02-16-07: good things come in small packages and this is proof... the Alta Performance antenna for the Mini makes a great antenna for the 350Z as this shot shows... the fit is much better than the S2K one (I had that previous to this) and the reception is comparable with the big stock one. Solid aluminum makes for a great build. Really happy about it!

Thanks to Mike Lee (http://www.mike-lee.org) for the tip on this one! Get one here:http://www.altaminiperformance.com/products/show/289/Shorty-and-Super-Shorty-Antennas

This is the shorty version, I did not want to get the super-shorty one as it seems to be too short (at least for my taste).

04-22-07: Top Secret front diffuser in carbon fiber is now installed! Really good fit and relatively easy install.

Thanks to the guys @ Bulletproof Automotive (http://www.bulletproofautomotive.com) for taking the order and making this happen in under 3 months!; thanks also go to the guys @ Flash Car for renting me a lift and giving me a helping hand on the install.

For those wondering, the center panel has a different weave: the diffuser is 1X1, very tight. The center panel is 2X2. The color is close enough to go by.

And can you guys see all those chips in the paint? I guess that we will have to do something about it soon...

06-09-07: See something new here? Well, yeah, the not so nice strut bar is gone, gone, gone!

Frank's workshop was nice enough to schedule me for a Saturday appointment and we got to work on the plenum spacer install + dry Carbon Fiber Aerosync strut bar replacement (got it from the Gruppe-S guys, thanks for a great deal!!). Both works were a breeze and I was out on the street getting the car used to yet another N/A mod.

I think that the time has finally come for something like a UTEC or e-Manage... I do not think I am getting the best of my mods so far.

Anyway, JWT clutch and flywheel are waiting in the living room, these guys look good and should be in the car in the next few weeks...

Also on the works at this point: DAMD rear diffuser in carbon fiber, Tanabe Sustec Stabilizers, TS Style Seibon CF Hood with Aerocatch hood-pins, custom Homelink Mirror with built-in Valentine One radar detector display, SAMCO coolant + radiator hoses with Pi-thon clamps... lots of fun!!!

07-05-07: Ok the DAMD rear diffuser is finally here and it was an easy install... so I picked it up at the customs office and drove home to get it done.

The install was pretty straight forward and the fit perfect. I also installed the Bulletproof Automotive license plate frame (while I get the Nismo one I want). I think that this looks great on the car... I had my doubts even when I ordered, but now that is done, there are no regrets!

Now to think about the sideskirts... DAMD are ringing loud on my head right now, I love the design and the fact that they do not lower the car at all. We will see!

07-20-07: I got the SAMCO hoses this week and already had the Pi-thon clamps ready... so this morning I got to it and decided to install only three of the four hoses (the lower radiator hose was not an option today, I had no time to take off the diffuser and the whole stuff).

The install instructions I got from http://www.350zmotoring.com DIY section worked great for what I needed. I did not purge the whole thing but instead used a pump to take out only the upper portion of the coolant in the system. That part was ok...

The problem was that I actually forgot to purge the heating system side, so when I first tested the car, the temperature rose alarmingly. A friend helped me out with the new purge cycle and this time everything worked fine! It got me scared there for a moment!

On a side note, I just ordered the Evo-R carbon fiber interior trim and a couple days ago I got my SEIBON TS hood... I was literally itching to get it done before the weekend, but my usual workshop had 21 cars waiting for installs and they could not guarantee me that the car would be ready. So I wait for a couple weeks.

08-02-07: Well, I got from Austin, TX today and one interesting package has already arrived from West Covina Nissan: Nismo floor mats and Nismo CF B-Pillar covers!

I have been after these for a while now and I am pretty happy to have found them both at a great price and at the same place.

The mats are sized perfectly and look great. The quality is on par with the stock ones and they have the same type of reinforcement the stock ones have (the ones with the 'Z' came stock in my car). A great value!

On other news, I just tested CIPHER from UpRev! What a great software package to monitor real time on your car! I was impressed when I got news about it, and since these guys are Austin based, I paid them a visit. I got the OSIRIS tuning package that includes CIPHER and OSIRIS, but since my car is not USDM I just had the chance to dump my ECU data and send it over to Jared for analysis. I hope to get good news from him at some point.

Meanwhile, I will do some logging on the street and will try to go to the dyno this weekend to get some logs from there too. If OSIRIS proves compatible with my car, then I will have some good data for the tune.

Learn more about CIPHER and OSIRIS at http://www.uprev.com !

08-02-07: These B-Pillar covers look great!

I have to say that the picture does them no justice at all, they look a thousand times better in person!

The installation was a 4 minutes thing including the cleaning of the area: it does not get easier than this.

Now waiting for the Evo-R carbon fiber trim for the interior... it is on its way to my Miami location as I write this!

08-07-07: Finally, the Evo-R carbon fiber dash layovers got here and I just could not leave them alone :-)

I installed them in a couple hours with lots of patience and little adhesive (Jay, send more tape next time, dammit!!!)

Anyway, the 'preliminary' install was pretty good and I will make some minor adjustments when I get some time. I need to trim a couple places, put more adhesive in others and some other minor details.

The quality of the kit is great and it is really thin... you can literally see through it when it is not installed.

08-30-07: At last the clutch and flywheel are changed and they are awesome!!! No chatter from the flywheel at all and great accelleration... I weighed the stock one and it was roughly 27lbs... the JWT one is just 14lbs ;-)

Also, since the transmission was getting off the car, it was a great time to get both the EVO-R Titanium shift knob and the Redline Goods leather boot installed at last... I installed the knob without a finisher, but it looks fine. I will keep looking for the finisher though.

I also finished off the CF cover install for the lower side with adhesive spray... it worked much better than I expected. Now I need to finish off the rest.

09-14-07: Yesterday I got a Braille B2015C battery for my car and the mounting kit... It looks great. This morning I spent half an hour getting it into the car and I am astounded by the great cranking power and constant output... it is even better than the stock battery. The stock weighed at 35 pounds while this baby did at 15 pounds... not a bad way to let 20 pounds go!