Mike's Journal

Mike

Me too!


Also, I almost forgot, yesterday, Derek Johnson, of Atlanta Protective Films - Atlanta's Choice For "Clear Bra" PPF installed a clear bra for me, and like always, its flawless, which is hard to do on black. If you are near atlanta, I highly recommend his services!

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

StLRedrider

Very sweet, can you powdercoat a forged wheel. I have some 20's on my truck that i'm thinking about black.070.JPG

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Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today J.Dean

Mike

They can be done. The rays nismos are forged. To find a local coater you can look at Custom Powder Coating - US, Canada, International Powder Coater Directory

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

WShade

Wow! I love it and that combination looks fantastic.

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Q50S
Q60 RS400

RCZ

Looks good man, looks like you knew exactly the look you wanted to go for. I'd call it a success.

Mike

I have several track events coming up over the next 3 months, starting with the Z1 Nationals at Little Talladega on the 25th of this month, continuing on with 3 Road Atlantas and CMP, so I needed wheels quickly.

I started off looking for a set of lightweight, inexpensive 18s for track wheels. I test fitted some Enkei’s and they didn’t work, so in my frustration, I decided to go my own way. Forgestars were an option, but I need them now, not in a few months. So, I found a deal on 4 rear 18x8.5” 350Z Track Ray’s wheels and had them widened one inch by Weldcraft. I Spent 500 on the wheels and 900 to widen them, so 1400 for the set.

Once widened, the wheels weigh 19.8 lbs each by my digital bathroom scale.

Got them in today and test fitted. They stick in farther than stock, especially with an inch added to the inside, but they still clear everything, including the suspension and the calipers. With tires, the fronts may need a small spacer, as there is only about ¾” clearance between the wheel and the upper arm of the spindle. We will have to see once I get the tires mounted.

I will be using 275/35-80 R888s all around for balance and for ease of rotation.

Here are some pics of the test fit process:

The wheels after widening:






Front of car




Back of car




Now its time to prep and powder coat them!

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

WShade

Looking forward to that.

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Q50S
Q60 RS400

Mike

1st one will be out of the oven. They will be a color called Stone Black, which is about a 40% gloss. Figured since they will be covered in brake dust, I don't want them shiny.

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

Mike

Recent updates to my car
-Powdercoated strut brace
-Powdercoated and installed Stillen G3
-Modshack Oil Cooler
-Stillen PS Cooler
-Powdercoated and installed my widened 350Z Track Rays wheels
-- Wheels are now 18x9.5 + 46 offset and fit both front and rear, although I am using 25mm spacers in the rear.
-Got the front laser shifters installed

Stillen G3 and strut bar, powder coated Smoke Chrome:


Front view of Stillen PS Cooler, Modshack Oil Cooler and front laser shifters


Side views of installed wheels:






Front wheel, no spacer


Rear wheel, 25mm spacer

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

Mike

sound clips:
I just installed the new Invidia Prototype exhaust, (Gemini) and I have Berk Test pipes.

With the stock exhauset the berks had some rasp. With the new exhaust, no rasp at all! These are iphone recordings. first from outside at idle and revving to what the car would let us, then a couple accelerating 0-80, windows up and down.

Overall, its an awesome sounding exhaust and not overly loud.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfpHakv4B8s

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

Argos

nice wheels , what kinda brakes are those ?

miguez

The stock ones!

miguez

Mike, did you need to do any conversion coating on the wheels before the paint coating?

Mike

No, I just scuffed them up and coated over them. One I had sandblasted, but thats because I had a blemish in the first finish and wasn't happy with it.

I have a set of track wheels for my corvette that I coated several years ago with zero prep at all, just took them out of the box and wiped them down with alcohol, and they are holding up fine too, even after multiple tire changes. I would never do that to a customers wheel, but it was also for product testing.

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

miguez

Thanks for the info! Sounds like their surface can be easily prepped!