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Z Car Garage and Shelter-in-Place Restrictions due to COVID-19

Filed under: 240z,350z,370z,Events,Q50,R35,z32
by Alvin G @ 10:49 am on March 17, 2020

Dear ZCG Customers,

We are aware of the current shelter-in-place restrictions placed on Bay Area cities due to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Our priority is the health and safety of our employees, customers and their families. Z Car Garage will remain open for business but we will be taking the following actions to minimize spread/transmission:

 

  • Our front office will be closed to the public, until further notice. Exceptions: Customers who made an appointment (by phone or e-mail) and/or dropping off their cars for service
  • If you have any questions about your car please DO NOT stop by the shop in person: E-mail us at rob@zcargarage.com or call 408-452-0350 and we will get back to you promptly.

Thanks for your support and understanding. Please be safe and take care of each other!





Rich’s Supercharged Amuse 370z

Filed under: 370z,Featured Cars and Projects,Performance
by Alvin G @ 2:19 pm on February 21, 2020

 

Richard M has been our customer since he moved to California years ago and together we built his 2009 370z into a balanced sports car with power and style. We are really proud to see him enjoy his Z and be an active member of the community. Let’s take a look at the journey with a few highlights along the way…

Humble Beginnings Lead to Boost

“My experience with ZCG has been nothing but exceptional. Rob Fuller has taken care of me since day one and currently we are so close I call ’em family.”

Rich simply grew up loving cars, being a young enthusiast back in Philadelphia enjoying the street racing scene and drag strip at Atco and Englishtown NJ. His vision of a quick, balanced car started off as a bone stock 370z touring addition purchased from the original owner with just over 20k on the clock.
“I had just moved to California from Philadelphia and was searching for a reputable tuner in the Norcal region. That’s when I found ZCG and brought the car to see Rob to determine if this motor was worth investing in. We put it on the dyno and made over 313whp & 268wtq with just Uprev Osiris management and a Top Speed Pro 1 Track edition catback exhaust.”
That was in 2015, and indeed 313whp for a basically stock Z34 was well-above average, but Rich wanted a bit more:

“Then 2 months later we reached out to Stillen to bless the Z with the full Stillen Supercharger kit and oil cooler. The kit was installed and dyno’d making 433whp and 340wtq. We transformed the Z into a new car. The new driving characteristics were improved drastically and the kit, compared to the naturally aspirated setup was day and night.”

ZCG 53015 039 ZCG 53015 047
 

We added a Stillen 25-row oil cooler and GTR plugs:

ZCG 53015 048 ZCG 53015 046
ZCG 53015 043 ZCG 53015 050
 

The installation was seamlessly, before/after:

ZCG 53015 034 ZCG 53015 057
 

With a CAN tune out of the box we saw 376hp/284tq to the wheels. This wasn’t terribly impressive considering baseline NA numbers were 305hp/251tq, netting gains of 69hp/33tq:

Richard M Z34 Canned Tuned and Custom Tune

After Rob’s custom tune we squeezed another 58hp/55tq for a total of 433hp/339tq to the wheels. The gains were significant all the way to the VQ’s sweet 7500rpm redline, even with slightly less boost!

Richard M Z34 Baseline and Final
 

Richard was happier now with over 400whp 🙂

“The performance of my Amuse 370Z from the beginning has met both my expectations and Rob’s expectations. Rob and I always talk about how this car has been a stand out in regards to reliability with added power enhancers.”

 

“Working with Rob was the best decision I could’ve made in allowing someone to tune my car and keep me grounded as it’s easy to get sucked into the battle of “who has the most horsepower”? Although it can always be done,  I am proud to daily drive and make repeated trips between Norcal/Socal without any issues.”

We thank Rich for the kind words, and the Z certainly has been a workhorse.  Here are some of Rich’s memorable moments with his 370z.

Highlights

 

  • Landing the front cover of DSPORT Magazine (Feb. 2018) which was also their SEMA issue and my first car cover and centerfold.

 

  • Being featured on Matt Farrah’s youtube channel “The Smoking Tire” which has over 500k views. We love to see our customer’s cars spotlighted in the media!   Check out the video:

 

  • Winning 1st place Best Import at The San Jose Auto Show inside the “Spider Section” for custom cars at the Convention Center

 

 

  • Being invited & featured by Super Street Magazine to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Nissan GTR & Z Heritage in Monterey California for car week

 

  • The final and most special to Rich is being invited to be featured in the “2020 Toyo Tires X SuperStreet” calendar which has also been declared the very last Calendar that Toyo Tires and Super Street Magazine will do. SuperStreet has been such a pillar for all of us import enthusiasts so to be recognized by them has been a childhood dream come true.

 

Style

Rich added his own touch to the Z, including a full Powerhouse Amuse kit and custom paint job with Silver with Gold flakes:

“The PowerHouse Amuse body kit is a kit that is also functional for cooling purposes but is also one of those kits that I actually fell in love with. The sharp body lines that I think enhances the Z. I imported the kit from Japan after becoming friends with Hitoshi Matsui and becoming more confident in Amuse now known as R1 Titan.”
 

We love the Work Emotion CR KAI wheels (F: 19×9.5 +15 R: 19×11 +18) with Muteki 12×1.25 Neo Chrome Extended open lug nuts and Toyo Proxes T1 Tires 285/35/19R -255/35/19F:

 

 

The Z was then fitted with ISC Suspension 32 way fully adjustable coilover kit with custom spring rates.  We also included SPC front and rear camber + SPC bolts to dial in the alignment. The brakes were upgraded to Stoptech slotted Rotors and performance pads with the addition of Stainless steel brake lines and Motul fluid. Rich continues to daily drive his Z and visits us for routine maintenance. Next up will be an OS Giken rear end

 

Rich would like to thank his sponsors:  Toyo Tires, Stillen, ISC Suspension, Socal Z, and ZCG.

LONG LIVE THE Z!




Shop Update 1/31/20

Filed under: 240z,350z,370z,Featured Cars and Projects,Performance,Q50,R35,Racing,z32
by Alvin G @ 11:30 pm on January 30, 2020

 

We have several exciting projects at the shop that will have full reports coming soon to zcarblog.com. Enjoy!

 

Four ZCG Big-Brake Installs

Four S30s are in to get our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles!

 

Jim H has a great story behind this Series 1 S30. We know the previous owner through Datsun Roadsters from over a decade ago. Jim’s kids actually found this Z for him! Full story HERE. The Z received an upgraded cooling system, ZCG Big-Brakes an CV axles and 16″ Panasport wheels with Bridgestone S007a tires. He returned in the fall for a new 3L engine and more!


 

David L and Jason P brought their 240z cars in for ZCG Big-Brakes and  CV axles:

 

A 240z Rally Car in for ZCG Big-Brakes!

 

We love Z32s and we have several in the shop including an NA 2+2 with a Twin-Turbo swap!

 
 

R32 Skylines. Kurt’s KH2 is getting engine/performance upgrades:

 

R32 in for tuning (Love the R34 wheels) and a 4-door R32 with an RB26DETT!

 

Richard M’s 370z (full story soon), Anniv and Nismo 370z:

 

Triple Mikuni goodness:

 

More to come watch for updates on our Instagram and Facebook pages!

Panasports For Your Z!

We only have a few sets left before our next shipment. Contact the shop to order yours!

 

 

 

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

 




Happy Holidays From Z Car Garage!

Filed under: 240z,350z,370z,Events,Featured Cars and Projects,Performance
by Alvin G @ 9:15 pm on December 17, 2019

 

***HAPPY HOLIDAYS From Z Car Garage***

 

One of the real joys this holiday season is the opportunity to say thank you and wish you the very best for the new year. From all of us at Z Car Garage we thank our friends, family and customers again for another exciting and productive year! Enjoy our 2019 recap and upcoming projects below. Please note our holiday closure below:

 

ZCG will be closed from 12/20/19 to New Year’s Day. We will re-open for business on  1/2/20

 

 

Before we take a look back at highlights from 2019, check out a few of the many customer projects coming along at the shop:

 

Lou’s 1973 Fairlady Z .  You might recognize this RHD Z from local Bay Area fun runs and car shows over the years. What started out as a fairly stock car evolved into a canyon-carving street machine as we began modifications in 2011:

 

The Z featured a 250whp Rebello 3.2L engine, 240sx KA24 5-speed, Recaro seats, LSD, full-suspension, our ZCG Big-Brake Kit and Panasport C8 wheels.

 
 
 

Enjoy this short video showing the mellifluous sounds coming from the 3.2 engine:

 

 

Radical Changes

Lou enjoyed his Fairlady Z for many years and after ZCG’s 2nd SEMA build in 2016, Lou was inspired to take his car to the next level.  The 3.2L drivetrain was sold to our customer Tim Ng to be used in his ’72 S30 build. We are currently building an IMSA-flared body Fairlady Z featuring widenened Panasport C8 wheels and a stroker RB28 engine backed by a 6-speed.

 
 

Several cars delivered will get full reports soon: Cece’s 1977 Datsun 280z, Patrick’sZ32TT and Jay’s Z32TT

 
 

 

Highlights from 2019

Enjoy these highlights from 2019 and  Z you in the New Year! Stay tuned for our coverage of the 2019 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and Classic 24hr race at Daytona with John Morton and Rob Fuller co-driving the #46 BRE 240z.

 

Great Drives

Norm Balzer Racing 510

Richards’s Series 1 240z

Ben’s 1974 260z

Coastal Range Rally

Skyline Matsuri

Japanese Classic Car Show

John Morton Cup

Solvang Datsun Roadster Show

Golden Week Kyusha Festival

Scott’s Datsun 260z

Enjoy The Ride!




Rikio’s Infiniti Q50S

Filed under: 370z,Performance,Q50
by Alvin G @ 11:09 pm on September 8, 2019

 

At Z Car Garage we have been maintaining and modifying late model Nissan/Infiniti sports cars since 2004. From Z cars (Z32, 350z, 370z) and R35 GT-Rs to G35, G37, Q50/Q60 cars we look forward to working on your vehicle. Rikio’s 2017 Infiniti Q50S Red Sport came in for basic performance upgrades from AMS Performance including their AMS Heat Exchanger, AMS Coolant expansion tank and AMS Air intakes:

 
 

The new heat exchanger compared to the stock unit and installation:

 
 

AMS air intakes:

 
 

AMS expansion tank installed replacing two plastic OEM units:

 
A Fast Intentions cat-back exhaust (non-resonated) replaces the restrictive OEM system:

 

OEM (Left) vs FI (Right):

 

Standard exhaust tips on the FI exhaust system:

 

Dyno Tuning

Straight from the factory, the VR30DDTT is an impressive motor. The Hi-Output version is rated at 400 hp and 350 ft-lbs tq, underrated as we have seen with dyno testing. With a few bolt-ons and tuning, even more power can be unlocked from the VR30. Rob dyno tuned the Q using EcuTek. Baseline power was 348hp/331tq at the wheels. With the AMS parts, FI exhaust and tuning final numbers were 388hp/424tq, gains of +40hp/93tq:

 

In addition to the EcuTek flash Rikio also received the EcuTek Bluetooth adapter for map access for remote data logging, valet map switching etc. Here is the Q on the dyno:

 

Enjoy The Boost Rikio!

Are you ready for upgrades on your late model Nissan/Infiniti? Give us a call or e-mail!

 

 




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