Just figured I'd toss mine up here and keep things updated as we go along - hope you guys don't mind reading!! Some of this is copied/pasted from my thread on another forum, so I apologize if you've seen it before.
The project began back in 2005, when I decided to "just" do some head related work on the car. I had owned it since fall of 2003, and had done the usual bolt on stuff. Most of the time had been spent on suspension work up till that point, and once that was sorted out to my liking, we figured it was time to learn something new. I've always owned turbo cars in the past, except for a brief time with a couple of S2000's. Everyone was doing turbos and s/c on their Z's, and while the power they get out of them is awesome, I wanted to go in a different direction. Of course, as usual, the "I'll just do...." turns into a project that takes on a life of its own!
Basically, I had the heads done, and they just say here, waiting for time to swap them onto the engine already in the car. In Fall 2006, A customer called us from Michigan and told me a story of his 2004 Z that had been totalled at an event. We ended up working out a deal for his longblock, in exchange for parts he wanted for his new Z that was coming (an '07). Now that I had a spare block...the "What the hell" factor took over, and I decided to build a block to go with my yet-unused heads .
The goal on this car started off as being a setup that can run in all 4 seasons, is not built or tuned to the ragged edge, but rather, a more reliable approach. Now, it's a bit more extreme, but still with the core goal in the back of my mind. I have other cars, and while the Z is a toy of sorts, it gets used quite alot (50k miles since getting it Fall 2003). In the spring, summer and fall, its basically my daily driver so long as the weather is nice.
Internals:
Weisco Pistons (.020 over stock)
Eagle rods
ARP rod bolts
Fully balanced and blueprinted
OE Nissan bearings
Full Ported and polished heads
5 angle valve job (stock Nissan valves)
Tomei 268 cams (268 duration, 10.5mm lift)
NISMO valvesprings
NISMO headgaskets
Lots of time spent porting stock, non rev up lower plenum -we logged over 100 hours between the heads and plenum, going off recommendations from MCR Japan, as well as things we found on our own.
Motordyne 1/4 inch spacer
ATI crank pulley
New: water pump, rev up oil pump, idler pullies (OEM)
Final Compression checked in at 11.3:1
Misc Power Stuff:
Gruppe-M Carbon intake
3 inch MAF housing
Crawford headers
Fujitsubo Y pipe
Fujitsubo Legalis R Titanium exhaust
Resonated test pipes
Turbo XS UTEC
Drivetrain:
OS Giken Super Single Clutch/Flywheel with Aluminum cover
3.9 final drive
Cusco RS LSD
NISMO finned diff cover
The engine was completed in early summer 2007, and after about 900 miles of break in, we did the initial tune
Some pics before we dropped it in - we intially used a UR crank pulley, but I switched to the ATI one last summer.
This is on pump gas, done July 5, 2007 in Norwalk, CT. I've known the owner of "The Shop" for years, and he was good enough to fit us in on short notice right after the holiday. For those who don't know this place...you might remember a certain black 911 TT that duked it out with Turbo Tito (white 911 TT) back in the earlier days of import drag at E Town? The car is owned by the owner of "The Shop".....they do some insane builds there. Tuning was done by another good friend, Junior Barrios, whom I've also known for a long time.
Anyway, here is the sheet from the first day of tuning:
Fast forward to 2008, and I decided it was time to try out some new stuff. First thing we did, now that the engine had fully been broken in, switched to synthetic, etc, was some retuning. I ended up going right to the source this time around - Jermaine at Turbo XS. I don't know anyone who has as much experience with it, and since we've been friends for a long time, it was a good chance to take a nice drive down to MD, hang for the weekend with good friends, eat some good food, and see if any gains could be had. Like an idiot, I didn't get the scans from that session, but the net result was a peak of 320whp. I forget the torque, but it didn't change much from the previous runs as I recall. I haven't had a chance to get it back on a Dyno Dynamics as of yet, but that's on the list for this summer as well. Just to see how it all compares.
So now it's 2009, and I've been working on an individual throttle body setup for the car. Not quite as easy as we initially thought, so I think for the time being I'm going to put on a Cosworth manifold and see where we get to. I've also swapped out the UTEC and now have a Haltech in the car, so hopefully we'll see some changes in torque by being able to map cam timing, not to mention getting rid of the MAF. I may finally get some time to do the race gas tuning I wanted to also, as I think there will be some good gains to be had via timing...unfortunately, pump gas only lets you go so far. I've also got a new rear being put together for it too, this time with a 4.3 final drive and a Quaife diff. Turning out to be a bit of a nightmare, but it will end up working
Some pics of the car itself:
It has literally been the best car I've ever owned (and I've had alot!), and the whole thing has really taught me alot. Made some terrific, life long friends along the way so far, which is the best part.
quick video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMnVkpxuurM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fz1auto%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded