Our Z Car Garage Big Brakes have been winning over Z-car enthusiasts locally and globally. Jason purchased a set for his 1974 Datsun 260Z and performed the installation himself. Before we go into his Big-Brake experience let’s hear his Z-story…

 

JASON: “I first heard about Z Car Garage by following Larry Chen’s 240z build on his YouTube Channel. I saw his various interviews with Rob Fuller and was really impressed with his knowledge and passion for the Datsun 510 and s30 chassis. Quickly, I started researching more about the pain points of the s30’s, and noted the lack of support from many other companies in the area of suspension and braking locally. The kits available were Wilwood, Endless, Star Road, among others. No complete kits that were torture tested and raced like what Z Car Garage was doing with their ZCG CV Axles , Brake Kits and other components they were selling. Research and development are key to me, and I was thrilled to see ZCG taking this on themselves. In addition, Rob is a real human being who’s on top of answering questions via email and in person at Z car events. That’s a HUGE deal to me, and it’s so rare to meet someone that of course is just as passionate about his cars as the enthusiasts building them.”

 

“My 1974 Datsun 260z is an Early model s30. When I purchased it, a few years ago I quickly removed the stock seats and reupholstered Recaro LX vintage seats in Black. I loved the netted headrest, and the clean recaro stitching at the center of the seat. I also removed the Greddy Oni wheel that was originally in the car and swapped it out with a new old stock Nardi Nismo Deep steering wheel with a Black and Gold finish. I went through the interior and purchased a NOS Datsun center console, and replaced the stock door cards with Skillard flat cards with leather pull straps.”

 

“In addition to the door cards, I added Skillard powder coated heel plates. The car came with BC adjustable coil-overs and Swift Springs which I will be updating in the near future. The BC Coilovers are perfectly fine for the street applications I’m using the car for currently. My suspension underneath the car is the full T3 catalog including the power cradle, control arms, bushings, and even their steering elements. It’s finally sorted, and I really enjoy driving the car the way it currently feels.”

 

“The car is equipped with a L28, ZX 5 Speed transmission, and 44pHH Mikuni triple carbs built by Taka at Kyusha House. The header and exhaust system are Fujitsubo Legalis R. The engine has since been updated in every way from the ignition system, oil pump, spark plug cables, and brake new seals and belt. The oil pan was replaced with a Moroso baffled racing pan with higher oil capacity.” 

  

“I have two sets of wheels and tires for the car. One set is Volk Racing TE37v custom gold 15×9 at 0 offset on Toyo Proxes R888 205/50/15, and the other set is Work Racing Equip 03 15×8.5 at -3 offset custom bronzed lip, and Gold Center on Falken Azenis RT660 205/50/15. The front bumper is a carbon MSA, and the rear tail light bezels are carbon fiber made by Vintage Carbon. The wing is a Carbon Fiber BRE spoiler.”

 

You can see Jason’s Z in action in the video below:

 

Z Car Garage Big-Brakes

  

As fellow S30 owner/racer Glenn C mentioned in his review, on top of braking performance, pedal feel is extremely important and our Big-Brakes deliver. This is a direct result of working with Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. All fitting behind a 15″ Watanabe or Panasport wheel and retaining factory emergency brake lever! A few details below:

Calipers: Stoptech ST42 4-piston front & rear race calipers (Alum 6061 mil-spec Type III anodized)

Rotors: 280mm x 20.6 with Alum 7075 hats

Pads: Stoptech 309 sport street pads

Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE.

  

Big-Brake Kits Available For DIY Install!

Z Car Garage is proud to offer our Big-Brake Kit to Z-Car owners that want to perform the installation themselves. We can ship worldwide and each kit contains everything needed with a comprehensive (40-page) installation guide. Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE. Enjoy these pictures of Jason’s beautiful S30 and his ZCG Big-Brake installation:

 

Our ZCG Big-Brake kit ships with everything needed to install and retains the factory parking brake function. Jason successfully installed the BBK on his Z with PitstopMotorTuning, and they look great behind both the Work Equip 03 and Volk TE37 wheels:

    

Beyond ease of installation and quality components, our Big-Brakes perform by offering superb pedal feel…everyone that drives our demo Z confirms! This is a direct result of working with Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. Jason shares his feedback after replacing his existing Wilwood brakes with the ZCG BBK:

JASON: “The Stoptech ZCG Big-Brakes are really a solid kit. The lead time was pretty rough, but again Rob reassured me every month over the course of a year of waiting that it would be worth it. He was right! These brakes do not disappoint. Once the kit was completely bedded and broken in, I quickly put the brakes to the test on Angeles Crest highway here in Los Angeles. I know this road well, and that’s where I usually push the car at a safe limit, and see where the pain points lie. The ZCG brakes are worth every penny. They are precise, they are confidence inspiring, and also feel great under late braking situations. I had a blast carving around the canyon knowing my brakes would safely hold up. My next test would be to get a couple of track days on them, and see how they hold up under extreme conditions and multiple sessions.”

 
What’s in store for Jason’s Z?

“The goal for the 260z is to refine my current setup. The paint is a bit rough since it was a garage paint job, and I would love to repaint the whole car including the interior. At the moment, I’m building a high compression 3.1L stroker motor with Jenvey 50mm ITB being managed by a Haltech Elite 750 stand alone ECU. My goals long term are for big power, but with street car reliability. I would love to confidently do a track day, but also be comfortable driving my wife to car shows, and even to grab a cup of coffee together. The engine has a custom designed valve cover designed by myself, and commissioned to be created by BSpeed in New Zealand. Big updates to come in the new year!”

 

Thanks for your support Jason we love that you are Enjoying The Ride and Long Live The Z! More photos in the gallery below

The Last Stop in Braking for your Z

 

Z Car Garage Big Brakes are one of the best systems available for your S30 Z Car with over 200 kits sold worldwide and unanimous positive feedback. See our ZCG Big-Brakes on client cars HERE and enjoy the photos below:

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Congratulations to our client Dan F on achieving his personal goal of sub 1:40s lap times at Laguna Seca in his Nissan 350Z. Z Car Garage has worked with Dan for several years to fine-tune this Vortech Supercharged Z33 so he enjoy it on the track.You can see the build history HERE:

Chasing 1:30s

 

Dan is an avid track-enthusiast and we love working with him to optimize his Z. Let’s hear about his triumphant ‘Seca experience from November with SpeedSF:

“It was a very satisfying weekend at Laguna running both Sat & Sun 11-25/26. I came still looking for sub 1:40’s with my best time to date a 140.1. It’s only the second time I’ve been there since the re-pave but I have been running here testing and tuning for over a dozen years now. 1:39’s however have always been elusive so when in my second session on Saturday morning, I finally broke through and did a 139.2 on 1.5 year old Toyo RR’s (red wheels in the pics), I was ecstatic. That was apparently just some foreshadowing for the weekend. By day’s end I was consistently running low 1:38’s. The track is faster than it’s ever been with extra run off at T5 & T9 and a smooth surface that has now been rubbered in nicely and the weather was perfect around 62 with zero moisture.”

 

“My plan Sunday was to try some pirelli scrubs (black wheels) from the World Challenge Series. I was excited to try them on this car because it is set up as a race car at this point so it makes sense real race rubber might work well, it did. First session I blew by the 1:37’s and finished with a 1:36.1, next session 1:36.0 then finished with my best being a 1:35.8 on a lap compromised by traffic. Scrubs were good for 2.4 seconds over the RR slicks. Some pretty unbelievable gains all weekend and especially with these tires.”

 

“Still can’t quite believe it took me about 4 years to go from 1:44 to 1:40 and only 2 days to drop the next 4+ seconds but it’s days like this that make you want to keep trying for that perfect lap. Sometimes all the stars align and I’ll be looking to match my optimal lap of 134.8 next time out…”

Enjoy this in-car video of Dan’s fastest lap time in the Z:

Recent Updates

Dan’s Z received a few updates to the interior and aero package. Extensive caging inside, new front splitter and rear wing:

  

We are super stoked for you Dan! Get that 1:34 at ‘Seca and LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

The shop is busy dyno tuning, servicing and upgrading Z cars. Enjoy this brief update from Friday, December 15th.

S30 Z Cars

 

Rashid lives in Dubai and his Datsun 240Z is getting 3.2L L-Series with pH44 Mikuni induction and exhaust header, ZX 5-speed transmission, OS Giken 4.11 LSD, Z Car Garage KW coil-over suspension, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (Stoptech) and 16″ Panasport wheels:

 

David’s 1972 Datsun 240Z is getting a Rebello 3.0L, 240SX 5-speed transmission and 4.11 OS Giken LS. It is also getting our Z Car Garage KW coil-over suspension and already has our V1 (328m) Z Car Garage Big-Brakes. Both cars will feature the T3 steering rack that we are big fans of:

 Both Ryan and Beau’s Datsun 240Z cars left the shop recently. Ryan’s Z has LS3 V8 power while Beau’s 1976 280Z has an L28 with stock EFI. Both cars feature our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (Stoptech), Z Car Garage CV Axles, Recaro Specialist seats, A/C and dyno tuning. Full features on both coming to zcarblog.com!

 

Lou’s Datsun 240Z came in for mechanical sorting. Excited to share his story on zcarblog as Larry also races with us:

 

Nissan 300ZX (Z32)

 

We have several Z32 NA and TT cars currently at the shop. Gary’s Twin Turbo (above) just got a new set of BBS LM wheels. Full update on this car soon! Paul Ferrari returned to ZCG since we completed his Epic Z32 Build in 2017. He’s ready for ethanol, after running this car on race fuel for many years. We will be installing dual fuel pumps, BDE top fuel rail and all the fixings:

Kevin’s Slicktop Z32 is in for a driver’s side window replacement and some touch-up. Love this Z with WORK wheels and Stoptech Big-Brakes:

 

Hakosuka Skyline

 

Sebastian’s Skyline is at the shop and we are doing a suspension refresh, engine work adapting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (Stoptech) to this Hako. We hope to offer this in the future for C10 clients. We hope you enjoyed this shop update, stay tuned for more on zcarblog.com and LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

 

Tyler has been in Rob’s life since he started working as a head engineer at Stoptech. He is behind Research and Development of our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, and we couldn’t have done it without his drive and passion. Our collaboration with Tyler always results in excellence, so when he mentioned bringing his Porsche 914 up from SoCal we happily obliged to work on it.

 

TYLER: “Rob Fuller/ZCG and I have known each other for a while now through my Engineering work at StopTech. We developed the Z Car Garage Big-Brakes for small wheels together. During the development of the BBK, Rob Fuller the man himself would constantly call me and leave hilarious singing voicemails, mostly him belting out hair-metal versus then saying “CALL ME BACK!”. We really hit it off during this time and grew to have a deep respect for one another.”

 

“I think we were able to really nail the final product after lots of tweaking and testing. ZCG was stoked with the BBK and I was stoked to work with such an amazing shop and crew. This project has always been a highlight for me. So when Rob asked me about my 914 and heard about my troubles with it he instantly offered to help out. This was definitely an offer I couldn’t refuse, so I brought my 914 to the shop.”

 

History

 

Before we go into the work ZCG performed let’s hear from Tyler about his 914…

TYLER:  “My first car was a 1973 914 2.0 my Dad, brothers, and I bought for $1200 ~25 years ago. We fixed it up and started to race it together, we still have it and plan to get back to racing it one day soon. Ever since then I wanted another 914 for myself. I just like the fact that 914s are mid engined, air cooled, and has a horizontally opposed engine, all of the coolest Racing Porsches are in this configuration. Also the 914 is three more than a 911, so there you go. When I saw the 914 on a Tucson AZ Craigslist post in 2015 I knew I had to snag it. The car was an old PCA/POC race car that raced in the 70s and 80s in AZ. I knew the car was a diamond in the rough even though it wasn’t running and had many problems to address.”

 

“I ended up buying it from someone in Tucson AZ for $3000 and towed it back home. Ever since then I have been fixing it up and getting it running well enough to enjoy classic rallies and some track days. I have been sort of converting it back into more of a streetable car but still keeping it raw and sort of rough that still gives you a feeling of a race car. My favorite thing to do is go for a drive down PCH with my wife and my dog squeezed in between us and stop at the beach for a walk and swim or rip the snot out of it on the track.”

Chassis and engine details on the 914 below:

Brakes

 

Custom designed StopTech big brake system. Front 2pc 282 x 28 rotors with STR42 calipers and rear 2pc 290 x 22 rotors STR42. Pads are StopTech SR33 front and SR33 rear with custom SS lines. Brakes are lighter weight than stock and with more thermal capacity!

 

Suspension

Race Bushings, Koni shocks,,22mm front sway bar, 150lb springs, 911 hubs, 5 lug conversion, 7×15″ Fuchs front wheels, 8×15″ Fuchs rear wheels, Toyo Proxes Ra1 225×50

Chassis and Safety

Roll Bar, 5 point belts, Frame reinforcements, door jam and chassis stiffening bars, dront fenders are rolled rear are fully flared, battery relocated to the front.

Engine & Transmission

 

2.0 Liter european pistons and sleeves 8.6 to 1 compression, Engine balanced and heads machined, Dual IDF44 Webbers, Mild race cam, High capacity oil pump with deep pickup, Dual rear mounted oil coolers, 4 into 1 exhaust with Supertrap muffler. 5 speed with shortened 3rd,4th, and 5th gears, Short shifter, OS Giken LSD. “Only 914 in the US to have an OS Giken LSD installed that I know of!”

The Z Car Garage Touch

 

ROB: “Tyler had his car dyno-tuned previously but it wasn’t running well. We like to make cars better, so we performed suspension work, adjusted the valves, sorted out his carb linkage, ignition system and made it awesome. Upon arrival it had a really bad front windshield install, so we replaced it and the stainless trim. New valve cover gaskets, cap and rotor, re-did the throttle-linkage return springs, serviced the air filter. Basically went through the Porsche like we do with our Z-car clients so he could enjoy driving it again.”

 

Dyno Tuning

With carb work, timing and linkage adjustments the 914 made 110hp/115tq at the wheels, gains of 18hp/15tq from baseline. Tyler was really happy with the results:

 

TYLER: “Rob gave my car some serious balls…I don’t have the official numbers of the final dyno run but the car feels like it’s been hitting the gym HARD. Engine runs super smooth, sounds like a completely different beast, starts without issue, is really responsive, runs a lot cooler, and has an overall boost in power! It has increased the enjoyment factor 100%.”

Enjoy this video of the dyno run and Tyler driving home from the shop down to SoCal:

After checking the suspension we mounted fresh Toyo RA1 tires followed by a full alignment in-house. Tyler was ready for the road trip home.

 

If it ain’t the Z-car, please let it be the P-Car!

 

Tyler shared a few photos from his roadtrip down to SoCal, catch his adventures on Instagram. Thank you Tyler for letting us work on your 914 and continued support for our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes. Stoptech or Don’t Stop At All!

TYLER: “ZCG is one of the top shops I ever had the pleasure of working with. As a customer, the experience was equally great. The team is really driven, they have expertise to really handle tricky stuff and strive for perfection with everything they do. I knew my 914 was in the best of hands even though ZCG specializes in Z-cars, their talent easily translated into P-cars.”

Shake and Brake! More photos in the gallery below

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Jaime is performing a full restoration of his beloved 1972 Datsun 240z, now in color 920 Safari Gold with a host chassis and drivetrain upgrades. We are happy to report that his Z Car Garage Big Brakes fit nicely behind the rare, sand-cast Gotti wheels from Racing Service Watanabe. These are 15×8 and 15×9:

Big-Brake Kits Available For DIY Install!

Z Car Garage is proud to offer our Big-Brake Kit to Z-Car owners that want to perform the installation themselves. We can ship worldwide and each kit contains everything needed with a comprehensive (40-page) installation guide. Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE.  Let’s take a closer look at Jaime’s beautiful S30 and his ZCG Big-Brake installation:

 

As mentioned, our ZCG Big-Brake kit ships with everything needed to install and retains the factory parking brake:

  

See more about his Z in our feature on zcarblog.com HERE and follow Jaime on his Instagram page to see his attention to detail. Thanks for your support Jaime!