| so thought I'd share some fun things that have been going on in my "car world". My current mods are in my profile. 1st gear: First on the stage, of course, is an update on my Z32 TT. I trekked down to see the good folks at Specialty Z over the summer for a little Z R&R which included:
- Install of Specialty Z flywheel and High 5 clutch (https://specialtyz.com/shop/300zx.html?cat=10)
- Install of SZ-rebuilt transmission
- Install of SZ ECU Map selector with 5 programs in the clock location using the clock - VERY cool! (https://specialtyz.com/shop/300zx.html?cat=17&manufacturer=7)
- 91, 100, and Q16 tunes These guys are dressed to impress. Here the Z sits on the dyno with all the associated electronics to monitor the Z's vital signals: 
and the engine bay as it sits today: 
On a conservative 91 octane tune, the Z was tuned to 493rwhp / 429rwtq @15psi: 
Change the map to 100 octane, and the Z ran just under 600rwhp / 533rwtq at ~20psi: 
Turn up the wick for Q16, and she growled out 658rwhp / 586rwtq at 24psi. 
That should be enough (i.e. plenty) to make a 10s quarter mile pass with this toy! Driving the Z on the street on 100 octane with the new trans and clutch/fw combination is pure joy. SZ - you guys (and gal!) are awesome. The Z back at home nestled happily on the (carpeted) garage: 
Shifting into second gear and changing things a bit to newer Zs. We replaced my wife's silver 2004 ZR with a matching-the-family black 2007 ZR. The 04' scooted pretty good for a heavy roadster, but I must say that the extra power from the HR motor in the 07-09' 350Zs is quite noticeable and VERY welcome. And boy does she wind nicely to 7500RPM. Old and new: 
And there's a happy wife on the new Zs delivery day: 
Keeping on and hitting 3rd gear brings an older Z, a 73' 240Z to be specific, into the limelight. A small group of us teamed up for the 24 Hour of Lemons Race held at Thunderhill Raceway in early August. What does that entail? A $500 beater (minus safety items, wheels, tires, brakes, etc.) and some team dedication to race for 17 hours. The team with the most laps, wins! Our engineless Z when this all started: 
And on race day: 
Out of 121 competitors, we managed an 11th place finish with 2 newbie drivers - not bad! Read my full write-up here: [ http://www.zcarblog.com/2010/08/20/events/24hrs-of-lemons-report-8810.html ] Power into 4th gear - Laguna Seca video with some 350Z-on-370Z action: This video was taken from the side of my car, but compiled by a "friend" who owned the camera. The point of that statement? Turn off the sound unless you like cheesy dance music. :) [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFuOcX4MQ_U ] Z-on-Z starts at about the 2 minute mark. If you get bored of watching, at least watch from the 9 minute mark on, as I'm finally able to get a rolling head-of-steam and make the (safe?) pass against my buddy in the 370Z which clearly has more power. 5th gear - track Z gets a makeover: I hadn't posted much since showing some on-track video of the track 350 playing with the 993 SuperCup car ([ http://www.twinturbo.net/nissan/300zx/forums/general/view/2363200/470rwhp-Z32TT-vs-2005-997-C2S-revisited--Ever-happen.html ]), but much has happened since. The track Z previously looked like this: 
William's Autobody, in Santa Clara, CA, agreed to "brighten" up the look of this otherwise-boring old 350Z. With all the events I've been doing with it, we thought it'd be good to change up the color for a little more pop. Well, here is the finished product from that adventure. It's a 60s/70s muscle car color called "Go Green". Now we just need to work on the GO portion a bit. ;) 
and a short autox vid: [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJdNYougX04 ] Ok, that's all the gears I have! -Smitty
Originally Posted by solidfish on my350z.com:
"Hey Scott. Thanks for the ride by the way. Your car and driving is sick. Literally, I was sick. It was like riding a mad rollercoaster. The car turns like its on rails. And the braking was unreal. So many times I thought we were going to fly off the track. Absolutely nuts, but it was great fun." |
Hi y'all! I've been around, but haven't posted much lately - 
