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Mozen · 07-03-2013, 01:27 PM

From Ft. Riley i got posted back to Germany but right before i left i managed to have someone back into my front bumper with a hitch. Since at that point i was not making much money i took the advice of one of my airframe mechanics and attempted to fix the bumper myself. Although i am not ashamed at all of the job i did, i was not satisfied with it and decided to order the Carbon Signal Raptor Front bumper and the CS Replica Amuse Rear bumper. Although i got the rear bumper in time to paint it and get it on the car, the front bumper had delay after delay. In the end i was forced to ship the car without it and then when quoted $1500 to ship it immediately sold it off through the forum.

You can find all the bumper rebuild pictures in my album here: http://www.the370z.com/members/mozen...er-repair.html

Once in Germany i deployed once again to Afghanistan for 10 months which gave me again some time...and money...to think about what i wanted to do. When i came back i decided to pull the trigger on the Zele front bumper, Side Skirts, CF Mirror Covers and CF Lip through a forum sponsor Bulletproof Automotive (370ztune.com) Although shipping was still outrageous.... but to be fair more than 50% cheaper than anyone else would offer.....they managed to find a shipper who would do it for around $600. After a considerable wait time for the authentic parts to come from the land of the rising sun i finally got them and breathed a huge sigh of relief when i installed them on the car. Im telling you, although i loved Carbon Signal's prices there is a night and day difference in the build quality between the replica rear bumper and the authentic front bumper. I will never again buy a replica...ever. If you need something thats the real deal...talk to the370z.com.

The next problem that i ran into dealt with the Zele bumper. The holes on the sides of the bumper ended up opening right where the Filters sat on the AEM CAI. I found when it was raining heavily and i was on the autobahn in heavy traffic i would experience a bit of stutter when i put stepped on the gas. Although i didnt investigate it much for fear of damaging the engine i swapped out the AEMs with a set of used Stillen Gen 3s which i initially painted myself. While i was at it i added a bunch of Z1 Silicone hoses in red!

The next thing to go was the ARK exhaust. Although i loved the sound of it the version 1 was really poorly designed and ended up sitting way to low. Although a lot of roads in Germany are good...many are not and i ended up dragging the car over what i felt was half the country. To that end i decided to replace the exhaust with something that is designed with a lower profile in mind. After quite a bit of research i decided to go with Tony and Motordyne Engineerings Shockwave CBE.
The exhaust fit great and although i had a very specific issue with one of the pipes and some clearance (the NISMO diff cover) i honestly cant say ive had a better customer service experience than with i did with Tony. In the end he shipped out for free a new mid pipe and i took my dremel to the leftmost fins on my diff to give enough clearance for the exhaust.

Once all this was done i jumped in and decided to put a SPEC Stage 2+ Clutch and Aluminum flywheel combo in (from NST) along with the upgraded CSC and a new clutch master cylinder. Although i had a few questions during the install of this both SPEC and ZSP had fantastic customer support. On top of that the guys at SPEC spoke German which was hilarious until i realized that he wasnt joking. Seriously think about that from my perspective. Im in Germany, dont speak the language, the mechanic whos doing the work has a question i cant answer and when i call SPEC tech support the gentleman on the other end of the line speaks perfect German and has the solution i need. Friggin Win! While doing the SPEC Clutch i also dropped in a Braille 21 lbs CF battery which i also picked up for a steal from NST. Although i did not relocate the battery to the trunk due to the BOSE crap i still have back there i did create my own battery holder out of some aircraft grade aluminum and some countersunk rivets.

07-03-2013, 01:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
Mozen Track Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 820 Drives: Nissan 370z PW M6 Rep Power: 17	Saved From Ft. Riley i got posted back to Germany but right before i left i managed to have someone back into my front bumper with a hitch. Since at that point i was not making much money i took the advice of one of my airframe mechanics and attempted to fix the bumper myself. Although i am not ashamed at all of the job i did, i was not satisfied with it and decided to order the Carbon Signal Raptor Front bumper and the CS Replica Amuse Rear bumper. Although i got the rear bumper in time to paint it and get it on the car, the front bumper had delay after delay. In the end i was forced to ship the car without it and then when quoted $1500 to ship it immediately sold it off through the forum. You can find all the bumper rebuild pictures in my album here: http://www.the370z.com/members/mozen...er-repair.html Once in Germany i deployed once again to Afghanistan for 10 months which gave me again some time...and money...to think about what i wanted to do. When i came back i decided to pull the trigger on the Zele front bumper, Side Skirts, CF Mirror Covers and CF Lip through a forum sponsor Bulletproof Automotive (370ztune.com) Although shipping was still outrageous.... but to be fair more than 50% cheaper than anyone else would offer.....they managed to find a shipper who would do it for around $600. After a considerable wait time for the authentic parts to come from the land of the rising sun i finally got them and breathed a huge sigh of relief when i installed them on the car. Im telling you, although i loved Carbon Signal's prices there is a night and day difference in the build quality between the replica rear bumper and the authentic front bumper. I will never again buy a replica...ever. If you need something thats the real deal...talk to the370z.com. The next problem that i ran into dealt with the Zele bumper. The holes on the sides of the bumper ended up opening right where the Filters sat on the AEM CAI. I found when it was raining heavily and i was on the autobahn in heavy traffic i would experience a bit of stutter when i put stepped on the gas. Although i didnt investigate it much for fear of damaging the engine i swapped out the AEMs with a set of used Stillen Gen 3s which i initially painted myself. While i was at it i added a bunch of Z1 Silicone hoses in red! The next thing to go was the ARK exhaust. Although i loved the sound of it the version 1 was really poorly designed and ended up sitting way to low. Although a lot of roads in Germany are good...many are not and i ended up dragging the car over what i felt was half the country. To that end i decided to replace the exhaust with something that is designed with a lower profile in mind. After quite a bit of research i decided to go with Tony and Motordyne Engineerings Shockwave CBE. The exhaust fit great and although i had a very specific issue with one of the pipes and some clearance (the NISMO diff cover) i honestly cant say ive had a better customer service experience than with i did with Tony. In the end he shipped out for free a new mid pipe and i took my dremel to the leftmost fins on my diff to give enough clearance for the exhaust. Once all this was done i jumped in and decided to put a SPEC Stage 2+ Clutch and Aluminum flywheel combo in (from NST) along with the upgraded CSC and a new clutch master cylinder. Although i had a few questions during the install of this both SPEC and ZSP had fantastic customer support. On top of that the guys at SPEC spoke German which was hilarious until i realized that he wasnt joking. Seriously think about that from my perspective. Im in Germany, dont speak the language, the mechanic whos doing the work has a question i cant answer and when i call SPEC tech support the gentleman on the other end of the line speaks perfect German and has the solution i need. Friggin Win! While doing the SPEC Clutch i also dropped in a Braille 21 lbs CF battery which i also picked up for a steal from NST. Although i did not relocate the battery to the trunk due to the BOSE crap i still have back there i did create my own battery holder out of some aircraft grade aluminum and some countersunk rivets. __________________ PW 370z \| AEM \| MISHIMOTO \| ARK PERFORMANCE \| WHITELINE \| NISMO \| STILLEN \| FORGESTAR \| BC RACING \| AMS \| NON STOP TUNING \| CARBONETICS LSD \| 4 Point DOM 1.75" SCCA Spec Roll Bar + Harness Bar CHECK OUT MY BUILD THREAD HERE Last edited by Mozen; 07-03-2013 at 02:16 PM.