jables Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Having owned my previous 350Z for 4 years I started casually looking through the classifieds to see if there was anything else that would tempt me away from the Z. Working from home I don't need a 'daily drive' car that often so something a little more track focused with more power were the main criteria. I then stumbled across a 54 plate 350Z with a SFR twin turbo conversion and only 28k miles on the clock owned by Lum. I still love Azure Blue, but despite the TT being ginger I could still see myself swapping cars. Running between 400-440 whp (480ish at the crank) with around 440 lb-ft torque the difference was certainly noticeable. The car has the punch that it deserves and arguably should've come with straight out of the factory. I quickly succumbed to the dark side and splashed the cash . I know, I know, it's bought not built, but I simply couldn't turn down the car at the price I paid. However, there's plenty of build work planned and it's already had its first trip to Abbey Motorsport (see below). This thread is also for my reference so I can keep track of the current spec and the car's history: SFR 350Z 60-1 Hi-Fi Twin-Turbo "Complete" System 2 x T3/T4 60-1 Hi-Fi Turbonetics turbos with ball bearing upgrade 2 x 321SS tubular low mount manifolds with burns stainless merge collectors 2 x 304SS downpipes 2 x Tial 38mm external wastegates Wesstech oil scavenge pump Aluminum oil sump Spearco front mount intercooler Pre-tuned Split Second FTC ECU 440cc drop in injectors Walbro 255 fuel pump All intake and intercooler piping with integrated AFM and HKS SSQV 2 x K&N low mounted air filters Oil cooler Koyorad R-Series 53mm aluminium radiator Blitz DSBC boost controller RPS Max Street clutch and flywheel HKS true dual 3" carbon titanium exhaust The turbos and piping are hidden low down so there's not much to see in the engine bay. I've also fitted a few bits from my old Z: 5Zigen ZR+520 19" wheels wrapped in Falken 452's DBA 4000 discs Ferodo DS2500 pads Nismo CF B-pillars Nismo Titanium gear knob On the highest boost setting the car runs 0.6 bar which Speed force Racing claim will make 440 whp. Day to day I'm running the car at 0.45 bar until I can afford forged internals! The install looks really professional with the turbos mounted down low so you can barely see any changes under the bonnet. 21 FEB 2012 UPDATE The ginger ninja has been UpRev mapped at Abbey Motorsport to run at lower boost for longevity and currently runs 404 whp and 380 lb-ft torque at 0.5 bar. The Split Second FTC ECU was removed as this is no longer required. New parts as follows: CJM stage 1 fuel return system to manage the fuel pressure UpRev MAF GT to read the full air flow range HKS Super Fire Racing spark plugs iridium heat range 8 Drive/aux belts and worn/cracked hoses replaced 25 JULY 2012 UPDATE A few new parts installed courtesy of Abbey Motorsport and Horsham Developments: Whiteline anti roll bars (front and rear) SuperPro suspension bush kit (front and rear) HKS braided brake lines Edited March 12, 2013 by jables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jables Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 I picked up the car from Abbey Motorsport on Saturday after a week of fettling. The main aim was to get the car checked over and running as safe as possible, without shedding too much grunt! The accepted 'safe' limit for the VQ35DE as a stock block is around 400 whp. The midrange torque is the big killer with the con rods being the weak link. Before tuning Abbey fitted a stage 1 fuel return system to manage the fuel pressure, an uprated MAF to read the full air flow range, uprated HKS spark plugs and some worn/cracked hoses replaced. Finally the piggyback FTC ECU was removed with the new UpRev map taking care of fuel timing. The boost controller now runs two pressures, 0.45 and 0.5 bar. Here are the dyno results: So at 0.5 bar it's running 404 whp (450ish at the crank) and 380 lb-ft of torque, more than enough for the time being until the handling is nailed. It's debatable whether you need much more power on the road or track, but the option is there with the turbo kit good for around 600 whp (uprated rods and pistons essential!). The car drives much smoother and crucially I have a bit more reassurance that it's gonna last a while before going bang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Very nice, Chris... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sized Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Very nice zed. Where did you get those wheels from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 +1 very nice for a ginger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 nice work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jables Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Very nice zed. Where did you get those wheels from? Thanks. Special order from Japan back in 2009 but the importer's name escapes me! Front 19 x 9 +20 offset, rear 19 x 10 +20 offset so no need for spacers. I think there are a couple of other Z's on the forum with the same wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruddles Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Very nice dude!! When I win the lottery tonight I'll be able to afford a TT setup too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sized Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Very nice zed. Where did you get those wheels from? Thanks. Special order from Japan back in 2009 but the importer's name escapes me! Front 19 x 9 +20 offset, rear 19 x 10 +20 offset so no need for spacers. I think there are a couple of other Z's on the forum with the same wheels. Thanks for the info, will have a scout around Was going to get some Rotas in a few months, but these look mighty tempting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexx Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Looking nice! BigPhil at ESR used to have a set of those wheels in his shop. I tried many time to get him to sell me them in exchange for a tube of smarties! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilscorp Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 nice car, have you any other pics of your exhaust? Looks different to the ussual hks ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Good work. Nice to see the Split Second box being replaced with UpRev, should keep it running sweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Nice Zed Nice figures Will watch this progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sized Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I tried many time to get him to sell me them in exchange for a tube of smarties! always worth a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasha@lazytrips Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 out of interest, what is the most HP & torque that a forum car has produced without an engine swap? Anybody know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK350Z Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Very nice zed. Where did you get those wheels from? Thanks. Special order from Japan back in 2009 but the importer's name escapes me! Front 19 x 9 +20 offset, rear 19 x 10 +20 offset so no need for spacers. I think there are a couple of other Z's on the forum with the same wheels. Thanks for the info, will have a scout around Was going to get some Rotas in a few months, but these look mighty tempting They are 5Zigen Proracer ZR+520, very nice wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Very nice car out of interest do you know what the lip on the front bumper is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Mcgoo Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 That's a good looking rust bucket. Nice safe numbers as well. Looks like a nice surge of Torque between 3500 and 4500 rpm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jables Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 With a trip to the 'Ring looming in October, I booked onto a trackday at Bedford Autodrome for some testing. This was the first outing for the new Z on track with a view to ensuring it could handle some abuse on the Nordschleife. It turned out to be a very well organised day by Javelin and the MSV staff were really helpful despite one issue that I'll come back to! The weather couldn't make up it's mind with short spells of rain followed by plenty of sun, but this didn't spoil the fun in the slightest. After a slight detour on the way (read 'wrong turning') we arrived in time for the static sound test and briefing. The static limit is 101db at 4.5krpm with the Z managing 98db. Result . The first worry was the briefing that stated black flags would be waved if you failed the 87.5db drive-by test at any point during the day. With four testing stations dotted around the track you could in theory have a very short day as a black flag denotes that you've triggered a sound check and that's your day over. No warning. MSV did say though that they'd come and warn you if you approached the limit to give you a chance to ease off at the checkpoints. One problem with my current setup (configured by the original owner) is that the wastegates dump directly into two downpipes which vent to atmosphere - hence it's a screamer on boost. I knew it was loud so during the morning session I short shifted and backed off at each testing station just to be safe. Frustrating, yes, but still plenty of fun to be had around the circuit. On speaking to a few other drivers and spectators in the pits it turns out I had the loudest car on track . The closest on noise was a stunning Westfield with a full Cosworth block and sequential box running 500bhp at around 500kg - around double the bhp per tonne of a Veyron ! At lunch I whipped the wheels off to double check the new Whiteline ARBs were still on tight as we could hear and feel a faint vibration coming through the wheels. Everything looked fine and I can only put this down to the tyre pressures increasing by about 3-4psi that made the slight joins in the tarmac more noticeable. Having lowered the pressures it seemed fine again after lunch. I went for a run at 3pm that turned out to be the last of the day. Whilst trying to get some in-car video footage I forgot to back off at one of the sound checks to be greeted by a waved black flag at the next marshall post . Back in the pits I spoke to the MSV marshall who said I'd been close to triggering it all morning so I was a bit peeved that they didn't come and warn me as they said they would . To finish up the day a Porsche owner took pitty on me and offered a passenger ride, possibly the most eventful one I've ever had for all the wrong reasons. He kindly demonstrated how it gripped superbly in the corners before spinning spectacularly in the rain . Thinking he'd back off for the rest of the lap he completely missed his braking point at the end of the long straight whilst touching 120mph. Thankfully he avoided crashing into the marshall post and instead took us cross country into the 4ft grass at about 60mph. The car and both of us were fine, if a little shaken. So a great day out whilst the next mod on my list is to re-route the downpipes back into the exhaust to reduce the noise in future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony420z Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Looks like you have a very well sorted zed there mate nice a reliable tune . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tprice Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 You wern't in Swindon a few weeks ago by any chance? Talking to an old man about a 350z turbo, (he meant SC'z). If not, must be another ginger TT! Nice car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seabee Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Sweet car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Very nice zed. Where did you get those wheels from? Thanks. Special order from Japan back in 2009 but the importer's name escapes me! Front 19 x 9 +20 offset, rear 19 x 10 +20 offset so no need for spacers. I think there are a couple of other Z's on the forum with the same wheels. Thanks for the info, will have a scout around Was going to get some Rotas in a few months, but these look mighty tempting They are 5Zigen Proracer ZR+520, very nice wheels. Only people I know that used to have them was Envy Performance & Style. Sadly Envy does not exist anymore Pimm has a set on his azure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seany boy Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 LOVE this car !! Out of curiosity , who makes the rear diffuser ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 fantastic zed you got there...think the diffuser is a rsz one if it is the same as the one i had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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