Last weekend Nissan officially returned to international sports car racing with its LMP2 entry in the 12 Hours of Sebring. Driver Lucas Ordonez helped grab a second-place class finish behind the wheel of the VK series V8-powered machine.
Nissan’s last win at Sebring was in 1994 and the the team has a busy schedule for 2011 including the 24 Hours of LeMans, the 1,000 km Spa-Francorshamps, and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

For a re-cap of the race check out PaddockTalk HERE

Long Live Nissan Motorsports!

Here is a very inspirational video…showing that Nissan is still passionate about performance, enjoy!

No, this is not a Nissan. It is not even a Z. This is a 2011 Ford Mustang GT, and it’s wild with plenty of horses. How many? The 5.0L engine is rated at 412hp from the factory, but the ZCG dyno reveals it’s true output! Rob tells the story of how this GT gets a serious boost in power from an already potent powerplant:

Michael L lives in Santa Cruz, Ca. He was referred to ZCarGarage by Vortech engineering in Southern California. ZCG is a top tier installer of Vortech products and we have performed several non-Nissan installs. You might remember the 2010 Camaro from last fall. Michael and I spoke and decided to meet. I told him we would love to add boost to his new ‘Stang as long as he didn’t mind that all the other horses in this stable would be Zs. Once again Vortech delivers with an amazing product. The kit parts and installation are as if Ford designed it to be a dealer add-on. This is a limited edition kit to celebrate Vortech’s 20-year anniversary in the performance aftermarket and most of the components are finished in matte black.

Back to the car… this Mustang marks the return of the 5.0. Rated at 412 hp at the crank this pony put down some strong baseline numbers: 376hp/364tq. So the 5.0 is really making close to 440hp at the crank!

ZCG’s Josh C comes from a Ford background. Growing up his Dad’s pride and joy was a 1970 XR-7 Cougar ‘vert. Only 1700 were made in the 351 and 4 speed set up. We hope to help Josh’s father restore this car someday. During his younger days Josh owned a ’69 Mustang and a ’65 Ranchero so he was excited to add his touch to the late model Mustang. The Vortech kit is intercooled and is going to be completely smog legal delivering its 8 psi. Post-install dyno numbers are very impressive: 496hp/436tq! The car starts and drives like a stock car until you press the go pedal. Great job Vortech! Enjoy the ride Michael and may your second car be a Nissan.
-Rob
Here are a few more pics of the install, enjoy!
Intercooler, very low-key:

Blower install:

As if the last 2 posts about GT-Rs didn’t get your juices flowing…This silver beauty belongs to Jay E. He found out about ZCarGarage through one of the most popular GT-R forums on the web: The North American GT-R Owners Club, or “nagtroc”. This is the place to be for all things R35-related!
Jay made the trip to ZCG from SF to have some new, aggressively sized wheels/tires and springs installed. Here are a few shots with the OEM rolling stock:

Jay chose wheels from ADV.1, specifically their ADV5.1 model. This is a lightweight forged monoblock wheel with a simple, yet clean look. You can find more info on ADV.1 wheels HERE

The thin-spoke design really let’s those gigantic rotors and Brembos pop. Wheels are 20×11 up front with a 295/30 tire and 20×12 in back with a massive 335/30 tire! The rear wheel also has a subtle concave spoke design that looks killer from a rear 3/4 view. ZCG’s Fred M installed the Eibach Pro-Kit springs to complement the larger wheel/tire package.


With the 2012 GT-R just coming out we are seeing more and more R35 owners modifying and driving their cars!
Plenty more shots in the gallery, enjoy!
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It’s raining GT-Rs at ZCarGarage! Owner Kevin K had a blast driving his GT-R at Thunderhill recently. You might remember seeing his car at ZCG for several mods including an exhaust system, wheels/springs and a few other items. Kevin also displayed the GT-R at the SJ Auto Show in January. These awesome on-track pictures are from Gotbluemilk.

How cool does this R35 look at speed?

Kevin had an impressive list of parts installed including:
-Deatschwerks 750cc injectors
-Cobb AccessPORT, Custom tuned by HorsePower Logic
-Clear Bra by Premier Protective Films
-Downforce Carbon Fiber body kit by none other than Williams Auto Body
-Go Fast Bits blow-off valves:

Check out the AMS Catted Downpipes, compared to the OEM units:

The stock rear section of the exhaust was replaced by this beautiful HKS Legamax Exhaust:

The center section leading up to the downpipes was replaced by a GTM Challenge Race Spec non-resonated midpipe:

It looks and sounds amazing!

Kevin has great taste and chose some very sharp Volk Racing TE37 G2 wheels finished in Flat Black: 20 x 10 F, 20 x 11 R. Combined with Swift Springs and carbon fiber lower trim this GT-R looks sinister on the street and on the track!