When we acquired our new 2023 Nissan Z the very first modification was a Fast Intentions TDX 2.5″ Cat Back Exhaust System. FI makes the best exhaust for late model Nissans/Infiniti sports cars, If you have an RZ34 this is the one to get with high quality, great fitment and a wonderful exhaust note. Enjoy our review with photos and video below.
We watched Fast Intentions grow as a company and they have never compromised their quality. Z Car Garage has installed and tested many FI cat-back exhausts on the 370Z/Q60 sports cars, the fit/finish for their 2023+ Nissan Z system is equally impressive:
OEM and Fast Intentions exhaust installed before/after:
Detailed photos of the mufflers and piping, with even more shots in the gallery below:
Dyno Proven Results
The Fast Intentions Cat Back exhaust system also provides solid power gains. We performed before and after dyno runs on our 2023 Nissan Z Performance 6MT and saw 388hp/392tq with the OEM exhaust and 399hp/394tq with the Fast Intentions exhaust. Expect even more with tuning:
Enjoy this video demonstrating the Fast Intentions exhaust on our 2023 Nissan Z. You can see and hear it in action with hot/cold start, acceleration, drive-by and in-car footage:
Enjoying The Sound
We have put a few thousand miles on our Fast Intentions exhaust and it still looks and sounds fantastic. It has been through many dyno passes, track days and mountain runs.
For more details, visit Fast Intentions to see their Fast Intentions TDX 2.5″ Cat Back Exhaust System for the 2023+ Nissan Z. Thanks to FI for delivering consistenly high-quality parts and excellent customer service. Long Live The Z!
The Safari tribute 240Z is owned by our client Randy Jaffe and Z Car Garage helped prepare this car a few years ago for a Nissan commercial. We installed new 3.0 Rebello street race motor, 1982 280ZX 5 speed transmission and OS Giken 4.11 LSD. Small details were re-created including functional Works-style side jacking points, rear bumper steps and twin-exit exhaust system. View our full report on this build HERE.
Photos by Larry Chen
Talented photographer and car culture ambassador Larry Chen captured these amazing photos and video of Randy’s Safari tribute and the New Z Safari tribute in action. You can see more photos in the official Nissan Nissan Press Release, and view behind-the-scenes footage on Larry’s Instagram.
Enjoy this video highlighting Larry Chen’s work:
Follow or Facebook and Instagram accounts for more Z car content from the SEMA show!
On September 22, Nissan invited Z Car Garage to drive the new Z from San Francisco to Los Angeles along the famed Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). The event, dubbed #NissanAdventuresPCH, was an an all-expenses-paid trip with overnight stays in SF and San Luis Obispo.
Geared towards social media content creators, Nissan hosted a cocktail hour with tips and tricks from a professional photographer/videographer and even provided personalized drone footage during the drive. It was, as promised, an unforgettable roadtrip experience with amazing company. Enjoy our report with photos and video…
My Z Car Story
Dear Zcarblog readers, while most of you know me as a die-hard Datsun Roadster owner/enthusiast, I also have a strong connection to the Z car. Most, if not all of my Z-car experiences have been possible through Rob and Z Car Garage. When I was dating my girlfriend back in 2005, Rob lent me his 1991 Nissan 30ZX Twin Turbo to enjoy. In 2007 I purchased my very own Nissan 350Z 6MT Enthusiast (above) with Stoptech big-brakes, VOLK CE28N wheels and a Nismo exhaust. My wife and I did everything in this Z from epic roadtrips to track days. In 2011 we were expecting our first child and we roadtripped down to the Solvang Datsun Roadster Show in the ZCG Nissan 370Z…
…And of course I’ve been lucky to drive the first generation 1970 Datsun 240Z on many rallies and weekend fun runs. This bring us back to the current generation Nissan Z (RZ34), and all of my Z-car memories started to come full circle in 2021 when Nissan invited us to their headquarters in Tennessee to view the pre-production “Z-Proto”:
Our journey with the current Nissan Z has been tremendous. When Nissan sent us the invitation for the PCH drive I was beyond excited for the opportunity to enjoy another roadtrip with my wife, in a Z. Like old times. So, from seeing that Ikazuchi Yellow Pearl prototype Z at Nissan HQ in 2021 to having one delivered to our driveway in 2023, Z-car karma really did come full circle:
The Drive
Day 1: San Jose to San Francisco
Nissan flew all attendees up from LA to SF to begin the drive, ending back in LA with the Z in each person’s driveway. Since I am based in San Jose, Nissan had a 6MT yellow Z delivered to our home, from LA! The adventure began with my wife and I driving up to SF to meet at our first venue, the 1 Hotel. On a rather serendipitous note, this is the same hotel we stayed in back in 2011, just prior to our first child when it was called Hotel Vitale:
After check-in we enjoyed a nice stroll by the Ferry Building and returned to the hotel for cocktails with the event group. Led by Nissan’s PR-rep Stephen O’Neil, the unifying theme for the PCH event was accessibility: The Nissan Z is an attainable sports car and social media can also be accessible. To drive this point home they enlisted the help of director/cinematographer Steven Moreno to offer tips and tricks on smartphone photography.
He even showed us his professional gimbal for shooting smooth video and each attendee was gifted a DJI OSMO 6 for smartphones. Dinner followed and this would be the start of some fascinating discussions with a wonderful group of people from all walks of life.
Day 2: SF to San Luis Obispo
Saturday’s drive would take us to San Luis Obispo via HWY 1/PCH with photo stops along the way – about 240miles. The morning started off with drivers getting a tour of the Nissan Z. The sight of 6 Z cars outside the hotel garnered attention from passerbys. As I was taking photos I noticed the yellow 6MT Z we drove up was no longer present…
…we were pleasantly surprised to find it was replaced with a Boulder Gray 9AT Performance. You may recall that we took delivery of our very own 2023 Nissan Z earlier this year. Despite having driven our 6MT Performance model extensively, I could not pass up the opportunity to drive a 9-speed automatic trim (more on this below) down the PCH. Like the 9AT, the Blue interior really grew on me with the Gray exterior:
Each Z came with the route print out and pre-programmed GPS, but all drivers were free to explore en route to the first stop ~45 miles south along PCH. We jumped in our Z and headed straight to Fort Baker for a few beauty shots with the iconic Golden Gate Bridge:
The Z drew plenty of attention in the parking lot. A gentleman named Tony chatted with us and took photos while expressing his memory and admiration of the Z car. Check out his walk-around video with narration below…it was like he was a professional content creator!
After navigating out of SF city we finally hit HWY 1 to enjoy some beautiful coastline driving. Arriving at our first photo stop/drone opportunity was one of our favorite destinations, Pescadero Beach. We’ve done many group drives out to this spot with fellow Nissan/Datsun enthusiasts:
Each driver got their own drone/video session with cinematographer Steven Moreno. For “chase” video he mounted his Gimbal to the back of a Nissan Armada (support vehicle) and our task was to follow it as close as possible. This was really fun and we had 2-way walkies to communicate with Steve while driving. The results from the drone footage were super impressive, you can see the footage in the video below. Huge thanks to Steve for sharing his passion with us!
People love the new Z and the beach lot was no different. A family visiting from NY had to check it out and we happily obliged. After a good 45min of video/photos we hopped back on to the PCH. Yeah, this Boulder Gray paint on the new Z has really got me…I took many photos 🙂
Enjoy this video we put together of the PCH drive:
The weather was fantastic along HWY1 so we stopped by Monterey to visit my favorite race track, Laguna Seca! Yes, this was just before the Rennsport Reunion and we will have a full race report on zcarblog.com soon!
While the PCH does continue past Monterey down to SLO we took a more direct route to avoid road work on HWY1. Driving the long stretch on 101S really made me appreciate the Z’s 9-speed automatic…the gearing allows for ultra-low engine revs for relaxed cruising…2000rpm at 85mph is nice. Thumbs up and lots of love from this G35 owner on HW 101:
We arrived at our 2nd overnight hotel, the Apple Farm Inn in San Luis Obispo just before 7pm. Another fantastic evening of drinks, food and conversation ensued.
Day 3: SLO to Los Angeles
After a casual breakfast we left SLO and headed south towards our final destination of Los Angeles. Taking 101S allowed us to stop in the small town of Solvang, the sight of our favorite Annual Solvang Datsun Roadster Show. Lots of memories with our family here. A welcome excursion from 101 was Painted Cave Vista Point. This twisty road took us high above for great views and looped back to 154-E.
Driving Impressions
This was the most time I’ve spent driving the 9-speed automatic Z. Having driven the ZCG manual transmission Z previously up my favorite winding roads…the 6-speed manual is the perfect-and only transmission of choice for me..but the 9AT has its merits. Cruising along the freeway at a paltry 2000rpm while offering blistering acceleration in full automatic mode is a nice compromise. It’s enough to simply haze the rear tires…even from a roll!
If I could find one criticism it’s the paddle shifters. They do not seem to offer quick upshifts or downshifts any faster then being in full automatic mode…I see them as ‘fun-to-have’ feature. Have no fear as it sounds like Nissan improved the shifting performance in the 2024 Nismo Z-kudos to the team! Also, as we mentioned before the sound alone of the 9AT -equipped Z is better than the 6MT…a by-product of current sound restrictions. Either gearbox will serve you well behind the new Z.
We made one final stop at The Getty Museum in Los Angeles before dropping off the Z near LAX. What a cool car. Nissan flew us back to San Jose Sunday Night so we could get back to work on Monday. A quick shoutout to Page One Automotive…Benjie and Austin provided excellent service during the trip. Each car was detailed and filled up with gas for the drivers and we really appreciated it. Also, thanks to Nissan for the $500 gift card to cover roadtrip odds and ends!
The People
Mr. K said, “Love cars. Love people. Love life.” The NissanAdventuresPCH connected us with an amaZing group of people. Content creators, all talented at their craft. Artists, maybe not in the literal sense, but each one continuously strives to perfect the craft in their respective fields. It was humbling and fascinating to learn from them. I also appreciated their candid feedback on the new Z. Please, give each one a moment of your time by checking out their social media channels below:
Huge thanks to Nissan for the invitation and gathering an immensely engaging group of people to enjoy the drive with. We love that you are still keeping the spirit alive for our beloved sports car. Long Live The Z! More photos in the gallery below.
Filed under: 240z,510,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on September 5, 2023
WE LOVE RACING! Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the 20th Charity Challenge at Sonoma Raceway, this weekend September 8-10. Z Car Garage is participating and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group (John Morton Cup). This vintage racing event is totally FREE to spectators so please join us! Bring the family, enjoy cool cars and charity rides around the track.
See our 2023 Nissan Z as Pace Car!
Z Car Garage is happy to announce our 2023 Nissan Z will be on Pace Car duty at the Charity Challenge. Again, admission is FREE for this event and you will have access to all spectator areas on track, race cars and drivers. Parking is in Lot 2 overlooking the paddock. You can see our report from the 2022 Charity Challenge HERE
Z Car Garage Supports Five Datsun 510s!
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno:
#88 Todd Rueppel
Todd enjoyed his Z Car Garage trackside support experience with us at the Laps For Laguna event!
#7 Kelvin Tse
Kelvin and his brother Kenny are regular ZCG trackside support clients…
Gabe’s B-Sedan and his Dad’s B-Sedan:
#7 Rob Fuller
ZCG owner Rob Fuller, Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car
Filed under: Nissan Z
by Alvin G @ 2:40 pm on April 7, 2023
Today we took delivery of our 2023 Nissan Z at Nissan of Dublin, Ca. This is a 6-speed manual, Performance trim finished in Black Diamond Pearl with Graphite Leather interior.
Huge thanks to Dan Passe and Jonathan Buhler from Nissan North America for making this a reality! Our RZ34 has been waiting in Dublin Nissan’s showroom (next to our client’s Datsun 240Z) since December and we had a wonderful experience with Mario (General Manager) and Louis (Parts Manager).
Mario, Louis and the team at Dublin Nissan treated us like VIPs. If you are in the market for a new Nissan, visit their brand new dealership! They were kind of enough to let us be a part of the Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) of our new RZ34. This included protective film removal, detailing, front lip/air deflector and center cap installation. It was a new experience for Rob and myself that we appreciated.
Enjoy this video of the Pre-Delivery Inspection:
Rob with Louis and Mario, great people at Dublin Nissan:
With 22 miles on the odometer we drove our new Z back to Z Car Garage in San Jose. I have driven the RZ34 several times last year and it still amaZed me. It was a great way to celebrate our 19th Anniversary (see below)!
Z Car Garage is excited to enjoy the new Z and begin tuning it with parts development following. Enjoy more photos from our delivery and read further about our RZ34 journey with Nissan. Long Live The Z!
From Prototype to Production
Our journey with the new Z began in May 2021, when Nissan invited us to their Headquarters in Tennessee to get up close and personal with the Z Proto. We thank Dan Passe and Jonathan Buhler for bringing ZCG along for the ride. Here are the past New Z events that we’ve been fortunate to be a part of:
Today marks the 19th Anniversary of Z Car Garage. We thank all of our clients and friends for supporting us along the way. Your business and trust is greatly appreciated! It is hard to believe ZCG opened its doors in 2004. Enjoy these photos of the shop from today and 19 years ago.
2004 vs 2023
Front office 2023 compared to 2004, with a young Rob Fuller laying down the flooring:
Our (soon to be) dyno room in 2004 and 2023:
Z Car Garage is excited for another 19 years! LONG LIVE THE Z
