Ride of the Month June 2005 | 1994 Infiniti Q45

1994 Infiniti Q45 – Owned by: Sijoko

Let me introduce my 1994 Q45 to you. I bought the car back in Dec. 1997 with about 64k miles on it. Currently, the car has over 210k miles. Before this model, I used to drive a 1990 Q45. I really liked the extra luxury that Infiniti introduced into the 94 Q, but the performance was not as good as my earlier Q. So I started to modify the car to get back some speed without losing the luxury.

Here are some of the things I have done to the car:

The air intake box was modified for more flow and a K&N drop-in filter was used.
Level Ten in New Jersey rebuilt the transmission for super-fast shifts and greater torque holding capacity. While the trans. was out of the car, I sent the torque converter to Pro Torque in New York for a stall increase to 2800 rpm. Other drivetrain upgrades include a Carbon Fiber Driveshaft made by ACPT and a 4.08 differential by Unitrax.

The exhaust consists of an X-pipe and Spintech mufflers under the car with two round 6 in. mufflers at the rear. I built this system about 2 years ago in my garage. The sound is really nice with a mellow, deep rumble to it. It sounds especially strong under hard acceleration. Once you get over 2000 rpm, things quiet down a lot.

I have upgraded the look of the car with JDM headlights and round driving lights made by a company called Eagle Eye. They are true HID driving lights with the D2R bulbs in them. They light up the road like daytime, which is good because the optics on the overseas market headlights are not suited for the U.S. roads. The long-term goal is to put some projectors in the JDM headlights for maximum illumination.

The car was dropped with Eibachs and Tokico Blues. The front upper links have been shimmed to compensate for camber. The rear has the Stillen Upper Control Arms, which has more range of camber adjustment than the stock units.
The wheels are Club Linea Misterio 17 x 8s made by a Japanese company called Crimson. They have a machined face, which shines like chrome but without the worry of peeling.

After moving the battery to the trunk, I relocated the oil filter using a Perma-Cool kit. The nice thing about this kit is that I can still use the stock oil filters. I also have an oil cooler hidden inside the bumper reinforcement. It is a frame rail cooler like the kind you use on Hot Rods. It is made from extruded aluminum. It functions as a heat sink/cooler.

I added an electric fan with a variable speed controller, a Ford/Lincoln 2 speed unit for the 3.8 liter engine. It has a built-in shroud (the frame and shroud are one). I trimmed and modified it to fit vertically over the radiator. The fan blade itself is a bit over 16″ in diameter. I am controlling the fan using a Variable Speed Controller (VSC) from Flex-a-lite with an external thermostat that is installed in the fins of the radiator. I have the fan set to come on at 195 degrees.

The radiator is an all-aluminum 24 x 19 double-pass unit with the inlet and outlet on the right side. It is a 2-core design and has more coolant capacity than the OEM even though it is not as wide. I used flexible stainless radiator hose to connect everything. It is similar to the Cool-Flex hoses that are sold by Summit and Jegs.

Now on to the interior: The Factory Bose system was replaced with a Pioneer head unit and speakers in the door and the rear shelf. A Kicker 12 inch sub and a Lanzar amp combo in the trunk augment this setup. Reverse Glow gauges and a painted bezel were used to add a touch of style to the instrument cluster.

I installed a wood dash kit with custom matching door inserts. The factory wood on the shifter bezel and ashtray was re-stained to match the wood kit. I also made a custom wood gauge panel to hold a transmission temp. gauge and a coolant temp. gauge.

Here’s a list of the other things done on the car:

Nissan Skyline front rotors and discs
· Stainless steel braided brake hoses
· Adjustable fuel pressure regulator
· Nismo bushings upgrade for rear suspension
· Subframe bushings replaced with Polyurethane units
· Polyurethane front lower control arm bushings
· Frame rails & subframe filled with expanding foam

I have always liked the Q ever since I saw my first one in Dec. of 1989. Nissan did an excellent job in designing this car. Even after 15 years, it is still one of the best cars to come out of Japan. I plan on keeping mine for a long time.

Stay tuned to Nicoclub.com for more mods to be revealed in the future.