Was the JDM Power's award for customer satisfaction and innovation just awarded to Rob and his team at ZcarGarage? He’s got my vote – please read on to find out more.

Before I share this project with you I would like to thank this great site and for all of the postings and great information that is being shared with everyone. I also want to apologize in advance as this is probably a bit long.

Here are some preliminary pictures of the results.

Please click on pictures for a larger view.[/COLOR]

Introduction
So the story started with needing to do a new project. I had built a pretty strong WRX utilizing Vishnu’s and M2’s top of the line performance staged upgrades that I thought were fairly impressive at the time. I really liked the WRX but it was time to move on and up to either the Z or G. I spent what feels like months doing the research and finally off to try them on for size. I really liked the Z but I just could not fit comfortably without hitting my head on the roof. I can still hear the salesman telling me that the Z was for someone a little younger and smaller – same to ya! From there it was off to the dealer to check out the G – that did it – a little less sporty, a little heavier, a little more luxury and I could fit. OK, it was the G and it had to be Blk/Blk 6mt. New or used? I searched and searched and then searched some more – lots of 5AT but the 6MT I could not find. So I started calling and searching the internet for every dealer in California. One left in Pleasanton – no way! Got a great end of the year deal and drove off with a smile.

ZcarGarage
The next step – find the tuner! Did the forum searches and started making the calls. It still amazes me of all of the choices and all of the opinions – it was really hard to sort out. I was leaning towards a couple of options in Southern CA. It got to the point that I was making arraignments for a car carrier for transport. Just before that happened I was searching this forum and found some really great comments about Rob and ZcarGarage. I called him and we talked a long time on the phone. He was really trying to help me out but there were just too many options. The next step is where we turned the corner. He suggested that I make an appointment with him for an hour or so and that he would make arraignments for a number of different customers cars to be available for demos. Needless to say I took him up on that.

Demos
I couldn’t wait –the day finally arrived. After the introductions Rob asked if I was ready to go – was he kidding? We go out outside and there are a number of different cars ready for the test drives. So for the next hour we went out and “tested” a number of different configurations – APS, JWT, Vortech and more. All were great. There were pluses and minuses for all. After my blood pressure came back to normal Rob and I started talking about what I liked and what best fit. It was down to APS and JWT – with JWT edging out APS. There were a couple of deciding factors for me (1) I really liked the torque and horsepower curves (all the TT’s were close but the JWT was just a little more to my liking) (2) the biggest reason – stealth! The hidden intercoolers painted black was going to be perfect for me. As you can see from the pictures they are barely detectable – it’s been a lot more fun than with the obvious. The very last comment today was “what the hell was that that just passed us?”

One stop shopping
I know this is starting to sound like an ad but the whole thing was quite the experience – and believe me I’ve been around a long time. I’ve owned a lot of cars over the years, owned a couple of speed shops back in days when cars didn’t have ECUs and have had a career in quality for the past 15 years. At any rate Rob and I started working the master plan on what the options should be for the car (check out the list below).

We finished the basic list. I gave Rob a check for a deposit and we were off. A week or so later I dropped the car off with 900 miles on it.

Innovation
Let’s start with innovation. There were numerous innovative ideas throughout this project. Of course all of these great ideas could not be implemented without a great technician to be able to execute and that’s where Vince really shinned. OK, so let me share one of my favorites – the motorized in-dash instrument cluster. As I mentioned earlier I like the “stealth” mode. So the set-up is that there is a hidden toggle switch in the center console that allows me to active the gauge cluster on demand. The unit itself fits perfectly where the stock navigation unit would be and the cover material and color is exactly the same as the factory dash. Push the toggle and up comes this gauge cluster out of the dash fully functional – being both analog and digital. Another nice touch is if you look close on the gauges you will see the ZcarGarage logo – pretty cool.

Words just don’t do this justice so I have tried to make a video to show you. Be nice, this is my first attempt. Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-qACzj77A

Quality
Did I mention quality? I have a poster in my office that has moved with me from job to job over the past dozen or so years. It really sums it all up into one great phrase – “Quality is an attitude”. This is where I can really identify with Rob and team. He runs a tight ship and the folks that work for him have the same quality attitude. The bottom line here is that this took a lot longer than I thought – but there were no compromises on detail or quality – they just kept working at it until it was “right”.

Performance
Well, I wanted to wait until the next thread to share the news but I can tell you it’s pulled 420rwhp with about the same amount of torque (7+ PSI). Robs states that’s there more – stayed tuned.

Details
2006 G35 coupe 6mt (Blk/Blk)

Turbo
JWTT

Motor
JWT rev-up cams
Motordyne 5/16” spacer
Motordyne intake
Lightweight flywheel
JWT clutch
Special Wiring Harness (no modifying stock wiring harness)

Exhaust
Custom down pipes
Test Pipes
Stillen exhaust

Instruments / interior
Motorized in-dash instrument cluster (a ZcarGarage exclusive)
Hide away EDFC controller behind ashtray
Innovate gauges (Boost and A/F – a ZcarGarage exclusive)
Valentine 1 with remote
Rogue short shifter
Rogue CNC ****

Suspension
Tein Flex w/EDFC
350EVO front camber arms
SPC rear camber adjusters
Stillen sway bars front & rear with adjustable links
ARC bar

Wheels & Tires
Volks GT-7 Diamond Back (10.5 rear 9.5 front)
Toyo T1R Tires

TPS
Installed all transmitters in spare tire

Brakes
Stop-tech (4 wheels)

Other
Gialla front grille
Gialla rear spoiler
Bats overlays
JDM taillights

Next – and ready
IvoryGT’s quad HID headlights painted black and dual clear HID lenses YES!
Pioneer Z1 navigation unit with dvd player

 

son of a b**ch that's sleeper!

Vids? dynos and numbers to follow, i assume?


edit: saw the numbers and the youtube vid...now let's see some rolling vids

 

Wow man, awesome setup! Love the sleeper look. Its always a great feeling when you smoke the unexpected and look at their faces - "Dang that thing looked stock".

I want to see some dyno numbers!

-Sean

 

Nice.

M

 

+1 for Rob

 

Justed wanted to say thanks for the comments and to you - could not have done it without all of the input from the G35Driver team.

 

wow congrats and enjoy the setup! we have cusotmers with the same setup or at least very similar that are now running for almost two years with no major problems.. that is the main thing about the JWT TT they are arguably one of the safest kits out for the Z. the other would be the great response of the turbos, they spool up quick man... enjoy it.

 

awesomeness. haven't seen the gialla spoiler before - very nice. Rob is great, he'll tune the hell out'a your G.

 

Congrats and welcome to the twins club!!!

Came out great.

 

Is that ur G??? That thing looks CLEAN!!!

 

Is JWT TT smog legal???? I'm really thinking of going this route....And Rob gets an A++++ in my book!!!!

 

not smog legal. can u give us a ballpark on cost? any reason u didn't build the engine?

 

great setup.. let's see some dynos

 

Awesome...black on black


-1 For Zcar.

 

Why a -1 for Zcar garage????