DJTODD's Journal - 2012 370z Nismo
 

Updates:

5/10/2015 - GTA Road Atlanta 2015!

11/20/2014 - My hideously delayed review of the FI TT Kit

5/14/2014 - GTA Road Atlanta

4/6/2014 - Got the car back!

Ok, I've screwed around long enough without a good consolidated build thread. Most of this initial post is just reserving some space for future posts.

So, I've been a long-time Z guy. My first car was an old S30. I fell in love immediately, and have owned every model Z over the years, with an s14 and a few other Nissan vehicles thrown in for good measure.

When I purchased this car, I was splitting DD duties between an 07 350 and my truck. We had an infant at the time so I have to have a crew cab truck for car seats and tow duty.

Up to that point I had been doing 2 or 3 track days a year, just playing as hobby. When I made my mind up to get the 370, I did some poking around (here mainly) and wow, what a refreshing group compared to the Charlie-Foxtrot that are the 350 forums. That, combined with the slow, but ever-growing contingent of riced out 350s was enough to push me over the edge.

I had also made my mind up about taking this car much further down the pure sports car path, as opposed to the middling track/show car that my 350 was. Low and behold, I'm driving past my local dealer a week or two later, and they had a brand-new black Nismo sitting on the lot. 4 hours and some arm twisting later it was in the driveway. I have purchased 9 cars from this particular dealer, so I ended up with a righteous deal.

I drove it home and ordered the FI CBE and HFCs that night. That was the first time I spoke to Tony, and the beginning of a long road :)

The more I've driven it, especially at the track, the more likely it is this car will turn into a pure track car. Yes, I could have probably gone with the NA route, but since day 1 I wanted to boost this car. It's the way it should have come from the factory!

Current state of the car
http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/..._ETA%20137.jpg


The car prior to shipping to Cali
http://www.the370z.com/members/djtod...0181-small.jpg


Aaannndd after they finished with it.
659hp, 589lb-ft




And for good measure, a clip from GTA Road Atlanta.




Below is a working list of current and future state.

Current

Engine
Fast Intentions Twin Turbo Kit - Stage 4 - HTA2868s w/Alpha Covers
Fast Intentions 3" Downpipes
Fast Intentions 3" Exhaust
Fast Intention FAST-785 Fuel System
Bosche 1000cc injectors
Mishimoto Radiator/Condenser CSF Triple-Pass Radiator
Fast Intentions 34-Row Oil Cooler

Electronics
Uprev Tuned by Seb@SZ
Turbosmart eBoost2
Racelogic Traction Control

Drivetrain
Southbend Aluminum Flywheel
Southbend Stage 3 Clutch
ZSpeed HD CSC
OS Giken LSD
Z1 Urethan Transmission Mount
Whiteline LSD Bushings
RJM AFP Clutch

Suspension
Stance SS+ Stance ProComp Coilovers
SPL Front Upper Control Arms
SPL Front Lower Bushings
Whiteline Front Bar/OEM Rear
SPL Front/Rear Endlinks
SPL Rear Camber Arm
SPL Rear Toe Arm
SPL Rear Traction Arm
SPL Lockout kits.
SPL Rear bushings

Safety
Robispec Harness Bar (Black)
Sparco EVO2
Sparco 6-point harnesses (red)
Hans Sport Series II

Wheel/Tire
Street:
TE37s 19x9.5+22, 19x10.5+12
Hankook RS3 275/35/19, 305/30/19

Track:
Enkei NT03 18x10.5 Square
Hankook Ventus TD 295/30/18 square

Brakes
Stoptech Trophy BBK - 380mm slotted
Stoptech Stainless Lines
Carbotech Pads - XP12 F&R
Nismo Replica Brake Ducts

Aero/Exterior
Aeromotion R.Static Wing
DJTodd Garage Fab Splitter/Undertray (Track only)
DJTodd Garage Fab Diffuser
DJTodd Garage Fab Vented Hood
Blacked out emblems
Tint by Palmetto Pro Tint
Clear-bra on Front Fascia, Hood, Headlights, Fenders, Mirrors, A-Pillars

Near-term
Cage - Should be going in for full cage soon.
OEM triple gauge replacement - Could really use some input here on brands. Leaning towards Defi atm.

Longer-Term
Adding lightness
More aero

More to come here as I remember, and have the time to fill in details

Reserved

sweet ride, man.

:yum::yum: @ 659hp

Love it.

Gauges, Defi are great quality.

Yep. I'm strongly leaning that way atm. They look like the nicest fit in the oem triple cluster too

I like that they have a metal casing, and are reliable. Other cheaper options have plastic casings, and well, tend to have a higher failure rate. Not worth the money saving if you ask me.

Sick looking car :yum:

Subcribed! :tup:

Subd!!

All black, done right!

Looks great, Sub'd

So, got the car back from F.I. Friday evening.
Spent an hour or two out screwing around, and was totally and completely blown away.
First impressions were as expected. The fit and finish is fantastic. I took a few minutes doing a walk-around/inspection, changed out of the valet-map, double-checked the boost group, let the oil come up to temp, then I went for a drive.

...My first text to Tony was filled with expletives.

I started with the "around town" map, which is about 9 psi/590hp with conservative timing. It is a total mind-f@#k.
The power is relentless, but the most amazing part is the delivery. Specifically, the boost threshold and boost response. Needless to say, I am VERY happy on my decision to wait and go with F.I.

Anytime...anywhere...you have boost. Cruising along in 6th at 2800...tip in, and it instantly makes boost.
I did one pull up to the top of 5th along a deserted stretch and, well...its gets there DAMNED fast now. Stupid fast.
I'm totally going to have to re-learn this car at the track.

Oh, almost forgot. Those HTA wheels and the alpha housings sound WICKED! Major grin factor!

The next day I had a bunch of daddy duties in the morning, and a car show in the afternoon, so it was back home for a quick wash.

Saturday was my buddies car show.
All my local gear-head friends knew the car would be back, so it drew a lot of attention. People couldn't believe the numbers it made on a stock motor, and the attention to detail was oogled over all day. I had Tony put a crinkle-coat black finish on the intake pipes and they came out REALLY well.

http://www.the370z.com/members/djtod...rsary-show.jpg

Saturday evening was dinner with the wife so I got to scare the **** out of her...check!
I also played with the high-end map+boost group Saturday evening. Want to blow the tires off ANYWHERE in third?...check!

Today was spent recharging the ac (i evacuated it prior to shipping to CA, so I told them not bother recharging it), draining the coolant, replacing with distilled H20 + water-wetter, and doing a few other maintenance items.
I'm scheduled to be on the track Wednesday, so I don't want to be "that guy" dumping antifreeze all over the place.
I also need to get corner-balanced again...hopefully Monday.

That will also be first shakedown session.
My main goals are to see how the cooling systems copes, and what changes I need to make to the damping & LSD. Initial breakaway and total lock is probably off for the power I'm now putting down, but we'll see.
It's also not supposed to be very hot, but I have no data at the moment so I have to get as many shakedown sessions as possible.

Next major punchlist items are:
- Get the oem seats back out and replaced with the EVO2's,
- Work on front splitter
- Work out ducting for brakes. I had to wait for the TT install, so I can figure out how to best route around the filters and intercooler piping.
- Maaaayyyybeee tinker around with rear diffuser ideas. I have some aluminum handy, and no one seems to have anything resembling functional, so it's something I want to work on.

All in all, very excited! Hopefully I have time to get any setup bugs worked out over the next few weeks. I have plenty of track time booked, so that's the goal.

May 9th - GTA @ Road Atlanta. Be there!

Sub'd

That first pic is mind blowing !

omg.. sick ride! i cant get my eyes off the first pic for some reason lol

You should have parked on level 4 in that first picture. �� awesome build!

Did a promo shoot for GTA with a friend last night. I got to peek at a few, and there are some sick shots. I can't wait to see the results.

He sent me a quick teaser this morning

http://www.the370z.com/members/djtod...ixtography.jpg

Car looks fantastic!

And the hits keep coming.

http://www.the370z.com/members/djtod...le-trouble.jpg

Update 5/14.

I put the kit through a bit of a torture test this weekend at Road Atlanta with Global Time Attack.

Two days of absolutely thrashing the **** out of it. Two sessions were in 90+ degree heat with high humidity.

...And it didn't miss a beat. Ran like a top. I have to admit, beforehand I was concerned with what oil and water temps I would see, but it never broke a sweat. Oil never got over 220ish, and water was never above the middle of the range. As background, I have the Mishi rad and FI 34 row oil cooler.

Anyway long story short: I had a blast. The car absolutely hauled ***, and behaved perfectly. I spent most of the time getting accustomed to all the additional power, trying to find the limits, and building confidence. I definitely need more aero now. Coming down the back stretch at 170ish, the rear is seriously squirrely under braking. I ran with the same RE11's that I've had on the car for some time. They have 20+ heat cycles, so they are definitely past it, but I was still pleasantly pleased with overall traction and balance. Still relatively neutral. Can't say enough good things about the OS giken lsd, although the fluid was totally cooked when I changed it yesterday.

One session was in the wet and that was...interesting? Terrifying? Given you can make it step out rather easily in the dry, it was a handful in the wet. Turn 12 was definitely a "pucker" moment for sure.

I put together a quick clip for you're viewing/listening pleasure. Still waiting on my buddy's to get my some outside-the-car video. We took 2 photo/video guys with us, so should have some good footage.

In the meantime, enjoy!

Now your car has the power to match its killer looks. Congrats! :tup:

What Boost setting did you in the video on the track?

Started at 10 the first day and worked into 13 psi on day two as I got more comfortable.

As soon as I have some time I am going to setup boost by gear, and run gate pressure in 1-2, 10psi in 3rd, and kill in 4-6

You asked for some Input on replacing the stock gauges here is a picture of my car with Defi in stock location can't beat it.


http://imageshack.us/a/img24/7725/32...0330087720.jpg

Cleanest look possible! Congratulations on making this look sooo good! :yum:

Awesome!

That's well over 600/550 on his build. Jesus, how are you holding that power down, I would have mowed the crap out of that lawn, haha.

Great stuff brother, I think I came at the whine of the htas....great driving, great video, great build, great fun!

Keep it up, good man!

Sent from my LG-D950 using Tapatalk

awesome stuff, those turbos sound amazing! Did you happen to do any data logging during any of those track sessions?

That car is fast! great driving as well.

Beautiful car. Pretty much all the things on my bucket list. As a semi local black nismo owner down here in charleston ..... you have set the bar PRETTTTTTTY high i must say haha!


Quick question, I'm looking to lower the car, says you have True Type Stance SS+ coilovers. Does that mean true coilovers in the rear? Im basically looking for any sort of recommendation of which direction to go for the guy who doesn't track very often, but wants to have some sort of decent performance with the cosmetic looks of a small 1" to 1.5" drop.

any advice greatly appreciated!

Great ride with the right parts, loving it!

Thanks man! :tiphat:

As for the coilovers, yes they are true type rears. I specifically wanted to eliminate the huge rear lower arm and replace with something that eliminated the eccentric bolts. Purely a track decision.

There aren't many choices out there in a true-type rear setup. Stance, JRZ, and maybe a couple others.

If I were to make a recommendation for occasional track use and DD duty, it would probably be Fortune Auto's 500 series (I saw the 510s the other week and they are impressive) or something like KW v3. Neither are true-type, but you really don't need that unless you're overly anal and/or lazy like me :)

SPL actually makes a replacement lower link now that offers the same eccentric lock-out, but still has a spring perch. With that, your options are wide open.

Just keep in mind though, at or over a 1" drop, you're going to need solutions to get camber and toe back to spec. The oem eccentric rear bolts most likely won't have enough adjustment, and the front doesn't have ANY adjustment.

Loving the first video. Sub'd.

I wish you had Nismo #666 and 7 more hp for a total of 666hp. That would be pretty nifty given your color scheme.

favorite build on this site!

You did the same mods as I want to do to mine. :tup:

Thanks guys!

I've been totally consumed by work and family over the last few months. I've been quietly doing some work in my off time though :)

Should (hopefully) have some pics up soon with the finished products.


Oh and btw, the new CSF triple-pass rad is pretty damn cherry.

Subscribed :)

Car looks great, love the wheels

How is the engine holding up?
Did you leave it at 13psi or did you bump it up any more?

holy sh!7 man i have to say your car in the video looks fast as hell... One of the best build i have seen on a 370Z :drool: awesome work :tup: i hope to get my Z to that level in the future!!!