Here at Z Car Garage we LOVE to drive our cars on the racetrack. Open “Track Day” or High Performance Driving Events (HPDEs) are excellent venues to familiarize yourself with a car and its limits while having fun in a safe, controlled environment.  Two of our customers recently shared their first track-day experiences with us and they had a blast!

 

We supercharged Robert C’s G35 last year and he decided it was time to do his first track event at Laguna Seca Raceway. He’s added these gorgeous RAYS Gram Lights 57Xtreme wheels since his last visit:

 

“Rob!
Just want to tell you I had a incredible day at Laguna. David Ray is a great guy and awesome teacher. We spent the first three session working on line, smoothness and consistency with both until I had all 11 corners worked out. The 4th session we put it all together as he pushed me and it was phenomenal! When I IR’d the front rotors after the session I was over 500 degrees and they were smoking. Happy to report brakes are still great and no warpage on the rotors. Ironically David mentioned doing an ST40 upgrade which we already quoted earlier so know that is still on the radar for my next track day. Nice to have someone just back up a buying decision without asking. I did graduate to Solo and was told to register for Group B next time so pretty pleased about that. On the upside I have marked “Drive my car at Leguna and hit the corkscrew” off my bucket list. On the even bigger upside I’ve added “1) Go drive Laguna more. 2) Drive Infineon. 3) Drive Thunderhill and 4)Drive Buttonwillow.” to the list.

David had praise for the current work done on the car and I have to agree. The work you and team have done since October last year has made this car even more enjoyable and something to proudly run on a track. The car had zero issues and feels no worse from the day.”

Robert C.

 

In October we added some bolt-ons and tuned Garth J’s 350z preparing him for a day at Thunderhill Raceway:

“Hi Rob,

Thunderhill track day was awesome a few weeks back. Car felt great. The Bridgestone S04’s were a major upgrade. Thanks for preparing the car for a great experience. I’m thinking about auto-crossing next season.Will be needing some routine maintenance in the new year. Can we schedule something mid January? Happy Holidays.”

Garth J.

 

 
Ready to experience your Nissan/Infiniti on the track? We can help!

 

Three for Thursday! Here are 3 owners that visited Z Car Garage for upgrades so they could Enjoy The Ride. Thomas C was experiencing brake fade/overheating with the Akebono caliper setup on his G37 Sedan. We installed a Stoptech Sport Kit with our favorite SS309 pads:

 

Slotted rotors also help shed heat, before/after shown below:

 

We also UPREV tuned the G now making 291hp/247tq to the wheels:

 

Rich M wanted firmer shifts from his automatic-equipped G37 Coupe. We installed a TransGo shift kit followed by UPREV tuning:

 

TransGO kit:

 

The dyno plot reveals the benefits of UPREV tuning and the TransGo kit. Firmer shifts are evident by the absence of the “loop” (blue curves) seen with OEM automatic-equipped Z/Gs.  Huge peak gains of 20hp/18tq to the wheels and increased area under the curve everywhere means this is power you can feel!

 

Garth J brought his 2003 350z to us for Stoptech lines, 5/16″ plenum spacer and MREV2 lower intake, and new Bridgestone PP S-04 tires:

 

With the intake mods and UPREV tuning Garth’s Z picked up 7hp/5tq to the wheels. More importantly are the mid-range and top-end gains:

How can we help you enjoy your Z or G?

 

Just over a year ago Brian K visited Z Car Garage for several bolt-on parts on his 2006 350z including a JWT Pop charger, Motordyne 5/16″ plenum spacer, Bassani cat-back exhaust system and UPREV tuning.

 

 

As we all know it is hard to resist adding upgrades to your sportscar and after enjoying the Z with its new mods Brian came back to ZCG for full 60k services, Hotchkis sway bars and Brembo brakes.  The OEM Brembo calipers were sourced from Gabe V’s G35 coupe. Gabe upgraded to a Stoptech Trophy setup, full report on his build soon:

 

Brian’s stock calipers and the Brembo calipers front and rear. Two-piece rotors are from Giro Disc:

 

Looking good through the ’06 wheels!

 

We are pleased report another Z Car Blog success story!  Anthony K recently acquired this Datsun 240z that we built and featured in our FOR SALE section. This powerful, tastefully modified S30 was seller Scott W’s creation and it was well-received by viewers. A day after we posted it for sale on the blog it was featured by our friends over at Bring A Trailer!

  

Here is proud new owner Anthony K sharing his journey from picking up the Z in San Francisco and driving it all the way home to Vancouver, B.C. Thank you for these beautiful pictures and Enjoy The Ride!

This is my first Z. In fact it’s my first “second” car solely for pleasure driving. I used to ride sport bikes (most recently a yellow Ducati 748) until a near fatal accident. I’m lucky to be alive. I figured some steel around me was in order, so I wanted to get a car with a “pure” driving experience, without much of the insulation, refinement and weight that come with modern cars. Then I came across this great video on Petrolicious.com. I had somehow completely forgotten how much I like the original 240Z. The styling takes so many cues from the Ferrari 275GTB and Daytona, two cars I think are among the most beautiful ever made. Everything clicked. I wanted a beautiful, classic driving car with good power, great sound, and (relative) reliability. The original 240Z with a Rebello engine fit the bill. I started my search.

 

I searched craigslist along the West Coast, from San Diego to Vancouver, as well as ebay motors for a finished car with a Rebello engine. As you know, they’re hard to find. I found Scott W’s Z on craigslist and the Z Car Blog. He is a class act and was very helpful throughout the entire purchase process. Together with the detailed photos of all the work done on the car by you on the Z Car Blog, it was easy to learn everything I needed to know about the car.

My wife and I drove from San Francisco to Vancouver BC over about 5 days. We don’t have a car in San Francisco, so Scott very generously drove the car from Cupertino to San Francisco on Tuesday for the sale. We talked a while, and it was very clear how much he was going to miss the car he spent so much time making his own. It’s nice to purchase a vehicle that’s very personal to someone because of the care that went into it.

 

We drove up to Sonoma county and spent Wednesday to Friday afternoon wine tasting in Glen Ellen/Sonoma. That period was the test drive for my wife.  I’m sure my driving would have been more spirited without her, but taking such a great trip along the beautiful Pacific Coast was so much better with her as my companion.

 

We headed to the coast late Friday afternoon and drove up to Mendocino, where we ate a great dinner and spent the night. That first day of driving was just awesome: endless 2nd and 3rd gear turns, sweepers and bends from Sonoma, over the hills to Gualala and up the windy coast to Mendocino. That’s where I became addicted to the Z’s great handling, power and raw, intoxicating sound.

 

Monday morning, we did some shopping in town and then drove West to the nearby Willamette Valley wine country. It was mid afternoon by the time we finished wine tasting and figured it would be dark by the time we hit the still foggy and rainy coast. At that point, we would either stay in Salem or Portland for another night so we could head to the coast the next day and enjoy the drive, or just hit I5 and plow through.  We fueled up at Stumptown Coffee, my favorite coffee shop in Portland, and kept going till we hit the border. Droning along the highway isn’t the Z’s natural habitat, but we steadily made our way back to Vancouver by ~1am Tuesday morning.

 

We’re both grateful for the awesome, fun, safe, and mechanically event-free road trip. Special thanks to Scott W and Rob and crew at the Z Car Garage for the great work, turning an already great car into an awesome one. Looking forward to making the trip back down to San Francisco. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to Google “best roads around Vancouver.”

 

Nissan’s Z32 Twin Turbo is a sportscar that has truly stood the test of time. Its curvaceous lines have aged gracefully and the venerable VG30DETT powerplant is still capable of producing impressive numbers today. We love them and specialize in keeping these beauties on the road and in the hands of proud owners like Jas D. He picked up this 1990 300zx Twin Turbo last summer and visited Z Car Garage for a thorough inspection.

 

Though bone-stock with an amazing 44k miles on the clock it needed some attention. We went through the hydraulics and performed full 60k-mile services.

 

Jas wanted to improve power and handling and we happily obliged with a comprehensive list of upgrades this year.  Starting with the drivetrain, the original transmission was replaced with a brand new(!) unit from Nissan:

 

The clutch had seen better days so we replaced it with a JWT unit including their heavy duty aluminum flywheel:

 

A JWT ecu w/boost jets manages uprated NISMO 740cc injectors and the Selin dual MAF. Improved breathing comes from Ash-SPEC inlet piping and dual JWT pop chargers:

 

On the exhaust side, restrictive original downpipes were replaced with these beautiful Specialty Z 3″ downpipes. Note the divorced wastegate piping:

 

Following the new downpipes are more parts from SPZ including 3″ mid-pipes and a cat-back exhaust system to replace the OEM setup:

 

OEM vs SPZ:

 

 

With all of the speed parts installed next we tackled chassis improvements. Lots of goodies here so let’s begin with brakes followed by suspension:

We love Stoptech’s products and use them on our own vehicles.  Z32s are relatively heavy and with higher hp the stock caliper/rotors can be taxed quite easily. Jas took it up a notch and ordered a Stoptech 4-wheel Big-Brake Kit for his beloved Z.  Shown above is the ST40 caliper (front) squeezing 332 mm rotors and at the rear are ST22s on 328mm rotors.

The installation:

 

Yes, they are pretty but also very functional! Speaking of aesthetics(that are functional, too), the new calipers are nicely framed between the spokes of these sweet VOLK TE37SL wheels.  We like your taste, Jas.   The lightweight TE’s were wrapped in Bridgestone S-o4 tires:

 

Several suspension upgrades improve handling and replace old/deteriorated parts. Stance coil-overs were installed while Stillen sway bars front and rear help reduce body roll:

 

OEM vs Stillen sway bar mount/bushing and end-link details:

 

More suspension parts include SPL T/C rods,   Z1 upper control arms and new steering rack bushings:

 

The Z looks fantastic with the new footwork:

 

Jas came back to Z Car Garage in Septemeber for a few more upgrades. We installed 4.08 Leader gears, Ash-SPEC Massive SMICs, 2.5 IC tubing, and  SPZ Hi-5 upgraded clutch. The BDE low-profile Z32 motor mounts are a smart alternative to OEM that allows more clearance larger for intakes:

 

After the addition of larger intercoolers and piping we re-tuned Jas’ Z picking up power throughout the rev range for a total of 369hp/387tq to the wheels:

 

We think Jas’ 300zx Twin Turbo is the perfect addition to his stable. It is now a balanced sportscar with just the right personal touches. Long Live the Z32!

Lots of pictures in the gallery, enjoy!
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