“My first dream car was 350Z. I learned about Z cars in my college days and I recall a cool kid driving one while I was waiting at a bus stop in the cold rain. We had an opportunity to buy a new car and I was very fortunate that it could be a Z. After purchasing the 370Z, 6 months later went to ZCG and the journey began. No offense to stock Zs but these are meant to be modified 🙂 My wife and I both love our Z and I thank her for  supporting my hobby 🙂 “

 

Bolt-on Beginnings

 

With only a few months of owner-hip of his new 370s Sport Touring Henry visited us for upgrades. The latest Z34s had ECU changes and no software support at the time. Henry knew he wanted to go forced-induction so in the interim we started bolt-on upgrades. In April of 2019 the chassis was treated to full KWV3 coil-over suspension with SPC F/R control arms and Hotchkis sway bars:

 

A few installation pictures, followed by a full alignment:

 

A cat-back exhaust system from Armytrix with Valvetronic sound adjustment:

 

Henry requested a new steering wheel install:

 

Stock (with a cover) removed and new carbon fiber + alcantara-trimmed wheel installed:

 

Time For Boost

 

With 12k miles on the odometer Henry was ready for boost. We ordered the Stillen supercharger kit (black), CARB-legal for piece of mind. Supporting parts included a Concept Z 25-row oil cooler (thermostatically controlled), Stillen transmission cooler and fueling upgrades. Here a few pictures of the installation:

 

Fueling upgrades include a CJ Motorsports stage 1 fuel return system and billet fuel pump hat, 1300cc Injector Dynamics injectors, Hellcat Wallbro fuel pump, SpecialtyZ flex fuel kit:

   

The SpecialtyZ flex-fuel kit comes with a Zeitronix gauge that we mounted in pace of the OEM clock:

 

Cooling upgrades include Soho Motorsports air-to-air intercooler, Concept Z 25-row oil cooler (thermostatically controlled) and Stillen transmission cooler. Also shown is the Fast Intentions crash bar with tow-hook:

 

Oil and transmission coolers:

 

We installed a Fast Intentions billet flex-plate, much stronger than the OEM unit:

 

Finally, we changed the exhaust from Armytrix to an ARK Grip setup paired with ART Pipes from Motordyne:

 

Henry loves the current exhaust setup:

“I’ve gone through Nismo OEM, Armytrix, and eventually settled with Rob and a friend of mine’s suggestion for the forced induction route: Ark grip catback system + Motordyne art pipes = the deep growl without screaming. Sort of the centered idea of the goals of my Z project – subtle power without drawing attention.”

 

Dyno Tuning

 

We wanted the most efficent blower wheel to run ethanol so the V3 SI blower wheel was installed. Ecutek software  was used for tuning, MAP-based with omni sensor.

 

Shown below are dyno graphs from when Henry was NA to 91 octane and E75 tunes on the Vortech. NA, the Z made 316hp/252tq and a 91 octane tune supercharged yielded 501hp/370tq at the wheels:

 

Rob then tuned the Z on E75 for 573hp/426tq at the wheels:

  

Enjoy the dyno tuning video!

 

We are very happy with the results and even more stoked to hear Henry’s feedback on the supercharger and tuning performance:

“The supercharger is very daily usable and power whenever I want!  The sc mods put together and tuned by Rob for a 7at Z is able to reach 570+ whp and 430 wtrq and still feel smooth and dramatic at the same time is absolutely beyond my expectation (I followed every ZCG 370Z blog posts and it’s a honor to be one of the highest power 370Z from ZCG, hats off to Rob) And did I mention daily-driveable? Good surprise for me. In addition, Rob has been really patient and knowledgeable for all my questions and requests and late night text regarding my Z. It really felt like we built the car together but it’s all his magic touches! I really appreciate the journey! More to come”

Wheels Make the Car

 

We have said it before: wheels make or break a car.  After long discussions with Henry we decided on the Ray’s TE37 Ultra Track Edition II. Finished in Blast Black and sized 19×9.5/10.5 these wheels look perfect on the Z34.

 

We love the little details Ray’s applied:

 

Enjoy The Boost!

Henry has been Enjoying The Ride in his supercharged 370Z.

“I love my Z and ZCG! Long live the Z! ZCG has been the place to go if you love Z cars, new or classic. Rob and the shop/crew exude passion for Z cars and you immediately know they will take care of your Z and your Z will be among its family. Rob has been great through the journey and worked with “our” Z. I am sure there is more to come for my Z with ZCG!”

  

You can follow Henry here on Instagram. What’s next for his Z? He’s playing with idea of a body kit but trying to maintain that subtle-aesthetic approach in his build. Stay tuned! Thank you Henry for letting us build your Z. It’s very cool for us as a shop trying to make 50-old cars keep with cars like this. We enjoy playing with the new stuff just as much as the classics. LONG LIVE THE Z! More pictures in the gallery below:

…[read more]

 

At Z Car Garage we enjoy working with late-model Nissans as much as earlier Datsuns. Our customer Eric R brought his Infiniti G35 Coupe to us back in 2009 and ten years later we helped him find a 2008 Infiniti FX35.  The FX got many upgrades to make it exactly the way Eric envisioned and he’s been enjoying it with his family as well as backroads.

 

The first generation (S50) FX-series models have aged rather well and we dig their combination of styling, power and versatility. Eric recalls how he became an FX owner:

“I’ve always been a car enthusiast.  My mom owned a 72 240Z back in the day and in 2007 my wife and I purchased a G35 Coupe 6MT and after a disappointing experience with the local Infiniti dealer, took the car to Rob and ZCG.  Needless to say, the knowledge base and Rob’s unique brand of engagement with his customers was refreshing. It was one of the best customer service experiences I’ve had and ZCG took exceptional care of our G35.  After a couple years of ownership, we had to give up the G Coupe with the onset of…kids.

Fast forward nearly a dozen years and the kids a bit older, I started my search for a new car. It needed to be sporty but still functional as a daily driver. It needed to haul mail and still haul the kids and the bikes and the gear.  The FX covered nearly every one of my criteria in one package, but fell a little short in visual cues and base line performance.

Timing worked out as our customer Chris’2008 FX35 AWD (Sport & Tech pac) was up for sale:

“As I searched for potential candidates, I was thrilled to reconnect with Rob and ZCG.  He helped me focus my search efforts and game plan what I envisioned for the car.   After a year of searching my FX came up for sale.  As luck would have it, it was a car already under the care of ZCG and a number of mods on my want list performed. Rob confirmed the quality and condition of the FX as well as the character of the seller.  It was, as they say, meant to be.”

 

 

Eric’s first visit with his FX focused on power and chassis upgrades. The VQ35 was treated to a Motordyne plenum spacer, JWT POP Charger and Uprev street tune providing more power throughout the rev range.

 

Eric is all smiles with the upgrades and he’s been driving the FX everywhere:

 

 

Rick B lives over the hill in Soquel, CA. He’s pined for a 350z and finally got a 2003 model waiting to be modified. Rick visited us to discuss taking the car to the next level and ZCG obliged. We set him up with the tried/true combo:  JWT pop charger, Motordyne 5/16 plenum spacer, Bassani cat-back exhaust and UPREV flash. He also opted for the ARC license, allowing Rick to have adjustable launch control, flat-foot shifting and left foot braking, if needed.

Motordyne plenum spacer:

 

We also installed our favorite Hotchkis sway bars front and rear:

  

Bassani exhaust:

 

OEM vs Bassaani:

  

Exhaust tip detail and JWT Pop Charger:

 

  

On the dyno the mods alone produced gains of 11hp/2tq to the wheels over baseline:

 

With UPREV tuning, further gains of 9hp/13tq were achieved:

 

From a baseline of 245hp/237tq to 267hp/252tq at the wheels there is a significant improvement in power throughout the entire rev range!

 

We also handled some maintenance items including: changing the transmission/diff fluids, and replacing A/C and fan belts. Rick was so stoked he sent us a wonderful e-mail.

—–Original Message—–
From: —– [mailto:——]
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2018 11:01 PM
To: rob@zcargarage.com
Subject: Thanks again!

Hey Rob, I just wanted to thank you and your team once again for all the work you did on my 350z over the last month or so. The experience I’ve had as a new customer of yours has been extremely fun!  I’m absolutely amazed at how much better the car feels and sounds. I feel exactly the same way I felt after I first bought the car, I’m in love all over again. As far as I’m concerned you’ve gained a new customer for life. I don’t ever plan on selling this car, if anything, I just plan on making it better and better and your the guy I’m gonna take it to you from now on. Anyway I know your a very busy dude so I’ll let you go but expect to see me again soon and thanks again!
-Rick 

 

It was a pleasure working  on your Z and we look forward to your next mods Rick!

 

 

 

Jose B is from Antioch, CA and knows our customer Richard M (ZCG-modified 370z). After getting into an accident with his 370z, Jose went to several shops to identify a peculiar squeak coming from the front end.  Unfortunately the squeak was not resolved so Jose visited ZCG to sort it out. We spent time going over the suspension and other areas to identify the source of the squeak and found that one of the motor mounts was completely broken:

 

In addition to replacing the driver’s side motor mount, Jose wanted us to install some parts he had purchased online. Here is a full Motordyne exhaust system including their Long Tube XYZ stepped headers with Helmholtz module:

 

A few shots of the exhaust installation:

 

We also installed Stillen Gen 3 intakes:

  

 

With the motor mount sorted and new parts installed Jose wanted to have the Z UPREV tuned. This was a wise decision, especially with the new bolt-ons. Historically we have made good power with simple bolt-ons to the VQ37 and we were surprised by Jose’s Z34. The Z baselined at 295hp/245tq to the wheels and with UPREV tuning put down 344hp/266tq to the wheels!

 

Peak gains of almost 50hp and 21tq at the wheels is impressive! Enjoy The Ride Jose!

 

Today we bring you three cars that received UPREV tuning to maximize performance gains from common bolt-on parts like intakes and exhaust systems. Enjoy!

Sean’s 370z

Sean visited us for an ART pipe install and to correct a few issues with previous intake/exhaust installation from another shop.

 

Rob UPREV tuned the Z with great results gaining 25hp/12tq for a total of 337hp/274tq to the wheels:

 

Sean also wanted to use a new feature from UPREV called the ARC(Advanced Racing Controls) license. This add-on service to the existing UPREV Flash allows you to have adjustable launch control, burnout mode, and flat-foot shifting for $150.  This is for cars with manual transmission, VDC/cruise control. Call Rob for more details!

Nick’s 370z

 

In 2014 we UPREV tuned Nick’s 2006 black 350z…and now he has a 2010 370z so it was time for an UPREV reunion!  Nick had Stillen Gen 3 Intakes and the Fast Intention CBE w/ 18″ resonators so it was prudent to get a proper tune and extract their full potential.  With tuning we saw peak gains of 7hp/8tq for a total of 318hp/262tq to the wheels. Note the great mid-range gains:

 

 

Karl’s 350z

Nick came in to ZCG to tune his 2005 350z with bolt-ons, and we happy obliged.

 

With UPREV tuning Rob extracted 6hp/11tq for a total of 268hp/251tq. The peak numbers may not seem impressive but look at the area under the curve after tuning. There are significant gains in hp/tq throughout the rev range:

Contact us if you are interested in UPREV or ECUTEK tuning for you Nissan or Infiniti!