One of the perks of being editors at Super Street is getting a 350Z delivered to our doorstep from a very grateful Nissan Corp. Sure, it's bone stock, but a 350Z nonetheless. It's a whole other story, however, when we climb into the passenger seat of GReddy's tuned version. There's something unique about this coupe; it's not just some fancy automobile that's been dumped and splattered with vinyl. Sitting underneath its hood is the company's latest prototype development: a twin turbocharger system that has the capacity to push the already potent 287hp VQ35DE powerplant up into the realm of 334.2hp. That may not sound like much, but at only 5.6psi, a slight bump in power feels like quite a bit, especially when you're riding shotgun and all you notice on the gauge cluster is the speedometer needle shooting upward and into oblivion. I must say, the GReddy Z is quite incredible.
A few hot sprints through Irvine, California, can leave you dazed, but the Z can bring you back to reality just as quickly. You see, the melodic hum of the VQ35 has a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde complex; if you drive it normally, it purrs. If you drive it like it should be driven, which is at wide-open throttle, it has the tendency to scream out loud, like a group of sex-crazed women at Chippendales. It was a shame we couldn't find any stock Zs or Infiniti G35 coupes roaming around that day. It would have been nice to pull up next to them, laugh to ourselves, and blow right past them. That's how wicked the GReddy Z makes one feel. Getting behind the steering wheel is like taking a quick hit of speed and believing you can fly, except this won't keep you up for a few days or get you arrested.
The actual turbocharger system is not as intricate as one would think. It's composed of two TD05H 18G turbines, a couple of Type S external wastegates, dual SUS header-type turbo manifolds, and a pair of Airinx AY-SB air filters. A quick glance in the engine bay reveals scarcely a trace of these parts as GReddy keeps it on the down-low, which is always a good thing. Located within the front air dam is a three-row, Type 23 front-mounted intercooler core set with custom-cast aluminum end-tanks. From the downpipes a fully stainless, dual-pipe Evolution muffler system runs rearward to relieve enough backpressure from the engine while delivering a nice exhaust tone. GReddy expects the smog certification for this turbo kit to be completed sometime this year, if not by the time you read this.
Sprinkled throughout and around the car are faint reminders of the Z legacy. The doorsills, floormats, and even the rear trunk brace are all coupled with the Z embodiment. But everywhere a Z could be found, the GReddy name would follow in some way, shape, or form, mostly by graphics. On the passenger-side footwell, the e-Manage piggyback engine control unit sat by itself, while custom-planted into the center console are the PRofec e-01 boost controller and e-Manage programmer. And if you weren't careful with your elbows, you might tweak the settings on the Tein EDFC control unit, which has electronic adjustments for the Tein Flex coilover suspension kit.
You're thinking, So it probably has a stiff ride, doesn't it? Well, yes, it does, but at the same time, the sacrifice in ride quality is rewarded with improved handling for most street conditions. And since the GReddy Z is easy to push beyond the legal speed limit, there must also be a brake system man enough to slow it down. That task is achieved with the GREX/Alcon six-pot brake kit, fully outfitted with 355mm rotors. Complementing the low stance are a set of 19x8.5 and 19x9.5 Volk GT-C wheels matched to a set of Nitto 555R rubber, which Nads claimed to have outgrown about 14 years ago. Or was that Club Rubber?