Go ahead and destroy me, and tell me how worthless I am, but damnit no matter how many past questions answered, "100 questions," "getting started," posts I read, I still have the same questions... so please throw me a bone, or point me in the right direction... Otherwise what is the point really?

Okay, I feel intimidated by my retardation when it comes to customizing, and the wealth of knowledge that seems unreachable. So hopefully some vet can help me out, and get me off on the right foot.

I have read numerous posts on "how to start customizing" and what not, trying to answer my own questions. But, I feel worse off than when I started.

Lets get on with the questions... Please excuse my ignorance.

First off, it seems fitting that the first performance mods i do are an exhaust and an intake. But I am lost in the sauce. Some folks say I can lose performance if I buy the wrong one... That scares me. I've heard the 2006 OEM intake actually gives better performance than most aftermarket. Is this true? Which intakes should I be considering? After deciding on an intake\exhaust, i read that I have to reflash my ecu (?) what does this mean and where do I get it done?

While on the subject of exhausts, ive seen a billion posts about the best sound, and its quiet confusing. I really enjoy the 'tuned' sound of the OEM exhaust, and I absolutely despise the ricer sound of a high pitch crackle of most after market exhausts (think honda civic meets coffee can...) Which exhaust either maintains the tuned sound, improves it (deeper, mellow, not high pitch) and adds HP? I do want bang for buck, but money is back burner when it comes to the sound of the car.

Next, folks tell me the wheels on my Z are "atrocious," I will be going for a black on white color scheme (my stock color is white,) I think smoked headlights/taillights and reflectors, with carbon fiber accents, and black rims would look pretty good. But again I am lost in the sauce on my rims. I want the wheels to fit perfectly in the wheel well, I want it to be filled, but at the same time I want the best performance. I also know that the wheels have to be different sizes. If you understand what I am talking about, what size wheels exactly do I need? What is offset and what about it do I need? And is fender rolling necessary (whatever it is?)

Onto car lights. I think I have the HIDs, when I turn them on, they seem to warm up, taking about 5 seconds to reach full intensity. After reading I assume these are the bi-xenon headlights. Am I right? If I want the bluer tinted HID lights what bulbs do I buy and from where? Is it true that I have to take off the bumper to change the damn headlights?

Last but not least. If you could pick one website where you can pick up most if not all of your\my mods, that have good prices, and a good selection what would it be?

THANK YOU SO DAMN MUCH, IF ALL THESE QUESTIONS GET ANSWERED I WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL

 

wheels and tires are the most important performance upgrade you can do to your car..... contrary to popular belief....and btw the only thing you will gain from an aftermarket intake on this car is a whistling sound...it may even hinder performance.

 

just like any performance mods you do to a car, the computer will have to relearn them. however you wont experience the fullest effect out of your mods until you get the ecu reflashed or tuned.

as far as the exhaust, your budget will have to play a factor on the type of exhaust you want and your best bet is to get on the forum/youtube and listen to the all of the member various combinations that they have installed and go from there.

depending on which headlights you have, if you have the 03-05 they will be HID but not bi-xenon. which means the headlight will be HID but your hi beam will be standard halogen. whereas the bi-xenon is the HID will be used for both your standard light as well as your hi beam. as far as color goes you have to look at the temperature that the lights will operate at, if your looking for a bluish color you might want to research a 8000k and on up HID bulbs.

as far as buying parts, look at the vendor ads and talk to them and see what they recommend in your price range. the biggest thing is research and reading through articles of other members experiences and taking those into consideration fro what you might want to experience with your ''Z''
good luck

 

turbonator FTW

 

thmotorsports.com

Prompt service, almost as good as motorcycle-superstore.com when I buy bike parts.

 

Welcome and congratulations. Not certain I see any new subjects here. Best exhaust? Best wheel specs? All terribly subjective.

Spring will arrive in a couple of months. Go to local 350Z meets. See what others have done. Great opportunity to talk car talk.

 

My advice to you is also to go to the vendor sites and get an idea of what is available and then search on here.

 

well depending what year Z you have the only "intakes that has shown some Gains" has be the long tube intakes from injen and stillen. On the exhaust you need to try go to meets and do alot of thinking on what you want. EX. single, duel outlet, or True Duel exhaust. Each ones will have there own + -, you wont loose Hp just the Rpm band will shift up Ex. Td or Maybe give you lower grunt Ex. Single exit. It all up to you and how you like to drive and like when the power comes in the rpm band.

On the light you want to get good bulbs and not some 10$ pos. Spend money one time and get it right not spend many times and spend tons of money.

On the rims the stock 18" rims will give you looks and some good performance but the wheel gap will stay almost regardless of tire size. You will either have to get springs or Coil over set depends how much man you want to spend. The offsets will very depending on size of the rim and how width they are. I think idle is around 20 to 22 offset but like i said each rim is different and you just have to do some research. Fyi the stock width are front are skinner than the back, so you will have to decide weather or not you want to keep it like that or have all the rims the same width. Trust me the more time you spend searching and reading(even though it takes you a year) to find out what you like. You will spend less money and come out again. Congrats on joining the forum and i hope this helps more for ya.


P.s sorry for the run ons and shitty grammer :/ to lazy to fix it :/ sorry :0(

 

First off, it will make our lives much easier if you listed the year of your car. Since you mention 2006, I would assume that your car is an 06, therefore have the new and improved intake box. Yes, the 06 intake box is much better in term of air flow for the car compare to previous years 03-05. Nissan redesigned the air box in this year. I wont talk about 07-08 because the Z came with new and more powerful engine.

Most people here have the JWT pop charger, which is pretty much a short ram intake. Gain will be a few ponies, less than 10 HP, nothing you can feel but the sound of the engine will be improve with a deep growl, plus it looks better too... for a measy $100

Reflashing ECU meaning to change the factory Air/Fuel ratio amount in the brain of the car (ECU), so that it can be at it's maximum efficient level. People usually re-flash the ECU after all the mods are done like intake/exhaust/test pipes/headers/plenum spacer because it is usually high cost and you only want to do it once.

There are many choices available. They all have it's pros and cons. Up to you to do the research on which is good or bad. The majority on this forum run HKS true dual exhaust or X02 (which is an exact replica in term of looks and performance wise). The exhaust in my signature is HKS.



Size is depend on what you do with the car. Drag race at the track? Get 18" and widest wheels as you can. Street/show/normal driving? 19" is the popular choice among this forum.



See this wheels? the width is below 8" and obviously wont look good. Some factory wheels are 8" wide and most people usually get 25mm or 30mm spacers to make it flush with the fender.




This car? Obviously it has the perfect fitment in my opinion . Stretched tires, wide wheels, usually 10" or 10.5", and rolled fenders (to make it sit closet to the fenders without messing the tires when you lower the car, more info here )

Shop around to see your option. Popular size included 19x9 for front and 19x10 for rear (19 means wheels is 19" and 9 means the width of the wheel). Our car is best with stagger setup so front size and rear size are different.

Also, do not neglect tire size. It is very important!! For 19x9, front tires usually be 255/35/19 or 245/35/19 and 19x10 wheel size, rear tires size should be 275/35/19 or 285/35/19.


Yes you will have to remove the front bumper to change the headlights. Don't be lazy. Do it the right way and properly to ensure to mistake can't be make or damage to other components. Your 2006 HID lights is bi-xenon headlights. If you want blue tint HID lights, buy HID that is 6000k and above. I've seen them go for as low as $60 around here. Look at the Marketplace > Vendors section.


Anything you need is here

https://my350z.com/forum/vendor-classifieds-79/

 

The first suggestion I would make is give us a bit more information. Since you have read as much as you claim, then you will know that there are a lot of differences between the year and trim models.

Next, it would be good for you to be able to describe that your modding goals are? Do you want to have a pretty show car, a track car, DD, etc... What might be appropriate for one application would not be for another.

Which brings me to your question about wheels. You describe how you want it to look but then you also want "best performance". Most of the time, looks and performance are mutually exclusive (depending on how you define "looks").

You are not going to make huge power gains with exhaust and intake, but you will spend a lot of money. If you like the sound of the stock Z exhaust (and I agree that it is great) then stay stock.

I suggest you post some pictures of your car, tell us what you have, and just hang out for a long time and read and ask questions. Don't be in a hurry to make mods to your car. I just last weekend took off some mods from my car because I found I had changed my mind. I'm old. I'm cautious, but I still went in a direction that was counter to my goals. You can spend a lot of money going in wrong directions. Best suggestion, is to not make any changes to your car for a year.

 

Exhaust, Intake & ECU: For EXHAUST look at nismo, fujitsubo, hks hi-power.. If you are going to do something do it right the first something. Don't go cheapo. Check out videos of different exhaust on youtube. Check out members videos and pics. I have a standing rev clip and driving vid of my fujitsubo legalis-r exhaust.. You sound like you want the car to be quite while cruising but loud under wot? As for INTAKE goes, most people start with a cold air, short ram and/or plenum spacer. Bad thing about cold air is if you live in a place where you get a good amount of flooding/rain. Good thing about short ram is that it won't get water logged like a cold air (possibility of getting stuck in a major rain storm?) Bad thing is that it will get heat soaked during the summer if driving for long periods of time. All intakes will make a little whistling noise under load which kinda sounds cool. I know for an 04 z you have to cut a part out of the wheel well to install a cold air which I am not willing to do... For the ECU.. Many people go with the Osiris tuner. It is not a piggy bank ECU but instead gives you a program where you can reprogram your ecu through your laptop or you can have a Osiris dealer near you to tune your car on a dyno. Since getting your car dynoed and tuned is expensive I wouldn't really recommend doing this till you have header back exhaust some intake work done and any other engine/breathing mods you would like done. Getting your car tuned isn't worth it if you just have a y-pipe back or cat back exhaust and intake. You aren't going to be making too much hp with just installing exhaust and intake. The hp starts flowing once you get on more breathing mods, full exhaust (i'm talking, headers, cats, y-pipe and muffler). Even some cams and some internals.. Once you get the car tuned you can grab some more power out of her. However, this isn't done on the cheap. Costs money.

Wheels: If I'm correct. And there are a lot of threads on here about your wheel questions. I think the most width you can go on a wheel before you have to roll your fenders is 10"? However I think there have been people on here that have gone 19x11+25 without rolling fenders... Fender Rolling? If you feel under the edge of your wheel-well there is a slight lip where the fender points in, people use an attachment that bolts onto your wheel hup and pushes on this lip to fold up and tuck in better in the wheel well.

Fender Rolling thread: https://my350z.com/forum/wheels-and-...g-bonanza.html

Honestly, you shouldn't even worry about giving your whip a blue tint to the headlights. You were talking about not wanting the exhaust to "sound" ricey? Doing what you want to do to the headlights is gonna make your car look ricey.. Save up your money and send your lights into cincitydesigns.com, there is also another one that is better and pricier but right now I can't remember the name. There was a thread not too long ago that talked about both companies.

They just closed down a thread where some guy asked a question about what sites are the bester. There are tons of vendors on this site that could guide you. But I will list some for you. Also, when ordering parts for your car, call the dealer or email them to make sure they have it and it is not on back order.

z1auto.com (probably, by far the most knowledgeable guys, very good customer service as well)
hopupracing.com
vividracing.com
intensepower.com
thenismoshop.com
conceptzperformance.com
mynismo.com
thmotorsports.com
importimageracing.com
alteredatmosphere.com
z1performance.com

 

I wasnt really expecting such great help from you guys, really. I appreciate the input, and the advice.

I apologize for not listing what Z i have... i'm retarded sometimes, I have a 2006 Enthusiast.

dhays: As far as goals, I want a NA, all around Z... great looks, great performance. I agree that looks and performance are not normally complimentary, but I think I started with a great car to try and find the harmony between the two. Thanks a ton for the advice.

*ice*: Great tips there, thanks. I do have the 06' intake... so I should stick with it eh? Is that pop charger worse than the stock? After seeing those second set of pictures and reading about fender rolling, I have no option but to pursue that look... amazing what full wheel wells will do to the look of the Z... I assume coilovers gave that car its stance.. Again thanks for the help man, this info is invaluable.

The vendor list is a great resource, thanks for that tip. And thmotorsports looks promising.

Again, I wasnt expecting the help, thanks guys, you are all very welcoming...

 

that black car is on air, but coilovers will accomplish that look to.

 

I like how you type and the words you choose for the most part, so I'll give you another OPINION. You don't need to get huge wheels with tiny tires and rolled fenders to have a cool look. There are plenty of nice options, 19x9.5 +22 and 19x10.5 +22 for example, that have nice lips (if that's the look you want), are relatively aggressive, and can run nice tires (265 front / 295 rear). If you want performance in your wheel/tire set, spend the money on Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s and call it a day. The best way to trim corners (i.e. $) on those tires is to shop on Craigslist, Ebay, etc., for Porsche take-off PS2s - they're out there.

As for exhausts, you will receive as many suggestions (i.e. opinions) as Wilt Chamberlain has had sex partners. Most people will suggest what they have or what they like. As Davidv smartly suggested, go to every local meet you can, and listen to how cars sound and see how they look and make some decisions. When I show up at the track or meets with my single-side Motordyne exhaust, it does turn heads, however, some HATE it, and an equal amount of people LOVE it. Just this weekend at an autox I had someone come over and say, and I quote, "Man, it doesn't matter how much money it takes to change that exhaust tone, you must do it. It sounds horrible." Ten minutes later, literally, two guys approached me and said my car sounds awesome at WOT, and asked how I made it sound that way. To each their own.

It's highly-likely you will spend $2k on wheels and tires (maybe more, possibly slightly less if you get a used set), $1000 on an exhaust, and $1000 on shocks and springs. I don't know about you, but there's no reason to rush $4k in purchases.

Good luck.

 

how old are you 17? just save your money kid.

 

I can't believe this thread...is today be nice day? Any other day this guy would've been burned at the stakes...

but hey! good luck with all the modding, its an addiction

 

Ok, so this has been covered in these forums before, but I'll repeat it..."Do not listen to sound clips on Youtube. Most of those are done with low quality phones and recording equipment and they sound nothing like the actual exhaust"

I had my cat back custom made with a straight-through $20 muffler(more like a resonator) from Summit Racing and it cost me in total about $400. That is not including the first time I had it done by morons. I love how it sounds and I get compliments on it all the time; it really depends on what you like.

If you want cheap performance wheels, Enkei RPF1s are *very* popular. I had a quote for $2300 shipped, mounted & balanced for 18x9.5 and 18x10.5 with Nitto NT05s. I admit they're not the best looking wheels, but if you want performance imo they're the best deal I've found yet. Other than used Volks/Rays/etc. as has been suggested previously.

As far as shipping the lights off to CinCity...yea...I'd rather spend the ridiculous amount they charge elsewhere...like an entire N2O system...

Just me though.

 

Keep your Z stock, the only upgrades worth doing are anything OEM Nismo.

 

$5 says he is over 21.

He used sentences, paragraphs, and decent grammar. That's why.

I understand your statement, and it is generally true, but not fair to say as a simple blanket statement covering all upgrades.

 

Sounds like you would benifit from a K&N drop in filter and a set of test pipes.

Filter: $40
Test Pipes: $150ish

You keep the stock exhaust sound but make it a little louder. Quite honestly, pretty much ever mod for this car isn't worth the money. Only way your going to make a noticeable power gain is FI (forced induction) or Nitrous.

My favorite sounding exhaust was pulling the midpipe and muffler off and running y-pipe out. Its loud as hell but you can put the stock stuff back on when your done making noise.