Looking to get an air intake, headers, and full exhaust system but stuck between Nismo and Stillen... obviously im looking for the most bang for the buck but I also want the least complications ... i have a 2003 Touring AT...

 

nismo

 

Definitly straight pipes.

 

which exhaust system can be seen the best with stock bumper cover? i notice the hks looks really nice

 

bang for buck? not hks.

 

I have stillen with test pipes. That thing is loud but sounds sweet at wot!

 

Stillen true dual has shown good gains....intake is useless....high flow cats are a good mod, plenum spacer is good, headers wise Nismo is overpriced imo, havent heard anything about Stillen headers.

 

Keep the stock airbox unless you want the sound from the nismo cai or popcharger. but if you absolutely must get an intake, i'd go for stillen. Nismo catback is great with some HFCs, and nismo headers are definetly overpriced.

 

nismo headers... Stillen TD exhaust...
Intake doesn't really matter but I would choose Stillen coz it have the heat shield design...

 

Imo: it is.

 

NISMO Cat Back Super Sale:

https://my350z.com/forum/engine/337681-nismo-cat-back-super-sale.html

 

hmmmm, that's a pretty sweet deal.

 

i know where you can get a stillen catback for $500.pm for details

 

I have a Stillen cat back and it sounds AMAZING. The guy I bought it from put it on so I can't tell you much more than that

 

I'd qualify that as not exactly worthless IMHO. The intake is probably less beneficial for the 350Z than the G Coupe. The G's OEM intake pipe is highly restrictive, I replaced both tube and intake on that car. I still have my baseline dyno from the same shop bone stock; when I get back there I'll post both. I need to get a more recent baseline anyway for reference to some near future changes.

Combo of the JWT FW and Intake from the rice-lies-butt-dyno is "good" or "better". Peak hp isn't the only measure there, it appears to have a two-point change - around 3000 rpm, a surge, and >~5000 rpm better rev characteristics than just the FW change with stock intake. It retains a good CAI setup with a better shield than JWT's. That said, the stock airbox is pretty damn good, it was mostly the tube that sucked IMHO.

With my Z, I just dropped in a K&N OEM box replacement filter so I wouldn't be buying air filters all the time. Doubt that you'd see much if any gain with the intake/popcharger, and if you do, it would be <5 whp and almost all right at 6200 rpm on the older VQ series like my '03-'04 VQ's.

Agree again that headers are marginal potential gain unless you eliminate the cats or something, the stock exhaust mani is pretty good. Cat-back, consistently good results.

Before:



After:

 

If you're staying N/A, don't bother with the Nismo headers unless you want one more "Nismo" tag in your sig. JWT popcharger and Nimso exhaust is the way to go, over the Stillen stuff.

 

how do you compare a true dual to the crappy nismo design

 

I would review the Sport Z magazine Exhaust shoot out before buying.

 

Get Stillen or Borla because they are true dual. Get a plenum spacer like the MD 5/16 or Intense Power 3/8. Get a nice pair of HFCs (I suggest Berk), and if you'd like to get an intake - get one that won't lose any power or have any adverse effects, a tried-and-true Jim Wolf Popcharger w/heat shield.

As far as headers, neither Nismo, Borla, or Stillen make great headers for Zs - power isn't worth the cost. You'd want to look at Crawford for that, since their design is equal length, I believe. So my suggestion, instead of getting headers, spend that money on an ECU management system of some sort. Tuning a car yields terrific benefits - I recommend the UpRev Osiris, do some research on it, you'll be pleased with what you find.

 

Stillen weighs more than stock....