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!
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:
We are excited to sponsor and be a part of the 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show this Saturday 9/15 in Long Beach. Stop by the Z Car Garage booth to see our Big-Brake kit for small wheels, CV Axles and pick up some free swag.
On display in the ZCG booth is one of our latest builds, Randy Jaffe’s 1970 Series 1 240z:
We are also very proud of ZCG customer James S’ 1972 240z. He will be driving his turbocharged L-series down to JCCS and displaying it with fellow owners.
The show takes place from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm in Marina Green Park, and it is the highlight of all J-Tin shows! Catch a glimpse of what JCCS is all about in our report Last year’s show. Z you there!
There are vintage car races every month of the year, but few draw such amazing machines as the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Each year the Reunion has a featured marque and this year it was Nissan, previously known as Datsun. This was the very first time a Japanese manufacturer was honored as the featured marque in 45 years of running the event! As you can imagine, excited Datsun racers and fans around the nation made plans to attend the Reunion held 8/23-26 at Laguna Seca Raceway.
We had a blast at the RMMR and I was once again fortunate to be on the Z Car Garage pit crew for several race cars. Read further for our report, illustrated by a 200+ shot gallery with videos. Enjoy! Here is a short introductory video highlighting the Nissan/Datsun group photo (50 cars!) and a taste of racing action to come:
An epic showing from Nissan Motorsports
Nissan really rose to the occasion, bringing historically significant race cars from Japan to offer a museum-like collection under its paddock tent. Our friends at Japanese Nostalgic Car (JNC) took an in-depth look at each of the cars displayed, catch their excellent coverage HERE. My favorites were the #46 BRE 510, Grand-Prix dominating R382, hyper-rare Nissan R390 GT1 Road Car, and of course the monstrous GTP ZX Turbo car. We wish they would have driven them on the track!
Datsun fans unite
When the announcement was made that Nissan would be the featured marque at the RMMR, we knew it had to be an unforgettable experience for all Datsun enthusiasts. An event “not to be missed”, and that is where The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) comes in. We reached out to club secretary Ann Devor, and her team coordinated a Nissan-only parking corral AND a parade lap around the world famous, 11-turn, 2.238-mile jewel of a road course called Weathertech Laguna Seca Raceway.
Car corral attendance was impressive, and it was absolute bliss for all participants. There were over 130 cars including Datsun 510s, Z cars and roadsters followed by Z32s, Z33s, Z34s and GT-Rs.
Staging for the parade lap was awesome with smiles everywhere! Living legend Pete Brock even rode shotgun in a Datsun Roadster as the lead car. We were fortunate to get almost two full laps in, at a surprisingly brisk pace. Please see our picture gallery and link (from Jason Green) for shots of your car!
Missed out on the fun? In the video below you can see my coverage of the car corral and parade lap. Also included is parade lap footage captured from the Corkscrew, one of the track’s infamous turns, thanks to Gary Savage:
Serious recognition for Japanese Classics
The Reunion is a highlight for race fans, but it is also part of Monterey Car Week which is filled with classy events like auctions and the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance. Another first for Japanese cars was the Japanese Automotive Invitational hosted by Infiniti. This inaugural event displayed landmark Japanese vehicles. While I did not have a chance to visit the JAI, Speedhunters did. We are proud of three cars displayed: Tim Corcoran’s stunning ’64 Datsun 1500, a hakosuka Skyline GT-R from our friends at JDM Legends, and Brian Kippen’s Nissan Patrol:
Epic racing
With 50 Nissan/Datsuns racing this year the starting grid for Group 3B (B-sedan, roadsters), Group 5A (IMSA GTU) and even Group 7B (IMSA GTO) was a fan’s wish come true. Z Car Garage supported 5 race cars, and Rob Fuller would be driving one of them as well. Rob’s operational plan was to assign one technician per race car to ensure that all were ready for each session. It was an orchestral process to watch unfold, and we pulled it off as all 5 cars made it through the Pre-Reunion week and race!
Take a lap with John Morton in the BRE Datsun 240z
For this year’s Reunion, Z Car Garage prepared and supported the #46 BRE Datsun 240z piloted once again by our hero John Morton. Owner Randy Jaffe restored this Z over several years with fanatic attention to detail. The Z was shipped to ZCG from Georgia, needing refreshing from racing earlier this year at The Mitty (Nissan was also the featured marque).
At 76 years of age John Morton is still formidable behind the wheel!
Enjoy this extended video with in-car footage of John dicing it up with Porsche RSRs and BMW CSLs…Long Live The Z!
John finished the race as the fastest Z car in the field! 8th overall out of 52 cars with a best lap time of 1:41.8. The BRE 240z also enjoyed the Monterey scene off the track, taking a trip to the lush greens of the Quail and shop-lined streets of the Carmel Concours. The video below shows the drive to these events and features a bonus interview from Motor Trend with Rob at Z Car Garage:
