I just bought my second Z. First one was caught in a flood... I got the Nismo Cat Back installed and I am thinking about the Cold Air Intake. Is there any advantage of doing both as opposed to just one or the other? How difficult is it to install the Cold Air Intake? What are other mods that I can do without messing with the engine too much? I appreciate any advice.

 

The CAI isn't that hard to install however I would recommend the K&N. The nismo is basically just the AEM one but priced more for the Nismo sticker. It is also located in a poor spot. They don't add that much power though, its more for looks.

 

I did the NISMO intake along with the exhaust and headers. I had the dealer install it because it looked like a painful install, and I am not mechanically inclined. The NISCO CAI puts the air filter really low inside the bumper, and the sound is awesome. I am thinking of doing a Kinetix plenum, which looks like an easy install that even I can do and add a few more ponies and sound.

Most people say the CAI install is easy, and if you are mechanically inclined it may be. The position of the filter is a bit awkward because it is so low, and removing the bumper may make it easier.

 

I have heard a JWT Pop charger with a Nismo Exhaust at a local SCCA event. Even the SCCA guy talking on the loudspeaker had nothing but eww's and ahh's everytime the Z took off.

It had the best sounds out of all the other cars that day.

 

Is the Nismo CAI..R-tune ,i.e., not warranty friendly?? or S-tune??
and is there a difference between V1 and V2

 

Bumper removal is not necessary for the Nismo/AEM intake install. You do, however, need to remove the front driver's side wheel, and loosen up the fender well liner enough to access the spot where the filter hangs down into. It's not a hard install, just takes a little work jacking up the car and removing the wheel.

 

Why would you say the Nismo/AEM intake is in a poor spot? When installing mine, there appeared to be air vents going into and out of the space the filter sits in. This would suggest to me that some sort of air flow happens in there that comes straight from the opening in the bumper. I haven't tested this, but it seems reasonable just by looking at it.

 

I have both the Nismo exhaust and Nismo V2 CAI - - installed both with my son, pretty easy, just follow the directions (I didn't remove bumper and only removed the fasteners at the front of the inner fender liner - with left front tire off of course).

Good luck

 

I said a bad spot because I have heard it gets very dirty where it sits. I removed my Injen CAI for this same reason. The injen sits right in the middle of the grill for direct flow, but the performance gain wasn't worth the hassle. It is set up as a short ram and I feel no performance difference, but it sounds much better now because it is closer.

 

Ah, yeah, I have heard this same thing about the Nismo/AEM, and I figure the Injen or other CAIs might have a similar issue. I guess that's one of the drawbacks of having an open element filter in the direct line of fire.

I've only had mine on for a couple of thousand miles so far, so I'll probably try and check it out at my next oil change and see how dirty it's gotten.

 

uhhh maybe you could tell me whats the diff between the V1 and V2?? and is it an R-tune Nismo product??

 

CAI is R-tune - - I actually have the newer V2 style - I bought the Nismo CAI from a forum member (brand new, never installed) - it was the first V2 style - long tube with mass air flow sensor mounted directly in the tube - the problem was that after installing it the car wouldn't run - I later discovered that the long tube mounted the MAF sensor backwards - - talked with Jason/Jeff from Performance and they replaced the whole CAI with the latest design - this version again uses the OEM section with the MAF (similar to V1) - I guess the newer V2 has a little bigger tube diameter - - that all I can help you with.

 

thanks! guess I'll wait till after the warranty for the CAI...

 

Nismo Exhaust + Pop Charger + Crawford Cats = LOUD as **** in the Roadster! Not bad with the top up, but top down it's too loud for my taste. Going back to stock muffler soon (but keeping the Nismo y & b pipes). Around town it's kind of cool, but at freeway speed the drone is too much for me...

 

you think the cats could be the culprit??

 

But culprit for what? For SCC's power problems? Perhaps. I don't recall if they replaced those or not on their project car, but the stock cats are extremely restrictive. Switching to a pair of high flow cats would probably help. However, if their engine is retarding timing all the time due to low octane, I don't think cats will help much, if any.

As far as loudness, I didn't really notice much sound change when I put my Kinetix cats on. It did change a little, but I don't think it's much louder or different. I don't think most people would be able to tell if they didn't drive the car every day like I do. When you drive a car every day, you notice every little change.

 

Heh heh, that's good to know about your dealer. On a similar note, the service writer at my dealer was enthusiastically telling me to get a Nismo intake. He was pretty excited about them. I figure that's a good sign.

 

I have a Nismo cat back exhaust and Nismo Ver.2 CAI. Love them both and both provided power but I especially love the sound. CAI has a slight whistle like a turbo. Put that thing to the flood test too.

 

CAI's in general are pretty pointless on a Z. there is no real gains, except for a slightly more aggresive sound. if anything I would go with the pop charger