"When I bought this 350Z new in January 2004, the plan was to drop some wheels, springs and an air filter on it and be done," says owner, Sharif Abdelbaset. "That lasted all of two weeks. I decided to go from a Jim Wolf Pop-charger to a full-tilt GReddy twin-turbo system."
Yeah, like we've never heard that one before.
Sharif swapped on a set of Tein Flex coil-overs, a big-rotor Wilwood front/rear brake upgrade and Hotchkis anti-roll bars. The body was tuned with a radical INGS aero kit while the cabin was augmented with a high-watt audio arrangement, Bride Ergo II bucket seats and a Schroth harness system. Sharif says he rolled with confidence in this configuration for a solid 15,000 miles. "The power just wasn't enough so I decided to take the next step and build the motor and go for big boost."
High-boost, forced-induction 350Zs had a tendency to blow up, and Sharif didn't want to be the next statistic, so he performed all the work himself with the expert assistance of Carolina Performance Racing (CP Racing) in Charlotte, N.C. CP Racing is a key supplier of Sharif's business, forgedinternals.com.
So the engine was torn down and the bare block was machined to accept .020-inch over Arias forged pistons with a static compression of 9.0:1. The pistons rely on Pauter forged connecting rods to hang onto the stock crankshaft. The entire rotating assembly was balanced as it was put together and secured in the block with ARP fasteners. The block was topped with port-matched and polished heads fitted with Jim Wolf Technology springs and a custom JWT cam to let the engine rev free.
Since he let the boost loose, Sharif also had to turn up the volume on the fuel side. To this end, he enlisted a number of tried-and-proven hard parts that transform the dead-end O.E. fuel system into an easier-to-control system. A 255-lph Walbro pump feeds an Altered Atmosphere Motorsports fuel rail fitted with an Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator and a six-pack of RC Engineering 550cc injectors. The Altered Atmosphere Motorsports fuel rail is part of a complete fuel system conversion kit the company has developed for the 350Z/G35.
Beyond the basic GReddy kit, which includes two turbos, two manifolds, external wastegates and a PRofec e-01, Sharif has added an optional GReddy FMIC, blow-off valve and a Crawford Performance large-plenum intake manifold-a tasty piece that really caught our eye. Other tidbits include a GReddy Evo2 exhaust system, Unorthodox Racing underdrive crank pulley and an Innovate wideband gauge that keeps an eye on the VQ's air/fuel ratio.
Sharif was immediately aware that this new setup was going to overwhelm the entire stock drivetrain, so he made fortifications prior to dyno tuning the boosted V6. An ATS carbon twin-plate clutch with accompanying lightened flywheel was added to the mix along with beefier Driveshaft Shop Level 2 axles and an ATS carbon LSD rear end.
Sharif reports this battery of mods produces amazing track and road manners and exceptional durability. The all-important contact patch is provided by Michelin PS2 rubber wrapped around Volk GT-C aluminum.
After an impatient 60-mile break-in period, it was off to attack the rollers on CP Racing's Dyno Dynamics chassis dyno. "The Dyno Dynamics dyno is load based," says Sharif. "They are far superior to Dynojets for a precise tune because we can hold the load on the motor while tuning instead of driving right through the tuning sites." Continues Sharif, "We used the e-Manage to extract 567 whp and 580 lb-ft of torque at 17 psi. We kept the timing conservative in consideration of the 93-octane pump gas and I expect to add 100-octane and charge past 600 whp with more aggressive ignition timing."
Yep, like we've never heard that one before.