Posted on Speedhunters.com; The Z32 is one of those cars that has never basked in the same limelight as the Skyline GT-R and Toyota Supra. It's a pity, as it is a great ride and like Kitabayashi-san of Pentroof likes to show us with this bright orange example, one with tons of potential. This is by far the most powerful and impressive Z32 I have ever shot and had the pleasure of riding in, one that really made me respect the good old 300ZX, a car that is now 20 years old! The idea with this project was to create a very powerful Z, capable of running with the fastest cars on the wangan. Like the Revolfe Supra we saw yesterday the problem with creating powerful rear wheel drive wangan racers is dealing with rear end stability and grip. To get over this problem Kitabayashi-san fitted a massive adjustable carbon GT-wing... ...along with the carbon rear diffuser, which stabilizes the Z at speed helping it stick to the ground easier. The rear Pentroof bumper is cut out in order to channel additional air smoothly away from the car. Up front the Z32 sports a Pentroof bumper with tons of air intakes cut into it, after all the big VG30DETT motor requires a lot of cooling sitting in that tight engine bay! Lightweight CE28Ns were chosen, finished off in a special-order metallic silver. They measure 9Jx18" at the front and 10Jx18" at the rear. For the best possible grip Kitabayashi-san went with a set of Yokohama Advan A048 semi-slick tires, 245/45/18 up front and 255/40/18 out back. The braking was upgraded with F50 front calipers and Lotus ones at the rear, both made by Brembo. Sticker says it all! Handling is kept in check by a set of special HKS dampers built to Pentroof's spec and set up by Kitabayashi-san. Ride height is kept nice and low, giving a planted look to the Z32 from every angle you look at it. The custom Pentroof titanium exhaust system starts off with ? 60 mm piping, moving on to ? 70 mm and ending up with twin ? 90 mm tips which protrude pretty aggressively from the bumper. I don't know what was more surprising when I first lifted the paper-light carbon hood, the amount of tuning bits in there or just how packed it all looks! To strengthen the VG bottom end Kitabayashi-san balanced the stock crank and mated it to Tomei connecting rods and forged ? 89 mm Tomei pistons. The heads were ported and polished and fitted with upgraded valve springs and 260? camshafts, all top of the line products made by Tomei. HKS GT2530 turbochargers take care of supplying the boost, carried to the intake plenums via custom piping. 668 PS are developed at 6,200 rpm but it's the killer mid-range that makes this car so darn fast out on the street, with a max of 77.8 kgm being developed at 4,680 rpm. Tire-shredding stuff! You can see the twin Trust intercoolers through the central opening of the bumper. There was no way the stock transmission would be able to take almost 80 kgm of torque so an OS Giken 5-speed close ratio gear-set was fitted along with an OS Giken twin plate clutch. A Tomei LSD was chosen to complete the driveline upgrades. One of the things I like most about this Z32 is the interior. Everything has been kept very simple, like the non-intrusive roll-cage to stiffen up the shell. The HKS bucket seats replace the stock comfort-oriented ones... ...while the Sabelt suede-clad steering wheel is fitted to a Super-GT-style lift-up boss. Additional equipment includes a big AutoMeter tacho, HKS boost controller and four GReddy gauges fitted in the glove box. Kitabayashi-san took me out for a pretty crazy run on the wangan going full out through every gear until we hit the top of fifth. The acceleration comes at you with an unrelenting urge and felt more savage once we hit third gear when wheel-spin was no longer an issue. The head-snapping torque was as impressive as the powerful Brembo brakes which shaved off speed instantly when leaned on hard. I would really like to see more Z32s like this out on the streets of Japan, the potential is definitely there! -Dino Dalle Carbonare
cheers. I didn't even realise this last revision was a 2+2. Only seen it fly around tracks breifly in some jap videos. I guess this confirms the fact 2+2s handle better as penroof dumped the original 2+0 car in favour of building a 2+2. I'm liking the mild flares on the rear guards too, so subtle you can barely notice them, gonna try and copy this on mine.
Thanks for sharing. I've known of this Z for some time, but have never found decent pics of it (til now). I have added a few to the facebook Z32 fan page
Excellent write up ...did i spy original tweed on the interior? Wikkid car and great to see the Z32 getting the press it deserves
you got that right. thinking about it, maybe the problem is the "car scene" as it is is about "bang for buck" with minial effort. I bet if Zoom test drove a de-badged fezza they'd compain it was expensive to maintain, and needed too regular servicing, and didn't have enough After market support LOL The Zed IS the poor mans Ferrari...so Zoom can keep it's little 4 bangers and rice buckets
I believe HPI magazine had an article on this zed back in 07 , they where very impressed . lost the mag now though ... I do still have a set of HPI playing cards floating around somewhere though , one the cars on them is this one
The one time HPI don't talk shit on zeds, and you go and lose the mag?! Seriously though, can someone explain to me why everyone is wet over the "Pentroof Z32"? All I can see is someone who took a bunch of brand name Jap gear, slapped it on a Z and then painted said Z a hideous colour. There is no "theme" or flow like with other brand name tuners, look at Tommy Kaira m30z for instance, there's a quality edition Z. This one looks like some NS.com kids did the interior, Sydney's SAU.com members decided on exterior paint, and for the engine bay they just consulted our very own LOWZX! -Kirill
I am. Also, perhaps you could explain why there are m3 mirrors on it? Considering every second Honda Civic has those tacked onto it, as well as the alignment / fitment of the bodykit ain't that great. Car just looks like a local put it together. Cheap and tacky. I don't buy into the "Pentroof" sticker crap, sorry. -Kirill
i agree with some of what you're saying kirill, keep in mind though this is more aimed at circuit, not show so of course there isn't showcar bodykit fitment and paint. that camber is also spot on for handling on a circuit, not so useful on the street. i do think our very own slot car is going to be a lot faster but it's also had a lot more R&D put into it. just take it for what it is, the pentroof cars have always been a balance between street and circuit with a bit more focus on circuit and in the vid i posted up previously when tsuchiya drove it it was the lightly tuned version and he thought they got the balance right. btw i think this car does tsukuba in around 1:02, a very respectable time for what's essentially still a streetable car.
iv still got the hpi mag it was in cant bring myself to throw it out, i found a forsale add for it a while back i think i posted a link for the add, Its the nicest z ever and since pentroof lost all its body kit moulds in a fire the value of that kit would be huge haha edit: theres the link http://www18.ocn.ne.jp/~mamiana/nissan-fairlady300zx-pentroof-photos.html
personally im a fan, 2k rear lights and a 2k spec front bar and it would bealmost spot on.. except for the color.
Water/Air separator tank! Never seen one on a VG before. I think I will need one on the VH as it has some coolant lines well above the top of the radiator. Anyone seen them cheap anywhere?
