"Adriana" - My 04 Touring

[AUtigers370z]

My first Z (purchased 11/29/05) -





On April 1, 2007 - had a hydroplane accident on my NT555s and slid the PPW Z backward into a guard rail. Insurance company and the body shop told me that it was fixable. Exactly 2 months later on June 1, 2007 - it was considered totaled by insurance and I had a new Z already lined up ;)

Bought the new Z on June 13, 2007 in Tuscaloosa, AL from a gentleman by the name of Bryan. It was a beautiful 2004 Touring model with a 6MT transmission. Silverstone exterior with black leather interior.





The first thing I did on the way home from Tuscaloosa was stop by F1 Sports Car Center in Birmingham and had Kevin tint my windows for me.



When I got the new Z back to Auburn, I realized I had two boxes labeled "Hotchkis" sitting in my bedroom floor. The next day I went to work on the stock suspension.



Stock spring next to one of the Hotchkis springs..


Front..


Rear..


After the spring install, I went up to the parking deck with a close friend of mine, Ryan Miller, to get some pictures of our cars..









More pictures taken in downtown Opelika..







Everything was much better lowered. I still had my TV screen, head unit and rear speakers from the PPW Z and that stock Bose radio wasn't going to cut it. I ordered some Polk DB-6500 component speakers and an Alpine 4 channel amplifier to go along with the Alpine Type-R coaxials and the Alpine DVA-9861 head unit. The sound install took place in Birmingham, and there to assist me was fellow car enthusiast and great friend, Ricky Stein. Since this Z was wired up with the Bose system, I decided to completely strip the interior and run new speaker wire through the doors.

The stripped interior with the stock system still installed..


My Xbox chillin in the glove compartment..


This is where I decided to run the power wire through the firewall..




Light blue line is where I ran the wire and the arrow points to where I connected it to the battery. Love it how Nissan provides an extra terminal..


After I ran the wires through the center of the car below the carpet..


Bunch of RCAs, remote wire and speaker wires..


Drivers side door with components installed. (Before I drilled the holes in the sail panels for the tweeters)..


Close up of the component setup.


My dash in the middle of being put back together..


The amplifier just chillin in the cubby behind the drivers seat. Decided to put some extra carpet in there that I had layin around..


Passenger door with components installed..


Close up shot of the components. Tweeter is in the sail panel this time..


Finished product! (for now ;))..


I needed a rack to hold my amplifier and saw some racks on one of the 350z forums for sale. I figured I could do a pretty decent job at replicating one so I gave it a shot.

The amp sitting on it's new resting spot..


Installed in the compartment where my Bose sub used to be..


Another angle to show where it mounted up in the back..


After having the Alpine head unit in my car for a while I decided I really wanted navigation. I had thought about buying an extra module made by Garmin to hook up to the cubby screen but eventually chose to go with a different head unit. Sold the Alpine and ordered the Pioneer D3.

Updated interior shot with the new head unit..


Now I can play movies on the top screen while having navigation on the head unit. (Only while I am stopped, of course)..

[AUtigers370z]

Next on the list was wheels. I had aftermarket wheels on the PPW but they were 17s and felt kind of small to me. This time around, had to go with something bigger. The choice? 19" Volk GT-S wrapped in Toyo T1-Rs. I ordered them from Rick at Status Auto Design in California.







The huge difference in offsets from the stock wheels to the Volks caused a lot of extra body roll. I finished off the Hotchkis Stage 1 kit with a set of Hotchkis adjustable sway bars.



Rear..


Front..


The wheels definitely looked nice and the car handled better but something was still missing. It needed a front lip to help conceal those big wheels a little better. After looking at many different bumpers and lips I went with the Aerosync bumper from Gruppe-S. It fit my style perfect.. it was clean and not too gaudy. It was already debadged and the front lip was built into the bumper. Took the car to a family friend at Myers Auto Collision in Trussville and had the bumper painted SS to match the car.







Some updated pictures with the new mods.





Taken by the infamous Cameron Carnes..






So now I've got the exterior appearance down, time to give her a better sound a little big more performance. I swapped over the JWT Popcharger intake from my old Z. Before I even owned a Z, I have admired the HKS Hi-Power exhaust and finally made that dream a reality. I also ordered the Motordyne 5/16" Iso-Thermal plenum spacer.



Oohh.. shiny.


Gettin dirty under the Z ;)..












Plenum spacer..




Upper and lower plenum and Popcharger just laying around..



Videos of exhaust:

http://www.youtube.com/v/W0_6kHhfbtI

http://www.youtube.com/v/ZVxA-37X_88

http://www.youtube.com/v/lDoXZmxK4eg

[AUtigers370z]

I had been joking with people for a while about my wheels looking empty with the stock brakes and eventually got to talking with another good friend of mine, Alex Byrd. He told me his plans of putting together big brake kits for the 350z and I was all about it. After months of planning and research we finally made it happen. Together we worked all the kinks out of the install process and wound up with an amazing kit.













Recent pictures of the new brake install.

[Fairlady ZR]

i love your wheels...trade?! lol

[Rowlet]

Whoa, Sweet ride....

[AUtigers370z]

Should have a new update for this thread within the next couple of days :D

[Zya8187]

Very Nice car man.

I think Onadime should make a Z32 kit :D I'll test it.

[AUtigers370z]

Well, installed the suede headliner today. I have to say that for my first time attempting an upholstery modification (other than carpeting a sub box) it didn't turn out too bad. There are a few things I have learned throughout this project that will definitely make future projects easier/turn out better. The hardest part physical-wise was pulling the stock gray fabric off. Getting the suede to stretch where it needed to go and trying to prevent wrinkles also proved itself pretty tedious. All-in-all I would say the craftsmanship and quality looks to be about an 8/10.

Anyway, here are a few pictures..

Used Krylon Plastic Fusion in Satin Black to paint the plastic trim pieces. Still trying to figure out what to do about the visors so I just put them on as-is for now.

[04LemansZ]

Nice work, can't wait to see it in person.

[ExtaZ33]

I can't believe you beat me to that! That was my next plan after I got the car back! :eek:

It looks awesome dude. You did it yourself? Looks like it turned out really nice.

We're going to end up with identical cars..

[sKruBnZ33]

had no idea you were going for the suede bro!!

[AUtigers370z]

Ordered some new endlinks tonight from Z1 :D

[ExtaZ33]

Ordered some new endlinks tonight from Z1 :D

Damn you. I want those so bad but I have SPL endlinks in the garage waiting to go on. I guess we'll be able to compare them at least.

[Ninja350Z]

Ordered some new endlinks tonight from Z1 :D

good choice

[AUtigers370z]

Damn you. I want those so bad but I have SPL endlinks in the garage waiting to go on. I guess we'll be able to compare them at least.

Haha, sorry Buddy. The rears are the ones that have been causing me issues makin popping noise everytime I'm slowly driving over uneven surfaces. Adam swears by these so I am going to give them a shot.


good choice

Thank you sir :ninja:

[AUtigers370z]

Poor lonely thread.. bet you wish you could be updated huh? Daddy just needs some more monies :( bear with me child, you will be happy again soon enough.

[rbruditt]

haha, nice write up btw

[04LemansZ]

Get tuned already :p

[AUtigers370z]

Yay I'll finally be able to update this thread again in a few days :D Nothing too big, but a mod none the less.

[04LemansZ]

Yay I'll finally be able to update this thread again in a few days :D Nothing too big, but a mod none the less.
A tune?

[AUtigers370z]

A tune?

Not yet. Patience my young one ...

[Zya8187]

you dirty tease

[AUtigers370z]

you dirty tease

;)

[PearlWhite03]

I know, or at least I'm pretty sure I know

[JDMZ32]

i never saw this thread before today. very nice! i like the headliner. have you seen my suede interior?

[AUtigers370z]

i never saw this thread before today. very nice! i like the headliner. have you seen my suede interior?

Thanks and yes I have. Looks great! I did mine myself though so it's not QUITE professional quality :D

[1BadAuburnG]

I would LOVE to have black suade on my roof and pillars. I can't stand having black leather with a creme top and pillar setup. They should have came from the factory with black suede on top. lucky...I don't have the time/patience/skill to do that props to you my friend

[T3ku]

Very nice Z.

Ill say one thing, the 350 sounds like a Viper RT/10 tuned right, which is awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg5G66MRJWg&feature=related Like so :p

[JDMZ32]

Thanks and yes I have. Looks great! I did mine myself though so it's not QUITE professional quality :D

thanks :). eventually the seats will go, because i favor nice, snug, racing seats. but the doors/other panels and everything except the steering wheel are there to stay (i want to replace the steering wheel with a Nardi Sport Rally 330mm in black leather and red stitching). speaking of suede and steering wheels, any idea how to clean it? mine's FILTHY. just the steering wheel though.

[JDMZ32]

Yay I'll finally be able to update this thread again in a few days :D
that was nearly two months ago!


Patience my young one ...
ok...

[fairladyaffair]

your Z is gorgeous bro, mad props....good parts choices, very tasteful

[AUtigers370z]

Thank you for the comments sir :happy:

[AUtigers370z]

Well... it's been a while since I've done anything to Adriana, but thanks to Rob, she now has a new "look" :cool:

I'll throw up some pics tomorrow when it's light outside.

[ExtaZ33]

It's tomorrow now and it's light outside. :cool:

[rh_334]

Well... it's been a while since I've done anything to Adriana, but thanks to Rob, she now has a new "look" :cool:

I'll throw up some pics tomorrow when it's light outside.

:cool: cant wait to see the pics!

but i wouldnt get too excited i cant remember the lasttime E was up b4 lunch

[rh_334]

alright its after lunch!
:ttiwwop:

[DbDragStar]

alright its after lunch!
:ttiwwop:

:+1:

[AUtigers370z]

Alright, here they are. Picked up a can of flat dark gray spray paint from Advance and let Rob go to town on the headlights. They turned out pretty awesome in my opinion :cool:

[04LemansZ]

Alright, here they are. Picked up a can of flat dark gray spray paint from Advance and let Rob go to town on the headlights. They turned out pretty awesome in my opinion :cool:




How long did it take? I'd be interested in getting mine done if they stay moisture-free forever :)

[rh_334]

How long did it take? I'd be interested in getting mine done if they stay moisture-free forever :)

ill guarntee you that they will seal just as good as b4, and its a 2day process, but if you really needed them i could in one day.

[rbruditt]

nice, 1freshz is looking even more fresh!

rob, are those piaa fogs or hellas on the H1?

[rh_334]

nice, 1freshz is looking even more fresh!

rob, are those piaa fogs or hellas on the H1?

idk what brand, but the came on my F-150 and since its out of commission i threw emon tha Humma, they arent even hooked up, just for looks

[DbDragStar]

, they arent even hooked up, just for looks

ricer :D

[rh_334]

ricer :D

not as ricer as having 2 bigass 5in exhaust tips and running a 17sec 1/4

[jthomas_50]

Quick question, since the 03-05 headlights aren't a true projector housing, when you paint the inside of the reflector, aren't you going to lose light output?

If it were a real projector housing without any reflector portion, you wouldn't lose any light output, but I was under the impression that these style headlights use like a reflector/projector hybrid with a tiny projector lens sat in a reflector housing

[rh_334]

Quick question, since the 03-05 headlights aren't a true projector housing, when you paint the inside of the reflector, aren't you going to lose light output?

If it were a real projector housing without any reflector portion, you wouldn't lose any light output, but I was under the impression that these style headlights use like a reflector/projector hybrid with a tiny projector lens sat in a reflector housing

good point but look closer, the reflector portion was left unpainted, and he wanted the reflector part of his high beams painted, so that cut down on light on his highs but he said he didnt use them much and he wanted it painted. But the Low beam output was unchanged since ididnt paint that

[AUtigers370z]

Quick question, since the 03-05 headlights aren't a true projector housing, when you paint the inside of the reflector, aren't you going to lose light output?

If it were a real projector housing without any reflector portion, you wouldn't lose any light output, but I was under the impression that these style headlights use like a reflector/projector hybrid with a tiny projector lens sat in a reflector housing

Yeah you're exactly right. That's why he didn't paint the chrome strip behind the reflector :o The high beams don't work that great anymore but I never really used them anyway haha.

[rh_334]

Yeah you're exactly right. That's why he didn't paint the chrome strip behind the reflector :o The high beams don't work that great anymore but I never really used them anyway haha.

i betcha to the response! :cool:

[jthomas_50]

ahh, i see...that makes sense....i was just thinking that the reflector portion in the bottom was part of the low beam reflector as well, but i guess it's not :)

[jthomas_50]

Yeah you're exactly right. That's why he didn't paint the chrome strip behind the reflector :o The high beams don't work that great anymore but I never really used them anyway haha.

that's why you either need to upgrade to the newer style orrrr just retrofit a E55 projector into them :)

[rh_334]

:cool:

[jthomas_50]

Looks great....

Also, to those wondering how well the sealant will hold up....I've read about people who do this quite often and even one guy that baked his lights 13 times and didn't reseal it with anything other than what the light came with and it's still holding up!

Also, if you do have any problems with condensation, you can always just bake them, open them up, clean them, then put new butyl sealant back down before you close it back up :)

Nissan butyl sealant ftw for retrofits and everything else headlight related!!!

[AUtigers370z]

Werdd!!

Another pic..

[rh_334]

Looks great....

Also, to those wondering how well the sealant will hold up....I've read about people who do this quite often and even one guy that baked his lights 13 times and didn't reseal it with anything other than what the light came with and it's still holding up!

Also, if you do have any problems with condensation, you can always just bake them, open them up, clean them, then put new butyl sealant back down before you close it back up :)

Nissan butyl sealant ftw for retrofits and everything else headlight related!!!

well if you ever get condensation then you need to clean out your vent, headlights are not sealed, they all breathe. The only part you have to seal is the outside to prevent water from getting it but their is a vent about mid way up on the back of the head light so its pretty much impossible to get condensation as long as that vent is working

and yes their is no need to add any kind of sealant the OE is the best you can buy and as long as your really careful when you seperate them it stays in place and makes a perfect reseal

[agdarnell]

That looks sick man I want this! How can I get this done to my G!?!?!

[rh_334]

That looks sick man I want this! How can I get this done to my G!?!?!

send them to me, but it takes pretty much a whole weekend to do this

[04LemansZ]

That looks BA E. Love and Rob...put mine on the list for the not so distant future. I'll plan a trip to Auburn.

[agdarnell]

send them to me, but it takes pretty much a whole weekend to do this

Seriously???? How much? I like that alot man and I sure as hell cant do it I would probably take you up on sending them out to you one weekend or somthing like that just give me some details!

[AUtigers370z]

Uh owe!!!




:ninja:

[04LemansZ]

Uh owe!!!




:ninja:
Hit me up tomorrow...I'll be wrenchin' on the Z.

[Mike]

Looks good, more pics

[AUtigers370z]

Hit me up tomorrow...I'll be wrenchin' on the Z.

Will do. Gonna wash Adriana and get some pics!

[ExtaZ33]

Yall hit me up if it's going down. :cool:

[AUtigers370z]

Recent updates:

Got tired of the faded chrome lips and pitted brake dust in the faces (black spots everywhere), so I took the wheels to a local powdercoater, Tommy Hayes, to get a make-over.

Satin black lips and gunmetal faces :thumbsup:








Also finally got around to tucking the rear bumper. Had to pull Adriana's skirt up a little and show off the shiny metal :D



Underneath picture of the tuck..



As some of you know, one half of my drivers side caliper turned purple over time. Most likely the anodized coating's exposure to high temperature.



Brake guts..


Decided to change this up as well. Went back to Tommy and had him powdercoat the calipers red.






And finally (for now), sold the carbon fiber center caps and went with some Volk chrome/red limited edition caps..




Much better :)

[03bamaGT]

As I said before, looks great. Tommy has done great work for me in the past!

[AUtigers370z]

As I said before, looks great. Tommy has done great work for me in the past!

Thanks Ryan!

[Mike]

Tommy did my calipers a while back, still holding up great, even to pressure washing and high heat

[ExtaZ33]

Just be careful not to take brake clean to them.

Looks great E!

[04LemansZ]

Looking good.

[AUtigers370z]

Woohoo!! Get to add to this thread again!

Ordered some BC Racing coilovers and Eibach adjustable camber arms/toe bolts for my lady last week. Got em on last night with the help of Ryan (03bamaGT)! Will get some better pics sometime soon, but for now..

[Dank07Z]

Damn that ish is low... Looking nice

[Jamaica2G]

Damn that ish is low... Looking nice

NOW your car is low... I wouldnt ride that low here in the HAM... if I go back to Florida though... I'll be ridin where you are again!

How does it feel now?

[AUtigers370z]

Haha, we'll see how much I regret it soon I imagine. Handles AMAZING though. From what I can tell, no rubbing issues either!

[1BadAuburnG]

T-Heinz stamp of aproval!

[03bamaGT]

I vote next time we start earlier....:o

[Jamaica2G]

Have you aligned it?

[AUtigers370z]

I vote next time we start earlier....:o

Haha, agreed!! I started getting things ready literally as soon as the package arrived tho.. UPS' fault!


Have you aligned it?

Not yet! Planning to soon though.

[rh_334]

goodluck with that :crazy::surprised::zomg::omg:

but i see you did take my advice on coils ;) good choice, but keep in mind they retain full travel even that low.

[04LemansZ]

Geez, that is low. Looks good though :thumbsup:

[ExtaZ33]

Geez, that is low. Looks good though :thumbsup:

Time for you to step your game up! At least a 1" drop man!

[ExtaZ33]

Haha, we'll see how much I regret it soon I imagine. Handles AMAZING though. From what I can tell, no rubbing issues either!

I doubt you'll regret it. The HKS exhaust doesn't hang as low as stock, so if you scrape going slow it shouldn't be a problem. Looks sick!:rockout3:

[04LemansZ]

I doubt you'll regret it. The HKS exhaust doesn't hang as low as stock, so if you scrape going slow it shouldn't be a problem. Looks sick!:rockout3:
Can he go anything but...?

[rh_334]

Can he go anything but...?



ask him about the MULTIPLE RR Tracks Jumps :shame:

[AadosX]

Looks great man! If you think it handles well now, just wait until you get an alignment. Have you decided what alignment specs you're going to go with? Also, are you getting anything to correct camber up front (not that it's absolutely necessary ;) )?


Time for you to step your game up! At least a 1" drop man!

LOL I know right!?

[AUtigers370z]

Time for you to step your game up! At least a 1" drop man!

I think the fact that David's car sits up higher than everyone else's has to do with the superiority complex that goes along with owning a LS 350z.


Can he go anything but...?

:rockout2:


ask him about the MULTIPLE RR Tracks Jumps :shame:

Haha. Tyler said no more RR track jumps allowed now that I'm on coils (not that it should have been acceptable before).


Looks great man! If you think it handles well now, just wait until you get an alignment. Have you decided what alignment specs you're going to go with? Also, are you getting anything to correct camber up front (not that it's absolutely necessary ;) )?

To be honest with you, I know nothing about what specs the alignment should be in now that it's lowered, etc. If you have some good info to post up, I'll be sure to read. And no, nothing up front yet. I had been looking at the Kinetix adjustable a-arm, and Bryan showed me the new Momentum adjustable a-arms that are pretty sick. One day.. it's only $$ lol :)

[rh_334]

To be honest with you, I know nothing about what specs the alignment should be in now that it's lowered, etc. If you have some good info to post up, I'll be sure to read. And no, nothing up front yet. I had been looking at the Kinetix adjustable a-arm, and Bryan showed me the new Momentum adjustable a-arms that are pretty sick. One day.. it's only $$ lol :)

what rear kit did you get? being that low, all you can ask of an alignment shop is to TRY to get you within factory specs, and makesure you have 0 Toe, thats worse than camber for tires. The only way you will get remotely close to within specs is with the same setup Tyler and I have, Camber and Traction Arms (kinetix), and SPC Toe Bolts on the subframe side of the spring tray

[AUtigers370z]

what rear kit did you get? being that low, all you can ask of an alignment shop is to TRY to get you within factory specs, and makesure you have 0 Toe, thats worse than camber for tires. The only way you will get remotely close to within specs is with the same setup Tyler and I have, Camber and Traction Arms (kinetix), and SPC Toe Bolts on the subframe side of the spring tray

I have the rear Eibach camber arms and SPC toe bolts (also used the diagram provided to dremel out the inside of the pill shape holes). Just need something up front. I'll def get it on the rack and see what it's currently at, then go from there.

[AadosX]

You have enough to keep your alignment in check in the rear, don't worry. I run -2 deg. of camber front and rear. That's what my front camber is at naturally since I have no adjustable arms in the front and I'm lowered on the Sportlines. So then I just matched my rear camber to that. Matching camber gives great handling results on Z's. More negative camber up front than in the rear will give you a little more oversteer, some prefer that. I'm going to guestimate that you'll have about -3 deg. camber up front, so I'd set the rear to -2. The car will handle great, just watch out for the oversteer (though it will really only be there when you want it).

Then I would set the front toe to zero and the rear to something low like 1/32". Zero would be ok in the rear too but the small amount really helps with handling (especially when exiting a turn) and doesn't hurt the tires.

With that setup you won't really bother your tires too much. You could always set the rear to -3 too if you wanted to match them, but -2 is easier on the tires. -2 all around is great though for me, perfect IMO since I didn't have to buy adjustable arms up front. BUT, if you don't want -3 up front (assuming that's what it is at naturally) and opt to buy adjustable control arms, I would say just go with something around -1 or -1.5 camber all around.

GL and enjoy! My car handles WAY better with my current alignment than it did before.

[AUtigers370z]

You have enough to keep your alignment in check in the rear, don't worry. I run -2 deg. of camber front and rear. That's what my front camber is at naturally since I have no adjustable arms in the front and I'm lowered on the Sportlines. So then I just matched my rear camber to that. Matching camber gives great handling results on Z's. More negative camber up front than in the rear will give you a little more oversteer, some prefer that. I'm going to guestimate that you'll have about -3 deg. camber up front, so I'd set the rear to -2. The car will handle great, just watch out for the oversteer (though it will really only be there when you want it).

Then I would set the front toe to zero and the rear to something low like 1/32". Zero would be ok in the rear too but the small amount really helps with handling (especially when exiting a turn) and doesn't hurt the tires.

With that setup you won't really bother your tires too much. You could always set the rear to -3 too if you wanted to match them, but -2 is easier on the tires. -2 all around is great though for me, perfect IMO since I didn't have to buy adjustable arms up front. BUT, if you don't want -3 up front (assuming that's what it is at naturally) and opt to buy adjustable control arms, I would say just go with something around -1 or -1.5 camber all around.

GL and enjoy! My car handles WAY better with my current alignment than it did before.

Awesome!! Thanks for the info John!

[AUtigers370z]

Took the car to Toyota in Auburn today to let a good friend to the alignment for me. It wasn't actually off that much (as I suspected).

Didn't mess with the fronts, as they were already pretty close to where I wanted things to be.

Rear : Left
Actual | Before
-2.0º -2.7º Camber
0.05in 0.22in Toe

Rear : Right
Actual | Before
-2.0º -2.4º Camber
0.05in 0.10in Toe

[03bamaGT]

I say we did a damn good job for not even attempting to adjust things haha.