” on the side…

…Jonah’s superior driving earned him the trophy and championship in the 2012 San Francisco Region Super Touring Over series! He had eight 1st place finishes, one 2nd place and a DNS at Thunderhill. Congratulations Jonah!

More pictures in the gallery!
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Last week we introduced you to Scott G and his twin-turbo, AWD G37 Sedan. ZCG helped Scott turn his family hauler into a 500hp sleeper and now he’s enjoying the ride in true Nissan form: on the track! Here are a few shots of Scott at Laguna Seca, yes that’s the inside rear tire lifting!

The crew at ZCG helped Canepa Design re-build the rear differential on the Brad Frisselle 240z IMSA race car.

ZCG installed an OS Giken limited-slip unit and also prepped a spare diff so it could run at the Monterey Historics.

We were stoked to work on such a significant and championship Datsun race car!

Scott G came to ZCG with the goal of making his G37 sedan a low-key street sleeper. After all, this 4-door,  AWD, automatic-equipped sedan was his daily driver and kid-hauler so attracting attention was not desired. Read further and we think you’ll agree that Scott has achieved probably the closest thing to a 4-door R35!

To add power we started with a GTM Twin Turbo kit.  Note the factory AWD system:

Turbo smart wastegates for the divorced down-pipes and modified oil pan:

Oil cooler,FMIC and intake details:

Even with the twin turbo kit installed, the engine bay looks surprisingly stock:

A full Stillen cat-back exhaust replaces the restrictive factory system.

The shiny muffler canisters were painted a stealthy matte grey finish to retain a factory-like appearance:

We visited Christian at 034 Motorsport to put the G37 on their awd dyno. The GTM turbos increased power from 278hp/258tq to 413hp/344tq, gains of 135hp and 86tq at the wheels:

Scott enjoyed the newfound boost and taking the kids to school turned into a much more “spirited” experience. With more power on tap he quickly realized that handling and braking needed attention.  BC coil-overs, SPC F/R control arms and Hotchkis sway bars were installed to tighten up the suspension:

In the braking department the G now sports STOPTECH’s huge 15″(380mm) front big-brake kit using the ST-60 6-piston calipers. ST-40 calipers on 355mm rotors are out back:

These gigantic binders are framed behind VOLK’s newest wheel, 19″ HOMURA 2X8GTs in silver. The wheels also demonstrate how much larger the BBK is compared to the stock brakes:

Here are a few before/after shots of the new stance and footwork:

Big brakes and nice wheels aside, it’s hard to tell that this mid-size sedan packs a 400hp+ punch. Scott’s commute and trips to school will always be fun and we have a feeling the kids can enjoy the ride too 🙂

Lennie came to ZCG to troubleshoot his supercharged AP2 Honda S2000. He even installed the blower himself with the following supporting mods:

SOS S/C kit w/Novi Paxton 1200 oil-fed blower
3″ Reichard Racing UltraGrip pulley
AEM EMS 1052U
ID2000s
FBM hanger (dual FB340 pumps) with stock feed kit
Fuel Lab 6 micron fuel filter
InlinePro fuel rail
AEM FPR
-6AN SS fuel return line
Peterson Breather can
Dual diverter valves (Forge Splitter and TurboSmart Kompact)
Berks test pipe
Stock exhaust
Stock exhaust manifold
Stock internals

Rob and the ZCG crew helped solve the problem, tracing it back to a spark issue. Now it was ready to roll on the dyno:

This little Honda roadster put down some impressive numbers: 491hp/319tq at the wheels! Not bad for a 2.2L 4-cylinder. Gotta love that 8400rpm rev too:

Here is a video clip of the dyno run, enjoy!