You might remember this 370 from awhile ago when we installed a set of Berk high-flow catalytic converters as well as a Stillen exhaust system and the car put down over 300 wheel horsepower.   Well it came back last week to add a few parts to help it handle as well as it accelerates now.  We started off with the standard Eibach Springs Pro Kit and then added upper front control arms and rear lower control arms to keep the excessive camber in check.

The adjustable SPC Performance control arms allow for a perfect alignment on the track or the street.  The front arms are of a hybrid tubular design which allows for increased strength and reduced flex over the cast aluminum pieces.  They come with all the bushings pre-installed so installation is a snap, for the most part, and they are finished in a semi-gloss black which is a shop favorite.

To stiffen things up even more we also installed a set of new sway bars from Hotchkis suspension.  We have been using these for years on most of the newer Zs and Gs and are always satisfied with the decreased body roll and planted feeling that they provide in the corners.

Not wanting to leave things looking stock, the owner opted for a couple of exterior paint changes.  Now the car was sent over to Williams Autobody to have the front “fangs” and the rear exhaust surround painted in a semi-gloss black.  This is a nice and easy way for the owner to set his Z apart from the crowd (unless the ZCG 370 is around), but to take it one step further we also sent the factory “Sport” wheels out for a quality powder coating job.  What color?  You guessed it, semi-gloss black.  I think it looks awesome.  No one will be mistaking this car now.  (We put the car on our spare R35 GT-R wheels until the stockers came back)

In the end, the tasteful modifications done to this 370z will allow the owner to enjoy his car to it’s fullest, or until he comes back for more anyway….  The 370z just keeps getting better and better.

The full gallery is after the “read more” from beginning to end to show you the ride height change and such  ENJOY!!

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First off we would like to congratulate the owner of this car on it’s (now not so recent) purchase!  He traded in his ’05 35th Anniversary edition with the VQ35DE engine for this ’08, it turns out he just couldn’t resist the call of the HR!!

This build started off some time ago when it came into Z Car Garage fully stock with plans for a simple Injen intake system, a new-to-the-market ARK cat-back exhaust system, and a set of high flow catalytic converters.  It turns out that we saw nearly zero gain from the ARK exhaust (we tested it on it’s own with no other modifications) and the fitment was beyond terrible so it was packed up and sent back immediately.  Bummer I know.

Not willing to accept defeat we decided to go with the tried and true Bassani cat-back system in search of actual power.  The new exhaust came right back at us with a nice gain and the Bassani exhaust note can only be described as GLORIOUS!

Now that the car had a little bit of get-up-and-go the owner decided to upgrade the rolling stock, and with a set of VOLK wheels it is hard to go wrong.  A hard to find, and very expensive, set of VOLK GTS wheels (with a killer looking matte black center) was chosen and wrapped in Toyo Proxes rubber which I’m pretty sure are 255’s in the front and 285’s in the rear.

This list of mods was able to hold him over for awhile-ish.  Actually the need for more power and a killer stance on the Z33 was eating away at him… as it does all of us.  Now a set of Stillen headers were ordered and added to the mix.  More exhaust flow means more power… within reason of course in a normally aspirated engine.  To up the ante one more level we also contacted UPREV and decided to do a computer re-flash so that we could form the timing and ignition maps to a higher level.

All of the hardware changes without the re-tune netted us 18 horsepower and 12 ft/lbs of torque at the rear wheels.  From here on out we started to play with the UPREV re-flash system.  You will see from the dyno graph that it took us quite a few runs to get the tune to where we were happy with it.  We were able to gain 8hp and 1 ft/lb of torque and we still think that there may be a little more in the Z.  We have the software to re-tune the car anytime we wish now so we will be taking another crack at it in the near future.  Plus I have a feeling that there will be a few more modifications done which will require further tuning magic.

Now to obtain the proper stance for the car a set of PSS10 Bilstien coil-overs were delivered to the shop.  It even says on the shock that they are tested on the Nurburgring, how cool is that? (see photos after the jump)  The issue here with a Z or G is that camber becomes an issue when the lowering gets aggressive.  Once again a preemptive strike was made before any problems arose with by installing front and read adjustable control arms from SPL Parts.  One look at the pictures of these parts and you understand why they are so special.  Furthermore we also installed a new set of Hotchkis swaybars just so that we left no suspension stone unturned.  Looks and awesome handling should always go hand in hand.

You can see from the final picture here that the car now has that killer stance and a good amount of new found power to go along with it.  But, like the title says, I’m pretty sure this car will continue to be built up in the constant pursuit of the perfect Z.  Will the owner ever reach it?  Only time will tell, and we are certainly willing to help.

There are quite a few more photos after the ‘read more’ at the bottom so check them out!!

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We love adding goodies to the ZCG 370z but it is tough to keep up with it because business is as busy as ever!!  This last week though we were finally able to install the Hotchkis swaybars that have been waiting in the wings.

The new bars are of a tubular design (hollow, to save weight) in 35mm and 27mm front and rear receptively.  They came with all the bushings and parts to make the install as easy as can be.  As you can see from the comparison photos below they are certainly beefier that the outgoing stock units and they now have a durable anthracite powder coat finish.

The car feels a bit more planted with noticeably less body roll which is always nice, but we really need to get the car out on track or at least to a local autocross to give some serious feedback.

If you are interested in ordering any suspension parts for your Z or G send Rob an email at Rob@zcargarage.com