To balance out the immaculate exterior treatment, this car would have to pack a hell of a punch in the engine bay to not tip the scales too far into the ‘show’ favor. In retrospect, the exterior, by comparison, may be lacking. Z Fever is known for some of the cleanest SR20DET builds around and this is no exception to the rule. Prior to dropping in the SR, Z Fever invested some serious time to help chase some of the SR’s known weaknesses. The entire valvetrain section of the GReddy catalog was enlisted to get the SR20DET ready for some good ‘ol forced induction. GReddy valve springs, retainers and rocker arm stoppers were substituted in while a GReddy metal head gasket keeps oil and water from mixing. Tons of additional fuel has been added to the setup thanks to SARD’s 850cc injectors and a Border fuel rail. On the hot side, Z Fever went on the offensive with a TurboSmart 50mm wastegate, ceramic coated top mount exhaust manifold and turbo outlet pipe. Used boost exits through a Z Fever downpipe and JIC titanium cat back exhaust. It’s hard to miss the massive Blitz front mount intercooler while staring at the car from the exterior, but underneath the hood the view is dominated by a gleaming GReddy intake manifold. Conducting the fuel and air symphony is an Enthalpy ROM tuned ECU.
The drivetrain didn’t see too many modifications, but a SPEC stage 4 clutch was thrown in to ensure absolutely no slippage would occur. With the ‘Go’ and ‘Show’ camps equally represented, Z Fever needed to bring the handling aspect of their build into better balance. A great deal of adjustability and versatility has been applied to the suspension modifications, with a huge part of it coming straight from Z Fever themselves. Recruiting their own manufacturing skills a power brace, adjustable rear camber arms, tie rods, rear subframe spacers, rear adjustable toe arms and adjustable front tension rods were all fashioned for the S13.5. JIC Magic FLT-A2 coilovers give the S13 the winning stance it needs at the shows, and gives the car the sure-footedness it needs on to represent on the track and on the street. Crawling underneath the car, we also noticed a set of Suspension Techniques sway bars.
All that’s left to complete a perfectly balanced build is of course a perfectly balanced interior. Continuing with the JDM trend from the S15 front end conversion, Z Fever had their S13 switched over to righthand drive. Z Fever decided to swap out the front and rear seats for a matched set from the S13s more refined, suit-and-tie-wearing cousin, the 350Z. A MOMO steering wheel along with a carbon fiber Nismo shift knob play the role of gorgeous accents to the custom carbon fiber door panels and rear panels. A series of Blitz gauges display all the stats Z Fever needs to keep their S13 in the game. Bringing the ‘Show’ aspect up nice and level to the ‘Go’, is a healthy dose of ICE. Up front is an Eclipse in-dash 7” LCD while a Viper 5-channel amplifier powers a series of MB Quartz speakers and an Orion 10” subwoofer.
So whether hanging outside the halls of justice, on the quest for spiritual enlightenment, or just trying to decide what to order for lunch, try and remember the lesson Z Fever’s S13.5 has to teach us all. Without evil, there’d be no good. Without the sun, there can be no moon. If not for Ding Dongs and Ho-Hos, we’d have no use for salad. And of course without the Z Fever S13.5, there would be no S13 in this issue.