So I'm looking to do my car RIGHT.

I'm not looking to go FI, I want the all motor goodness.

I'd rate my overall knowledge on this subject as a 6/10.

I've got a budget in mind but here's what I'd like to do. Tell me what I should get, what should be changed/added/subtracted.

What I have:

Injen intake, straight shot custom y pipe, 3'' exhaust, magnaflow muffler

What i want:

- some type of cam, want the car to really snarl
- slightly higher redline (7.2k)
- pulleys
- valve springs and retainers (if needed)
- 5/16ths ISO thermal plenum spacer
- Port and polished TB and IM
- some kind of tuning solution

So, what should I look at? How much will it all cost discluding install and tuning time (my uncle's a mechanic so we're installing this together).

I'm excited to read your feedback!

Thanks Guys!

 

you only want 1 cam? that won't help much ;-)

Things to add to the list:
Headers
Testpipes or HF cats

Dont bother with the injen intake, the stock one works just as good or better.

 

headers / cams are debatable...but the majority of us don't even bother unless going FI unless your going for a hardcore N/A build. Testpipes or HF cats are a good thing. I'd scrap the intake and stick with OEM intake with a k & n drop-in airfilter. Motordyne 5/16 spacer if your an 03-05 or 5/16 spacer + mrev2 if your an 06 rev-up. for tuning you have a lot of options, the most familiar is a utec. but there's also reflashes such as technosquare, aam, osiris from uprev, cobb accessport and a few others if im not mistaken. for the most part they all do the same but differ when it comes to price.

 

Really? What about those Nismo R-Tune cams? You're saying we wont get good gains out of a Cam, Valvespring and Retainer upgrade (combining this with headers, plenum spacer and HF cats??) I find that hard to believe if I get a good tune to go along with this...

any other people want to chime in here?

 

You will see a gain but the gain will be minimal.

For the amount of money you will spend you might as well buy a used Vortech kit and slap it on. It will be cheaper and faster to install.

 

Completely fasle. Do not spread such misinformation.

 

ahhh the cams/headers debate

I see a few more people are looking into this... I've been toying with the idea for a while... we'll see what happens

 

I'm not too worried about install cost - my uncle is the "master mechanic" at his nissan dealership.

What I am concerned with is the power delivery, feel and sheer driving pleasure behind the wheel.

My previous car was supercharged - and it was nice but I want something more mean sounding.

 

I have kept my Z NA did not go the turbo route. I spent alot of money though but the car is alot of fun to drive

Speaking from experience, go with

1. Headers
2. Crawford plenum, not a spacer but a different plenum than stock
3. Nismo LSD
4. 4.08 Final Drive Ring & Pinion Set
5. Crawford High Flow Catalytic Converters

You will notice a huge difference in performance.

 

For the amount of money you will spend you might as well buy a used Vortech kit and slap it on. It will be cheaper and faster to install.

 

last post in here was from 2008

 

Troll or spam bot?

 

In 2023 for that amount of money a HR swap will be EVERYTHING you need. For a bit more money you could go VHR.

N/A and DE are two words that have never gone well together. With tuning, cams, ethanol and fully bolted they make the same power a non cammed HR/VHR would on those same mods and would last much more

Forced induction the DE would prevail only if piston and rods are thrown, mainly due to the simplicity of a single throttle and 1 VTC per bank

 

doubt the OP even has the car anymore

 

to be fair … the DE makes the most torque out of 3.5liter siblings … and is only a few ft-lbs less than the VHR (despite the smaller engine, no variable exhaust cam timing, no variable valve lift, and only a single TB) … so, nissan must have been doing something right?

 

Either do basic bolt-on's with a tune, forced induction on a mostly stock motor or pull the engine and do a full NA build. Those are the three proven, most bang for the buck solutions for power in these cars.