.c2's 2009 Magnetic Black 370z
 

*Updated* April 28th, 2013 [Looks like I've reached my picture limit for both of my first two posts in this thread :( Sorry guys, you'll have to scroll to page 4 and keep going from there for updates now. Amuse kit is now on :)]
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...77488139_n.jpg



Mods so far



Picture below is how the car was when I first bought it! It's an 2009 370z base model with the sports package, in 6mt of course. Had 23k miles on the odo when I bought it, previous previous owner imported it from the states. Came with some nice plastidipped wheels and emblems.. I'm not a big fan of black on black but at the time I thought it looked decent. Finding this 370z for only a few grand more than an 03-06 350z and a few grand cheaper than the ap2's, I wasn't going to complain about the small details :)
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...46152923_n.jpg


A few weeks ago my gf's family also purchased a 370z :D Brand new from Morrey Nissan, with the sports and touring package! Jellly
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...81043557_n.jpg


Second day at home with my hybrid (which my mom wanted to sell but ended up keeping so far to make small trips every now and then), and my winter beater eg :)
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...00606215_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...00884723_n.jpg


Started moving some things from my hybrid to my Z, leds first..
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...69998793_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...02378521_n.jpg

Double din swapped over, thanks to Keith @ Aria
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...15371270_o.jpg


Shortly after I bought the Z, came across an awesome deal on a used Invidia Gemini catback from Keith @ Aria and jumped on that. Also got some revscene stickers
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...52555102_o.jpg


Removed the black plastidip on the emblem but then ended up respraying it black with a metalizer on top, thanks cho for the metalizer plastidip :)
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...44576043_o.jpg


Have to have the minime on the dash!
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...86490201_n.jpg


490g Blox neochrome limited shift knob! Love the feel of it :) The weight makes shifting feel a lot better
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-62WqDHltF3...0/IMG_3197.JPG


6k hids from Lumena :)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EtielXjCeZ...0/IMG_3181.JPG


My (friend's) new wheels lol :megusta:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VtpFmOpV0G...0/IMG_1258.JPG


KW V1 coilovers in thanks to Billy @ TS Auto Design! Kind of regretting it now and should of went for V3 like he suggested, but they'll do for now until I learn more about suspension :) Also added 20mm spacers in the front and 25mm spacers in the rear. Plastidip on the wheels came off as well, which at that point I found out that the plastidip actually hid a bunch of curb marks.. :(
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9QBVsIZC1N...0/IMG_1294.JPG


First time tinting my own windows... The small side windows went on okay but messed up the rear big piece on the rear windshield thing :okay:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vXLKN_tyKh...0/IMG_3199.JPG


Ghetto way of blacking out the letters on the plastidipped emblem
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P8yayUQher...0/IMG_1483.JPG



Impulse buy on a lip kit. Shine auto front lip and rear add ons, Evo R sideblades/splitters. Was going to buy an Evo R rear diffuser as well to go in the middle of the rear add ons but didn't have enough money at the time, and I ended up wanting more performance and handling so didn't bother with the diffuser in the end lol. Definitely going to buy it in the future though!
Carbon fiber gooodness :)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K1rJDHbtyG...0/IMG_3583.jpg

Once again thanks to cho, and also Andrew @ Lotus Autobody for the paint and install
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hMvMaRjcU-...0/IMG_3585.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rc-XYpCP70...0/IMG_3586.jpg



Fairlady emblem :)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yJwmfBGJZs...0/IMG_3591.JPG


The joys of having a front lip with ~8cm of clearance and a sloped driveway.. Still scrape a tiny bit going in but it works. 8ft of wood
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cERbk-XRwF...62156885_o.jpg


Pretty much the clearance I get all the way through the ramp, except the part where I scrape
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zpQe_vST-G...14765684_o.jpg


Beginning of sound deadening the cabin.. road noise is insane in the cabin
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UbgoXg1uza...99849868_o.jpg


Invidia test pipes to add to the noise, lool. Definitely feels noticeably quicker with these on! Makes me want to shift before 2k rpm and cruise at around 1.5k or 1.8k rpm though because of the drone lol.. GF hates it and I hate the drone as well, but not sure I want to give up the power by putting the stock cats back on :( Looking into getting some resonated test pipes but then that's a lot of money wasted for no reason :/
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4FFRcgsnWO...54742260_o.jpg


Almost forgot.. there were useless dummy switches on the base model 370z's from the states since they don't come with heated/cooled seats. 2 of the switches are for the seats, while the middle switch is for the soft top on the convertible Z's. Completely useless on mine, so I decided to take it out one day and fiddle with it. Ended up making a little storage bin for my phone since the only place for my phone would be the cup holder, which would be gone if I had a drink in the car.
Before
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0ONPD1Lssc...0/IMG_3282.JPG

After
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...15867292_o.jpg
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...88682888_o.jpg

Routed my iPhone AV/USB cable there so I can charge my phone while still being able to keep it in the storage bin without having the cable in sight. It connects to my double din so I can use my double din as a screen for my iPhone, or just stream music
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6V9yYPCCvj...0/IMG_3300.JPG


Finally got these on the car..
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--5KHnsTMG2...00734078_o.jpg
Hotchkis swaybars (front and rear), corners sooooooo much better now and I can finally turn hard without scraping my lip :)

Also fixed my exhaust rattle today.... a hella expensive fix :| Lol t1r catback
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FfmSNlucBt...26816899_o.jpg

Sound clip of the T1R catback with Invidia test pipes



One week after the test pipes were installed, swapped the stock cats back in. Paid $240 in total for just the labor work on the test pipes in total, just to toy around with the stupid sound =_= The cold start with test pipes + this catback was way too loud and raspy (makes my parent's room shake in the morning when I go for work before they have to wake up). It also increased the drone on my already droney catback and also killed the clean exhaust sound I was looking for. After I put the stock cats back in I felt a huge gain in low end torque and power below 3k rpm, but a huge drop in power above 4k rpm :( Also lost the VQ growl that I LOVED with the test pipes which made the car sound more exotic :fuuuuu: Probably going to keep stock cats for a while since winter's about to hit, and then in the spring I might go for some ART test pipes that have a separate resonated chamber to reduce the drone and volume but still free up the flow giving me back that awesome growl.
A lot of say about this but no pictures lol. Here's a video with the stock cats though

Clean sound, and you can hear the growl a bit in the video. Sadly I can't really hear the growl when driving :(

Finally started to work on my Z again

Ripping out the interior and prepping for fatmat application, with insulation on top. Going to cut out a carpet to line the floor of the trunk afterwards since I'm not planning on putting the spare tire back in
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...37095234_n.jpg

In order to fit my jack underneath.. I need to go up 2 pieces of 2x4s. And my jack still barely clears :/ Need to buy a low profile jack lol
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...39654672_n.jpg

Nice and stock, not for long though!
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...13240534_n.jpg

Strut bar, engine cover, and headlights are off for paint! :) Bumper's off for intake install
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...57678147_n.jpg

AEM ETI (cai). Lots of acronyms lol, in a nice gunmetal color :)
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...07673907_n.jpg

And they're on!
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...87676944_n.jpg
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...87348299_n.jpg

'Didn't get a good picture of the flakes in the gunmetal paint, but will later when I can bring it out in the sun :) Not liking the placement of the filter much, perfer the Stillen gen 3 placement... But wanted to try out the ETI thing
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...29544405_n.jpg

Gonna sit like this for the next few weeks since it's off insurance anyways, wheels are coming shortly :) Possibly ART pipes as well
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...38271949_n.jpg


Baking begins!
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...40198901_n.jpg

Damp cardboard on the bottom and damp cloths on top of the lens just in case..
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...50976502_n.jpg

Stupid 370z headlight didn't fit in my oven all the way so I couldn't close it.. because of this we had to rebake it multiple times before we could get all the sealant off. Unlike the 350z headlight we did afterwards where it actually fit in the oven and only took one quick bake + pry and it was off
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...23912739_n.jpg

After 4 hours, baking, prying, baking again, prying the other side, etcetc.. it's finally off!
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...09568196_n.jpg

Swapped the OEM lens with an 3" clear STI-r lens from theretrofitsource. Great for just $50 :) Top is the OEM lens, bottom is the STI-r lens. Same bulb, only a few feet away from the wall so the cutoff looks a bit narrow
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...87852963_n.jpg
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...69106922_n.jpg

Pieces ready to paint
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...42901682_n.jpg

Made a insanely ghetto painting hut in the shop LOL, to capture a lot of the overspray and so dust doesn't get on the part while drying
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...79224729_n.jpg

Before and after, I originally wanted a slightly darker shade of gunmetal but I was limited to only a few choices of high temp paint. My friend used normal acrylic paint on his 350z headlight and it ended up bubbling form the heat, so we picked high temp paint to do mine and redo his. I didn't want to paint it black or too dark of a gunmetal because I personally do not really like black headlights on a black car. Paint's still drying right now so I'll have to wait and see how it looks like on the actual car. The chrome is gone, replaced with a matte gunmetal color with slight flakes in the paint :)
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...56692870_n.jpg

Last picture with flash so it looks a lot more blue than it really is, but matte :)
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...10652973_n.jpg


Housing is almost back together! Just doing a few LED mods since I have the headlight apart..
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...65658371_n.jpg

I believe it's called devil eye? :) LED strip facing the lens to make the projector glow red when you look at it head on, but not affecting the color output of the lowbeam at all so the floor still lights up white. In the process of wiring this to a switch so most likely it'll either light up when I unlock the car with the dome lights, or just light up for shows/meets or whatever. Haven't decided yet but definitely will not be on while driving lol
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...41512799_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...51903516_n.jpg
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...54056857_n.jpg

Thanks :D I hope so! Hopefully the hours spent on laying down fatmat will help with the noise too haha. Spent another hour and a half or so trimming and putting down some more pieces and barely got anywhere lol, this is going to take a while to finish
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...55854227_n.jpg

Wheels going on tomorrow :) Just got my fenders rolled and slightly pulled by Gerard@SerialNine. Great guy, amazing work as always. You can kind of tell that it has been pulled because the fender arches outwards now, but it's nothing too extreme so I'm okay with it. Makes my stockies + 20mm spacers look hella sunk when they used to be kiiind of almost flush, lol. My 19x9.5 +2 tomorrow should fit no problem, fingers crossed
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...94850273_n.jpg

Spacers properly replaced, somewhat. 10mm spacer front and 15mm rear,
front now has 19x9.5 +12 after spacer with 255/40/19 tires
rears 19x11 +8 after spacers with 285/35/19 tires.
Going to up the sizes to 265/40 front and 305/35 rear within the next few months and hopefully the rear won't look as sunk as it does now :/ Also had to switch to open ended lugs for the front's extended studs meh. But wheels are now on with no rubbing at all at any speed, bump, or any kind of cornering :)
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...95548939_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...37563435_n.jpg
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...33406165_n.jpg


So this happened on Wednesday..
http://www.the370z.com/canada/67179-...chmond-bc.html
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...79348543_n.jpg

Front lip fell off due to a bad mounting job by Lotus and also bad judgement on my part for actually trusting them when they said that the lip will hold with their install. Lip fell off on the highway while I was going 120km/h and my car actually pushed it on the ground, and it dragged for a while so the concrete sanded a hole in the bottom of the lip.. The crappy shop said it wasn't fixable because it's carbon fiber. So my car looked like this for a few days
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...24782352_n.jpg

I don't have the $550 that I want to spend on another front lip, so with the help of my friend we fixed the lip with fiberglass resin and sanded it back down.
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...23625226_n.jpg

Few days later, I properly mounted the lip back on. Cost of repairing and mounting materials was less than $30, and it's mounted a LOT more securely than when it was done for $100 at Lotus Autobody... You get what you pay for for shops, but you get what you spend time on for DIYs.

Lotus autobody used 2 self tapping screws in total, about 30 cm of 3m tape which barely even covered the corners, and that was it.
I used 3m tape almost all around (ended up running out of tape or else I would have covered the whole thing lol..), silicone all around the edges, 4 bolts w/ washers and locking nuts, and also a bracket + bolt on the bottom of the lip. Install only took a bit over an hour in total with the help of a friend

Having space to work on my car is a huge help. After silicone and 3m tape
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...96648023_n.jpg

The 2 bolts and locking nuts, the top hole was originally drilled by Lotus Autobody. You can see that they ****** up the inside of my bumper with their shitty drilling skills too. Once the lip fell off I actually realized that Andrew @ Lotus Autobody CRACKED my bumper with their shitty drilling skills. The lip just covers it... Well nothing can be done about that now :/
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...70867592_n.jpg

Since the bottom of my lip is lower than the bottom of my bumper, I bought two L brackets at home depot and made a U bracket so I could mount the lip to the bumper. Just a bit more reinforcement
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...04030235_n.jpg


Anddd all done.. properly mounted and slightly cleaned up my engine bay a little. The 350z in the back is owned by my awesome friend who helped me with the repair and install of my lip :)
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...14497785_n.jpg


Washed as well, even though it's raining tomorrow. So happy to finally have my lip back on
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...64765673_n.jpg
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...59053543_n.jpg
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...75549171_n.jpg


Finally finished my sound deadening (only for the trunk) and put my trunk back together today! Took a looong time the first time I started putting this stuff down, but the second layer literally took me less than half the time of the first one. I guess first time always takes the longest

Put 50 sq ft of fatmat in the trunk of my car, tried my best to cover the wheel wells and stuff from the inside. Covered my entire trunk, twice (2 layers of fatmat). Really helped dampen the drone of my exhaust
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...66699327_n.jpg


Put on a bunch of insulation for more dampening since it felt like it worked pretty well on my hybrid
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...40074306_n.jpg


The foam thing for the floor wouldn't fit anymore because of my insulation, so had to trim it a bit but it fit fine afterwards
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...89118833_n.jpg


Put the side trims and foam in
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...56173850_n.jpg


Since I decided to keep my spare tire out, there was no floor so the original trunk carpet sunk down and revealed all my insulation :/ Didn't look so great
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...06429858_n.jpg


So I bought some trunk carpet from Canadian Tire, cut it to fit my trunk and covered the floor of my trunk with it :) Put the original carpet back overtop. Finally my trunk looks like a trunk again instead of a baking pan!
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...99020077_n.jpg

Got my EVO R diffuser the other day, propped it up against the car just to see how it would look :) Now just need to find time to install this along with the rear fog..
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...49829875_n.jpg


Previous owner wrapped the interior trims in 3m di noc carbon fiber, and I didn't like them much so I rewrapped them in 3m 1080 gloss black metallic :) It's like gloss black, but less prone to scratches and has flakes in it
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...36198514_n.jpg

So since this is my daily driver, my goal is to make this more fun to drive and also more comfortable to drive to some extent. This means that I do not want an all out performance car (stripped interior for maximum weight saving kinda thing), but I also do not want to make it toooo slow by adding a 1000lbs sound system. However, I do like music obviously... and since my base model w/ sports package doesn't come with a sub, I added in one myself :) Goal here was to have a good amount of bass, but not take too much space or add too much weight. So got a small little 10" JL sub, a Phoenix gold 500w amp and it is already way more than enough for me. Can't even max out the sub without feeling uncomfortable

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...66397484_n.jpg

Save money where I can, and learn while doing it :) So wiring up everything with the help of my friend
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...61736826_n.jpg

Hooked up the power wire so the battery trim kind of blocks the power wire and fuse. Ran it through the trims and underneath the carpet
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...67466447_n.jpg


Sub mounted on the shelf behind my seat, since I can't reach there anyways from my seat so it doesn't affect me :) Right against the seat means I feel the sub a lot more too lol. Amp is mounted behind my seat so it's not in the way, and I can still adjust gains and whatnot fairly easily. Not taking up much space, and not too in your face. Actually turned it around so the sub is facing the back after a few days, having the sub pound on my back wasn't too comfy lol
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...80472608_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...72844975_n.jpg

Got my ipad mini mounted the other day since my deck doesn't have navi. I stream music and videos through bluetooth. The ipad is easily removable and the lid can also be put back on easily via magnets. Will post more pictures later :)
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...98965522_n.jpg


I.C.E is almost done, just need to sound deaden the doors and put in some better speakers :)


Finally installed my TWM short shifter today, took a loot longer than expected but definitely worth it :) Love the feel, even though it's a bit rough for dd
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...94638561_n.jpg

Wrapped the cubby thing in 'pleather' fabric from fabricana to make it look a bit more presentable during the day. iPad mini and the cover are both held on by magnets. Pretty sturdy, doesn't fall or move when I rip the car lol
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...72317777_n.jpg

Looks good man!

yea car looks awesome!

usally i only look at pictures, but i read everything you posted :)

Thanks! :)
Thank you! :tiphat: That means a lot :)

Sorry for some of the fairly large pictures in the first post

Nice build up so far! :) Jealous of all the garage space!

I agree, go for the Art Pipes, I find it gave me back my low end toque and the growl with exhaust is nice and deep!

great build so far

Great job so far!

Also I love the idea for using the switch area for phone storage, did you make a DIY for that? :tup:

that is a very nice car. I love the stance on it.

Thank you :D I wish I had more garage space haha, the stupid support beams in the middle of my garage are always in my way when I want to jack up my car :( Yeah, looking to get ART pipes after winter :) Planning on buying an CAI first and letting my gf and family enjoy the quietness of my exhaust for now haha
Thank you sir :)
Thanks! I posted a picture in the thread here somewhere about what to do with the fake switches in the center console, mine is just actually a box made of hard cardboard with fabric on top that I cut from an old tshirt. Cheap but it works, and isn't too noticeable :icon17:
Thank you, spacers really made a big difference :)

did you switch to longer studs as well for the spacers?

The front ones have the OEM studs replaced with extended ones, the rear ones are just bolt ons where the spacer has the studs mounted in them

Loving the ride and the mods! Great work! :tup:

Great car buddy!!

Thank you sirs :tiphat: