cv129's slow build

cv129

Hi, first time making a thread like this. Just want to have an online journal to record the things being done.

2009 Nismo #164 (previous owner Earlz370), purchased in Nov 2011 with 11k miles on the clock. Paid $500 to CarMax upfront to ship to Dallas. Car arrived after a week. I ran my hand through the underside of the front bumper, couldn't feel any scratch or damage, and knowing it was used as a 2nd car (as will I), I purchased the car on the date of arrival, 11/3/11.

This car is bare bone, no backup camera, not even aluminum kick plates.

7/7/12 @14xxx miles - Installed Z1 34R oil cooler, M1 0w40 Euro, M1-110 filter (GTR size), Redline MT-85, @ Cobb Plano


Bumper off



Setrab 34 Row is on the car. The OEM Yamaha body damper was flipped and retained, but was taken off during installation



A closer shot



Protective hose...I still hear a little bit of whine at very low speed, but I've gotten used to it


Car will remain in this form, next change came during summer of 2013. So in between that I'll share an unfortunate event that happened to my other car in my next post.

cv129

Quick side story away from the Z...

Labor day weekend 2011, couple of months before the Z purchase, I flew to ATL, GA to purchase a 97 SC400, approx 228kmiles, for $7500.

Previous owner is a Lexus master tech, car was solid, no squeaks, mechanically perfect literally.

Beauty shots by previous owner:

Interior - two tone, suede wrapped arm rest lid, CF wrap center console and wood trims. 2 x Corbeau seats (wide version) + Corbeau seat rails





As I drove away, previous owner took this shot across a 4 lane highway.


Only thing I did during my ownership was an oil change, UOA, replaced ps pump and lines. Loved the torque, 1UZ was silky.

Fast fwd to Nov 2012, the week before Thanks Giving, long story short...the other guy thought he had enough room to cut across the intersection. Owned it for 14 months, drove it for less than 6k miles.





Don't worry, these are Rotas.


Car was declared totaled, not surprised.

Seems like all my major car adventures, good or bad, always happen in Novembers. And that will stay true for 2013, as I sold my S14, bought a G37s AE for the wife, and suspension changes to the Nismo finally happened

cv129

Always wanted to know what the car puts down at the wheels. Curiosity came from my feeling that the car was a bit faster when temperature was cool. I usually drive the car at night or early morning (before and at sunrise) during weekends, so the few occasions when I drove it under the hot sun in the afternoons, I sensed differences.

8/10/13 @ 19xxx miles - Baseline dyno @ Cobb Plano. 10am appointment, about 10:25 when the car was strapped and ready. Ambient temp was high 80's, and slowly getting a hotter as the sun really hit. Car was at full operating temp when the dyno session started (coolant temp at the normal position, oil temp at 180F). Hood was closed during the consecutive runs. Trying to mimic real life day to day condition as much as possible.


3 pulls for $65 in case anybody wonder.



Result = 281whp, 231lb/ft, AWD Mustang Dyno. Bone stock (except for oil cooler and fluids). Yes it has oem style paper air filter still.


Chatting with a MS3 owner while waiting for my appointment, I mentioned that I am using OEM paper air filter, he didn't believe me at first. He started laughing after he asked the second time, and I gave him the same answer, told me "c'mon man at least put a K&N drop-in". Soon after, I bought a slightly used pair from member Riptide67. Very timely and responsible communications from Derek for a smooth transaction.

Dozier

Nice rides!

cv129

10/5/13 @ 19,880 miles - at this point, stock Yoko's rears were at 4/32 and did have a puncture couple weeks ago, so I decided to change to RE-11. 265/35/19 front, 285/35/19 rear. I drove to a specific DT location as the crew there handle sports cars with great care. Special thank you to local 370z member Jose Mesa, for helping me with a puncture and then this installation.

Drove 35 miles from downtown Dallas to Prosper for a worry free installation, but well worth it! Also saw a F430 in for tires, and a Z06 for swapping out slicks for NT-05 after a track day.




Jose and crew really took care of me. Jose loosened the lug nut very gently with very light and quick taps on the impact gun trigger. Double parked my car so nobody would get close. Even tried to line up the center caps on each side (I was like "wtf is he doing pacing back and forth with the center caps in hand?").

cv129

Warning: Subjective, noob review coming...

My weekend, very early, morning drive always consist of driving through a section of a freeway.

• Approx 5 miles section of a freeway
• Some elevation changes and consecutive banked curves
• Uneven surface, dips and bumps in the middle of the curves

I want to take this chance to highlight some things I felt with stock tire setup 245/285 Yoko sports vs the 265/285 RE-11.

A quick pic before I started my first morning drive with the new tires.


Stock suspension and tires: pushing the car through the section felt...kinda safe. I felt the stock shocks and dampers did their job in keeping the car from getting too upset, and back end never felt too loose. Up/down movements were controlled at double digits...pushed into the triple digits, things started to feel a bit rough, but still manageable.

Stock suspension, new tires: reduced the stagger, 265F and 285R RE11...the most noticeable change was, through those dips, specifically the moments when the car pushed/settled back down onto the pavement after the initial upward launch (like when the springs are extended and now need to pull back to the original state), that moment where the tires got compressed hard against the pavement, the front felt much more dominant, and the rear would get a little more upset/twisty, and tiny changes in steering input were needed. Tested over the same curves and dips over and over, and concluded that the car was more nervous/less linear (not necessarily a bad thing, every track guy in the 370z community suggests square setup for pretty much spirited driving to autox and tracking, but my need is different, skill level not as high)

So ^ prompted me to really looked forward to the SPL front arms being done and I could finally get my suspension changes underway.

Again, this is purely my impression. Do not blindly take my words. A 280whp 370z is the fastest thing I've ever had.

Rusty

A journal is the best way to keep tabs on your build. As you make changes, list them. After awhile, you'll look back and go WOW! LOL

__________________

浪人 - 殺し屋
"The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only"
http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

cv129

The more interesting stuff here:

11/1/13 - Added another VQ to the family, 2010 G37s AE. Good change from my bare bone Z. Good grunt, more comfortable than the Z, wife loves it.

11/2/13 @ approx 20,500 miles - Dropped off Z at Vorshlag Motorsports.

They specialize in suspension and related fabrications. Some may recognize this name from their camber plates and/or LSx swaps into E36 and Miatas. The owner also runs a TT3 S197 Mustang. However, I think they are largely unknown within the 370z community.

They have posted a detail writeup, link below. It's about 20 miles from where I live and work, and it would be impossible for me to visit during business hours due to traffic, so I'm glad they captured some of the progress.

Wai Wong's Nismo 370Z(ed) - Vorshlag Motorsports BMW (M3, E36, E46, E92), Evo, Mustang, Project Car and Racing Events Gallery.

I gave them as much time freedom as possible, and eventually got the car back after about 7 business days. Quick recap of things done:

• SPL front camber arms
• SPL rear camber arms
• SPL rear toe arms
• SPL toe lockout kit
• JRZ RS1 coilovers
• Strengthen rear shock tower
• Corner balancing and alignment

Some things:

Car ended up 1 inch lower. I initially wanted about 1/2 but we did agreed on ride height would be pending their assessments on shock travels.

I decided to go with stock alignment at this point. Car won't see track duty for another year or so, and based on my previous impression with the new tires setup, plus where and how I drive it, I rather be on the safe side (understeer).

Bought the RS1's back in April when Forged Performance had a special promotion going on, about a 40% discount, that's why I took the plunge. They sat in my bedroom for over 6 months before finally seeing action lol. I didn't want to, nor did I feel the need to, change the suspension on the Z, but the pricing was once in a lifetime deal for me and I couldn't pass it up. And to do it right, I dived further and got the necessary arms.

Would love to get the bushings too, but price (parts and labor) would be a bit much. I'll wait till this car racks up 40 or 50k miles and then revisit. I figure the bushings will be somewhat worn enough to justify a bushing change.

Riptide67

Very nice! Glad I was able to hook you up with the filters and thanks for the shout out!

__________________

2009 Nismo 370Z and 1975 Datsun 280Z 2+2 - PNW_INC - Legacy_Ohana
Follow me on Instagam @s3zero_z3four

cv129

It was great dealing with you. Although small $ transaction, you were still very responsive and filled me in every step of the way. Thanks!

Well, I saved up over 2 yrs worth of activities to start this journal lol. After tonight, updates will be veeeeeeeerrry few and far in between. Next up are the brakes but it'll be like my suspension...collect parts here and there then install all at once to save on labor.

Thanks Dozier!

SS_Firehawk

Nice journal. I update mine all the time. Just to keep tabs. I'm jealous of your coils. I remember that deal, GTM was taking my money's.

__________________

cv129

Some pictures:

Z sneaking into the crowded garage


Before...the white thing you see inside the front bumper opening is home made 2 piece cooler block off plates





After...lowered 1 inch, stock alignment, not running spacers

cv129

Beauty shots of arms and coilovers





Things that came out


I took some pics myself in my living room, but theirs are much nicer

cv129

Rear shock tower reinforcement:

Quote from Vorshlag's site - "Since we moved the suspension loads in the rear from the OEM (divorced) spring location to the shocks (coilover), we had to reinforce the rear shock towers extensively. Our fabricators spent over 6 hours stitch welding, adding steel plate reinforcements, seam sealing and painting the shock towers in the rear"

I am really not sure if this step was necessary, as I've never seen any punch-through in the Z, G, or Genesis communities. However, in reading the horror stories in some of the older BMW's, and my car being a full weight street car, may or may not run into pot holes, I decided not to take any chance. It's a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.

Before


"OEM rear shock mount (above) and the 1/8" thick steel plate we replaced it with. This new plate was seam TIG welded to the shock towers."




"All black marks show wear stitch welds and rosette welds will soon be added. The factory pieces are only spot welded together in a few places."






Working hard


"After extensive paint removal, seam welding, fabrication and seam sealer the rear section was repainted in the factory color."

ka24king

Very nice good idea focusing on one area of the car at a time