who did the paint work? my ocd noticed that the colors are a tad off, could be lighting though

 

You noticed correctly, the paint is a tad off. Hard matching up a three coat paint process with 15 year old paint I guess. I am thinking a bit of polishing on the older paint may bring it closer as it is very reflective and the shine level effects the color quite a bit. Going to give that a try when I get a chance. The shop that did it is down the street from me and individually owned. They have done good work for me on other projects, but it looks like they did miss it by a bit.

 

So well done Jim. I bet the power bump feels great. Is SZR the shop doing the work? Did you get these guys to retune it?

I was also wondering how you were running you your PCV system. Are you running catch cans or vented?

 

Yes, SZR did the tune again. Still vented. I need to double check what they did with the hose on the driver side now that you mention it because they relocated the intake under the front bumper. Your Uprev software is being put to good use.

 

Hi Jim, going way back on 4.28.21, you posted pictures of a front bumper you were considering but since I haven't seen any installed pictures, I guess you decided not to buy. However, I'd be interested in that bumper for my Z. Could you tell me the name of the manufacturer so that I can look up their web site and
get an idea of their pricing, etc.?

Thanks.

 

I think this is what you're looking for - currently on backorder: https://www.vicrez.com/vicrez-370z-s...2006-2007-2008

 

Yep, that's the one. Thanks.

 

Thanks for answering this..

 

How has the Z been treating you @Jim Stephens ? No news is good news with boosted builds typically, hope its been doing well.

 

Sorry for the two month delay in responding! LOL. Doing well. The 350Z is still running strong! I actually am having a couple things fixed at a local shop this week as we speak. First is the infamous "can't fill up the tank" problem. 3/4 of tank does not cut it well when you are running E85. The original aftermarket car alarm has decided to randomly go off at 3am in the morning and all other times! I am having them remove it completely as I never liked it anyway. The only other thing I have that needs a solution is I had these custom gauges made in Poland that do all the colors. Mainly I just wanted some white glowing numbers, but what the heck. The lady did a great job EXCEPT, the darn odometer is logging Kilometers rather than miles... The speedometer is working perfectly, just the odometer. Not sure how I am going to get that fixed as of yet, but I can keep up with the millage pretty accurately with some basic math. LOL. I also bought a brand new stinking expensive air bag control module because I have been battling the airbag light coming on randomly since I bought the car. It's a long long story, but at this point it seems to have worked!

On a personal note, I have semi-retired as of recently, so I have nothing but time! I might go back to work one more time, but who knows. Kinda done with it. I bought a brand new Porsche 911s in March, so I have been driving that a lot! My son takes the Z out and I maintain it for him. Also got some track time with an instructor for the first time at Porsche LA a few weeks ago! I scared the crap out of the instructor only once. I did not agree with his brake point on a section and it unnerved him when I decided to brake later. LOL We then discussed it and I learned a bit about brake points and how to properly go into a turn from a straightaway, so it was great! I might take the Z or maybe the Porsche out to the track here in Houston first of next year for some more instructor time. Just thinking it over. There it is, a lot happening how are you doing? Still racing some?

 

Hey Jim,

I'm not sure how your aftermarket alarm is wired, but if it utilizes the OEM sensors for the doors and what not, you may want to check the hood latch open sensor. I had this issue on my G35 where the alarm would randomly go off (particularly in hotter weather). I disconnected that sensor and no more random alarms.

Or just tear it all out because weight reduction racecar

 

Every once and awhile I check in.. and update. Finally got my 350z to a full sized race track(have done autocross/shifter kart tracks). Two day course with an instructor both days and class time between each drive. We did 10 (twenty plus minute) sessions and my driving improved tremendously from where I began Saturday morning. Really a great experience! I spun the car off the track on the second day, but no damage was done as we just slid sideways across a grassy field. That was learning experience. In the years I have owned and run the car I had never had it surprise me like that. After some conversation and reflection I understand what went wrong. The car itself did very well. Nothing broke. I did have a heat issue with the oil temp that I had to manage. I would basically back off of driving it like I stole it and stick it in fifth on the long straights to try and keep the oil temps under control. They sat around the 240-245 degree range. The water temp was rock steady with no overheating there. I did some searching on this topic and did find there are others who have run the car at the track and hover around that same temp. I would prefer to see something around 225 degrees and as summer comes on this might get to be an issue. Speaking with my Z garage guy he is suggesting and water cooling system for the oil. I already have a setrab 34 row air cooler AND a deeper pan. At any rate, very happy with it. About to change ALL the fluids and see how the brake pads look this week. This really checked off a bucket list thing for me! Contemplating also the expense and wear and tear involved on the car and am I willing to commit to that. We will see.

 

I figured that with the 34 row oil cooler you should be okay. It is a bummer to hear that it was not handling the temps well.

How are you measuring your oil temperature?
245 is definitly higher than I would like to see when on track for extended periods of time. I have my 34 row cooler under the passenger headlight, and plan to put a spal fan on it before doing any track work. I wonder if that is going to work out better than sandwiched between the intercooler and condenser as you have yours. I would be a bit wary of going to oil/ water, as you will still have to dump that heat somewhere and the radiator temps may not have much extra capacity to handle additional heat load from the oil too. My first recomendation is always ducting and hood vents, but it may take more than that to keep the oil T in check.
I have a big C&R oil to water cooler sitting on a shelf, but I cannot find a place to put it in my bay, and again I am unsure if the coolant can take the additional heat.

 

Yeah. The oil temp is being measured near the base of the oil pan. I need to double check that, but I installed an extension to the oil pan and put in a temp sensor there and then had the shop install the gauges. Going to ponder the oil temp issue. Could just be a different front end for more air flow, different hood maybe as you have said, or... I am going to talk to the guy at the local Z shop as he is the one who brought up the idea of the water/oil cooler. In a text he told me he has it in two of his cars. I will give him a call and see what his experience has been. Will just take my time on this one and think it over. I am even pondering a different type of car all together that might do better on the track, but I really like the Z. A lot of cars did not complete the solid two days of driving, but my Z hung in there all weekend and even made the 1.5 hour drive home late Sunday. Really happy overall with the car given it was the first time on a full size track. Hey, I may have this wrong, but are you not a driver for Donny's crew? I hear there is Lemons race this weekend in New Orleans. I might get a wild hair and fly out their Saturday(Donny invited me, does he go by Donny or Donald these days) and stop by and check it all out. Would love to drive the car when you guys are running at MSR in November and by then I will have been out on that track at least one or two more times if all goes to plan.

I just went down the google rabbit hole on oil temps for the 350z. One guy summarized it as this:

Oil temps:

SAFE = 167-221 deg F
HOT = 222-257 deg F
DANGER = 258+ deg F

There were a surprising number of people racing in the 240 - 270 degree range. Seems like ALL agree the preference would be around 220 degrees. I am in the 235 - 245 range and that is really occurring about the last 2 to 4 laps of a 20 minute plus session. I am going to look at the opening between the front bumper and the oil heat exchanger. Seems like some have had good results adding a shroud between the air intake of the bumper and the cooler to force the air through the oil cooler/radiator . Going to a heavier weight oil 40w instead of 30w and switching from Motul to Mobil One synthetic. More to come on this..

 

The thought of changing the Z has crossed my mind a few times too, but nearly everything falls flat of the way the Z feels. The only thing that really gets me interested is a C6 GS, but finding one of those in good shape is getting hard and the prices make the Z look like a bargain.

I started racing with Donnie back in 2014, as I am good friends with his son, but in 2019 I started with a new group with some of my family and a few more of my friends from college. We will be at NOLA Friday-Sunday racing with two cars, the white turbo beetle and an NC miata. I still help Donnie a bit on the CTS with prep though because I am the only guy still in Baton Rouge. Our group is based out of Birmingham, but we are planning on bringing atleast one car to MSR, and possibly two.

 

Cool. Yeah, I am sitting here on the couch debating on coming out to visit Saturday. Airline tickets are pricy at this point. I will let you know if I come and I will stop by and say hello.

 

Hi there , I wonder if you can help me with the dimensions between the front suspensions lower link arms, the large ones behind the front wheel. How wide apart are these roughly ?

Many thanks !