akijiki

I have seen that the most common 0-60 times for the 350z are around 5.5-5.3, with these following mods what times do you think I would be getting? Kinetix SSV Intake manifold, Kinetix upper and lower Plenums, Stillen cat-back, Kinetix highflow cats, DC ceramic headers, Nismo CAI. Do you think it would be possible to stay even or pull an stock STI from a rolling start?

Gman2004

iTrader: (8)

a couple grand more and you can get a turbonetics single turbo. n/a mods are a waste of $$ IMO.

Zivman

iTrader: (19)

+ infinity

Going N/A you get a faster sounding Z

ZBoater

Blow the engine ONCE and it won't seem like such a waste....

Zivman

iTrader: (19)

N/A sucks. The car doesn't gain much if anything. The point is, stay stock, or maybe just get a catback, or spend the $ on FI. There are decently reliable turbo/SC kits out there.

I am speaking from personal experience, not from what was or is read on the boards.

Zivman

iTrader: (19)

Just took at look at your Z website. You have a lot of $ into the car. You could have gone FI with a built motor with the amount of $ you spent on those 'mods' ...cough...maxgrounding kit....cough....nismo oil and radiator caps....cough.....Zinc Plated Hex Flange Bolts(WTF?).....cough.....Arospeed Carbon Fiber Engine Cover......BIG COUGH.....K&N Performance Gold Oil Filter....cough.....nismoValve Stem Caps.

With the N/A mods you have and "have planned" for late '05 and '06, you maybe have the car up to 250-260 RWHP? a whopping gain of what; 20-25 rwhp???? put that $ into FI and thre is no mistaking a 100+ RWHP gain.

frostyrock7c

iTrader: (4)

Or Nitrous...if you don't want the high install and $$ of F/I

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

zivman but people dont want to window their engines. The safe kits also have a hard time with weight (stillen) to added power ratio. I myself am still waiting for all the kinks to be worked out of the fi so i can get a good setup that will last. It isnt there right now for something that is reliable and really an all round large performance enhancer (IMO). Yes the APS TT is reliable and a large performance booster but its 10k or more once everything is all said and done!

Zivman

iTrader: (19)

I understand this point of view. From those that mod there cars N/A to the tune of 5K+ bucks, it is a waste in terms of performance. Just get a catback to get the sound and leave it at that.

I am not saying you must go FI, but if you are modding for perfomance, N/A is going down the wrong road.

Gman2004

iTrader: (8)

Are you serious? You are worried about the weight the s/c will add. If it adds 100 pounds you are still gaining 80whp that will more than make up for it.

Monsta

iTrader: (10)

Has anyone made the stroker kit work? I read somewhere the ECU had to be a stand alone unit.

ZBoater

You know, its these kind of comments that crack me up. If 280-290hp, with some folks even getting 300hp to the wheels staying NA is "much if anything", then I guess we just have different definitions of what "something" is.

By the time you add reinforced internals and some bolt ons (like exhaust, pulleys, etc.), you are spending just as much as you would NA.

Your personal experience with NA apparently has given you the WRONG impression of what NA can do. I am not arguing with you that maybe, just maybe, dollar for dollar, you get more hp for your dollar with FI than NA (assuming you dont BLOW your engine like a cheap ballon). That's not the point. The point is that saying NA doesnt gain you anything is INACCURATE. Get your facts straight, please.

ZBoater

You are such a prince. I was putting 276rwhp before my flywheel. And what is it to you that I want to dress up my engine bay? If you are comparing apples to apples you obviously don't include dressup items

You are obviously talking out of your a$$, so please, when you get a little bit of civility and maturity, come back and perhaps we can have an INTELLIGENT discussion about NA and FI.

akijiki

As i was saying.... do you think my previously stated mods will get me running even with an STI on a roll?

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

I did NA and gained 50-60whp and my car weighs around 3075 lbs with half tank of gas. I'm still not done yet either. Then there's the things you can't measure like the 3.9 final drive and tilton clutch. I also have a nismo LSD and 295 wide rear michelin PS2 tires for good traction

My observation has been that most FI people here get their FI kit on and that's pretty much about it aside from maybe some medium 275mm rear tires which aren't wide enough IMO. They usually have the stock LSD which doesn't cut it for high hp, and their car is 100 lbs heavier in front.

So for $10,000 most people with FI have a car that in theory is good drag racing car (for a 350Z), but can't get good traction anyway because of the extra 100lbs in the front, lack of good LSD, and too thin/cheap tires.

autox and road coarse performance will be not so great either.

IMO FI is only good if you have the money ($20-30k) to really do everything right. Otherwise you're adding a lot of power, but compromising all the other aspects of your sportscar. Doing the cheap $10k FI route will get you a car that for sure has a lot more power, is a beast on the highway and will beat most fast cars, but you're also wearing out your engine much faster, gaining weight to the worst part of the car - the front which degrades cornering, braking and accelleration, destroying your warrenty if you have one, and higher maintenance. It's not until you start spending more money than around $10k that you can start recovering the handling issues that you've lost a bit of.

The recent issue of Speed had the 4 FI Z's lapping a track like only 1-2 sec faster than stock and at least one of those cars was setup really damn nice (the Axis car) I'm sure if they had racing slicks they all would be 2-3 sec faster. The NA Z with not even all the major NA power gainers or the best ones out did the FI Z's by 1 sec, but it did have slicks. I bet if that Z wasn't using all nismo stuff and went with better parts it would be 1, maaaaybe 2 sec faster which would make it still damn close with FI Z's on a road coarse. It'd get it's butt kicked in the 1/4 if both cars had slicks - in the magnitude of like a full sec or more. On street tires it'd be a little closer though in a drag race - maybe .5-.8 sec difference.

I really want FI, but I don't want to compromise my car's ability to put power to the ground and taking corners so I'm doing NA stuff first - which most of the parts do actually benefit FI. When the time comes to put the FI on my car, I'll just sell off the parts that won't work with it. And I'll still have an instantly good handling Z. If anything, it'll let you get used to 60 more whp and good suspension etc with NA, then you add on more power with FI and it's a more natural progression than going FI first

Zquicksilver

iTrader: (5)

I would say yes... but only if your a good driver! I've been able to keep up with many cars in our price range and above. I have a habit of egging on M3's now that I've installed my few n/a mods.

Zivman, Zboater, Sentry65 all have valid points. I'm cheap about certain things, especially n/a mods. I started with a Base 04 and went from there. I've only spent $1400 on engine mods and I'm putting down 248@6500 and 244lbft@4000. It's not much, but for the money spent, it's not bad either. So at the flywheel it's roughly 300hp and 295lbft of torque. More TQ than an M3 or the new 05 Z. And you don't "have" to JETHOT 2k your parts either, so you can deduct $375 from that. Just click on my link below to view the mods.

I went the n/a route over TT or ST for two reasons, mainly fear of engine failure and the big balloon payment. I only invested in parts that would AID in going SC in the future, if that's what I finally decide??? IMO, SC (ie Procharger or Vortech) is a little cheaper overall and the power gains are good enough to put you in the 98 percentile, while being relatively safe for stock internals. I'm talking about 350whp. This is just my opinion guys, NOT an invitation to a SC vs TT war.


Zquicksilver

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

I seriously wish I jethot coated my crawford headers.....

clutch fluid overheats on the track

gonna try a vented hood, some thermowrap, oil cooler, new oil pan, and 50% mix of waterwetter with water in the radiator, and SS clutch line, SSV manifold with thermogasket. Hopefully that solves that

Zivman

iTrader: (19)

I thought I was being civil and mature in my posts.

One question:

What type of dyno were you on that you pulled 276 rhwp without cams? I guess I would pull near 500 rwhp on that dyno

BobaFettm

iTrader: (2)

Hey bro... I know everyone flames the NA people and what not... but I live in michigan near woodward and we do real tests out here... there are some TT 350z here... they can barely EVER get grip... and you asked for 0-60 times... so yes... its GREAT to keep it na for this sorta thing! I am an autocrosser and thats why I'm doing NA... plus woodward is fun to race on and 0-75ish is what we cut down at... I'm VERY happy with my mods and what it has brought my 0-60 times too... I'm running exactly equal times with a C5 automatic vette conv. ... ive tested this against 2 different 2004's and each with the same results... G-tech shows 0-60 time also... with all my results and g-tech thingy... 0-60 = 5.0 - 5.1... just get that grip on the tires and do as much weight reduction as you can... it helps if your light weight yourself too...

anyways... since ill get flamed for this most likely... if you have any questions about stuff PM me! there are a lot of people on some local boards that can vouch for my times

ReavTek

iTrader: (1)

Kinetix SSV IM: Was stated by the manufacturer that it is not intended for NA usage. Many are claiming lower than advertised gains even with FI setups. I would avoid this IM. Wait for the 350EVO IM or go with Crawford.

Kinetix Upper/Lower Plenum: The IM covers this, you can't have both is the SSV and the kinetix upper plenum is what I'm trying to say.

Stillen Cat-Back: All exhausts gain pretty much the same amount, choose one which has a sound that appeals to you.

Hi-Flow Cats: I would get full length headers (which eliminate cats) or test pipes but then again I am in FL (no emissions).

DC Headers: Once again I would go with a full length header but the DC isn't even really that stellar as a short header. The Crawford Header is probably the best shorty you can buy off the shelf but I also like the Nismo set.

Intake: I think Injen posts the best gains with it's new CAI. But, again I think this is one of those mods that you won't notice a huge difference between the different brands. Get one that you think looks and sounds good.

My Suggestion: Get a UR or KJR Lightweight Crank Pulley, and a JWT Lightweight flywheel and you will accelerate much better than these breathing mods will. Stuff like I/H/E don't really shine until you have everything setup and tuned (full breathing mods + cams + reflash or ECU).