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Kirk's Nismo 350Z
Nearly all Japanese automakers have a division of their brand devoted solely to motorsports. Honda has Mugen, Toyota has TRD, Subaru developed Subaru Technica International, Mitsubishi is Ralliart, and Mazda created Mazdaspeed. But it’s possible that out of all of the racing divisions of the top Japanese manufacturers, Nissan’s Nismo division is the largest of them all. Founded in the fall of 1984, Nismo has been very successful in a number of different automotive racing including Super GT, Super Taikyu, Formula Nippon, and even the 24 hours of Le Mans. In fact, the world famous Nismo Xanavi Z is one of the top two teams in this year’s Super GT series in Japan. In addition to road racing, Nismo manufactures performance products and accessories for Nissan sports cars. When the 350z was released back in late 2002, Nissan made a factory Nismo tuned version of the car available to the public. All of the products produced for the Nismo 350Z are a direct result of the racing technology that is applied to their racing Fairlady Zs tearing it up on the tracks around the world.
Kirk C. of Greencastle, PA was able to get his piece of the Nissan racing pie when he purchased the Redline 350Z you see here. Equipped with factory Nismo cold air intake, exhaust, body pieces and trademark Nismo/Rays LM GT4 wheels, the Nismo 350Z should be enough to satisfy most owners who lust for speed and the feel of a race car. However, there are always some enthusiasts who want more out of their car. Kirk is one of these people. When researching new parts to put on his vehicle, Kirk also wanted to find a performance shop that he could trust to work on his beloved Z. During his search he discovered 350Z and G35 specialists at Altered Atmosphere Motorsports and decided to take a small drive down from Pennsylvania to Maryland to discuss a modification path with the experienced staff at Altered Atmosphere. Shortly after his arrival, he was given a tour of the facility and an appointment was scheduled for the installation of AAM Spec 3 inch test pipes, an AAM Spec ECU Flash, and a Jim Technology Clutch kit.
Kirk brought his Z down again early in the morning and the Altered Atmosphere technicians immediately began work on the vehicle. After the AAM Test pipes, AAM ECU flash and Jim Wolf Clutch Kit were installed, the car was tuned on our in house dyno by the owner of Altered Atmosphere. Kirks car saw significant gains with the AAM Spec Test Pipes and ECU Flash, and Kirk was pretty impressed with the more aggressive sound, as well. This just goes to show that even though Nismo makes great product, but there is always room for improvement.
