An American Fairlady Z created by a Nissan-loving owner
The direction of car customization and tuning is diverse. This yellow Nissan Fairlady Z (6th generation Z34) shown here has been given an American style, as symbolized by the large billet wheels. What does American style mean for a Japanese car? Some of you may be asking yourself. In this article, we will introduce you to the world of USDM, a genre of dress-up that allows you to enjoy an American atmosphere in a Japanese car.
The owner is also the owner of a rare vehicle
This “Fairlady Z” was a vehicle displayed in the parking lot for contest entrants at the TOYO TIRES FAN MEETING IN FUKUOKA held on 9 December 2023. The owner, Mr. Tomohiro Yamamoto, worked as a mechanic at a Nissan dealership for about eight years. He then moved on to become the manager of a dress-up shop, and opened his own business HG AUTO MOTIVE three years ago. In other words, he is a professional who specializes in tuning and dressing up cars.
In Mr. Yamamoto’s case, the reason he got into Nissan cars was that “I like the unique design of Nissan cars and the fact that they are a bit quirky despite being a major company”.
His first Nissan car was a ‘March’ (2nd generation K11), and his subsequent Nissan car history includes a K11 with a retrofit turbo built by a car shop. He then went on to drive a ‘Cefiro’ (3rd generation A33) and other cars, and as a result currently owns a ‘Fairlady Z’ (4th generation Z32) and a ‘Leopard J Ferie’, in addition to this Z34.
“When it comes to the J Ferie, I own a total of five cars, including left-hand-drive American versions. Of course, the number of cars I own includes those that I have taken for parts, but I love that unique and unpopular vehicle in Japan, and I think I’m the only person who owns this many cars.”
This burst of love for Nissan is the point of Mr. Yamamoto’s cars, which are basically dressed up in an American style based on ‘USDM’.
What is USDM?
‘USDM’ is an abbreviation for ‘United States Domestic Market’. You probably know that many Japanese cars made in Japan are exported to the USA. These exported vehicles are made according to local regulations. In other words, ‘USDM’ refers to the dressing up of vehicles with genuine products that are made to American legal specifications.
Some people enjoy the purely American version with left-hand drive, but that is simply a reimported car. USDM” is a dress-up genre that has long been established by car enthusiasts who yearn for the USA, who “enjoy the specifications that are driven in the USA daily in Japan” by installing genuine parts for the USA on right-hand drive Japanese specification cars.
Fitted with genuine US-spec parts
In the US, orange side markers are always fitted to make it easier to distinguish the size of the vehicle from the front and rear, left and right, so Mr. Yamamoto also changed the bumpers along with the front and rear lights. The emblems have also been changed, as the official name of the car in Japan is “Fairlady Z”, but in other countries it is “370Z”.
Based on the replacement of these genuine American-spec parts, the second step in the dress-up process was to select parts for the suspension and interior, choosing parts brands that are popular in the USA and giving it the appropriate specifications to complete the look.
In this vehicle, the suspension has been replaced with an air suspension system from an external manufacturer, but it is mounted in a position where it can be seen from the rear hood as a showcase air suspension system. For wheels, the long-established Italian brand Sporza, which was also very popular locally, was selected. This is a perfect reproduction of the American slammed style.
“Many sports car enthusiasts of my generation enjoyed drifting. But at the time, American customization culture, such as the CAL LOOK by MOONEYES and others, was also popular, and I was attracted to that. That’s why I enjoyed doing bumper smoothing and audio customization on my first March. I also admired the unique shiny billet wheels.”
The genuine products were modified to American specifications and converted to USDM, and the suspension and other parts were changed based on this to complete the dress-up. Although it is a hurdle to cross the ocean to go there, the American-style culture that they admired while living in Japan is incorporated into their beloved cars. Such car fun has been popular since the 1990s, and although the direction has changed little by little, it is still popular with car lovers of all ages.
translated by DeepL