Z Car Garage is expanding to support our vintage, late model and motorsport work. We are seeking an experienced and skilled automotive technician to join our team. This is not an average automotive job. We work 4-10hr days and offer competitive pay/benefits.
Requirements: Automotive experience, your own set of tools, willingness to learn, and be part of a team.
Nissan/Datsun experience is NOT a requirement, you just need to have passion.
Interested or know someone who might be a good fit? Share this, spread the word and please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.
We are excited to sponsor and be a part of the 2019 Japanese Classic Car Show Saturday 9/21 in Long Beach. This is the most important show for Japanese cars, and the Z Car Garage crew keeps coming back every year to soak up the sun, see old friends and drool over some spectacular vintage builds.
See Mr. K’s Datsun 240z in the Z Car Garage Booth!
Our latest project car is Mr. K’s 1972 Datsun 240z and it will be displayed in our booth! Yutaka Katayama (affectionately known as “Mr. K”) put Datsun on the map while serving as President of Nissan Motors USA.
This Z was Mr. K’s personal car, with touches like the “G-Nose”, custom mix Yellow Pearl Paint, wire wheels and automatic transmission. It was most prominently featured in Nissan’s multi-million dollar Datsun Heritage advertising campaign in the late 90’s. Check it out in this Super Bowl Ad – “The Dream Garage” lead a series of T.V. commercials featuring Mr. K (played by an actor):
In 1977 Mr. K retired and before returning to Japan he gave the Z to his long time Administrative Assistant, Johnnie Gable and her son Kenny Ueda, both will be attending JCCS.
We were honored to have this national treasure at the shop and get it back on the road. Full report soon. If you listen closely, you can almost hear it whisper the words of Mr. K’s simple philosophy, “Love cars. Love people. Love life.”
ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles on Display!
Please visit our booth to see and feel our Big-Brake kit for small wheels, and CV Axles. We will be available to answer any questions and if you are interested in purchasing a set of CVs please contact Rob at the shop. Keen eyes will notice that our latest Big-Brake offering will be displayed fitted behind a 14″ Panasport wheel! As usual we will have free ZCG swag and merchandise on hand.
ZCG Customers
We are also very proud of ZCG customer James S’ 1972 240z. He will be driving his Turbocharged L-series S30 down to JCCS and displaying it with fellow owners.
JCCS is an amazing show that gets better with each year. We are thankful to organizers for having us again in 2019. The show takes place from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm in Marina Green Park. Catch a glimpse of what JCCS is all about in our report Last year’s show. Z you there!
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!
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!
This 2004 350z Touring is a ZCG customer car that has been maintained by us for many years. It has a new front bumper, 2007-2008 hood and Stillen rear wing. Full suspension including TEIN coil-overs with EDFC and Hotchkis sway bars. A full 4-wheel Rotora Big-Brake kit is framed behind VOLK SF Challenge wheels sized 19×9 and 19×10 running Toyo Proxes T1-R tires (245/275). It is ready to be enjoyed!
