S14's 40th Anniversary 370z
 

I've had my car for nearly 2 years now, I suppose its time to start a thread...

In an effort to avoid boosting the Z, I went pretty much as far as you can go NA without building the engine. If I'm honest, a modded Z is plenty fast for the street. Unfortunately I could not fight the itch for boost, I tried and tried but in the end it was too strong, I just had to see the Z get its rightful twins, I placed an order on 2/13/12 for a GTM stage 1 TT kit.

Current Mods:

Performance:
Stillen G3 CAI
CNT Test Pipes
Invidia Gemini Catback
Stillen UD Pulley
Competition Clutch Flywheel
4.08 Final Drive w/Nismo Diff cover

GTM Stage 2 Twin Turbo Kit w/internal wg's (thread)
Turbonetics dual-port internal actuators
1050CC ASNU Injectors
CJM Stage 0 fuel return w/Aeromotive 340LPH pump
Southbend Flywheel
Southbend Stage 3.5 Clutch
ZSpeed CSC
RJM AFP Clutch Pedal
Quaife ATB LSD with 3.5 final drive
Setrab 25 row Oil Cooler
CSF Radiator
Mishimoto Radiator
2013+ Coolant Expansion tank
GTR Spec-V Radiator Cap (180kPa)
Zspeed aluminum undershroud
Berk Test Pipes
AAM 2.5" Exhaust
SwainTech White Lightning coated manifolds, turbine housings and downpipes
UpRev Dyno tuned @ RealAutoDynamics
RealAutoDynamics Turbo coolant lines

Internals: (thread)
Wiseco 96mm 10:1 pistons
K1 Rods w/ARP bolts
ARP L19 Head studs
ARP Main Studs
Cosworth Head gaskets
Calico coated OEM bearings

Suspension:
TWM Short Shifter
Powertrix UL Coilovers (12k/10k)
KW V3 Coilovers
Stillen Swaybars
265 RE-11 Up front, 295 Toyo Proxes R888 out back
Z1 Urethane Motor Mounts
Z1 Urethane Transmission Mount
Whiteline Differential Bushings

Brakes
Goodridge SS Lines
Endless MX72 Pads
Z1 2-piece drilled and slotted front rotors
Z1/BPI drilled and slotted rear rotors
ATE Super Blue fluid

Visually Stimulating Enhancements:
Stillen Side Skirts
Sunline Rear Spats
Nismo front bumper
AeroJacket Carbonfiber hood
Z1 Hood struts
Forgestar F14 19x9.5+15 19x11+20
JDM Fog Light
GTR Start Button (bitches love big red buttons)

I honestly don't have a lot of good pictures of the car or parts. Its pretty sad how lazy I got with documenting this build considering all the writeups and pictures I did for my last car (S14.5).

Im going to try to change that moving forward; I will update this thread with all future installs, including the TT kit which I will be installing myself.

Heres a few shitty iphone pictures:

The rear of the Z with Sunline addons and painted valance is my personal favorite:

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._7707582_n.jpg

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._4957430_n.jpg

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._2594565_n.jpg


The Stillen side skirts look like they were made for the Sunline rear, its a perfect match and most people ask me if this is the factory kit:
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._6406062_n.jpg

Playing hide and seek, the sneaky bitch:
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._1424299_n.jpg

Thats all for now, I'll be installing the powertrix coils and brake pads/lines hopefully before the TT kit arrives, so I'll have some more updates then.

The car looks great! I love 40ths with exterior mods; still my favorite color for the car!

Powertrix coilovers installed
 

Finally installed my Powertrix Ultralite Coilovers (12k/10k springs). Yes I am aware my iphone camera pictures are pretty shitty but I finally found my camera charger so I should have better pictures for future installs :tup:

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...03425739_n.jpg

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...17601852_n.jpg

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...93900148_n.jpg

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...32496413_n.jpg

I got the drop pretty damn even for the first try, I need to tweak it just a bit but otherwise im pretty happy with the height.

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...51710927_n.jpg

http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/...62063684_n.jpg

I haven't put many miles on them yet but so far the car feels great, I have the front at basically full soft(2/15) and the rears slightly stiffer(4/15) to help with "stepping out" toe issue the 370 is notorious for over bumps. The ride is not harsh or bouncy at all, and it handles way better than stock, steering/turn in feels much more direct and the car feels more confident at higher speeds.

Nice ride!!'

looks amazing. i like :tup:

thanks guys! Next week I'll be working on my diff swap, just purchased a 350z open diff with 3.5 FD and a Quaife ATB LSD!

Clean! I'd like to see some front lippage :)

yeah I have no idea what I want to do to there yet, I haven't come across anything that I'm in love with. I'm also convinced I'll rip anything I put on the front clean off :icon17:

INGS was one of the first lips thats caught my eye though :tup:

What do you think of the Stillen skirts, and how is fitment? Do you think it was a noticeable enough change to merit gong through with the mod?

Fitment is great, but they did have some quality issues, first pair I got I ended up needing a replacement for one of them. They are also quite a bit heavier than stock due to the material, some kind of heavy duty ABS plastic stuff. With that said I would still do it again and I would recommend them, I would just carefully inspect the pieces before sending them to be painted.

I think they look great and I love the way they match the shine auto rears, I get a lot of compliments on them. By itself the changes are subtle, but put a stock Z side by side and you would see the difference immediately.

Car looks great! Sub'd

Just a quick update, got a few parts in:

Quaife ATB LSD, going into a used 350z open diff with 3.5 final drive

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...15783710_n.jpg


PLX Wideband and Vac/Boost sensors and 2 of their new DM-6 multi-sensor touch gauges

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...96892127_n.jpg

These 2 gauges are temporary. I have some big plans for gauge setup in the Z, at first I thought about getting 3 gauges and sticking them in the stock location, but I gave it some more thought and since I would like to do data logging and have the ability to see more than 3 sensors at any given time without having gauges mounted everywhere I decided to do something custom.

I won't go into too many details yet but I'll be making use of the cubby, a 5-7" LCD, an ARM based PC (RaspberryPi) and the serial protocol that these PLX sensors have graciously documented. That won't happen for another 1-2 months however as I am waiting on delivery of the Raspberry.

Waiting to hear back from Sam about a price on upgrading my soon-to-be-shipped stage 1 kit to the new GTX2863r turbos, in the short term with low boost the GTX doesn't offer much advantages over the old GT2860r, but if I decided to build the block in the future they would be fully capable of over 600whp with incredible spool, looking at the compressor graphs they have amazing flow at 18psi+

http://www.atpturbo.com/root/release...365-1_comp.jpg

Very beautifuly build. I like the stillen sideskirts and am thinking about getting them as well!

Love it. Awesome build dude!

It's about time you made a thread!

are you still using the 20mm spacers on the rear with the coil overs? Any rubbing issues?

Nice build! Digging those side skirts. How much did they run you?

No rubbing in the rear, not much camber either.

I believe they cost about $500 shipped unpainted, well worth it :tup:

Nice 40th!

You're right, the Stillen skirts make a nice subtle difference over a stock Z, look really

Very nice build so far!

Just installed my Carbon Fiber Element Red Reflective carbon fiber switch panels! My iPhone doesn't really do these justice, they look great with the 40th's red interior:

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...45844238_n.jpg

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...68579722_n.jpg

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...08807253_n.jpg

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...47817469_n.jpg

That def looks good and compliment your 40th interior nicely! :tup:

Keep the mods coming dude :tup:

are you planning on going back to the stock gear ratio?

Thanks!

I have a 350Z diff with a 3.53 FD / Quaife LSD I'm putting together. Stock is 3.69 so this should help a bit with traction.

In other news, I just spoke to Sam and it looks like my kit is good to go they are just reviewing all the pieces before packaging and adding a few things to the kit, hopefully shipping out tomorrow. I decided against the GTX turbo upgrade, as nice as the new turbo series is I really don't think I'll ever get to the point of needing that kind of power. I did however add the following:

Bosch 650cc injectors instead of deatchwerks 600cc
Fuel pump voltage stablizer
HKS Spark plugs (1 step colder)
Windshield washer reservoir (no idea where or if I can mount this yet)

Quaife ATB LSD Install
 

Over the weekend I started installing the Quaife ATB LSD into my used 350z with an open differential. The 350z comes with a 3.53 final drive and since I will be boosted soon it seemed like a better choice for traction than the stock 3.69 gears. I apologize in advance for the shitty iphone pictures, its difficult to do an install and take photos =]



350z diff and Quaife LSD

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...81347448_n.jpg

The open carrier, WEAKSAUCE

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...41198727_n.jpg

Bearing caps and output shafts removed
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...26877292_n.jpg

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...93315777_n.jpg


Due to the factory installed thread locker, the ring gear needs to be removed with an impact gun, or locked in a vice with a super long breaker bar. Some of these bolts had to be hit for 30 seconds to even break free.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...41185808_n.jpg

Here you can see the output shafts, bearing caps, shims, races, oem open carrier with bearings and the new Quaife with ring gear installed. The 2 flat washers are shims, these sit on each side of the carrier between the races and the housing. Adjusting these shims is how you set backlash between the ring and pinion gear.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...94557634_n.jpg

New bearings/races and output shaft oil seals
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...54540050_n.jpg

I'm waiting for the 370z diff bushing kit from whiteline so in the meantime i got these whiteline diff bushing inserts for the 350z which should help a bit. These basically sit inside the stock shitty bushing to help eliminate any flexing.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...15846534_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...25435652_n.jpg


Pressing the new bearings onto the Quaife with harbor freight 12-ton press.
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...20916466_n.jpg

New bearings, yay. Note the ring gear hasn't been torqued down yet which is why theres a gap.
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...35672736_n.jpg

Punching out the old output shaft oil seals
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...42643440_n.jpg

New seals installed, installing these without the specialty tools is basically the same process as removing them. You start pressing it in by hand and then using a large flat punch gently tap all around the outside evenly until its seated in place.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...66010537_n.jpg


After the LSD is torqued in place you want to check engagement pattern using some marking compound
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...62918277_n.jpg

I was actually expecting this to be perfect since I didn't change gearing at all, but unfortunately I will have to adjust the backlash to correct the pattern.

The contact pattern is about even between the root and the flank (bottom and top of the teeth), but its too far towards the toe (inside), we want this centered on the teeth so it needs to be shifted towards the heel (outside). If the pattern did not look good on the flank/root we would want to adjust the pinion depth first by changing shims on the pinion gear, this is typically only necessary when changing gearing.

To get the correct contact pattern I'll need increase the backlash a bit by reducing the shim on the left and increasing it by the same amount on the right. This will basically slide the ring gear to the left which if done in the correct increments will give us the contact pattern we are looking for.

I'll update the thread later in the week once I get the appropriate sized shims from nissan.

:tup: Did you end up upgrading the turbos? Are you keeping the .64 exh housing from the stage 1 or swapping for a bigger .86? If those turbos are as good as we believe a .64 might give you more top end than a regular stage2 with GT28s and they should spool crazy fast!
Good luck!

..I am also on the waiting list for the raspberry ;)

Actually I decided not to upgrade. The GTX2863r is an amazing turbo, quick spool like the GT2860r, but top end is similar to a 2871r, I can see these things doing 700whp for sure.

With that said, the GT2860r is still a great turbo for our engine, the .64 can do close to 600whp, the .86 is probably good for 650 (Sam claims they did 611whp with the stage 1) which is really more than I will ever want. If I had a built engine capable of running higher boost safely I would probably run the new GTX series just to have the bragging rights/dyno numbers :icon17:

Gotcha! Besides what u already mentioned I like the anti-surge machining on the compressor housing and the stronger billet wheels.

I will eventually build my engine so I thought I'd take this step while the kit has yet to be installed. It would save me the money of getting bigger turbos down the road.

its definitely a good choice. I am sure I will own a pair myself in the future when i build the engine, but hopefully not for another few years :tup:

Going to be a blast to drive.

Finally after 6 long weeks of waiting, it shall begin...

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...63477353_n.jpg

nom nom nom nom....:yum:

one day...

:happydance: sweet man:driving:

I opted to make a new thread for the TT install for anyone who is interested.

Update the engine build thread, should be running 600whp by spring :tup:

A few shitty iphone pics after I installed the TT kit:

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...96247211_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...77741228_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...30785744_n.jpg

:tup:

Just installed my AeroJacket hood, looks great but what a pain in the *** that was...

http://i.imgur.com/mlLtWXf.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/vfuGc5R.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/vv3kK1A.jpg

hood and nismo bumper painted

http://i.imgur.com/9EW56Ey.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/gUD5tUK.jpg

Also replaced the ugly mesh that AeroJacket installs on the hoods before shipping them. Aluminum hex mesh powdercoated black from customcargrills.com

http://i.imgur.com/1vjkOJC.jpg

Looks great :tup:

I love it! Nice work!

What all did you get to have the nismo bumper installed?