Turn up the volume!

Hillclimbing - not done enough in the States.

1 Year Anniversary - Ground Control'ed!

Today marks the 1 Year Anniversary of my purchase of this beautiful 1972 Nissan Fairlady 240Z-L. I found the car tucked in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where she sat for 18 years. I saved her from rotting away in the mountains, and I am proud to say she is up and running beautifully again. It has been a long journey, with plenty of ups and downs. I cannot believe a year has passed!

Here is how I picked her up on the first official day of ownership, October 28th, 2010. Uncovered into the light for the first time in 18 years.




To celebrate, I purchased a small little birthday present for her :) Did I out do myself?

This beautiful set of coilovers was picked up from Jaime on HybridZ.org for $650! An absolute STEAL! A new set of Ground Control Coilover Sleeves range for $400+, and the Illumina 5-way Adjustable Shocks for $500+. This does not include the cutting/welding needed to mount the sleeves to the coilovers, which probably ranges from $200-300. IN ADDITION, these coilovers were professionally powdercoated as well! An absolute steal, if you ask me :)

Beautiful construction.

Prepping them on the car!



Stay tuned!

Speedhunted! Monterey Historics

During my trip to the Monterey Historic Races, I was lucky enough to have a Speedhunters Photographer snap a picture of our group! The Fairlady Z made it onto an article of their site!

Here: http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011/08/23/event-gt-gt-scenes-from-the-rolex-historics-pt-1.aspx

Alvin snapped this photo on the way to the event. The orange Z had an identical 3.0L stroker, except it was breathing through bored SU carbs. It sounded amazing! The morning was cloudy and sprinkled a bit, but that did not stop us!

Taken by Alvin of Z Car Garage's Blog (zcarblog.com)

Finally the Rebello Motor is running at optimal performance and at the same time not too shabby looking!!

Lovin' the Fujitsubo twin tip!!

We have POWER!

Now for some dyno sheets! Blue - Before, Red - After.


Two weeks ago I brought the Z for some fine tuning at Z Car Garage, only to find out that the car only dynoed at 155whp/190wtq. This was VERY disappointing, considering the engine was well over $5k and was initially dynoed at about 300hp to the flywheel.

I finally had the time to bring the Fairlady Z up to Antioch for Dave Rebello (Rebello Racing) to take a look at it. He spent the better part of two days fine tuning the car. Dave found that the accelerator pumps were not working correctly, a heatshield bolt bent the first carburetor's throttle plate, and the valves were adjusted to factory spec by a previous shop. This all made sense of why my Z car was not pulling the numbers it had initially done on the engine stand.

After the Z car was finished, I brought it back to Rob @ Z Car Garage today. HUWALA! Look at the comparison! The car pulls about 240whp/221wtq, very much mimicing what it had done a year ago on Rebello's engine stand. I am very happy with the results, and SO ready to bring it up for the Z Car Garage Z Corral at the Monterey Historics this weekend. There is a small exhaust leak between the header and mid-pipe, but should be remedied before this weekend.

Ready... set... go!

I purchased my Monterey Motorsports Reunion tickets today from Z Car Garage. $70 a ticket and $10 for the Corral pass, for a total of $500!!! Of course, my friends will be paying me back :)

On the way in and out, I saw this beauty once again :)

Monterey Motorsports Reunion!

The Monterey Motorsports Reunion Historic Races are coming up!! Do NOT miss out no this great weekend out to enjoy vintage racing. There will be a Z Corral thanks to Z Car Garage taking over for Z Owners of Northern California. There was original not going to be a Corral because the amount of cars, but ZCG came to the rescue by purchasing all the tickets! Please make it out to this event and show your Z support! Tickets and be purchased through Rob @ Z Car Garage.

Back to the track!

I have signed up for track days on August 8th and September 10th with NCRC and Trackmasters. The venues will be Thunderhill Raceway on August 8th, and Infineon Raceway on September 10th. Should be a great time out!! Sign up and join us at ncracing.org and trackmasters-racing.com.

Product Highlight: RLS Quarter-Turn Quick Release Kit

Anyone who owns a Lotus Elise or Exige knows it is a major PITA to remove the undertray and diffuser just to place your car on stands, change the oil, or do any other type of under-car maintanence. Over the course of the last month I have been searching for affordable solution to this, but unfortunately I was not able to find any product that I felt comfortable with reaching 120+ mph on the track.

Yesterday, I stumbled across a Lotus-catered company called Real Light Stuff. Aside from thinking their company logo looked strangley similar to that of Alienware Labtops, I had always thought they made products only for supercharged Lotus cars. For $125 + shipping, they offer this neat 1/4 turn kit for easy of removal of the diffuser and underpanels. I often see these products used on motorcycles. I can't wait to install this product and actually look forward to working on the Exige!!

Rota RK-R (Watanabe RS Copy)

Rota has announced their Watanabe knock-off in 15x8 w/ +10 offset (sizes will also be available in 17"). Beautiful set of rims that I am SERIOUSLY considering!!

For more info visit: http://rotablog.co.uk/blog/?p=4231

Datsun Competition Steering Wheel Replica Group Buy?

During my search for a better condition Datsun Competition Steering Wheel, I stumbled across several shops on Yahoo! Japan Auctions that make a replica. The steering wheel appears to be an EXACT copy, both in quality and dimensions. Here are several pictures:

A beautifully constructed wheel indeed. There is an option to include a NOS OEM Button (exact same as USDM buttons) for an additional 5000 YEN.


As you can see the detail of this Japanese product is amazing!


Even the screws, turn signal pillars, and holes are correct!

I still have to explore whether JDM Datsun enthusiasts are interested in spending more than $380 on a replica, but it beats spending $600 + on a used steering wheel (depending on desire of originality). I am sure it would appeal to the 510/Bluebird community as well.

Please send me your input or interest to chioug AT gmail.com

Brakes incoming!

At Thunderhill Raceway I met a NCRC instructor Bill, also known as "SilverStreak." Bill has a few videos on YouTube of his super cool white Z. He basically passed everyone with a Pick-N-Pull L28 and AZC Wilwood Brakes! So what do you guys think!? Should I bite the bullet and purchase this beautiful $1,600 set up from Dave at Arizona Z Car? I use to have the front set on my first Z car, but was never able to get it set up properly.

They are truly a thing of beauty! Stay tuned for a post on a refresh of a '79 280ZX Master Cylinder I picked up at Pick-N-Pull last Monday!

Down the Cyclone!

Another fun-filled weekend with NCRC at Thunderhill Raceway!

Prior to the event I had done some new upgrades to the Exige. New Lotus Sport Dual Adjustable Ohlin Coilovers, Toyo R888 tires, a corner balance/height adjustment and alignment made for a awesome Saturday. Unfortunately, upon returning to the track on Sunday, I found that my right rear passenger tire was almost flat. We took the tire over to the tire shop at the track and could not find any punctures. We confirmed the valve stem and edges were not leaking with soaped water, so we just pumped it up and let it sit. It gradually lost air over the course of the day, and since I did not want to risk not being able to drive home, I took the girlfriend's E46 M3 out for the day. It definitely was no comparison in terms of light weight and agility, but the linear power out of the turns made up for it! Here is a awesome shot by gotbluemilk.com down the Cyclone!

Day at Z Car Garage

So I dropped off my car with Rob at Z Car Garage for the first time this morning. Rob is very knowledgeable about his product and services, and I hope that I may have found my new "Z shop" in the Bay Area. It is very hard to come by a knowledgeable Z mechanic these days. Rob will be going through the car throughout the day, doing several inspections. The triple Mikuni carburetors will receive a tune and dyno with a full air/fuel ratio adjustment. Two bungs need to be welded in to two seperate exhaust pipes to read optimal levels on both sides of the engine. I am crossing my fingers for great results!!

In the meantime, here is a quick snap shop of ZCG's black R34 GT-R!

Heater in the HEAT?

90+ degrees today. Perfect day to change the heater hoses and water valve!

Getting on my back and knees to reach upward under the dash to reach the hoses, clamps, and water valve was such a pain in the ass. But I did get a chance to view my rust-less floor pans :D

Out with the old, in with the new!!


A test drive confirmed there were no leaks or any further concerns :)

Ekushiji

"Ekushiji" is a funny way to say Exige in Japanese. Saw a Japanese guy say it on a YouTube and thought it was hilarious. Anyways... thought I'd throw a quick update with the mods on this 2006 Lotus Exige. Most have been suspension oriented mods, as I will focus on brakes later :)

CharlieX ECU Tune (Lower Cam Timer to 6k RPM)
Polyurethane Engine Mounts (TRACKmounts)
Shifter Re-Enforcement Plates (re-ENFORCER)
Baffled Oil Pan (gPan)
Rear Central Brace + Nitron S99 Outboard Toe Pin (RTD2Brace)
BOE Fabrication Surge Tank
Custom Fire Suppression Unit
Titanium Exhaust System
Pagid RS 4-2 Blue Brake Pads
Girodisc Stainless Steel Brake Lines
K&N Drop-in Air Filter
Boomerang Rear Tow Hook
Folding Front Tow Hook
Rear Panel Eliminator (Eliminator V3)
Carbon Fiber Rear View Mirror

The Z will be going in for a Triple Mikuni Carburetor dial-in and Dyno at Z Car Garage this weekend. Unfortunately my mechanic at Dandos Automotive has moved to TurboHoses in San Francisco, so I need a more local Z Specialist. I have heard great things about ZCG, so hopefully I'll have some success there. Check out their website and blog at http://www.zcargarage.com/ and http://www.zcarblog.com/.

More stiffy, less miss shifty!

So yesterday I went ahead and replaced factory engine mounts with Innovative track engine mounts from Sector111.com into the Exige. Initial impressions after a quick test drive are positive. There is a WHOLE lot more vibration in the cabin.I will try and bare with it, but overall engine response and shifting is much better.



These track mounts are not usually recommended for a street driven car, but since this car mainly sees track time, I decided to install them. The previous owner of the car had them lying around after removing them because he could not bare with the vibrations.

Lets see how long I last! :)

Back to work!

I decided it was time to let my track toy rest for a few weeks, and pay some much needed attention to the Z this summer. I picked up this neat heat shield / drip tray this weekend to replace an older ugly custom piece. This piece was ordered from ZCCJDM.com, and is an authentic Kameari piece. Kameari is a famous parts supplier for Z's in Japan, and very few of their parts make their way to the United States.





Took a few snap shots of the completed installation. I am very happy with the way this engine has come together.

Track Masters Infineon Raceway / Sears Point Track Day

Home sweet home!



4/25/2011: Pictures at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma

400 miles home~

400 miles later the Lotus sits quitely next to its new friend. The day started off by driving from Santa Barbara down to Thousand Oaks, about a 100 mile drive. Upon arrival, she sat beautifully in the sellers garage. You could tell the seller was very neat and tighty by how he arranged his garage. After a complementary inspection at Boykin Auto (highly recommended) in Thousand Oaks, I purchased the car. The seller was sad to see it go, but glad to finally have it taken off his hands. I drove the car back to Northern California that afternoon. 400 miles later, after a harsh and raw drive, she was finally home.

I brought the track to Sonoma's Infineon Raceway on Monday 4/25, and there will be more coverage of that later this week!

The flying Lotus!

The time has come to let the weekend car go!

No! Of course not the Fairlady, but the 2008 M3 Coupe. I purchased my 2008 BMW M3 Coupe 6MT in Alpine White on January 1, 2009, but the car has not seen more than 16,500 miles. Due to the expensive monthly payments and my strong desire to be more skilled on the track, I have decided to sell. I have decided to sell the M3 and purchase a 2006 Lotus Exige. Yes, another car with beautiful, classy, and timeless lines :) I will be driving down to Thousand Oaks, CA to pick her up this weekend.




The car is being purchased from the original owner, a professional driver, who has raced for TC Kline, Compass, MCM in the GrandAm Cup and Rolex Series. The driver holds the most track records on the West Coast for vintage 2.0 liter Porsche. Most recently he raced at the GrandAm Rolex for 24 hours series and the Miller for 8 hours series in the PTG BMW M3. Of course, the Exige is his weekend/track car.

You may be wondering why I have not gone with the 2007 Exige S? Simple answer. This car is intended to be a pure track/weekend car, meaning I can do any mods to it I want. The Exige S's supercharger intercooler blocks the back window, not allowing the driver to have any view of what is behind him. Since I heavily value my back window, I decided to go with the NA Exige, which is only 1 second slower than the Exige S on the Top Gear track (either way, it is all driver). I will eventually venture into attaining a Katana2 supercharger, which SectorIII, a major Lotus shop, is currently in the process of making carb legal.

Anyways, updates to come when I pick up the car!