The 350Z has already been in the market for 7 years and we’ve already seen a whole bunch of them roaming around our cities. Modded ones are almost the common thing now for the Z community. The only way a Z could still be of interest to anyone who’s familiar with the car is if we could spot a truly special one, standing out of the 350Z crowd – performance and styling-wise
A brief background on the car:
It has gone from different phases, starting off as N/A build, then moved onto APS Single Turbo. The owner, Lotfi is never satisfied with just “hanging” next to a GTR during hard pulls. After realizing that this wasn’t the best FI set-up for the V6 engine, Lotfi then decided for his ultimate Twin Turbo setup.
The target was to go beyond 400whp SAFELY, as the car sees a lot of Track and Auto-X events. The soon-to-be outdated first gen 350Z engine – the VQ35DE was designed mainly for N/A applications. In FI form, it is only limited to hold 400whp max before the weakest link, the connecting rods start to fail.
With power and reliability being kept as the main priority for this project, the internals had to be rebuilt, and stuffed with forged goodies.
On with the list of the mods:
Engine:
- Wiseco Pistons set .020 over-bore VQ35DE
- Eagle 350Z Connecting Rods VQ35DE
- ARP 350Z L19 Head Bolt Kit VQ35DE
- ARP 350Z Main Stud Kit VQ35DE
- ACL 350Z Race Series Connecting Rod Bearing Set – VQ35DE
- ACL 350Z Race Series Main Bearing Set – VQ35DE
- ACL 350Z Race Series Thrust Washers – VQ35DE
- HKS 350Z Metal Head Gaskets VQ35DE
- Rotating assembly balanced.
- JWT C2 Upgraded Cams VQ35DE
- JWT 350Z/G35 Heavy Duty Valve Springs & Shim Kit VQ35DE
- 5 angle radius cut valve job
- Ferrea 350Z Viton Valve Stem Seal Kit – VQ35DE
- Valve Stem Heights set.
- Cold Clearance set for cams.
- Motordyne plenum Spacer.
- Solid engine mounts.
- South-Bend XD –Stage 5- Ceramic Clutch kit.
- JWT Light-weight flywheel.
- Greddy Oil catch tank.
- Samco hoses.
- NGK spark plugs (1 step colder).
- Nismo thermostat.
- Koyo R-Core Radiator.
- Pathfinder rear cooling kit.
Turbo:
- GTM -Stage 2- Twin turbo (Up to 700-Whp).
- Garrett’s Twin Ball-Bearing water & oil cooled turbocharger.
- TiAL 50mm Blow-off Valve.
- GTM 3” down-pipe with Tial 38mm External waste-gate.
- GTM 3” Full Cat-back Exhaust System.
- GTM Racing Oil Cooler.
- CJ Motorsport -Stage 2- Fuel system.
- Deatschwerks 600cc injectors.
- Walbro feul pump.
- AEM Water/Methanol Injection kit.
- Uni-Chip Q+ Engine Management.
- Defi Boost gauge.
- Defi Fuel Pressure gauge.
- Defi Exhaust Temp gauge.
- Defi Controller unit.
- AEM Wideband gauge.
- Blitz turbo timer.
- HKS EVC-6 Boost Controller. ( low 7PSI , high 13psi )
Suspension / Wheels:
- Cusco R2 Coilovers
- Hotchkiss Front and Rear Swaybars
- Stoptech Stage 2 brake kit (SS Lines, Slotted Rotors, Motul Fluid)
- Whiteline Polyurethane Bushings
- 65/35 19” and 295/35 19”Pirelli R Comps on 19” Work VS-XX
- 3.5 FD
Whew! That was quite a long list. But who cares?! We need results right?
Ok, the last dyno pull was 575whp, running at a very shy 13psi of boost (High).
This is still being kept “confidential” in the local scene (Dubai) as the final number has not been reached yet. Fine tuning will be carried out in the near future using Haltech instead of the limited UniChip.
Finally, to show off this Z’s manilood, Do-Luck full widebody kit is fitted and custom painted. This is by far the most subtle wide body kit made for the 350Z, but its aggressive styling is enough to make someone stop and take another look.
The build was completed sometime around November 2010 and has been already won a car-show competition. The feature can also be seen on Top Performance magazine’s previous issues.
Onto some pictures…
The transformation began from this 380whp Z:
To this:
And to conclude this article, Lotfi sends his regards to TQPI.net. He says “Kumusta Kabayan!”
(Lotfi is the President of the local Nissan/Infiniti owner’s club – “GTZ UAE”. Visit www.gtz-uae.com for more info)
