It’s official – the car season has started here in Regina. For me, a few things mark the start of the season. Majestics and Defrost are two of the biggest, but for me the official kick-off is my first feature. And I must say this is one of my all-time favorites. Purchased a few years ago from Santa Clara, California, Tynan Kuntz’s 2007 Nissan 350Z Nismo is number 612 of the 1,500 originally brought over to the United States in 2007 and 2008. After a little research, I learned the differences between the Nismo and the originally manufactured chassis. 1,606 350Z’s were pulled off the line by a Japanese company called Autech, which specializes in customizing Nissans. Autech welded all the seams of the unit-body by hand, something done to any serious race car to improve rigidity and get rid of unwanted chassis flex. Autech also prepares Nissan’s entries in the Super GT series over in Japan, including tuning their engines.
Based on the Super GT champ car, the Nismo package also includes a pretty impressive aero package. The aggressive front bumper, front splitter, side skirts, extended rear bumper, underbody diffuser and rear wing really set this car apart from all the other 350Z’s. Out of the 1,606 produced, 1,500 of them made their way over the Pacific Ocean to the United States. Really putting the car on another level are the huge 20 inch Work VS XX’s Tynan purchased from California over the last winter. The specs are 20×9.5 +17 in the front with a 10mm spacer and 20×10.5 +13 in the rear with a 5mm spacer – all bolted together with Project KICs R40 neo chrome lug nuts.
Suspension mods comprise of RS-R Sports-I series coilovers, an ARC strut tower bar and an ASM Torsion Support Bar. Another big part of Autech’s job was to install specially-made Yamaha mass dampers between the left and right side frame members underneath the chassis to control vibration in the newly seam-welded body. It’s sort of cool to know that these mass dampers came from Honda’s Formula 1 team, where Yamaha supplied the same design of dampers.
Inside the interior are a pair of brand new Bride Digo seats with the classic gradation, Takata 4 point harnesses, an Enjuku K-style harness bar and an ARC shift nob. Simple yet very effective in the small 2-seat cabin.
Under the hood sits a VQ35HR (HR stands for high-revving) with Injen cold air intakes, ARC oil cap, radiator cap and a Bully Dog GT Tuner. Letting the exhaust flow in the best-sounding way is an Invidia Gemini catback exhaust with Invidia test pipes in lieu of catalytic converters.
I was super glad he made the trip from S’toon for the shoot, despite the weather during Defrost weekend. I’m also hoping more cars like this will be in town for Fallout! I have a good feeling for this summer and the features to come so keep checking in on Facebook, Instagram and of course, the website.