Grant K. is the owner if this beautiful Magnetic Black Nismo 370z, affectionately named “Shamu”. Grant has a serious need for speed and he came to ZCG for some forced induction. The Z already had full suspension, Brembo BBK, and a host of upgrades to make it track-worthy like a roll bar from TC Design, Wedsport wheels and Recaro seats:

Grant wanted more power so he went with Stillen supercharger kit as its CARB certification was very appealing. Follow the dyno plots below on Shamu’s quest for boost:

The Nismo put down 287.73hp/241.92tq to the wheels in stock trim. ZCG bolt-ons alone gained almost +30hp/19tq for a total of 316.61hp/260.97tq.  Unfortunately we were not impressed with the numbers out of the box with the Stillen supercharger/tune: 349.83hp/272.88tq …

ZCG worked with Grant to ensure his power needs were satisfied so we called up Stillen. With their re-tune we saw a modest increase in power: 368.36hp/279.22tq.  Rob then worked his tuning magic and Shamu now moves to the tune of  403hp/299tq to the wheels!

 The best part about Grant and Shamu: They are Driven!  Here is Grant at a local autocross…Oh, and did I mention that I LOVE the way this Nismo 370z looks?

Shamu enjoyed chasing GT2 and GT3 Porsches and put up comparable lap times, Go Shamu Go!

Our good friend Forbes brought this to our attention…Could the next Nissan Z be powered by a 4-cylinder instead of 6? Read the scoop over on AUTOBLOG. A lighter and smaller Z is a step in the right direction but how will Z fans respond to motivation from a four-banger? This isn’t a new concept as folks have replaced their vintage inline-6 240z’s and current VQ-based V6 drivetrains with four-cylinder SR20DET powerplants. Fuel efficiency or not, I can’t think of any four cylinder that can replace the mellifluous, exotic exhaust note of a Nissan 6-cylinder engine. What do you think?

Since its introduction we have been impressed with how well the 370z’s VQ37 responds to simple bolt-on modifications. Steven L’s Solid Red Z34 made some great power gains with intakes, exhaust, pulleys and an UPREV tune from Rob.

Shown above are the Stillen Gen 3 dual intakes, Stillen exhaust system and pulleys.

Before/after with the Stillen exhaust system.

Stillen intakes before/after.  We dyno’d the car before the mods, after and also with the tuning…

With just the bolt-ons Steven’s Z picked up 23hp/9tq to the wheels with gains throughout the entire rev range. Icing on the cake: Rob’s UPREV tuning squeezed even more hp/tq for a grand total of 315hp/251tq!

 

Nissan Z owners are dedicated to their cars. At ZCG we offer that same level of dedication to helping each customer achieve their vision of Z perfection. Tom N is the owner of this brilliant blue 370z and shows us how perseverance and love for the Z always prevails.
It begins just over 2 years ago when Tom visited ZCG for some simple NA bolt-ons that yielded over 300rwhp:

 

With significant power gains Tom then gave the Z a stance adjustment, stiffer suspension and a new look that soon became a “must do” for most Z34 owners: William’s “Blackout” package.

All of you can see where this is going, right? Time for BOOST! Two years ago the forced-induction scene for the Z34 was definitely not as abundant as for the Z33. Stillen offered a centrifugal-based supercharger and the only CARB-legal s/c kit on the market which was very attractive to Tom. ZCG installed the kit and put the Z on the dyno for some tuning only to find that it was not producing power as advertised by Stillen:

 

 

387hp/310tq at the wheels just didn’t feel or sound right. Despite Tom and ZCG’s best efforts, dealing with Stillen unfortunately did not yield an improvement which was disappointing. This is where the power of the Z and their owners comes into play.  Where most would be tempted to throw in the towel Tom kept at it and continued his quest for boost. Sam at GTM had developed a new Rotrex-based supercharger kit for the Z34 and it really impressed Rob.  GTM to the rescue!

Here are a few pics of the install. Note how compact the Rotrex unit is, FMIC detailing, and intakes:

 

Fit and finish of the kit is great and it really does have a sleeper look underhood with the Rotrex unit neatly tucked away. Do you see a blower? Looks like a power steering pump to me!

 

Tom also added a few supporting mods like Motordyne ART pipes and a Berk exhaust system.  Icing on the cake: The HKS camp2 engine monitoring system in the factory NAV location…

 

Did I mention that Tom has great taste? A subtle front lip and supremely tasty Volk TE37s finished in black with Bridgestone PP S-04 tires make this boosted 370z really special.

 

So how did the GTM kit perform compared to the Stillen?

 

With 421hp and 359tq at the wheels and more power all the way to that sweet HR-7500rpm redline, we think Tom is much happier with the GTM kit 🙂

Check the gallery for more install pictures and TE37 pictures too!

…[read more]

At Z Car Garage we have had the pleasure of working with customers throughout California and the occasional out of state Z-Car fan that is willing to go the distance for that ZCG touch. How far would you drive to visit us? Jack W. drove his 370z roadster all the way from Canada! A roadtrip to San Francisco turned into an opportunity to arrive early and get the Z tuned…we happily obliged!

Jack’s Z34 came to us with a few bolt-on mods already in place like an Akrapovic exhaust system and dual intakes. ZCG installed a pulley and UPREV tuned for more power.

Thank you Jack for making ZCG Internationally known 🙂