Nissan 370Z Forum - Timeline of a Legend

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Timeline of a Legend

I would like to take the time to focus on one of my personal favorite companies in this industry, Powerhouse Amuse.

Powerhouse Amuse is one of the most innovative, most well renowned companies in not only JDM tuning, but the aftermarket scene in general in my opinion. The S2000 was the bread and butter for Amuse for sometime as it dominated the Touge and made its way into the hearts of many different types of track enthusiasts. Through their "Touge Monster", Amuse was able to represent their ability to fuse track performance with daily driving and sacrifice nothing. Eventually Powerhouse Amuse decided to create an S2000 with a more, "JGTC Inspired" image and then the S2300 GT1 was born.

Even though Amuse has focused on the S2000 for many years, that still didn't hinder them from offering applications for many other makes and models, such as the R35 GT-R and the E92 M3. Fortunately, Amuse is still on the cutting edge, pumping out parts and conceiving of concepts that others treasure and envy. In the end, a wonderful company in my opinion who's high quality products represent their willingness to be one of the best, regardless of what struggles they have to face in order to do so.

Eventually Amuse created the NISMO 380RS which became very well known among tracks in Japan as well as some track enthusiasts here in the states. The 380RS was designed with maximum downforce, and optimal weight savings in mind.

Once Nissan released the R35 GT-R, Amuse designed their version, Amuse Phantom, which was modified with simple aero benefit and weight savings via diffuser, wing, suspension sleeve kit, and full exhaust. With these simple mods, Amuse was able to maintain a lap record for the R35 that to my knowledge is still untouched by any other Japanese tuned R35.

Tanabe-San was the mastermind behind Powerhouse Amuse all the way up until mid last year. During his reign as one of the leading S2000 tuners, Tanabe-San invested in everything possible for the S2000 from aero pieces, to exhausts, to suspension, to brakes. The passing of Tanabe-San left a void in the industry that we experienced here at Bulletproof Automotive both professionally and personally; Tanabe-San's relationship with our company was one that we hold dear. Amuse is currently in the hands of Miss Tanabe-San who has the love and support of the entire Amuse team.

Here are a few pictures from our different trips with Amuse. We have quite a few so if anyone would like to see more please ask.

http://www.the370z.com/members/370zt...07355-copy.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/370zt...07362-copy.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/370zt...07360-copy.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/370zt...07427-copy.jpg

Love the photo essay...other than the fact that each photograph has been "Bulletproofed" to the Nth degree. ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoCal 370Z (Post 53279)

Love the photo essay...other than the fact that each photograph has been "Bulletproofed" to the Nth degree. ;)

:icon18: Next time I will try to minimize the watermark :hello:

Here are some pics of the Amuse Z34 when it first fell into the hands of Amuse. Notice the subtle water-marking...just for you SoCal :tup:

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...CT0466copy.jpg

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...CT0459copy.jpg

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...CT0458copy.jpg

Are there any recent ones?!
Mine's z looks like it can do some serious damage already!

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrownR426 (Post 58114)

Are there any recent ones?!
Mine's z looks like it can do some serious damage already!

Currently Amuse has only produced cat back exhausts, front pipes, and high flow cats; if they start producing anything else we will be one of the first to know so keep checking back for updates.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Ztune (Post 53276)

You got any 370Z stuff.....or are these just old projects.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 355890 (Post 58247)

You got any 370Z stuff.....or are these just old projects.

These are actually projects that we experienced when we visited Amuse in Japan in January 09.

We try to give 370Z owners as many choices as possible when it comes to options for their car. Here is a link to our website

http://370ztune.com/

feel free to browse; if there is something that you don't see on our website that you would like to see please let me know and we can add it. We are direct with all of the companies that we advertise on our website.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Ztune (Post 58453)

These are actually projects that we experienced when we visited Amuse in Japan in January 09.

We try to give 370Z owners as many choices as possible when it comes to options for their car. Here is a link to our website

370ZTUNE.com

feel free to browse; if there is something that you don't see on our website that you would like to see please let me know and we can add it. We are direct with all of the companies that we advertise on our website.

Excellent. Thank you for the link.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 355890 (Post 58505)

Excellent. Thank you for the link.

Anytime.:tup:

Many people are familiar with Amuse and what they offer. I thought I would take some time to enlighten people to Amuse's European branch, Ericsson.

Eventually, with the help of his wife, Ericsson was born portraying the image of Amuse's branch for European makes and models. Miss Tanabe-San has been spearheading the Ericsson branch all the way before its debut at Tokyo Auto Salon in 2008; after the passing of Tanabe-San, Miss Tanabe-San took over the Amuse name as well. Since she was already acquainted with the operations of Ericsson, managing Amuse is something that she should be extremely familiar with.

The goal for Ericsson's image was to offer parts of extreme functionality while still maintaining a clean look that incorporated JDM elegance with a European inspired sense of class. Based on their experience with the S2000, Amuse/Ericsson believed that one of the best ways to unleash this German Torque Monster, was to shave off excess weight. Through this train of thought, Ericsson immediately started pumping out dry carbon and FRP aero products, and full titanium exhaust systems. What better way to shave weight than using methods often found in JGTC and Formula 1?

In the end, a wonderful company in my opinion who's high quality products represent their willingness to be one of the best, regardless of what struggles they have to face in order to do so.

-Hunter

That M3 is so sexy!
One day I will have a black M3 [:

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrownR426 (Post 80319)

That M3 is so sexy!
One day I will have a black M3 [:

I personally believe that the Ericsson kit is the best looking kit for the E92 M3. If you love the black M3 then you might like this M3 with the Amuse/Ericsson front:

http://i460.photobucket.com/albums/q.../Capture-6.jpg

-Hunter

Hey, sorry if this is a dumb question, but why are all your pics from Bulletproof? Are Bulletproof and 370ztune.com the same company? Is the latter a subsidiary of the former?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoCal 370Z (Post 53279)

Love the photo essay...other than the fact that each photograph has been "Bulletproofed" to the Nth degree. ;)

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7795/...b4266ad927.jpg

370z tune is a division of bulletproof. Hunter, tell Mike I said "Hi" Its been a while since i have talked to him I hope he still has his s2000 :D

Mike

A little bird just told me that Modified Magazine wrote an article for the amuse Z33 Superleggera. It was a well written article IMO so I thought I'd share.

Quote:

One of life's greatest achievements is leaving a legacy behind, that little something that helps you make your mark on the world. When Tanabe-san of Power House Amuse passed away last fall, it was a shock to the whole Japanese tuning world. He was a great man, an innovator, an individual who over the last decade made a name for himself and his company. Tanabe-san had a true passion for perfecting cars, a vision that helped him create some of the most well-known cars the JDM scene has ever seen. The 380RS Superleggera is his last creation, one of many cars that he worked hard to get ready before his departure from this world. We saw the car at this year's Tokyo Auto Salon, a Z33 wearing the distinctive Amuse style, and one we had to focus on in detail to do justice to it's underlining concept, as well as the great man behind it.

Entering into the Power House Amuse shop is quite an experience. The first time I set foot in the top-of-the-line workshop around five years ago, I was greeted by Tanabe-san who eagerly showed me all the projects he was working on, including the turbocharged and stroked F20 that would be fitted to the then brand-new S2000 GT1. His presence is very much felt in the cars and the products that Amuse is still creating and building. His wife is keeping the name alive, and business is proceeding with constant support from a customer base that spans the globe. The Superleggera is quite a sight when seeing it out on the street. The aggressive body conversion gives it a very imposing stance, especially rolling on those massive 20-inch BBS LM-R wheels.

In Italian, superleggera means "superlight" and it's a term that Tanabe chose to emphasize as the main idea behind this project. The base is an already limited-edition car-the Japan-only Nismo 380RS-and the idea was to make it even more special with some Amuse-style modifications. The first thing was to shed weight, not an easy thing to do because the car needed to stay street-legal, so stripping the interior was totally out of the question. The body was the main area that Tanabe-san planned to address in the quest for lightness, so it was also the perfect opportunity to design a completely new, more aerodynamic, bodykit.

At the front, the 380RS nose was altered with a new style bumper featuring a 20 percent larger opening at the center, which thanks to a special air guide, supplies a lot more air to the radiator. The front diffuser and spoiler works on the already great aerodynamics of the 380RS, which offered zero lift at the front. Now, thanks to the finely tuned Amuse design, the front end develops downforce, helping push the front of the Z down onto the asphalt for more cornering bite and stability. The front fenders sport a wider stance as well as a small sliver of an air outlet, which blends into the Super GT inspired carbon vanes. These are there to help flow air from under the car and from the wheelwells out and around the sides of the car to keep drag low. The skirts continue to aid airflow along the side of the Z, while at the rear a set of FRP overfenders have been applied to the arches. These are mainly aesthetic as the small curved outlet they create is not functional.

The already aggressively styled rear bumper of the Nismo 380RS was left untouched because there are plenty of Super GT cues there already to differentiate the car from more run-of-the-mill Z33s. However, in the quest for more rear end stability, the rear diffuser has been redesigned and extended by 70mm, joining the large rear spoiler, which increased downforce considerably.

http://i460.photobucket.com/albums/q...Capture1-8.jpg

http://i460.photobucket.com/albums/q...Capture-16.jpg

-Hunter

I understand that everyone is already aware of what I am about to post; the reality is that too much was invested into this thread once upon a time, and I would like to see it live again so here are the updates we always promised (that you already know of) in order to consolidate Amuse's Z34 products into one area:

The Powerhouse Amuse Vestito kit. Still arguably one of the most impressionable kits for the Z34.

http://www.the370z.com/members/370zt...tito-front.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/370zt...stito-rear.jpg