Within a year, when we start to see aftermarket parts coming out, what should i first work on? The suspension or the engine? I'm planning on doing a lot of autoxing and possibly making a couple runs on Road America in Elk Hart lake.

I was thinking that a cnice adjustable coil over would be the first step. But if a turbo or supercharger comes out, i would be tempted do that (there is never enough horsepower).

thoughts?

dan

 

I would say the general rule of thumb for just about any car would be to upgrade the handling and braking first, then worry about power later. With the 350Z, I would think personally the engine would be enough to hold me over for a while, so I'd work on suspension first. (I've never been terribly happy with stock suspension systems on cars... I like things a bit tighter.) Shocks, springs, anti-roll bars, better tires, etc.

From what I've been reading thus far, the 350Z's brakes seem to be pretty good, so you probably won't need to upgrade those unless you are pretty hardcore. (*especially* if you have the Brembos!)

As far as major power upgrades (such as forced induction), I'm always a bit wary of new products, so I like to see other people install them first. If a new turbo or supercharger comes out that starts causing serious problems, I'd rather it be on someone else's car.
-joe

 

I was thinking about this today...I'm pretty impressed with the stock suspension. Admitedly, I just drive around and am not interested in autocrossing, but for daily driving (speeding) the suspension is great.


I am interested in engine mods, and maybe with more hp, the suspension won't seem all that good.

 

For Auto-X definatly suspension first (if you don't mind bumping classes). Power isn't that much of an issue on the majority of auto-x courses, especially if you are talking turbos where you need to get spooled to really see it.

For auto-x, the best upgrade you can make is driver education. If you have never been to a racing/performance driving school, you will see vast improvements without making any changes to your car.

Second is tires. They will be your best investment for the car as far as time reduction for the dollar.

Everything else is incremental and gets more expensive for less returns as time goes on.

 

I have to agree with Alang on this one. When I first got my Audi, I took it to the track (Thunder Hill) in stock form. That was my first time at a track, and it was awesome getting high speed driving education from veteran racers on a closed course.

Then I went out and upgrade my rims and tires (wider and stickier) and anti-roll bars (stiffer) and suspension (lower and stiffer), and went back to the track. Holy cow! It was night and day. The car was absolutely 100% more fun.

Of course, I'm talking about my Audi A4, which isn't the sportiest car in stock form. The stock equipment was definitely tuned more for comfort rather than performance, so aftermarket uprades made a huge difference. The 350Z, on the other hand, is surely a different beast all together. The stock equipment is hopefully tuned more aggressively for performance, so aftermarket upgrades probably won't make as big of a difference.

However, just about any car in stock form is going to be tuned at least somewhat conservatively to appeal to the largest majority of people and driving styles. So if you are one of the more aggressive drivers, and don't mind harder suspension and more expensive high performance tires and so forth, then a lot can probably be gained from aftermarket parts.

 

im prolly goin to start moddin my engine first..
suspension is very important..but hp comes first in my book

 

Well, considering the suspension bits are already out, looks like it's suspension first by default. I don't know when we'll start to see a decent selection of engine pieces for the Z.

Personally, you will see and feel more improvement with uprated components such as coilovers and stabilizers and better tires. But a more powerful motor is sooooo satisfying