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Happy Birthday Nickz32
Happy Birthday Nick!
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madmarco started following Simply Japanese at Beaulieu 19th July 2026 , Happy Birthday Nickz32 and NEC 2026 - your club needs you!!
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Project Black Sunshine - The 300bhp NA
Custom headers and cam timing are next, if that doesn’t break the 6K barrier then intake revisions (plenum and throttle bodies) are probably next. For now I’m just going to drive it and enjoy the ride. Just had a great time at Japfest Goodwood followed by a track day there yesterday. Black Sunshine got a lot of attention and held its own on the track, what a great car to drive!
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What did you do to your zed today?
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NEC 2026 - your club needs you!!
Still up for this, would love to represent the club.
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Project Black Sunshine - The 300bhp NA
Test dyno runs complete. Result 260.6 at the flywheel, pretty good and a big step from stock but still have some work to do… Cam timing is probably next on the list. Can’t load the video as it’s too large but trust me it sounded wicked with the baffles out!
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Project Black Sunshine - The 300bhp NA
Not yet, want to see if a change to the end pipe shifts peak power first. TDI is great but they’re not cheap. It is insanely loud even with the baffles, it will be close to the limit at a 105db track day, but my god does it sound good. I have a dyno session scheduled today, will post the results and the noise later. Two reasons- the JWT cams had some marking on the bearing surfaces after the last fail, and they didn’t match the claimed specifications for duration. Could have polished them up for reuse but the Tomei (also solid lifter) looked more promising.
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Project Black Sunshine - The 300bhp NA
Bonnet painted and installed. Exhaust uncorked with a Z1 race pipe, if this doesn’t solve the 6K + lack of power gain then it’s not the exhaust!
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Project Black Sunshine - The 300bhp NA
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Project Black Sunshine - The 300bhp NA
Time to reduce the under bonnet heat, didn’t want those horrible plastic vents so had proper louvres made at Cool Louvres in Crawley. Will drop off for paint tomorrow.
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Project Black Sunshine - The 300bhp NA
Thanks protoj, quality aftermarket headers for the NA are nonexistent these days. TDI has offered to do the math to determine ideal pipe lengths and a better collector and then fabricate on site. I’m looking at options for the back half, the HKS Hyper looks the most promising but a custom valved set up may be the way to go.
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Project Black Sunshine - The 300bhp NA
Back to TDI for the RaceCal tune. Ran into the same problem we had with the last motor (before it went bang), loss of hp above 6K. Power builds really well to that point and if it continued at the same rate it is likely I will hit my 300bhp target at 8K. Consensus is that my exhaust system is not flowing well enough so header research and new cat back system is next. Good news is engine is solid, with fueling and spark behaving perfectly. I always knew a fast NA would be a challenge!
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NEC 2026 - your club needs you!!
I would be up for this. But the same disclaimer as Nick - assuming I survive the tune and posssible track days!
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Project Black Sunshine - The 300bhp NA
Continue to log miles in preparation for the full tune and power runs by RaceCal later this month. Made a run out to Didley Squat farm yesterday to see what all the fuss was about. Had a good burger but no way I was going to wait in the queue for the shop. Expected to see some cool cars but my Z32 was the only sports car or classic there!
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Simply Japanese at Beaulieu 19th July 2026
Gutted, but I also have a conflict with a family event. Really is one of the best events of the year.
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Project Black Sunshine - The 300bhp NA
Clean bill of health at TDI, good to begin the new motor break in! Full tune and power runs scheduled for August.