Anglikan

Chihuahuamaster

Welcome, the type of modifications will depend on what you want to do with the car. You say you have an intake and exhaust, you have to consider if it's worth it to bother with any extra power mods besides those.

On a 2004 I would look into replacing worn bushings, and ball joints/ tie rods, if they are bad.
Also changing fluids if you have no record of changing them.

A good way to search using Google is:
"what you want to search for" site:my350z.com.
It is likely that what you want to ask, has been covered many times over.

Anglikan

Heel Til I Die

iTrader: (2)

No offense OP, but you seem rather unknowledgeable when it comes to cars, and more importantly, your Z. Best advice is to keep reading and doing research. This site has a lot of useful info about maintenance, DIYs, etc. Everyone also has a different opinion on what the best _____ is. There are a lot of questions you need to ask yourself. Are you staying N/A or are you going F/I? Is your budget $3,500 or $35,000? Do you want more focus on suspension upgrades or are you trying to go as fast as possible in a straight line? You get the idea...

Read this: https://my350z.com/forum/engine-and-...to-your-z.html

Then this: https://my350z.com/forum/2003-2009-n...questions.html

Chihuahuamaster

Well I would definitely take care of maintenance or any known problems before modifying anything else.
It's normal to hear some flywheel chatter at low rpms, but you will have to see if there's a real issue there.

As for fluids; coolant, transmission, and differential are the main ones. But these dont need to be changed as much as oil. I personally change these around 50k miles.

Thinking of turbos, you are getting to a whole different level of mechanical knowledge required, as well as cost. And in my experience, you can throw reliability/ daily driver, out of the question, when you add boost.

There are many wheel choices. The main thing to keep in mind is wheel width, and offset. You could also look into used take off wheels, from a 370z or similar. There are some nice looking options, and they are forged.

Again, all of these things will take alot of research and planning.

Cracka350

iTrader: (1)

Hey Anglikan! All previous advice is very good. I have a lightly modded '05 Z as well so I have a feel for your situation.

-God forbid your front end ever get damaged (covered by insurance), tell the shop to order the '06 bumper cover. It'll cost you an extra $200 plus the two grill pieces.
-I also bought a used set of 06 wheels that are lighter and look better for 500 bucks.
-Urethane control arm bushings are great for the car but a super B to install them so get a friend whose handy. Apply the same to your diff bushings for crisper power transfer.
-I just spent 450 bucks upgrading the brakes to 06's. It's dual piston and wider diameter disks. Better braking for half the price of BBK's Write-up thread with pics
-Assuming your exhaust and mid-pipe are wider diameter than stock you can upgrade your y-pipe and get high flow cats. but you wont see any real gains unless you dyno tune. Thats gonna be 400-700 so that's down the road.

Start easy and build your wrenching skills man. There are alot of rusty and highly torqued bolts on your car so the right tools make the difference between getting the job done at 6PM or midnight. Ask me how I know.

Welcome to the forum

MicVelo

Bear with me people, but it's been a while and it's time to pull out my now only once-annually line.....

Driver's school.

Or track days, autocross, etc.

There is NO better way to spend money to enjoy a car (ANY car) than to learn how to properly operate it.... go, brake, turn, stop. Knowing how to better manage your car at speed is something that requires NO hardware and it's the only "modification" that transfers to EVERY car you'll ever own without further wrenching, money dumping... just add practice.

Side benefit of "Driver modification" is it gives you a clearer understanding of what you (not your car) need to make your car do what you want it to do to suit your driving; e.g., it understeers.... add swaybars and adjust.... it bounces too much on dips, add both way adjustable shocks... etc. etc. That way, the car becomes suited to YOU, not the other way around.

There, said it. Haha....

Anglikan

As i said in my original post, i have never learned much about cars in general, thats why i came here, i hoped to get some useful advice, which i have been getting that. also, maybe no so much as a straight shot car, but more looks with a little modding to make it just a bit faster, i dont want a track car but i want something a little more than what i have.

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

I would go with diff bushings, and then a zspeed under shrowd
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Heel Til I Die

iTrader: (2)

If you've got between $2,500-$3,500 (range because of quality), you'll gain at most around 40 whp with bolt-ons and a tune. If you want to break 300 at the wheels N/A, it is possible, but you'll likely need to go F/I.

Even though I've just about maxed out my "power mods," I still feel like the best (or most fun) mods have been done to the suspension and upgraded clutch/flywheel. Slap on some lightweight wheels and sticky tires, and the Z comes alive

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

I have suspension mods, and light weight wheels and my Z just died in the middle of driving... I just put it in first and let orr the clutch and it started right back up... But that wasn't cool...

So I'm going to change my recommendation to ummm differential bushings and the Z speed undershrowd.

Shoomakan

So, in your situation I'd tackle things like this.

1. Make sure fluids, spark plugs, injectors and air filter are fresh.
2. Address your clutch/flywheel issue. Get a single mass flywheel in there with a stock clutch kit. That'll be fine for however much power you make without a turbo or supercharger. (SMFW = ~$400)
3. Make sure all bushings are fine, replace as necessary. Either OEM or a polyurethane aftermarket solution. But those get pricey quick.
4. Add a plenum spacer and a Y-pipe to your car. ($~450)
5. Re tune the car. (~$550)
6. Add a set of stiffer swaybars (non adjustable are fine, don't be duped into buying expensive adjustable units if your car is a street car that doesn't live on the track). (~$300)
7. Shock and spring combo. I have tried and highly recommend the Bilstein B12 kit. (~$1000)

I think the above is what makes a Z the way it should have been from the factory in terms of power and handling. It'll be reliable, fun, not too stiff, and still perfectly manageable to drive every day. If your budget won't allow that much money thrown at it I'd start with 1, 2, 3, and 6 and/or 7.

onevq35de

Hit it with a cool 250 shot of n2o and call it a day, but don't forget to make a vid of the 1st time you use it. Can't beat n2o dollar per hp/tq.

Franknbeans

iTrader: (1)

When people say change your fluids.. .Make sure you do your bake fluid.

Who cares how fast you can go if you can't stop.

Get that clutch fixed.
Brake fluid
Stainless Brake Lines
Brake Pads

Late braking means you can make a viper give you a point by.

kauai1800

Aloha!
Agree with above ideas completely. For me thus far best mods are:
1) Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
2) Lighter 19" wheels from Advanti (about 23 pounds each)
3) Plenum Spacer
4) Replacing old *** headlights that were hazed up with some fresh ones
5) Gotta get a gearshift **** that you like!

I've already had lots of driving school classes in the past - they're really useful too for getting the most out of the car. Autocross too...