First off, I am a layman, (read newbie), and while I have a general understanding of tech/mod lingo, I am by no means on the level of most of you here, heh. Try to keep that in mind when explaining stuff.

I digress... Bottom line, I have a track 350, and am looking to start modifying. As it stands I have about 2500 dollars I can throw into at the moment. Ill have more later but Im wondering what I should do with this.

Couple things to keep in mind...
1. What if any mods will kill the warranty? Is that even worth worrying about?

2. Overall, Id like to; 1. add a lot of power, 2. increase handling. What Im trying to say is, by no means do I plan on just spending 2500, I plan on putting a lot of work in over time. Does this change my starting point, and what or where I need to make my first changes? (For instance, I want to go turbo later on.)

3. Who, what, when, where, what for... How much should I expect to pay for these things? What could I do on my own (again, I've rebuilt old VW engines, but thats about my biggest achievement, and its nothing like what I see under my hood.) and what or who should I have do the other work. I live in South Florida if that helps.



Thanks ahead of time.

~Aj
N00bie

 

Monster Garage challenge... Take this 2003 Nissan 350z Track and turn it into an opponent spanking, jaw dropping machine. The budget... $2500. In the end the car must spank the competition and still appear stock...

NOS wet kit with install: $1500

$2500
- 1500
_______
$1000

Eibach Springs: $250 (DIY Installation)

$1000
- $250
_______
$ 750

Injen or AEM intake: $250

$750
- $250
_______
$500

86 center resonator: $50

$500
- $50
_______
$450

DIY wash and wax: Freebie, Freebie, Freebie... zip, zero, nada

$450
- $0
_______
$450

"Gift" for service advisor at dealer to "take care of your car": $200

$450
- $200
_______
$250 remaining for gas and toluene.

Challenge is successful! You can now spank most things that pull up next to you and they have no idea what the hell just hit them.

Sorry, been watching that show WAAAAAAY too much.

 

1. Springs

2. Wider tires on the back

3. Wait for ECU

 

If you are looking for power I would just wait. If you want to make your car handle better you could pick up the Nismo S-Tune suspension kit. From the reviews I have seen it totally transforms the car.
If you really want more power, you should decide now if you want to go turbo or NA. If you are going NA you could go with headers, exhaust, and intake. The Esprit cams and intake seem nice too. I would still probably wait until a few people try these out first and see how much of a difference they actually make. The aftermarket is still really young and I'm sure in a year or so the aftermarket parts for the Z will be superior to the ones that are out now.

 

thanks for the advice.

Waiting is fine. Perhaps I can learn more in the interim as well.

I read a few posts about the Nismo S-Tune suspension, Ill check that out.

~AJ

 

You could rip out about 500 lbs worth of crap.

 

You can go with:

Injen CAI - $250
Nismo wing - $750
Nissan (Bilstein) suspension - $1500
includes: shocks + springs + anti-roll bar + bushings

That will take care of handling, some power and looks

 

i think as of right now IMO i would go with concentrating on how to get the power you already have....to the ground and how to keep it on the ground...what im sayin is....i would go to racing school...thats just me

 

Keep it and save some more for a turbo.

Or if you want to get started now......

Intake, headers, downpipe, exhaust, nitrous, throttle body bore. S-tune suspension definatlly, probablly go for an imitation Nismo wing for $250 myself. With the track model, no real need for new brakes or wheels.

Obviouslly thats more than $2500, but it's a decent path of progression to plan for. Think about what you want, handling, performance, looks, and then see what there is.

Oh yeah, new tires, maybe the S-Tune Yokohamas.

 

Just like BigBadBuford and others have said...

Nismo S-tune will get you the biggest bang for the buck... as a starter. Some people have ordered directly from Japan and some are waiting for NISMO to set up shop in the US.

I can't wait to get that suspension installed... just a matter of a few weeks now.

 

Fairlady z in japan,
how much is the nismo s tune suspension in Japan?Maybe you could be our Japanese pimp for parts.

 

The S-tune will cost me 180,000 plus 5% tax .. or about $ 1,600 at the current exchange rate. I buy it directly at NISMO. You have to calculate in the air freight.

Your best bet is to do a search on this site... Japanparts and a few other importers are your best option.

Just got a call from Nissan.. S-tune coming in next week... yabadabadoooo.... the bounce will be gone and the handling improved.

 

I have to give another vote to the S-Tune suspension w/ swaybars. IMO the power mods out at this time aren't worth it. Wait for ECU upgrade before anything else.

 

hi, i work for performance nissan. i would suggest just to wait for the nismo launch this may before anything. there are some parts that are warrantied and some are not.

S tuned ( has warranty )

R tuned

 

It all deppends on what you want to do with the car?

1. Do you want to Race it?

2. Do you want to show it?

3. Do you just want to enjoy it?

Once you have answered all the questions I would then site down and decide what you want to do first. Do you want you care to look different first? Do you want to to handle better first? The biggest thing I would do is concentrate on things other than performance gains. The performance parts are in the works, but not out yet. I would look into purchasing some type of suspension. Here some of the popular kits and applications.

Track use:
JIC FLT-A2

Track/Street:
Tein flex with EDFC
Nismo Suspension

Street:
Nismo suspension
Eibach

If you go with anything but Eibach's I would suggest looking into a set of sway bars either Cusco or Nismo. It helps tie the packages all together.

You could also buy a body kit and have it installed. The biggest thing is for you to decide what your goals are with the car. I would then find a reputable shop to sit down and go over goals and then map out a mod list to fit your budget.

just my 2 cents

thanks,
Greg