You might remember Thad’s
FX45 coming in to ZCarGarage for a upgrades earlier this year. His better half, Dana, was so impressed with the FX that she wanted her G35 to handle and perform just as well. Dana enjoys listening to Van Halen and driving spiritedly so we installed full suspension consisting of Tokico D-spec shocks with Eibach springs, front and rear camber kits, and Hotchkis sway bars:
I love new parts! Here are the new shocks/springs and upper A-arms replacing old front and rear:
 
Thick and lovely Hotchkis sway bars front and rear will keep body roll in check as Dana carves through those corners:
Here is a before/after of the slight drop in ride height:
The only other modification added was a JWT POP charger for that nice intake growl and some UPREV tuning for icing on the cake:
Rob extracted +10hp and +8tq at the wheels. Not bad for a stock motor with just an intake! So with some extra oomph and a whole lotta handling upgrades Dana is ready to enjoy the ride…this Infiniti family has got a need for speed 🙂
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That’s right ladies and gentlemen it is Tuesday and that means one thing: Mighty Titan trucks at ZCG!
Shawn R. is the owner of this supercharged beast. He installed his own Stillen supercharger, long tube headers, Berk Hi-flow cats and custom exhaust, but had trouble with the management system. Shawn lives in Fresno and uses the Titan frequently for towing so naturally he wanted big power and torque. He consulted with Rob about doing some UPREV tuning…
With 600cc injectors and Rob’s magic UPREV tuning +20whp was gained. 400hp/419tq at the wheels makes for one badass Titan truck. Icing on the cake came in the form of three fuel maps: power, towing, and valet. Shawn should have no trouble towing…or changing Earth’s rotation with all that torque.
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Rick B. owns this very clean 280z and ZCarGarage has been taking care of it for several years now. Rick has an extensive car collection including a Ferrari and Porsche 911, but he really loves this Z, and we can all relate to that 🙂
The 280z recently got a late model 5-speed transmission upgrade to replace the factory 4-speed manual.
A transmission from Nissan’s KA24 engine was used (FS5W71C) and it is commonly found in the ’89 to ’96 240sx. The KA’s transmission is mated to the existing 280z bell-housing with a few modifications. You can see the custom ZCG transmission mount below:
A JWT heavy duty clutch and Z32 shift knob finish the swap in style. ZCG can also perform this conversion on your S30-chassis Z as well and give you precise shifting, 5-speeds, and late model parts reliability/service.
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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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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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