Hi all. This is my first post here....sure was happy to find this website! I just bought my 2003 Z with 6-speed and am curious about performance mods. I don't want to do anything that will greatly shorten the life of the drivetrain. I'd like to spend about $500 and want the biggest horsepower gains for the buck. What would that be?
Are the "chips" that are available for the Z just a joke or do they really improve performance? How do they affect the life of the engine? Thanks for the advice guys!

 

Pully is a good mod for hp.

 

for $500 a lot is going to depend on what brand of things you buy, but the best options to look into will be

cats

plenum

exhaust Y pipe (don't get this though if you plan on getting a whole new exhaust later)

UR crank pulley (skip the other 2 pulleys, they don't do anything)

JWT popcharger intake




racing lug nuts - not much of a gain, but kinda helps and not that expensive saves .5 lbs off each wheel


Don't get any chips yet - do that after you get a lot more mods where it'll be more useful

 

If you decide on the lug nuts, may I also suggest you pick up a grounding kit. Of course, that will be adding another .5lb to the front of the car. I don't think it will throw off the balance too much, but to be safe, just throw the old lug nuts in the spare tire well.

 

Thanks guys.....keep the suggestions coming.

How much does the pulley cost and what brand should I look at? Got a website to shop for them? Can a non-techie guy install it?

 

I did a grounding kit too, and paid $70 for mine, but just didn't notice anything other than the battery is putting out just a little more juice. I know a lot of people say it gives them smoother idle and it probably does, but I wouldn't be able to tell in a blind driving test.

I'd get the pulley before the racing lug nuts - 6 lbs savings and it's on unsprung weight. I'd also get the popcharger instead of them. I just mentioned the nuts cause they're like $110

The intake and plenum are very easy to install yourself.

the trick to getting the stock intake out is pulling it up cause it feels like you're going break something cause of how it's pinned down, but you won't.

The trick to the plenum is getting those hex bolts off the throttle body - make that the first thing you start taking off cause if you can't get them off, it's pointless to take everything else off.


Other free "mods" might be:
spraying out all or most of your windshield washer fluid (saves like 5lbs)
removing spare tire (not the tow hook though!) saves like 35ish lbs
removing the engine cover - lets heat more easily escape as well as reducing some minor weight

 

Best Mods bang for buck

OCB (Same bends as Fujitsubo)- Y Pipe - 220
Helix Test Pipe - 170
Top Speed Headers (Same bends as DC) - 230
JWT Pop Charger- 120

My car bones out.. but sounds like a raspy civic.

 

it's your Helix test pipes

get some resonators welded on or get the kinetix resonated pipes

 

I went on the Kinetix Site and didnt see any "resondated test pipes". Only Hi-Flow cats, are these the same?

 

I got a quote of $110 bucks to weld in resonators. Does that sound like a good price anyone?

 

I'd do that - partly cause it can be tough finding someone who WILL do it (messing with cats is a no no for state laws) and the other part cause I can't stand rasp

lowest I think i heard on this board was $90

I wouldn't sweat a $20 difference

 

You meant savings in rotational mass and not in unsprung weight. Right ?

 

Yeah, I just ordered the popcharger, despite all the people who said it caused their cars to stall. If it stalls even once while I have it on, I'm gonna switch back....it ain't worth the risk and/or embarrassment. I'm sure those people are in the minority, but it's still scary to read their posts about it stalling out.

 

I've had the popcharge for a very long time and I never once had an issue with it stalling...

As for $500, Crawford Z Plenum.
If you could find a cheap used one, I'd add on the test pipes as well.

 

Nope. Best bang for the buck is and always will be nitrous. $500 should get you a simple wet setup.

 

For this price range, the pulley kits are nice, high flow cats, of course intakes, and perhaps a plenum if you already have the major bolts ons. Other than that, you'll be spending a little more to jump up to headers or cams, exhaust, etc....