goldbug

iTrader: (4)

I finally dropped off my car at RAV Performance today. It’s a JDM wonderland. Some of the nicest JDM cars I could ever imagine are in that shop. At the moment there are 2x midnight purple (engineless for legality) R34 GTRs, several R32 and R33 GTRs, GTSs (one was a true Pandem R32 GTR), 300zx TTs, MkIV Supras, the 298mph gas monkey GT40, and my personal favorite: a mint Nissan Skyline 2000 GT awaiting an engine swap. I’ll ask the owner for permission to post pictures of the cars I saw today.

The Mishi radiator, Z1 hoses, bleeder port, and thermostat are being installed now. Also having them install my AAM resonated HFCs, HKS spark plugs, Z1 urethane motor mounts, Fast Intentions 34 row oil cooler, Z1 front sway and SPL endlinks. The battery is also being relocated to the trunk, which is peace of mind for me. I’ll post updates as it all comes together.

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

Progress (day 1):



Mishimoto radiator, Setrab 13 row power steering cooler, and the FI 34 row Setrab oil cooler.

Custom bracket for the FI 370z 34 row oil cooler to mount in a G37 coupe.


AAM resonated high flow cats.

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

Battery relocated to the trunk. The tender cables are also attached so the charger stays in the trunk permanently, for ease of use.

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

Picked up my car from RAV Performance today. Could not be happier with the quality of work done. If you are in SE Florida and looking for a VQ specialist, I highly recommend that shop. They will be rebuilding my rear differential in the near future, as well as assisting with any engine swaps, rebuilds, or FI kits I end up going with down the road. Here's a quick breakdown of everything I had them install while it was there- the Forged Performance brake lines were a bust- I was sent the completely incorrect line and never caught it since they were boxed away since I got them (and go figure they are out of business now it looks like). So we left the Z1 braided lines on since they are still in great shape. Otherwise everything went on without issue.

+Mishimoto radiator
+Z1 coolant + heater hoses
+Z1 urethane motor mounts
+Z1 front sway bar w/ HD brackets
+SPL end links, front & rear
+Fast Intentions 34 row oil cooler (with a custom top bracket to mount in a G37 coupe)
+HKS Super Fire spark plugs
+AAM resonated high flow cats
+Battery trunk relocation

Anyways, onto first driving impressions. NVH has definitely increased with the urethane motor mounts and solid end links, but I knew this going into it. It's definitely not for everyone, to say the least. Idling in neutral saw the biggest increase in NVH, but as soon as you give it some throttle it smooths out. Driving it wasn't so bad but still a noticeable increase in NVH overall- honestly I think I need to have my wheels rebalanced again also, which was a contributing factor at certain speeds. I also already had the Z1 urethane transmission mount installed so adding the motor mounts made a big difference contributing to NVH paired with the trans. mount. The Z1 front sway bar does make the car feel much more planted with almost zero understeer on the streets...I'm excited to test that out more on the track once my differential is rebuilt. The sway bar is set to the stiffest setting at the moment and I plan to keep it there. The most enjoyable of all the parts I had them install, by far, is the AAM resonated high flow cats. They open the exhaust up exactly where it needs it, and produce no rasp. Just adds some throatiness and opens it up more, and now it is beyond fun to roll up and down the rev range. The resonated cats pair perfectly with the HKS Hi-Power and gives it the unique VQ pur, just pumped up on redbull. It sounds the way it always should have, like a true JDM muscle car it was designed to be. It feels smoother, more responsive, and overall faster with combination of the Z1 engine mounts, HKS spark plugs, and the RHFCs. Feel free to ask questions, I always miss something (other than pricing info which I won't give out publicly, respect to the owner for his top-notch work).

It's storming here in Florida with hurricane Ian cutting across the state, but in a few days when it clears up I'll get some clips of the exhaust with the AAM RHFCs. I'll also look in EcuTek at what my new avg temps are with the Mishi radiator and 34 row oil cooler. For all of our fellow Floridians, stay safe out there- our thoughts are with you through this storm.

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

Been a couple months since I posted an update, but everything has been running really strong.

The Mishimoto radiator is working wonders; coolant temps sit around 185F, typically doesn’t go above 190F cruising or having a little fun. Pushing it, I have yet to see coolant temps climb past 200F in 85F to 90F+ weather we’ve had lately here, which is good news for track days.

The Fast Intentions 34 row oil cooler (with thermo plate) is a beast also, keeps oil temps right around 180F cruising. In 80F weather a couple days ago, oil temps stayed at 176F cruising. It does take a few minutes longer to warm up, but easy solution for that is to let temps start to rise to an appropriate level, then start driving and keep RPMs below 3k until oil temp goes past 160F. Even in 85F to 90F+ weather here, I haven’t gotten oil temps past 190F cruising. Oil temps stay down, and I have actually even seen temps drop after pushing it for a bit when data-logging.

I’m getting everything lined up now to have the Wavetrac, 4.08 R&P and supporting parts to get installed. I also have a few JDM goodies picked out I’m planning to snag- my custom oil catch can setup might be soon available for sale if anyone is interested…I might save it for my wife though, planning to get her into a 2018-2020 Q60 sport coupe in the near future where I know I could use it, but not sure it will fit anywhere in that engine bay lol.

Oh, and one of these JDM items I’m very excited to try, since no one else has apparently tried to fit them before- Craft Square mirrors. I’ll be taking a decent risk but don’t care and know what I’m getting into. The Nissan and Infiniti part numbers for the side mirror mounting brackets are almost identical, and look identical in pictures. Craft Square couldn’t confirm fitment for their Z34 set, so I’m saying why-not yet again and going to try them on a G37 coupe. I might go to a local pick-n-pull to find a G37 coupe side mirror and 370z side mirror to compare side-to-side…but I’m 99% sure the housings are the same exact part and interchangeable. My OEM mirror housings & caps are looking a little rough on paint and finish, and I don’t want to run carbon mirror caps that are stuck onto the existing mirror- to each their own, but that’s not my style. There always has to be a first person to try it, might as well take one for the team. I considered using APR universal mirrors and cutting a carbon mounting plate, but really want to try Craft Square. Quality is impeccable apparently. It’s a shame Ganador isn’t making mirrors anymore, I think they would accent the G37 well.

BULL

Ganador themselves dont but plenty of companies that have copied the design. If you think the 370z have have high chance of bolting up then these should work.

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

What brand is that? I’m a stickler for authentic products simply because of quality/fit & finish 9/10 being that much better. A friend who tracks regularly out in Colorado says he’s seen the craft square mirrors in person next to his APR carbon mirrors, and the quality and finish is that much better to the point he said he’d go with craft square any day of the year. I have yet to see craft square mirrors in person myself but have seen APR mirrors. The price point of the CS mirrors is in the middle too, around $500 shipped stateside, and includes the mounting bracket trim. I’d have to cut a carbon square up and custom fab something for the APR’s, which isn’t hard, but worried fit and finish might not be up to my standards as hard as I try- doubt they would look as good as the CS trim pieces. Quality ganador reps seemed to fetch a decent price higher than that, from the few I could find, and not-so-great things were mentioned either about the quality, issues with the seller/delays, or both.

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

Forgot to mention a small little “part” I snagged recently. Sometimes it’s just the little things that make you happy… like an oil filler cap. I don’t know why, but I just got sick of seeing the sad looking plastic oil filler cap. I wanted something a little more on the down low but still clean looking and from a JDM tuning brand. I liked the HKS filler cap since I have the HKS exhaust & super fire spark plugs in the car but the red cap wasn’t for me. The top secret cap was my 2nd choice, Smoky and his V35 GT-R will always have a special place in my heart, but I feel like I’ve seen a good amount of those caps. Somehow searching through google I found an RB26 tuning garage in Washington, named U.P. Garage. They sell authentic HKS oil filler caps, but strip the red anodized finish off, then re-anodize them in black. Perfect, sold me and my laziness from having to buy the materials and DIY or having to find a local shop that anodizes parts. The anodizing was spot-on, and the guys working there were extremely nice and went above and beyond communicating with me even for such a small and inexpensive part.

I did remove the original foam and tape HKS includes with their metal HKS-branded cap and used 3M high-temp VHB tape instead (the cap isn’t plastic which made me happy to see that bit of quality HKS put in, rare these days). Waited to stick the emblem on after I screwed in the new cap, no rookie moves lol. The VHB tape is holding it strong, I checked on it a few times and after heating up a few times driving, it’s not going anywhere- would hate to loose such a small piece over something dumb like adhesives. Oh and for anyone else trying to confirm like I was, the HKS cap does of course include a new o-ring to use with their cap. I could never confirm that or find pictures, even though one would assume all caps would come with an o-rings… I’m sure some don’t sadly.

Here’s a link to their garage/shop and the filler cap if anyone is interested:
U.P. Garage - HKS oil filler cap

BULL

Ebay special. Just typed 370z Ganador and ebay took the lead. Price is pretty hefty for replicas IMO.

Also, yes, OEM oil cap is for the birds.

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

I thought they looked familiar haha, good old eBay. I found some that looked like good replicas, from a shop called Alliance Carbon ($700 for 2x2 twill weave, $1k for honeycomb) but was reading some pretty awful stuff from people who purchased through them. If anyone else is curious here’s a thread from the370z earlier this year: The370z thread

Hoping the craft square mirrors go with the car, sometimes those style of mirrors can look a little funky. Here’s a pic of the ganador reps I found, and the few pics I could find on the internet of the only G37 with formula GT3 style mirrors. I think the craft square placement will make them fit the car better (obviously the vinyl wrap makes it hard to visualize haha), but not sure how I’m feeling. I’ll take my time.

BULL

Tough choice,

The ganador style: possible finish issues, not long enough to properly see cars (most are manual mirrors)

The Square style: door has to be drilled (unless you're opting for the mirror mounted option is that is even an option), manual only, hardware tends to rust, they're long enough but not tall enough to see higher areas.

Regardless if replica or not $700 is hard to fork out on an item with a hard shape that needs to have the surface shown

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

100%, and they will be getting PPF on that note before they go on. The craft square mirrors aren’t door mounted thankfully, so it will look a little bit cleaner than the door-mounted pics above. Here’s a pic of the craft square mirrors on a 370z.

BULL

I retract all of my comments.

Look at those babies

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

Custom KARO Sisal floor mats soon to be made, who knows the lead time it will be once they receive the templates I made and mailed to them. Very excited for some extra foot grip, hopefully will make it easier to heel-toe but the OEM pedal design just really makes it seem like Nissan didn’t want anyone to heel/toe in the G37. Will be a nice touch in the interior either way. Good news for all other G37 coupe owners from this, KARO will now be able to make any of their front mats for the USDM G37 since they’ll have templates on hand and in their system- I will confirm with KARO to be sure. I only sent them templates for the 2x front mats (I stripped my rear bench and mat out) so apologies for those who want a matching rear mat- they will still need a template mailed to them.

I’ll also be making my rear bench covers soon. The leftover boxes from the holidays will be used for the template, lol. I’lll be using alumilite not wood, and will incorporate doors/latches into the bench so I can get to the fuel pump and wiring easier and not have to remove the entire cover. I’ll leave the finish raw until my half-cage goes in, since they will 100% have to trim up the alumalite to fit the DOM tubing. Just my opinion, but I would never use a piece of wood (don’t care what type) anywhere in the interior, especially over a fuel pump…exterior aero is different, take a look at some Pike’s Peak cars if anyone is curious- extensive use of wood splitters on those cars and other time attack cars, but no wood on the interior of a competition car. Sorry to any Mercedes owners I might offend but no thanks to wood trim and interior pieces. I may even just use some aluminum sheet metal. Gotta say I appreciate and love wood steering wheels on older cars though!

The infamous peeling door trim panels also need to be refinished or replaced, the finish has already completely peeled on the driver side and is finally bugging me to the point I’ll fix it. I might wait for the Craft Square mirrors to do that since the door trim has to come off for the mirror housings to be replaced. I’d prefer to sand and refinish the OEM pieces in a clean black finish vs wrapping them, so that’s probably what will happen. Bummer no one legitimate makes CF trim pieces at a reasonable price, another item a manufacturer could print money off of…If I’m missing it and someone knows of some quality true carbon door trim pieces, please share. The good old eBay special I found for $55 looks ok but questioning the realness of their real carbon at that price for both pieces. I’m not a fan of carbon wraps, to each their own, that’s just my personal preference. Edit- found some real carbon trim pieces through instagram from a company called Carbon Fiber Element. Looks well made and high quality, I think I’ll see if they can make me a set of just door trim panels for the coupe, that’s all I need for now. Edit - no one makes legitimate carbon replacement trim pieces except for RevYou which cost $$$ and are low-batch production runs. And even then I can’t find all of the pieces. Only carbon trim covers that stick on top of the existing door trim are being sold so I’ll either replace my trim with new OEM pieces or possibly anodize the OEM pieces.

Ongoing coolant issues (yes, still, 3x sets of silicone hoses and flushes later) with this car have taken all of my time and project money lately…swapping one last time to the OEM green coolant, new Z1 hoses, and Gates Power Grip clamps to put an end to that madness. See this thread if you’re curious Thread

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

Was going to fab a custom bracket for the fire extinguisher using some sheet metal and attach it to the driver side lower seat belt bolt, but realized the half cage would 100% get in the way and I would be wasting my time. So I got a universal mount from H3R (SM01BK) and mounted my fire extinguisher in front of the passenger seat. I’ll probably attach it to the roll bar whenever that happens, but for now it’s perfect with the bride seat rails. Barely fits, but it does. The weight is supported on one side by the transmission tunnel, and it will cut into the carpet eventually so I’ll attach a rubber strip to the underside of the mount where it touches to prevent that. Expensive for a mount, but it works great, even with my Bride seat rails. I will say H3R doesn’t include the wrenches or an Allen key needed for their hardware; the wrench/socket I understand especially since it’s a common size but the Allen keys they should include. I have a set so it wasn’t a problem for me personally, but not everyone has them laying around. They cost pennies, so the manufacturer should definitely include a set if their hardware requires it IMO.

For those planning on using this mount, these are the tools you’ll need:

+Torque wrench (36lbft for the seat rail/frame bolts)
+14mm socket (for seat rail/frame bolts)
+1/4” Allen key
+1/2” wrench or socket (grab both if you have them)
+Some short socket extensions for the torque wrench
+3/32” Allen key
+5/64” Allen key (only if using an H3R extinguisher or H3R quick release bracket)
+Bubble level if you’re OCD like me

Install is self explanatory, just a little finicky tightening everything. I would install the extension arms to the main support bar first and leave them a hair loose. Then install the mounting tabs to the seat rail/frame bracket, also leaving them a hair loose. This way you can position it accordingly and mark it before fully tightening it. Since our seat frame bolts are uneven, it’s a little awkward. Tighten down the transmission side first, then you can make final adjustments to the door side before tightening that side down fully.