The little touches that no one notices at first are sometimes the coolest modifications.  In this case a customer wanted the blinking side-marker lights off of the new 370z on his 350z.

Okay, no problem.  Well one problem.  The stock 350 “Z” non-flashing side emblems only use two small clips to locate the plastic part.  The new 370z flashing marker has cylindrical extrusion that is about 1.5 inches tall with a 1.5 inch diameter that needs to go through the fender and be wired to work properly.  We used a small hand saw to make the cut and everything turned out perfect.  The electrical connections simply required us to source which wire was the running light and which was the blinker and then the simple wiring changes were made.  All connections are a quick release style so that the new bulbs can be serviced when the time comes.

I’m not going to go into too much detail about how we secured the light because we need to be able to offer this as a service to customers.  I will mention that we used a couple of custom brackets to make sure that nothing moves around.  This modification is quite simple after all is said and done and I think that it bridges the gap between the new and old car nicely.  Added safety and style are always a good combination.

Please be careful if you are thinking about attempting this yourself because a new fender is not cheap from Nissan.  Feel free to contact us if you would like ZCG to handle it.  rob@zcargarage.com

See the video of the new parts flashing below!

Here are the results from this morning’s plenum swap.  The results are… ummm… about what we expected.

This car is a 02/06 350z with an automatic transmission.  There is an extensive list of aftermarket components on this car ranging from a carbon fiber diffuser to a custom painted roll cage, but this post has nothing to do with any of these mods, it is about the before and after dyno numbers.

The plenum install went off without a hitch and the car was back on the dyno in no time.  This mod was a straight plenum swap with no fuel or timing changes made (the owner did not want to install a Uni-Chip or other tuning hardware at this point.)

Run 003:  Stock Nissan Plenum (BLUE)
Run 005:  Cosworth Plenum (RED)

On to the dyno graph you can see that the Cosworth plenum LOST a healthy amount of horsepower and torque through the entire rev range except between 5,800-6,000 RPM where it gained two, yes two, horsepower.  The design of the plenum just doesn’t seem to work on lightly modified normally aspirated cars.  Unfortunately this is a loss that will really be felt when driving the car.  This plenum is so beautiful that we really wanted to make a ton of power with it so that we could improve the looks and performance of the engine.  At this point I would find it really hard to recommend this to a customer.

Mind you that this is the first normally aspirated car that we have installed the Cosworth on.  My full post with all of the boosted car tests is still to come this week.  That post will include all of the dyno results and all other pertinent test data.  Very, very interesting….

A very good customer of ours was involved in an unfortunate accident which ended with his pristine 300zxtt getting totaled.  As you can see from the pictures the car was rear ended at a high rate of speed.  The good news to come out of this is that he is uninjured for the most part and that there are A TON of good 300zx parts that are now up for sale.

This car is being fully disassembled right now and as you can see we are just about ready to pull the engine and transmission.  The interior has already been removed for the most part and has been carefully put away until it finds a new home.  You can get a complete list of the parts that are for sale by emailing us at rob@zcargarage.com.

There are a few more pictures of available parts after the the “read more.”

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Hot off the wire!!  SSP is set up for the immediate release of their new 3″ down pipes.  They have been installed on the ZCG GT-R and are soon to be tested with the rest of the soon-to-be-released SSP GTR820RR kit.  These downpipes remove the annoying and power-robbing pre-cats that are built into the stock R35 downpipes.  Boost will now come on stronger and faster, and lucky for us the parts are made in house at SSP so there is no waiting for the slow boat from Japan!!  Instant gratification is finally here for US customers.

The official press release is below:

SOUTH SIDE PERFORMANCE INTRODUCES 3 IN CAT-LESS TURBO DOWNPIPES FOR NISSAN’S R35 GTR, THE SSP RS DOWNPIPES*^{*For off-road use only}!

Sioux Falls, South Dakota (January 22, 2009) – South Side Performance is offering, another great new product for the R35 GTR, the SSP RS Turbo Downpipes. This component is another in a line of SSP products that will move power hungry GTR owners towards 820 HP, when paired with our recently released GTR820RR Turbo Kit.

In months of testing different outlets sizes and shapes, the 3 in turbo downpipe design was found to be the most efficient size downpipe that would make big power, and provide your GTR a great throaty sound. These pieces are made with all the precision and care of those from Japan without the Japanese premium price. And, as with nearly all SSP products, the turbo outlets are designed to fit perfectly and install with relative ease.

Specifications:

The SSP RS Turbo Downpipes are 3 inches in diameter and utilize ½ inch flanges for a great look and fit. These pipes will really let the beast out of its cage as they remove the power robbing pre-cats and provide your turbos with some room to breathe. The result of removing these highly restrictive catalytic converters is a deep growl, improved turbo spool, and an overall improvement in the responsiveness in the car throughout the power band.

Price and Availability:

This upgrade can be purchased starting today for $1,399.00. SSP is dedicated to having these parts available in stock (we build these pieces entirely in-house) and ready to ship as quickly as possible. This means no more waiting weeks or months to get the parts you need, because with SSP your power solution is always just a phone call away. For more information contact us at: 605.331.7889 or by email wholesale@sspperformance.com.

Everyone has been patiently waiting so here is your payoff!  These photos are here for our viewing pleasure from our good friends at PhotoShootMyCar.com (please visit their site on the right.)  They had two photographers at our 370z event and all of the pictures are top notch.  Thanks again friends.

I’m going to spread all of the photos over a couple of posts to keep everyone coming back for more.  As always, click on the photos to see it larger and there are tons more photos after the “jump.”

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