NismoZ#1033

Hello everyone, just thought i would start a thread about my Nismo Z and the journey to where i am now.

Here is the Z in all its glory. By far the most satisfying car that i've ever driven. I love it. But my love for cars and thirst for speed didn't start here. Lets go to the beginning.



Here is the first car that i ever bought. 1995 Eagle Talon. It was slow (140 hp maybe), front wheel drive and clicked out. But it was my first car and at 15 it was the coolest thing i ever owned. Not to mention it had a killer stereo. This was around 2005

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/7016234641/" title="Talon by Drifty1033, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/7016234641_62d37fc4d0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Talon"></a>

I had fun with the talon for about 2 years before selling it to my brother and picked up this guy

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6870133040/" title="Lexus by Drifty1033, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6104/6870133040_84713ce954.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Lexus"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/7016242955/" title="IS300 by Drifty1033, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7040/7016242955_c2b7676da3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IS300"></a>

I picked up this 2001 IS300 in 2007. It was a sweet upgrade from the old crappy talon. Had such a nice interior.It was fun and it was RWD! Mods included:

Tien lowering springs
Full HKS exhaust
Headers (cant remember brand)
K&N Intake
Grounding Kit
19" Axis rims with Falken rubber all around
VIS lip kit
VIS carbon fiber hood

This car was great to drive around town with friends but when ever it came to actually driving the car hard you could tell it was lacking in power big time. It probably had around 220 hp and it was auto. My addiction to speed and performance was kicking in and i needed more. So up for sale it went and my quest for the next car was on.

At this time (spring 2008 ish) the Canadian dollar was at $1.30 to $1.00 American dollar so i was looking all over the states for a great deal on a car due to the exchange rate. I looked for about 2 months and researched what i wanted out of my next car. I had it narrowed down to three choices.

2006 E46 M3
2007 GC8 STI
2008 Z33

I was just about to pull the trigger on the M3 until i found out that there was a Nismo version of the Z33. I saw it and fell in love. It has it all, the great looks, amazing handling, and raw power. So i located one in Colorado brand new and drove it all the way to the great white north.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6869762100/" title="Nismo by Drifty1033, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7096/6869762100_839113bf2c_c.jpg" width="800" height="598" alt="Nismo"></a>


It was a fun trip driving through the states. It was really hard not to drive the car fast during the breaking in period lol. But i finally got there and started to have some fun with it.

I am fortunate to live close to a small track called Castrol Raceway. It has a 1/4 mile strip, MX track, 3/8 mile dirt oval, and a large parking lot that they set up for the local drifters. I thought id have a go at it. It was really fun but scary getting a pretty much brand new car close to those cones! I knew if i really f*cked up i could seriously damage the car due to my inexperience.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6935577107/" title="user339155_pic44453_1326647261 by Drifty1033, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6935577107_7a7e6a9b04_z.jpg" width="604" height="400" alt="user339155_pic44453_1326647261"></a>

Rolls the smoke pretty good!

But my quest for excitement didn't stop there! i got stung by the drifting bug and hard! I found a stock POS 1991 240sx and begun to mod it for drifting

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6870128160/" title="240sx by Drifty1033, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6055/6870128160_43b7c81baa_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="240sx"></a>

I chucked the old ka24 and dropped in a S13 sr20det back top. Stock turbo and stock boost, this thing pulled hard! very surprised and impressed with the results. Coilovers, 2 way LSD, and some other suspension,exhaust mods and i was off. This thing was running a little rich and would throw huge fire *****. Sweeeeeet.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6869835832/" title="6157447324_4c24d9c23d_b by Drifty1033, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6116/6869835832_e894c1b3f2_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="6157447324_4c24d9c23d_b"></a>


(Photos from Tony Koch)
I love drifting. The feeling of driving a car thats on the edge of control cant be explained unless you try it. I drove the 240 for a couple summers and sold it this weekend actually. Why you ask? Why would i sell something that i loved and enjoyed so much? Well i started to thirst for more speed and more power. The amount of money that i would have to put into the sr20 would be huge to achieve the power goals i was after.

So i looked to the Nismo and saw that the potential was much higher for power. Thus begun my search for a FI system. What i was looking for in a system was simplicity(install and maintenance wise), efficiency and proven performance and results. With this criteria, i came across the GTM stage 1 turnkey supercharger kit.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/7015858255/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/7015858255/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

Super excited to get this installed and going. 400 whp will be exciting. I dont think it will be long before i go stage 2 lol.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6869750000/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6869750000/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6869752756/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6869752756/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

Im impressed by the quality of the craftsmanship and the attention to detail with this kit. I hope to begin installing the kit in the next few days. Along with this Stage 3 clutch, flywheel, and HD slave cylinder. I got these from the guys at South Bend. Great people to work with. Literary got shipped to my house in 3 days

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6869756252/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6869756252/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

I will also be switching from the re-050 tires to re-11

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6869758186/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6869758186/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr


So that's where im at now. I hope you enjoyed my little story. Ill try and update as much as possible as i progress! Thanks for taking the time to listen to me babble.

TreeFiddyGee

Very interesting

angelo350z

iTrader: (3)

Nice Nismo

KingBaby

iTrader: (3)

Nice story...don't drift on those RE-11.... that's really burning money...lol...craigslist tires FTW....

EDIT

I ate through my falken 452 in about a year at $150 for BOTH rears...also from craigslist

either way Glad your pushing it!

ImWeeZzel

iTrader: (27)

congrats on your purchase, good luck with your build

350ZNISMO673

Good builds so far! Does money grow on trees in Canada? If so, I'm moving there so I can work on my Nismo.

oz_kidd

iTrader: (1)

Good pick OP! Whats the miles? Price?

morphiusrt

iTrader: (7)

Nice story. And your going to turn 1033 into a whole new monster good luck with the build. I wish I had the money to do something like this.

JCITY

iTrader: (2)

Yeah,you are indeed a car guy!
IMO,when it comes to a Nismo,I'd leave it bone stock.
To mod it is ruining the exclusive meaning of the car.
You should have bought a regular 350.
Of course,its your car...do what you want.
I have to relate as I'm the same "never good enough" type guy.
Looks like you have the bucks.

lgear080

iTrader: (21)

do what you want.... it seems you've got a plan

nice first post

brandon3434

iTrader: (9)

I'm jealous.

morphiusrt

iTrader: (7)

If you do plan to race the Nismo gives you a very good base to start with. Added stability over the regular 350Z. Only reason to not mod is to maintain the resale value but if you plan on keeping it might as well build it how you want it.

I think I'm gonna start one of these threads for me and #582. That way every time I get something new I'm not making a new post.

NismoZ#1033

Thanks for the replies! Dropped the car off at my friends shop. Him and I are going to start installing some parts tomorrow night. I'll keep the updating as i progress.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6873394714/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6873394714/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr
Not my bike, but still pretty sweet.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6873407676/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6873407676/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/7019509269/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/7019509269/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

Deedilus

iTrader: (4)

Sub'd, can't wait to see how this goes. Also, is there a video of you drifting this thing on youtube? I feel like I've stumbled upon a video of a very similar Nismo Z drifting in a very similar area..

NismoZ#1033

Yea those Re-11's are for the fronts, im still deciding on what to put on the rear when the time comes. Ive had 452's before. Great tire.

It has just over 27,000 miles. I bought it brand new back in 2008.

Yea i wrestled with this thought for pretty much all winter. They way i look at it is, if i look back on my life, would i want to of had a stock Nismo? or one with some gusto. Im going to try my best not to lose focus on balancing all aspects of the car.

Im not aware of a video of the Z drifting, but post it up if you come across something sweet!

tioga

iTrader: (4)

Very nice, good to see another canadian Nismo.

Hey report back later if your engine is running hot with that kit on the track.
One thing I heard with supercharging them they are great on a track but run very hot quickly.

musubi

iTrader: (1)

Welcome to the forum and nice history on the cars! I'm definitely interested to see how your Nismo turns out. Keep us posted with pics and vids, if possible! Good luck with the build.

NismoZ#1033

Haha i know people love pics. Ill try and update as much as possible.

This
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6875824302/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6875824302/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

Will go in this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6875822904/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6875822904/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

We'll see how far i get tonight.

NismoZ#1033

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/7022849793/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/7022849793/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6876755666/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6876755666/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6876758400/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6876758400/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6876764672/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/6876764672/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/7022929339/http://www.flickr.com/photos/75614849@N08/7022929339/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/75614849@N08/, on Flickr

So far so good. This was about 4 hours.

jerseystyle

iTrader: (22)

Very nice! In for updates.