Todd,

It's the "squeeky wheel" syndrome. FI is the bleeding-edge technology, it's what's exciting and new, therefore it generates more attention. Staying NA is boring, everybody really is doing it.

Most of us can't justify the cost of FI and/or are afraid of the risks so we're happy staying NA, right? I've had a turbo Z before and it was fun. My 350 is just as much fun if not more.

All I can say is keep up the quest for more NA power!

 

NA boring? Nahhh nothing beats the sound of a pure high revving car making power. Of course the BOV of a FI car is almost equally rewarding.

If i had a choice i would go FI too but i dont see myself worrying myself when my motor is going to blow or if i do it the right way i'll be knee deep in debt. I rather go into debt for other reasons. I just want to shoot for the 300-340hp mark all NA. But like any mod freak once you hit your goal you always want more!

Lastly, i think the fact that people like the feel the rush of power going FI as well which gives people the feel that they are going faster then they really are. SC is the only option i would think about going if i was going to get into the FI world. Turbo(s) is just too risky and my financial means can not support that easily with the trouble it can give.

 

you do NOT need a stroker to go low 13's - though it would be great for our business if you did

I'd say it absolutely is less than 5% of members on this board that have FI. But a Dave said, they are far more vocal, and why not - they have something to brag about. Nothing special in the power department about a Z with bolt ons making 260 whp - to me, that's what everyone has. Nothing to exactly shout from the rooftops there.

Once people have NA results to brag about you'll see em bragging.

NA power is not what most here aspire to, because its a relatively unknown path, and its bound to cost alot. FI is nearly as easy as a phone call and a weekend of install. Do the math

But, for some of us, the road less travelled is the far more rewarding one

 

I guess, this is where i stand right now with my goals.

I do have a spare engine, that at first the plan was for FI. But i am having more fun with NA to even think about FI right now. This coming summer we will see more people with some great news on the NA front. Exciting times

Later
Todd

 

other N/A luver...... for most N/As.. your going to have to put up more money for quailty reliable parts to gain big hp gains.. i have an 06 rev-up and with only 500miles on it i dropped close to 7grand to go all n/a.. and 13s is no problem... my goal is to hit 12s.. which too is very possible.. but going to cost maybe my left leg.. i would go with motordyne iso thermal spacer 5/16, DC headers which is CARB EO. Nismo exhaust, jwt pop charger, jwt cams, and which every chip u decide with the set up u alread have.. this is a great start for hp gains N/A with street legal reliability..

 

I hope to have most of my N/A mods in before fall.

 

Im on the quest now to enlarge the maf housing and the intake tube. I already have a larger TB, just trying to push the boundaries of my n/a setup. With a good tune I would like to see n/a z's hitting atleast 280's 290's without going internal.

 

you can enlarge the MAF and TB all you want, but till you also enlarge the plenum itself, it ain't gonna amount to a thing except the need for lots of fuel correction in your tune.

290 whp can certainly happen...but not on pump gas with stock non rev up cams, unless its on a Dynpack.

We've discussed these things countless times over the years. NA stuff can be awesome...just bring your checkbook

 

Buy an extra block for about $400. Put some 11:5:1 compression pistons in there along with some eagle rods. Next do a mild port and polish job along with Tomei high lift cams. From there you can install the basics. I cant remember where I saw a bunch of 350z's in an article here, but most of them where making 350-375hp. There was Amuse, Top Secret and other companies in one of the battles.

It is more than possible to have 300rwhp. Dont get discouraged, becuase it will get costly. I would have loved to do an all motor 350z, but I'm more about power and thats why I choose to do FI.

 

It's so good to think that next year at this time we will see some great NA engines. All of you need to make sure you baseline on you local dyno now so that you know what your 298hp (or whatever you have) dyno's in stock tune. That way you can really chart your progress and not get discouraged if your local dyno is one that due to design/software spits out lower numbers then the one in the next state.

 

well i do have the MD 5/16 spacer and i plan on also p&p the plenum and match the plenum neck to the TB size. Hopefully that'll help a bit!!!

 

You mean, if you want a dyno queen, don't go N/A.
A fully built N/A VQ would be absolute ****.

 

Amen.

 

Now when you say plenum, are you refering to the mouth or the entire plenum?

I assume you mean the mouth.

I went with the crawford plenum for that reason. Here is my thread on what i did.

https://my350z.com/forum/intake-exhaust/223208-larger-maf-housing-intake-pipe-and-tb-installed.html

Still have not made it to the dyno. Warm weather is almost here

Later
Todd

 

NA power levels in the 300+ club are slim for the VQ crowd.

BUT, I will say that all those in search of new things should be applauded. Testing boundaries is what counts in the end, not a dyno chart.

 

Im pretty positive i wont reach 300whp but i want to get dam close to it without going internal. My goal is to reach atleast 280-290 with a great tune and a p&p plenum, bigger tube, bigger maf housing,etc...I dont plan on keeping the z forever so i just want to play with what i can without going big(FI)...Maybe just a little juice in the future for some added fun!!!

 

With my car the best i was able to get out of it was 267hp and 247TQ but that was with:

Plenum --------- Crappy Kinetix SSV
Pullies ---------- Unorthodox
Headers -------- DC SPORT
Exhaust -------- Injen SES
Test Pipes ------ Kinetix resonated pipes
Intake ---------- JWT
ECU ------------ UTEC ( self tune )
Flywheel -------- JUN
Clutch ---------- Nismo

Since then i swapped out the Kinetix SSV with the crawford plenum and added the larger intake and MAF housing with the stock box. Also i added a X-pipe to my exhaust.

Current is:

Plenum ---------- Crawford Big Mouth plenum
Pullies ----------- Unorthodox
Headers --------- DC sport
Exhaust --------- Injen SES ( Magnaflow X-pipe )https://my350z.com/forum/intake-exhaust/198935-dual-exhaust-test-pipe-rasp-proven-fix.html
Test Pipes ------- Kinetix Resonated
Intake ----------- Modified stock box (K N filter)Larger MAF housing https://my350z.com/forum/showthread.php?t=223208
ECU ------------- Utec
Flywheel --------- JUN https://my350z.com/forum/engine-and-drivetrain/36919-jun-flywheel-pics.html
Clutch ----------- Nismo
Throttle Body ---- Ported by ProFlow

I would hope the new setup will put me in the 270's somewhere. Just getting rid of the SSV and going with crawford made a big difference in performance for my car.

Thread here on Kinetix SSV

https://my350z.com/forum/intake-exhaust/208880-kinetix-plenum-shoot-out-stock-car-plus-more.html

Later
Todd

 

Are there any vq's running ITB's out there? I only remember seeing 1 pic, seems to me any NA wanting real power would go that route instead of dealing with the stupid plenum.... but I may be wrong?

 

you are

Its nice to have, but its not needed....there is ALOT of room for improvement through reworking the existing plenum

 

You won't get the bigger #s unless you do cams, the plenum and the exhaust system are a restriction up to around 265rwhp after that you have to unrestrict down stream meaning the stock camshafts, at around 275rwhp the stock air box and the throttle body become the restriction. See dyno below.