For the moderately priced mods, what's your opinion on what gives the most bang for the buck (eg. JWT pop charger, ECU, pulleys, grounding kits, etc) and what's the best sequence to do these things. I'd like to do one or two things a year over the next few years. (it's like getting a new car every year)

I'm not concerned about aesthetics or handling at this point cuz there's no complaints there. But, I think a car with the stature of a 350Z can use a little more power. I'm not interested in going crazy so no turbos or superchargers, just little things to tweak and slightly improve the useable power.

 

Cats, Pop Charger, Headers, Lightweight Flywheel/Clutch, More Traction (via suspension and wider wheels), and possibly the B&M short throw shifter. Thats what I plan on doing anyway. I'm gonna have my tranny looked at this weekend so if thats getting replaced, in goes either a Nismo clutch/flywheel or JWT flywheel and Nismo clutch. If not.. cats/pop charger first.

 

Do a search...

 

get a nice exhaust and test pipes!

 

best bang for the buck i would say test pipes. i think it was around 5-7 whp for 200 bucks. can't beat it

up next would probably be the UR crank pulley 200 bucks, another 5whp

next i would go with sways-- 300-400 dollars. riding like ur on rails has no price

then it's all up for grabs. the nismo headers give a good gain, as do cams. the intake and exhaust route give a mental gain, however it can be trivial as to whether or not these actually increase performance.

 

IMO, the best bang for the buck is (and always has been) the Crawford Plenum.

Lou

 

Thanks guys. Keep it coming. The test pipes/pulley is a new one (for me). I'll have to research that.

Just came back from the Vancouver G35/350Z meet. Good turnout - around 23 cars. G35s outnumbered the Zs and more of them had engine mods.

Most popular mod there: Body kits, rear spoilers, wheels and tires. Engine wise - so far, no one's gone crazy, although one G35 is close to installing a supercharger. Most popular engine mod: pop charger (or K&N drop-in) and Z tube. A few supplemented their intake with cat back systems. Grounding kits were also pretty popular.

 

I would agree with this and also give props to a nice y-pipe. Test pipes and pulleys are up there as well.

 

There is no mod that will give you a bang for your buck(s). They all are a waste from a purely economical cost/benefit analysis. When you figure the true cost of each HP gained it turns out to be one hell of an expensive trip. The reason for this is that the 350 Z is so perfectly designed and tuned that when it comes from the factory there isn't much room for improvement and the law diminishing returns kicks in. If you enjoy spending money on you car, working on it, having it sound agressive or look individual then by all means go for it. But if you're trying to be a wise investor, don't dump your money in trying to make something that is almost perfect better.

 

Do you work for Nissan?. You sound just like the service advisor at my local dealership. I agree that the 350Z is very well designed - I wouldn't call it perfect.

This entire forum (called Modifications/Engine/Drivetrain/Forced Induction) is about people who "...enjoy spending money on your car, working on it, having it sound agressive or looking individual...". If mods didn't provide marginal utility to us, this forum wouldn't exist, and neither would all these aftermarket companies like Nismo, Stillen, Crawford, etc.

 

Most people benfit from better fuel economy and power from a good exhaust.

The idea that the 350z is perfect is ridiculous. It was built to a cost and it was done well. It can be "perfected" if you are willing to pay what Nissan was not!

 

I agree with you guys. ZCOOL has obviously not seen what can be done with bolt-on components. Just a grounding kit alone makes a world of difference on the car, and the engine was already prepped for it, indicating that Nissan had considered it, but had decided not to spend the extra money to make it a stock item. I have a few mods on mine, and I have seen a significant difference with each and every engine/intake/exhaust mod that I have chosen. Some of these guys are cranking out over 400 bhp with the combined mods they have. That is a drastic change to the stock version of this car. To say Nissan built a perfect car is the understatement of the century.

 

The Crawford V5 plenum gets high props in my book.
As for Z or G being "perfect" from the factory he-he .
Have you seen the carbon build up in the front two cyclinders in justs a few k-miles (due to the inadequate plenum distribution)? The factory plenum has a design flaw IMO and the V5 plenum resolves this.

Oh yeh and the gross understeer is another one,of course Nismo is just trying to keep grandma from sliding into a ditch bass-ackwards.

Don't get me wrong over-all both the Z and G are a damn good platforms, but hell yes there is a lot of room for improvement in the perf department.

 

From what I've been reading lately (and talking to racers) changing the rear-end gear gives you considerably better throttle response.
I'm in the same boat and unfortunately living in California (if it can be considered unfortunate) with our sh#tty gas basically negates any bolt-on mod (save for forced induction) that we can do. SportCompactcar mag. recently tested Nismo's R-tuned test car (cams,headers,exhaust, intake) and only saw a 7hp. increase over stock, again, according to the magazine it was due to the 91 octane pump gas.
A new rear gear (350evo sells a 3.91) won't give you any more HP, just better use of the power you have.

 

Everyone recommends not getting gears unless you autox.

 

A new final drive is truly one of the best bang for the buck mods out there, but as far as I know it is not completely ready and available. With the plenum and the final drive the car would be transformed. The final drive is not simply just for the track. It is a great mod for those who mainly drive in town as well. The only people who may want to think twice are the ones who drive at highway speeds a lot and want to preserve some fuel economy.