98intrigue's long overdue journal
 

This is my home...this is where it all started...so figured I'd post up my journey of car modding over the last 10 years.

So the modding bug got me when I was young. My parents gave me their 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue (ohhhhh that's where he got his screen name from! :bowrofl:) when I turned 16. I went through 3 stereo setups and some 18" Mille Miglia wheels (Tire Rack special).
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I remember my senior year of high school saying I'd own a G35 coupe one day...Well, on January 5, 2005, my reality dream car came true and I bought a used 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe.

This thing was a long project. I like being original and being one of the first (a.k.a. wasting money on cars)...Alcantara interior, Turbonetics kit, DPEs, Kuruma bumper, authentic Nismo diffuser, etc...
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I even did a Top Secret bumper and full polished Iforged Aeros. This was maybe 3 months before I got rid of the car.
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I owned the title for the fastest single turbo G35 for quite some time... ran a 12.2 @ 115mph back in August 2008.
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http://youtu.be/Cx74jLLJjNA

http://youtu.be/VFPT02z362s

The car was boosted HARD from 62k to 113k miles on the stock motor when it started blowing igntion coils. I went through 5 in less than a month. I knew it was a bad Utec or ECU, so I decided to part ways before anything bad happened.

I test drove a 40th Anniversary 370Z on a Tuesday with no hopes of actually owning one. I just REALLY loved the red iterior (already had suede like my G35 did) and my favorite color is purple, so the 40th Quartz fit my interests perfectly! I'm an impulse buyer... and bought it that Saturday, July 28, 2010. My first new car:HYPER:

I needed help bringing both cars home since the dealer let me keep my G35 for a week to part it out.
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I had a love for the Z that was more than the G35 coupe...and I didn't think that was possible. I had the IForged Aeros on for a short time, as well as installed H&R lowering springs, Berk high-flow cats, and HKS Hi-Power exhaust 2 months into ownership.
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Ever heard a Z with open headers? :icon14:

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Then what made my car.... the SSR SP3s arrived a few weeks later :biggthumpup:
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Once my exterior mods were complete (except tint), I did a photoshoot...SSR was nice enough to feature them.
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I did one of the first Motordyne M370 tests and got a tune.
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Two months later, I decided it was time to get back into boost (biggest mistake I made). I let Lutz Performance build me the first single turbo kit. WHAT A MISTAKE! The car ran like crap from the day it was completed in May 2011 until the day the motor started ticking in October 2011
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I had the opportunity to meet a lot of great new people and see some old faces at ZDayz 2011. I even won 1st place Wild 370Z!
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I made my favorite video to date from ZDayz 2011

On the way home from ZDayz, my headaches were just starting:mad: Thanks to Lutz, I blew my power steering pump, snapped the pulley, burnt through the passenger side wiring harness, fried the 120-amp battery fuse, and burnt through a power steering line. I was stranded in Georgia for 4 days, but Z1 M otorsports was amazing! They treated me like their best friend and even offered me a place to crash.
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In August, I had a friend do my car the way Lutz should have done from the beginning... dual 3" equal length intake piping into a 2-to-1 ProCharger intercooler. Oh yeah...a custom 3" exhaust with an 18" Magnaflow resonator and a 3" HKS Hi-Power Ti muffler
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The entire summer was spent trouble shooting and fixing little issues. Then in October, afer alllllll the heahaches...I was ready for a baseline run before I got retuned. I was running a base map from a GReddy TT car that Z1 tuned conservatively.

Street tires vid :driving:

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My first pass netted me a 11.8 @ 119mph. I put in some 110 octane, upped the boost to 13psi, trapped 122mph and the motor started making a faint ticking noise:NOOO:

Then the final straw... About 1 month after the ticking started, I was literally 2 days away from writing a check for a built motor. This was the breaking point. An old man backed into my parked car. It was probably the cheapest fix I came across on the Z, but there were just too many signs that finally told me "STOP!"
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I took off all the exterior modifications that day. The next weekend, the turbo kit came off. Slowly, everything was removed from the car. Since the motor blew, I toyed with the idea of many different cars. I really wanted an S5 before the Z, but I no longer wanted one. My 2 close friends have a modded 997TT and a modded 996TT...so the P cars were really looking good to me, but they were a lot of money. A Z06? Too common... GTR? Out of my price range? Viper? Noooo :BOOBIES:

It all started when I was a kid... I think it must have been the Viper TV show that got me hooked on the Viper. I remember being babysat by my grandma and watching the show. At the age of 15, I was able to visit the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant. I was in heaven! I remember being in the main lobby and they let me try to start a 1996 Viper GTS Indy Pace Car, but the battery was dead. I was a little upset, but my time would come again.
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For my birthday or Christmas or for good grades, my mom would buy me a 1:18 scale Viper model. I remember in elementary school during the book fairs, I bought Viper posters. At 19, I started valeting cars. I worked for some very nice venues in Orlando, so I was able to drive my first Viper just a few weeks after I started.

When I first bought my townhome in 2010, I set up my Viper shelf in the garage.
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I set this as my background at work for motivation back in January
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I put my posters up in March as more motivation
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Still, the pondering question was how do I get rid of my Z? The motor still ticked. The Walbro fuel pump, Z Speed heavy duty CSC, aftermarket Flexalite fans, and aluminum radiator hose were still installed. I would have had to pay A LOT to get it back to 100%. I looked at used Vipers, but it only depressed me because I would need to be able to trade in my Z on the Viper.

Easter Sunday: I find a great deal on a 2006 SRT-10 Coupe. I call Monday morning to only find out it was sold. Darn :( Not like I could have gotten it anyways. I get a call from the dealership Tuesday letting me know they are just waiting on financing to go through and would call me if anything happened. Wednesday morning, I get a call... "The financing fell through!" :eek: I spent the day stressing out, trying to figure out how to get some money ready, how to get the Z out of my hands, etc. By Friday, April 13, 2012... I drove down 2.5 hours and picked up my new Viper. My dream car was a reality.

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Goodbye Z, hello Viper!
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When I bought the car, I knew it sounded louder than stock. Due to the strong smell of gas, I knew it had cat deletes, but still maintained the OEM rear crossover piping. The 2nd day I had the car, I installed a new K&N intake. The first week, I ordered a set of Eibach lowering springs. Before they even shipped, I ordered a Vipair cup kit. It came with adjustable collars so I could adjust the ride height and custom spring rate Eibach springs. I went with a 400/600 spring rate setup. I had scheduled the kit to arrive so I could do the install and come to ZDayz.

During the install, we found out I have 3 blown shocks:mad: From the factory, all new shocks are $3400 :eek: There are very few used shocks available and even piecing them together on ebay will run me $1000. Oh yeah, we also found out I have 3" Borla mufflers :DOMO:, but I still need to get rid of the crappy OEM crossover piping. This will help with the in-cabin temps, the drone, free up roghly 30 lbs, and get the pipes straight out the side for a bit meaner tone :)
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We dropped it lowww (refer to the first Viper pic to see how high it was when I bought it).
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I also Plastidipped 2 wheels to get an idea what I want to do with the wheels for now. I was not happy with the finish, so I ripped it off quickly.
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On our way to Cars and Coffee last Saturday
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And a shot I took at C&C
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I was saving up for wheels, but when I found out about the shocks I had to adjust my priorities. I coudln't swallow spending $3500 on some KW V2s. I kept procrastinating and I'm glad I did...because I found a set of used OEM shocks on Thursday. I also decided I will be doing a black/purple theme. I have an appointment tomorrow to pick out my powdercoat color for my calipers. I will be color matching the calipers to my center console and Viper SRT-10 emblems. I'm still torn on if I want to drop a lot of money on some aftermarket wheels, since once again find it hard to swallow spending $600+ per tire for a 345/25/20. I may just pick out a color to powdercoat my wheels tomorrow...thinking the 40th Anniversary Quartz to powdercoated wheels since that will be a nice graphite with a bit of purple pearl to it?

Epicness...very sad news about your Z i absolutely love the 40th anniversary edition..the finish on those wheels is so sexy! If you get that color code post it up! Sub'd

nice read...

Nice yet sad... Glad you got your dream car...

I have no qualms with this post. The Viper is the closest thing to a super car I've ever wanted to own. I grew up on Mopar and I love their rawness and brutality. I can't find a practical use for one (and I've tried), but they will always have a special place in my heart.

How did u get rid of your z with a bad motor??

slammed viper FTW
my cousin wants to put a blower on his GTS :)

thanks for a good read man congrats on the viper

mmmm loved that Z man!!!

nice. Im the same way have always loved the viper, congrats

I like your quickness to mod.

No ***** footing around!

Good Read!

plastidip?