At Z Car Garage we are fortunate to be a part of our customer’s sports car journeys. Derek Y is a long-time customer and we worked on his 2005 Infiniti G35. Three years passed by and he visited us with his latest Nissan, this 2015 GT-R. The R35 visited ZCG with only 11k miles and received a host of power upgrades from AMS, EcuTek, SpecialtyZ, Turbosmart and more:

 

Here are the SpecialtyZ 3″ intakes and AMS front-mount intercooler being installed:

 

More engine bay work including the AMS crankcase breather setup, ID 1300cc injectors (plus DW fuel pump upgrade), Turbosmart BOVs and a SpecialtyZ Flex-Fuel kit:

 

AMS crankcase breather being plumbed:

 

Stock vs Turbosmart BOV:

 

On the lift, AMS cat-less downpipes are installed:

 

At first glance it is difficult to catch all of the power upgrades in the engine bay, Stock (L) vs Modified (R)

 

Derek also needed new tires so we mounted fresh Michelin Pilot Sport4S sized 245/40/20 and 285/35/ 20.

Dyno Tuning

Rob dyno tuned the GT-R using an EcuTek flash and Derek also received a USB dongle for datalogging. Baseline power was 495hp/446tq with final numbers of 612hp/604tq to the wheels on E85:

 

A few plots showing the tuning session: Baseline to 91 octane tune with gains of 65hp/93tq (Left), and the final E85 tune for even more gains of 52hp/51tq (Right):

 

Video of the R35 on the ZCG dyno:

 

Thanks for letting us work on your GT-R Derek and enjoy the 100+hp boost!

 

A dealership is great to support your new Nissan but here is an example of how independent shops like ZCG that specialize in the brand are critical to maintenance, longevity and performance of your vehicle.

Why Independent Shops are Important!

James bought his 2015 Nissan GT-R secondhand from a dealership and started to have some issues where the car would go into limp-mode. He took it to a Nissan dealership and they found some kind of issue underneath the timing cover that was resulting in a limp-mode approaching 3000rpm. A temporary “fix” resolved the behavior but again it was going into limp mode. Back it went to Nissan where they couldn’t get data off the OB-II connector.

 

Nissan tells James that the car might have an ECU tune so he should find someone in the Bay Area to diagnose/asses if it has an aftermarket ECU (ie Cobb Accessport, EcuTek flash, etc).  James visited ZCG and Rob flashed the GT-R with EcuTek software, enabling data logging. Rob noticed that the cylinder bank 1 intake cam was not advancing. Further investigation revealed that when the dealership installed the front cover and intake cam solenoids and o-ring failure was spotted. This o-ring eventually failed, not allowing sufficient oil pressure to advance the intake cam on bank 1, thus putting car into limp mode.

 

We installed a new o-ring and James was on his way. This is a great example of how independent/specialty shops have the expertise and attention to detail to keep your Nissan on the road!

Long Live The Passion!

 

We had a magnificent track day experience at Laguna Seca on Sunday with City Tech. Big thanks to Patrick Chio for hosting a top-notch event. If you are looking for a safe, affordable trackday with maximum track time then check out their event schedule for 2013.
Datsun Roadsters Rule!

 

Rob and I were completely stoked at the idea of driving our roadsters together through the world famous corkscrew at ‘Seca…this track is incredible and Doing It In A Datsun makes it even better!  We gathered several ZCG cars and friends to come out and enjoy the opportunity. The group was quite diverse: Josh-’72 VW, Walt-GTR, Jeff V-Mustang GT, Wade-Lemons 240z, Glynn-Porsche 993, Scott B-G35 sedan, Allen B-Vortech Z33, and Ken in his newly Stoptech bbk’d WRX:

 

When we arrived early Sunday am the track was wet from fog and drizzle.  Despite the conditions we removed our tops and drove to our heart’s content. Eventually the grey sky turned blue around noon and the track dried out for plenty of grip.

 

Words can’t describe how much fun driving Laguna Seca is. I could wax poetic for days.  First timers Jeff (Mustang) and Ken (WRX) are hooked:

 

You just need to come out with us next time and see for yourself!

 

Josh, Rob and I wanted to capture our vintage cars running the track so we all mounted GoPro cameras from different vantage points. You can see how we had a blast staying together and mixing it up(there might be an impromptu drag race in there). The trunk mounted/rear facing camera on Sora Blue really gives you a perspective of the elevation drop through the corkscrew…make sure you select the “1080p HD” option, crank up the volume and enjoy!

 

 

Another fun part of track days are ride-alongs. Walt geve me a ride in his GT-R and I was blown away by it’s acceleration and grip coming out of turns. Look for in-car video soon! As with all track days cruising the paddock reveals some high dollar and very cool machinery. It is always neat to see driver’s clever attempts of evading the sound station 🙂 Here are some highlights, including several Z’s, a F20C-powered AE86, and lots of S2ks, more pictures in the gallery of course:

So thus ends the epic track day at Laguna Seca. Thank you to everyone that joined us and caravanned down from the shop. Another thank you to Patrick at City Tech. We look forward to more track days!

Check the gallery for more great pictures!

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It’s always nice to see an old Datsun put the hurt on a modern car. This electric motor-powered Datsun 1200 goes head to head with a Nissan GT-R and wins!

More info over at Jalopnik here

Just a little video fun to keep all of you entertained on this Wednesday afternoon.  It’s amazing what traction can do to destroy outright horsepower.  GT-Rs rule.

source: Autoblog