Z Car Garage is excited to collaborate with Datsunworks and develop their brilliant KN20 dual-overhead cam (DOHC) cylinder head designed for the Nissan inline-6 L-Series engine.
Datsunworks founder Derek Minetti is the pioneer behind the KN20 DOHC cylinder head. This is a custom (very limited production), 6-cylinder head derived from Honda’s venerable K-series 4-cylinder engine. The KN20 offers superior head flow rates combined with modern valvetrain components to effectively transform your L-series single-overhead cam into a high-revving, dual-overhead cam engine. The power potential is impressive.
Gary’s Datsun 240Z
There are ten KN20 heads in the wild with only three installed and currently running in cars. Z Car Garage has two KN20 cylinder heads. This KN20 is serial #SN10 and it has been installed into our long-time client Gary’s Datsun 240Z, affectionately named the “Behemoth”. ZCG is always exploring the boundaries of powertrains and Gary’s Z has seen a few engines including an RB30DET, OS Giken TC24 and now the Datsunworks.
Here are few details on the powertrain setup for this Z:
-Rebello 3.1L Engine
-KN20 Cylinder head SN10 (but the performance level goes to 11)
-Induction type: Jenvey ITB EFI with Injector Dynamics injectors
-Engine management: Haltech Elite 750
-Header: Equal-length, custom fabricated by RacecraftNW
Pictures of the initial engine installation, with more in the gallery:
For further information on the KN20 cylinder head we urge you to visit the Datsunworks blog: Datsunworks Blog
Performance
We are still in the tuning phase so Gary’s car is on a comfortable (conservative) setting. With the Datsunworks head it made 350hp/248tq at the wheels on 91 octane:
Even in a testing stage it is absolutely thrilling to drive. Gary’s car is a full ZCG-style restoration so it has the chassis to harness the power. The sound it makes is a sonorous tone only the K-series derived KN20 head creates…with a gnarly exhaust note to match. The ITB induction also provides a healthy wail…it’s a sensory overload and revs seem to climb endlessly.
To illustrate the Datsunworks experience we captured some video of what it is like to drive around town…the 6-speed and EFI really allow this car to be docile, especially when cruising on the freeway and at part throttle. Drop a gear and its becomes a wild animal. Not going to lie…it gave me goosebumps both as a passenger and spectator.
Watch the video complete with multiple dyno passes, street acceleration and fly-bys. VOLUME UP!
Potential
Z Car Garage is stoked to be a part of the Datsunworks KN20 development. It is a clever design that pushes the envelope for L-Series engines. Sharing this experience is also part of the fun so we anticipate having a KN20 setup in a dedicated shop 240Z for clients to test drive and further evaluate. Although each application is different, we envision offering a bolt-in setup for your six-cylinder L-Series engine. The power potential is tremendous with the KN20…both NA and forced induction. We thank Derek at Datsunworks for giving us the opportunity to work with this innovative product.
Stay tune for more updates and LONG LIVE THE (TWIN CAM) Z!
Gentry Stein visited Z Car Garage from Chico, CA for dyno tuning on his V1 Nismo 370Z. We specialize in UPREV and EcuTek Tuning to maximize power gains from individual modifications like intake and exhaust upgrades. Gentry contacted us before searching for the right Nismo Z34 and eventually found this super clean V1, #528:
On the dyno, Rob Uprev tuned the Z making great mid-range to redline gains. Peak gains of 9hp/7tq for a total of 322hp/267tq at the wheels:
Gentry is thrilled with the power gains:
“My experience at ZCG was absolutely awesome! Rob’s passion for Z’s can truly be felt while at ZCG. I felt confident knowing my car was in the best possible place it could be to get dyno tuned. Rob even took videos of the car for me while it was on the dyno. The car made great power throughout the whole powerband, and it’s even more of a blast to drive now! The throttle feels alive, and the torque gain is really felt from 4K-6.5k RPM. I’m excited every time I sit in the drivers seat of my Z.”
Yo-Yo World Champion
Fun fact: Gentry is the World Champion of Yo-yo. He provides some insight into his desire for a 370Z and career in Yo-yo playing:
“In early 2020 I was specifically looking for a V1 Nismo Z34 in white. I wanted a car that I could daily drive and also take through canyons and coastal roads. I don’t care about a fancy interior with luxurious amenities. I wanted something that looks sexy and is fun to drive, and to me that’s an exact description of this car. Ive driven some other popular cars, but this car feels rewarding on a different level. I love what they did with the body kit of the Nismo too. You know you have the right car when you can’t help but look back at it every time you get out of it.
My Z story really starts with my love for Japan. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Japan 5 times over the last 6 years for work and play, and have developed some incredible friendships that have allowed me to experience Japanese culture and values. I started playing with yoyos when I was 8 years old, which is when I met one of my mentors who is from Japan. From then to now as I’ve turned that passion into a career, much of my success is due to what I learned from that mentor as well as my other connections and experiences in Japan. The month preceding winning my first World Yo-yo Championship was spent training in Nagoya and Tokyo. I experienced the special level of care that goes into everything in Japan, whether it’s design, food, human interaction, work ethic, etc… This has played a major role in inspiring me and helping me develop into the person I am today. This level of care is also felt in their Z cars when looking at and driving them. I have such a respect and appreciation for Japan and their culture, and I feel proud to drive a car that was born from the same place as many of the building blocks to my own life success.
As for my goals with the Z, I plan to continue to drive the hell out of it. I’ve put 15,000 miles on the car in my first 10 months of ownership. It’s literally been 15 thousand miles of fun and I’m looking forward to more of that. I’m pretty content with the way the car is setup. The car is riding on KW V3 suspension, has a Wavetrac limited slip differential, polyurethane differential bushings, K&N drop in air filters, Motordyne Shockwave exhaust, and special sauce from the fresh Z Car Garage tune. I also just did a full paint correction and ceramic coat myself to keep the car looking as good as it drives.
Thanks Z car garage for being part of my car’s story!”
Follow Gentry on Instagram and check out his instructional videos over on YouTube. When you are ready, you can even purchase a yo-yo at his shop.
Contact us for tuning!
Z Car Garage offers the ARC (Advanced Racing Controls) license. This add-on service to the existing UPREV Flash allows you to have adjustable launch control, burnout mode, and flat-foot shifting. This is for cars with manual transmission, VDC/cruise control. Call Rob for more details and to schedule your Z/G tuning appointment.
Everything we know. Everything we love. Everything we live for. In one letter.
The New Z Car. By now many of you have seen Nissan’s Z Proto in the media or even in person as it tours the car show circuit. On May 2, Nissan invited us to their headquarters in Tennessee to get up close and personal with the Z Proto, still very much in pre-production form. After seeing, hearing and feeling this car in person we are thoroughly stoked for the new Nissan Z. Enjoy this report from our trip, complete with photos and video.
Nissan is Back
Z car enthusiasts worldwide have been awaiting a successor to the current Z and many were satisfied when Nissan officially unveiled the Z Proto on September 16, 2020. The live-streamed event featured Alfonso Albaisa (senior vice president of global design) and Hiroshi Tamura (chief product specialist of the Z Proto) both very enthusiastic and assuring that while the Z Proto is only a development model, we will get a new Nissan Z.
Fast forward almost six months after the unveiling…Nissan debuted this commercial that gave me chills. I immediately texted Rob that Nissan is back. This brilliantly-executed advertisement was exactly what we needed and shows a direction that we are totally on board with:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kdVkUta8TI
With our New Z car anticipation growing stronger we just had to see it for ourselves, in the metal. You can imagine how happy we were when Nissan Corporate reached out to Z Car Garage and invited us to their headquarters in Franklin to spend some quality time with the Z Proto. Rob and I hopped on a plane to Tennessee…
Arriving at Nissan HQ, our hosts were Jonathan Buhler (Sr. Specialist Corporate Communications at Nissan) and industry veteran Dan Passe (Director, Corporate Communications). Both gentlemen are hardcore automotive enthusiasts (see Jonathan’s personal Datsun 240Z) that proudly wave the flag for Nissan. The kind of minds you want at a car company, and very gracious. Rob and I were in for a treat, and and we were blown away. First order of business: see the Z Proto inside Nissan HQ…
The Nissan Z Proto:
We were given the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Z Proto. To be concise, this car has a presence that simply isn’t captured in photos. A small disclaimer: the details we admired and discovered on this car may not transfer to the production car, but based on leaked photos, and as mentioned in the unveiling by Alfonso the Z Proto’s design is extremely close to what consumers will be offered. After sitting in the car and taking in its design, both Rob and I were enthralled and eager for the new Nissan Z. Let’s take a closer look…
Exterior
The familiar silhouette of the Z Proto instantly caught our eyes when we first saw it inside Nissan’s light-box room. By design, nearly every element seems to have been inspired by previous generation Z cars. Front features help take you back to Japan-only models like the 240ZG of the 1970s with “sugar-scoop” style headlights. The LED lights cast a “Z” halo:
That front grille/bumper treatment everyone seems to be split on? The square-shaped grille comes off looking awkward in pictures, but it looks totally appropriate to the car in person. Eagle eyes will note that the grille’s rectangular details carry to the interior and rear end. It works really well.
While the front end is both familiar and striking, the rear end is even more intriguing. We can’t get over the fact that Nissan put their contemporary twist on the 300ZX (Z32) taillights! Their sharp, rectangular LED elements are perfectly executed.
Nissan incredibly managed to retain the iconic Z profile while updating the body surfaces to give a much needed styling refresh. Gone are the bulbous, over-flared and over-designed features of previous generation Z cars. No chunky door handles. No weirdly-shaped headlight/taillight treatments. The Z Proto manages to be understated, with elements familiar and welcomed by Z enthusiasts. Look at that mid-body character line that evokes the S30…only here it follows an almost Coke-bottle shape with strong shoulders over the rear wheel wells. We snapped a few outdoor shots to capture the surface details. It was hard to detect the hood lines, another S30-styling throwback!
We doubt the Fairlady Z badge on the hatch will see production (it never did for US-Market Z Cars!), but we sure hope the pillar Z emblems stay, along with the “Katana” silver rails. It will be interesting to see what the aftermarket holds styling-wise with front/rear fascia’s, side skirts and general aero. We give Nissan a huge Bravo! for the design of the Z Proto. More pictures in the gallery below!
Performance
Yes, that is Rob Fuller taking a peek under the Z Proto. No, we can’t tell you what the chassis looks like or what is even under the hood. Nissan has confirmed that the new Z will use a twin-turbocharged V6 engine. That alone makes us sing Hallelujah, for boost is always better! Internet sleuths hint that the VR30DDTT engine found in the Infiniti Q50 and Q60 would be the simple choice for Nissan. Rated at 300 or 400hp in those cars, we have dyno-tuned many with simple bolt-ons yielding 100hp+ over stock quite easily.
Rob and I were given permission to row through the gears. Yes the Z Proto has a real 6-speed manual transmission and the New Z will also offer one. No word on those sexy brakes and tire letters, but with Twin-turbos and a manual transmission sign us up!
Interior
Both Rob and I were impressed and satisfied with the exterior of the Z Proto, and the interior also did not disappoint. Remember, this is a no-frills sportscar, and it shows in the material choices, switchgear and overall design theme.
That being said, there is a great mix of digital and analog elements on the dash. We loved the large digital instrument cluster, central touchscreen and nostalgic triple gauge pods. Thanks to Jonathan for powering up the car so we could see all the digital features, a real treat not given to most journalists! He was eager to point out a few Nissan-placed Easter Eggs too…
Easter Eggs
Jonathan drew our attention to a few not-so-easy to catch details like the “Z” logo on headlights and “since 1969” text on hatch window. Dan Passe chimed in with the “Z” cut lines at the union of the A pillar, hood and leading edge of door (more of an intentional design detail). Then there’s the fairly gratuitous nods to the 370z, and 1969 240z on the dash display and center stack. Note radio station with song title and time 🙂
The Z Proto is a home run. This is a sports car Nissan should be proud of. Well done! We can’t wait to get the New Z at the shop. For an automaker to build something this special is risky but also speaks volumes as to how they value our input. Enthusiast’s input! It’s a bold move especially in this climate where sport cars are relying on electric powerplants and automatic transmissions. “The Z Proto represents a commitment to our fans, to our heritage, and staying true to Nissan’s DNA.” We couldn’t agree more after seeing it in person. Long Live The Z!
We couldn’t leave you with just pictures so here is an extended video of our personal visit to Nissan HQ to see the Z Proto. We were fortunate to not only see it, but take it for a spin around the campus and really absorb all of the design details…enjoy!
Our visit with Nissan only begun with the Z Proto. Before heading to our next destination we stopped by legendary Z shop Crawford Z Car Service in downtown Nashville. Owner Doug Stewart is an accomplished Z-car racer and you night remember the creator of the Crawford intake plenum for Nissan’s 350z VQ engine.
Nissan Heritage Collection
A visit to the Nissan Heritage collection was next on our tour. Nissan’s production plants in Smyrna and Dechard and HQ in Franklin, TN are pretty well-known but the Heritage Collection is hidden inside the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville. The museum itself is open to the general public and it’s a must see:
Undeground and beyond closed doors, we entered paradise. Both Jonathan and Dan have dedicated their time-on a volunteer basis to preserve, maintain and promote this vintage Nissan/Datsun collection. Without them it wouldn’t survive, and in part they rely on enthusiasts (like Randy Jaffe) to help carry the torch. These are cars that would have been scrapped by Nissan or left outside to rust. Rob and I were literally in heaven. So much history in one place with wicked metal at every turn. (Below) The actual Black Gold TV commercial 280ZX and 2021 TV commercial Z31 that actress Brie Larson was in:
Everywhere we looked there were”JOB #1″ vehicles, race cars, movie/commercial cars and even concept cars…we could have spent the night with the collection. What sets this collection apart from others is that all cars are accessible and drivable (or meant to be driven). No roped-off cars or locked doors. I even got to sit in the race car!
Forgotten concept cars. Some were old. Some were shockingly recent(See that Q50 Eau Rouge?!)
This 1200 truck needed some attention and this was recently shipped from the Heritage Collection to ZCG for some love!
There were way too many cool cars to mention so please check out the photo gallery and video below!
Here is a video of our visit to the Nissan Heritage Collection, enjoy!
Datsun Roadsters
The Datsun Sports (310/311) or affectionately known as “Datsun Roadsters” are some of our favorite models. We were both surprised and happy to find that Jonathan and Dan had recently rescued a few from a barn. All of the cars they recovered were interestingly “2000” models from 1968 to 1980. Thanks to their efforts these gems will be restored and driven!
Thank You
We thank Nissan, Dan Passe and Jonathan Buhler for the opportunity to visit. The Z Proto is a winner and we were throughly impressed with the Heritage Collection and your efforts to keep it alive. Looking forward to working with you in the future, LONG LIVE THE Z!
This 1971 Nissan Skyline has been in the Z Car Garage family for several years and currently resides in Georgia with owner Randy Jaffe. Randy has built a few notable cars with ZCG including the Rocketbunny Series1 240Z and #46 BRE Datsun 240Z driven by John Morton:
How did he end up with this JDM beauty? Randy has always loved the stance and looks of these early, “Hakosuka” Skylines and wanted to experience right-hand drive (RHD). Timing was perfect as our customer Alex McDowell was willing to part with his 2000 GT-X:
Under Alex’s ownership ZCG maintained the car for many years. It did not need much to prepare for delivery to Randy. We performed a full tune-up, sync’d the triple carbs, changed the fluids, handled minor cosmetics (like straightening the bumper) and it was shipped off to Georgia:
Randy’s Way
If there is one thing about Randy we admire, it’s his attention to detail. Ok, we like his sense of style too 🙂 Upon arrival he mounted fresh set of chunky Toyo tires on those iconic Watanabe wheels. Inside, he removed the carpet and replaced it with original style GT-R vinyl covering. The tan seats were reupholstered to red.
The car was originally a white GT-X and when I asked Randy of any future mods he replied:
“I am thinking about dropping one of the Parkinson race motors in it to give the car more power – the original 2.0 is sluggish compared to what I enjoy driving. If I do that I will pull all of the A/C parts off of it and clean up the engine bay. To be continued!”
Randy applied the Hakosuka racecar-inspired livery:
Here is a walk-around of the Hako, with more pictures in the gallery below.
We are happy to report that Randy is Enjoying The Ride and even won an award at the local Caffeine and Octane show:
More to Come
You may have noticed some really cool cars in the background. Randy has several Nissans/Datsuns in his collection that we are excited to share with you in upcoming blog posts! For now, LONG LIVE THE HAKOSUKA!
We have several exciting projects at the shop that will get full reports on zcarblog.com. This is only a brief sample, please tune into our Instagram story for more sights and sounds.
Return of the #46 BRE Datsun 240Z!
The BRE #46 Z is back from paint by our man William and it is finally getting the hand-painted livery applied at the shop as I write this. You may recall that the Z was flipped on to its roof with John Morton at the wheel racing at the 2019 Classic 24hr race at Daytona International Speedway
The Z will be re-assembled, dyno tuned and tested in a few weeks at Sonoma with our hero John Morton and Rob Fuller! Super amped to see #46 back in fighting form and very happy for owner Randy Jaffe. Check our IG story to see the livery being applied by hand, this is a lost art and incredible to watch.
1970 Salt Flat Racer Datsun 240z
This historically significant 1970 Datsun 240z was built by a team of Nissan employees to compete at Bonneville in the F/GT class. In 1976 their efforts resulted in a new land speed record of 166.037 mph, which stood unbroken until 1985. This Z resided in the Nissan Museum and is now in the care of Randy Jaffe. Lots of neat details the Z 432R seats and G-nose. More to come! Big thanks to Randy and Nissan for letting us bring this Z back to life. We just finished the exhaust and dyno tuning,
One of many Z32s we are working on, Steve’s will get a full report soon as well as the Stillen SMZ:
Jim’s 1971 Datsun 240z returned for a Rebello 3.2L with triple-Mikuni carbs on a Harada intake and CD009a 6-speed transmission:
Several S30 Z cars are getting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) like these two 280zs:
This is a 1972 Official OMS Pace Car Duplicate. It is at present one of only two known survivors. Fifty were originally produced by Nissan Motors to commemorate the DATSUN 240Z being selected by the Ontario Motor Speedway to Pace the 1972 “U.S.A.C. California 500 Championship”. This one belongs to our long time customer and friend Linda. More to come!
B-Sedan Datsun 510s!
Larry Oka’s B-sedan is getting built and prepped with our Z Car Garage CV Axles. The Corky Bell 510 is also scheduled for a full restoration:
R32 Skylines!
Mike’s R32 GT-R is back for turbo, fueling and exhaust upgrades, full report soon! #TETUESDAY
We just got this really clean R32 GTS-T in:
Dyno Tuning your 350z/370z/Q/G
We have been dyno tuning your late model Nissan/Infiniti sports car daily. Bolt-ons, UPREV tuning, “popcorn” maps. Our customers leave happy with more performance. Call us to schedule an appointment! Here are just a few cars:
LONG LIVE THE Z! Check out our Instagram story for more updates!
