Just as my title says, i used to have a 2004 330ci BMW, i was rear ended not to long ago and Iam thinking of maybe going Z. Currently iam looking at a 05 BMW 330ci ZHP, and this is gona get boosted as with all my car but it would be the new ESS Twin Screw set up. Iam don't know much about the Z ive seen one with 500+whp total sleeper eat this BMW 335i total jerk by the way was talking major smack to a E46 M3 owner starting a fuss and got him self handed by the Z. Ok but back to the topic, basicly this car will be my DD and it means alot to me that it will start up every day after the FI. I had a 94 RX7 wich was awsome when it came to power but always something went wrong. Since then ive been tuning my BMW's while not a easy task alot of fun. The 350z got a lot of good coments over at E46fanatics.com many BMW owners say very nice things about the car. Now Iam not to concernd with compfort as iam 22 I like the car to be a litle rough and my major worry is what are the con's mechanicly speaking. Iam prolly getting a used one single digit milage meaning under 10k and what year should i watch out for or certin things. I hope that i will be posting more here soon, iam buying a car in the comeing weeks or month ive gotten my settelment check for my BMW and ive sold what was left of my 330 parts. If some one could recomend also a specific turbo kit or a future kit that might be comeing worht looking out for that be nice to. Thanks alot guys and by the way nice lay out on the site.


PS: Sorry if i miss spell stuff I moved to the States from germany and my english is OK not all that but i try.

 

Well, if you're conservative with the boost on a stock VQ35 and maintain it properly, it can last a good while. A built VQ35 is a pretty formidable powerplant.

I get in my car every day and flog it. I've put on over 20k miles in the past year, and over 14k miles with forced induction. It's been rock-solid reliable for me so far

 

Welcome to the boards....

If you are looking into getting a Z I would say go with an 06. After owning mine for almost a year now I love it... I would say it's the most mechanically sound out of all the previous years. No window issues, no tire feathering issues, no axle clicking, and it has a slightly better looking revised interior.. There are a couple more differences too, such as headlights and tails but that's little stuff. Since the 07s are about to hit the dealerships I think you should be able to pick up an 06 for a pretty good deal.
If you want to boost it and have it be a DD, the Turbonetics kit can be modified to fit and I belive the Greddy twins will fit as well. Maybe the APS too I'm not sure, but I would still advise a stage1 build just to be on the safe side..

Good luck with your hunt for a Z, welcome to the boards.

 

Welcome.

Drive the 350Z. If you like it – buy it. Forced induction? Start with the 350Z.

 

I agree with davidv, the car comes first THEN the mods.

Here is a blurb from the top 100 questions thread. Click the link in my signature for more of the top 100 questions.



Q: I'm thinking about going Turbo / Supercharged. What setup is the safest and most reliable? What do I need to make my setup safe?

A: First of all, going with F/I is hands down the most extreme modification you can do to your car.

ANYTIME you increase the output of a motor, you put more stress and strain on its internals and parts. This is a FACT of LIFE and there are limits to the metals in your rods, pistons, etc, no matter "how good" or "how safe" your tuning is. It doesn't matter "how safe" your kit is, as (IIRC) every turbo and supercharger kit has, at one time or another, blown a motor.

If you are "going F/I" you need to have a backup plan. First of all, your car can be in the shop for months if you are going for a built motor setup. Installation can and will run several thousands of dollars. Only a handful of talented individuals have installed their own turbo kits, and very few if any people have built their own motor.

Building up your motor with upgraded crank, rods, pistons, headgasket, (there's much more to it, but these are just examples) is one of the first steps to making your setup more reliable and more safe. Not to mention, the stock fuel system is not equipped to deal with high HP numbers.

Other parts that can help are oil coolers and bigger radiators are popular additions, as are oil catch cans, water/methanol injection (to reduce cylinder temps), one step colder spark plugs, HKS DLI II and much much more.

Blown motors DO happen, and generally most people don't get much advanced warning that it's going to happen. This is an unfortunate circumstance of the stock internals and block not being designed to handle high levels of power.

Can you put a F/I kit on a stock motor? Yes. Have people done it, and have their engines survived for a long time? Yes. But some people's motors have blown, and the cause is NOT necessarily a "bad tune."

You should be prepared for the worst if you are boosting your stock motor.

Remember, you can get money for a USEABLE engine block, in a core exchange program. But if you blow a hole through your block, kiss your core refund goodbye.



Question 2: But wait, what if I just run lower boost, with a very conservative tune...will my setup be safe and reliable ??

Answer: Some people have suggested doing this, but no one has ever done it. Most if not ALL people who have suggested "running lower boost with a very conservative tune" have chickened out of getting a turbo kit in the first place. Plus, it will most likely not even be worth the money, trouble, and effort. The person who asks this question is not prepared to accept the worst case scenario of a blown motor.

But if you want to be the first person to do this, go right ahead and show everyone how reliable your setup is.



Q: OK I'm mentally prepared for the worst. I am going to get a built motor, my favorite turbo kit, several parts to enhance performance and safety, and I have tons of money to spend. What now?

A: Break out your checkbook (financing a turbo kit = not a great idea) and start PM'ing or calling engine builders who will usually have most of the parts you will need anyway, so this is a good place to start asking questions if you are SERIOUS. Make sure you know well beforehand who your pro F/I tuner is going to be, and call ahead to make sure they have time to tune your car. They can clue you in as to which engine management systems they like to work with, what has worked for them, and what would work best for your needs.

If you love the 350Z and you have lots of money (Don't be surprised if your project starts approaching over $20,000) and you want more power, this is the way to go.

Just make sure you are within a comfortable limit of legality with your car. For example, california people may wish to stick with vortech or stillen superchargers, which are CARB approved.

Finally, USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION in the forced induction forum. People have been boosting the 350Z for a long time now, there is a TON of great info in the F/I forum. Do NOT disrupt the forum by asking a stupid question that can be answered with searching. If search isn't working out for you, manually browse through old threads. There is MORE to the F/I forum than "page 1."

 

Really I thought 07s were still a ways away?

 

Someone with a TT blue G35 did this. He bought it at 8.5 PSI and lowered it to 6.

A couple of ex 3 series guys on this board are always glad they got their Zs. Get a Z and go supercharger. If someone goes wrong just remove the belt. You may get bored of the subtle gains though.

 

Well then I stand corrected. One guy has done it.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEUS%3AIT

 

thats a nice *** G35

And to the OP get the Z ( i dont have any reason ).

 

It depends on your need.
E46, a higher class, the interior is so much better (you will feel the interior of the Z is so cheap when you first get in), more comfortable, much better customer service, more practical.
Z, all about performance.

If you want to mod your car, of coz the Z.

 

I believe they come out in January 07 if I'm not mistaken

 

I too used to have a 3rd gen RX7, Peter farrell mods, beautiful and superfast but high maintenance.
Now I have a E46 M3 SMG and a 350Z. Love both cars, Z is definitely more fun to drive and has more performance potential and cheaper to mod.

 

id say go with the Z in my relatively unbiased opinion. you'll also love it boosted.

 

Well thanks guys, i know the car comes first. But before i buy the car i wanted to know what's out there. Alot of guys go and buy a 325ci/i and think they got them self a modeble beemer when it really is not. At least get a 3.0 bmw motor. Anyways as for the Z, I would prep the car before hand, iam not a wuss when it comes to boosting the car il push it, but since the car is been out for a while i thought maybe the guys here on this forum have put miles on boosted motors. We got e46m's with nearly 70-100k miles boosted and they are fine. I deff wan't to go turbo because there is nothing sweeter than turbo boost. Iam thinking right now since iam getting rid of my 04 10zxr ninja due to my back(its been hurting ever since the accident) i could maybe do some internal work too. Iam not ask for a write up wich be nice, but a point in the right direction i can go look. I want to hit 500whp with the Z, i think with the motor preped right and me and my friend who own's DTR(Dreams to Reality) can do this, he dose mainly BMW's and porsches here. The fact that i can get a Z for 20-23K base and than set it up the way i want before i boost for the price of a 330ci zhp is very nice. I thank you guys for you input and the from where you going. The more and more i think about it I might get a Z. Iam going to have to break it down to the guys at E46fanatics but thats ok they are a cool crowd where i can come back to any time of the day. Iam going tomarow to test drive a manual Z and see how it is and report back with my thoughts. Again thanks a bunch guys.

 

Here is me again, i just came back from lunch with my brother. We went with his z06 to the dealer ship to see a 350z. He is a butthead with that car try's to ruin everything to me. For starter's you don't really see how good looking the car is until you step back and take a good look. Very bulky a manly car you might say. The trunk space is nice, i can put a system and have a litle space left for small things as this wont become a grocery getter. I get it and it feels like you in a race car, the inter hmmm... Looks wise is OK not as bad as some people had me thing. Quality on the other hand i must say kind of suck's I used to my bmw's (my friend's RX8 is a nice car inter wise)but i think i have a few idea's for it deff repolster in mind for me a full out project. You put the key in and to my suprise this james bond like car wakes up. From the looks of it seemed like a monster something i had to fight to drive but no its nearly as nice to drive a my 330. Its a litle rougher compfort wise but its a sports car. There is enough power there to keep me busy till i get my inter set up, I must say I think iam buying this car. I didnt wana take that one home i came here first to see something. Iam gona get the Z i made my mind up. I own a Car Hauling company I moved cars for dealerships and private cars cross country well not me my driver's, so i can look nation wide for the car. What year should i deff stay away from and I think i want the base model, iam throwing those seats out and i want those seats i saw in the ver version they were someking of orange/brown with the center blacked out.

 

if i were buyin the car used i would stay away from the '03s....or look for a low milage one

i myself bought a base....i didnt care for the vlsd/blose/18/19 combo is i was just going to buy new rims anyways..

 

Get an Enthusiast or you will regret not having HID lights like a Bimmer.

 

Go ahead and test drive one....you should be happy with the torque.
The interior is decent, but probably a step down from your 330 IMHO.

If you like modding cars the 350z is the way to go....plenty of support and parts. Good luck and let us know what you do.

 

There really isn't anything wrong with the 03s. The couple little issues can be easily cleared up. Just look for one that is in your price range with good mileage and a nice clean vehicle.