# Exciting New Nissan 370Z NISMO Team Update 2/4/11



## CasusManagement (Jan 16, 2011)

In the last post we wanted to introduce A.M. Performance to the forum. In this update we asked them to tell us why they chose the 370z as their car to compete in, as well as, what they have so far done to improve the cars. 


From Mike Sweeney,

We chose the 370 because we think it's a good package that can be made competitive. Our goal is to win races and championships in order to build our brand. In addition, Brian has a good relationship with the Nissan people from his time running the GT-R Time Attack car with Cobb Tuning last year. We also know that Grand Am wants new manufacturers in their series, and finally, we want to build a brand with A.M. Performance, offering parts and services for people who want real, effective, properly engineered, and motorsports proven performance parts for their cars. We saw a big opportunity in the Nissan community, as there just isn't that type of support out there for this brand. 

_We also think the 370's will look and sound badass, which is important, because race cars have to look and sound cool!_​













The team has so far stripped two of the cars down completely (as in not a single nut or bolt left on the chassis) to get sandblasted, and seam welded every seam on the cars! (The factory only spot welds, and there is significant rigidity to be found in seam welding) The third they stripped to a point where it can still be used to mock up parts, such as headers, exhaust, and suspension components. 


The car on the rotisserie they built for it.











The red spray paint is used as a guide for sandblasting. 











Aerial view of welding the bottom of the car. 











Seam welding in progress.











Close up of a new weld.











Completed seam welds in the front.











The bottom and front completely seam welded. 












They will also be developing and producing multiple suspension pieces for the car. The lower control arms and most of the links in the rear suspension will be included in this, and the pieces they make will be available to their customers. They will be running AST 5200 series dampers, as they think they are a better choice than the KONI 2800s, also allowed by Grand Am (those are the only two approved dampers). They plan on changing the springs from track to track and session to session, due to the varying conditions at each track. For braking, they plan on using Brembo front calipers and Nissan rear calipers, working with a Tevis racing ABS system. Finally, they are going to run the extremely sexy 18" Nissan Motorsport Volk Special wheels to fit the 245 front and 275 rear Continental slicks. (Test fitting shown below) 










*Keep checking for regularly posted updates.*

If you are interested in what has been posted so far, check out the following link:http://www.nissanforums.com/nissan-370z/164499-exciting-new-nissan-370z-nismo-team.html#post1329231



Other Cool Pictures


----------

