This car came to the shop a couple of weeks ago with the normal bolt-on mods and a shiny set of wheels to roll down the street with style.  This 2006 convertible with an automatic transmission entered our doorway with a Stillen cat-back exhaust system, Kinteix Velocity Manifold plenum, and a few other nice dress up pieces.  Then came the time to add some real power!!!

The basis of any real power addition with a VQ based drivetrain really needs to come by way of forced induction.  For this reason a Vortech supercharger kit was ordered as a starting point in this build.  Not wanting to stop there and be left wanting more, Rob and the the car’s owner went the full monte and also ordered a set of JWT camshafts, Stillen headers, and a set of high flow catalytic converters.  This isn’t going to be your everyday convertible after this transformation.

After the top half of the engine was taken apart and reassembled with the new bump sticks all of the new exterior power-adders were installed.  This car features the recently improved Kinetix Velocity Manifold and accompanying intake cover, and the new look with the supercharger left us wanting a bit more under hood bite, visually.  The decision was made to paint the engine cover to match the battery and brake master covers and off to paint it went!

While we were waiting its return, the final tune was performed and power numbers were recorded on our Dynojet dynamometer, but this isn’t where this story ends.  This car needed big brakes.  We knew it, the owner knew it, it had to be.  Rob made a call down to our good friends at StopTech Brakes to secure a four-wheel Big Brake Kit for the next day, and guess what… it was just what the doctor ordered.  The color-matched plenum cover went back on and the build was complete.  Wicked

From the dyno sheet you can see that the power gains are very impressive for a VQ35DE with an automatic transmission.  But wait you say, I said this was a 2006?  Yes, unfortunately Nissan did not put the improved “Rev-Up” engine in any of the convertibles for this year.  What’s even stranger is that this generation DE engine uses a few engine castings that are different from the first generation DE, strange.

Anyways, you can see the power is still climbing on the graph but the Nissan nannies step it to limit the fun at just under 6,500rpm.  There are software changes on the market that up the rev-limiter but they have shown to reduce the DE’s reliability down the line, and that is not an option.  We want this car to be enjoyed for as long as possible.

With the car now complete it was given a full detail before the owner came down one last time to take delivery.  This time he brought his son and a few of his friends to enjoy the occasion.  With all the test rides he gave that afternoon there is not a doubt in my mind that we will be seeing him for a set of rear tires very soon.  Enjoy the Z my friends, you have done well.

There are a few more photos after the ‘read more.’

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I have updated the “For Sale” page to show that we have sold the 2003 350z Touring.   If you would like to post your car for sale here on ZCarBlog.com please contact Rob Fuller:  rob@zcargarage.com

I will also have a brand new post on the ZCG 370z tomorrow.   We have made some more modifications and have sorted out one of the issues that we had at the track event at Thunderhill two weeks ago.  It’ll be nice to get this car back on the open road again down to the MSA show this weekend.

There is also a post coming about a 350z which received a plethora of upgrades including a Vortech supercharger, StopTech BBK, etc. at Z Car Garage about a week ago.  I will have a ton of pictures and dyno graphs to accompany this post.

Have a great Tuesday!

ZCG

That’s right friends, it’s time for the annual Motorsport Auto Show.   This is the largest gathering of Zs from all years on the west (best) coast and possibly the country!!

Z Car Garage and ZCarBlog.com will be making the trek to the mecca of Z shows this weekend down in Orange, CA.  This show gladly accepts all year Z Cars and has a trophy category for almost every variation of Z, stock and modified.  We will be taking the ZCG 370z on it’s maiden road trip along with one other Z Car Garage show car that is TBA at this point.  I just don’t want to commit to any certain car in writing until I know for a fact what we will be taking.

This show really is one of the standout events of the year and promises to set the bar again in 2009.  I will be posting photos of ANYTHING of interest so make sure to check back in by early next week to see all the Nissan/Datsun madness.

Rob, Meghan, and myself will be representing ZCG so if you see us make sure to say hi.  Yes, I know that this post is a bit ‘last minute’ but I wasn’t sure we were even going until yesterday, I’ll be posting any future events as soon as I am aware so that all of the Z Car Garage faithful have plenty of time to plan.

For now here are a few pictures that I have borrowed from the MSA website to share with you the quality of cars that attend this show.  ENJOY!

LINK:   Motorsport Auto Show website

240Zs rule.  They are lightweight, handle amazingly well, and are easy to work on; but what do you do when the reliable L-series engine runs out of breath?   Simple, bring it to Z Car Garage and install a set of 44mm Mikuni carburetors, new header, and a slightly larger exhaust system…. and hold on!!

The amazing change in the dyno numbers only tell half the story.  The fun factor of this car is now light years ahead of where is was when the car first came to us.  The torque now stays strong through the entire rev-range and the increased breathing capacity now allows the engine to spin freely to six grand if you so desire.  There is an increase of FORTY horsepower and the same in torque through the last 1,500rpm.  This is a life changing difference.

One of the reasons this looks so drastic is the inefficiency of the semi-odd dual carb setup that this car came to us with, but the results prove that that this is one huge step in the right direction to making this car about as much fun that the owner can handle.  The car is now using three individual ITG filters to make sure that the newly found airflow is clean enough for government work so please don’t think that we sent this car on it’s way with no filtration.  Sorry that I don’t have any pictures.

On the horizon for this car is a possible camshaft change to get the last bit of power out of this engine so expect a post in the future if this comes to fruition.  The smile on the owner’s face hasn’t left since we gave the car back and it seems we have lit the fire under another early Z enthusiast, we are happy to help.  ZCG

There are a few more photos after the ‘read more.’

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This 350z track footage is courtesy of a friend of ZCG who was lucky enough to attend the track event at Laguna Seca on Monday.  This is pretty much a track only car and you can see from the video that it can keep up with a Porsche 993 twin-turbo.

I hope this will encourage some of you to get your Zs on the race track this summer.  The Z is a great platform to run on the track and requires very little preparation to have a reliable track experience.

If you are looking to get some seat time and would like to have Z Car Garage inspect your car or even perform a few upgrades before your next event please contact Rob at rob@zcargarage.com.

Thanks for the footage Scott and Alvin, you guys rock.  Z you on the flip side.