Filed under: Performance,Q50,Q60
by Alvin G @ 8:50 pm on November 6, 2023
John E came to Z Car Garage through a dealership connection at Dublin Infiniti. He purchased this Q50S Red Sport in 2019 with 46k miles on the odometer and it was time for bolt-on performance upgrades with dyno tuning.
We installed several parts from AMS Performance including their AMS Heat Exchanger, AMS Coolant expansion tank. Helping the VR30DDT engine breathe are AMS downpipes and a full Fast Intentions cat-back exhaust system. Photos of each are shown below.
The new AMS heat exchanger compared to the stock unit and installation:
AMS expansion tank installed replacing two plastic OEM units:
AMS downpipes:
The Fast Intentions cat-back exhaust replaces the restrictive OEM system:
Standard exhaust tips on the FI exhaust system, we love the quality, fitment and sound of these parts:
We also installed new Hotchkis sway bars front/rear. Stock vs new below:
Dyno Tuning
Straight from the factory, the VR30DDTT is an impressive motor rate at 400 hp and 350 ft-lbs tq stock. It is actually 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 tuned John’s Q50 using EcuTek, making 404hp/435tq at the wheels. A significant improvement over the 336hp/338tq baseline:
Enjoy the dyno video below:
Enjoy The Boost John!
Are you ready for upgrades on your late model Nissan/Infiniti? Give us a call or e-mail!
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!
We met Henry L in 2019 when he brought his 370Z in to Z Car Garage for bolt-ons and eventual forced-induction. Henry is a fellow gearhead with an Alfa Romeo 4C spider but his passion for the Z started at an early age:
“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!
Henry has been Enjoying The Ride in his supercharged 370Z.
“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:
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!
We have been working with Mike M and his 2006 Z33 since last year. With every visit to ZCG this 350z gets upgraded in both power and chassis areas. In November 2017, with 111k miles on the VQ a Vortech supercharger was installed with supporting mods:
Chassis improvements: KW V3 coil overs, SPC front/rear control arms, Hotchkis sway bars and a full alignment. We also installed ART pipes to replace the factory cats:
Hotchkis front and rear sway bars:
ART Pipes:
Mike’s latest visit to ZCG included fueling, gauges and more power upgrades. The fuel system was converted to support E85/ethanol starting with a Walbro 485 in-tank fuel pump:
Next, a CJ Motorsports Stage 2 fuel return system help keep up with the Walbro pump:
Increased fuel demands of E85 require larger fuel injectors so we installed IDX 1050CC units. A Zeitronix ethanol sensor is critical for monitoring E85 content:
The brains to managing the E85 content is a Haltech Platinum Pro plug-in. A PLX Devices dm6 AFR/gen4 gauge pod also accommodates the Zeitronix ethanol sensor readout:
Final power adder was a 2.87 pulley for the supercharger and our ZCG air bypass for the race gate:
From the dyno charts below, having the ability to change the ethanol content of fuel allows for more hp/torque. More smiles per gallon as well with E85 currently at $1.99/gallon
(left) Baseline before Haltech tuning: 331hp/286tq and (right) baseline to 91 octane tune with Haltech: 346hp/303tq to the wheels
Final 91 octane tune with the Haltech: 364hp/306tq at the wheels:
75% Ethanol tune: 421hp/345tq to the wheels:
To balance an extra 126hp power from the Vortech we installed a Stoptech Big-Brake Kit. Up front are 332mm ST40 calipers in red, with slotted rotors:
Stock vs Stoptech:
The new brake also look great behind the Enkei RPF1 wheels:
