I purchased my 2007 silver alloy enthusiast 6spd. just over a year ago. In that time I added a Stoptech BBK to the front, and replaced the crappy Sumitomos it came with with Dunlop Z1 Starspecs. I replaced the rear rotors and pads. I also did SPL solid diff bushings and whiteline sub frame bushings. Oh, and I did samco hoses.

I've done 8 track days, and besides replacing brake pads I have done nothing and she is still running like a champ.

I went over 71,000 miles this morning. I put almost 25k on it since I bought it at the end of Dec. '09. The car had the CSC recall done, and the clutch still works perfectly.

I have not replaced shocks, belts, spark plugs or anything else that you would think would have broken by now. I just moved to Houston, and I'm noticing more bounce from the suspension on these crappy roads, but it still is not that bad. I'm thinking about getting BC coilovers this summer, but I am impressed my stock shocks have lasted this long.

What else should I prepare to fix this year?

How many miles have you guys gotten out of your clutch? I am a pretty tame driver, but I do love the spirited sprint up an on-ramp every now and then. I do not do hard launches and try to "baby" the clutch around town.

What about belts? I see a lot of people having problems with theirs, but mine are dead silent and have very little if any cracking.

I want to take care of preventative maintenance before I start throwing power mods and other things at the car. I've had a track prepped 240sx that became a PITA, and I do not want my Z to go in that direction. Yet, I want to modify things as needed, as long as it doesn't effect daily driving (exhaust noise excluded).

Basically, where would you guys go from here? I understand a car is a system of many parts, and I want to get the most track performance for my money while keeping the ride and other things nice.

 

coil overs, sways, intake, tune cobb or osiris, exhaust (can keep your stock cats but some HFC's or testpipes help tremendously, but then itd be louder so thats up to you since u were worried about that ^) and then call it a day

 

That sounds about right. I'd add some SPL camber arms and control arms to the list.

I can get a Cobb accessport for a good deal right now. Is it worth it to get it. I've heard good things about Osiris, but I don't know if all things are equal or if one is better than the other.

I'm in Texas, so it would not be hard to get a custom tune by either.

 

Osiris Tune ftw.

 

spl camber goodies and solid bushings are next on my list of to do and then some bbks XD, but if theres no one to osiris tune you out there the cobb ap is a really good plug and play i liked mine alot before i tt'd and switched to osiris, upped the throttle response and gained about 15-20 whp and tq from it. plus being able to monitor everything via it was nice aswell. if your neot set against it exhaust and HFC's would get u some good power and top end

 

Ace,

I just moved to Houston, so Osiris is only like 2 hours away. I'm from DFW, so Cobb isn't too far either.

Are you saying you gained an extra 15-20 hp and torque from Osiris over Cobb?

If that is the case then case is closed. I'll gladly spend a couple hundred more for the Osiris.

If anybody wants a Cobb acessport there is one here in Houston. Here's the craigslist. <http://houston.craigslist.org/pts/2189948057.html>

 

no no saying the cobb plug and play is 20 whp over stock, i dont have a base number to compare with my osiris since i did it when i installed my TT's but i iamgen the osiris is better since its a custom tune and not plug and play

 

nice to know its till running strong..have you done a tranny or diff fluid change? im at 61k on my07 and think im gonna get that done soon.

 

I have switched transmission and differential fluids to Redline. I'll probably do it again before my next track day.

Is it worth it to get the Cobb if all I have is K&N filters?

 

kind of the stage 1 map isnt to inpressive with it, up to you if the $ is worth it

 

I could always sell it in the future and get Osiris if I need to.

 

ya if ur going that route though id just start with the osiris though if u think u might want to down the road, after u buy the cable and the intial license most places are only like $100-$150 to retune later not to bad (unless u go fi then it goes up because more time etc during tuning)

 

No. Get the osiris but only after you've gotten a few more flow mods.

 

Deterioration of OEM dampers is so gradual that it is next to impossible to recognise. New dampers will put a big smile on your face.

 

I guess I jinxed myself. The Zed is dead. The Beltway in Houston has another 350z victim. I'll find out tomorrow if it is for sure totaled, but USAA already has it at their lot and every indication is that she's a gonner.

Long story short, the design of the exit from Westpark Tollway to Beltway 8 in Houston is terribly designed. As I just moved to Houston I did not know this, and did not expect traffic to back up onto the tollway.

I was westbound on the Westpark Tollway, exiting for the Beltway. I double checked my blind spot and got over from the left to right lane, and before I could even get on the brakes I hit a Chevy Malibu. I was shocked. I got smashed by the airbag, and limped her to the shoulder. It sounded like it was eating the radiator and bucking. Basically every panel from the doors forward has to be replaced, as well as both air boxes, radiator, fans, and all kinds of bracketry etc.

My car took the brunt of the damage, but at least everyone was OK. It was my fault, but I wasn't speeding or being reckless. I just made the wrong maneuver at the wrong time. I guess it helps if you know the area better, but I can't really make any excuse.

Needless to say I'm pretty down about it. However, I think I'm going to take this opportunity and the extra dough from my new job and purchase myself a 2006-2008 BMW M Coupe. It's a full 10 seconds faster around the Nurburgring than an e46 M3, simply amazing. An 8:12 is a very respectable number It is more than 20 seconds faster around The Ring than a 2003 350Z. I know it's sacrilege, but I just can't resist that sexy straight six.

 

The fukc? You really buy your cars depending on their nurburgring times? Sucks about your car

 

At least your okay and a car can be replaced. Chevy, like a rock.

 

No, I don't buy specifically on Nurburgring times. I also use Top Gear lap times and a very sophisticated and scientific panty dropper meter. When you are at a bar and you say I drive a Nissan, it just doesn't have the wow factor as BMW.

Some say I'm going after the wrong girl, and that Nurburgring times do not factor into the real world. All I know is that I wish I was the Stig, and I didn't have to deal with car insurance and rush hour traffic.

 

get a used gtr and call it a day

 

Yikes. Never seen the Z's front look like that. Nice Stoptechs you got there.... if the car's totaled any chance you'd part them?

There's nothing wrong with using times around a track for benchmarks... After all he does track his car.