You are correct!!! Suspension being the best of most Tuning companys!!!

All Car company tuning Companys(ie.MUGEN & SPOON:Honda/Acura,TRD,Ralliart etc)They all are know for High priced Goods that actually can be WAYYY out performed by your normal run-o'-da-mill "Household" Aftermarket Companys

Case in point: SKUNK2 makes JDM Honda/Acura OE Parts that blow the real JDM OE parts away as well as Spoon/Mugen parts @ half the price and readliy avaliable ta boot!

Nismo is the same way,..Aftermarket is still weak for the Z give it another 6mths to a year and it will be jumpin w/ different parts.
And damn I can't wait!

AS cool as it would be to run ALL NISMO on your NIssan or Z--you see what the S-Tune has w/ all that,..a not much more powerful Regular Z w/ say a INJEN CAI/SES EXHAUST and a Crawford Plenum(Power wise) and thats way Cheaper then what they spent on their Z,..but then again,..its pretty much free to them?

my $0.02

 

You are correct!!! Suspension being the best of most Tuning companys!!!

All Car company tuning Companys(ie.MUGEN & SPOON:Honda/Acura,TRD,Ralliart etc)They all are know for High priced Goods that actually can be WAYYY out performed by your normal run-o'-da-mill "Household" Aftermarket Companys

Case in point: SKUNK2 makes JDM Honda/Acura OE Parts that blow the real JDM OE parts away as well as Spoon/Mugen parts @ half the price and readliy avaliable ta boot!

Nismo is the same way,..Aftermarket is still weak for the Z give it another 6mths to a year and it will be jumpin w/ different parts.
And damn I can't wait!

AS cool as it would be to run ALL NISMO on your NIssan or Z--you see what the S-Tune has w/ all that,..a not much more powerful Regular Z w/ say a INJEN CAI/SES EXHAUST and a Crawford Plenum(Power wise) and thats way Cheaper then what they spent on their Z,..but then again,..its pretty much free to them?
I'll stick w/ what I know,..not downing Nismo but w/ the recent Cars I've owned--the regular A
my $0.02

 

270+ whp.

Morepower

 

Slay -

I think you're being a little too rough on Nismo. They have it pretty hard. OE quality and a harsh big brother in Nissan versus an eager aftermarket expecting the world.

i think they do a pretty good job. In that post with the guy who installed the Nismo CAI, he said it looked like AEM, but once installed it was clearly different.

Give Nismo some respect. If you don't want to buy the **** then dont. I'm not going to either. But they are a reputable company doing a damn good job considering their situation.


dan

 

It depends what the design intent of the part is. Nismo stuff is not designed to be the best all out performance, but designed with the much more difficult goal of having the best balanced performance, the suspension is designed to have the best cornering power under most street conditions, including bumpy turns, its designed not to have a jarring ride and its designed not to be so on the edge with chassis oversteer/understeer balance that an intermediate drive can find himself in trouble.

The ride is better in some ways, especialy freeway hop and porposing than stock. There is much less understeer but the chassis balance is still easy to control without sudden onset of oversteer. This is not the ultimate G machine but it is probably the most liveable and the most rewarding to the non-compitition but enthusisast driver. For the compition driver, there will be an upcoming adjustable coil-over R-Tunes package which will be way edgy, proably not what most enthusiasts really want.

There is a lot of engineering envolved to make a part warranty friendly, the parts have to go through the same validation testing that OEM parts go through, like a 20,000 km durbilty test, a torture test at Nissans Arizona test center. The suspension is tested, calibrated and tested again and again at Nissans proving grounds in Japan and in Arizona for handling on all sorts of road surfaces and conditions. The parts undergo a whole battery of torture tests in the lab as well. Other tests for sound level and emissions and power output are done.

There is way more engineering in many of the Nismo parts that the aftermarket can ever dream of. You car can pass smog legaly, not get ticketed for noise nor can your warranty be voided with S-Tune parts.

Nimo could engineer the S-Tune parts for the ultimate performance but thats not what S-Tune is about. However, with the full arry of Nismo parts installed in your car, you will make more power than any NA Z currently on the street without sacrficing much streetabilty. With the exhaust, headers, cams, air intake, flywheel and adding an aftermarket UR underdrive pulley you can easily expect over 270 whp, about 35-40 hp more than a typical stock 350. Not bad for bolt ons.

As far as plenum mods go, I have seen a larger plenum tested on a VQ35 with negative power results so I suspect some of the claims of great power gains with a plenum that fits under the stock hood.

Morepower

 

morepower,

Off-topic, it seems that your pretty informed with NISMO/Nissan products. My question is, 1) What's up with the Z's ECU adjusting itself to factory settings after bolt-ons have been installed for some time resulting in zero gains as identified by members dyno sheets? link to ECU research 2) Will NISMO have a ECU upgrade? 3) Any S/C or turbo in the works ? ( I just had to ask)

Thanks for the information that you have already shared we us.

 

Morepower,

The S-Tune suspension sounds like the answer for me. I love my Track but I'm annoyed with the bounce on certain roads. Now to find a local dealer willing to sell and install at a reasonable price......

 

Yeah you are gonna find that the Nismo suspension is better for that annoying freeway hop. It is stiffer in some ways but at least in my opinion it rides a little better than stock in general amd handles a bunch better.

Morepower

 

Unless you have proof, there's no way I can believe what you're stating.

Not trying to be a dick, but you have to understand most of us Z owners want proof for power claims such as the ones above. I'd like to know where you get those numbers from.

I've never heard anyone talk crap about Nismo, and they seem to make very good products, but as I stated in another thread, I don't believe they make the best performance parts (that have the highest hp gains) for the Z33. I haven't seen any proof of it atleast.

I'm curious, have you owned any Nissan that had Nismo "go fast parts" before (what vehicle, parts, hp)?

Just want info or proof, not try to start a war.

 

The ECU is quite active and has a lot of command authority from sensor feedback. If you monitor ignition timing with consult you will find that the ECU is pulling out a lot of timing between run to run. I outlined what it takes to dyno a 350Z accuratly in another thread recently. What a lot of people are finding out is that Nissan did not leave a lot on the table within easy reach on the Z compared to other cars like the SE-R and the Altima. The stock intake and exhaust are pretty darned good.

I don't think you will see big gains with those bolt ons untill you get more into the motor, like camshafts, headers, etc. That said a car with Nismo headers, cams, CAI, exhaust, flywheel, UR underdrive pulley will rock a true 270+ hp to the wheels, better than an NSX for an example.

Technosquare and soon JWT will be coming out with tuned ECU's that limit the variation from run to run albet with less safety factor.

Bomb

 

morepower2, one more ECU question while we have you here. Can you confirm or refute the point about the ECU limiting power for the first x miles (where is x is usally 5000)? This keeps coming up on the forum from various sources.

 

^^ Yes, me too! I would like to know this as well!

Cheers.

 

Although I am not a ECU expert, the people I know that are say no so what you see is probably the engine breaking in and loostening up a little. Nissan engines run very tight tolerances so maybe this is what is being seen for any increase.

Morepower

 

Morepower,
Just curious why NNA didn't catch the hop in testing. I for one think the Track model should have come with the S-Tune from the factory. Raceboy seems very happy with his S-Tune install. Thanks for your time and knowledge.

 

The 3 letter word that answers that is OBD III

lder model INtegra 94-97(GSR's) w/ OBD II ECU would gain a shitload from say an exhaust and intake combo compared to the same thing on my 2000 GSR--and then it got worse w/ the RSX-S ECU,..but thats all worked out now.

The Z and all cars for now on are Enviro-mentally safe,....JUST Like the RSX-S for example,..My RSX-S was doin the same things the Z is doing!!!!
great for the first 30mins of driving the car after I put my exhaust on(Skunk2) or INJEN Intake--then the ECU re-learns and adjusts to the conditons and back to normal it goes(sort-of),...but,.....The RSX-S has been out for over a yr and a 1/2 now,can you say HUGE AFTERMARKET for it now,..and HONDATA is out for it as well

!!! And now its KICKIN ***--huge gains from bolt-ons from the K20 now,..I mean Huge---so all we can do is wait another 6mths--I promise something will be out aftermarket wise to help our problem!!!!
Aftermarket is based on sales of a Certain car as we all know--and I do believe "they" have sold more Z's then RSX-S's when they first came out--so shouldn't be long now!

 

I have seen proof for what a 350 can do been around some of the testing and know alot of people doing the testing and development of the latest parts. I own lots of highly modified Nissans, a 574 whp twin turbo Z32, A 380 whp Turbo B13 SE-R, a 224 whp NA 200SX SE-R with a 50 shot of NOS, a very competitive B14 Sentra SE NASA SE-R Cup race car and a WD21 Pathfinder tow vehicle. I have built a lot of Nissans. I think I have done probably a couple of thousand dyno tests on all of these cars and others. its a kinda stupid obsession with me, want to buy some of them?

All of the cars except the Pathfinder have some Nismo parts to one degree or another, well the Pathfinder has Nissan Motorsports cams.

The exhaust tests I have seen so far have resulted in a loss of power or a small 2-3 hp gain. The Nismo did over 5 hp. I have not tested the Borla exhaust yet. So of the 5 different popular exhaust systems tested, the Nismo had the best power.

The Nismo cams make 14 whp. Tomei, HKS, Apexi and a couple of others are going to offer cams, at least in the JDM market soon. The Nismo cams are currently the most powerful for sale. Tomei is about to offer a grind soon here in the US but Tomei cams are usualy pretty mild.

The headers produce 9 hp, the only other maker is Borla and I haven't tested or know anyone who tests Z33's correctly test a set of those. Looking at the design, the Nismo appears to be better, with less sharp bends and more equal length tubes. Then there is the quality issues. Every Borla system I have installed for friends had major fit issues requiring die grinding out flange holes and using jacks and blocks of wood to tweak things into place. Naybe Borla has gotten better but the domestic guys ***** about the same issues with them.

The UD pulleys gain 3-4 whp and the CAI gains about 2-3 peak hp and 4-5 max hp. A Technosquare ECU is good for about 2-3 peak hp and a maximum of 4-5 hp with less variation between runs.

Since I don't own a Z33, I like turbo cars, I don't actualy work on them much but I have installed suspension, CAI and an exhaust on one, been around for a cam install and helped a few people dyno them. I have done or been around a few dyno tests on them as well. I am good friends with the guys at JWT, Technosquare and quite a few other companies and Magazines.

Time to go back to lurk! See you guys!

Morepower

 

morepower,

i was wondering if you can suggest anyone for nismo cams and header installs in socal? it sounds like you may know quite a few reputable shops. i too like turbo cars, but for allmotor i know that cams and headers offer the biggest gains, and allmotor is my plan for the z33. tia.

you can PM the info if you like


kv

 

Hmmm...you didnt happen to be at Willow Springs on May 24th. I was sitting shotgun while one of the instructors drove my car. We were chopping it up with a B14 Sentra SE race car that day in the HPDE 4 group. I love watching you guys in the SE-R Cup. You guys are fookin nuts.

 

Yeah that actualy was me. I was giving a sponser a ride in HDPE. I was wondering who was driving that 350. Your car was well driven! I didnt push it too hard because I was afraid that Dave might have been driving the car and he gave me strict orders not to terrorize the HDPE group. It was still pretty fun to run around with your car.

I was impressed how fast the Z was and how good it looked out on the track.

Morepower

 

I suggest Technosquare, they are some of the best wrenches out there and reasonably priced as well. hpone is 310 787-0847. They can reflash your ECU at the same time.

Morepower