Dembflyr

I guess I have come to the point where I've done enough with the car to warrant a build thread.

Disclaimer: This will be a long thread initially. I realized while writing this that I've actually done a lot to this car and I can't leave anything out. Sorry for that but I'm a fairly thorough person. Must be my type-A personality. I just wish that translated to keeping a clean garage when I work on the car. I wind up with tools and parts everywhere. I wish I could be like Turbo Tom.

I'm also going to preface this with a story. Those who bore easily or just came for the pictures can scroll down.

First I need to go back. Way back to April 2010 when I picked up my 2009 370z sport / touring.


This car was my gift to myself for paying off my student loan 8 years early.
Instead of going through the history of that car I will just link my journal from the370z.com here.

That car needs to be mentioned as I wouldn't have built such an affinity for the Infiniti / Nissan brand without my Z.
Affinity for Infiniti... see what I did there.

Short story is I met a girl and we got married. Upon learning, a few months later, that my wife was pregnant I decided that the Z would have to go.
She has a son from a previous marriage and my single life car had just become.... eek... impractical.
My intention was to sell and immediately get a G37 sedan. That changed when we realized that, if I just drove my (paid off) Saturn for a couple more years, my wife could quit her job and stay home with the baby. It really was not a hard decision at all. We welcomed our beautiful baby girl in July 2013.

Fast forward to early 2015 and I started to get the itch again.
Looked at many different cars. WRX, 5.0 Mustang, BMW 3 series, all of these were on the radar. But I kept coming back to the G sedan. I knew the platform from my Z and it just works. Lots of aftermarket support was an important factor as well. I can't leave anything alone.

I started to look seriously for a 2011-2013 G37S sedan around March 2015. I made my search even more difficult because only a true Sport model would do. 6MT all the way. I further complicated again when I was only interested in red or white exterior and black interior.

Those of you who have looked for a 6MT sedan know the difficulty of finding one. I want to slap dealers that call the AT a manual transmission because it has paddles.
Even more difficult than finding one is finding one that is in decent condition and close enough geographically to make sense in buying it. That last part didn't affect me as I am able to get anywhere in the country on any airline for free. For once I had made my search a little easier as I could look all over the country.


I wound up finding my 2012 G37S with just shy of 38,000 miles in Nashville, TN. This was only a 4 hour drive from me. Didn't make sense to airline down there and they made me a great offer on the Saturn so I decided to trade it in.



Loved this car. Treated me so well for 10 years and 100,000 miles.

Here is the G when I got it home.


So on to the good stuff. This car is my daily. With that in mind I knew it wouldn't get the turbo treatment that my Z got. However, I did have plans to make some appearance and a couple of performance mods.

Even before I went to pick it up I had ordered the GTR button and the JSolo helper spring. Those were the first mods the next day along with a good clean and polish of the exhaust tips.



I also removed the INFINITI badge from the rear as it was missing the last I.


I always thought the driving lights (fog lights) for these cars were silly. They didn't do much to help light the road and didn't match the HID headlights.
I got in on a group buy from the retrofit source on a set of LED lights that fit in the factory location. These are a perfect fit and make a nice difference.


I then decided to do a mod that I had done to the Z. I dyed the seat stitching red. My Z was done in blue. I really liked the look in the Z but it was a pain as it needs to be redone periodically. It was done on Memorial Day after a few beers. Though I think it looks ok I wish I hadn't done it.

Don't drink and mod.

Dembflyr

That summer I picked up a square set of coupe 18x8 +43 wheels. My intention was to use these as winter wheels. I also picked up a set of swift springs. These, along with the wheels just sat in the garage all summer. It wasn't til late October that I found the time to install them.

Before Springs & Coupe Wheels


After Springs & Wheels


The drop with the swift springs more than I was expecting. Especially in the rear. The ol' droopy bum strikes again. The car was level and as much as I tried to convince myself that it looked good I finally realized that it needed to be addressed. But it would take me a while to do it.

I found a buyer for my "Duck feet" wheels. I actually came out ahead as I sold them for more than the coupe wheels cost me.

My mod budget got tight that fall and I decided to run the tires that came on the coupe wheels through the winter.
There was lots of sliding but thankfully the winter wasn't too bad and I made it through unscathed.

2016 is when the mods really started.

As spring approached I started looking at getting an exhaust. I had the first 3" exhaust from Fast Intentions on my Z and love their product.
My mod budget however was limited. It was FI exhaust or a cheaper option and a few more mods. The suspension needed attention as well so cheap exhaust it was.

I found the thread for the J2 exhaust and saw that it's fitment was good along with a sound clip that was pretty nice. It's a full cat back in fairly decent gauge of stainless steel with mandrel bends.
I figured that even if it only lasted 2-3 years it was worth the experiment to see.




The only problem l have with this system is that the cans are slanted. They look strange from behind.
Not a huge deal and was easily fixed a few weeks later with some scotchbrite pads and high heat black paint.


I am very happy with this exhaust. It sounds good and seems to be holding up well and it's cost allowed me to afford the next few mods.

My tires were now to the point of ridiculousness. I was really trying to stretch them out until fall so I could just swap them out with some dedicated winter tires. But it wasn't working. The suspension was so out of wack from me just slapping springs on and it was chewing up the tires. This needed to be addressed.

I picked up a used set of SPC front A arms along with rear camber arms and toe bolts to get the alignment back in spec. This combined with two used tires was barely enough to stretch out my tires for a little longer.

I looked into getting the calipers powder coated to a different color but at the prices I was finding I couldn't justify the cost just for a color change. I decided that I would paint them myself and at the same time I'd add stainless lines and a full brake job. That, I could justify.

Around this time I swapped out the jsolo spring for the RJM clutch pedal assembly. It made a marginal improvement just not the night and day difference that most say. Maybe I need to mess with the adjustment a little.

I ordered the front lip. This piece is an absolute must have for the sport bumper.


I placed the order with Infiniti of Willow Grove and got the 25% discount.
Well the day before the lip was to be delivered I got a call from them saying that they are pretty sure they messed up and sent me the wrong one. Mainly because mine was still at the dealership.
No big deal. Stuff happens. I didn't open the box and just sent it right back. They were apologetic and in the end it worked out in my favor because they asked if they could make it up to me. I said "what's your best deal on the rear spoiler?"

It was a good deal.

Dembflyr

By spring of this year I was looking for things I could do that wouldn't cost too much. Having blown the budget earlier in the year but still had the desire to continue to mod the car.

I decided that a total debadge was in order. There are few cars where this looks this good.


I painted the front grill black and the engine cover in burnt copper.


For Father's Day my wife surprised me with some Carsmo *****.



I liked the way they gave the interior a more upscale look but it needed more contrast in my opinion. So, as these thing seem to do, one mod led to another.

Vinyl wrapped the center radio stack and ash tray in black brushed aluminum.


At this point I had some of the paint left from the engine cover and I did something I had been thinking about for a long time.


This may not be everyone's cup of tea but I really like this look. The pics don't do it justice.

I finally moved my Escort up on a mirror mount and installed the remote head in the ash tray.



I was at a friends house when his 12 year old son said to me "Are you gonna put spacers on that thing or what?" ��
I had been thinking about it but just never pulled the trigger.
He was right, it needs spacers with the coupe wheels.
Here's a before pic.



Just so happens that I found a used set on here for a good deal.


I replaced the front turn signal with a chrome amber single filament bulb. That way it only comes on for turn signal indication and gets rid of the yoke look. I then swapped the amber marker light with a white led.

The next mod I had been putting off because I couldn't work out how I was going to pull it off. This car is my daily. The car needed to be out of commission for at least two days maybe three.
That's when a friend offered me his car to use as he had an extra car.
So I finally began the brake project. During this time I changed all of the interior and exterior 194 bulbs to LED's and swapped the transmission fluid to redline MT-85. That made a HUGE difference in the smoothness of the trans.











After




This was also the point that I addressed the "droopy bum".
I followed the thread that Rochester had started while trying to fix the same issue with his. While his initial fix didn't give the desired results there was a lot of good info in that thread and a fix at the end that seems to be good. So far.

Droopy Bum

I ordered a set of these:

I replaced the factory rubber seat beneath the rear springs with them and it made all the difference in the world.

Dembflyr

So, I had just finished the brakes when I saw a post for some wheels for sale. Just so happens that I've been looking for a set of summer wheels (for over a year). I wasn't totally ready to buy until spring but when a good deal comes along sometimes you just have to jump on it. When I had first bought my G I was looking at wheels and one of the first wheels I considered was the pre 2014 370z Nismo wheels. These are a great looking wheel on lots of cars. Especially one with a BBK.
The main thing that lead me away front getting a set of these in the past was the specs of the rear wheel. 10.5x19 +23 wouldn't work with what I wanted.
I didn't want to deal with the hassle and expense of buying two sets just to get the fronts and then have to sell the rears.
As luck would have it the seller had put together a squared set of front wheels. All four of these are 9.5x19 +40 with 255/40/19 tires.
They sit perfectly under the car with no spacers.








That's how the car sits now. I'd like to add a few more things but it will have to wait a while for my wallet to cool off.

I want to add the cusco front strut tower brace, sway bars, engine dress up bolt kit, maybe the RC2 intake, darker lug nuts and mod the headlights at some point like this.


The next mod I know I am going to do is black out the window trim. Not sure though if that'll happen before winter.
Here's a pic that I modified to see what that would look like.



If you read all of that then all I can say is thank you.

I promise to keep the following updates short and sweet.


Update 10/29/16
I added a Cusco FSTB and blacked out the window trim.







I played around with my cheap iPad app again. I'm trying to decide what to do with my front grill down the road so I'm trying out some things.








February 22, 2017 update
Added a used K&N SRI

Dembflyr

Reserved

Dembflyr

Reserved

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Great writeup, and nice to know some history behind all this. Everything you've done goes well together and nice to hear that J2 CBE has exceeded expectations. Look forward to more updates as your G is looking superb right now!

kennyz424

iTrader: (147)

I ageee with Brad on how awesome of a writeup that was! Great way to begin a build thread! Loving the G so far and can't wait to see what else you have in store for her!

Dembflyr

Thanks guys!

I finished the last of the initial thread. Now the posts should be shorter from here on out.

sharkey

iTrader: (1)

I love stories like this..

Thanks for the back ground and I usually don't follow build threads, but you got me hooked on yours..

Dembflyr

Thank you! That means a lot. I was worried that it was too long winded. I shouldn't wait so long to start these. This took quite a few hours to put together. If I had just started it from day one it would've been easier.

ZahyMatar

iTrader: (4)

Nice to see another Vibrant Red Sedan. I can tell you've got some good taste!

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

About freaking time. It was a shame not to have your story all in one place. Subbed for more.

Oh, and as much as jsolo's clutch spring is a positive change, it pales in comparison to the RJM pedal. It's been my experience that Winter is the perfect time for planning and collecting parts. In your case, I'd say FSTB, pedal, STS, etc.

Wait... no aftermarket swaybars? That's a solid first-mod requirement for these cars.

Anyway, welcome, Dembflyr.

PGg35s

Subscribed! God I love your car.. Easily my favorite VR sedan. Some very tasteful mods you've got there. I was surprised with how good that J2 cat back sounds. If you ever want sell it, you know who to call. And I'm within an hour from you lol. My brother just picked up a VR g37s coupe so we need to put together a cruise or something soon. That black trim is gonna look awesome. I need to do the same to mine.

Dembflyr

I do have the RJM pedal. V3.0. I'm on the fence about it. It made a difference with the point of engagement but I think the window is still too wide. I'll mess around with it at some point.

Sways are on the list as well. Just forgot to put them on the thread. Most of my driving is highway. There aren't many curvy roads in this part of Indiana so the sways are further down the list.

Thanks for the push to get this going. I needed it.


Thanks man! I'll keep you in mind if I do upgrade. I'd love to finally get the FI. Some day I will.

I don't get many weekends off and those that I do are mostly spent at my sons basketball games. The boy is hooked on the hoops.

I do have to plan a cruise though. We have a group of guys here that are down for a cruise. Did I PM you about IMIN? (Indiana Modified Infiniti Nissan)
It's just a Facebook page but we do meet up once in a while for cars and coffee and a cruise. Let me know if you want more info.