also, you could replace the rear end with a cusco or something to get good power to the ground, something you will need now and after your kit. Test pipes are a good cheap mod that can really help out, I could tell a pretty big difference but I did a TD as well. I would just save your money and get the kit asap.

 

Your recommendation on tires?

I have the Potenza RE050 PP's, which are much better than the stockers, but Id like to know whats even better.

 

well with a TT kit like above stated most of that stuff will be replaced...but there are a few things that you will need to get aside from the TT to enhance it...

(none of the below are in any sort of order to what you get when...but i'd advise to address all of them atleast a little bit)

first thing you have to consider is air flow...ie test pipes, exhaust. do not worry about headers because those will be taken care of with the TT kit. look at a nice pair of high flow cats or even open dumps. AAM makes nice ones, and also look at exhaust. a good exhaust could eat up that 1500 in a heartbeat.

then you should take into consideration getting that power to the ground...which means a new clutch/flywheel. LSD's are nice (if you dont have one on your Z already due to having a base model, get one, you wont regret it) but you can always get one later...clutch and flywheel is really the big thing here. you can spend a little over 1500 and get a nice twin disc from carbonetic from a vendor on here...or go with the cheaper exedys which will save you money...

suspension upgrades...springs/coils/strust/sways/strut bar....your z already has a front and rear strut tower bars, but not sways...sways are cheap and improve handling a LOT. i love mine...hotchkis or cusco make good ones...you can change the front tower bar if you want...not necessary though. spring and struts or just coils...also good addition. that can eat up your 1500 in a heartbeat.

engine internals. i dont know if you are planning on upgrading your engine at all or if you plan on running low boost on a stock block. but cams are a good idea to consider even if you are going to run a stock block.

these are all just opinions and none of them have to be taken, but just things i would do...

enjoy the power!!

 

I'm not a tire expert by any means. I had Toyo RA1's recommended to me by THX723 (he knows the subject a lot better than I do).

I don't know how RA1's compare to other race tires but the RA1's made a massive improvement over stock.

Cornering was totally changed. The lateral acceleration was so much higher I found myself getting thrown to the left and right side of the seat with great force. The lateral force increased so much it actually became physically uncomfortable (at least in the beginning).
Brake force increased drastically too. With race tires and hard braking, you are no longer sitting in the seat... One foot in the clutch and one foot on the brake. The nose of the car digs down and you get thrown into the seat belts very hard and sometimes you will even get slightly suspended above the seat because the decelleration force is so high.

I thought I was going to need a kidney belt just to keep my guts from getting squished out of place LOL.

After a while I got used to it and drove better for it.
That's what improves time at the track. Its fun stuff.

For the person that has never tried race tires and is curious as to their effect, I would estimate a ballpark comparison to be like this:

The added forward axial force gained from the typical TT kit is about ~1/4 of the braking and lateral force gained from race tires.

Think of what the typical turbo kit feels like. Multiply that feeling by ~4 and that is the increase in braking and turning you will feel with race tires.