Follow the build HERE

Brief History
With all the modifications over the past couple years I figured it would be a good time to create a build thread for my G. When I was in high school, I saw a red G35 coupe in the parking lot of a movie theater and fell in love. When I finally had enough money to purchase one, upon doing searches on used cars, I found out the G37 coupe had come out and was the latest version. Though I wanted a used G35, I ended up breaking my bank account for a brand new G37. I opted for a 2008 Platinum Graphite w/ Charcoal interior, G37 Sport Coupe, with the 4-wheel active steering (4WAS) as an option. I've continued to be the only owner of the car, and what was originally intended to be my daily driver, I ended up keeping my first beater car so that I could store the G in the winter and avoid the harsh snow/salt conditions that come with living in Northeast Ohio.

Modifications

1. Stillen 3rd Gen Cold Air Intake - The first and only mod I was able to purchase for a long time, went to a G meet in Columbus for a dyno day. Picture of the paper printout below (apologies for quality, it was a long time ago) showing 298hp with 246 lb/tq and no tune.



2. Concentric Slave Cylinder Failure - Fast forward 11 years and 51,000 miles my CSC decided to take a dump like clockwork.

• Stage 2 Clutch/Flywheel Kit from Concept Z Performance (CZP), Street Clutch rated 500HP/450lb/tq and 17lb Chromoly Flywheel
  • Opinion - After installation, there was a huge difference in the way the car responded with the lighter flywheel, considerable amount of chatter but I still felt it was worth it.
• JIT Heavy Duty Alloy Body CSC & new OEM Clutch Master Cylinder, new OEM rear main seal, and CZP Insulated Stainless Steel Clutch Line

3. Deer Strike - Repairs and additional modifications, 53,000 miles

• Z1 Aluminum Undershroud, Z1 High Flow Race Filter Intake Upgrade, Z1 Ported Intake Plenum, Z1 Ported Lower Intake Manifold, and aFe Throttle Body Spacers
  • Opinion - The car really felt peppy when downshifting on the highway. From a dig it tended to feel a little sluggish, and I assume it was because all the mods up until this point were to bring air into the engine more efficiently but it wasn't able to get it out fast enough. The car felt that it lost some torque in the lower gears. All in all, I was happy with the gains I felt on the highway. Lastly, I wouldn't recommend the Throttle Body Spacers, I don't know if they really added anything or not so may have been a waste of money. They did add a slight whistle noise to the engine at low RPMs which sounded cool.

Post deer strike, replaced hood, front grill, undershroud, radiator air guide, and other various brackets/stiffeners

Plastic undershroud was also cracked, replaced with Z1 Aluminum.

Inside of aFe Throttle Body Spacer

Reinstalled Stillen Gen 3 Intakes after a good cleaning and new filters from Z1(High-flow race filters)


4. Summer 2024 Project - 54,000 miles

• Z1 Silicone Master Hose Set, Z1 Aluminum Coolant Bleeder Port, Z1 Modular Y-pipe w/Resonator, Z1 Touring Cat-back Exhaust, ISR Long-tube Headers (Ceramic coated by Jet-Hot Performance), Z1 Urethane Motor Mounts, Z1 Urethane Transmission Mount, MTEC Shifter Springs, Z1 Solid Shifter Support Bracket Bushings, Z1 Short Shifter, Z1 Front/Rear Sway Bars w/Adjustable End Links, Z1 Urethane Rear Diff Bushings, Z1 Aluminum Subframe Bushing Collars, and Inland Empire Aluminum Driveshaft by CZP.
  • Opinion - By doing all these mods at once, it definitely felt like a new car when I fired it up for the first time. The loss of torque that I felt before seemed to have gone away and the car had woken up again. Everything felt really solid in the rear end, and the wheel hop I used to experience from a dig had vanished completely. I'm sure the wheel hop was partly due to my main rear differential bushing being blown, which seemed odd for how many miles the car had. I also had no idea the diff bushing was blown until I removed the differential to replace it. A couple lessons I learned here was that I would never install headers or differential bushings myself again, those were the two biggest pains out of all these mods.

All the fun stuff I removed.

Aluminum drive shaft after installation.

Z1 Y-pipe need modified. Added 2-3" of pipe after header flange so it wouldn't rub on transmission support brace.

Rear section of mid-pipe needed modified to fit around the motor for the 4-wheel active steering.

Laying out the exhaust during installation

Before and after ceramic coating of LTH headers

Safety first!

 

Before/After Cold start & Idle


Revving, Casual/Aggressive launch & drive-by


Baseline Dyno Runs Prior to Remote Tune

You Tube

Mustang Dyno - 271 HP & 208 Torque

5. Spring 2025 Modifications - 55,000 Miles

• Cloned ECU on latest version (allows for FlexFuel & Ecutek Tune) programmed by Eugene Turkov of Enthusiast Auto Care, AEM 340lph Fuel Pump (Part# 50-1220), GTR R-35 OEM Fuel Injectors, Ktuner Ethanol Analyzer, GM Ethanol Sensor, & Ecutek tune provided by Eugene Turkov.
  • Opinion - Learned a lot of valuable information being able to wire and connect the necessary equipment to run E85. Also continued learning more about the car and how to monitor the information provided in the Ecutek logs. During the tuning process, it was determined there was a leak in the exhaust, which I found behind the driver side headers. The specific AEM Fuel Pump used was a direct plug and play option for my 2008, no additional modifications needed to the fuel pump bucket. Once we finalized the tune on 93 octane the car felt so much more alive than it ever did before, headed to the shop to get a dyno read on the current tune and will drop E85 in after.

Accessing the ECU after removing the panel behind the glove box. Also swapped out my cabin filter since it was right there!


The OEM injectors next to the R-35 injectors I dropped in. Put all new o-rings on the GTR injectors after putting them through a thorough cleaning.


The OEM pump (left) next to the new AEM 340lph pump (right)


Fully assembled fuel basket with the new AEM pump installed. Again, plug and play, no modifications needed, though this is a 2008 G and the basket is much different in later years.


The GM Ethanol Sensor next to the Ktuner Ethanol Analyzer (pretty easy install once I new what wires to tap into.)


Installed barb fittings onto the Ethanol Sensor.


I removed the fuel line connect to the damper right before the fuel hardline that goes to the fuel rails. Needed to cut the fuel line in half and trim a little out to fit the Ethanol sensor into the setup. Then wrapped everything in heat-resistant material.


Here is the current status of the engine bay with everything put back together.

Second dyno session to determine benefit of remote tune provided by Eugene Turkov at Enthusiast Auto Care (www.vq37tt.com)

 

Reserved for future posts