If you’ve been to an EXE day before then chances are you’ve spotted Kenny’s evergreen 350Z. Having purchased his Zed new in October of 2006, you’d never guess Kenny’s Zed has done literally thousands of laps across various circuits as his fastidious attention to detail keeps the Zed looking box-fresh. Kenny’s minimal modification / train the driver approach is one we can all learn a thing or two from, we caught up with him to see what keeps him attached to his Zed after so many years and what keeps him coming back for more.
What car did you have before the Zed and what made you choose the Zed as its replacement?
The car I had before the Z was a Mazda 323 (BJFP) SP20, it was also the first car I owned. Back then, I really didn’t know much about cars or driving, I just thought I did. The car was a gateway to meeting some like-minded people though. I remember going to an Oz Mazda Club meet and cruise, this would have been around 2005 or 2006. It was there that I met a few people who to this day are still part of EXE Crew, in particular Silas (EXE co-founder). At the time he was driving a Mazda 3 (BK) SP23 and Silas had modified many aspects of the car. Silas draws people to him because he’s funny, jokes around a lot and is always willing to lend a helping hand. He doesn’t do things by halves and approaches everything he undertakes with passion. The group that met at that Oz Mazda cruise continued to hang out and we went on countless drives, with many being at Mount Dandenong and Yarra Boulevard. Being young and foolish, we pushed the limit a bit on the road and I realised how much I didn’t know about driving. At this point I had been driving the SP20 for around 3 years and I started thinking I wanted a change, especially because the car was an automatic.
I had first seen the Nissan 350Z when it was launched and it featured in Gran Turismo heavily at the time. I was attracted to it firstly because of its proportions and its side profile was somewhat like a Porsche 911. This Nissan promotional image always comes to mind whenever I think about the car.
So I started finding out more about the Z – the specifications and what options were available in Australia. The 350Z was offered in Australia in two badges – Touring and Track. I was drawn to the Track because it offered Brembo brakes (as opposed to the Touring’s sliding calipers), so I began my search for a second hand 350Z Track in Lemans Sunset; a copper orange colour. I test drove a couple but still wasn’t ready to take the plunge yet.
At this point, it was 2006 and Nissan decided to release the first facelift of the 350Z with the revised VQ35DE that featured slightly more power. I think Nissan wasn’t moving many units of the Z by this time and they were offering thousands of dollars off the list price. I happened to enquire at a dealer and they had a couple of manual 350Z Track models in Diamond Black on the way over from Japan, so I decided to sign on the dotted line. My idea of a Lemans Sunset Z was extinguished, but I thought it was fate as my SP20 was black too. A few weeks later I took delivery of my Z, here’s a photo of her on that very day. It was my first manual car so the first few days of driving took some adjusting, even though I had learned to drive in a manual. After that, the mechanics of changing gears came back to me and it was smooth sailing.
What have you learnt as a driver over the course of ownership?
I really have Silas to thank for the path I took as a driver and owner of this car. I learnt about basic car maintenance from him as we spent nights working on cars in his garage. At the end of 2006 he was also organising a “track day” for a group that he formed a couple of years earlier called EXE Crew. Until that point, I had no idea members of the public could hire a race track to drive their own cars on. Add to this the ethos of EXE Crew being to do (or execute) rather than just talk about something, it really resonated with me. I signed up for that track day and I was hooked after that. My first on-track driving experience was in the 350Z and it has taught me many things along the way. It allowed me to put into practice what I had learnt in Gran Turismo about track driving. Milestones that I have reached with this car include:
- Learning to heel & toe
- Learning the feeling of a car sliding
- Learning the subtleties of brake application and steering inputs
- Experiencing how a car behaves under track conditions at speed
Hitting those milestones does not mean that I have mastered the associated abilities by any means. Those aspects are things that I keep at the front of my mind every time I head out on to the track, things that I try to chip away at, this is my long-game.
How has your car changed and morphed with that journey?
The Z was almost stock-standard when I brought it to my first track day in 2006. It depends on what each person defines as “stock-standard” I guess, but I had put some semi-slicks on. For a while, I entered track days with the car stock, save for the semi-slicks. My intention with the car was never to modify it unless I deemed it necessary, that’s why I never chased big power from it. My aim was to improve as a driver first and foremost.
The engine remains untouched and can be considered to be as factory standard as ever. The intake has a K&N panel filter and the manifold has been spaced with a Motordyne 5/16″ spacer for a very modest power gain. To aid in cooling, a Trust oil cooler was installed fairly early in the car’s track life (2009).
When the brake pads and rotors wore out, I tried various up-rated pads and rotors. Over the years I have tried brake pads from Project Mu, Ferodo, Dixcel and Winmax; and rotors from DBA, RDA, Project Mu, Dixcel and Z1 Motorsports. I’ve pretty much settled on what I like to use now. In 2018, I decided to replace the front Brembo calipers as they had taken a heap of abuse and had changed from a gold colour to very dark brown. I bought a pair of factory 370Z Akebono calipers which have provided a larger disc and hence more heat capacity, not to mention continued OEM reliability. The brake lines were also changed to braided items front and rear at the same time. You can see more about the brakes at https://zkthlz.blogspot.com/search/label/brakes
Apart from brakes, the next most experimented item were the tyres. I have tried various brands of semi-slicks on wheels that progressively became wider and wider. I think the sweet point for this car is around a 10 inch wide wheel with 275 or 285 width tyres.
In 2009 I changed the mid-pipe-back exhaust to a Fujisubo Legalis-R. At the time I was still driving the car on a daily basis and I wanted something with a bit more growl but not too loud at all. I didn’t expect to gain much power at all from this and it reflected on the dyno with only about 5 kW at the top end. I wouldn’t change the exhaust for another 10 years – in 2019 I felt that I could afford to have something more free flowing (and lighter) on the car, so I changed to a cat-back Tomei Expreme titanium single exit exhaust. Once again, who knows if it adds much power but it sounds nice on the track. You can see more about the exhaust at https://zkthlz.blogspot.com/search/label/exhaust
Suspension is where I have invested a lot of time and money. I started off by changing the front upper control arms (or wishbones) in 2007 to a pair from Cusco that allowed for camber adjustment. In 2009 I changed the sway bars/anti-roll bars to a set (front and rear) from Whiteline. I have since returned the front sway bar to the factory item. In 2010 I lowered the car on some Cusco coilovers and proceeded to track the car on these for the next 9 years. These coilovers were very good as they weren’t too rigid and provided much better body control than stock, however I decided to replace them in 2019 given that suspension technology has improved over the years. The car now has a set of Shockworks coilovers damped and springed more towards track driving, they also offer more levels of damper adjustability. Around the same time I also fitted some metal collars/inserts for the rear subframe bushes. Before I replaced the coilovers, I installed a roll center adjustment kit (in 2017) from Moon Face which consists of a shorter ball joint for the front lower control arms and some other pieces that adjust the angle of other control arms front and rear. You can see more about the suspension at https://zkthlz.blogspot.com/search/label/suspension
Probably the most significant mechanical upgrade on the car is the differential. Back in 2012, I fitted a Nismo 1.5 way LSD which provided more predictability in how the car entered and exited corners. You can see more about it at https://zkthlz.blogspot.com/2012/12/nismo-gt-lsd-pro-15-way.html
Interior-wise, the Z has Bride bucket seats, Takata 4 point harness and a harness bar. These definitely help in keeping me in place and allowing me to just think about driving. The car’s current modification list can be found here: https://zkthlz.blogspot.com/p/gorillaz.html
I cannot talk about the modifications on the Z without thanking all my friends (that are way more knowledgeable than me) who have helped me out at different points in time. Whether it be providing knowledge and help in installing parts on the car, or just keeping me company and being moral support, the Z wouldn’t be what it is now without them.
What keeps you attached to the Zed, have you ever thought of getting a new car?
I have always felt and still do feel that I will keep the Z forever. I have learnt so much with this car and it’s too much a part of me (as I am a part of it) for me to replace it. Over the years, I have had the opportunity (due to having a family) to own and experience other cars. I previously had a Mazda MX-5 (NB) for daily commutes and the current family car is a BMW M135i (F20). Ironically, the BMW has more power and torque than the Z, but the Z will continue to be the car I drive on the track and develop. I think the other cars I have in my life satisfy the variety requirement. If the question was “have you ever thought of getting a new track car?”, my answer would probably be “not seriously”. I don’t plan to stop tracking the Z and my budget wouldn’t allow for two track cars.
What are your favourite memories with the Zed?
Those would have to be memories of road trips and cruises with friends, especially long distance trips to Sydney years ago where we attended track days at Wakefield Park. I cannot leave out all the track days I have attended in the company of friends and the Z, it’s always great to share in the joy of beating your PB with friends. Then there was also that one time where I proposed to my wife at a track day in front of the Z.
EXE-Crew 