Excellent article.
Can much hp-gain be had by modding the ecu only?
About nos, what should I know about it--installation, precautions, maintanence, etc, before i buy a system?
And what about the nos/ecu interaction? If i add nos, will it effect the ecu?

Do a search on ECU upgrades. Maybe you Technosquare for a key word. Cheston another guy that posts here seemes to work with them a lot.

I know they can program your ECU for stock and then upgrade the program to mods as you add them. I believe there is a cost to each upgrade. It might be best to get the mods you know you want first then do ECU after getting the mods done.

If I remember, Technosquare is in Irvine Calif. You can call them as well. Again, do a search, read up on it and then ask more questions if you need to. I can find out more if you hit a wall and cant find out what you need to know.

Good luck,

Jeff - zland

Can someone explain to me how to increase the amount of boost you can handle, and what does "improperly tuned mean"?

Thanx, zland. It looks like you're in O'side. I'm in IB and a major Zfanatic, so I look forward to meeting you and picking your large, capable brain at some event sometime.

your mod info
 

thanks for the info. i'm currently at that crossroad right now. i already have the stillen body kit, stillen exhaust, and aem cold air. wondering, what order should i go in as far as small engine or power gains?

My current set-up
 

Hi Jeff -

how are they hangin'?

2003 Silverstone Track (NAV & all options except side airbags)
Competition wheels and tires: Nismo 5-spoke forged 18" x 18.5" front, 18" x 9.5" rear,
with Kuhmo Ecsta MX 245/40/18 front, 275/35/18 rear
Street wheels and tires: Stock Rays forged 18" Track wheels with Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position tires, 225/45/18 front, 255/45/18 rear
Nismo Limited Slip Differential
Tilton 8 lb. Flywheel
Tilton Rally Clutch
Tein Coil Overs with Electronic Damping Control
Nismo S-tune Swaybars
Crawford Strut Brace
TechnoSquare ECU - custom flash
Nismo R-tune Cams
Crawford Plenum
Borla Headers
UR Racing Pulleys
RT High-flow Cats
JWT Popcharger Intake
Borla Dual Cat-back Exhaust
Z-xtreme Grounding Kit
Drilled Titanium Pedals
Airbag Cut-off Switch (passenger side)

if i get a nismo exhaust and dont have the dealer install it.. will it void my warranty?

To the best of my knowledge it will void the warranty on the exhaust itself but nothing voids the warrranty of the car unelss they can prove that the modification effects the parts nedding to be warrantied.

yea thats what i heard. i just thought it might void all my warranty from it.

very helpful just bought 2004 for uh my wife(lol)although she isnt into the horsepower i do and i really got alot out of you column.i never new these things were so much fun
thanks again

Re: My current set-up
 

Out of curiosity, what does it do?

Thanks Jeff for the great info! Here in Vancouver we have a huge import craze here and finding someone with a Z now isn't very hard to do. But finding one that has different wheels and tires, different spoilers, and small engine mods is not as common, unless your Asian and daddy is rich(not a racist remark, just reality). I will be buying my Z very soon! Just waiting for my bonus this August and I'll have one in my driveway. I will be using your advice on the wheel and tire fitement.
Thanks again, from Vancouver!!

i am going to add a tt to my 2004 350z. have narrowed it down to stillen, vortech, or waiting for jim wolfes system. any help from any body would be great.

thax man.....:)
helped me a lot....now i need to change some of my plans .

Sorry guys, in Asia until end of aug thus not checking website too often, busy surfing on small islands.

Jeff,

Very! well done...

I wish you all the luck regarding your spot with Z-Magazine. I will be anxiously awaiting your collumns.

Re: Re: My current set-up
 

It disables the passenger side air bags. It has been found that small children and infants can obtain serious injury from deployment of air bags because they are disigned and calibrated using adult crash test dummies.

You are reffering to 'Web Surfing' right Jeff:D

Your article, New 350Z owners, read this before doing any modifications to your Z, is perhaps the I've ever read regarding Z-Cars. Keep up the good work @ your new job with SportZ.

Hey,
Your article, New 350Z owners, read this before doing any modifications to your Z, is perhaps the BEST I've ever read regarding Z-Cars. Keep up the good work @ your new job with SportZ.

I'm sorry about omitting the adjective "BEST" from the original posting.

No, surfing, the water sport. I just got done surfing one month in Indonesia.

Larry:

Thanks for the feedback! I already submitted two articles to SportZ and hope to see them published within the fall and winter editions. The "read this before doing any modifications..." article was general in nature. The up coming articles will be much more detailed.

Jeff - zland

omgoodness.. very well put. you sound like a pro specialist. great advice.. def will help many Z owners out there.

Thanks!
 

Thanks for the posting! I'm a newbie so this helps...

Jeff - Zland! If I install the front break (13 or 14 inches) can I change the front stock w/ the rear? cuz the front stock breaks are way bigger than the rear one.

Thanks

3.9 final drive ratio (ring & pinion)
 

I'm about to install the 350EVO 3.9 final drive ratio (ring & pinion). I have very high hopes for this mod. I will post a review in about 2 weeks, after I have had a chance to drive it. :D

thanks for post.
 

Thanks for post, jeff!

A lot of useful info, and things I will consider upon my choice of mods.

Hey - i am trying to get a group together in SO CAL.... chrismcagle and others from my area are so far very interested. I have 3 personal z owner friends, plus i have gotten 7 responses with definite interest...

This thus/fri. aug 19/20 You up for it?

Thanks Jeff, as an individual who just picked up his first ever non-truck (a 2004 triple black touring roadster) this thread was a great first read.

I have done many midifications to trucks, my last was a '96 tahoe with the vortech SC, headers, flowmasters, chip, MSD digital ignition, 9 inches of lift and 36"x14.5" tires, but never to a car. I actually got 9 miles per gallon and that was a good day.

Anyhow, I have actually made the decision not to do any modifications other than replace the airfilter (not a CAI, just a cotton gauze filter). This comes along the lines of people needing to learn to extract the full abilities from the Z before going for 500hp.

This was greatly evidenced this past weekend when I went to a track with a friend and his father (a race instructor for porshe). His father took (at 62 years of age) took a mazda miata with upgraded suspension and tires and worked through a field of cars that had huge numbers and price tags. If he can trash a 2003 Z06 with a miata, I don't think I need a supercharger.

Thanks again for the write up.

Adam

Re: thanks for post.
 

Sorry, love to make it but I am outside the USA until Aug 25th, maybe next time but thanks for the invite,

Jeff

thats right, horsepower for your suspension hehehhehe, tires, imagine a z with all out handling mods only, it would doo more damage then a z with all power mods on the track, in fact woa, that is a good idea, hehe.

I am thinking of installing a JWT popcharger and nismo exhaust and am curious as to what gains you saw with that combination minus the hf cats.

Call up Jason or Jeff @ performance Nissan. They have dyno'ed all mods and can tell you what combo's will yield in added hp.

Easily one of the best write ups on any forum for any car. Period. By a member. I know Im like wayyyy late. But I strayed away for a while.

Thanks for the compliment, that is quite a statement. I am humbled. Good luck on the G35, look at the 05 models, more hp, new interior, new wheels, great car. My brother is working as a master tech for infinity now so if you need a good tech you can trust and live in Ca., there is a lead for you.

Jeff - zland

wow
 

Today was my first day at 350z.com and I almost immeditely started my own thread (good buy?) regarding the price of a enthus 2003 (23k) that i'm thinking of buying (please check it out and let me know what you think). Then is saw this thread...I've already been thinking about mods and I haven't even bought the car yet. :p Sincerely, thanks for this thread as all those agree. I really enjoyed all my HS teachers and never really thanked them, so now I'll thank you twice as much. Thanks again!

My experience is many of the students a teacher thinks he had an impact on, he really didnt have much of one. Many of the students that a teacher does not think he had an impact on is inaccurate because he might have actually had one. Most students are not comfortable with themselves to approach a teacher and thank them.

thanks for the info, it helps me decide to stay stock and count my $$$. great write-up!

wow. thanx for the write up. thinking about going with a 350z after my maxima that im parting at the moment. this helped me understand the z a lot more. thanx bro!

Hi Zland

Thanks for the quality post

One question you say :The Stillen SC will provide you with an engine warranty if you do not boost it over 5.5 psi but then you will be putting out approximately the same hp as a built NA motor.

What do you mean by a built NA motor?

Assume this may be an americanism?

Cheers again


Paul

If my memory serves me correctly, the Stillen SC canbe purchased with a warranty for stage 1 & 2. search the forum for hp numbers and look at SportZ magazine website for dyno numbers as well. The hp and torque numbers for any of the SC or TT's including the Stillen far exceed any NA car.

This is a great thread. The suggestions made in the beginning can apply to all cars in general. I have experience modifying vehicles. My last ride was a Chevy Avalanche that had over 10k put into it.

THis is a whole new scene for me. I know very little about Import Racing. Until I learn more about my Z I will be keeping it somewhat stock for awhile.

Generally I start with Wheels and Tires. I then go to Intake and Exhaust. Since a Twin Turbo kit is a distinct possibility I will probably hold off on the Intake and Exhaust until I know which works the best with the Turbos.

I will be relying on you guys a lot in the future. LOL I have a lot of learnign to do!!

We all do, great part about a website like this is sharing experiences....

Jeff

Still a hige help
 

After being pointed in this direction by a member in the NorCal forum, I have to jump on the bandwagon. A year later, your original post is still a huge help to those of us ready to jump into the mod pool. Jeff, thanks again for taking the time to put your experience and opinion to print.

Kyle

hey Z land im looking to drop in a twin turbo im not sure wheter to get a Greddy or an APS. Which one would you recomend? Im looking for a daily driver not a race car. O and if I do drop in a TT what other modifications would I have to make? And are they reliable? Dont want to blow my engine.

Hey zland,
I'm the guy who asked THE question which your referring to when you started this thread.

I have not touched the engine yet. Just changed the suspension to S-tune, got the lgmt's with S03's, and changed shifting knob and got SS brake lines. Also changed all fluids to synthetic other the clutch fluid.

Anyways, I didn't touch the engine for the same reason this all started. Now that the new Corvette came out (beautiful IMO), and the GTR around the corner, I want more info before I delve in to mod the engine.

Your post is excellent. From a practical and financial standpoint, it makes more sense to buy the C6. Why?

1). Much more power
2). Lighter
3). Warranty
4). Better suspension (what I hear)

If you mod the Z, unless you REALLY know what your doing, reliability will probably be worse, maintenance will be higher, and you will lose your warranty.

The more I read, the less I realize I know and the more apprehensive I get about TT the engine.

I mean, you can only boost it so high on stock internals. What if your car happens to be one of those a little weaker internally stock and blow your engine? Unless you have a warranty by Stillin, your hosed!

So if I TT/SC my Z, I'm going all the way- Start with building up the bottom end first. But that will be ALOT more expensive RIGHT NOW (I say this because in several years with much more competitors, the price WILL drop). But this doesn't satisfy me NOW.

So it does all depend on what you want. When you first wrote this up, I didn't quite understand what you meant by "know what you want first" because my first thought was 'how can you know what you want first because you haven't done this before and you don't know how to do it right?'. The answer: wait, learn to find-out what you want, then decide. Those are the 3 steps everyone needs to do anyhow when making any kind of a descent decision/choice.

So THANK YOU so much for writing this up. It obviously helped me since I didn't touch the engine. However, I knew I wanted the suspension built up so I did it although I still think I did it too soon because I wish I would have gotten Tein Flex with EDFC (not that S-tune is bad, but that I would have preferred Teins adjustability more).

Thanks again.

PS Just to make sure this doesn't become a 'C6 v. Z' thread, I do love the Z, but I do WANT more RELIABLE HP/TQ in the LEAST EXPENSIVE manner, yet with the highest QUALITY possible. Besides, I also want to know what the GTR is finally going to look like, what the HP/TQ, price, and how power delivered (ie TT/SC, NA)

Choices, choices;)

uro279 -

My advice would be to trade your 350Z in on a C6 Z51 6MT and leave it bone stock. No Z will be able to touch you.

I went whole hog modding my '03 Track (just about everything but forced induction), spent more $$$ than I care to admit, and was never really satisfied. Eventually the car was totalled, and I had to pull all the mods out, put the engine back to stock to give the wreck to my ins. co., and sell all the mods on ebay. I sold the last mod today.

I bought an EVO RS, and I love it. Really fast and much cheaper to mod than the 350Z. Don't get me wrong, the Z is a great car. Beautiful, powerful, and good handling. But at the margin, it can't stand up to a Corvette or an EVO or an Elise or an M3 or a 911 or an STi, or an S2000 or a . . .

On a Very GOOD day, a stock 2005 C6 will maybe, just maybe, break the 13 sec 1/4 mile. Not a blow away a Z...Oh, and don't forget the $15-$20 Gs extra you pay for the chevy.........Beautiful car, but not that special..........IMO.....

Hey, I like your comment about recommending these new guys who just joint the Z club.
I spent so much time and money upgrading. If I can do it all over again. I would definitely stay with one brand as much as I can. Nothing feels better than the exculsiveness. Like AMG to Benz
Nismo to Nissan.

I have Nismo wheels, body kit, decal, so looks wise it is Nismo alright. I have Bilstein Shocks, tein H springs, Unorthdox crank pulley, JWT Camshaft, flywheel and clutch. I have Borla header, Random tech cats, Injen Exhaust and HKS intake. That is the part that bother me. Different intake to exhaust. All different brands. I truly wish I had just gone JWT all the way in power or Nismo all the way. Because it will make the car exculsive. But, I am learning to live with all these mixed brands and be happy.
so, I say do your reserach and find out who is the best or who fits your budget before you upgrade. It will help you like the parts you purchased a lot more.

what does that even mean! At the margin? what margin? JGTC margin? Grand AM margin? Stock Margin? Modified margin?

Stock the 350z is not that impressive on a track. But with some key area modifications(not just randomly throwing a bunch of money into it), it will be just as fast as stock(or mildly modified) 911s, Elise, S2000 and M3s... (at fraction of price).

350z is just not a track car out of the box, like the EVO(wich is a souped up, stripped down awd econobox).

I had the opportunity to lap few cars uou mentioned... STI, 350z, S2000, M3, 911 and a few others. 1st - unless you track professionally, fast is relative. 2nd - the driver makes the margin. And I can tell you, a nicely tuned 350z is so much more smile inducing and drive rewarding than an EVO.... wich in your case I can understand why you prefer the EVO... but again.. driver makes the margin.

I got a question about the VDC on a 350Z touring. I just purchased some 19inch 8.5F and 9.5 R 5zigen hyper BLACK CHROME wheels with toyo 245/35/19 F and 275/30/19 R I have not installed them yet WILL this affect my abs and VDC on my Z.

That is one outstanding write up (article). I would like to touch bases with you, as I am a Z person myself, 260Z, 280Z, and now a 350Z Track. I have done a few NISMO Mods, i.e. cold air intake, headers, rear exhauset, but would like to touch bases with you more on the "SC" portion. I have been looking at C2 Procharger, as it is smog legal 50 state. Also the "ECU", is Nismo going to come out with it, if not where is it available? WSchli16725@aol.com