Eric M came to Z Car Garage to sort out some running issues on his VQ35-swapped 240sx drift car. What’s that you say? A 350z engine in a 240sx?! This engine swap has actually been quite popular and offers a few advantages over the more common SR/RB/2JZ/LSx drivetrains.
When Eric first came in his car was NA. Rob made a few quick fixes and UPREV tuned with considerable improvements. The VQ made 263hp/247tq at the wheels:
Eric needed more power so he installed a Vortech supercharger and came back to us for tuning. With 395hp/344tq to the wheels keeping those rear tires spinning would be easy!
Here is Eric in action at a recent drifting event. Turn up the volume and listen to that VQ scream!
Eric had an epic race weekend finishing 7th place out of 75 total drivers and only 16 qualifiers! He had no problem matching this 780hp 2JZ-powered Lexus…look how close they are!
Great driving Eric, and thanks for letting us work on your drift machine!
Alfredo D is a new customer that met us on the ZONC Canepa Design fun run in 2013. After visiting Z Car Garage he wanted to improve the fun factor on his Z33 roadster with bolt-ons. We gave him the ZCG essentials: Bassani exhaust, JWT POP charger, Eibach springs and control arms.
We know the OEM exhaust system on a 350z is mellifluous…few can mistake that undeniable VQ-burble. Why not accentuate that sound and gain a few hp in the process? The Bassani cat-back exhaust system is one of the best no-compromise setups available!
The JWT intake helps with breathing and gives a nice growl under throttle:
Firming up the Z’s handling are Eibach springs and SPC adjustable control arms. Full alignment follows.
Enjoy the new sound as you carve through the twisties Alfredo!
Our customer and friend of the shop Bill Clark just reviewed the 2014 Nismo 370z for eBay Motors Blog. In addition to giving readers a taste of the 370z, he also compares it to his slightly modified 350z. Bill’s 2007 350z was one of the first HR-powered cars at ZCG to receive a Bassani exhaust and minor bolt-ons resulting in just over 300whp. Time does fly and these mods were installed six years ago! Good news is that Bill is still Enjoying The Ride in his beloved 350z and he was kind enough to think of Z Car Garage when writing his eBay article. We happily dyno’d both the Nismo 370z and Bill’s 350z so check his review out for the results!
Thanks again Bill for giving ZCG a shout in your review!
We worked on Dannie P’s Infiniti FX35 last year adding GTSpec bracing and a custom Bassani exhaust system. Dannie came back to ZCG recently for more mods. We installed additional bracing from Summit/GTspec and Fast Intentions resonated high-flow cats (HFCs) followed by on-road tuning.
Here is the front crossmember brace:
HFCs, in place of stock cats (L):
We did on-road tuning to make sure the A/F and timing were safe. Enjoy The Ride Dannie!
Greg S came to Z Car Garage for some bolt-ons on his HR-powered 350z. We installed JWT dual pop chargers and a Bassani cat-back exhaust:
Intakes before/after:
Bassani exhaust:
Let’s take a look at what the bolt-ons do on the dyno. Starting with a baseline of 253hp/223tq the JWT intakes alone slightly increase peak hp/tq, with significant mid and upper rev range gains:
Adding the Bassani exhaust yielded greater gains throughout the rev range, netting +8hp/6tq over baseline:
An UPREV tune further optimizes these bolt-ons. Look at the huge low to mid-range gains of over 20hp/20tq! Peak numbers are 264hp/246tw to the wheels, a +11hp/23tq improvement over baseline with more power everywhere!
