Nissan 350Z

If you have been following the progress of 2NR's Projekt Z, you'd know that it has already received the fundamental power upgrades with the aid of a high-performance intake, exhaust and ground wires. In our last issue, we transformed the car's road-handling characteristics and stance by incorporating track-proven, fully adjustable Tein suspension and Cusco sway bars. We also swapped out the factory rollers for a set of 19-in Racing Hart C4s big enough to allow plenty of Pirelli rubber on the ground. What comes next, you may ask? After securing some additional power and awesome cornering capability it's time to make sure we are firmly planted in the cockpit.

2NR may be known for its over-the-top feature cars that have some pretty crazy interior modifications, but we had different plans in store for the Z. Even though we have unlimited resources at our fingertips and could have performed some crazy-ass wild style, our ultimate street car battle plan calls for a slightly different approach. For once the mission was simple, forget all the crazy stuff, what we needed was practicality and performance; something tasteful that would get the job at hand done and wouldn't induce a bout of temporary blindness. What we need is ALL BUSINESS!

Well, the photos below detail our business class approach to refurbishing our 350's cockpit (what is not in the pictures is my sweating to death installing everything outside when it was 95 degrees-not something I recommend). First and foremost we opted to go with Sparco Torino race seats in Black. Our Nissan was fitted with black interior treatment out of the box and Sparco's quality material enabled us to keep things coordinated. The Torino provides ample support even under fierce track conditions and are fortunately still comfortable enough for a daily driver. Along with our new ass anchors we went full bore by including race seat belts, a matching suede steering wheel and racing pedals. The result was a clean, high-performance look in a tasteful and understated black. Consider it a lesson in functional interior design my friend.

The install of the seats was dead easy. Once the necessary hardware is in place it's only a matter of minutes to swap out the stock ones and replace it with the bucket pair. The seat belts also went on with relative ease, although there are more bolts you have to work with, so just make sure you have the complete set before undertaking this task. The race pedals required a drill to install but otherwise was unremarkable. The steering wheel, well, that was another story. Never before have we had a more difficult time installing a fricking steering wheel. Nissan went all out with sensors on the 350Z stock unit and it literally took hours trying to remove all the sensors in order to fit the aftermarket wheel. Inevitably I had to disconnect the airbag sensor and cruise control. It was a matter of practically destroying the sensors in order to get them out. A steering wheel makeover is an option that we recommend you give plenty of thought to before undergoing. In the end, things seemed more worthwhile since the new steering wheel looks great has a racier feel. The install of the complete interior can be completed in a day's work with minimal tools needed. The trick to transforming your interior is all in the planning. Figure out what you want from it beforehand. Decide whether you want a show look, performance or a bit of both. The possibilities are endless so design your own and get what you've always wanted. Stay tuned.