Article and photos - Japanese 280 ZX ("Mid Night Racing Team")

[jhaag]

I posted these photos (I added a few more) and the article last week as part of an interesting thread called "sexy sexy s130 body kit" (http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=122863&highlight=jhaag&page=2). I decided to make it a separate post so it is easier to find - please forgive the repost. The car is a Japanese 280 ZX that was featured on the Overboost website in 2002 after it appeared at the National Z-Car Convention in Las Vegas.

 

Many thanks to Paul (BRAAP) Ruschman for his tutorial (http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?p=783354) on “How To” Post pictures on HybridZ , the EASY way…"

 

John

 

This is the 280 ZX article from 2002 from Overboost (an apparently now defunct website)

 

"We did a one-day cannonball run out to Sin City from L.A. to check out the International Z Car Convention. As great as the show was our real reason for attending was the inclusion of a dozen privately owned Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) Z's that Nissan had shipped to the States especially for the event. In our search for the most incredible JDM car at the show, more often than not people kept directing us back to this red 280ZX.

 

At first glance, this car looked rather nondescript aside from the wide-body kit. After all, the car is a 1978 model. We found the answer to this Z's unique appeal with a closer look at the specs - 600hp and a top speed of over 300 km/h! That's equivalent to 186 mph for our metrically challenged readers. Further investigation revealed much more about this car and its owner as well.

 

"The cars at the Tokyo Auto Salon do not impress me," the Z's owner remarked with a nonchalant tone. "No matter how much horsepower they make, these (Auto Salon) cars will never impress me unless they are driven. Cars are meant to be driven." Take a close look at the front end of this Z - it shamelessly wears its battle scars with pride. Not only is this car driven, it is driven mercilessly.

 

The car is actually owned by a well-mannered gentleman by the name of Toshi from Tokyo, Japan. Toshi politely requested that we withhold his last name and remove his license plate numbers because the Japanese police take a very dim view on the street racing element and he feared retribution as a result of this story. This is also because Toshi belongs to the Mid Night Racing Team - one of the most famous street racing teams in Japan. Mid Night's membership mainly consists of Porsches, Zs, and Skyline GTRs. Mid Night also leaves the 1320 and drift competitions to the kiddies, because their need for speed could only be met through what Toshi calls "maximum velocity." Top Speed has always been a hallowed benchmark and the team's dramatic exploits have been documented in over 200 editorial features in most of the leading Japanese auto magazines and even Turbo, MAX Power U.K., and Denmark's Autoviz magazine.

 

We still wanted to know how this Z puts out over 600 hp and how Toshi pushed it over the 300 km/h mark (right after that run it was discovered that the Z was running on only five cylinders!). All of the 280's tuning was performed at ABR (Air Breathing Research) Hosoki Engineering. Among other notable accomplishments ABR built the World's fastest Soarer (basically a twin-turbo Lexus SC 300) which recorded a "maximum velocity" of 218 mph. ABR increased the capacity of the L28E powerplant to 3,100cc with its own forged pistons, rods, crankshaft and cams. The 280ZX's very mild single turbo system was tossed in favor of twin IHI RHC-6 VX55 compressors and 3P-13 turbines. Power transfer is handled via a Z31 300ZX Turbo 5-speed transmission with an ABR LSD. Engine management is courtesy of a Nissan genuine 16-bit ECU, GReddy PROFEC and REBIC III and an HKS GCC.

 

At 186 mph they say you have no friends, you also have no room for error and this is where the aerodynamics and suspension and brakes help control the prodigious amounts of horsepower it takes to bring a car up to this velocity. Toshi chose specially modified Bilstein dampers with TRD springs and 16-inch Panasport wheels wrapped with Bridgestone RE71 tires. Stopping distances are reduced with no less than R32 Skyline GTR calipers utilizing TRD rotors from a Supra racing application. Aero improvements come in the form of an ABR Original body kit with front and rear fenders, front spoiler, side skirts, rear valance, rear hatch spoiler and a vented hood.

In addition to this Z Toshi also owns a 1982 280ZX Turbo (with only slight modifications - just for fun), a 1990 300ZX Turbo (with heavy modifications - recorded a 291km/h top speed) and a non-modified 1999 300ZX Turbo as a daily driver. Obviously Toshi's love for Z's runs deep and when we asked him why he started to modify his Z he calmly replied, "To win against my rivals, that is all." With an arsenal like this at his disposal we would have to say that Toshi probably left more than a few of his rivals in his tremendous wake.

 

SPECS:

Car Specs

Mid Night Racing Team 1978 280ZX

Engine Type: Nissan L28E

 

Engine Mods: Capacity increased to 3,100cc with forged 89f pistons, ABR original rods, ABR original crankshaft, ABR original 268-degree camshafts with 12.9 mm lift, intake 46.5 mm, exhaust 38.0 mm, twin IHI RHC-6 VX55 compressors and 3P-13 turbines

 

Engine Management: Nissan genuine 16-bit ECU; GReddy PROFEC and REBIC III; HKS GCC

 

Drivetrain: Z31 300ZX Turbo 5-speed transmission 0.779 fifth gear ratio; ABR Original special LSD with 3.545 final gear ratio

 

Suspension: Specially modified Bilstein dampers with TRD springs

 

Brakes: R32 Nissan Skyline GTR calipers with TRD Supra Race rotors

 

Wheels: Panasport C5R 16x8 front, 16x9 rear

 

Tires: Bridgestone RE71 225/50R16 front, 245/45R16 rear

 

Exterior Mods: ABR Original body kit with front and rear fenders, front spoiler, side skirts, rear valance, rear hatch spoiler, hood

 

Interior Mods: Autometer tachometer; Blitz EGT; HKS water temperature, oil temperature, oil pressure and boost gauge; ABR Original rollcage; Recaro SPG driver seat, Recaro LS passenger seat; Sabelt four-point harnesses; Nismo D-shape steering wheel

 

Mobiletronics: N/A

 

Two hundred and sixteen miles per hour. Two hundred and sixteen miles per hour. Excuse the repetition, but we just like the way that sounds. Two hundred and sixteen miles per hour. The reason we are attracted to this particular velocity is that it is also the top speed of this Z car pictured here. These kind of numbers make this car the fastest, ahem, street legal Z in Japan.

 

We didn't exactly stumble upon this Beast from the East. We were introduced to this car through another newfound Japanese friend of ours, Toshi, who piloted his own Z car to more than 186 mph (click here to see the full feature)! Much like Toshi this Z's owner would only allow us publish his first name, Hiro, out of fear of retribution from the Japanese authorities. And when we asked him, through Toshi's bi-lingual skills, what he did for a living he would only tell us that he is self-employed. These guys are very secretive, and with good reason. If we spent our free time driving at speeds around the double-century mark on public highways, we wouldn't want the police to know who we are or what we do either. While Toshi belongs to the world famous Mid Night Racing Team Hiro belongs to a smaller club consisting of only two members. You might be wondering what kind of car the other member owns. It's a Toyota Soarer (a 7M-GTE-powered coupe) with a top end of 218 mph! Toshi, Hiro, the Soarer owner and the rest of the Mid Night Racing Team spend their late nights looking for areas of the Wangan Expressway where they can put these excessive machines to their own brand of top speed testing. One of the main directives of our Tokyo Auto Salon mission was to capture a video of the guys during some of their Wangan runs.

 

If you have any doubt to our claims of the top speed prowess of this Fairlady, its dramatic exploits (as well as those of the Mid Night Racing Team) have been documented in over 200 editorial features in most of the leading Japanese auto magazines and even Turbo, MAX Power U.K., and Denmark's Autoviz magazine. We were prepared to get some video footage of Hiro, Toshi and the rest of the guys in action, but we neglected one thing - a vehicle of our own (D'oh-OVB). So without our own wheels we were denied the chance to see these guys in action, although we will definitely be traveling back to the JDM in the near future, which will include a stop at the Hertz counter at the Narita airport. And although it was 0'dark thirty, Hiro was kind enough to allow us to take whatever pictures we could given the zero light setting. Since our new friend Hiro doesn't speak any English (which is far better than our Japanese skills) it made it hard to get the technical specs from him. With Toshi's help we were able to glean these little tidbits: the car has rocked the dyno rollers to the tune of over 800 hp to the rear wheels; the engine originally powered a Bonneville Salt Flats Fairlady to almost 400 km/h (250 mph); and most importantly, Hiro has no interest in any of these numbers or specs. He only cares about one thing - the maximum velocity he can wring out of this car. Toshi told us, "Hiro does not have any interest in the specifications. He only has an interest in how fast it is. Also, he believes that proper tuning and the perfect fuel management setup is much more important than the sum of the parts.

 

While Hiro makes a great point, we would still like to know what makes this Fairlady tick. From what we could make out in the very short but sweet spec sheet Hiro gave us the VG30DETT V-6 underwent a complete engine build-up, which includes 89 mm forged pistons, "Bonneville" spec camshafts and H-beam connecting rods. The twin turbo setup was upgraded with HKS GT3037S turbines and HKS GT wastegates mounted on a custom-made long type exhaust manifold, while the charge air is kept at a reasonable level with an ARC "special spec" front mount intercooler. To keep the fluid temps in check an oil cooler and high-flow radiator were also added. Increased fuel needs are met with 850 cc injectors and the out gases are expelled through dual 80 mm exhaust tips. Hiro's requirements for "perfect fuel management" are achieved with an HKS F-COM V-PRO and gear selection is assisted through a multi-puck racing clutch.

 

When Hiro's tearing up the Wangan at more than 200 mph he relies on ultra high performance (and ultra adhesive) 17-inch Yokohama Neova rubber wrapped around a mean-looking set of Panasport C5R five-spoke wheels. The Fairlady's suspension agility is improved with a trick set of Ohlins adjustable coilovers with remote reservoirs and when it comes time to haul the Z down to more sensible speeds Hiro relies on a Brembo racing kit.

 

One of the Overboosters was lucky enough to go for a brief ride with Hiro in the Fairlady (not lucky enough as he didn't get on it in the dense Tokyo traffic-OVB). As passengers and pilots, we've experienced enough street cars with buckets and harnesses (although Recaro SPGs with Willans belts are still very exclusive). But this car deceives your senses when Hiro fires it up. The lumpy cam idle, burbly exhaust and the electric fuel pump whirring away only inches behind your ears all scream Race Car. Not to mention the smell of the fuel and the chatter of the six individual clutch pucks rattling away with such vibration that you half expect to lose some vital transmission pieces as you pull away. Hiro actually drives this circuit crusher nearly every day. The antiquated steering wheel is actually a Datsun Competition model that Hiro acquired before he even owned the car. His love for Nissans runs deep. In fact he owned a Z31 prior to this Fairlady but an accident sidelined his modification plans.

 

The exterior is made more aerodynamically sound with the addition of a complete Bomex aero kit including a ducted hood. Some of Hiro's future plans involve the addition of a wide-body kit but much of the funding earmarked for this Z involves maintenance on the performance mods. The combination of the extreme engine build-up and Hiro's top speed exploits make for frequent rebuilds and part replacements. In regards to other future upgrades Hiro can only smile and tell us that his need for speed mirrors most people's lust for money - you can never have enough.

 

Car Specs

 

JDM Nissan Z32 300ZX

 

Engine Type: VG30DETT V-6

 

Displacement: 3.0L

 

Engine Mods: Complete engine build-up including 89 mm forged pistons, "Bonneville" spec camshafts, H-beam connecting rods, oil cooler, high-flow radiator; 850 cc injectors; HKS GT3037S turbines (2), HKS GT wastegates, custom-made long type exhaust manifold, ARC "special spec" front mount intercooler; dual 80 mm exhaust tips

 

Engine Management: HKS F-COM V-PRO

 

Drivetrain: Multi-puck racing clutch

 

Suspension: Ohlins adjustable coilovers with remote reservoirs

 

Brakes: Brembo racing kit

 

Wheels: Panasport C5R 8JJx17, 9JJ-17

 

Tires: Yokohama Neova 235/45ZR17, 265/40ZR17

 

Exterior Mods: Bomex aero kit (including front clip, side skirts, rear bumper, rear spoiler and aero ducted hood)

 

Interior Mods: Recaro SPG seats (2) with Willans harnesses, Datsun Competition steering w

[BRAAP]

Is there any way you can insert the pics into your posts instead of just links?

 

Also, none of those links worked.

 

 

Thank you for sharing all this cool Datsun info,

Paul

[datsun40146]

c'mon none of the links worked, I really want to see these cars.

[veritech-z]

These cars are dope! They worked on the other thread, and I posted one of the front end pics of the S130 to it...I'll see if it will transfer to this thread.

[veritech-z]

Check out some of this guy's aero tricks. Notice the sheet metal filler plate next to the gas tank in the rear view, and how the opening in the front is sealed to the intercooler.

 

According to the article the bodykit was made custom by ABR, but I've found pics of a second car with the same fenders (though that car was equipped with the elusive S130 g-nose). It may not have been a full production run, but they must have made at least a few kits...

[veritech-z]

The car I stumbled across on a google image search for Z31 of all things:

[jhaag]

Thanks for posting the photos, Max! I fixed the original links.

 

May I ask how you posted the photos instead of just the links?

 

Thanks

 

John

[veritech-z]

went to the old thread and clicked on the links, they took me to your hybridz photo album. I just right clicked on the image and copied it, then pasted it into the thread. If you are going to copy the url, you have to use the picture button, the one with the mountain on it, and then paste the url in the box.