WE LOVE RACING! Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the 19th Charity Challenge at Sonoma Raceway, September 30 to October 2. Z Car Garage is participating and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group (John Morton Cup). This vintage racing event is totally FREE to spectators so please join us! Bring the family, enjoy cool cars and even charity rides around the track.
See the 2023 Nissan Z as Pace Car!
Z Car Garage is happy to announce the 2023 Nissan Z will be on Pace Car duty at the Charity Challenge. Big thanks to Nissan for giving us the opportunity to share the new Z with enthusiasts for a good cause. Again, admission is FREE for this event and you will have access to all spectator areas on track. Parking is in Lot 2 overlooking the paddock.
Z Car Garage Supports Six Datsun 510s!
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno:
#88 Todd Rueppel
Todd had his first Z Car Garage trackside support experience with us at the SVRA event, full report soon!
We had a great time enjoying the 2023 Nissan Z during Monterey Car Week. Thanks to Nissan, we got to enjoy driving the Z to several special events and dyno test it at our shop. Let’s get straight to the numbers!
This is the Performance model in Two-Tone Ikazuchi Yellow TriCoat / Super Black and 9-speed automatic. In stock form and 91 octane it put down 345hp/362tq to the wheels. The dyno plot below shows dyno results from the Yellow automatic Z and the Passion Red 6-speed manual Z we dyno tested in June. Super excited to tune the new Z and unlock more power!
Enjoy this video of the dyno runs, road testing and exhaust sounds.Volume up!
Note, this automatic model has a different exhaust system than the manual model.
Huge thanks to Nissan for lending us the Z to enjoy during Monterey Car Week. Here is our coverage if you missed it
Treat your Z to a brand new set of Panasport wheels! Z Car Garage is an authorized Panasport dealer with limited sets available for fitment on your S30 Z car. We special order this 16×7 +11 offset to enable fitment of a 225/50/16 tire on the 1970 to 1978 S30s and even S130s.
Price is $330 each or $1320 for a set of 4 wheels + freight. Includes center caps
Contact us to order: rob@zcargarage.com or call 408-452-0350. Limited availability (recent pallet pictured)
Wondering how a set of Panasports would look on your Z car? They are timeless just like your Z. Please enjoy pictures below of ZCG customer cars in jus about every color imaginable with Panasport wheels:
Z Car Garage specializes in dyno tuning vintage cars. Our in-house dyno and expertise in carb tuning can help your engine reach its potential whether it is a street car or full race car. We love Datsun roadsters and recently dyno tuned Erik’s 1970 1600 with great results. Let’s take a look at how he got into Datsuns…
Roadster Beginnings
Affectionately named “Audrey”, Erik bought this 1970 Datsun Sports 1600 in 1995 and drove her every day while living in San Jose and Santa Monica, CA. He had lots of adventures in those days, including driving on Highway 1, Route 66, and even blowing a head gasket in the desert outside Needles, CA.
“In 1998 he got a job in Thailand and Audrey was put in storage. Stored outside for years, she suffered the indignity of being broken into and vandalized. (I’m still apologizing to her for that.)In 2000, I moved back to the USA, but had no garage for Audrey, so she remained outside, staying with friends and family. By 2003 she had finally moved inside, but a busy life and no shop space meant that she sat in the corner, patiently awaiting resurrection.”
“Fast forward to 2019: now having a great garage space and some free time, it was time to get Audrey back on the road. On the outside, she still wears most of what’s left of her original 52 year old paint, but inside and underneath it’s a different story: Her factory 96 horsepower has been doubled using the original engine, and her 4 speed transmission has been swapped for a 5 speed. The body was removed from the frame, all suspension, steering, and brakes were redone/upgraded, all electrical wiring replaced, every nut and bolt was either re-plated or replaced, and the interior restoration has begun, slowly changing from black to red.”
Erik and Z Car Garage
Erik heard about Z Car Garage through 311s.org, the definitive resource for all things Datsun Roadster. He purchased a G35 coupe and called Rob to talk about performance upgrades and the Infiniti was turned into a supercharged beast making 560whp.
“Since then, Rob has been super helpful while I’ve been restoring my 1970 Datsun 1600 from connecting me with the engine and transmission rebuilders, to helping with parts restoration, zinc plating, advice, and moral support. Once I had the car assembled and the new engine broken in, I knew I wanted to get it tuned on the ZCG dyno.”
Dyno Tuning
Erik’s roadster is a “1600” model, originally sporting 1.6L (R16) with dual-SU induction and 4-speed drivetrain. His restoration included stroking the original motor to a larger 2150cc displacement with twin-Mikuni induction and 5-speed (u20) transmission. You can learn more about Erik’s restoration efforts and the Rebello stroker R16 drivetrain all on 311s.org HERE.
Our initial dyno tuning session was with Phh40 Mikuni carbs. While it made great power Rob had always suggested running a larger Phh44 carbs to take advantage of the stout Rebello cam. Erik returned for another dyno session. With the carb switch, A/F ratio and timing optimized the roadster put down an impressive 157hp/151tq to the wheels with improved driveability throughout the entire rev range:
Erik was stoked with the tuning results:
“After finding some compatibility issues with my carburetors, Rob helped me build and install bigger carbs (the ones Rob had told me to use all along!). Came back for another tuning session and wow – what a difference. More power everywhere, better idle and driveability, and top end power is phenomenal. Many thanks to Rob and the whole Z Car Garage crew for taking my car from good to amazing!”
Enjoy this video of the roadster being dyno tuned and road tested, volume up!
Interested in what our other Datsun Roadster dyno sessions look like? Visit zcarblog.com
Enjoying The Ride
Datsuns Are Driven! In true roadster fashion, Erik has been Enjoying the Ride in his revived “Audrey”. We got the roadster prepped for a 600+ mile road trip to the Annual Datsun Roadster Meet at Mt. Shasta back in June. The car ran flawlessly:
Erik has been attending local car shows and rallys including VALT Car show in Berkeley, CA and Breakfast Club Rally.
We had fun tuning Erik’s roadster and getting it dialed in with the new drivetrain. Eventually it will be time for bodywork and paint, but he’s too busy having fun on the road! Thanks for letting us be a part of your Datsun journey Erik, you’ve done the roadster justice! If you have a vintage car (it doesn’t have to be a Datsun) feel free to contact the shop to schedule a dyno tuning session. More photos in the gallery below.
As Monterey Car Week approaches we are reminded of our time spent with the 2023 Nissan Z in June. Thanks to Nissan, we got to enjoy driving the Z on our favorite back roads and dyno test it at our shop. Part of the fun also included test fitting some aftermarket wheels and checking out the weight distribution. Let’s get straight to the numbers!
Power and chassis
In stock form with 91 octane the new Z made 379hp/375tq at the wheels. With a splash of 100 octane we saw gains of almost 10hp at the wheels. Super excited to tune the new Z and unlock more power!
Enjoy this video of the Z on our dyno:
We placed the Z on scales to get curb weight. It was 3455lbs:
Wheels Make the Car
Like previous generations, the new Z is blessed with some of the coolest OEM wheel designs. The aftermarket however makes it exciting to personalize our Z cars with the coolest wheels. We had to test fit some timeless VOLK TE37 Ultra Track Edition 2 and Work Emotion CR2P wheels, both sized in 19″ fitment:
WORK Emotion CR2P:
Big thanks to our generous clients the Henry and Frank(feature soon) for donating these for the cause! More photos in the gallery below.
The New Z at Monterey Car Week!
Z Car Garage is excited and honored to attend the famous Monterey Car Week with the new 2023 Nissan Z! Huge thanks to Nissan for giving us yet another opportunity to share this sports car with the world at a very prestigious event. On 8/17 we will be driving the Z to the official kick-off party at the Motorlux (formerly McCall’s Motorworks Revival) event. The Z will join vintage and classic cars to be displayed at the famed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Later in the week, we will be showing the new Z at Laguna Seca during the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion on Friday and Saturday. If you are catching the race action be sure to stop by the paddock where Racecraft is to say hello to us and the new Z!
