Gilbert W wanted a CARB-legal solution for more power on his daily driven G37 sedan.  We’ve had great success with our past Stillen Supercharger builds and this forced-induction kit would be ideal for Gilbert’s needs.

 

Installation of the Stillen kit is straightforward. We use one-step colder GT-R spark plugs and a 19-row oil cooler:

 

 

Better breathing on the exhaust side courtesy of a full Fast Intentions exhaust system:

 

Gilbert wanted improved handling without unnecessary harshness. The TEIN mono flex coil-over system with active EDFC allows on-board and speed-sensitive dampening adjustments! We installed a similar setup on Tetsuya’s 350z earlier this year. SPC F/R control arms were installed followed by a full alignment:

 

A relatively new item for Z/G owners is this trick adjustable clutch pedal box from RJM Performance. It offers improved driveability in terms of clutch-pedal engagement and that annoying shudder we’ve all experienced in Nissan’s Z/G manual transmissions:

 

The PLX Devices multi-gauges are becoming a popular method for monitoring engine vitals. Gilbert is using their Bluetooth “Kiwi” interface allowing display through smart phones. We did a neat install of this unit in Steve’s Vortech G35:

 

With the supercharger and exhaust in place we dyno tuned Gilbert’s G37. Baseline numbers were 283hp/241tq and it is now making 417hp/319tq to the wheels.  This is a gain of +134hp/78tq which once again shows how consistent power output has been with these kits!

Enjoy the Ride, Gilbert!

 

 

 

When you build a car with us sometimes it’s contagious. Doug W is the best friend of Z33 owner Craig K and he couldn’t resist visiting us for a boost upgrade on his sweet 2012 Shelby GT500. Equipped from the factory with a Eaton supercharger, a common way to increase boost is to use a smaller diameter pulley. Shown here (right) is a 2.5″ supercharger pulley designed to look like the stock 3″ unit. To make up for the slack due to the smaller pulley, a larger 90mm idler (left) was used:

 

Installation was straightforward:

 

The smaller pulley is designed to give 3-4lbs more boost. Using an SCT tuner we gained 16hp/37tq for a total of 530hp/519tq to the wheels. The power gains are everywhere!

 

Enjoy the Boost, Doug!

 

Lou S is a long-time friend and customer of Z Car Garage. He is also an avid sports car fan with a interesting collection including a 3.2L FairladyZ, FD RX-7, Mazda RX-4, and Dodge Viper GTS.   Adding to this stable is his 2nd RHD vehicle, a 1992 Nissan Skyline GT-R. For most fans of Japanese sports cars this “R32” supercar is highly regarded and quite popular. Not familiar with this model? Find out what makes it special over at JNC.

Lou acquired this Skyline from previous owner David C who had extensive suspension and engine work performed at ZCG. Lou wanted to make it his own so he visited us for some upgrades and tuning! Wheel aficionados will immediately notice the VOLK TE37SL wheels, sized 18×9.5 and finished in high-metal bronze. We think the TE’s are easily one of the best looking wheels for the R32, good taste Lou!

 

Perfectly framed by the TE’s spokes are Stoptech calipers/rotors at all four corners. The Ray’s valve stems color-matched to the “TE37SL” sticker is also a nice detail:

 

Adding to the list of choice parts is a full titanium exhaust system from Tomei. This includes downpipes, test pipe and the Expreme Ti muffler:

 

The quality and detail of this exhaust system is impressive, please click on the pics for larger views. We think it adds a little sportiness to the car’s rather understated (by today’s standards) aesthetic. It also sounds sublime.

 

  

The R32 was much louder than I anticipated. At idle it has a loveley burble and part throttle acceleration produces a semi-truck like turbo hiss…very audible from outside but never obnoxious. Under full throttle however, there is an absolute orchestra of sounds from the exhaust and turbo…it screams and reminds us how unmistakable the RB is!

 

With the new exhaust we re-tuned the Haltech to a healthy 412hp/311tq to the wheels:

 

I personally love this car.  A few more pictures…

 

Lou is having a blast driving his R32 and recently attended Cars and Coffee at Canepa. We love how he chose to take Skyline/HWY 9 as opposed to the freeway. Enjoy the Ride Lou!

 

More pictures in the gallery to enjoy below:

 Our friends at SpeedSF are running another great track day at Thunderhill West October 12.  This is a great opportunity to enjoy the newly opened “West” section of the track. We love running our cars with these folks and they go above and beyond to make sure you get tons of track time! They are also offering a discount if you sign up for both Thunderhill 10/12 AND Laguna Seca 11/1. For more details please visit  SpeedSF.com.

 

Need some motivation to sign up? Watch Patrick in his Vortech supercharged Z33 from last weekend’s Speed SF event at Sonoma Racway:

 

 

 

We had a tremendous week racing at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 14-17.  More commonly known as the “historics” at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, this epic vintage race is part of several events occupying the week-long Monterey car festival leading up to the Pebble Beach Concours.  Our friends over at JNC were lucky to experience the Pebble Beach scene in all its opulence and excitement. From the multi-million dollar auctions and surprising Japanese classic entrants check out their coverage HERE.

If it’s the smell of 110 octane, straight-piped exhausts and wheel-to-wheel action you desire than look no further than the historics. Typically I would cover this event from a spectator’s point of view. This year, I was fortunate to be part of the Z Car Garage race crew and bring you, dear readers, a perspective from the pits as a first time participant.

 

Joel Anderson and Restoration of the #49 IMSA Z

Z Car Garage was thrilled to team up with original owner, builder and driver Joel Anderson to bring the IMSA Z back to life after being stored for 25 years.  Restored to late-70’s spec as it was raced, this IMSA GTU-prepped Z does not have new “trick” parts.  Parts from Joel’s collection were re-used and common wear items were refreshed. Below:  Original race seat and MOMO Prototipo steering wheel. Original suspension parts were plated.

 

Our man William applied Joel’s bespoke striping:

 

More detailed restoration photos and our full interview with Joel can be found HERE. We were very pleased with the engine bay…plenty of Joel’s engineering remains intact:

 

We applied the vinyl livery, took a step back and pinched ourselves…are we still dreaming?

 

With all of the vitals checked, #49 rests before heading to Laguna Seca on the original trailer Joel used decades ago at Road Atlanta:

 

Racing at Laguna Seca

For the Friday practice session we drove the ZCG Datsun 2000 to Laguna Seca and parked alongside some fellow roadsters owners in the paddock. Arriving at  ‘Seca early morning with the track enshrouded in fog is surreal.  Despite the moisture and most high-dollar machinery still under car covers, a few brave souls were on course for their practice sessions.
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