Well, today I became the proud owner of this 2005 350Z convertible. Picked her up for $2500 under low blue book value because the clutch is shot. Easy fix! Now I just have to figure out how to get 500hp under the hood...

 

welcome! 500whp isn't cheap or easy... but very doable if you really want it

 

Well, I got such a killer deal on the car that I feel like I can throw some money at it and still sell it down the road without losing my butt. I just sold a 2005 Pontiac GTO with 400+ hp, and I want to beat my friend's 2010 Challenger SRT8 in the quarter mile, which means I need a 13.0 flat.

 

13s on a DE... not sure if you can push that kind of power out NA may have to go FI and have tons of boost. just drop $12K on a LS2 or 2JZ swap haha... either way good luck! i used to have an 04 roadster and i loved the attention she got.

you'll have to get a roll cage too if you want to track her - or at least if you do it here in WA. requirement.

 

Yeah, I'm thinking turbo kit. I wanted to do supercharger, but it just looks like it's going to cost much more than a turbo to make the same kind of power. The LS2 swap did cross my mind, I really liked that powerplant in my GTO.

No cage... I'll be happy enough to make a single pass at a very low 13 and when they say I need the cage I will smile and park the car.

 

500 = lots of money or a blown engine in short amount of time....400 should be achievable.....
If I had a older Z i'd go with Vortech SC, cheapest FI route and proven to be really good.

 

Well, I may have to settle for 400. I really want to beat my friend's SRT8 Challenger in a straight line... and I don't think 400hp will do it. Maybe 400 at the wheels...

I need the best bang for the buck to get to 400 at the wheels. (no NOS)

I haven't had time to do my research yet, so I appreciate the input. I know that there will be hours of sifting through relevant topics here, but I just got the car last night, haha.

 

Oh boy

Just warning you but the 350z is a VERY expensive platform to mod, the VQ doesn't respond to basic mods like an LS, breather mods and an Uprev tune will make it a lot more peppy and responsive but you'll have to be one hell of a driver/ strip a lot of weight to run 13's

It all depends on your budget, assuming you're buying new just bolt-ons and a tune will run you close to $3000 (intake, plenum spacer/ kinetix plenum, high flow cats or test pipes, exhaust, greddy spark plugs, tune), and anything involving boost gets expensive quick

Also another often overlooked aspect is suspension, a good set of coilovers, proper alignment with adjustable camber arms and sticky tires will help alot. As well as either a brace or solid bushing kit for the rear differential (it likes to hop around) and a decent LSD.

 

I appreciate the advice. I'm starting to think that maybe I should just use this car for fun and not worry about beating the Challenger, hehe.

I picked up the car for only $10,000, while book is close to $15,000... so I am OK throwing some money at it. Just exploring options at the moment.

 

Yeah that's my advise to most guys, you can pop over to the FI section and read all about guys and their chase after numbers, but if you want a car that's going to be consistent, reliable, and still fun then FI isn't for you. (including the $10,000+ price tag, double or triple that if you want to break 500)
I'd say do the usual bolt-ons for sure, then get an Osiris dyno tune (takes care of the laggy throttle by wire and unlocks a lot of low-end torque as well as a smoother/ stronger powerband) and some suspension mods to make her handle better feel free to post up any specific questions you might have, between all us local guys someone should be able to help you out ^^

 

Sweet. I have been spoiled by some great deals in the past and that has made me a cheap bastard. (Last was an AP2 S2000 for $10,000 + an overstock GReddy turbo kit that I got for under shop cost that a friend installed for next to nothing)

The car goes in for a new clutch tomorrow, then wheels and suspension right off the bat. Now that the reality check is hitting me (meaning dollar signs) I am thinking I might just do the bolt-ons and the tune. I'll keep you guys updated. Still pretty excited about this... hadn't really planned on buying the car but the woman accepted my lowball offer.

 

sweet! Make sure you replace the slave cylinder and upgrade to a braided steel line when you get the clutch replaced.

 

Good idea... I am getting the new slave on the way... I'm assuming that the line can be replaced down the road? The car only has 58k on it so I'd like to replace the necessary things first. I bet that a braided line would slightly improve clutch feel because it won't flex, but I'm just going for a goof-off car that can create bald tires, not really super high performance.

 

You can replace either or them later on, and they might not go bad ever, but it doesn't cost any extra to replace them with the clutch and it saves you having to bleed the clutch again if you do it all at once.

 

I may be mistaken, but it looks like it's got GT-7's on there too. You can always sell those to add a couple grand to your power budget.

 

Well, slave cylinders are sold out in Portland right now and the car gets the clutch tomorrow, so I'll worry about that later.

Not sure about the wheels. I don't recognize the logo on the centercap so I assumed they were cheap knock-offs... but don't know for sure. None of them are curbed and the tires all look nearly-new, which is pretty amazing!

I think I'm ditching these wheels and going with these 19s...

 

Good choice. Similar to the look I've got on order.

 

Just ordered them as this email came in.

F: 19x9.5 +20
R: 19x11.0 +18

Dayam... those are gonna sit sick on the car! Maybe I need to have them painted something other than silver, though. Gotta find tires now...

 

 

nice, 11" on the back is going to be gnarly!