We tuned Maximus’ 2014 370z on his last visit to ZCG with gains of 30whp using bolt-on parts. Power can be addicting, and soon Max told us he was ready for boost. We chose the Stillen supercharger kit for its CARB-legal status and straightforward installation.
With only 28k miles on the odometer we installed the Black Edition Stillen kit and our standard ZCG supporting mods like a Concept Z performance 25-row oil cooler and automatic transmission cooler. A few pictures of the installation:
The completed supercharger install:
Max’s Z had an open diff so we did installed an OS Giken limited-slip diff and gearset from the 370z 6spd MT:
Hotchkis front/rear Sway bars:
On the dyno, Rob performed an ECutek tune yielding 383hp/304tq to the wheels:
Jose B visited us in April to troubleshoot some noises and install his Motordyne exhaust and Stillen intakes. We also UPREV dyno-tuned the 370Z, making an impressive 345hp/265tq to the wheels. Jose recently came back to ZCG for a big-brake upgrade.
Paolo M came to ZCG for a differential build on his 370z. The G35/350z and G37/370z cars all share the same diff bushing failure due to aggressive driving or simple wear and tear. From Nissan, the OEM diff bushing is filled with silicone, and will burst/leak this fluid resulting in a noticeable clunk when shifting. Paulo’s Z34 had the tell-tale sign of the diff bushing failure, with visible leakage on the cover:
Nissan will not replace the bushing alone. By design, Nissan wants you to replace the entire rear subframe at a substantial cost. Fortunately, Whiteline makes a really nice bushing that can be installed and it is a mandatory solution whenever we perform a diff job at ZCG. In addition to replacing the diff bushings, we replaced the bearings, changed the final drive and installed an OS Giken limited-slip unit:
The diff is removed from the Z and OS Giken LSD prepped:
We check the pinion depth by testing the wear pattern on the ring gear with paint:
For an added piece of security for the differential we installed a NISMO diff cover. Its extra oil capacity and finned design aid in cooling for hard driving. The unit was filled with OS Giken gear oil:
We finished with an engine oil change and Paolo was back on the road. He’s visited ZCG several times and we like working on his Z34. Enjoy The Ride Paolo!
The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) hosted their Annual Car Show in Brisbane, CA on July 28, 2018. Attendance was down from last year’s show, but didn’t stop Nissan/Datsun fans from bringing out their rides on a warm Saturday.
This was a relaxed, relatively small gathering of enthusiasts that I joined with my Datsun Roadster. I left San Jose and drove ~40minutes just past SFO to the Brisbane Marina. I stopped for a quick photo op near my office before rolling into the show after 10am:
Highlights from the show
Still to this day, 240Zs are the most represented model in the club. Expansion over time currently includes all recent Z models and the GT-R, but also reaches back in time to include the Datsun Roadsters and 510s. 37 cars were displayed this year, each one of them special and showing pride of ownership. The only models missing from the show was the S130 280zx and GT-R.
From showroom stock to wildly-modified the S30 selection was diverse. This was a wild one: an IMSA-bodied Z!
Two showrooom-stock examples:
Check out the period EMPI split-rim wheels on this Safari Gold S30:
Modified Z’s with trick suspensions, triple side-draft Mikuni’s/Weber’s and modern paint schemes. This Sunshine Yellow Z was the only car sporting fender flares:
A solo 1970 Series1 Z:
260z and 280z
ZCG customer Joe A showed his pretty 260z (full report on the blog soon):
Linda W’s 1978 280z
Winning Best 280z and Best of Show was this ultra-clean fully restored example:
People
We like this show because of the laid-back atmosphere and good folks that organize it. There was a great raffle, awards presentation and having banners for each model was a touch of genius. The banners will be displayed that will be carried on at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion next month!
Z32
4 Z32 300zx cars were displayed, all in different colors. Joe K and Kevin N’s Z32 Twin Turbos are both top-level examples of highly modified yet tasteful machines.
Old-school Racing Hart wheels house massive Brembo calipers on Kevin’s silver beauty:
Z31
The lone Z31 300zx was a 1984 Anniversary Turbo model!
Z33
Five 350z and 1 Z Roadster were in attendance. It was a pleasure seeing ZCG customer Dan Fulton and his track-prepped 350z:
Z34
6 370z cars including 1 wild NISMO Z:
510s
Three Datsuns 510s showed up, each sporting different powerplants and body styles. The crowd favorite (and winner) was Matt’s 510. This boosted KA24DE Dime also won Best Paint:
Jose’s SR-pwoered 4-door with an S13 SR20DET (note S13.5 valve cover!) 18″ SSR SP3 wheels and Brembo brakes from MArio of TSR:
The last time I saw Jose we both attended the Spocom Show in 2015. Since then he has added many titanium parts to the engine bay from ChasingJ’s and had the SR tuned by our friend Sebastian at SpecialtyZ. It’s now making 410whp!
The RL411 Bluebird
Our customer Kevin M brought his 1967 411 sedan, we will have a full story on this build soon!
Roadsters
This year we had three Datsun Roadsters. My 1967.5 SPL/SR20, Dave Premo’s 1967 2000 and John Baker’s 1969 2000. Dave’s SRL is car #406 finished in Turquoise sporting a full Mikuni-Solex “competition” package and 4:11 rear end. He is also Solex-tuning expert offering Mikuni parts and service:
John Baker’s 69 SRL is a concours-level example with rare parts like a day/night mirror. The diminutive 5.60 bias-ply tires look just right! This roadster was featured in Automobile Magazine with John Morton behind the wheel!
A few more of the cool details. John won Best Roadster!
I had to get some rolling shots of this roadster, it looks so good on the road!
Vanity plates
It’s no secret Z car owners have the best vanity plates! Some notables:
Parking lot finds
The beautiful venue is also a public park so plenty of folks stopped by to check out the Z’s. I spotted two S-chassis rolling through:
See you next year!
Spending the day at the ZONC Annual Car Show was a welcome experience that reminded us to, in the words of the late Mr.K, ” Love cars. Love people. Love Life.” We look forward to the next show keep an eye on our event updates and Z you soon! Don’t forget to check out our picture gallery below. Big thanks to the ZONC organizers!
Maximus Y is from the valley and spent the day in San Jose with his wife while ZCG we tuned his 2014 370z. Max supplied the Power Package from Z1 Motorsports, consisting of test pipes, tubular exhaust headers and a modified upper intake manifold:
Since we had not installed these parts from Z1 before, we dyno tested them followed by UPREV tuning.
First, we installed the Z1 upper intake manifold:
Baseline before installation of the Power Package was 297hp/248tq at the wheels. The Z1 intake added ~5hp/6tq:
Next, the exhaust parts were installed. OEM vs Z1 exhaust headers:
OEM vs Z1 test pipes:
From the Z1 intake to headers/test pipes we saw gains of 20hp/13tq to the wheels. The dyno reveals significant mid to high rpm improvement:
Finally, Rob UPREV tuned for even more gains of 10hp making a total of 322hp/256tq to the wheels. An improvement over baseline of 30hp/14tq at the wheels:
We chatted with Max and with 27k miles on the odometer he will be visiting ZCG again to supercharge his Z! Stay tuned!
