I finally attended DrivingWhileAwesome Cars n’ Coffee last weekend and it was a great time. This is a gathering with a wonderful and eclectic mix of cars hosted by the DWA crew in Davenport, CA. Our group of friends left San Jose just before 7am, and it was a chilly 41 degrees. We joined Glenn and Pat in their NA Miata, Rob in the SR20DET-powered Datsun 510, Lloyd brought his S2000-powered AE86, customer Rob J in his 1970 Datsun 240z and William in a (964) 911:

 

We bolted up HWY 17 to reach Davenport. I threw my hardtop back on the roadster after a topless summer of fun. Joe decided to brave the cold sans top in his 1968 Datsun 1600 roadster.

  

Arriving at the parking lot in front of Whale city Bakery cool cars were already lining up. We parked next to DWA member Lane Skelton of DrivingWhileAwesome in his Porsche 944.

 

A short video of Rob in the 510, as well as an F355 taking off:

In Search of J-Tin

Although attendance was mostly Euro/Italian, many Japanese gems showed up. I was pleasantly surprised to see Eddie Wu in his #SAKERKT, a 1966 Datsun Roadster with an S15 SR20DE:

 

Lloyd’s AE86 Corolla was a crowd favorite (mine as well) sporting a complete Honda S2000 (F22C) drivetrain and full suspension:

  

More J-Tin goodness: NSX, First gen Acura Legend, FC RX-7 and Kei Truck (Honda Acty)!

   

Not Japanese at first glance, but underhood of this Mini is B-series VTEC!

 

TWO R32 Skylines and DWA member Art C’s Toyota Celica All-trac:

 

Andrew’s Datsun 510 RHD SSS tribute looking fantastic:

 

Euro Classics

Yearning for Porsche’s? Or something a bit less “mainstream”? DWA CnC did not disappoint. Check out these Porsche 914s, from flared to bone-stock:

 

Early Porsche 911’s, including a REAL Carrera RS:

  

Ferrari F355 (manual!) and a Doka:

  

I spotted a Dino 246 on the way back, this couple was doing it right!

American Muscle was also present. Here is a C5 ZR-1, recently won from our friends at BringaTrailer.com! Pretty C3 Vette, and a GM wagon displaying some power…

  

Cool cars could be found outside the main lot as well!

 

 

DWA CnC was definitely my kind of cars and coffee. It’s a great venue right on the coast across from a bakery/cafe and the cars were so diverse. They spark emotion and memories that new cars just can’t match. We highly recommend checking it out! Thanks to the DWA crew for hosting. If you haven’t already, listen to their podcast and make sure you give them a follow on Instagram.
More pictures in the gallery below!

 
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Z Car Garage is proud to attend the 2018 SEMA show this week in Las Vegas! Our customer Randy Jaffe is displaying his 1970 Datsun 240z in the Braille Battery booth #25029. Please stop by the booth and don’t forget to see our hero Pete Brock as he will be in the Braille booth for autograph sessions:

Tuesday 10-11:30am and 3-4pm
Thursday 9:30am-10:30am and 3-4pm

  

We look forward to seeing you! Enjoy this video showing the Z on our dyno, loading into SEMA and some footage of Pete Brock from ZCon last week.

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

 

 

 

Z Car Garage is featured in the current November issue of Grassroots Motorsports Magazine! Writer/GRM Live Host David S. Wallens visited our shop earlier this year and also dyno’d the new ND Miata with us. Grab a copy on newsstands now!

 

Classic Motorsports Magazine recaps the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion in their November issue, showing Rob Fuller’s IMSA GTU Datsun 240z and Randy Jaffe’s #46 BRE Datsun 240z.

 

Paolo M came to ZCG for a differential build on his 370z. The G35/350z and G37/370z cars all share the same diff bushing failure due to aggressive driving or simple wear and tear. From Nissan, the OEM diff bushing is filled with silicone, and will burst/leak this fluid resulting in a noticeable clunk when shifting.  Paulo’s Z34 had the tell-tale sign of the diff bushing failure, with visible leakage on the cover:

 

Nissan will not replace the bushing alone. By design, Nissan wants you to replace the entire rear subframe at a substantial cost.  Fortunately, Whiteline makes a really nice bushing that can be installed and it is a mandatory solution whenever we perform a diff job at ZCG. In addition to replacing the diff bushings, we replaced the bearings, changed the final drive and installed an OS Giken limited-slip unit:

 

The diff is removed from the Z and OS Giken LSD prepped:

  

We check the pinion depth by testing the wear pattern on the ring gear with paint:

   

For an added piece of security for the differential we installed a NISMO diff cover. Its extra oil capacity and finned design aid in cooling for hard driving. The unit was filled with OS Giken gear oil:

 
We finished with an engine oil change and Paolo was back on the road. He’s visited ZCG several times and we like working on his Z34. Enjoy The Ride Paolo!

 

We have been working with Mike M and his 2006 Z33 since last year. With every visit to ZCG this 350z gets upgraded in both power and chassis areas. In November 2017, with 111k miles on the VQ a Vortech supercharger was installed with supporting mods:

   

Chassis improvements: KW V3 coil overs, SPC front/rear control arms, Hotchkis sway bars and a full alignment. We also installed ART pipes to replace the factory cats:

 

Hotchkis front and rear sway bars:

   

ART Pipes:

  

Mike’s latest visit to ZCG included fueling, gauges and more power upgrades. The fuel system was converted to support E85/ethanol starting with a Walbro 485 in-tank fuel pump:

 

Next, a CJ Motorsports Stage 2 fuel return system help keep up with the Walbro pump:

  

Increased fuel demands of E85 require larger fuel injectors so we installed IDX 1050CC units. A Zeitronix ethanol sensor is critical for monitoring E85 content:

  

The brains to managing the E85 content is a Haltech Platinum Pro plug-in. A PLX Devices dm6 AFR/gen4 gauge pod also accommodates the Zeitronix ethanol sensor readout:

  

Final power adder was a 2.87 pulley for the supercharger and our ZCG air bypass for the race gate:

 

From the dyno charts below, having the ability to change the ethanol content of fuel allows for more hp/torque.  More smiles per gallon as well with E85 currently at $1.99/gallon

(left) Baseline before Haltech tuning: 331hp/286tq and (right) baseline to 91 octane tune with Haltech: 346hp/303tq to the wheels

  

Final 91 octane tune with the Haltech: 364hp/306tq at the wheels:

 

75% Ethanol tune: 421hp/345tq to the wheels:

 

To balance an extra 126hp power from the Vortech we installed a Stoptech Big-Brake Kit. Up front are 332mm ST40 calipers in red, with slotted rotors:

 

Stock vs Stoptech:

  

The new brake also look great behind the Enkei RPF1 wheels:

 

Enjoy the Ride Mike!