A dealership is great to support your new Nissan but here is an example of how independent shops like ZCG that specialize in the brand are critical to maintenance, longevity and performance of your vehicle.

Why Independent Shops are Important!

James bought his 2015 Nissan GT-R secondhand from a dealership and started to have some issues where the car would go into limp-mode. He took it to a Nissan dealership and they found some kind of issue underneath the timing cover that was resulting in a limp-mode approaching 3000rpm. A temporary “fix” resolved the behavior but again it was going into limp mode. Back it went to Nissan where they couldn’t get data off the OB-II connector.

 

Nissan tells James that the car might have an ECU tune so he should find someone in the Bay Area to diagnose/asses if it has an aftermarket ECU (ie Cobb Accessport, EcuTek flash, etc).  James visited ZCG and Rob flashed the GT-R with EcuTek software, enabling data logging. Rob noticed that the cylinder bank 1 intake cam was not advancing. Further investigation revealed that when the dealership installed the front cover and intake cam solenoids and o-ring failure was spotted. This o-ring eventually failed, not allowing sufficient oil pressure to advance the intake cam on bank 1, thus putting car into limp mode.

 

We installed a new o-ring and James was on his way. This is a great example of how independent/specialty shops have the expertise and attention to detail to keep your Nissan on the road!

Long Live The Passion!

 

We had a magnificent track day experience at Laguna Seca on Sunday with City Tech. Big thanks to Patrick Chio for hosting a top-notch event. If you are looking for a safe, affordable trackday with maximum track time then check out their event schedule for 2013.
Datsun Roadsters Rule!

 

Rob and I were completely stoked at the idea of driving our roadsters together through the world famous corkscrew at ‘Seca…this track is incredible and Doing It In A Datsun makes it even better!  We gathered several ZCG cars and friends to come out and enjoy the opportunity. The group was quite diverse: Josh-’72 VW, Walt-GTR, Jeff V-Mustang GT, Wade-Lemons 240z, Glynn-Porsche 993, Scott B-G35 sedan, Allen B-Vortech Z33, and Ken in his newly Stoptech bbk’d WRX:

 

When we arrived early Sunday am the track was wet from fog and drizzle.  Despite the conditions we removed our tops and drove to our heart’s content. Eventually the grey sky turned blue around noon and the track dried out for plenty of grip.

 

Words can’t describe how much fun driving Laguna Seca is. I could wax poetic for days.  First timers Jeff (Mustang) and Ken (WRX) are hooked:

 

You just need to come out with us next time and see for yourself!

 

Josh, Rob and I wanted to capture our vintage cars running the track so we all mounted GoPro cameras from different vantage points. You can see how we had a blast staying together and mixing it up(there might be an impromptu drag race in there). The trunk mounted/rear facing camera on Sora Blue really gives you a perspective of the elevation drop through the corkscrew…make sure you select the “1080p HD” option, crank up the volume and enjoy!

 

 

Another fun part of track days are ride-alongs. Walt geve me a ride in his GT-R and I was blown away by it’s acceleration and grip coming out of turns. Look for in-car video soon! As with all track days cruising the paddock reveals some high dollar and very cool machinery. It is always neat to see driver’s clever attempts of evading the sound station 🙂 Here are some highlights, including several Z’s, a F20C-powered AE86, and lots of S2ks, more pictures in the gallery of course:

So thus ends the epic track day at Laguna Seca. Thank you to everyone that joined us and caravanned down from the shop. Another thank you to Patrick at City Tech. We look forward to more track days!

Check the gallery for more great pictures!

…[read more]

It’s always nice to see an old Datsun put the hurt on a modern car. This electric motor-powered Datsun 1200 goes head to head with a Nissan GT-R and wins!

More info over at Jalopnik here

Just a little video fun to keep all of you entertained on this Wednesday afternoon.  It’s amazing what traction can do to destroy outright horsepower.  GT-Rs rule.

source: Autoblog

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Treasure Island meet last weekend.  I was so happy to see the twenty-ish cars at the shop to make the drive together.  Also thanks to everyone who helped set up and organize the event and to Rob who was nice enough to provide doughnuts and coffee for everyone in the morning as well as the raffle prizes (dyno pulls and shop gift certificates.)

It was a real blast to see all of these Zs on the road.  I ended up not driving so that I could ride with Rob and take pictures.  He had taken the T-tops out of his 300zx twin turbo which made for some great photo opportunities and an even better sun burn for me, haha.  Treasure island was a bit chilly but the good conversations about Zs kept my mind off of it.

I will be posting some information on another get-together real soon, so I hope to see you all then.  Enjoy all the pictures after the read-more!!

…[read more]