Twenty-Three with a Z
 

Hi guys!

I just wanted a place to put pictures of the Z and share any updates, mods, road trips, anything.

Quick introduction:

I'm 23 years old and I'm currently pursuing a master's degree in mechanical engineering. I graduated with my bachelor's in 2019 from Syracuse University, and with a hefty graduation present from my family (I was lucky to have wealthy grandparents, may they rest in peace), I was able to afford a new Z! I bought a 300zx in high school-- sapphire blue that thing was gorgeous :icon17:. So this is my second Z.

The car:
2013 Nissan 370z Brilliant Silver with manual trans. 45k miles.
Mostly stock. I put nismo v2 rays on it and wrapped the roof. Previous owner painted the fangs and added a J2 axle back exhaust. I plan on getting my swift springs and FI cat back hopefully soon :icon17:.


I wanted to start this thread out with a tasteful little mod I did to the interior: I always hated the look of this big ugly cubby in the middle of the center console. So, I removed it and 3D printed some Z logos to fill the holes which were left over. One for the 370, one in memory of the 300 :).

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...re104841-a.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...re104719-a.jpg

Welcome to the forum. :tup:

Enjoy the ride. :driving:

Good luck with you master's degree. :tup: Just don't become book smart and common sense dumb. Once on the job, you will learn about stuff that you was never taught or seen in a book. Get yourself a good mentor. I have 2 degrees. Welding and Mechanical. :tup:

Nice! Two sweet degrees to have.

I'm actually working at a small manual transmission design/manufacturing firm as a draftsman. It's small enough that I get a lot of one-on-one time with the CEO/chief engineer. He's a great mentor! Can't wait to see what the future brings.:driving:

Good move buying a used one. Congrats on your Z.

congrats on your Z and your career having a mentor is key and seems your on your way the best of luck to you... remember the Z likes to be driven.... but do it at the track...

Very nice. When I was 23 I had an old TR-4.

Congratulations and welcome. :tiphat:

Thanks guys! I'm happy to be here. I'll be sure to post updates as they unfold :icon17:

Good things are coming!! Here's a small teaser:

Springs, spacers, and rotors!
 

Finally finished my suspension and brake weekend overhaul. Swift springs, CHECK. 10mm Z1 spacers with extended studs, CHECK. Drilled and slotted rotors with stoptech pads, CHECK. I even threw some caliper paint in there as a bonus.

Currently she's looking super dirty and needs an alignment bad. Taking care of both of those things this weekend after the springs are settled. Regardless, here are some pics! Camber is noticable in the back but I can tell the amount of spacer is perfect back there. Front is much better than before and maybe could use a 15mm spacer instead. No rubbing so far!

I would have finished the job Sunday as planned but ran into a couple complications. Finding something to set the wheel studs was a bit annoying. I ended up going to the hardware store and picking up an 0.5" ID inch-long bronze bushing which worked great for the job. Stoptech also sent me the wrong brake pad retaining clips for the rear so I had to make another run to town to get the right size clips. However, the real time killer was painting the calipers (shitty, non-Akebonos). I heavily underestimated how much extra time this would add which was dumb because I've painted plenty of car parts in the past (1 hour between coats for caliper paint also hurt).

Overall, super happy with the new look! I feel so much more confident driving the car around. It's crazy how much the new springs improve the aesthetic of the car. Not to mention how great the Swifts are comfort-wise. This was also the biggest mechanic job I've undertaken. Makes the final product that much more satisfying!

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...45-swift-2.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...043-spacer.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...44-swift-1.jpg

Very nice job! It looks great!

nice job

Another weekend of wrenching! Installed GMG no-holes front licence plate mount, did an oil change, and installed Z1 aluminum undershroud up front. Installed SPL camber arms in the back. Thought I could swing no toe bolts. WRONG. Now a next weekend project along with eccentric lockouts (shoulda done them with the camber arms) and brakes on the GFs car.

Pics:

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...ndershroud.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...105153-gmg.jpg

Fog rolling in

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...05155-phog.jpg

Welcome! FSAE alum here as well. Enjoy the car!

Awesome! What school? I went to Formula North 2016 & 2018, and Lincoln 2017 and 2019. Maybe you were there if you're a recent grad.

Not recent. Western Washington University. I did the Cost and Business events at Michigan and California, 2010-2013. Good times!

Just noticed I have the same clicking problem as described by these threads:
http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...ing-noise.html
and
http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...low-speed.html

Looks like the differential needs to be re-lubed and halfshafts need to be rotated or something. No idea what a nissan dealer will charge for that probably an arm and a leg. Good thing is this may be the reason my traction control kicks on randomly when accelerating spiritedly in a straight line.

If anyone has experience with this, how long can I wait before this causes major damage to my drivetrain? I'd rather not worry about solving this till 2021.


Edit: Will probably attempt a DIY diff fluid change before bringing it into a shop. Maybe that will solve the problem....

SPC toe bolts and Z1 camber eccentric lockouts are in, and final allignment is live. Numbers are as follows L/R degrees:
rear camber -1.6/-1.7
rear toe 0.05/0.00
front camber -1.3/-1.8
front toe 0.09/0.05
front caster 5.2/5.2

Quite a lot of work just to swap out 4 bolts. But now the lowering process is finally over! :happydance:

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...175-allign.jpg

Edit: For anyone wondering, SPL FUCAs are on the list but further down the pipeline. For now I am happy with the current specs.

I'm curious if that does it for you. I literally just noticed this on my car after my last track day.

Had the pleasure of driving some Vermont back roads over the weekend. Car was great!

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...re105211-a.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...re105210-a.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...re105209-a.jpg

Headlight progress is good. Got everything off the car, baked the headlights in a cardboard box with a heat gun, opened them right up. The most concerning parts for me are over happily.
Today we install the oracle halos and figure out wiring. Housing paint was also applied yesterday.

Car in pieces
http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...bumper-off.jpg

Cardboard box method
http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...gun-method.jpg

Headlights open
http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...ights-open.jpg

Wiring finalized and headlight is mostly assembled! Just gotta reseal them and put them back in the car.
Really hoping the turn signal lense fits over the bulb.. if not I'm going to be quite unhappy.

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...alo-wiring.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...ed-housing.jpg

The project was going so well..... And I was so close to finishing..... While resealing the light I learned why not to have the heat gun pointed straight at the headlight.

All the lights still work. There's a hole about the size of a quarter in the plastic casing of the light. I'm going to attempt to seal the hole, though the odds I make it 100% water tight are low..... Either way there's probably a new drivers side headlight somewhere in my future.

Edit: It's been some time and the light seems to be waterproof after my repair! :icon17:

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...melty-hole.jpg

Project completed! (minus the error mentioned in my previous post). The looks of the car STUN me. The black headlights tie in the front better than I imagined. The halos are a nice touch too. I think they look futuristic.
Here are the final pics!

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...headlights.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...05-haloz-1.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...04-haloz-2.jpg

Next up: a bath!

Before and after:

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...fore-after.png

Welp. I'm pretty bummed. Turns out my headlight allignment is way off on the melted light. I now blind oncoming traffic with my driver's side headlight. UGH. New headlight backing is definitely in my future now....

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...ched-light.jpg

Fixed the axle click today using the Kawasaki castle nut thanks to this thread: http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...unk-noise.html

Pretty easy job. I threw some assembly paste on the splines as well.

Heated garages are nice :icon17:

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...castle-nut.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...re105623-a.jpg

35% window tint installed recently. I've never noticed the visual rainbow-ey effects of polarized sunglasses and window tint :cool:.

I also did engine, tranny, and diff oil today. Tranny oil looked incredibly clean for 50k miles (contrary to my belief the PO may have had it done ~15k+ miles ago). Also, first engine oil change with the Z1 under shroud! What a world of difference. Two easy bolts as opposed to a big plastic pain in the ***.

I'm going to be gone without roads for up to 7 months starting next week. Leaving the Z with the parents so father can cruise and bring her up to temp once in a while. I'm excited for the mods planned for when I come back!

http://www.the370z.com/members/zx_ma...re105826-a.jpg