The Background:
So I figured its about time that I start my own project thread, since yet again I bought a car with plans to keep it stock, and yeah, that didnt happen.
I decided I wanted a real sports car after moving down to Florida and realizing that I could finally own a RWD car. I had spent all my life prior in Chicago, so FWD or AWD were really a necesity for dealing with the snow, leading to me mostly having Hondas and Acuras, the last of which was my 2007 TL Type-S:
The Search:
I truly enjoyed that car, but it just wasn't enough for me, so I started my search. I test drove a ton of cars, namely:
2006 BMW Z4M Coupe
2011 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS
2011 BMW M3
2001 BMW M5
2010 Infiniti G37S Convertible
2008 BMW M5 (can you guess I like BMWs?)
After driving these cars, I decided the Infinity Convertible would be my best choice and set out to find one in manual. Well they are unicorns, nearly impossible to find with the right colors/condition/price. During my search, a friend asked if I had tried the Z, since its basically the same as the G. When I realized that I had missed it, I set out to the Nissan dealer, chatted up a rep about a brand new Z sitting on the lot, and was quickly taking a test drive. It was fantastic! Everything I loved about the G (except the quietness) but even faster and grittier! I told the salesman I would think about it and headed home to do more research.
I started where most people do, HERE! I read up as much as I could about issues, color an option combos, and thats when I stumbled across a picture of someone with a 40th. It wasnt the grey paint or wheels that got me, it was that sweet Red interior!! I set off to find a 40th near me. It wasnt long before I found one in Clearwater (about 2.5 hours from Orlando) that was CPO, looked to be in killer condition, and was decently priced. I hit up the internet salesman, went back and fourth for a few days, and by the weekend drove out and picked up my car! Now Im terrible about taking pictures of my own car, so this is the only one I can dig up while it was stock when I got it in January of 2013:
Build 1.0:
I intended the car to stay stock but that didnt last long. A front lip turned into wheels. And then I needed suspension. And so on.
When I went to ZdayZ for my first time in May of 2014, this is how she sat:
Build 2.0:
After ZdayZ I had learned a LOT about my car, what I had done right (brakes), and what I had done wrong (wheel and tire choices). Ive made some select changes and this is how she sits now (sorry for the potato quality, one of the reasons im starting a build thread is because it will hopefully inspire me to take more and better pics!):
My current list of mods:
Body:
Seibon SR Front Lip- Carbon Fiber
Evo-R Side Blades - Carbon Fiber
Aerojacket SR Rear Spats - Carbon Fiber
Evo-R Fang Cover - Carbon Fiber
Evo-R Door Handle Covers - Carbon Fiber
Evo-R Front Z Emblem - Carbon Fiber
Z Speed Performance Aluminum Undershield
Headlights:
Blackout with Gunmetal Shrouds
Osram Xenarc CBI HID Bulbs
TRS STI-r Clear HID Lenses
Modified Cut-Offs
Wheels and Tires:
Forgestar CF5V - 19x10 +30 Front & 19x11 +18 Rear
Michelin Pilot Super Sport - 275/35R19 Front & 305/30R19 Rear
Muteki SR48 Lug Nuts
Brakes:
Z1 2-Piece Front Rotors
Hawk HPS Pads
Stillen Brake Ducts
Motul Fluid
Interior:
Carbon Fiber Element Red CF Center Console
Redline Goods Shift Boot - Red Alcantara
Pioneer AVH-X5500BHS Reciever
Scosche Dash Kit
SiriusXM SXV200 Vehicle Tuner
Gtmat 24sqft 80mil Sound Deadening
Proclip Phone Mount
TWM Short Shifter
Performance:
Ark GRIP Exhaust
Z1 HFCs
Stillen G3 Intake
UpRev tune by PRS
Fast Intentions Oil Cooler
Suspension:
Whiteline KDT911 Diff Bushings
Swift Spec-R Springs
SPC Camber Arms
SPC Toe Bolts
SPL Lockout Bolts
Shift Knob List (Because I can never make up my mind):
Stock - Destroyed upon removal
Password JDM Type I Red - Sold
Fatboy Race Spec Blue Explosion - Sold
FatBoy Race Spec Sinister Steel - Sold
Blox 490 Ti Gunmetal - Sold
Moddiction*Anvil 2 Textured Black - Sold
TWM Piston - Sold
TWM Desert Eagle
Ill do my best to keep this thread updated as I continue the build!