As if the last 2 posts about GT-Rs didn’t get your juices flowing…This silver beauty belongs to Jay E. He found out about ZCarGarage through one of the most popular GT-R forums on the web: The North American GT-R Owners Club, or “nagtroc”. This is the place to be for all things R35-related!
Jay made the trip to ZCG from SF to have some new, aggressively sized wheels/tires and springs installed. Here are a few shots with the OEM rolling stock:
Jay chose wheels from ADV.1, specifically their ADV5.1 model. This is a lightweight forged monoblock wheel with a simple, yet clean look. You can find more info on ADV.1 wheels HERE
The thin-spoke design really let’s those gigantic rotors and Brembos pop. Wheels are 20×11 up front with a 295/30 tire and 20×12 in back with a massive 335/30 tire! The rear wheel also has a subtle concave spoke design that looks killer from a rear 3/4 view. ZCG’s Fred M installed the Eibach Pro-Kit springs to complement the larger wheel/tire package.
With the 2012 GT-R just coming out we are seeing more and more R35 owners modifying and driving their cars!
Plenty more shots in the gallery, enjoy! …[read more]
It’s raining GT-Rs at ZCarGarage! Owner Kevin K had a blast driving his GT-R at Thunderhill recently. You might remember seeing his car at ZCG for several mods including an exhaust system, wheels/springs and a few other items. Kevin also displayed the GT-R at the SJ Auto Show in January. These awesome on-track pictures are from Gotbluemilk.
How cool does this R35 look at speed?
Kevin had an impressive list of parts installed including:
-Deatschwerks 750cc injectors
-Cobb AccessPORT, Custom tuned by HorsePower Logic
-Clear Bra by Premier Protective Films
-Downforce Carbon Fiber body kit by none other than Williams Auto Body
-Go Fast Bits blow-off valves:
Check out the AMS Catted Downpipes, compared to the OEM units:
The stock rear section of the exhaust was replaced by this beautiful HKS Legamax Exhaust:
The center section leading up to the downpipes was replaced by a GTM Challenge Race Spec non-resonated midpipe:
It looks and sounds amazing!
Kevin has great taste and chose some very sharp Volk Racing TE37 G2 wheels finished in Flat Black: 20 x 10 F, 20 x 11 R. Combined with Swift Springs and carbon fiber lower trim this GT-R looks sinister on the street and on the track!
Incredible. Amazing. Sensational. My limited vocabulary seems to be fading and my legs are trembling as I exit the driver’s seat after driving a 2012 Nissan GT-R. This car blows my mind, and that’s only from a brief stint driving on the street! No, it’s not my new car 🙁
This GT-R belongs to Walt P, a long time customer and friend of ZCG. He also worked at Nissan for a few years and owns a beastly 300zx Twin-Turbo with ~700hp that will be featured on the blog soon. Walt was in the market for a fast, do-it-all sportscar that could be driven on the track wet/dry and feel equally at home on the street. He drove several cars like the BMW M3(E92) and Audi R8, but the GT-R won his heart. We think he made the right choice 🙂
With only 6 miles on the clock Walt immediately set out to familiarize himself with his new acquaintance. Minding the break-in period he drove hard and fast through Bay Area back roads, racking up 150miles+ within hours of getting the keys! Unlike most GT-Rs this one is and will be DRIVEN! 12hrs after purchase check the sidewall out! Look for it at the upcoming track day at Laguna Seca in April.
Walt chose an exterior/interior combo that exudes an understated classiness. The paint color is Aurora Flare Pearl and it’s gorgeous under varying light. It’s a color that looks just right on the GT-R and is less ubiquitous than Gun Metal or Silver.
The 2012 has a host of improvements to the interior and exterior. The menacing front end is even more pronounced with LED lighting:
It’s in the details: New wheels, CF strut bar (I thought it was trim!), red accented intake and vents on the rear trim:
We took the GT-R to the weigh scale and it was 3900lbs with a full tank of gas. It is a large car that feels quite the opposite when behind the wheel. Walt was kind enough to let me take the GT-R for a spin and I was very impressed. First, the interior feels and looks much better than the previous models I’ve seen.
The dual-clutch transmission is phenomenal. Shifts that are so crisp and instant it could probably make the most diehard 3-pedal fans envious (and I’m all for saving the stick!). One’s perception of time and space gets seriously skewed behind the wheel of this car. The surge of torque and accompanying sounds of the exhaust and turbos make roll-on acceleration a “prepare for hyperdrive” experience. I did not explore the limits of the GT-R or it’s adjustable suspension, diff, and throttle settings. Walt, however showed me how incredible the GT-R is accelerating out of corners. In “Race” mode he could drift the tail out, and sure enough the car would magically hook up the front wheels and rocket out of the turn. AWD traction and RWD handling. Brilliant.
Here are few videos we took just having fun. It is truly a sight to see when a supercar owner actually drives the car instead of putting in a garage to admire(which I’m sure he will do tonight):
Check out the current issue of Motor Trend magazine for a comparo between the GT-R, Z06 ‘Vette, and Shelby Mustang: TrackRace DragRace
Congratulations Walt and thanks for making my day!
Long Live the GT-R!
You can see more photos of the GT-R in the gallery: …[read more]
In 1974 Mazda introduced the RX-4 wagon with the 13B rotary engine, it’s first debut in the US. Rob found this RX-4 in fantastic shape, it was a real time-capsule! The interior is really impressive with stock panels, seats, and carpeting all intact. Check out the factory air cleaner, and the peace-statement bumper sticker. Rob definitely has a problem: he is addicted to vintage Japanese cars. Find out how he came upon this RX-4:
“While in my early 20s I owned a rotary-powered 510 race car… which made me wanting more so I played with a few 1st gen RX-7s and for a brief period I even owned a 1974 Rx-4 coupe. I am always on the hunt for clean, early Rotary-powered cars. My morning and evening ritual is to cruise Craigslist with my favorite searches. One day I came across an ad for a 1974 RX4 station wagon. I called and arranged a time to see it. It had been sitting in a barn for about 10 years. We hooked up a battery and all the lights worked. The car was really clean so I had to buy it. The following day I had the car towed to ZCG. Once it got to the shop we went to work right away to clean it up and see if it ran.”
“By the end of the second day we got the Rotary Wagon to light off, but it was smoking enough to make Archer St. disappear! The rear rotor seals failed. I was bummed but I knew what this would lead too. The engine was removed and sent to Rebello racing. A few months later the engine was back and ready to go in the car. Using a Racing Beat header and stock carb the piston-less engine put down some nice numbers(188hp/165tq) on the Rebello dyno. A larger carb is on the way!”
The great thing about this wagon besides its functionality is that it’s a hoot to drive! RWD and the 13B: A legendary motor with 30 years of years of tuning/aftermarket support. Leave it to Rob and the crew at ZCG to get any car running, and performing better than it did from the factory. ZCG’s dyno shows a surprisingly torquey motor with over 100ft-lbs available from 2000 to 6000rpm!:
Rob drove the Rotary Wagon through the winding hills of Santa Cruz on our last fun run to Canepa Design in Scotts Valley. I was amazed how he hurtled this car around corners at 60-70mph, didn’t see that coming! The rotary sounds distinctive. I had a chance to commute in this wagon for about a week and it was a blast!
Here are few videos to give you an idea what the 13B sounds like:
2nd-gear roll-on from 4500rpm:
Cruising happily on the freeway:
Freeway merging is a breeze!
Rob and the vintage Mazda are featured in the upcoming April issue of the Japanese car magazine “NostalgicHero”!
Rob’s interest in vintage Japanese cars is contagious and word on the street is that there may be an old Subaru hanging out at ZCG, stay tuned!
More pictures below …[read more]
A long time ago in a city close to the bay a guy named John loved this Z.
Back then John was a 16 year-old teenager and he had a dream of merging the sexiness of a Z body with the feeling of wind in his hair. After finishing high school and college the Z had become a constant in John’s life. Sometime in the late 80’s he met Darrell from Darrell’s Datsuns where the transformation from hardtop coupe to droptop convertible was made. Darrell Riley built Zs for a living until he was in his 70s! That’s die-hard Datsun.
When Darrell’s closed down in 2004 ZCG bought some of his equipment and with it lots of cool Datsun memories.
Meet John’s topless Z…After having the Z cherried out he put it away to preserve its condition. Now in his mid forties…It was time to relive memories and that feeling you get when you bring one of your favorite things back to life.
After some online searching…John was directed by Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) to ZCG. We looked over the Z and made a plan of attack including a full Rebello engine build using the existing L24. It was very important to John that the original block be used and not look over the top. Besides triple carbs and a few more performance items under the hood it will look like the trusty L24…with 2.8L of Nissan L-series power!
It is interesting to see how the body is modified to achieve drop-top status…all of the trim pieces and interior bits are removed in preparation for paint:
