Benihana's 14 Black Nismo Journal

Leroydsouza

Congrats on the car.
And good luck to the rest of your build.

And as far as your oil cooler goes, Better go the best thn regret later

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370z 2014 7AT
|Carbon Signal - GT Edition|

Benihana

Thanks Leroy,

Living in a cooler climate, I could have got away with the 25 row in addition to the water/oil cooler in the car already. With the temps still in the 40s-50s I couldn't' get the oil temp up to a level I felt safe flogging it.

So... I made some blocking plates out of black foam board and attached with the super high strength velcro-like stuff you would get with an EZ-Pass transponder. I simply cut the board to the length of the cooler and made it into two sections. One each above and below the Yamaha chassis dampener. (The dampener has to be flipped over to the passenger side when the cooler goes in.)

With sections blocking plates, I can remove one or both pieces as needed for warmer temps and track days. By adding or removing sections I can tune my engine oil temps as needed, it works great.



top blocking plate off and on

forza370z

Congrats man! Nice nismo and let the fun begin!

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09 PW 370z Nismo | K&N Drop Ins | HKS Hi Power | Berk HFCs | Work Meister S1 3P | Project Kics R40 Neo Chrome Lug Nuts | KW V1 | SPC rear camber arms/toe bolts | Southbend Stage 3 daily clutch | Southband 19Ib Steel Flywheel | ZSpeed CSC

Benihana

So after looking into what other folks did with the seat heater button space I decided to make in into a little extra storage space. The Z is tight and lacks storage space to begin with so every little bit helps.

I simply removed the screws holding the faux switches in and sliced up some black foam board from Michael's. I was just cutting and taped it together as a test fit and after no more than 20 minutes I had a finished box. It is press fit in, no glue or fasteners required. I drop my phone in there when it is time for spirited driving and I don't want it flying accross the seat onto the floor.

I think it cost about $6 to do (along with the oil cooler blocking plates) and total install time was 20 minutes while shooting the breeze with a buddy in my kitchen.

Installed view


Friction Fit

Benihana

After debating whether to risk running no front plate at all, then installing a ghetto zip-tied temporary plate bracket in order to get an inspection sticker, I decided to bite the bullet and plunk down the shillings on the Mower Deck Axle front plate mount bracket.

I have to say, this is a quality unit for sure. After reading other members' reviews and learning that Larry at MDA would be accommodating, I placed the order with and simply provided some info in the PayPal notes field with my special requests.

I wanted the bracket to fit tight up inside and under the Nismo front bumper. And have angle to it to match the contour of the passenger side of the car.

Larry happily obliged and sent a shorter shaft and an angled washer in my kit. Although the shaft could have been 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch shorter to really tuck it in there I think the install is clean, the parts are very high quality and Larry shipped very quickly and the kit was packaged neatly and professionally.

All in all I couldn't be happier with the setup and it should prove easy to uninstall/re-install for the coming HPDE events, car maint etc.

If you are considering one of these plate relocation brackets don't hesitate to get one of these from Mower Deck, you will be pleased.





http://www.the370z.com/members/benih...da-plate-2.jpg

Benihana

I forgot to mention an issue I had with the Z1 oil cooler installation.

I got the top of the line setup with the 34 row cooler and all the chaffing material pre-installed.

The anodized aluminium fittings are supposed to be tight when they are assembled and should not require any tightening when you get them. Unfortunately, 3 of the 4 connections were not properly tightened when they were made. 2 of them leaked a bit. So, I had to go back and tighten them again. So far they are bone dry but I will be checking them frequently to be sure. Other than a couple of wrench marks on the fittings, they should be fine and I don't expect any more issues.

I did confirm with the fine folks at Z1 that end user tightening is not required or even mentioned in the instructions and they noted the minor mishap in my account.

Sooo. If you get one of these kits you may want to check but do not over tighten these connections. Better safe than sorry.

forza370z

I just got the z1 19 row oil cooler(cuz I live the same cold place as you). Planning to install it today. So you are saying I should check the fitting to see if they are tightened properly? Do you use a torque wrench to tight them?

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09 PW 370z Nismo | K&N Drop Ins | HKS Hi Power | Berk HFCs | Work Meister S1 3P | Project Kics R40 Neo Chrome Lug Nuts | KW V1 | SPC rear camber arms/toe bolts | Southbend Stage 3 daily clutch | Southband 19Ib Steel Flywheel | ZSpeed CSC