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! :)