I can't recall the last time a Dynamic Autosports vehicle was featured in a magazine. Ten years ago, it seemed that half of the Hondas featured in magazines had paid a visit to Dynamic Autosports. In those days Hondas were the dominant street and drag racing platform. Dynamic Autosports produced history making platforms like Dave Shih's first into the 10s "Silver Bullet" Honda CRX. Dynamic also led with innovations and solutions like being the first to install and tune DFI systems before plug-and-play ecu solutions were even considered by aftermarket manufacturers. But times have changed and the scale has shifted. Evolving with the import industry, Dynamic Autosports' focus has shifted to FR platforms competing in drifting and time attack.

Eddie Kim, founder and president of Dynamic Autosports has followed the shift in the needs of the import industry. He started Peak Performance to provide innovative solutions to the front-engine rear-wheel drive enthusiast. As the director for Peak Performance's motorsports efforts, Kim seized the opportunity to campaign in drifting and time attack with a new project build. After evaluating the competitive field, he selected this 2003 Nissan 350Z as the weapon of choice for fender-to-fender battles around the turns. With the support of Hankook Tire, Kim was ready to slide into competitive arenas once again. But in order to be prepared for the asphalt battlefield, steps would need to be taken to make this Z a contender.

Weights And Measures

Kim's team went straight to work on the Z33 when it arrived at Dynamic Autosports. The first step was to gut the chassis and lose every ounce of unnecessary weight. Once stripped, Dynamic Autosports' Adam Depner stitch welded the unibody and fabricated a new 6-point roll cage. The roll cage provides additional protection for the driver and passenger while improving chassis rigidity. On the outside, C-WEST aero parts complement the sleek lines of Nissan's designers. The C-WEST components include the front and rear bumpers, side skirts and GT Wing-II E-Type. Lightweight Seibon dry carbon-fiber hood, 10mm-wide front fenders, doors, and rear hatch replace the factory pieces to further contribute to the Z's weight-loss program. As a final weight-saving measure, Speedglass Lexan windows take the place of factory glass around the cabin. This combination of lightened components helps to drop the curb weight from 3,320-pounds to 2,900-pounds.

Pump Up The Volume

While the shell was receiving attention from the fabrication team, Kim had the shortblock built up for grueling drift duty. The VQ35 was reinforced with a set of Darton International M.I.D. ductile-iron sleeves in preparation for the higher cylinder pressures of forced induction. Kim selected BC-Brian Crower's VQ stroker kit to increase the displacement of the engine. The 4340 billet steel crankshaft increases the stroke to 86.4mm (+5mm longer than stock.) A set of 97mm 10.0:1-compression forged-aluminum JE pistons join the stroker crank by way of BC-Brian Crower 4340 steel billet connecting rods. This combination increased the VQ's displacement from 3,499cc to 3,831cc.

With the shortblock finished, attention shifted to the cylinder heads. The heads were sent to Tom Fujita at Port Flow to be ported, polished and assembled. Fujita finished the assembly process with a set of BC-Brian Crower valve springs and titanium retainers. When the heads arrived back at Cosworth, technicians mated the heads to the block with ARP head studs. Cosworth head gaskets were chosen to ensure an airtight seal between the heads and the block. BC-Brian Crower Stage-2 264-degree camshafts actuate the valvetrain.

Boost Shifts The Scale

A Turbonetics exhaust manifold mated to the exhaust ports channels burnt gases into the single Garrett GT3582R ball-bearing turbocharger. The quick-spooling turbo expels the exhaust gases through a Dynamic Autosports (DA) downpipe and A'PEXi titanium exhaust. The 82mm compressor wheel generates plenty of boost pressure while a TiAL Sport 44mm V-band wastegate works with an A'PEXi AVC-R boost control to limit boost pressure to a conservative 16 psi. The compressor forces air through DA custom piping to the GReddy front-mount intercooler. The intercooler lowers the charge temperature and increases the air density. From the intercooler, the air charge flows to the 75mm Edelbrock throttle body. As many forums and tuners have noted, the factory intake plenum is notorious for starving the front cylinders of air flow. For more even air distribution across all six intake ports, a Cosworth intake manifold with carbon-fiber covers replaces the stock unit atop the cylinder heads.

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