I'd like to start off by saying I'm new to this car and have only had it for a few weeks. But I have big plans for it and want to share my progress with everyone.

Bought the car in the middle of October in 2012. It is a 2005 enthusiast with 30k miles. It had a few mods done to it already when I picked it up, it has a popcharger, carbon fiber engine cover, 5/16 plenum spacer, few mild carbon fiber interior accents, tinted windows, 10 inch sub, jdm clear reflectors, led blinkers and reverse lights, 10k low beams, a painted replica nismo lip, and a flip up touch screen radio.

I have big plans for future mods. I already have D2 coilovers ordered and they should be here by the end of next week. I will be installing test pipes, maybe an intake manifold, and get a tune. Then I will focus on my fitment, I will be rolling my fenders soon and putting on wheel spacers until next summer when I buy wheels, I am mainly looking at MB battles or MB weapons in Gunmetal. Then they sky is the limit for what I may decide to do.

This is how she looked when i brought her home.


The second day I had the car I lowered it on tein s techs that i bought from a local z owner who upgraded to coilovers.



The second order of business was spray tinting my tails, and plastidipping the badges.



Then came my HKS replica exhaust in the mail. yes i know it's a replica, but i show no shame in saving 2000 bucks on a product that performs almost as well.





And then I decided while I am wheel shopping, and since winter is coming up, why not throw some plastidip on the wheels to protect them from the salt. I sold my winter wheels I used to put on my old car and already regret it.




And this is how my car currently sits, I've only owned it for a few weeks now, and I've got much plans for it. I already am ditching the s techs for D2 coilovers that should be here by next weekend. Will update the thread after installation.

 

You ruined it with the sprayed tails.... Look for some used 2006+ tail lights, they look really sweet. Otherwise, your car looks great!

 

^i've since redone them, and they turned out better. I actually plan on getting the 06 tails, and maybe an 07+ hood.

 

So.... plastidip, tail light tint, eBay lip, eBay exhaust... hmm

 

^tail light tint was more of a feeler thing. I wouldn't have done it if my car wasn't black. and plastidip on your wheels for the winter doesn't seem like a bad idea to me. as for my exhaust, dish out whatever flame you have.

 

didn't really get a choice in the lip, I will ditch the whole bumper for an 06 bumper eventually, no lip with clear reflectors.

 

Big plans normally include removing stuff like MB, D2 and anything replica.

 

big plans for a full time 19 year old college student who only works 20 hours a week include adding MB and D2.

 

Better off keeping your quality stock parts on it.

 

i don't know if you could tell from the picture, but the exhaust that was on there was not stock. the previous owner cut the stock exhaust off and put some really cheap muffler on there with some really ugly tips, and the exhaust had a pretty severe leak and sounded like ****. so i think my ebay exhaust was an upgrade from what was on there.

 

You have probably already read this in researching the HKS replica but just in case....have a magnaflow resonated x pipe (part #11386) welded in. I did this on my like the day after I installed the exhaust because I could not stand the drone. It makes a world of difference. The sound is so much cleaner and kind of throatier.

You might need the x pipe with 2.25" inlets/outlets, I can't remember of the top of my head.

 

I have already looked into it, and I will. I just had to fix the terrible exhaust system I had on there right away. First I'm gonna focus on finishing up my suspension, I am gonna be getting control arms, camber arms etc.. first. I would rather deal with drone for a bit than deal with burning through tires like there's no tomorrow.

 

Understandable, tires are expensive. How low are you planning on going?

I was only charged 1/2 labor for the magnaflow x-pipe install, so it was a pretty cheap mod.

 

probably not much lower than it is now until I get some proper fitting wheels. the rear will be probably 3/4 to an inch lower, and the front will probably be a half inch lower. any lower on stock wheels kind of looks ridiculous, especially without spacers.

 

For a full time 19y/o college student that works 20 hours a week, you mod fast. Pay very close attention to the wheel's width and offset. I am not sure if MD wheels will have the size you are looking for. I have seen some guys with aftermarket wheels that sink in more than the stock wheel. IMO...18x8.5+15front and 18x9.5+15rear is what most people try to buy. But hey... all that matters is if you love your car. I too, can not afford the $2000 parts. I mod my cars and I have a fun time doing it. But you also dont want to replace a good quality part with something that will lower your performace. That is why we have this forum, you can read about all our mistakes.

 

I know a decent amount about cars, and modded my last car too. I do know however tons about wheel sizes and what to look far. MB battles come in like 18x9.5 +30 on all 4 corners, thats pretty decent and they have a fairly nice concave, i would probably run some 20mm spacers with those if I end up going with them.

 

plastidip and tinted lights FTL.

 

Am I buying a duraflex body kit? NO
Am I buying a big aluminum spoiler? NO
Am I cutting my exhaust off? NO


I'm sorry if you don't like the look of tinted tails on a black car, but I as well as many others do. And I'm sorry that 2,000 coilovers and 3,000 dollar wheels are out of my budget. And as for my REMOVABLE plastidip, it's just that, removable. My wheels are plastidipped to protect the finish from salt, because here in the midwest the roads are pretty much covered in it all winter.

Go sell your Z now because I'm a ricer.

 

So do yourself and your Z a favor and remove it.

Most people liking the tint are other teenagers. That's more and more people on this site though so you'll be in good company in a short period of time.

As for your exhaust, you can really make it *pop* by doing the bumper tuck mod. Only cost you a couple of bucks in screws and there's a thread on here about how to do it. Here's a good picture of it...

 

In before start of build!