So before I get into the write-up, I would like to take the time out to thank my friend Z Cruzn of these forums as well as Jason at Performance Nissan Parts. Z Cruzn has been an excellent mentor and friend. His advice/knowledge on the Z is amazing and is a great guy to hang out with. Jason has been a pleasure to work with. If you guys didnt read my post here, you can find a lot of happy customers.

First of all, I want you guys to know that I'm just an average person when it comes to cars. I'm not a mechanic, so I can't tell you details. All I can tell you is my perception on how things turned out. Of course I my results may be subjective, so take it with a grain of salt.

So... The performance things I ordered was a JWT Popcharger, Carbon Fiber Intake Tube, and UR Crank Pulley from Performance Nissan. I got my stuff on Thursday (ordered it Monday) and Z Cruzn helped me make an appointment with a friend of his who is a mechanic for Nissan. We schedule the install on Sunday morning. I was so anxious to get these parts installed, I couldn't wait. So we get there at around 9 AM and get to work. What we had planned was the following: oil change w/ Mobil1 Synthetic, put in my popcharger & tube, change out my crank pulley & belts, and replace my reflectors with JDM clear reflectors. My idle was raised from about 650rpm to 800rpm (just in case). The job took us about 3 hours to do and went pretty much flawless.

So far, Z Cruzn and I took the car for a spin around the block. Then we drove about 35 miles back home and then I picked up my roommate and we took it for a spin around the city. All I can say is WOW. Because I had both installed at once, I'm not sure which mod to correlate each feeling to. However, I can definitely say that the overall ride is MUCH SMOOTHER at both idle and driving. Throttle response has been greatly heightened too and the sound is incredible. When I press the gas, I can really feel it & it's a lot more aggresive over stock. My roommate even said that the ride in the car was not as rough. The transition from gear to gear was now smoother. He made the comment that before, everytime I shifted a gear, it would jerk his head a little. Now he said it hardly does that at all.

As for the sound, the popcharger is freaking incredible. Just pressing the throttle gives you that initial "whistling-sucking" sound that is so cool. I tested it out at around 4K-6K RPM and man, the Z now roars like a madman. My roommate said it sounds totally different. My gas mileage has already fallen to about 18mpg because I revv it so high. When you roll the windows down, the sound is uncanny. I had a grin on my face driving all the way back home even though it was raining!

This was my first set of mods was my first upgrade to my Z and I'm very satisfied with my purchase. Overall, I don't think I could've spent my money any wiser. For those of you looking into doing something with your stock Z, I think the pulley & popcharger is a very good buy for under a grand. Again, I couldn't have done it without Z Cruzn & Jason. Thanks again guys.

 

sounds awesome, congrats on your first set of mods

One question though, how much did you pay for the pop charger alone?

 

Thanks, I've been looking to mod my car since I got it. I just didn't get the money until now. I got the popcharger for $110.

 

Faluzure - Fun workin' on the Z, wasn't it? Ha! The punch your Z had after we got the pully & popcharger on really brought back the fun emotions for me of putting on those first types of performance mods, going out to feel the difference & smilin' from ear-2-ear

And thanks for the kind words.....anytime - love fiddlin' with the Z...even if it isn't mine! Can't wait for the next ones to do..........

 

I was going to take some pictures, but it's been raining nonstop here. I don't have a garage, but once the rain lets up, I'll post some pics ASAP.

Z Cruzn: It was a lot of fun! Although I stood around and didn't do much, I learned a lot and it was really cool just hanging out. I almost want to go out and buy some new mods just to have the fun of putting them on! :thumbsup:

 

Nice!

I plan to do the Injen charger and exhaust all at once. Hadn't considered the pullies, but now I will!

 

The exhaust is my "3rd stage" upgrade that I plan on doing. I plan on doing a brake/caliper/lines overhaul next. Exhausts are nice, but too pricey for me right now (I was looking to do something under $1K.) You definitely won't be disappointed with those mods, especially the pulley. The stock pulley is just SO HEAVY. It felt like a huge brick compared to the UR pulley. The UR pulley weighs less than a pound. The stock pulley feels like it was 5-6 lbs.

 

Moved.

 

Where did you get it for 110? I want that same setup. Pm me the total price you piad please and where I can order. Thanks!

 

I just noticed the HUGE difference in price between the Injen and JWT pop chargers. Why so much??? What are you not gettin with the JWT? Does the JWT come with an imtake tube? I noticed you bought carbon fiber one, just curious.

I am saving up for the complete pulley kit too. Want to lighten up all of them.

 

I got it from Performance Nissan Parts. It was $110 for the charger and I paid list price for the crank pulley. I've been exchanging messages with them for several weeks. I finally ordered about $650 worth of stuff from them, so they cut me a deal on various parts. You may want to talk to them via PM or call 'em up if you're really interested.



The Popcharger is essentially a short ram intake. If you buy a popcharger, all you get is just the filter itself. You can use the stock intake piping on the Z. I bought the carbon fiber one just because that's the theme I'm using in my engine bay. I was inspired by Randall P. & Z Cruzn, fellow readers of the forum. They have one of the best engine bays I've ever seen in a Z. However, I didn't want to copy them. I wanted my Z to be unique so I'm going with the chrome/carbon fiber with a dash of blue in my engine bay.

I believe the Injen is a CAI, or cold air intake. I believe it costs more because of the filter + a totally new intake piping. It requires more piping because CAIs reach down past the engine to draw colder air from the ground.

 

Falusure..Did you do a full set of pullies? or just the Crank pully, the reason I`am asking cause the real weight dif. is from what I understand is only on the Crank pully, it certainly would be nice if you can provide the total weight of your OEM pully vs the UR pully. Thinking about doing the Crank pully my self. How difficult was it to remove the OEM pully??Thanks...

 

I just did the crank pulley. After reading other people's posts, I decided that the other pullies weren't worth an additional $100. The weight difference between the stock crank pulley and the UR pulley is vastly different. The pulley feels like it's less than a pound. When I lifted the crank pulley, that sucker had to be at LEAST 5-6 lbs. It was SO heavy. I need a scale to measure the exact differences. I'm not a technician though, so I can't say whether the other pullies are worth it. Because the weight was so different between the two crank pulleys, the weight may be just as drastic when comparing the other 2 pulleys. So it may or may not help. However, if you decide to just get the crank pulley, you will still notice a huge difference in idle, throttle, and shifting.

I had Z Cruzn and a Nissan technician work on my car when I got all this stuff installed. The technician took the pulley off and I was up in my car on a lift. You have to have at least 2 people to do this job because a person has to press the brake down and shift into 6th gear. So I didn't get to see what went on in the process. It seemed to go well though because we had all the tools necessary. So it took maybe 30 minutes. However, I can't say how well it will go if you've never done something like this and you don't have the tools necessary for the job.

 

Thanks, faluzure... that is good info to know and I seem to agree on what you said about just doing the main crank pully, that is where the weight reduction would be ( I can always do the other pullies later) and as far as removal of the pully I guess it makes sence to lock the ingine and keep it from turning, did Zcruzing used a impact wrench or a break bar?.
Thanks again!! nice mods...

 

On Faluzure's Z, the pully came off like "butter" - ha! Super easy - used a 1/2" drive with a 12" handle & came right off. Mine, on the other hand....did it a year ago & was a bugger.....used the same tools + a 3 ft. breaker bar and wrestled with it for about 10 min. before it broke loose. Did both installs on a lift - makes it sooo much easier!

As for the crank pully vs. the 3-piece pully set.....as was mentioned, the crank pully I would say gives about 95% of the performance gain. The other 2 pullies are the same size as stock...just slightly lighter. I did the set for the appearance & performance....Faluzure did the crank pully for the performance.

 

It all starts with just one puff... First it's the pop charger, and then he moves on to the harder stuff like intake, plenum and headers. Next thing you know he's shooting up NIS into his system. Way to get another one hooked Z Cruzn!