M.Bonanni's 370Z Project "Born Again"

M.Bonanni · 01-07-2010, 06:49 PM

For those that don’t know me, I am the former owner of Double Down Motorsports, an old vendor on these forums. Unfortunately my company went out of business, but one of the things I have left from it is my 370Z. Originally purchased as a demo car for my company and the products I sold, my 370Z was used for a lot of new parts development and testing. I have already started a thread about the car entitled “DDM Project 370Z” almost exactly a year ago. In one short year the thread gained over 40,000 views and has grown to 42 pages long. For this reason, and the reason that Double Down Motorsports is no longer in business, I felt I needed to start a new thread to signify the “re-birth” of my 370Z project car.

For those that want to read all 42 pages of my first build thread, you can find it here...
DDM Project 370Z

In 2009 this car was built as a daily driven time attack car with most of the emphasis put into on-track performance. As much fun as that was, things will be different for this car in 2010. With a new team to drive for in time attack and a much smaller budget this 370Z unfortunately will not be seeing much track time in the near future. That does not mean I still won’t continue to build it with a “function over form” approach. My heart lies with building race cars, not show cars and although it will be on display more than on the track in 2010, it will still be built with the intention of turning a fast lap around a road course.

Here is a list of current modifications as it sits right now:

Engine + Cooling
- Injen Technology Dual Cold Air Intakes
- Berk Technology High Flow Catalytic Converters
- Berk Technology Cat-Back Exhaust
- Mishimoto Coolant Hose Kit
- Mishimoto Low Temp Thermostat
- Jim Wolf Technology Oil Pan Spacer
- Password:JDM Dry Carbon Fiber Engine Compartment Covers
- Password:JDM Dry Carbon Fiber Cooling Plate
- Password:JDM Billet Oil Cap
- Odyssey PC680 Lightweight Battery

Transmission + Drivetrain
- Carbonetic 1.5 Way Limited Slip Differential

Brakes
- Challenge Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines

Suspension
- BC Racing ER Type Coilovers
- SPC Performance Front Upper Control Arms
- SPL Parts Rear Camber Arms
- SPL Parts Rear Traction Arms
- GTSPEC 4-Point Ladder Brace
- GTSPEC 2-Point Rear Lower Tie Brace
Exterior + Aerodynamics
- Kognition Design Variant 1 Dry Carbon Fiber Rear Wing
- EVO-R Carbon Fiber Mirror Caps
- EVO-R Carbon Fiber B-Pillars
- EVO-R Carbon Fiber Front Center Bumper Cover
- GTMotoring Tow Hook
- Custom Vinyl Graphics from 702Graphics.com

Interior + Electronics
- Password:JDM Balanced Shift Knob

Wheels + Tires
- Forgestar F14 Wheels (18" Track/19" Street)
- Nitto NT05 Tires (Track)
- Nitto Invo Tires (Street)
- Nismo 60mm Wheel Studs
- Muteki Tuner Lug Nuts

Having to shut down Double Down Motorsports was a big heart breaker for me and one of my ways of coping with it is to re-invent the car and come up with a new plan, a new look, and something new to get excited about. Step one is to re-invent the look of the car. This will be a multi step process.

The first thing I did is create a new vinyl graphics package for the car. I wanted to stick to a "time attack" car look and as much as I like the signature “DDM” color scheme of fluorescent green and black, I ditched it as it for a sort of “painter’s tape blue” and black combo. I tried to make a simpler and cleaner layout for logos as well. Here are some recent photos from the car’s latest track day at the 2009 Redline Customer Appreciation Day back in December at the Streets of Willow Springs.

It seems that every time I do graphics I am never happy and this graphics scheme will probably change a million times. Already since these photos I have removed the Bonanni Motorsports logos, numbers, and my name off the doors to further simplify the look. The name on the door, numbers, and the wing I only put on the car for track days anyway. It also bugs me that the bullseye is crooked. At the vinyl shop I made the decision to make it even with the ground instead of going with the bottom door seem and now I am regretting it so that will probably come off next. I keep going back and forth between doing a time attack look with the vinyl or going minimalistic, which I am sure most everybody would prefer to see, but I am not building my car for everybody so piss off

. Nonetheless, I still have sponsors for the car, and those sponsor's logos need to remain on the car. I just need to find a really cool way to showcase them.

The next step is to powdercoat the wing end plates and stands a matte black so they blend in better with the rest of the wing. I also want to find black hardware for the wing for the same reason. Then I want to take the car to have the tail lights smoked a bit and the door handles painted flat black.

Other places you can follow the progress of this car...
Web: http://www.bonannimotorsports.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bonannimotorsports

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bmstimeattack

Blog: http://bonannimotorsports.wordpress.com

ChrisSlicks · 01-07-2010, 07:36 PM

Looking good Mike!

How did that wing hold up in the second test?

CrownR426 · 01-07-2010, 07:46 PM

Hahaha, I saw ur z's result in modified or import...
That last race was very close and that 350z was like a hair away lol...
Don't worry cause I know you'll be kicking *** and taking names!

Mike · 01-07-2010, 08:03 PM

If you just need some small stuff powdercoated, i will do it for the cost of postage.

travisjb · 01-07-2010, 08:37 PM

Graphics look good... clean, simple, purposeful

The wing will look even better in black - I may follow your lead on the wing and the color change

dlmartin81 · 01-07-2010, 08:55 PM

Hey Mike, good luck with the racing career. Hope it works out for ya.

BTW, I like your ride hight now. I thought it was a bit slammed previously. You did raise it, right?

dlmartin81 · 01-07-2010, 08:55 PM

Hey Mike, good luck with the racing career. Hope it works out for ya.

BTW, I like your ride hight now. I thought it was a bit slammed previously. You did raise it, right?

aliveZ · 01-07-2010, 08:56 PM

third pic down is absolutely beautiful.

M.Bonanni · 01-07-2010, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

Looking good Mike!

How did that wing hold up in the second test?

The wing held up beautifully. I am pretty sure I could stand on it, but I am too scared to back that claim up lol. Either way, the wing showed no signs of even flexing a little at over 115mph.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrownR426

Hahaha, I saw ur z's result in modified or import...
That last race was very close and that 350z was like a hair away lol...
Don't worry cause I know you'll be kicking *** and taking names!

Oh that must be the Super Lap Battle results. I was NOT AT ALL happy with those results or the car that day. Should have been a 2:01 at least. Hell I was only one second slower when the car was stock with coilovers. The car was WAY off in the handling department, but I was driving the Berk Technology BMW 135i too that day so I didn't have much time to tune my own car. Oh well, one day I will take it back out at Buttonwillow and redeem myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike

If you just need some small stuff powdercoated, i will do it for the cost of postage.

Nice! PM sent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by travisjb

Graphics look good... clean, simple, purposeful

The wing will look even better in black - I may follow your lead on the wing and the color change

Thanks Travis. Its huge, but when it comes to function, quality of construction, attention to detail, ease of adjustability, and quality of materials this is by far the best wing I have ever seen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlmartin81

Hey Mike, good luck with the racing career. Hope it works out for ya.

BTW, I like your ride hight now. I thought it was a bit slammed previously. You did raise it, right?

Thanks and good eye. I did raise the car almost an inch from before. In those photos it also has the 18s on it and those tires have a bit smaller overall diameter than my regular 19s that you usually see on there so that also makes it look a bit higher. Truthfully I will probably lower it again now that the car is taking a break from track action. Show car low

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aliveZ

third pic down is absolutely beautiful.

Thanks

.

370Zsteve · 01-08-2010, 06:24 AM

That catback looks sweet!

M.Bonanni · 01-08-2010, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Zsteve

That catback looks sweet!

It does, but the production one will be even sweeter! I still have the first prototype made of mild steel instead of stainless steel. And I had to give back the X-Pipe so they can make a jig out of it so I am running the H-Pipe which still sounds good, but not as good as the X-Pipe. So I have put myself in on the group buy for the production version Berk exhaust as well

.

M.Bonanni · 01-08-2010, 01:57 PM

Wing stands and end plates are being sent out to Mike for powdercoating today!

M.Bonanni · 01-11-2010, 11:32 AM

Selling the BRIDE Zeta III seats I had in the car for last year's SEMA. With the new direction of the car, I am sticking with the stock seats until I can get some nice aftermarket reclineables that work with the stock seatbelts.

FS: BRIDE Zeta III seats w/rails - Brand New!

vipor · 01-11-2010, 12:00 PM

she's purdy. i like the scheme you're using now, although the green was eye-catching.

M.Bonanni · 01-11-2010, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vipor

she's purdy. i like the scheme you're using now, although the green was eye-catching.

Thanks! I have a feeling within the next few months I will have an entirely different vinyl sceme yet again and it will probably go more along the lines of subtle/clean "show" car look and I will see how I like that.

01-07-2010, 06:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
M.Bonanni The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 2,575 Drives: Fast Rep Power: 1320	M.Bonanni's 370Z Project "Born Again" For those that don’t know me, I am the former owner of Double Down Motorsports, an old vendor on these forums. Unfortunately my company went out of business, but one of the things I have left from it is my 370Z. Originally purchased as a demo car for my company and the products I sold, my 370Z was used for a lot of new parts development and testing. I have already started a thread about the car entitled “DDM Project 370Z” almost exactly a year ago. In one short year the thread gained over 40,000 views and has grown to 42 pages long. For this reason, and the reason that Double Down Motorsports is no longer in business, I felt I needed to start a new thread to signify the “re-birth” of my 370Z project car. For those that want to read all 42 pages of my first build thread, you can find it here... DDM Project 370Z In 2009 this car was built as a daily driven time attack car with most of the emphasis put into on-track performance. As much fun as that was, things will be different for this car in 2010. With a new team to drive for in time attack and a much smaller budget this 370Z unfortunately will not be seeing much track time in the near future. That does not mean I still won’t continue to build it with a “function over form” approach. My heart lies with building race cars, not show cars and although it will be on display more than on the track in 2010, it will still be built with the intention of turning a fast lap around a road course. Here is a list of current modifications as it sits right now: Engine + Cooling - Injen Technology Dual Cold Air Intakes - Berk Technology High Flow Catalytic Converters - Berk Technology Cat-Back Exhaust - Mishimoto Coolant Hose Kit - Mishimoto Low Temp Thermostat - Jim Wolf Technology Oil Pan Spacer - Password:JDM Dry Carbon Fiber Engine Compartment Covers - Password:JDM Dry Carbon Fiber Cooling Plate - Password:JDM Billet Oil Cap - Odyssey PC680 Lightweight Battery Transmission + Drivetrain - Carbonetic 1.5 Way Limited Slip Differential Brakes - Challenge Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines Suspension - BC Racing ER Type Coilovers - SPC Performance Front Upper Control Arms - SPL Parts Rear Camber Arms - SPL Parts Rear Traction Arms - GTSPEC 4-Point Ladder Brace - GTSPEC 2-Point Rear Lower Tie Brace Exterior + Aerodynamics - Kognition Design Variant 1 Dry Carbon Fiber Rear Wing - EVO-R Carbon Fiber Mirror Caps - EVO-R Carbon Fiber B-Pillars - EVO-R Carbon Fiber Front Center Bumper Cover - GTMotoring Tow Hook - Custom Vinyl Graphics from 702Graphics.com Interior + Electronics - Password:JDM Balanced Shift Knob Wheels + Tires - Forgestar F14 Wheels (18" Track/19" Street) - Nitto NT05 Tires (Track) - Nitto Invo Tires (Street) - Nismo 60mm Wheel Studs - Muteki Tuner Lug Nuts Having to shut down Double Down Motorsports was a big heart breaker for me and one of my ways of coping with it is to re-invent the car and come up with a new plan, a new look, and something new to get excited about. Step one is to re-invent the look of the car. This will be a multi step process. The first thing I did is create a new vinyl graphics package for the car. I wanted to stick to a "time attack" car look and as much as I like the signature “DDM” color scheme of fluorescent green and black, I ditched it as it for a sort of “painter’s tape blue” and black combo. I tried to make a simpler and cleaner layout for logos as well. Here are some recent photos from the car’s latest track day at the 2009 Redline Customer Appreciation Day back in December at the Streets of Willow Springs. It seems that every time I do graphics I am never happy and this graphics scheme will probably change a million times. Already since these photos I have removed the Bonanni Motorsports logos, numbers, and my name off the doors to further simplify the look. The name on the door, numbers, and the wing I only put on the car for track days anyway. It also bugs me that the bullseye is crooked. At the vinyl shop I made the decision to make it even with the ground instead of going with the bottom door seem and now I am regretting it so that will probably come off next. I keep going back and forth between doing a time attack look with the vinyl or going minimalistic, which I am sure most everybody would prefer to see, but I am not building my car for everybody so piss off . Nonetheless, I still have sponsors for the car, and those sponsor's logos need to remain on the car. I just need to find a really cool way to showcase them. The next step is to powdercoat the wing end plates and stands a matte black so they blend in better with the rest of the wing. I also want to find black hardware for the wing for the same reason. Then I want to take the car to have the tail lights smoked a bit and the door handles painted flat black. Other places you can follow the progress of this car... Web: http://www.bonannimotorsports.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bonannimotorsports Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bmstimeattack Blog: http://bonannimotorsports.wordpress.com __________________ MikeBonanni.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MikeBonanni Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MBonanni36 Function > Form Last edited by M.Bonanni; 01-23-2010 at 12:35 PM.

01-07-2010, 07:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
CrownR426 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: South Korea Posts: 4,676 Drives: Manual Rep Power: 847	Hahaha, I saw ur z's result in modified or import... That last race was very close and that 350z was like a hair away lol... Don't worry cause I know you'll be kicking *** and taking names! __________________ Love + Hardwork + Passion RIP SVTRacer

01-07-2010, 08:03 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mike The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Loganville, GA Posts: 5,944 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 2185	If you just need some small stuff powdercoated, i will do it for the cost of postage. __________________ NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

01-07-2010, 08:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
travisjb A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: GSO Posts: 2,803 Drives: VIR Rep Power: 188	Graphics look good... clean, simple, purposeful The wing will look even better in black - I may follow your lead on the wing and the color change __________________ 2009 370Z #104 For Sale

01-08-2010, 06:24 AM	#10 (permalink)
370Zsteve A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Gold Coast CT Posts: 10,599 Drives: 2019 Corvette G.S. Rep Power: 42	That catback looks sweet! __________________ SOLD MY Z MARCH 2018 - another Core OG moves on - new ride 2019 Z Corvette Grand Sport - no mods necessary but already have eyes on HFC and intakes LOL IT NEVER ENDS.

01-07-2010, 07:36 PM	#2 (permalink)
ChrisSlicks A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: North East Posts: 6,203 Drives: 09 370Z Sport M6 Rep Power: 653	Looking good Mike! How did that wing hold up in the second test?

01-07-2010, 08:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
dlmartin81 Track Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chalfont, PA Age: 42 Posts: 923 Drives: 09 370Z Rep Power: 607	Hey Mike, good luck with the racing career. Hope it works out for ya. BTW, I like your ride hight now. I thought it was a bit slammed previously. You did raise it, right?

01-07-2010, 08:55 PM	#7 (permalink)
dlmartin81 Track Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chalfont, PA Age: 42 Posts: 923 Drives: 09 370Z Rep Power: 607	Hey Mike, good luck with the racing career. Hope it works out for ya. BTW, I like your ride hight now. I thought it was a bit slammed previously. You did raise it, right?

01-07-2010, 08:56 PM	#8 (permalink)
aliveZ Base Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: St. Louis Posts: 114 Drives: 09 Nismo-PG #0229 Rep Power: 15	third pic down is absolutely beautiful.

01-08-2010, 01:57 PM	#12 (permalink)
M.Bonanni The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 2,575 Drives: Fast Rep Power: 1320	Wing stands and end plates are being sent out to Mike for powdercoating today! __________________ MikeBonanni.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MikeBonanni Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MBonanni36 Function > Form

01-11-2010, 11:32 AM	#13 (permalink)
M.Bonanni The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 2,575 Drives: Fast Rep Power: 1320	Selling the BRIDE Zeta III seats I had in the car for last year's SEMA. With the new direction of the car, I am sticking with the stock seats until I can get some nice aftermarket reclineables that work with the stock seatbelts. FS: BRIDE Zeta III seats w/rails - Brand New! __________________ MikeBonanni.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MikeBonanni Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MBonanni36 Function > Form

01-11-2010, 12:00 PM	#14 (permalink)
vipor A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Euless, TX [ DFW ] Age: 41 Posts: 13,531 Drives: Nismo 09-0183 QAB Rep Power: 48	she's purdy. i like the scheme you're using now, although the green was eye-catching. __________________ 2009 NISMO # 0193 \| QAB \| Albums! \| 05.04.10 (Dynojet) 291.94hp/248.28tq Oil Cooler (DIY) \| Custom Headlights \| GTSPEC Braces \| F.I. Long Tube Headers