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My 350Z Progress

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Old 01-12-2011, 12:22 PM
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03Brickyard350z
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Default My 350Z Progress

Hey I recently got a 350Z, and wanted to start a thread showing some of my progress, its not going to be too much since $ is a little hard to come by and Z parts aren't cheap. But some stuff here and there. Anyways, here are some pics of the Z as I got her. Its a 2003 Base 6spd, I got it with 82k on it, and it seemed to be in pretty good condition. Below are some pics...

So far i have done a 5000k HID conversion, AEM short ram intake, Oil changed to Royal Purple 10w-40, restored headlights with PlastiX

So far bought, but haven't installed...

New rear hatch shocks
Tein S.Tech springs....waiting to get my Tokico HP's that I ordered.
Kicker 6.5' Components for the front
S2000 shorty antenna

Here are some pics, tell me what you think, and any suggestions for future mods....







I'll have more pics soon, prolly this weekend or next weekend will claybar and wax the car, so should have some pics from that.
Old 01-12-2011, 01:25 PM
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ZS14RR
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LOoks like a regular Z to me.
Old 01-12-2011, 02:01 PM
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cubs4worldseris
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looks stock, but good start with your mod list.

Welcome!
Old 01-12-2011, 02:06 PM
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Bumble Z
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ditch the infiniti oem wheels n get some aftermarket ones n replace headlights with 06+ other then that looks good
Old 01-12-2011, 02:24 PM
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pcressey
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+ Exhaust
+ Stock Spoiler
Old 01-12-2011, 03:00 PM
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03Brickyard350z
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Originally Posted by ZS14
LOoks like a regular Z to me.
Yeh, so far its pretty much stock...I just got it about 3 weeks ago...now saving some $ to do some mods...suspension being number one, then will go from there.

@Bubble Z, although I actually like the Infiniti Rays...these have some nice curbage on them, so once the tires are gone, I will most likely replace with some nicer rims, and will prolly go down to an 18, with a little taller tire, as well as a wider rear with better offset. I looked at other members rides, found a few that look sick...

@pcressey - I dont know if I want the stock spoiler or something a little different, and no i dont mean HUGE taile wing rice... just something that might set me apart from the rest a little, but still tasteful

As for exhaust, from what I read, on the DE motor, its pretty much more about sound than performance, and I know I will get hated on for this, but I heard an ebay "godspeed", HKS knock off and I actually really like it, plus its like $400 - $500 shipped and I can install it myself...so that might be an option....other than that...the Borla or the Basani sound great too (youtube'd those, still waiting to hear in person)
Old 01-12-2011, 03:01 PM
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ImWeeZzel
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If money is an issue, id leave on the infiniti wheels. they look good imo.

we all gotta start somewhere. im still wanting to get an rdx antenna for mine and loose the horse whip. a stillen wing will flow nicely with the contours of teh Z
Old 01-12-2011, 03:03 PM
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marques1
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from those pics it doesn't look like plastik did a good job at fixing the hazing on your headlights. Like the poster said above get the 06+ headlights, I did, It makes a big difference.
Old 01-12-2011, 03:31 PM
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03Brickyard350z
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Originally Posted by marques1
from those pics it doesn't look like plastik did a good job at fixing the hazing on your headlights. Like the poster said above get the 06+ headlights, I did, It makes a big difference.

That was pre plastix, here is post

Old 01-12-2011, 05:13 PM
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n8dog11914
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Regarding the headlight restore, a couple months ago I used the Turtle Wax brand of Plastix and it worked great for a month and then the hazing took over again. Recently, I did the same again, but applied car wax on the lights after the headlight compound. It seems to be working much better.
Old 01-12-2011, 05:42 PM
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terrasmak
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Guess you didn't read much about how crappy RP oil is for the VQ.
Old 01-12-2011, 06:03 PM
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Vivid Racing
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wow looking good, keep up the great work! If there's anything i can help you out with, don't hesistate to ask
Old 01-12-2011, 06:36 PM
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Waiz
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Welcome dude
Old 01-12-2011, 07:48 PM
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03Brickyard350z
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Originally Posted by terrasmak
Guess you didn't read much about how crappy RP oil is for the VQ.
Huh...after reading as much as I could I thought Royal Purple and Motul are the best choices...what else is good, cause Motul is hard to find where I live, not too many performance shops.
Old 01-22-2011, 03:31 PM
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03Brickyard350z
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Installed the speakers today and wow what a difference that made, like night and day. The stock speakers are crap, the new Kicker comps sound amazing and no more crackling at minimum bass, haha. Followed a pretty good DIY and used the stock speakers as spacers....worked great. Also FIY, the kicker 1" tweeter easily goes into the stock mount and can be held by the stock metal bracket. Forgot to take pics to show this.....but made the install much easier.

Also installed the new rear hatch shocks, got the original OEM Nissan ones from ebay, they were a breeze to install, work great. The whole install took about 30 minutes.

Now springs and shocks are next, then solid differential bushings! and a break for a while hahah, gotta save up for a new front bumper...mine is cracked
Old 01-22-2011, 03:48 PM
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gZ33
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Originally Posted by 03Brickyard350z
Installed the speakers today and wow what a difference that made, like night and day. The stock speakers are crap, the new Kicker comps sound amazing and no more crackling at minimum bass, haha. Followed a pretty good DIY and used the stock speakers as spacers....worked great. Also FIY, the kicker 1" tweeter easily goes into the stock mount and can be held by the stock metal bracket. Forgot to take pics to show this.....but made the install much easier.

Also installed the new rear hatch shocks, got the original OEM Nissan ones from ebay, they were a breeze to install, work great. The whole install took about 30 minutes.

Now springs and shocks are next, then solid differential bushings! and a break for a while hahah, gotta save up for a new front bumper...mine is cracked
Yeah man the stock speakers are crap, I put in JL 6.5's all the way around and was a HUGE improvement.
Old 01-22-2011, 03:58 PM
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Z_enthusiast
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Originally Posted by n8dog11914
Regarding the headlight restore, a couple months ago I used the Turtle Wax brand of Plastix and it worked great for a month and then the hazing took over again. Recently, I did the same again, but applied car wax on the lights after the headlight compound. It seems to be working much better.
Nice start bro OP. But as for the headlights the only long term fix is to sand them with 1000grit then 2000 then finish with 3000 then buff with compound. its really easy. cant mess it up. just take around your fender then sand away! starting with 1k then working way up to 3k. itll look BRAND new and stay clear WAYYYYY longer than that wax crap. if you take your time itll take abt 1hr or so. depending how bad they are. Thats just a thought so when they fade again remember sanding and buffing is great.

In for pics of finished product!
Old 01-22-2011, 07:08 PM
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Pablo631
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nice Z, Infiniti wheels actually look pretty good on the brickyard! Good Luck with the progress!
Old 01-22-2011, 07:31 PM
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omsin523
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looks good but why the thick oil?
Old 01-22-2011, 08:41 PM
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PrimeX
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Still mad they didn't offer Brickyard for an '08 color. Love that look on the Z.


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