Smooth Red's Build Thread

[echoshotz]

Hey guys, figured I'd start my build thread, since I've already got some parts on the car.

First, a bit of background:
I started out with cars in my dad's Skyline R32 in Japan (military family), which he eventually had to sell as we returned stateside. Upon getting here, he bought a red 300zxTT that as a kid I'd always fall asleep in, so I named it "Smooth Red" because it rode so nicely. Well he sold that as we moved on and bought an 05' 350z Track edition that he loved. Around this time I was getting towards driving age, so about 5 years later, he traded the Z in for a Jeep wrangler that would become my first vehicle. I eventually turned the thing into a monster throughout high school and my first couple years in college. My third year I started to get into the fast crowd again, so I bought my own '05 350z. As I started to drive the Jeep less and less, I began parting it out to prepare to sell it and buy a new vehicle. THAT vehicle turned out to be a red 2014 370z Nismo with 10,029 miles. Being a red Z car, I couldn't help but bring back to life the Smooth Red name that my dad loved so much.

TLDR: Been around Nissan sports cars a while, now have one of my own.


So getting onto the 370, I picked it up two days before Black Friday, so of course I had to act on the deals and pick up some parts, so I'll keep a running list here. My build is more track/mountain run inspired. I noticed the lower power cars at the Dragon (more specifically my friends Mid '90s Nissan Sentra with a good deal of suspension work) easily outran cars with much more power, with most drivers having roughly equal and ample experience in their cars. So beyond exhaust, I'm not looking to do much with power until I've fit the car with suspension and brakes and found my upper limits as a driver.


Parts List:
At 11,400 miles
- Red GTR Start Button
- EVO-R Rear 4th Brake Light
- Motordyne ART pipes
- Motordyne XYZ Y-pipe w/ straight-pipe option
- Tomei Exhaust system
- RJM Clutch Pedal
At 12,500 miles
- Recaro Pole Position (driver side only for now)
- Stance Suspension XR1 Coilovers
- Carbotech Brake Pads (XP10/XP8) - lasted 18,000 miles and ~8 days on track
At 16,500 miles
- Fast Intentions Catback
- SPL Camber and Toe arms
- Michelin Pilot Sport 4s (275/35, 305/30)
At 18,700 miles
- Z1 34 Row Oil Cooler
At 22,000 miles
- Synergy Brake Ducts and Canards
- Speedhut Oil Pressure and Water Temp Gauges
- Motordyne Exhaust
At 24,500 miles
- SPL Front Camber Arms
- Hotckis Front Swaybar
- Urethane Transmission Mount
At 26,400 miles
- 18x10.5 Volk CE28SL
- 275/40 Hankook RS4
- Blacked out headlight housings
At 27,500 miles
- Aeromotions Wing
At 30,500 miles
- New brake pads
At 31,500 miles
- Half cage and harnesses
- Z1 solid engine mounts
- SPL solid diff mounts
- Trackspec hood vents

Parts soon to come:
- SPL Front Endlinks and Rear Traction Arms
- Fuel Starve Solution (looking at z1)
- Corner Balance and Alignment


Event List:
6-16-17 Jzilla Road Atlanta
12-4-17 NASA Road Atlanta (2 days)
12-17-17 iTrack Barber (wet)
3-5-18 SCCA Autocross
3-10-18 NASA Road Atlanta (2 days; wet)
3-18-18 Jzilla Atlanta Motorsports Park
4-25-18 Tracknight Road Atlanta
5-26-18 SCCA Carolina Motorsports Park (2 days)
7-28-18 Charlotte Motor Speedway at night
9-28-18 Jzilla Road Atlanta
12-16-18 JTI Barber Motorsports Park


Here's some day 1 photos:
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How you guys enjoy following along as much as I enjoy driving it

[echoshotz]

Some rolling shots I took before putting the Z up for a month while I flew home to see my parents.

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[echoshotz]

Currently away from the Nismo, but heres a picture. I'm putting on the PowerTrix coilovers on the 28th, have a Recaro Pole Position seat on order, and hopefully painting those headlights to flow better with the grey accenting

[Canolinumber1]

Nice pick up! I love the color scheme on your Nismo, gives me ideas for my conversion. I have the Whiteline Swaybars and love them. Set to full hard up front and full soft in the rear the back end comes around progressively. From my personal experience get the solid endlinks. Without them the bar has a lot of play.

[echoshotz]

Decided to change my coil set-up before I ever installed the Powertrix. Going with Stance XR1's later down the road. Have the Recaro Pole Position on the way. Anyone want to buy some never installed powertrix coils?

Also went on a little photoshoot.
_D3L5355 by kenny moss, on Flickr
_D3L5348 by kenny moss, on Flickr
_D3L5360 by kenny moss, on Flickr

[echoshotz]

So I've got Stance XR1 coilovers installed now, along with my Recaro Pole Position seat. Next up are SPL arms to correct my camber, and maybe some white line swaybars.
A couple thoughts:
Stance suspension rides great! 13/8 spring rates on the true coil set-up rides much smoother than I thought, and the turn-in is noticeably better now. Looking to do some mountain runs soon to really get it all tested out.

The Recaro seat... I have no words. Should've been the first thing I got! It makes a huge difference not being swayed around the drivers seat through every turn. Also very comfy and not terrible to get in/out of. I sit *super* low with the seat and buddy club brackets, and I've got the seat sitting as high as possible on the brackets.

Now photos of the seat and my new ride height (and a rear shot of the EVO-R light):

[mattross1313]

Nice clean car man! Looks sweet at that height

[EternalDragon]

clean looking Z love the setup!

[ZahyMatar]

That is one gorgeous Z! Makes me miss my A54 Sedan...

Really interested in running the Stance setup for my car.

[echoshotz]

So I've changed up the exhaust a bit, got tired of the Tome catback and traded it for a fast intentions CF non-res catback. Sound is much better and more aggressive. More tone and less obnoxious noise.

I've also installed the Z1 34 row oil cooler, Z1 cold air intakes, SPL rear camber and toe arms, new 275/305 Pilot Sport 4s, and had it tuned by Jon @ Z1. Signed up for a track day at Road Atlanta on the 16th of June so I think I'm all ready for that and hope to have pictures up shortly after.

[echoshotz]

Also, Dyno sheet for those interested.

[echoshotz]

Haven't updated in a while. Have on order canards, powerstream splitter, nismo brake ducts, and gauges I plan to mount in the cubby hole. Will post photos when it's all installed. Also looking to swap exhausts again. The Fast Intentions, while it sounds great, doesn't have that "VQ" tone to it like some exhausts do. Still sounds great as an aftermarket exhaust, just not the tone I want. Just my opinion however.

[echoshotz]

Photos from my track day in June, and also from the Dragon. I live 30 minutes from the tail now, so I'm always around if anyone wants to cruise.

Kenny Moss-3 by Kenny Moss, on Flickr

Kenny Moss-48 by Kenny Moss, on Flickr

Kenny Moss-69 by Kenny Moss, on Flickr

_D3L0758 by Kenny Moss, on Flickr

1676723 by Kenny Moss, on Flickr

[Hotrodz]

Originally Posted by echoshotz

Haven't updated in a while. Have on order canards, powerstream splitter, nismo brake ducts, and gauges I plan to mount in the cubby hole. Will post photos when it's all installed. Also looking to swap exhausts again. The Fast Intentions, while it sounds great, doesn't have that "VQ" tone to it like some exhausts do. Still sounds great as an aftermarket exhaust, just not the tone I want. Just my opinion however.

Who are you ordering canards and nismo brake ducts from?

[echoshotz]

Installed the brake ducts and the canards! Also figured out my exhaust setup. Finally ended up with a motordyne (it's what I wanted originally, but $2k new was out of the question) which should be installed on Monday. I'll get sound clips of both exhausts and upload those to youtube as well.
(anyone want to buy a fast intentions CF exhaust?

Ducts and canard photos! I'll get more in the daytime, but I literally just finished torquing down the bolts a couple hours ago.

_D3L3006 by Kenny Moss, on Flickr

_D3L2961 by Kenny Moss, on Flickr