Sinister350GT

Z-Tune Motor Sports!

I am writing this post to tell all members of this forum and others about the experience I have had with Z-Tune and the trials and tribulations they have gone through with my Ride.
I moved to Vancouver BC in Oct of 2008. Then looked at all sorts of shops to bring my 2003 G35 Twin Turbo car to for service and advice.
There are quite a lot of shops willing to work on my car but none willing to stand behind their Recommendations quite like Z-tune!
I brought in my Ride in April of this year to Diagnosis a leaky Head gasket/ overheating issues.
I had built the motor only 6 months earlier, so to find out the head gasket was leaking was hard to swallow. They said to me that they will do everything first to ensure that the Head gasket was the issue prior to opening up the motor. Turns out I had air locked the coolant system under hard boost. So I got the call I was waiting for to tell me everything was ok!
I gave the go ahead to install a new KOYO radiator, Modify the existing electric fans and install a water/meth Snow Performance kit. Wire in a shift/knock light into my Stock Hazard light location.
They also suggested I install a ECU ground to ensure proper Voltage to my ECU.
Everything discussed was based on them actually taking the time to ensure that after I got the car back ,all previous problems had been addressed as well as some concerns they had had on my original install were dealt with (original install was done by inexperienced shops in Calgary/red deer and some items were left out)
I had installed the 3rd tuning system in my car, the Uprev Osiris/Cipher and was told by the shop in Red Deer AB, that this was the answer to my tuning problems.
What I did not know is that the tuner had major issues working with the program and did a base tune on my car without using Real Time Tuning. (Basically calculated guess work on his end and input from the guys at uprev to get the car running.) Original cost for the Tune was over $4,000 and it was still not up to full potential)
Once Z-tune had completed the repairs on my car, I got it back for a few days only to notice that the battery was draining and needed to be replaced.
I brought the car back in to get that work done and I asked if they could tune the car? They were working with Uprev systems but were not a PRO dealer. I had already purchased the Cable/License and had all the software for the car so it would not be an issue. Turns out there was a problem with the Uprev program still having a few bugs that the original tuner did not know about.
The Guys at Z-Tune consulted with the guys at Uprev to find a solution to tune the car. It took a few weeks to work out the bugs and total determination on Juries’ part to get the car running.
He had to do all the Base map work over again because the shop that did the original tuning went OUT OF BUSINESS!!! So no information/Maos was avail from them.
I have the car back and it is just as fast now on Low boost as it was running high boost on my old tune. Those of you who have been following my build and had seen my dyno sheets from the last tuner had some questions/concerns that things were not as they seemed. I was given a dyno sheet with 575HP at the wheels only to pull a dismal 12.7 @ 112MPH at the track. Good number for a car around the 400 to 450 rwhp range.
What I found out is that you can’t take a book by the cover and you have to trust the people you are paying to work on your cars!
The car will be back on the Dyno on July 17th to get real numbers and then off to the track.

If you find yourself in Vancouver BC or close and have a G35/350Z, 300ZX or GTR swing by Z-Tune and check them out. I highly recommend them for as full fledged performance shop with heart.

Ztune Motorsports - Canada's Nissan & Infiniti Tuning Specialists!
#103-5180 Lougheed Hwy, Burnaby, BC V5B 2Z6
http://www.ztune.ca
p: (778) 737-7468
f: (604) 608-2988

Sylvan Lake V35

iTrader: (23)

Vex is still in business they just changed there name to Vex performance or something like that. There is thread here somewhere about them having a Nissan meet this summer.


https://my350z.com/forum/west-canada...ssan-meet.html

350GT__Boy

Z-Tune Motorsports definitely does great work . I would not let anyone else touch my car except for Z-Tune. And maybe Nitrouz of course

SlvrZ03

VEX Performance is under new ownership (hence the name change) with much better customer service. They're also getting involved in the racing scene with sponsored cars and such. And they're getting good results - lots of 1st and 2nd place finishes in the Calgary autocross club from the trophies shown in their shop. The car meets were a superb idea and the recent Nissan meet was well attended. 5 GT-R's lined up outside the shop. Basically, one of every color offered.

I think the old shop did have some issues, but removing the "bad apple(s)" has done the trick. Talk to Jay there. His straight talk is muchly appreciated. They seem to know their limitations now. Vex no longer does Uprev tuning. They do have the Haltech ECU for those that are interested. Right now, they're not the best place for tuning, but they do have a chassis dyno. One improvement they'll need is a master tuner on staff, so that the shop truly becomes a one-stop performance shop. All the guys there are certified techs, which is something you should ask about at any shop that you decide to go through if they're doing installs.

Great shop right now for picking up parts and I think they are going to get bigger and better as time goes on, mainly because they are a bunch of enthusiasts. They get just as excited with mods as you do!! They also have the inside Intel for great tuning in Calgary and have access to parts not listed on their official product website. BTW, they have some excellent deals on AP brake kits right now mainly because they need to sell a few kits at "near cost" to become a licensed distributor. Might want to check them out. Or at least give them a call to check out some pricing of parts you're interested in. You might be pleasantly surprised.

http://www.vexperformance.com/

BoostedProbe

iTrader: (9)

^^I was down at VEX last weekend. The shop is very small (fit maybe 5 cars), no dyno and it doesn't look like they have storage for any kind of inventory.

They may be able to get parts at a good price, but you may have to wait. They do seem like a good bunch of guys.

SlvrZ03

Nothing wrong with a small shop in my opinion. You're right though - they could use some space for inventory and sales area. Most enthusiasts though are looking for specific parts that are likely to be special order items anyway. They "own" a chassis dyno and had it in their shop for a short period. I believe they are currently leasing it to another shop in town until their business expands.

Any good shops in Edmonton for tuning and parts? Mopac is pretty good, but I don't think they're into tuning vehicles.