We met Rich G when he called us about the suspension on his 2011 G37 Sport Coupe.  After visiting a wheel shop to get new wheels/tires installed he reported the car was bottoming out and felt very unstable. Rich sought out a specialist (sound familiar?), called ZCG and met with Rob to assess the car. We put the G up on the rack and noticed installation of very aggressive H&R lowering springs. The springs and aggressive wheel/tire fitment made the car bottom out and also cause excessive camber wear.

 

We immediately changed the springs to a set of Eibach progressive rate units which are fantastic for a car that just wants to be slightly lower and enjoyed as a daily driver.

   

The wheels were wrapped in new Hankook v12 evo S2 tires and SPC  F/R control arms help keep the suspension properly aligned. The G still has a nice stance:

 

Rich’s son is a younger fellow and removed the rear muffler so we put it back on for Rich. If you are going to wear tires like an adult sports car…it might as well sound like one too:) After the G was sorted we heard from Rich a few weeks later and he was super stoked with the way the car rides.  He was also happy to report perfect tire wear too.

  

So here we have another great example of the specialty shop working for you! Enjoy The Ride, Rich!

Hello Zcarblog readers! In our next blog posts we aim to demonstrate the importance of a specialty shop for your Nissan/Infiniti/Datsun.

Let’s begin with Justin L’s 2013 370z. He had a Stillen supercharger installed at a local shop and while there are many competent shops that can get your car ready to go, the specialist exists for a reason: we have become proficient at specific installations because the are part of our daily routine.

 

The Stillen supercharger kit for the Z34 is an install we are intimately familiar with, and as a result we corrected several things on Justin’s car including engine codes and a fuse in the intercooler pump system that wasn’t allowing water to be pumped into the IC.  We also adjusted the clutch pedal and crossed the T’s and dotted the I’s as we do for many folks that bring their cars to ZCG.

Rob tuned the car using Ecutek software flashing with a MAP sensor instead of the MAF and Stillen-supplied CAN tunes.  Moving to speed density allows more control improved driveablity from idle to on boost. The results were impressive:

 

Justin’s Z came to us with 360hp/291tq and left with 396hp/321tq at the wheels. Gains of 36hp/30tq using slightly less boost as well with gains throughout the entire rev range. Justin is a happy camper and hopefully we’ve gained another customer for life. Long Live The Z!

 

 

 

We had fun participating in the inaugural Spring Classic event held on May 19-21 at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway. The weekend was filled with vintage races celebrating cars from the 70s, 80s, 90s and the Datsun/Nissan presence was impressive!

Racing the Hakosuka

Our duty was race support for Driver/Owner Alex McDowell and his 1971 Nissan Skyline.  This Hakosuka was originally built and raced by Jim Froula who successfully raced it at the famous ROLEX Motorsports Reunion in 2014 and 2015:

  

This was our first time running the Hako at a road course, and a first time for Alex at the helm. One of the goals of this event was to familiarize ourselves with this machine. Alex, however, is familiar with the Laguna Seca road course having run Spec Miata and his own R32 Skyline GT-R on several occasions:

 

The Hako had fueling issues early on but with some sorting we finished the final race on Sunday, an accomplishment we are proud of.

 

Here is a short video showing the sights and sounds of the Hako on the racetrack, turn the volume up and enjoy!

 

Datsuns Galore in Trans-Am 2.5 liter

My favorite part of the Spring Classic was its “mini” Rolex event-like feel.  All the excitement of wheel-to-wheel battles with your favorite vintage race cars…in a relaxed atmosphere without the huge crowds. One of the most anticipated and action-packed races was the 2.5 Trans Am Liter group including almost a dozen Datsun 510s!

 

 

Our friends Jim Froula, Dave Stone, Steve Link and Troy Ermish put on a show in their B-sedan Datsun 510s. Heated battles can be seen in the nice video below assembled by Steve and Mary Walker:

 

Troy in his Blue/Black (38) 510 won both Trans-Am 2.5 Liter races on Sunday, dueling with a 911 and eventually passing him for the win.

  

Troy is an amazing guy and phenomenal driver.  See video below:

 

Adding to the Datsun Domination were several Z cars running alongside us in the 1967-1972 Formula B group.  John Wilkins 240z and Less Cannaday’s 280zx:

  

Glenn Chiou and his beautifully prepped 240z.

 

Trans-Am Muscle

I love muscle cars. The Trans Am group is my personal favorite and the Spring Classic did not disappoint. Despite the laid-back atmosphere these heart-pounding machines still got adrenaline flowing and ears blazing.

 

The line-up from pit lane for Trans-Am…HEAVEN!

 

Epic Paddock Finds

Another highlight of vintage racing events at Laguna Seca is finding eye candy in the paddock. Top of my list had to be this street-converted 1979 BMW M1 Procar, restored by Canepa. Look at those wheels!

 

 

Air-cooled magnificence. 356, 993-4S and race:

 

Radical race cars from wayback:

  

Lastly, how can we forget our very own Ms. ButterZ that Rob commuted in, followed by Alex’s Kenmeri Skyline. This is how you arrive and drive at ‘Seca!

 

Thank you for all the friends that stopped by to say hello and Michelle Schall for the track photos. We hope the Spring Classic becomes a yearly staple to keep historic racing fans happy!

Please visit our photo gallery for more pictures!

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The 2017 Solvang Datsun Roadster show took place on April 22. Now in its 30th year, this event continues a tradition of uniting owners from all parts of the world in a little town just outside of Santa Barbara. There is something for everyone here: shopping, food, wine-tasting, outdoor activities, and in the last weekend of April an epic gathering of Datsuns!

   

This year I was fortunate to bring my roadster and family to enjoy the weekend…

  

…and it was a fantastic show with perfect weather and close to 100 Datsuns on First Street in downtown Solvang:

Photo: Michael Anderson

On to the cars! Here are some highlights from the day…there were only a handful of 1967 2000 roadsters this year. Some of these cars are considered the “cream of the crop” with full restorations or OEM levels of detail like Mike Young’s SRL #266:

 

Winning best of show was this SR311 #0086, frame-off restored by Steve Pettersen:

This Right-Hand-Drive model had neat details like Enkei Compe-8 wheels, rear parcel shelf bracing and a km/h speedometer:

   

Roadsters were arranged by year and class, either stock or modified. The organizers did a phenomenal job of staging everyone!

 

Going the Distance

The Solvang Show draws roadster owners from all over the US, and world! We can always count on Jim and Susan to make the trek from Sonora, Mexico in their ’68 SRL with matching trailer.  Richard and Erika visited from the Netherlands and drove from Bellvue, Washington with their host, Ted Heaton. Catch their Roadster road-trip over on 311s.org.

    

Stock is Good

Solvang showcases everything from pristine to highly modified examples of roadsters. These two early 1600s were very sharp with requisite whitewall tires, chrome-ringed gauges and classy red interiors:

 

Sitting perfectly as a bookend to the low-windshield 1600s was Mike’s 67.5 SPL.  With a Solex carb’d R16 stroker, factory (high) roll bar, red interior and Watanabe wheels this car is very tasty:

 

 

Engine Swaps

Like the 510 and Z cars, the Datsun Roadster chassis accept many engine swaps and several caught my eye this year.  It is worth mentioning that this year’s show had the most SR20 swaps to date. I parked in a row of about 8!

 

I first saw this VG30-powered ’67 last year:

    

The S2000-powered ’69 SRL made a return appearance and it still blew my mind. Such a clean, OEM-level install:

    

Two SR20-swapped roadsters deserved some further inspection. John Daly’s ’67 sported a neatly integrated A/C unit on the NA S15 and a factory-like hardtop. What I thought were SSR MKii wheels were actually “Migu” units. Note split front bumpers:

       

Kevin Desirello’s ’69 had a simple, clean aesthetic. S14 SR20,  Z32 brakes, RS-8 wheels and clever “SR20” badging were all nice touches:

   

It is always good to see show favorites returning year after year with constant evolvement. Ted Heaton drove his Spriso Motorsports-built ’66 all the way from Washington.

 

The Plymouth Prowler Orange beauty has an S15 SR20DET with 6-speed and Ford rear end. Other nice details include wide RS-8 wheels and Mercedes G-Wagen headlights! Ted was very proud of his power-adding badges :

   

Trends?

If you think engine swaps are gaining popularity what other trends are developing? Hardtops are slowly showing up. With factory-like options from aftermarket companies you too can have a body-color (or any finish) hardtop for your roadster:
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Last week our friend Eric Straw visited us for tuning on his incredible RB26DETT-powered 1984 DR30 Skyline. You might remember Eric stopping by the shop last year on his way down to the JCCS show, where the DR30 put down 462hp/348tq on our dyno. Eric expressed interest in more power without sacrificing reliability:

“The only plans I have for it at this point is a pair of GT2860RS, new injectors and Haltech Platinum Pro Tuning by Z Car Garage in spring”

  

So spring arrived and Eric collected his parts including new GT2860RS turbos, Radium Engineering fuel supply, Injector Dynamics ID1050x injectors, and a Haltech Platinum Pro from ZCG. Rob began dyno tuning sessions and road data-logging.

 

Eric wanted the Skyline to run on Oregon’s readily available pump gas, and the result was 532hp/389tq to the wheels on 92 octane. Power delivery is very linear and Eric’s fastidious chassis-prep harnesses the power so well it is hard to believe you are riding in a 80’s Japanese car!  Here is video of the DR in action:

 

Our good friend Michael Spreadbury accompanied Eric on the roadtrip down from Oregon. Michael was instrumental in the DR build and is a well-known Datsun-guru building some killer SR20-powered roadsters from his shop at Spriso Motorsports. While the two were in town Rob shared the Nissan Patrol and had the boys put some miles on the DR30 after the fresh tune.

  

On Saturday 4/15 we had a great opportunity to take the DR30 to Laguna Seca and watch
Patrick Chio race in the USTCC and our customer Kevin B enjoy a track day. I had to join in on the fun with my roadster 🙂

 

The Skyline was impressive to watch on the freeway. From inside it feels like it is carved from billet with surprising balance between ride stiffness/NVH. Oh, and that RB26 is velvety-smooth with thrust for days. We think Eric is quite happy look at that RHD smile!

   

Laguna Seca was filled with plenty of eye candy. We even saw a few BAYZA Z32s/Z31s! Always fun to see owner’s solutions to the ever-changing sound restrictions:

 

Laguna Seca also makes a fantastic backdrop for photos.

 

 

At the end of the day we snuck into the garages to capture some “pretend” race-day shots:

 

The trip home was exhilarating. The DR30 has some glorious 80’s lines and those after-burner tail lights glow just right at dusk:

 

We had a rad time with you Michael and Eric!  Enjoy The Boost!

More pictures in the gallery below

More pics in the gallery
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