Is an LS V8 the secret to making a Nissan 350Z into a serious track machine? We aim to find out.
Our guide on how to vinyl-wrap a race car–regardless of your skill level.
To avoid an oil starvation-induced catastrophe, it's time to upgrade our LS-swapped Nissan 350Z with a dry-sump system.
Instead of just buying the first set of brake pads we lay eyes on, we're first going to do a little testing.
We went into our 350Z's first competition debut just hoping to survive but ended up finishing on the podium–twice.
Just because you can spend thousands on a splitter doesn't mean you have to.
What is an oil cooler, and how does it, you know, cool oil? Follow along as we install an oil cooler on our LS-swapped Nissan 350Z.
We needed a way to keep an eye on our LS-swapped 350Z's oil temperatures. Luckily, solutions for our application exist.
We're trucking on up I-75 to Morlind Engineering and Nine Lives Racing to add some much-needed aerodynamic improvements.
After all the effort we put into maximizing the suspension, it was time to actually test the whole setup on our 350Z.
Before we sorted out our project's suspension, we needed to finish our homework.
How we got two sets of (lightly used) racing tires for less than $100 each.
Before hitting the dyno, we discovered noticeably low oil pressure after only 200 miles of driving–time to investigate.
Camshafts are full of variables. Here's what each one means, and how to read a camshaft spec card.
It's time to put a windshield back into our 350Z, and we decided to go with plastic instead of glass.
Why did we go for a premium fire system? Safety along with peace of mind.
We look for a suitable head to give us a little more top end oomph, without impacting our power curve.
Cutting down a wiring harness can be useful when it comes to trackside maintenance, but it's easy to get ahead of yourself and cut too much.
Now that the Z's interior was painted, we had to put back everything we took out.
Believe it or not, painting the interior of our 350Z means we are actually on the home stretch.
Before we could return to the track, we needed to upgrade our brakes and make our suspension adjustable.
In an effort to make our Nissan 350Z faster, we cut out a bit of weight–and learned a valuable lesson on rule interpretation along the way.
We had more to do before our 350Z was ready to enter its first time trial event. To start we need to reconfigure the interior for racing.
Ask five racers how to remove sound deadening, and you’ll get five different answers. Our answer? Liquid nitrogen.
We install Prothane bushings, MCS shocks and an OS Giken limited slip in our LS1-swapped Nissan 350Z.
We build our own exhaust with parts from Summit Racing.
We finally drop our homebuilt LS1 into our Nissan 350Z.
We prep our drivetrain for installation into our 350Z.
We remove our 350Z's VQ35DE and prep our car for its new V8.
We meet LOJ Conversions, our stewards for this swap.
We install a MSD Atomic Airforce intake manifold on our 350Z.
We find and assemble a set of 243 Chevy LS1 heads for our LS-swapped Nissan 350Z.
Yes, it's possible to change your crank's reluctor wheel at home.
Before we shoved a V8 under the hood of our tired Nissan 350Z, we needed to complete some laps on track.
Time to get our Nissan 350Z ready for its first track day.
We install and adjust the cam bearings in our LS1.
We try–and fail–to beat the system with a set of used 799 heads.
