We met Kevin E through our client Randy Jaffe out in Georgia. Kevin was here in the Bay Area, Ca for work and wanted Z Car Garage to give his 2008 Nismo 350Z some love. We happily obliged by adding KW suspension and maintenance to an already superb supercharged platform:

 

KEVIN: I heard about Z Car Garage from a local friend, Randy Jaffe. I met him at Z Nationals down here in Georgia a few years back. Randy kept mentioning Rob when talking about his Nissan and Datsun collection, and after seeing  Larry Chen’s videos about Z Car Garage I had no hesitation about Rob working on the car in the future. It’s funny because I was DM’ing Rob on IG about the car before pulling the trigger to ship it there in our earlier conversations!

History

 

Kevin is the original owner of chassis #1508. He wanted a manual car to drive and found the Nismo sitting in a lot..

KEVIN:  This was when the 370z and R35 came out. The car I ended up stalling in the parking lot is the same car you see here today. Purchased new in 2010 and was my first manual car. It will always have a special place in my heart because my father taught me how to drive manual in it. 

 

It’s truly been a car I’ve done everything in from my NASA events, first car I’ve taken to the drag strip, road trips including the drive up from NorCal back to Arizona, enjoying Zcon at Nissan USA back in 2018, and of course the rabbit hole of turning a vision into reality. There have been ups and downs, but the extraordinary experiences and people I’ve met along the way have made it all worth it.

 

Suspension

 

We addressed the suspension to attain Kevin’s overall goal of making his Z a double duty car: one that you can get groceries in and enjoy track/canyon driving.

KEVIN: Rob and the team did a full suspension refresh with KW V3s and the full SPL catalog. I’ve held off on it for quite some time because I didn’t feel the actual suspension was worn out or my skill level had surpassed the balance of the OEM ones. He also performed one hell of an alignment, which felt great the whole way back to Arizona. Taking it up the canyons driving through L.A., the car was a blast and Rob absolutely nailed the feel I wanted out of the car. The car was more communicative and had no more body roll! I felt way more confident pushing the car harder.

 

Full alignment service in-house at Z Car Garage:

 

Details

The small things are what we excel at. The interior was spiced up with some red Recaro RSG Japan seats to match the original Nismo theme:

 

KEVIN: I wanted someone that could roll the rear fenders without cracking the paint and handle small dents from the years. Been through paint and body work and wanted it to be done right from the beginning. After seeing the restoration of Randy’s BRE Datsun 240Z following the Daytona accident, I know the car would be in great hands. During my time in NorCal working, I had Rob install a set of JDM tail lights, which I was on the fence about. They came out fantastic and love how they compliment the whole car:

 

The Tomei titanum exhaust was replaced at Kevin’s request with a custom built Soho system. Tomei below:

 

New Soho exhaust, with more photos in the gallery below:

 

Maintenance

 

The last piece to address was maintenance (fluids/pads/supercharger belt check) and ensuring that the Zcar was ready for its voyage back to Arizona and later Georgia:

KEVIN: What fascinated me was how in depth Rob was with the car. Handwritten notes, small details during the install, and extra care taken during the whole process. That is why I have Rob listed as Dr.Datsun because he truly does take each car in, assesses anything that might need to be addressed, and everything else that the client wants to achieve just like a true doctor!

 

Vortech Power

  

We put the Z on our dyno for a health check, making a stout 491hp/356tq to the wheels:

 

Enjoy this video of Kevin’s Nismo 350Z on the dyno!

 

Driving is Believing

 

Rob and Kevin discussed ideal suspension settings and the result was a balanced car:

KEVIN: The Z feels so good. As soon as Rob gave me a ride, I could immediately tell. The back end was so planted taking a corner on Rob’s test track, lol. It wouldn’t kick out like it did on the OEM Nismo suspension taking the roundabout corner even with a Nismo GT Pro LSD. Just the right amount of stiff, but also very compliant soaking up the bumps like a cobblestone surface. Rob truly is a magician with suspension, evidenced by his driving background. Before the suspension, it just felt a little dull and sluggish in response.  After having more seat time in the car, it just feels very connected and direct.

 

We knew that Kevin wanted a bit more feel, without sacrificing comfort and decided to use poly bushings in the suspension for street use.

KEVIN: Driving through LA, all the bumps were not as harsh as I thought and when the road was smooth, it was like silk, but you could feel the changes in the road surface through the steering wheel. I’m glad I listened despite me wanting to put Clubsports on the car. I spoke to a few people that had Rob install the same setup and they all had nothing but positive feedback. Rob takes his clients in steps rather than large leaps not only to get acquainted with the car again, but also to improve as a driver and become more confident. 

 

Enjoy The Ride

 

While he was out in NorCal, we were lucky to see Kevin Enjoying The Ride at local events like the ZONC gathering ZONC Gathering:

 

KEVIN: All the videos I’ve seen of Rob, he just has so much passion in what does! I thought I was OCD about my car, but Rob is such a perfectionist and wants it to be more than 100 percent when the client picks up the car. It not only has the power, but has the footwork now, which was the missing piece of the puzzle. On a side note, Rob has not only been another caretaker of my Nismo, but he has become like family to me along with the rest of the team at Z Car Garage. Rob, I want to personally thank you again for all the advice and life advice you’ve given me during my stay there! I’m eternally grateful for everything!

 

Kevin’s Nismo 350Z came out really nice and we love his passion. Icing on the cake was seeing him so stoked on having his Z worked on by Z Car Garage. Thanks for letting us be a part of your build. See more of his Nismo Z33 on Instagram and LONG LIVE THE Z!

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Z cars may remain with their loving owners for years, change ownership or even get spotlighted in the media at some point. Our “where are they now” series features past Z Car Garage vehicles with updates on their status. In this third installment we catch up with Craig’s 2004 Nissan 350Z.

 

Craig’s 350Z was supercharged almost 12 years ago using a Vortech Tuner Kit with supporting fuel and cooling upgrades.

  

Fast forward to 2022, Craig visited ZCG for routine maintenance including a new air filter and rear differential bushing replacement:

 

The diff bushings were replaced with new units from Whiteline. The diff bushings are the most common failure as see in previous blog posts:

 

We put the Z on the dyno and it put down almost identical power output some 12 years later! This is a testament to the mighty VQ35 engine and Craig’s maintenance. Dyno plots:

(L) 2022, the Z made 420hp/349tq at the wheels

(R) ~2012, the Z made 415hp/344tq at the wheels:

 

Enjoy the latest dyno passes of Craig’s 350Z in the video below:

 

Craig is still happy:

“Even after 12 years or so, every time I drive my Le Mans Sunset 2004 Touring model, I feel like it’s the first day. Aligning with the team at Z Car Garage was the best move. I didn’t need to shop around once I visited a few times. I knew I was at the right shop.  Buying the Z in 2008 was exciting as this was the first sports car I’d ever had. Having the performance upgrades a couple years later from Z Car made a world of difference. So glad Rob  helped me “pull the trigger”. Without a great deal of knowledge of what I wanted in components, I let Rob custom-craft what he felt (and had solid experience with) was the best mix for me and the car.  I’m pretty tall, so I don’t track the car, which is a bummer at times, but I have as much spirited driving as I can. Also, I live about an hour from the shop, so Rob and team make a point to take care of me when I do visit, reviewing maintenance items needed.”

 

Thanks for your support Craig! We love that your Z is still running strong and you continue to Enjoy The Ride. Stay tuned for our next “Where are they now” feature, and if you missed our first and second features find them HERE. Long Live The Z!

 

 

At Z Car Garage we live for anything Nissan/Datsun and that includes late model cars like the 350z. The Z33 has been part of our customer base since the beginning, spanning everything from NA and forced induction to full track-spec builds. Josh visited us last year to discuss supercharging his 2008 350z. He acquired it completely stock 3 years ago and slowly began the modification process.

 

Josh signed on for a Stillen supercharger kit (satin, CARB legal) and we installed it with our typical supporting mods like GTR plugs, and Concept Performance Z 25-row oil cooler  (Setrab, T-stat controlled).

 

The front end needed work to accomodate Josh’s front crash bar. We shifted items around like the water-air exchanger to retain functionality:

 

Josh also requested installation of parts he had purchased previously like Tomei cams/valve springs for the HR engine. These units worked really well with the blower as seen in the dyno below. A few cam install pictures:

 

The transmission was crunchy in 3rd and 5th gear so we installed a brand new OEM CD009 transmission:

 

Backing the VQ is a Z Speed Performance South Bend stage 2 clutch with internal slave delete (CMAK upgrade):

 

For piece of mind we replaced all engine gaskets and seals:

 

The differential bushings were replaced with Whiteline parts:

 

Before/after the Stillen Supercharger installation:

 

On the dyno the Z made 286hp/252tq baseline. Rob UPREV tuned with the Stillen supercharger making 427hp/311tq at the wheels:

 

Enjoy the dyno video:

 

Finally, we had our man William install Josh’s supplied carbon fiber hood, fenders and hood pins.

 

Josh was really happy with the results and he’s been texting us often:

“I brought in my base model 350z to Rob to get it Supercharged, cammed, and a transmission swap. I was pleased with Rob and the teams work, they knew what was needed for the build. The tune is excellent, I haven’t had any issues with engine codes after excessive driving.”

Enjoy The Boost Josh!

More pics in the gallery below

 

 

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The Stillen supercharger kit for the Z34/G37  is an install we are intimately familiar with here at Z Car Garage. Here are two customer cars that got supercharged and tuned for nice power gains while maintaining CARB-legal status.

 

Vince’s 2012 G37

 

Vince hails from SSF and heard about us from friends with Z’s and G’s. He wanted us to install the Stillen supercharger kit and we added our favorite upgrades like the the Concept Z performance 25-row oil cooler.

  

Vice had upgraded clutch/flywheel that was really hard to drive on the street. We fitted him with a JWT clutch/flywheel and the troublesome internal slave cylinder was switched to an external unit using the CMAK upgrade from Z-speed.

  

With the supercharger installed we started the tuning process.

 

A relatively new approach, we move away from the stock MAF system and use ECutek tuning with a MAP-based system. Final numbers were 407hp//321tq to the wheels:

 

Thanks Vince, Enjoy The Boost!

John’s 2011 370z

 

John has been a ZCG customer for 10 years and we used to work on his S30. He came in for a Stillen supercharger install on his 370z and added the Concept Z 25-row oil cooler and Automatic transmission cooler.

 

After Rob’s tuning session on the dyno John’s Z made 407hp/300tq to the wheels:

 

Being a base model, an LSD is next on John’s list. Enjoy the Boost!

 

 

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.

 

 

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:

 

 

We installed a JWT HD Clutch and Flywheel:
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