We worked on Alex M’s 2004 Z33 ‘vert about 5 years ago and it is a familiar Z sporting Central20 bumpers, 5Zigen wheels and a host of bolt-ons. Alex travels around the world on business frequently so his car sat idle for a long time. With just 56k miles on the clock he brought it to ZCG for a thorough once-over.

 

A full 60k-mile service was performed, new battery installed, new thermostat and we sorted out all of the issues. First, the car was lowered without adjustable camber arms so we installed SPC f/r control arms and Whiteline diff bushings. A full alignment followed:

  

A few other issues were corrected like a failed oil pressure sending unit, passenger seat problem and blown stereo fuse. The Stoptech brakes were old/weathered since their install in 2004.  We upgraded them to yellow ST40/ST45 calipers, turned rotors and our favorite 309 pads:

  

The 5Zigen SMB wheels were re-refinished and wrapped in new Bridgestone S-04 tires:

 

The Z had many bolt-ons but had never been tuned so we put it on the dyno. Baseline numbers of 234hp/230tq to the wheels indicated it was low on power. Rob UPREV tuned picking up power everywhere in the rev range for a total of 254hp/257tq to the wheels, gains+20hp/27tq. This is a great example of having a proper tune to maximize gains from your bolt-ons whether it is DE, Rev-up, HR or 370. Alex is happy with the final product:

Bob C came from Sacramento with his 2013 awd G37 coupe. He had performed several modifications himself like Stoptech big brakes and now he was ready for power upgrades.

We installed Stillen Gen 3 intakes for Bob and he was a bit nervous because this job requires a little surgery around the radiator support to fit. After the intakes were in we called up Bob and he hung out with us for the day so we could show him how to avoid hacking up the radiator support and make it look awesome.
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Robert C had such a good time driving his G35 at Laguna Seca that he came back to ZCG for more track preparation!  Since adding almost 200whp with a Vortech supercharger, it would prudent to upgrade the braking system. We are big fans of Stoptech’s brake kits and lucky for Robert one of our customers was willing to part with a lightly used ST60 (front) and ST45 (rear) caliper setup:

  

Stainless steel lines and larger cross-drilled/vented rotors (355mm) were installed at all four corners:

 

 

More shots of the front/rear calipers vs OEM:

 

The obvious difference in rotor/caliper size results in increased heat capacity and pedal feel. More importantly these big-brakes will ensure repeated, fade-free braking while running on the track!

They do look stunning behind the spokes as well:

 

We also installed a JWT flywheel and clutch:

With fresh brakes and clutch Robert attended his 2nd track day, this time at Sonoma Raceway:

“Hey Rob,
Track day at Sonoma was incredible. Car was great and ran perfectly the whole time. She just loved sweeping up the hill to turn one and running through the esses. Powering and tracking out of the carousel then running her all the way from there to the brake zone for turn 11 is just…all I can think of to describe it is the word “happy”.
I was only doing 2:23 as a best lap but seeing as this is my second track day ever and my first time driving Sonoma, I’ll take it!”

 

Great work, Robert. We are happy that you can enjoy track days with confidence. The G looks superb out there!

 

Kevin M visited Z Car Garage last year for a new clutch/flywheel, JWT POP charger air filter, routine maintenance items and new WORK wheels on his beautiful Slicktop 300zx. Although the XD9 wheels were a definite upgrade aesthetically, a slight drop in ride height would do wonders for its stock suspension “off-road” stance.  We were happy to see Kevin return in October to upgrade the suspension and install a bunch of other goodies!

 

To dial in a lower ride-height and firm up the ride we installed Stance coil-overs. While coil-overs were being installed we also replaced several suspension parts that were either worn or could be upgraded like Z1 front control arms and SPL T/C rods:

 

New steering rack bushings:

 

Shown below is the modest ride-height drop that looks great but remains functional especially for those treacherous San Francisco roads.

Before/After:

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Stillen sway bars round out the suspension upgrades:

 

Peeking behind the lovely spokes of those WORK wheels is a Stoptech 332mm Big-Brake Kit with black calipers.

 

The rear calipers were color-matched, and treated to Stoptech rotors with our favorite 309 pads:

 

Here’s a few details that we admire Kevin for addressing: Window moldings and front cowl pieces! These are items often overlooked or neglected. With age/weathering window trim can eventually peel back and reveal bare metal underneath. The cowl can fade and crack. Fortunately ConceptZ makes a full replacement kit. We also replaced the A/C compressor and drier with new Nissan units:

 

Here are before/after shots of the molding and cowl:

Kevin’s slicktop Z is well-preserved with just the right amount of personal touches to make driving and owning one fun!

 

George M built his Vortech-supercharged G35 coupe to participate in Hill Climb events while remaining an adept street car.  To ensure he could come back down the mountain we upgraded his brakes with a Stoptech big-brake kit:

 

Up front, the OEM Brembo calipers and rotors were replaced with Stoptech’s 380mm rotors 6-piston calipers:

At the rear, 355mm rotors and ST22 calipers. Note how everything still fit nicely behind the factory wheels:

 

Stay tuned as George will visit us later for power upgrades including a new MAF/injectors followed by dyno tuning.