Hey im 18 and just bought a 350z '05 Enthusiast. I want to put some money into it and all my friends keep throwing around the terms "straight-pipe" and "muffler delete", as well as telling me to get a new tires, a new front bumper and skirts. I'm not gonna lie I don't really know much about cars so where do I start? Any brands, websites, etc?

 

I would start by doing general maintenance and checking your brakes and fluids and codes and just getting used to the car.
UNless you have an unlimited amount of money, if that is the case, just start ordering cool parts from Japan!

 

For now would recommend what spider is saying and just do the basic maintenance first then get some performance driving instruction to learn what your car can do. You will be surprised on what it is capable of in stock form. If you want some sound, keep it quality. Save up for something like motordyne, ark, hks hi power... these are not super loud but have a very nice sound. No reason to **** off the neighbors. Once you see what the car can do and what you think needs to be upgraded first it will get you rolling. Swaybars typically are one of the first mods to be done. Quality tires can make a huge difference as well, especially if they are shot.

 

Balla on a budget.......

 

I feel like Travlee is here to welcome everyone with some good ol fashioned hazing!
lol

 

Nah......just honest.

 

Good luck with all that

 

Okay.....my one spoon feed....

OP. If you do test pipes, and you install yourself, there is one bolt on the header that is easiest to get from the engine bay with a long extension.

 

Yea definitely I plan on getting it all checked out later this week. Appreciate the advice.

 

Very very very strict budget hahah

 

Oh alright definitely. Ill look into those after i get the maintenance done and everything checked out.

 

see,, i like ya already. didnt get butthurt. okay, so here is another thing i will say, do it once. if you cant afford to get what you really want, wait until you can, no point in spending money twice

 

Turbo first...always

 

 

Im not that ignorant haha

 

Yea I get what you mean. I appreciate it.

 

My suggestion is to buy a good set of tools (2 ton jack, jackstands, metric socket/wrench set) and LEARN how to safely work on your car. You can not only do the maintenance yourself, you'll learn how cars work in general. The added bonus is you'll learn things your friends can only talk about and get better at doing them over time.

There are some good DIY threads on here to help you out as well.

 

These^^

Maintain the car in its current state for now. Buy QUALITY tools, read through all of the DIY maintenance threads here and learn the ins-and-outs of the car. After a few months (at the very least) begin doing research and learn what mods should be performed and why. Don't let your friends influence what you buy for your car.

Drive safely on the streets and take an advanced driving course as mentioned earlier. You may find that you are happy with the way it rides in stock form and doesn't really need any upgrades at this time.

The Z can be forgiving, to a degree, for inexperienced drivers, but you can also get yourself killed extremely quickly in one. I speak from experience as I have worked a fatal crash involving a Z and it was not pretty. Don't try to impress your friends. Their approval is not worth risking your life or the life of someone around you.

 

Good advice from everyone so far. Get your general maintenance done, then take it out to the track and see what it can do. Once you get comfortable with the Z in stock form, decide where your money is best spent based on your driving style. My Z needed tires, so I went that route after my first track day. After researching here and realizing how I'd like the car to perform with my driving style, I decided to go with a square tire setup (equal size all around). After the last track day, I decided it was time for brakes. I still have not done sway bars as the car seems balanced and leans only slightly towards oversteer, which works for me.

I started out wanting to build a canyon car, but then changed direction slightly to a track-ish car. Figure out what your goal is with the car and go from there. I recommend setting a budget and sticking to it. Modifying cars can snowball very quickly. Before you know it, you're driving around with a half finished car forever running an "under construction" sticker across the windshield attempting to convince ladies that you're not dumb with your money.

Don't let others, be them your friends or people on the forums (myself included), tell you what you should mod. For what it's worth, I still run stock exhaust because I enjoy the sound. While weight savings is likely in my future (also in my Z's, ha!), exhaust is the last place I'll look because I can't stand most of the aftermarket ones available.

Get your wallet ready for a good cleaning.

 

wow someone really made a video for this

OP, congratz for your ride.
If you don't know much about the car, i suggest you to drive and enjoy your car first and don't forget do maintenance like others said.
Don't do mods that you don't know what that for. You'll just wasting the money