New AME/Fatlace Wheels

Everything old is new again! Fatlace recently teamed up with AME Japan to resurrect 2 classic JDM style wheels while stepping up fitments to more modern levels.

First up is the FZero1, which comes in 15×8.5 and 15×9.5 sizes in both 4×114.3 and 4×100 bolt patterns with a very classic mesh spoke pattern. 15×8.5 4×114.3 features offsets of -6 or +15. 15×9.5 with 4×114.3 features offsets of 0 and +15. 15×8.5 and 15×9.5 in 4×100 bolt pattern both feature offsets +16 or +25. All sizes and offsets feature a 2 inch lip. They are available in a Nickle finish or Asphalt. Each wheel includes metal valvestems and stylish center caps, adding a very upscale touch despite their low price.

AME-Fatlace FZero1 and Fzero2

The FZero2 is a very 70’s inspired slotted disk face. These come in 15×8.5 and 15×9.5 sizes in both 4×114.3 and 4×100 bolt patterns with a very classic mesh spoke pattern. 15×8.5 4×114.3 features offsets of -6 or +15. 15×9.5 with 4×114.3 features offsets of 0 and +15. 15×8.5 and 15×9.5 in 4×100 bolt pattern both feature offsets +16 or +25. All sizes and offsets feature a 2 inch lip. They are available in a Nickle or Granite finish, and again metal valvestems and center caps are included.

Squared setups (same width all around) are $780 for the full SET in 15×8.5, $820 for the full set in 15×9.5. Staggered setups (15×8.5 front, 15×9.5 rear) are $800 for the set of 4 wheels!

To order, just drop us a line at z1sales@z1auto.com

Great Wheel Deal Through Saturday May 10

A great looking mesh wheel at an awesome price!

18×8.5, 5×100, 5×120 and 5×114 bolt patterns. Opal spokes with a polished lip: $688 shipped in the 48 states, includes center caps!

18×9.5, 5×100, 5×120 and 5×114.3 bolt patterns. Opal spokes with a polished lip: $699 shipped in the 48 states, includes center caps.

A range of offsets are available. If you’re not sure what you need, drop us a line

International shipping available as well contact us by clicking here

International shipping is available

Cusco Roll Bars Explained

There seems to forever be a debate about Cusco roll bars and cages. They are often used in Japan, and as such, customers here want them for that reason alone. Secondly, they have a tremendously broad range of applications, so one is available for a ton of different cars. However, what many people don’t realize, is there are more than 1 type of roll bars and cages. Each has a specific purpose, a specific construction. With this entry, I hope to clear up some of the confusion, so people understand each one in a clearer way.

First up, you have the often-seen “Blue” rollbar and/or cage. This is called their D1 Spec. As you may have guessed, it is named as such because they are legal for use in the D1 Drift events. Granted, they are offered for a wide array of cars, and many of these cars will likely never drift. But this is what their design, manufacturing, material selection and mounting is geared towards. They also can be ordered in many other colors besides blue, but of course, for this part, that is the signature color. These are made of 40mm diameter chromoly, they bolt in, and are offered in 4 point through 8 point mounting.

Next up, are the Safety21 line of roll bars and cages. These differ significantly from the blue D1 spec units, in that they are made of 40mm cold drawn seamless carbon steel. They are available in 4-14 point in both bolt in and weld in mounting. The Safete21 units are used in Cusco’s GT300 efforts as well as in many of their club level rally cars. Some have FIA approval, depending on the number of points, and the application. These generally come finished in black, though again, custom colors are available. They have larger mounting and reinforcement plates vs the D1 spec units as well.

Lastly, you have Cusco’s ASN-FIA Spec cages.These are full Regulation J spec cages, weld in only, and used in WRC as well as GT class racing.

If you have any questions about the right unit for your car, just drop us a line at z1sales@z1auto.com

The Harder Rocking Pantera

Designed by an American, built in Italy, powered by good old USDM iron – the De Tomaso Pantera was always a bit of an anomaly of the sports car world. Only about 7200 were ever made, from its debut in 1972 till the final one rolled off the line in 1991.

Our customer contacted us with a unique request for his even more unique Pantera. His car has a host of very custom parts, including some carbon fiber components. To compliment this updated look, he wanted to update the aerodynamics as well. We spec’d out a custom made APR GTC-500 spoiler, with bespoke offset mounting brackets to allow it to custom blend with the rear hatch lines.

This isn’t some show queen though, as it has plenty of brute force under the Italian bodywork. A Roush Yates engine powers this redheaded stepchild. Future plans call for a custom carbon rear diffuser, which is already in the works, and a custom front carbon splitter as well.

Anything but Neutral

We were contacted over the winter to get hold of one of the very rare and exclusive Prodrive steering wheels and Works Bell hub for a client in Switzerland. Recently got some installed pics and wanted to share them! This was installed into a European spec WRX

Improving the View in Paradise

Dmitri recently sent us pics of his gorgeous STi, all the way from New Caledonia!

He received a set of Ganador mirrors from us, which he had painted to match the car.

AP Racing Radi-Cal Big Brake Kits

We are now offering the full Radi-Cal big brake kit setups from AP Racing. This caliper design has raced successfully the world over, and is now optimized so that even a street car can take advantage of them. Some features that separate these setups from others, Firstly, these use a forged caliper, which are both lighter and stiffer than a typical cast caliper used in other big brake kits. One of the neatest aspects of these kits are they were designed to be user friendly. Not only are they a total bolt on, but from a servicing standpoint, they offer very quick and easy pad changes with the removable forged “H” brace at the top of the caliper. The caliper stays mounted to the car, and pads are quickly able to be swapped out.

The pistons are staggered hard anodized aluminum for equalized pad pressure, which in turn promotes better bite, more consistent brake torque, and the best pad wear possible. Dust seals are incorporated to ensure long life and minimal running costs.

The kits are all designed around OEM ABS and traction control systems as well, so no guesswork involved from a chassis setup standpoint. While many nowadays fit a big brake kit simple for their aesthetic value, AP has gone a long way to ensure these are both beautiful as well as the most durable calipers out there – they are both anodized and high temp painted, not just one or the other.

The disks used in these kits are directionally curve vane vented for maximum air flow through the disc. AP Racing’s unique curve vaned discs are Dyno and race proven as the best designed rotors for optimized cooling. The curve vane rotor acts an air pump pulling air into the center of the rotor and blowing it through the veins and out of the top of the rotor. This act allows the rotor to be self-cooling and work extremely efficiently.

AP Racing’s Wide Disc Technology (WDT) is used for the most efficient way to transfer heat to from the disc. Designs using wider discs with larger air gaps increase air flow rates within the discs as proven by AP Racing’s FEA, CFD and TSA testing. This goal was achieved while not increasing disc weight or disc stress and decreasing disc temperatures by up to 300 degrees F.

The disks are of course a 2 piece design, with anodized 6061 T-6 hats. That in and of itself isn’t necessarily “news”, but what is interesting is how they mount. These hats use 12 point mounting vs the 10 point that is more typically found. What’s more, these use floating hardware for the hat to disk which allows both components axial and radial movement. This allows each to cool quicker and more efficiently, while simultaneously allowing the disk to remain centered relative to the caliper. That feature then pays the user big dividends by significantly limiting pad knockback.

The disks also feature the J Hook slot design which increases frictional surface area across the rotor face but without being prone to cracking, like in a cross drilled rotor under extreme temperature swings. We can also offer the kits with a combination slotted/drilled rotor for those that prefer such a configuration.

The pads supplied are true dual purpose

The last piece to the puzzle is of course the brake lines. These can often be a weak link with other offshore kits, but not so with AP. They are made by Goodridge and feature fully extruded PTFE inner sections wrapped in a high strength stainless braid that is both corrosion and fire resistant. This is then all wrapped with a clear outer sleeve as well.

These kits are being offered initially for a wide range of vehicles including the Audi A4/S4 and A5/S5, BMW 3 series, Z4, M3 and M5, Cadillac CTS-V models, Camaro, C5-C7 Corvette, the various SRT-8 models, Mustang, Infiniti G (G25, G35, G37), FX (FX35, FX45, FX50 and M models (M35 and M45), Jeep, and the 350Z/370Z, with additional models to appear. We will be offering free shipping through March 31, 2014, as well as free brake fluid as well (from several choices, depending on your individual needs).

For all retail and wholesale inquiries, contact us at z1sales@z1auto.com

Gauntlet Is Thrown

Varis is one of the few JDM firms left that are still turning out exciting designs. For 2014, they have their widebody kit for the Subaru Impreza WRX STi. 35mm wider than stock up front, 38mm wider out back with a range of carbon or FRP options. Pieces can thoughtfully be purchased as a full kit or individually. Varis items are all hand made, not mass produced, and fit and finish is absolutely first rate. As such, they are not inexpensive to produce, but that also means you won’t find replicas, and you won’t find 100 cars with them installed.

Tanabe Springs for your new Infiniti Q Ship

Tanabe NF-210 Sport Springs Infiniti Q50

The Infiniti Q50 (the replacement/rebadging of the G37) is a new car to the market, and Tanabe already has you covered as far as getting your height in order. Their NF (Normal Feel) springs maintain the luxury ride of these awesome cars, but lower your stance 1 inch in the front, .6 inches out back. Click the picture to order a set for your car!

New Plug and Play Engine Management for 350Z and G35

AEM Infinity Series ECU

AEM’s Infinity series ECU is now available with a plug and play harness for all 2003-2006 350Z and G35’s with Manual Transmission only (will not support automatics).

This is one of the fastest, most powerful ecu’s on the market at any price point, with a feature list that reads like many higher priced units.

Full Drive by wire control, supports factory widebands on 04.5+ models, full CAN support (so your gauges, check engine light, traction control VDC all remain functional), programmable 3 step rev limiter, even the ability to store and cycle through multiple maps via the cruise control switch.

Click the picture above to read more about it, or to place your order.

Gussied Up Hawkeye

Burnout…..

The Sparco Sale

 

Take another 5% off all Sparco, and get free shipping in the 48 states, and 50% savings on shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, and PR.  Discounted international rates available too.

This applies to seats, steering wheels, harnesses, suits….don’t miss out!   Click the logo above to contact us

 

 

 

Do it in the Dirt

Yesterday we showed some clips of a rallycross 911.  But that was when the car was all nice and shiny and driving on tame, paved roads.  Here are some clips of the car in it’s more natural habitat…enjoy!

As expected, the car wears venerable Braid wheels, some of the strongest, and affordable street and competition wheels you can buy!

Why Stressing Over Tire Size is Useless

One of the most frequent questions we get is “what size tire do you recommend?”.  The most correct, but least awaited answer we can give is “It depends”.  Because frankly, tire size doesn’t really mean a whole heckuva lot. 

We’ve been taught, through some sort of mythical passdown of inaccurate information, that the first number in a tires size (let’s say, 275) is it’s width, in mm.  If that were true, things would be simple.  When you go into a store to buy a new shirt, you see the same phenomenon.  Some firms clothing runs bigger (or smaller) than others.    You may wear a 34 jean from one company, and a 36 from another.  Modifying a car is similarly inconsistent, and rarely is simple.  While the first number in a tires size CAN be it’s width in mm, it’s more often than not, a general target of width.  Now, on an otherwise stock car, this doesn’t really matter.  When you start altering suspension, dropping the car an inch (or more), fitting super wide, super low offset wheels, your margin for error decreases exponentially.  As the Pauli Exclusion Principal generally states (and was reinforced by Einstein and many others), 2 objects cannot occupy the same physical space at the same time.  So in the interest of avoiding tire contact with the body of the car, with suspension components, with the inner fender liners, etc, things become more complicated. 

This pictue is one Kwame posted several years ago, and it illustrates the point perfectly.

 

If you saw the above picture, which tire would you say is bigger?  The one on the left clearly.  But on paper, the tire on the right is bigger.  Both are mounted on the same 11.5 inch wide wheels.  The tire on the left is a  Michelin PS2, 295/30/19. The tire on the right is a Pirelli PZero, 305/30/19.  If you’re trying to get more “stance”, or gain a bigger footprint, which would you rather have?  The one with the bigger number on the receipt, or the one with the bigger physical dimension? 

Here is another picture of the same above example: 295/30/19 PS2 on left, 305/30/19 PZero on the right

 

So what do you do?  Check the manufacturers site!  Everyone should have the physical dimensions of their tires, in inches, for every corresponding ‘size’ listed on their website. 

 

Built with a Purpose

A 911 built to rally

 

 

Paul, we need some in-dirt footage next 😉