Originally Posted by zland

9. Other drive train modifications: After adding 100hp by FI to your motor, you will most likely be forced to replace the clutch to be able to accommodate that power. In addition, some like a lighter flywheel instead of stock. The bottom line is your 350Z was designed to accommodate 287 crank hp. The more hp you add, the greater strain you are adding to your entire drive train. The fact is, the weakest link breaks thus if you are putting out additional 100 hp and rev your motor to 3000rpm and drop the clutch, something might break since it was not designed to handle that power.

I hope this helps you. I tried to be specific enough to give you a basic idea of options you have in modifying your 350Z. Of course, I did not get too specific assuming you need to do some research on your own.

I know there are many experienced individuals that have more experience in modifying cars on this website than myself. They can add suggestions to this post and even disagree if they like with portions of what I have written. The intent was to provide a new 350Z owner with a basic understanding of what can be done to modify their 350Z with the hope of doing so without regret in their decisions. This thread was not written to debate with experienced 350Z owners over fine details of modifications. The other threads within my350z.com cover those issues better.

The best answer I have read regarding why you should modify your 350Z is because you are enjoying doing so. There will always be a faster car than a 350Z be it a M3, Vette, Viper, or a number of supercars on the market. I always wanted a 300TT Z but could not afford it at the time. Now, I can afford a Z so I am doing what I dreamed of doing years ago. Z06 Vettes and 911TT are awesome but that is not my dream. Maybe the cost of those cars new is just more than I want to expend? If I can build a 350Z and it performs close to the performance of those cars, I will be happy. The more I modify my Z, the more it reflects my personality and tastes. Some guys like blonds, others redheads. I guess some guys are muscle car types and me, I am a Z type guy. It is all personal taste. That is why some of us have CS, SS, while others have brickyards. Is one better than the other? To me no, but one is better for someones personal taste.

I have been recently been hired by SportZ magazine (months after I first posted this thread). With this new postion come the opportunity to provide articles that will give Z owners another source for information in selecting aftermarket products through comparing products in tests that measure their performance. I am sure these comparisions will not show clear "winners" all the time since selecting a product must be defined by what you personallly want it to do. When selecting an exhaust, are you looking for sound quality, hp gains, torque gains, warranty, or appearance? If warranty is your top objective, a certain exhaust might be the winner in your opinion as compared to hp gain or even weight of the exhaust.

The brief overview I gave on this thread cannot replace your own research. If I am able, I will do my best to influence SportZ magazine to create more comparsions much like the exhaust shoot out they wrote.

I am done, now you know briefly the basics I have learned from hours spent on my350z.com .


Good luck and enjoy your 350Z be it stock or modded.

Jeff - zland

Originally Posted by foxsmp26

Just bought a 2003 350z 55k miles W / APS Extreme Twin Turbo for $10,000... Removed engine, Installed new Short block $4800.00 reworked Turbos $2,000, Gasket Kit and HKS Head Gaskets $600.00 Re-Tuned $500.00 = $17,900

Cost of Bosses 2015 z06 = $98,000 - of coarse it is a sweet @ss ride

Z takes the Vette by 2 car lengths on the street!

Originally Posted by MicVelo

What kind of post? (Because you just posted one. )

FYI, there is no approval process for posting other than items for sale in the Marketplace.