Rice_Boii

thanks for the input guys. I think i will wait until more parts come out. Im just no satified spending over a grand for an exhaust or pther bolt ons upgrade to only get a few ponies.

digerydingo

Kzshin - Your right, Nismo did build a GT race version of the 350Z and designed an engine in part with HKS. The engine is bored, runs on race fuel, is NA and pushes roughly 450hp unrestricted. It is not a street motor, could not be driven day to day, needs race fuel. You can't purchase this engine unless you hold a valid race license.http://www.nismo.co.jp/M_SPORTS/z33/index.html

Zillinois - You are also right. Nismo is currently developing an R-Tune engine for the Z, however, all your links point to BNC32,33,34 which is the code for the Skyline. So far Nismo has released no official power numbers regarding the S-Tune or R-Tune Z and even numbers they release have only been speculation.

Nismo is currently racing the VQ35DETT in Skylines in the JGTC GT500 class, Hassemi Motorsports is racing the Z33GT in the GT300 class and it is rumored that Nissan or a team will try the Z33GT at LeMans in 2004. With racing state side in the Grand-Am Cup, SCCA, Infinity Pro Series, and rumored Speed GT and ALMS I have no worries that power can and will be found on the street version of the motor. Nissan/Renault spent millions spearheading Nissans motorsports endeavors with the VQ35, they aren't going to stop now considering they just won both the GT500 and 300 class in JGTC.

kzshin

Thanks for clear everything out, Digerydingo.

zillinois

iTrader: (6)

Thanks Digery,
That is good new indeed. We should see some good parts coming out soon.

Nismo240sx

Well probably the reason why the hp #'s are lower than Gsrs,Rsx is because of the fact that the VQ creates power throughout the whole power band rather than the Vtec range like hondas have which only have gains in the Upper rev range.

shimz350z

i must say reading "digerydingo's" comment made it sound very inspirational for our beloved z...good job everyone=) it's gonna be moving faster then the nunchuks bruce is swinging around on my icon=)

ZPower

You guys have to keep in mind the stock design of the VQ. The intake and exhaust are pretty good in stock form. This is also a NA car, no FI.

My last car was NA. What I found was that the real power to be unlocked lied at the manifold(s) (my last car had two-upper and lower-don't know if all cars are like that), what we here call plenum, cams, port & polish on the heads (HUGE), valves, CR, and ECU tuning (also a big one). Just to give you an idea the car is a 2000 Mercury Cougar which came with a misely 2.5L V6 rated @ 170HP/165TQ. My friend did all the above-full race P&P on the heads, bigger valves, SVT cams, dyno tuned ECU w/S-AFC, dual extrune honed manifolds, plus the usual I/H/E/TB/cats/MAF and a 3.0L block (from Taurus, same motor-Duratec, just bigger bore-note this raised CR when used in conjuction with the 2.5L heads which in turn were necessary for hood clearance), and now has ~260HP/230TQ (derived from dyno runs, used stock dyno runs to calculate drivetrain loss and then used loss to calculate power at the crank w/mods). This equates to a 53% increase in HP and 40% increase in TQ without any FI or nitrous. And I can vouch for it. I am only able to walk him slowly with my Z on the freeway (I used to smoke him), and the Cougar is no feather weighing in at ~3000lbs, so weight doesn't play a big part here.

I'm not saying the Z is as restrictive as my friend's Cougar above, but it seems that NA motors have to be unlocked from within. Even though Hondas and such get good power from bolt-ons (reason being because they are so restrictive to begin with-not the case of the Z) they really only get going when you start to play with cams, heads, valves, and dyno tuning.

Yes, this is expensive and still can't compete with the bang for buck FI cars' aftermarket options (my friend burned $6k on the Cougar-not including body/wheels/tires), but it is what it is.

cedusett

Got any pics? I've never seen a Cougar with a body kit

ZPower

Here's my old one:

ZPower

Here's my friend's Cougar from above (260HP) just before he did all the engine work (sorry about the pic):

ZPower

And here's a Turbocharged one:

Sponge

iTrader: (5)

It takes time. We purchased a sports car. These days parts can be nearly optimized with minimal testing because of past history. We should expect that some mods just aren't going to show big gains (CAI, pulleys, exhaust, headers) because they are someting short of exceptional to begin with. If these parts weren't designed reasonably well to begin with, we'd all be pissed off at such a moniker as the "Z" being maligned by faulty, power robbing parts. There are exceptions of course. Stillen and Crawford seem to take the extra effort to test, so do a few others. This is commendable. But we'd all like to wish/expect aftermarket parts that gain 10+hp. I think, for the most part, the days of mediocre OEM part design are gone.

I love hearing what digerydingo has to says. This means serious effort will be expelled is tweeking the VQ. But I find myself thinking like iwanna03350Z in that suspension mods are first, serious power is still being developed.

RedShft

15-20hp??? try again. the intakes are restrictive on hondas but not that restrictive. AEM and Injen made the better intakes bringing 8 whp MAX. the K series motors like intakes a bit better though.

sorry, just had to point that out.

cedusett

Those cougars look sweet. Who'd have thought...

ZPower

Thanks. Wasn't a bad little car...cheap, economic (for a V6), and not bad looking (my taste). I think the most fun was that the Cougar was so restrictive all around from factory, that it made engine and suspension mods provide nice, noticeable improvements.

It won't be that easy to awaken the Z, but then again, it's a pretty freakin good car as is anyway. I don't think I'll be changing much over stock (power wise). Once you go over ~300-400HP traction becomes a b!tch, and you just can't have any fun putting the pedal to the metal anymore. Or at least that's how I feel.

kzshin

Actually, CAI did add 15-20 hp to the RSX type-S, and it was dyno proven by couple magazines, especially the CAI from Injen and AEM. However, what's good for RSX type-S does not necessary mean it will be good for the well designed Z, just like those CAI doesn't add that much to s2000 or HONDA/Acura ICON the NSX.