Well you came to the right place for people to over complicate things.

-Coolant, 50/50 is fine. But burping the air out of the coolant system on these cars is a PITA. Research it before you try.
-DOT3 or 4 is fine for brake fluid.
-Highest octane available. 91 or 93 ideally.

I can't help with the other stuff. Welcome to this place. Embrace the hate.

 

You can get a little bruised up in here so FYI just do as much research as you can on your own, pretty much anything and everything has been written up or talked about in this forum.If they feel you did your due diligence they might be obliged to help you,I myself more than welcome to share what I know!!!

 

Well, the first thing I would do is become one with your owners manual. So grab a coffee, a beer, a red bull, or whatever and read it. It's a good place to start. As far as your mods are concerned; Browse this site, and run a search for the mods you've listed using the correct keywords and you will find pros & cons to each.

 

CAI- most "cold" air systems aren't that. Take a GOOD look at the factory air intake, its already a cold air intake. The air comes from IN front of the radiator and is completed sealed from the engine compartment. Any system that grabs air from the behind the rad is a warm air intake, so why bother. Personally I think your better off with a plenum spacer.

Exhaust system - I went Invidia Gemini + high flow cats. Do your research. I found most aftermarket Z exhausts sounded pretty bad.

Don't expect the above mods to do much power wise, your talking maybe 10HP. However they are easy bolt ons you can do yourself.

And better brakes - Akebono upgrade. Can be done cheap if you buy reman caliper units from Rock Auto. Then its just rotors and pads. These brakes will fit under your current wheels (just barely). Be aware however that the spare tire will not clear the fronts.

 

Maintenance:
What kind of coolant should I use? If you are picky like me, I just picked up some Nissan concentrated coolant and mixed it 50/50 with distilled water, but I hear of people having no issues just adding 50/50 Prestone.
What kind of brake fluid? User manual calls for DOT 3, but I run a Synthetic DOT 3 & DOT 4 for higher temperature rating for I do track the car
What octane of fuel? Daily driven for now till other car is here with me. 91 or 93, if you live in central CA like myself where you have no access to 93, 91 is just fine.

MODS:
Goal: to have a nice daily that sounds good, and runs good. Parts I want are a CAI, Exhaust system (either full length not to expensive or just a cat back) I want that classic R35 Gtr sound. And better brakes. Suspension, probably not... rides perfectly fine. I don’t want to spend too much money. Tight budget with school loans and what not. I’m also in the army so time is a constraint. I am currently running a Nismo S-Tune catback, high flow cats and planning on changing to Nismo headers. I feel this gives the car that exotic Nissan noise without the raspy garbage noise many aftermarket exhaust offer. As far as intake goes, really any intake will give you the deep gargle noise that you want in an intake, name brand doesn't matter, its all in the filter and the filter location in which you are given 2 options - ram air or cold air. If you are looking for stopping power, its all in the pad bite and stickiness of tires. I am running RE71 tires and hawk HP+ brake pads (this is also my autox set up) the car stops on a dime, without the need for upgraded calipers. I am also running the same set up on my Evo with Brembos, stopping distance for both cars is very similar if not the same. Fair warning, the brake pads bite extremely well so you get to deal with a lot of brake noise and brake dust.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but the Akebono (Z34 sport brakes) don't just bolt up... you will need the adapter bracket, no? (Available from any of our vendors that sell the Akebono upgrade)

And wheel fit can be a big problem.... if you are going to consider the Sport brakes, go to the vendor sites and download the fitment templates to make sure whatever wheels you are considering (if you go with new wheels) will fit over these calipers. Not so much that they're "big" but they are both larger and more squared off than OE Z33 brakes or other 4-pot sets like the OE Brembos or even StopTechs.

 

Welcome to the Forum!!

Looks like you found yourself a good lookin Z! Congrats! There is a lot of good information here if you know how/where to look for it! Wear your body armor and you'll be just fine! I may not know everything, but feel free to ask me if you have any questions or the like!!

Enjoy Your Z!

 

Any name brand 50/50 coolant
Any name brand DOT 3
87-93 you pick

 

You need an adapter, either the Z1 or CZP. Also, the dust shield needs to be removed or trimmed and different bolts need to be used in order to use the stock lines, or you can go aftermarket, which in my opinion at that point you might as well upgrade.

In terms of clearance, they will clear the OEM 18s (I have the V1 and V2 versions and both clear no problem) however they will not clear OEM 17s nor the V2 Track/Nismo wheels.

 

I agree with what a lot of people have said already:

Coolant - Nissan OEM
Brake/Clutch Fluid - Valvoline Synthetic DOT 3 & 4 Brake Fluid
Gasoline - Stick with premium, as stated in the owner's manual

I'd reconsider the intake/exhaust before suspension upgrade. Changing the shocks, rear differential bushings and adding a Hotchkis front and rear sway bar kit has completely transformed my ride, and is miles above whatever small gains you get through an intake or exhaust upgrade. I remember learning this on my last car, a Mitsubishi Eclipse, and made sure I went after the suspension first on the 350Z. No regrets on that decision whatsoever.

If you ever get stuck in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, let us know. Thanks for your service compadre and just remember to have fun with the car, mods or no mods.

And yes, some of us may come across as undignified jerks at times (guilty), but please remember, I have a fantastic singing voice.

 

Suspension: My stock Z suspension feels great. Rode in a lowered Z with Tien Coilovers and it felt like garbage.

Exhaust: I would only go hi-flow cats and keep stock although after years of having loud exhausts I enjoy a silent exhaust even though I'm turbocharged(running no cat's plus stock muffler/resonator).
Otherwise get a replica off ebay for cheap money


Air go plenum spacer only from what people said or Kinetix V+

Brakes: My stock 03 brakes seem crazy good. Unless you're tracking the vehicle I don't see the need to upgrade.

 

google/youtube 350z exhaust clips bc its completely personal and it'll give you a good idea of whats available. Since you're on a budget consider buying your exhaust used from the forum here or locally. Ensure it's authentic and in good-enough condition.

There are plenty of aftermarket intakes - research what others have done and do what they did. The plenum spacer is a good place to start and if you have a 4" grinder and want to go a little crazy, look into what Motordyne did with a lower intake and clone that.

Consider getting a tune as well - all these mods will yield minimal results with a tune. In your case Uprev would be a really good place to start.

I think one can make suspension/handling improvements but you gotta go *****-crazy and revamp the system(I'm not very knowledgable so dont listen to me).

Google what brake kits are available for the car - all the major players - stoptech, akebono, AP racing, brembo, Project Mu, I think Greddy has a kit?? I think you'll find that even a used kit will run $2k to $3k and your money may be better spent in other places.

I run the AP Racing kit and they bite and stop the car quickly but theyre overkill for anything beyond track use. Sexy as hell but overkill


thank you for your service! We (all) live in the best county in the world bc of men & women like yourself.

 

Hi Haymore 1965 and welcome. I’m glad you decide to participate here.

You can see asking general advice gets many varied replies. We all have our favorites, and our advice is driven by a limited experience.

Personally, I like Zak’s advice (which is what I’ve done with my 2003 350z).

 

the akebonos will require a bracket to fit on a 350z. with my Enkei's they rub and still rub and i've worn down the caliper pretty good with small rocks getting between the wheel barrel and the caliper.