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Gustavo’s G35

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,g35,Maintenance,Performance
by Alvin G @ 5:07 pm on February 2, 2017

 

Gustavo L has been bringing his 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe for bolt-ons the last few years. His first visit was for a Motordyne plenum spacer and UPREV tune. Last May, Gustavo came back to ZCG with a plan for more new parts including a full exhaust system, ART pipes, 60k service and a TransGO shift kit.

Motordyne exhaust:

 
 

Firmer shifts on this automatic with the shift kit:

 
 

Quicker acceleration with shorter gearing courtesy of Z1 rear diff. Gustavo purchase an entire assembly from Z1 and we installed it with Whiteline diff bushings”

 

We performed a re-tune with UPREV and saw gains of 19hp/10tq for a total of 247hp/233tq to the wheels.  Power is increased throughout the entire rev band:

 

Gustavo brings his car from Watsonville which is a bit of a hike but totally worth it for the power of ZCG! He is stoked and Enjoying The Ride!

 

 




Fun Commuter: Daniel’s G35 Sedan

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,g35,Maintenance,Performance
by Alvin G @ 11:43 pm on July 11, 2016

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Daniel M came to ZCG to add a few touches to his commuter: a 2007 Infiniti G35 sedan. With 69k on the clock we installed a Stillen Gen. 2 cat-back exhaust system, UPREV tuning and Hotchkis sway bars.

 

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Before/after of the Stillen cat-back exhaust system:

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The exhsust looks and sounds great:

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UPREV tuning yielded gains of 9hp/7tq to the wheels:

Daniel M G35 Baseline and Final UPREV Stillen exhaust
 

Enjoy The Commute, Daniel!




400whp Sleeper: Paul’s Vortech Supercharged G35

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,g35,Performance
by Alvin G @ 11:18 am on February 15, 2016

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Paul S owns a smog shop in South San Francisco and contacted us about making his Infiniti G35 a “sleeper”. You know, the kind of car that looks very stock from the outside but gets down like the “other” high-hp cars coming out of Z Car Garage. We discussed options for forced induction and decided on a Vortech supercharger–making good power and having CARB legal status was very attractive.

 

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The VQ had 98k miles and to prepare for boost we performed some preventative maintenance including a thermostat change.  The Vortech kit was the V3 model which is self-lubricating and polished:

 

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We installed a JWT HD Clutch and Flywheel:
…[read more]




Scott’s Vortech Supercharged G35

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,g35,Performance
by Alvin G @ 10:06 pm on December 28, 2014

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Scott C has been with Z Car Garage since our opening in 2004.  Over the years we have worked with Scott to build his G35 coupe into a formidable sportscar while maintaing its stock-ish looks. With 49k miles on his G35 he visited us in 2010 to discuss Forced Induction options.  We did a full Vortech supercharger installation with supporting mods including a Bassani cat-back exhaust system, JWT cams, headers, ZCG oil cooler and DEFI gauges.

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Scott throughly enjoyed his boosted G for a year and in 2011 came back to us for a KarumaZ front fascia to allow more airflow to the intercooler. In 2014 Scott wanted more power so we built a low-compression VQ with forged internals and a host of speed parts. Here is the engine coming out and a few shots of the new internals:

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We added 1000cc injectors, GT MAF, Aeromotive 340 fuel pump and a SI blower wheel upgrade:

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An even larger front mount intercooler:

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Berk Hi-Flow cats:

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With the built engine and supporting mods in place we UPREV tuned the G35 making 429hp/361tq to the wheels. Significant improvements over the stock-block based setup at 375hp/311tq for this automatic-equipped VQ:

Scott C G35 Final and base (1)
 

With the added power upgrading the stock braking system naturally was a prudent idea.   Scott’s G was treated to a full Stoptech Big-Brake Kit up front using their 332mm rotors and ST-40 calipers in red. Rear brakes were upgraded with a Stoptech Sport Kit and OEM calipers were color matched. We love the 309 pads as they are a sweet compound for aggressive driving. 

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OEM vs Stoptech up front:

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Thick, vented rotors and huge calipers help shed heat for repeated fade-free braking:

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Rear calipers were color-matched and grab Stoptech rotors:

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The new calipers look great behind the OEM wheels:

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Finally, GT-spec braces add some rigidity to the chassis:

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We are happy to see Scott’s G35 evolve into a well-rounded 400hp+ street sleeper, Enjoy The Ride!

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Taking it to The Track!

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Maintenance,Performance
by Alvin G @ 1:01 am on December 20, 2014

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Here at Z Car Garage we LOVE to drive our cars on the racetrack. Open “Track Day” or High Performance Driving Events (HPDEs) are excellent venues to familiarize yourself with a car and its limits while having fun in a safe, controlled environment.  Two of our customers recently shared their first track-day experiences with us and they had a blast!

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We supercharged Robert C’s G35 last year and he decided it was time to do his first track event at Laguna Seca Raceway. He’s added these gorgeous RAYS Gram Lights 57Xtreme wheels since his last visit:

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Rob!
Just want to tell you I had a incredible day at Laguna. David Ray is a great guy and awesome teacher. We spent the first three session working on line, smoothness and consistency with both until I had all 11 corners worked out. The 4th session we put it all together as he pushed me and it was phenomenal! When I IR’d the front rotors after the session I was over 500 degrees and they were smoking. Happy to report brakes are still great and no warpage on the rotors. Ironically David mentioned doing an ST40 upgrade which we already quoted earlier so know that is still on the radar for my next track day. Nice to have someone just back up a buying decision without asking. I did graduate to Solo and was told to register for Group B next time so pretty pleased about that. On the upside I have marked “Drive my car at Leguna and hit the corkscrew” off my bucket list. On the even bigger upside I’ve added “1) Go drive Laguna more. 2) Drive Infineon. 3) Drive Thunderhill and 4)Drive Buttonwillow.” to the list.

David had praise for the current work done on the car and I have to agree. The work you and team have done since October last year has made this car even more enjoyable and something to proudly run on a track. The car had zero issues and feels no worse from the day.

Robert C.

 

In October we added some bolt-ons and tuned Garth J’s 350z preparing him for a day at Thunderhill Raceway:

Hi Rob,

Thunderhill track day was awesome a few weeks back. Car felt great. The Bridgestone S04’s were a major upgrade. Thanks for preparing the car for a great experience. I’m thinking about auto-crossing next season.Will be needing some routine maintenance in the new year. Can we schedule something mid January? Happy Holidays.

Garth J.

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Ready to experience your Nissan/Infiniti on the track? We can help!




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