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Alan E is a long time customer of Z Car Garage and started his boost habit in 2009 by Vortech supercharging his G35. It wasn’t long though before he realized that stopping this relatively heavy, 500hp beast with tired stock brakes may not be the best idea.  As you readers may notice, we have installed several  OEM 370z/G37 Akebono-based brake kits on older chassis Z/G cars. This setup is a great alternative to the existing BBK players out there like Stoptech/Brembo/AP, etc.

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Larger than stock, vented Stoptech rotors help shed heat for repeated fade-free braking. Stoptech vs OEM G35 rotors (rear) shown:

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The calipers look great behind Volk SF Challenge wheels:

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Better braking capacity to reign in that grin-inducing power plus good looks!

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Boost is Better: Reuben’s Vortech 350z

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Maintenance,Performance
by Alvin G @ 2:39 pm on October 15, 2013


At Z Car Garage we specialize in performance modifications for your Nissan/Infiniti. We also perform full maintenance services to keep your car running in optimal condition. Reuben M visited ZCG in 2008 to have the 30k-mile services completed on his stock LeMans Sunset 350z. Keep in mind that it is hard to avoid the temptation of forced-induction when one catches a glance of the many boosted-builds in our facility. Fast forward to 2013 and 13k-miles later…guess who has the craving for more power?

 

Reuben chose the Vortech V3-polished supercharger kit for its CARB-friendliness and daily driver operation. The dual-personality nature of the Vortech provides the potential for big power yet smooth, linear delivery.

 

A GTM 25-row oil cooler keeps oil temperature in check while the JWT HD clutch/flywheel help put the power to the wheels:

 

With the Vortech supercharger installed Reuben’s Z made 375hp/327tq to the wheels. This was a +123hp/86tq improvement over stock:


We love how sleeper this Z is! Our ZCG bypass-valve silencer keeps things quiet and the FMIC barely peeks from behind the OEM grille:


Enjoy The Boost, Reuben!




Chris’ GTM G35 Coupe

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,g35,Performance
by Alvin G @ 11:49 pm on October 10, 2013

 

Chris B is a long time ZCG customer and we have been with him through various stages of his build. Affectionately called “Lucy”, this beautiful G35 coupe has won numerous awards at shows including Hot Import Nights. Chris fanatically detailed the engine bay with polished and stainless parts abound. Even the Cosworth intake manifold was customized with candy-red carbon fiber to match the valve covers and huge Brembo calipers at all 4 corners.

 

 

Low compression in one cylinder and a feeling that he’d reached the limits of the Vortech supercharger sparked a call to ZCG. Rob and Chris discussed the next stage of boost for Lucy and it would be in the form of two turbos courtesy of a GTM Stage 2 kit! Parts arrived and the drivetrain was removed.

 

The built VQ was re-assembled with care and attention to detail considering how Chris insanely polished parts like the entire front end.

 

Behold the shine. Once you start polishing it is hard to stop!

 

With the engine buttoned down the GTM twin-turbo kit was installed. Note details like the manifold heat shields and insulation protecting oil/wiring lines near downpipes.  The fresh GTM stage 4 automatic transmission is a prudent upgrade to handle big power:

 

Twin-turbo VQ, welcome home!

 

Polished hot/cold pipes feed the GTM FMIC:

 

Rob’s conservative 91 octane tune yielded 450hp/421tq to the wheels. More power to come!

 

We love working with Chris and look forward to turning up the wick when the urge arises! Enjoy the boost and that wonderful engine bay!


Lots of pictures of Chris’ build in the gallery below so don’t forget to click after the jump!
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Robert’s Vortech G35 Coupe

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Performance
by Alvin G @ 12:07 am on October 6, 2013

 

 

Robert C purchased a Vortech supercharger kit and started looking for a shop to install it for him. When we got the call from Robert we happily obliged to take his G35 Coupe to the next level!  Here is the V3 kit awaiting installation:


Some in-progress pictures:

 

FMIC and GTM 25-row oil cooler:

 

We also installed a Motordyne plenum spacer, Whiteline lower control arm bushings, changed tranny/diff fluids, and did some general clean-up…

 With Rob’s tuning the Vortech kit make excellent power: 413hp/341tq to the wheels!

We love how the Vortech boosts power while being CARB legal and docile for daily driving…Robert sent us an e-mail confirming this:

“Rob just wanted to reiterate how incredible the car is. You guys do a great job. I had no idea the car would be that strong yet tame as it was before the install.

I have been nothing but a grin from ear to ear for hours now.”

Enjoy The Ride, Robert!




Cool It Now: Patrick’s Time Attack 350z

Filed under: Events,Featured Cars and Projects,Performance
by Alvin G @ 1:17 am on September 15, 2013

We’ve known Patrick for a long time and when he is not running City Tech Auto Body he is out on the track his Time-Attack prepped Porsche orange 350z. Patrick was running an NA motor then made the jump to forced induction via the Vortech supercharger. He installed the kit himself and visited ZCG for tuning and advice on how to keep the VQ cool during blazingly hot track days ie. Buttonwillow Raceway. Here is an update from Patrick from Round #5 of the Redline Time Attack:


As some of you might know, our Z Car Garage and CityTech Auto Body Sponsored 350z has been through a lot of struggling with overheating problems after we installed the a Vortech Supercharged Kit. We have spent tons of time and testing to make it cool down. Our goal is to make it last through the whole 20mins session without worrying about overheating with full power.

07/20/2013 Saturday: The first practice day of the Redline Time Attack event was at 102F, a perfect day to put a ultimate heat test to our new setup. Compared to our last event which the Z lasted only 2 laps before overheating, we installed a 2nd oil cooler, running 50/50 Methanol water injection and de-tuned. Also, Rob suggested that to remove the aftermarket electric fans and put back the stock fan with shrouds. With all the help from our crew and Z Car Garage, we double checked all the fluid levels are full, adjusted tire pressure and started our first 20mins session. The Z felt great with the supercharged power on the first lap, pulling on every gears to the redline. But will it last full 20 mins without a drop of power? 4th lap passed by, our Nitto NT-01 tires started to get greasy due to the heat, but Oil temperature still stayed at 230F, intake and water temp stay cool without a sign of overheating, no power dropped. We are so amazed because our last event only last 1 ½ lap before oil temp reached 290F. We managed finished with the best lap time of 1’58.8 running CW13 configuration.

07/21/2013 Sunday: This was a much hotter day at 107F. In our first qualify session, everyone was running slower time than yesterday. We managed to qualify at the lap time of 1’59.5 which placed us third in our class. All other vehicles in our class were full race gutted car and our Z still have the full dash, door and windows in place. During the race session, temperature got worse which rose up to 108F. Despite the burning sun and air, the Z’s water and oil temp were both stayed cool and no overheating throughout the entire race session, however, the tires were giving up after the 2nd lap from the heat. We couldn’t get any better time than the qualifying session due to the hot temperature and traffic on the track and ended up the time 2’00.391. We ended up third place in modified RWD Class.

Special shout out to Z Car garage crews for their awesome work keeping the Z at operating temperature while making great power in this extreme operating environment.

The next event will be at AutoClub Speedway, Fontana on Sep 15, 2013. We will be doing some more modifications and possibly installing a full roll cage on the Z. We will keep you guys updated.

 




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