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 Columbia House
 

Z of the Month
August 2012

2008 - 370Z
Owned by Charles P.
Empire Z Member
(Click images for larger photos)

    
    
    


PERFORMANCE:
- K&N drop in Filters
- SpecialtyZ Hi Flow Cats
- Invidia cat back exhaust 

SUSPENSION:
- Powertrix Ultra-Lite Coilovers
- Hotchkis Adjustable Sway bars.

EXTERIOR:
- Sunline front lip, side skirts and rear splats 

WHEELS & TIRES:
- Venaci Mesh Step Lip Wheels
- Front 20 X 9.5 +10 offset -
- Rear 20 x 10.5 +5 offset
- Nitto Invo Tires
- Front 255-30-20
- Rear 305-25-20

I’ve been a Z owner since 1996 when I bought my first Z32 300zx. My passion for the Z car turned into a hobby that is now my way of life literally as I dedicate my time to R&Ding, manufacturing and marketing performance parts. Hence POWERTRIX Performance & Styling. With the excitement of the newer model Z cars, I then acquired a Z33 350z in 2006 and continued to enjoy my Zs both on the street and on the track. However in late 2008, one test drive on the Z34 370z sealed the decision to purchase this car sooner than later as I usually like to wait a couple of years to let Nissan work out the bugs to what is usually a much more refined version. The car’s captivating interior and exterior styling is so much more refined and performance in every category from power, handing  and overall prowess are in a class of its own compared to its predecessors. The Z34 provides such a scalable auto enthusiast platform that just screams  modify me.  

IMO there 2 very important starting attributes to a car that can make or break the aesthetic appearance. 1 is what you choose to roll on and 2 how you want the car to sit or its stance. So the first step was to get new shoes on her. I went through 2-3 sets of wheels and tires before being satisfied. Getting the right wheel fitment is paramount and though calculations an get you close, the only way to be sure is by test fitting wheel offset and tire sizes to get it just right. Though some choose to go extreme with the “Hellaflush” movement, I decided to stay practical and classy but still fit in with some of the most radically fitted wheeled cars.  

Secondly this was a golden opportunity to R&D our own set of coilovers for the Z34 which will also work on the Infinity G37. So I outfitted a set of Ultra-Lite POWERTRIX coilovers which allows for independent adjustable ride height separate from spring preload or movement, in the front and in the rear a shorter spring with a longer adjustment perch (mounted in the oem position) which allows for the largest range of ride height with an adjustable length rear damper/strut to fine tune and match depending on the ride height determined by the rear spring. This is important to allow the proper amount of compression and rebound actuation of the rear strut and is essential for ride quality.

Future modification consist of POWERTRIX Front and Rear Camber Arms and Traction rods (Pending design finish) 

With her new 20 inch Venaci Mesh Step Lip “high heels” and stance addressed, the 370z needed and exterior upgrade to match so the dress I chose was a Sunline styled lip kit which consists of front lip, replacement side skirts and rear, add on splats for the rear bumper. There are many replacement front and rear bumpers available for the Z34 but again I wanted to keep the theme clean and subtle and I did not want to take away from the already great looks of the car. This kit, color matched, gave a pleasant illusion that the car sits lower to ground and equates to an even more aggressive look.  I had plans of installing an add on Mine’s lip spoiler but I do not like the way in mounts with mounting screws that drill right in to the stock wing so I’m working on a rendition of that wing that is smoothed out with no bolt holes and that will attach with double sided adhesive. This with give a much cleaner, finished look and can be removed without marring the finish of the stock wing if ever so chosen to.  

Performance wise I went with some basic bolt-ons since this is going to be primarily a street/display car. I decided against a complete replacement intake system and go back to the K&N drop in filters as I have found that those intake systems do not make any more power on the dyno and in the real world application and in some cases effective the performance adversely. Exhaust wise I went with a set of SpecialtyZ Hi flow cats which not only increase HP but gave the exhaust note a bit more growl. For the Cat back system I chose the Invidia system primarily on aesthetics and ground clearance. The telescoping titanium burnt tips add to further customization as I can choose the depth at which they come out of the rear bumper. With these simple add ons and 3-4 learning pulls on the dyno, she spins the rollers to 300 RWHP at 246 ft/lbs of torque.

Thanks for looking !!

Charles P.