Matt O is the lucky owner of this 1991 Skyline GTR finished in (TH1) Midnight Blue Pearl. When we first met he wanted to bring the car in to ZCG for a quick checkup. We looked over it, ran a compression check and also made a plan for his next visit.
Matt acquired this California-legal R32 from our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers. It goes without saying, if you are in the market for a vintage Skyline (or any JDM car) IVI is the place to go.
In March of last year Matt came in for a Haltech Platinum Pro. We have installed many of these and it’s a great foundation for adding power to the R32.
We performed all the prep work and ran a the boost sensor to install the Haltech. Whenever we take on these cars we always run a smoke test to ensure there are no intake leaks present.
On the dyno, results for the baseline run (left) followed by Haltech on 91 octane. Despite having a healthy engine/turbos the power levels were fairly low on this car. The culprit: weak actuators not allowing the car to hold boost. Matt will visit us again for new turbos and acuators so it will get a big jump in power. We are big fans of Haltech and now he’s prepared with the right engine management system.
Next, we installed a few suspension upgrades supplied by Matt followed by a full alignment:
Cusco T/C rods, rack bushings and toe-link/rear control arm setup:
T/C rods
The R32 had a set of SSR SP1 wheels and Matt wanted to change the look with a fresh set of new wheels: 18″ Volk TE37 finished in bronze.
We mounted/balanced his RE071R tires and the Skyline looks sweet:
Photo: Telstarlogistics
Matt has been Enjoying The Ride in the R32. Here he is at Laguna Seca:
We even caught Matt out on a local drive! Here he is parked next to Naveed’s R32 (story coming soon):
Thanks for bringing your Skyline to us Matt. We look forward to more boost! Catch more of Matt’s Th1 R32 on his Instagram
Neal D brought his 1972 Datsun 240z to Z Car Garage after being restored by a shop in SoCal last summer. He wanted us to get this 918 Orange beauty running correctly and double-check the workmanship performed so we happily obliged.
The Z had several issues that we resolved after a thorough inspection. Starting with the braking system, we corrected and re-routed all hydraulic lines. The front and rear circuits were swapped on the brake master cylinder, we corrected this as well. The pin from the brake booster to the M/C was adjusted to enable a good initial “bite” from the pedal. Our usual ZCG brake services included Stoptech 309 pads. Finally, we bled the system and adjusted the rear brakes correctly.
The transmission had to be removed to correct issues in the clutch area. We found stripped bolts, a mis-adjusted clutch pedal, and incorrect T/O bearing collar hardware:
Moving down the drivetrain, we found and corrected improper hardware on the half shafts:
We nut/bolted the entire car, correcting all suspension issues like improperly lubed bushings. More detail work: the wiper system beneath the cowl was setup incorrectly being 180 degrees out.
A critical part was missing from the fuel system: the vapor tank. We removed the fuel tank and replaced all vapor lines with our ZCG aftermarket hose kit:
The missing vapor tank was re-installed and the entire system was smoke tested to confirm proper sealing. A full fuel tank was also included in our testing:
Neal wanted the car back on the road in top driving condition. We installed an O2 bung into the exhaust and street tuned the Z after adding a Pertronix ignition. The Z was dialed-in and ready to rock:
Neal has owned this Z for many years but also loves his Porsche 911. When we met at Rennsport we gave each other that look: P-car or Z-car we both Enjoy The Ride! Thanks for bringing your Z to us!
We met Kenin in 2012 when he visited ZCG with his Infiniti G37 IPL. After working on the G, years passed by and Kenin reached out to us having purchased a 2018 Infiniti Q50S sedan. He saw that we were working with other customer’s Q50s and asked if we would be down to tune his. We happily obliged, especially since Kenin’s Q50 was rear-wheel-drive.
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. Kenin’ Q received several parts from AMS Performance including their AMS Heat Exchanger, AMS Coolant expansion tank and AMS Air intakes. We also intalled his strut tower brace:
The new heat exchanger compared to the stock unit and installation:
AMS air intakes compared to OEM:
AMS expansion tanks compared to OEM:
Intakes and expansion tank installed:
Rob was eager to tune the Q using Ecutek. Baseline power was 359hp/374tq at the wheels. With the AMS parts and tuning final numbers were 400hp/449tq, gains of +41hp/75tq:
Enjoy the Boost Kenin!
Special thanks to Seb at SpecialtyZ for helping us!
The Stillen supercharger kit for the Z34/G37 is an install we are intimately familiar with here at Z Car Garage. Here are two customer cars that got supercharged and tuned for nice power gains while maintaining CARB-legal status.
Vince’s 2012 G37
Vince hails from SSF and heard about us from friends with Z’s and G’s. He wanted us to install the Stillen supercharger kit and we added our favorite upgrades like the the Concept Z performance 25-row oil cooler.
Vice had upgraded clutch/flywheel that was really hard to drive on the street. We fitted him with a JWT clutch/flywheel and the troublesome internal slave cylinder was switched to an external unit using the CMAK upgrade from Z-speed.
With the supercharger installed we started the tuning process.
A relatively new approach, we move away from the stock MAF system and use ECutek tuning with a MAP-based system. Final numbers were 407hp//321tq to the wheels:
Thanks Vince, Enjoy The Boost!
John’s 2011 370z
John has been a ZCG customer for 10 years and we used to work on his S30. He came in for a Stillen supercharger install on his 370z and added the Concept Z 25-row oil cooler and Automatic transmission cooler.
After Rob’s tuning session on the dyno John’s Z made 407hp/300tq to the wheels:
Being a base model, an LSD is next on John’s list. Enjoy the Boost!
Z Car Garage is proud to offer a CV axle conversion kit for your Datsun S30 and 510. We have sold over 100 sets of axles globally, with customers installing and enjoying them on everything from street cars to full-blown IMSA racers. These CV axles will help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. Full details below:
For years we have used aftermarket CV axles that utilize an aluminum adapter prone to loosening up over time. Despite efforts to keep things tight (Loctite, hardware changes) we had to keep an eye on them. We developed a better solution that eliminates the need for aluminum adapters and remains 100% bolt-in like a factory half-shaft.
Designed and manufactured locally with KAD Models, the ZCG CV axle kit works in both R180 and R200 configurations.
These are the beefiest CV axles on the market. They have been tested on the track by our vintage racing customers and also in high hp* street cars (powershifting, clutch dumps, etc.). Each axle has a serial # for peace of mind:
The CV axle kit is available now from ZCG for 1595.00 + freight and they come with everything you need to install on your car. Contact us at 408-452-0350 or send Rob an e-mail rob@zcargarage.com to purchase. Installation is just like doing a half-shaft: there is even a marking that shows you where to line up bolts and special hardware:
The ZCG CV Axles in action
The video below demonstrates the “looseness” associated with aftermarket CV axles that use adapters compared to the ZCG axles without adapters. Several customer race/street cars running our CV axles are also shown. Enjoy!
S30 and 510s running the ZCG CV axles
Randy Jaffe’s #46 BRE Datsun 240z received the very first set of ZCG CV axles: Serial # S30-000240!
Race car driver and restoration specialist Jim Froula of Racecraft is running ZCG axles in several of his cars:
Set #246 – installed May 2018 on the “Harry Stewart #52” Datsun 510:
Set #247 – installed April 2018 on the 260z
Set #248 – will be installed on Adam Carolla’s “Greg Sorrentino #90” Datsun 510. We are pleased to report that Jim will also be installing a set on his “George Alderman #32” 300ZX! The ZCG CV axles are also perfect for high hp street cars. The following customer cars are all running our CV axles now:
Frank B’s fuel-injected, 6-speed stroker L-series:
Gary’s 430whp LS3-powered 280z:
Scott W’s EFI stroker L-series:
James S’ L28ET:
Brian’s 1972 240z:
Finally, Gary’s “Behemoth” OS Giken TC24B1Z powered S30:
Technical Information:
The Z Car Garage axles were designed to help remove much of the backlash aka clunk seen in many older vehicles. Modern technology has given us the ability to create a set of axles to exacting standards. We started with a high quality set of CV joints that were found to be the most consistent in both major and minor spline diameters. We then began to design the axle itself to share the same tight tolerances. We are holding a +/- .01mm diametric tolerance on both the inner and outer spline diameters. This gives us the feeling of direct connection between differential and wheel. The axle shaft major diameter was increased to 30MM to give owners a bit of added comfort in knowing the main shafts are stout. Once the axles are splined they are then heat treated to obtain the desired harness. After heat treat the axles are then nickel plated to add corrosion resistance. The inner and outer flanges are made from 316 stainless steel and mate to the CV joints with tapered alignment surfaces to ensure concentricity is maintained throughout the axle thus reducing vibration. The inner flange attaches to the stock R series differential utilizing the Nissan factory hardware. The outer flange attaches to the driven stub with bolts specifically designed and manufactured for the Z Car Garage axle installation kit. These bolts are manufactured to grade 12.9. All ZCG axles are manufactured locally which helps us maintain the fitment and quality we require.
Materials
Axles : Hardened AISI/SAE 4340 Alloy Steel, 4340 is a nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy steel
Drive flanges: 316 stainless steel, Type 316 steel is an austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel
Outer Flange Bolts: Hardened 4140 Alloy Steel , AISI or SAE 4130 grade is a low-alloy steel containing chromium and molybdenum as strengthening agents
