If Import Tuner had an award for being an all-around, kick-ass racecar driver, Tanner Foust would probably win it. Not only does this well-rounded driver and 32-year old from Steamboat, Colorado race rally cars, drift cars and compete in just about any other type of racing you can imagine, he does them all very well. So well, in fact, he has his hands in just about every pot in the automotive industry. He's so deep in the fold that he crashes at Rhys Millen's multi-million dollar pad while pursuing a career as a stunt car driver. Having driven for "Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," and "The Dukes of Hazard" movies, Foust's latest endeavor into stunt driving is already blossoming.
Getting to where he's at wasn't an overnight affair, though. Being able to switch from racing off-road rally cars to road racing and drifting takes lot of skill. It's all about learning to master the art of car control. Do that, and you can drive just about anything well at the limit. Foust learned the ropes of car control teaching ice driving in Colorado-and in our opinion-there are few better ways to learn how to control your car than on the frozen slippery stuff.
While Foust fell in love with drifting cars across ice, it's no surprise he's made the shift to drifting on the paved stuff. His drifting foray has been a successful one, with Foust racking up wins in Formula D and D1 drift events in this wicked Nissan 350Z. Foust may drive the 350Z, but the keys to the wheels under Foust's drifting passions belong to AEM. A premiere aftermarket manufacturer in the import world, AEM has the manpower and resources to build some of the baddest cars out there. But this one wasn't built solely for Foust's pleasure-it was built to showcase AEM's products.
The folks over at AEM tell us the car was built over a 12-week period and cost an undisclosed amount of money to build (obviously a lot). They tell us the Nissan hits the track about twice a month, campaigning in Formula Drift and D1 events. As a testament to the ability of AEM, the 350Z and Foust, the team took the win at Formula D Atlanta-in the car's second race ever. Pretty impressive indeed.
Although it weighs in at a svelte (for a 350Z) 2900 lbs., it still takes some serious motivation to get this thing sideways down the track. With 450 hp at the rear wheels, this car has no problem lighting them up on demand. The VQ35 engine required some tweaking, however, and the twin Garrett GT25R turbochargers are the backbone of the engine mods. While the 3.5-liter Nissan mill retains its stock bore and stroke, the bottom end still received its fair share of work.
Benson Automotive Machining, in Costa Mesa, Calif., handled the machining, while the prepped and measured parts were carefully assembled in-house at AEM, with their man Stephan Papadakis doing the honors. The VQ now sports the stock forged crank, 10:1 compression JE pistons, JE rings, and off-the-shelf Eagle connecting rods. The oiling system is still stock, other than an APS oil pan. With the shortblock together, AEM shifted its attention to the VQ's cylinder heads, doing nothing more than adding a set of Jim Wolf valve springs.
A pair of turbos are responsible for getting enough air into the Nissan mill to make 450-wheel hp, but they aren't doing it alone. An APS cast-iron exhaust manifold was used to join the twin Garrett ball-bearing turbos to the VQ's aluminum heads, and the spent gasses exiting the turbos are routed into a custom, 3.5-inch stainless-steel exhaust. With the engine build in the bag, lining up some good engine management was next on the list.