Z Car Garage has been supporting the Nissan/Infiniti Z and G-series sports cars since 2004. At just about any time during the day at our shop you can spot a 350Z, 370Z or G37 undergoing routine maintenance or performance upgrades. Many of our late-model Z car clients are referrals and we are happy to oblige when scheduling allows. We met Frank M in 2020 when he had us perform clutch work on his 370Z. The install went super smooth, and Frank and Rob began their relationship.

“I first heard about The Z car garage through another Z car enthusiast, he had nothing but great things to say about the service he had received working with the crew there. I reached out the Rob to have my 370Z’s clutch replaced with the Z-Speed CMAK clutch kit. That was the first job you all did for me.”

A common issue on the 370Z is the internal slave failing due to heat. Thankfully Z Speed Performance makes a kit to convert the internal slave to external (CMAK Upgrade). We installed their Stage 1 Clutch kit on Frank’s Z:

  

On his next visit to ZCG, Frank had us perform an alignment after suspension work including Eibach Pro-kit lowering springs (KW-V3 coil-overs next) and Hotchkis front and rear sway bars and SPC rear adjustable camber arms. We also replaced the rear diff bushings with new Whiteline parts.

Frank is a handy guy and he’s done much of the work on his Z himself. For something that is beyond the scope of a simple weekend project he brings it to ZCG. In summer 2022, with 77k miles Frank installed an oil pressure gauge (VLS) and didn’t like the levels it was reading. There is a very common issue on the VQ37HR where  oil gallery gaskets fail, resulting in low-oil pressure to front of the engine.

CPZ makes updated gallery gasket with really nice hardware. At the same time to help with oil cooling we installed the CPZ 25-row oil cooler with a thermostatically-controlled Setrab unit:

Wheels Make the Car

Mark has great taste in wheels, choosing a set of Work Racing CR2Pwith Michelin Pilot Sport 4s tires 265/35 and 305/30 rears:

We spent time with the 2023 Nissan Z back in June and Frank was kind enough to lend us his WORK wheels to test fit on the RZ34:

Frank purchased his 370Z bone stock, being the second owner and has added the following mods:

Drive train 

Fast Intentions stainless steel CBE exhaust

Stop Tech front and rear vented drilled and slotted zinc coated rotors

Stop Tech carbon ceramic pads front and rear

Stillen CARB legal cold air intakes

VLS oil pressure gauge

Aesthetics

Custom retrofitted headlights by me honey comb projector lens. Blue demon eye. Black and gunmetal paint job plus new Morimoto clear lenses.

Evo-R carbon fang cover,carbon type three front lip, carbon upper bumper cover, pearl white base carbon top high wing and CF door handles

Fujimura rear lower diffuser

Enjoying The Ride

You can catch Frank carving up the Bay Area backroads like HWY 9 runs up to Skyline and Alice’s:

Frank is stoked with his Z car:

“The performance gains from the work Z Car Garage performed was great. The clutch feel is much improved and does not slip it also seems to shift smoother. The oil pressure is up 15 pounds at idle from the oil gallery gaskets and the car runs much cooler after the oil cooler install. I think the cooler temps help the car not heat soak on hot days while pushing it on back roads. The best thing about the Z car Garage is when I leave my car there for service, I never worry about it being there. I know the car is taken care of as if Rob owned it himself. I have nothing but good thing to say about you all. I do a lot of work on the car myself but Z Car Garage is the only shop I will use if I need the help.”

Thanks for your support Frank it was pleasure working with you and seeing enjoy your Z. See more photos in the gallery below, and contact us to schedule an appointment for dyno tuning, maintenance or upgrades on your 370Z or Infiniti sports car!

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“My first dream car was 350Z. I learned about Z cars in my college days and I recall a cool kid driving one while I was waiting at a bus stop in the cold rain. We had an opportunity to buy a new car and I was very fortunate that it could be a Z. After purchasing the 370Z, 6 months later went to ZCG and the journey began. No offense to stock Zs but these are meant to be modified 🙂 My wife and I both love our Z and I thank her for  supporting my hobby 🙂 “

Bolt-on Beginnings

With only a few months of owner-hip of his new 370s Sport Touring Henry visited us for upgrades. The latest Z34s had ECU changes and no software support at the time. Henry knew he wanted to go forced-induction so in the interim we started bolt-on upgrades. In April of 2019 the chassis was treated to full KWV3 coil-over suspension with SPC F/R control arms and Hotchkis sway bars:

A few installation pictures, followed by a full alignment:

A cat-back exhaust system from Armytrix with Valvetronic sound adjustment:

Henry requested a new steering wheel install:

Stock (with a cover) removed and new carbon fiber + alcantara-trimmed wheel installed:

Time For Boost

With 12k miles on the odometer Henry was ready for boost. We ordered the Stillen supercharger kit (black), CARB-legal for piece of mind. Supporting parts included a Concept Z 25-row oil cooler (thermostatically controlled), Stillen transmission cooler and fueling upgrades. Here a few pictures of the installation:

Fueling upgrades include a CJ Motorsports stage 1 fuel return system and billet fuel pump hat, 1300cc Injector Dynamics injectors, Hellcat Wallbro fuel pump, SpecialtyZ flex fuel kit:

 

The SpecialtyZ flex-fuel kit comes with a Zeitronix gauge that we mounted in pace of the OEM clock:

Cooling upgrades include Soho Motorsports air-to-air intercooler, Concept Z 25-row oil cooler (thermostatically controlled) and Stillen transmission cooler. Also shown is the Fast Intentions crash bar with tow-hook:

Oil and transmission coolers:

We installed a Fast Intentions billet flex-plate, much stronger than the OEM unit:

Finally, we changed the exhaust from Armytrix to an ARK Grip setup paired with ART Pipes from Motordyne:

Henry loves the current exhaust setup:

“I’ve gone through Nismo OEM, Armytrix, and eventually settled with Rob and a friend of mine’s suggestion for the forced induction route: Ark grip catback system + Motordyne art pipes = the deep growl without screaming. Sort of the centered idea of the goals of my Z project – subtle power without drawing attention.”

Dyno Tuning

We wanted the most efficent blower wheel to run ethanol so the V3 SI blower wheel was installed. Ecutek software  was used for tuning, MAP-based with omni sensor.

Shown below are dyno graphs from when Henry was NA to 91 octane and E75 tunes on the Vortech. NA, the Z made 316hp/252tq and a 91 octane tune supercharged yielded 501hp/370tq at the wheels:

Rob then tuned the Z on E75 for 573hp/426tq at the wheels:

 

Enjoy the dyno tuning video!

We are very happy with the results and even more stoked to hear Henry’s feedback on the supercharger and tuning performance:

“The supercharger is very daily usable and power whenever I want!  The sc mods put together and tuned by Rob for a 7at Z is able to reach 570+ whp and 430 wtrq and still feel smooth and dramatic at the same time is absolutely beyond my expectation (I followed every ZCG 370Z blog posts and it’s a honor to be one of the highest power 370Z from ZCG, hats off to Rob) And did I mention daily-driveable? Good surprise for me. In addition, Rob has been really patient and knowledgeable for all my questions and requests and late night text regarding my Z. It really felt like we built the car together but it’s all his magic touches! I really appreciate the journey! More to come”

Wheels Make the Car

We have said it before: wheels make or break a car.  After long discussions with Henry we decided on the Ray’s TE37 Ultra Track Edition II. Finished in Blast Black and sized 19×9.5/10.5 these wheels look perfect on the Z34.

We love the little details Ray’s applied:

Enjoy The Boost!

“I love my Z and ZCG! Long live the Z! ZCG has been the place to go if you love Z cars, new or classic. Rob and the shop/crew exude passion for Z cars and you immediately know they will take care of your Z and your Z will be among its family. Rob has been great through the journey and worked with “our” Z. I am sure there is more to come for my Z with ZCG!”

 

You can follow Henry here on Instagram. What’s next for his Z? He’s playing with idea of a body kit but trying to maintain that subtle-aesthetic approach in his build. Stay tuned! Thank you Henry for letting us build your Z. It’s very cool for us as a shop trying to make 50-old cars keep with cars like this. We enjoy playing with the new stuff just as much as the classics. LONG LIVE THE Z! More pictures in the gallery below:

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At Z Car Garage we live for anything Nissan/Datsun and that includes late model cars like the 350z. The Z33 has been part of our customer base since the beginning, spanning everything from NA and forced induction to full track-spec builds. Josh visited us last year to discuss supercharging his 2008 350z. He acquired it completely stock 3 years ago and slowly began the modification process.

Josh signed on for a Stillen supercharger kit (satin, CARB legal) and we installed it with our typical supporting mods like GTR plugs, and Concept Performance Z 25-row oil cooler  (Setrab, T-stat controlled).

The front end needed work to accomodate Josh’s front crash bar. We shifted items around like the water-air exchanger to retain functionality:

Josh also requested installation of parts he had purchased previously like Tomei cams/valve springs for the HR engine. These units worked really well with the blower as seen in the dyno below. A few cam install pictures:

The transmission was crunchy in 3rd and 5th gear so we installed a brand new OEM CD009 transmission:

Backing the VQ is a Z Speed Performance South Bend stage 2 clutch with internal slave delete (CMAK upgrade):

For piece of mind we replaced all engine gaskets and seals:

The differential bushings were replaced with Whiteline parts:

Before/after the Stillen Supercharger installation:

On the dyno the Z made 286hp/252tq baseline. Rob UPREV tuned with the Stillen supercharger making 427hp/311tq at the wheels:

Enjoy the dyno video:

Finally, we had our man William install Josh’s supplied carbon fiber hood, fenders and hood pins.

Josh was really happy with the results and he’s been texting us often:

“I brought in my base model 350z to Rob to get it Supercharged, cammed, and a transmission swap. I was pleased with Rob and the teams work, they knew what was needed for the build. The tune is excellent, I haven’t had any issues with engine codes after excessive driving.”

Enjoy The Boost Josh!

More pics in the gallery below

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Jay H has been our customer since the beginning. He has a Datsun 240z, Mazda (FD) RX-7 and this 1990 Aztec Red 300ZX Twin Turbo that he’s owned for many years.  Living in a rural, wooded area the Z’s wiring got chewed on by rodents. We fixed the wiring and got the car running again but more issues surfaced. Jay loves this Z so much and it had 122k miles so he decided it was time give it some serious attention.

Z Car Garage was happy to oblige as we think the Z32 is one of the best Japanese sports car of the 90’s.

Engine Bay and Drivetrain

The engine bay was in need of major cleaning and restoration. First, we performed a compression/leakdown test and the Z passed. With the engine out now we could focus on cleanup:

We installed a new engine room wiring harness. Every coolant hose, bypass hose, vacuum hose was replaced. A new underhood insulator with clips replaced the torn oem piece.

All p/s hoses were replaced and we modified the p/s steering pump to reduce clutter and eliminate the HICAS completely:

The engine was treated to full reseal and timing belt services, more pictures of the engine build in the gallery!

With a clean bill of health we installed several performance upgrades including JWT sport 500 turbos, BDE billet half moons/motor mounts, Ashpsec inlet piping, Selin dual-MAF with HR  low-profiles filters/two Z32 MAFs and Nismo 740cc injectors:

No turbo upgrade is complete without the Mike Smith turbo manifolds with EGR ( to pass emissions). Unfortunately we will install the last set of these on Felix C’s 300, and that’s it!

BDE motor mounts:

Nismo 740cc injectors:

Ashspec inlet piping:

 

Selin dual-MAF with HR low-profile filters:

Before the engine went back in we installed a new JWT HD clutch and aluminum flywheel:

The drivetrain was re-installed with numerous items like a new fan and engine cover:

 

Exhaust upgrades included a full SpecialtyZ 3″ exhaust with 3″midpipes:

Finally, a GReddy Profec boost controller was installed in the super tidy interior:

Rob dyno tuned the Z, making 384hp/348tq to the wheels:

Exterior

With the engine bay and drivetrain sorted we turned to the body and and exterior trim. Jay wanted to do a full repaint on the car so we had it had it towed engine-out to our man William. Some before shots showing the faded paint and cracked/peeling tail light panel:

At William’s the body got some choice parts to make it look like 1990 again: Wings West Pre-’94 rear wing, JDM front fascia (with shaved license plate mount) and Jspec tail lights. With the freshly painted Z back at the shop we tackled re-assembly of new cowl panels, mouldings and various trim. All of these parts really make this Z pop:

Extensive moulding/trim replacement: T-top trim before/after shown below

Door and window trim:

  

Jspec rear and front looking sharp!

Icing on the cake are Jay’s super cool set of old WORK Equip 05 wheels.  We re-finished and polished/painted them running Bridgestone S-04 tires.

Wheels make the car and this Z looks incredible standing still and on the road:

Suspension

The chassis received a few upgrades including Stillen sways and SPL titanium HICAS delete We also replaced ABS module the clutch and brake master cylinders

One Z Car…Coming Up!

Jay didn’t have a car for the duration of the revival and he was on foot running errands near his home.  We handled all of the DMV fees foe him and Rob and Alvin delivered the Z to Jay at his residence.

It was a great experience to pull up in the 510 and Z to present it to Jay, he was all smiles:

 

Thank you Jay for bringing your 300zx to Z Car Garage. We admire your love for the Z and passion to keep it on the road in top form! Z32s ROCK! Enjoy the extensive photo gallery below:

LONG LIVE THE Z!

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Kevin M visited Z Car Garage last year for a new clutch/flywheel, JWT POP charger air filter, routine maintenance items and new WORK wheels on his beautiful Slicktop 300zx. Although the XD9 wheels were a definite upgrade aesthetically, a slight drop in ride height would do wonders for its stock suspension “off-road” stance.  We were happy to see Kevin return in October to upgrade the suspension and install a bunch of other goodies!

To dial in a lower ride-height and firm up the ride we installed Stance coil-overs. While coil-overs were being installed we also replaced several suspension parts that were either worn or could be upgraded like Z1 front control arms and SPL T/C rods:

New steering rack bushings:

Shown below is the modest ride-height drop that looks great but remains functional especially for those treacherous San Francisco roads.

Before/After:

Before:

After:

Stillen sway bars round out the suspension upgrades:

Peeking behind the lovely spokes of those WORK wheels is a Stoptech 332mm Big-Brake Kit with black calipers.

The rear calipers were color-matched, and treated to Stoptech rotors with our favorite 309 pads:

Here’s a few details that we admire Kevin for addressing: Window moldings and front cowl pieces! These are items often overlooked or neglected. With age/weathering window trim can eventually peel back and reveal bare metal underneath. The cowl can fade and crack. Fortunately ConceptZ makes a full replacement kit. We also replaced the A/C compressor and drier with new Nissan units:

Here are before/after shots of the molding and cowl:

Kevin’s slicktop Z is well-preserved with just the right amount of personal touches to make driving and owning one fun!