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Performance Upgrades: Nissan 300zx Twin Turbo
It would seem that once you have experienced a bit of horsepower…
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1991 Nissan 300zx Twin Turbo
I first experienced the "Z" back in the early 80's of my childhoo…
Cars
Vehicles have always been more than a mode of transportation for me. I like to think of the ride to my destination is the best part, and even better yet, have no destination in mind and just drive! Have a look at my history of cars so far and what's to come. Featuring the Z32 Nissan 300zx!
Performance Upgrades: Nissan 300zx Twin Turbo
Performance Upgrades: Nissan 300zx Twin Turbo
It would seem that once you have experienced a bit of horsepower in a sports-car, you always want more... and so was the case with me. When I purchased the Z back in 2005 it had 83,000 original miles and already a few modifications done to it: an upgraded air intake filter, 2.5" catback exhaust, and a custom tune to the ECU. The car produced a respectable 270 horsepower to the wheels and definitely had some pickup. What it lacked, however, was real strong high-end power, which could only be obtained with larger turbos and all the supporting parts. So the planning and the saving began to upgrade the Z.
I saved up money for sometime in order to purchase all the needed parts, it was no small list.
- Catback Sebring exhaust
- JWT single pop charger intake
- 3" DP, 3" Test pipes
- Subframe spacers
- Ztuner ECU
- Blitz electronic boost controller
- GT28r turbos
- HKS Actuators
- 720cc injectors
- UD racing pulley
- JWT Severe Duty clutch
- RPS segmented flywheel
- SS clutch lines
- 18" Ruff Racing 278 wheels
- Sumitomo HTRZ III tires
- Ableler custom Manifolds
- HICAS eliminated
- Fidanza short-shifter
- JDM Clear tail lights
- Z1 Sidemount IC
- Silicon intake tubing
- 120k service kit
- Heavy duty motor mounts
- Lots of misc. parts
I found a few key people through the Z community during my ownership of the Nissan Z's. Harry, also known as "Ztuner" with 300zx enthusiasts, is one of the most knowledgeable Z tuners in the country, and he just so happens to live in Sarasota. He knows these cars inside and out, and without his help this project would have never finished. Another friend I met along the way was Derrick with A.R.T. (Advanced Race Technology), he was just opening his own mechanics/performance shop at the time of my project, and so it worked out great to have access to a lift, garage and tools. I learned a lot through the upgrade process, and you'd have to when you pull an entire engine and transmission out of a car and put it back in. From start to finish the project took about 3 months of planning and ordering and close to 2 months of working on the car.
The end result of the project was a gain of over 200HP to the wheels, almost doubling my previous horsepower! The hardest part was getting the car back and having to drive it "easy" to break in the new turbos and parts. Those few 100 miles felt like they took forever to complete! After 2 weeks the parts were broken in enough to tune and test the engine on the dyno. After tweaking the tune a few times and about 5 pulls, we pushed the engine up to 473HP to the wheels on race gas. The Z now has 105k miles and still runs like a champ!
Check out the gallery below for pictures of all the parts and details on the build!
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1991 Nissan 300zx Twin Turbo
August 06, 2011 - Hits:8111
I first experienced the "Z" back in the early 80's of my childhood with my grandfather. He owned a 1984 baby blue 300zx with the digital speedometer and tachometer. It was simply the coolest, and that was when I knew the Z was the car...
