Modification guide: one stop thread!

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Thanks to 350zmotoring for this very useful, comprehensive info! PLEASE BEAR IN MIND SOME OF THE INFO ON THIS THREAD WILL BE FOR US CARS ONLY, SO ALWAYS DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE BUYING STUFF

 

 

 

"This was made with the thoughts of modifying a Z that you will drive every day. Don’t take it as gospel…just a good initial plan for new owners and a source of good ideas for everyone else.

 

At times it may sound opinionated or like I am trying to sell someone’s product. It is opinionated because it is MY opinion and I only highlight products that I think are worth your time to look at. I have tried to list websites for everything so you can find out more details about the products on your own, and make your own decisions."

 

Jay2112

 

1.) FI or NA.

FI is great for track use or non-daily driver, but if this is your daily driver NA is best. FI takes a lot of money to buy, install, tune, keep it in tune….and make it RELIABLE. This means a lot of other internal mods that add too much more down time and money then is truly feasible with a daily driver. So NA is best.

 

A well tuned nitrous set-up is an excellent option. It will not break the bank and as long as it is set-up correctly it will not decrease the life of your engine. Make sure it is a wet setup as this allows for even distribution and mixture of the nitrous to each cylinder (as compared to a dry setup…..especially since our cars are known to reduce air intake into the front cylinders due to the angle of our plenum.) There are many kits available: for example a wet kit from nitrousexpress.com can cost under $600.

 

However you want it safe and effective. For safety you can get an A/F ratio nitrous shutdown switch from dynotune. This cuts off the nitrous supply if there is a lean condition, preventing damage to your engine. For effectiveness you can get a bottle warmer, digital nitrous pressure gauge, and purge switch to ensure proper psi of the nitrous prior to the “race.â€

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2.) Replacements.

If this is your daily driver then don’t go ahead and start making all kinds of mods. Things are going to have to be replaced on this car eventually. So wait until something needs to be replaced before modifying it….this will decrease down time on your car.

 

Going by recommended service intervals in the Nissan manual found in your glove box:

 

0 miles or as soon as you get the car:

 

Window tint: You may think this is just for looks, but a dark tint will prevent people from seeing that laptop you accidentally left in your car. There is no need to give lowlifes any more reason to break into your car then they already have. Most states have laws on tint, but there are ways to get around them. Here you must have 35% tint....but cops only carry around tint meters that can be put on a rolled down window. So while you can tint your drivers and passengers window 35%...the rear windows can be 5%. A 5% sunstrip on the top of the front window will decrease eye strain from the sun, and a 5% sunstrip on the bottom of the front window will reduce glare from your hood. Black tints are usually what you'll look for, although a mirror tint looks killer on silver cars. It is important to go somewhere and have this done professionally as tinting windows is not easy. Don't buy a pepboys tint and expect it not to turn purple either. Go somewhere that uses tints that are known not to fade.

And for those of you who are into the old-school louvre look, Stillen sells some rear quarter window louvres. Go to either stillen.com or i-m-racing.com to check these babies out.

 

Oh and for another “counter-terrorismâ€

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15,000 Miles

Your air cleaner needs to be replaced. This is the time to take out the air filter and replace it with an intake. So the question becomes CAI or short ram? Now this is a daily driver so these filters are going to get dirty. Every oil change you will want to clean the filter. If you have a CAI you will have to remove your bumper, tire, etc to get to it. This is labor and time intensive. If you have short ram all you have to do is pop your hood. So short ram wins here. Now the best short ram is the popcharger. Its primary purpose was short ram, while the Injens primary purpose was CAI. The Injen has a cap over the front of the filter, which was great when that portion of the filter was facing the ground in the CAI form. But now that it is facing the front of the car, air cannot be “rammedâ€

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30,000 Miles

Your drive belts need to be replaced. This is a great time to put some lightweight pulleys and belts on. Unorthodox makes some that are lightweight and underdriven (crank, water-pump, and alternator). Check them out at unorthodoxracing.com. KJR also makes a lightweight crank pulley that is not underdriven. Check this out at KJRperformance.com. Basically both pullies make most of their power because they are lighter weight, but the UR will make 1-2 more HP from being underdriven as well (only 1-2 because as they state, they do not push underdriving too much). So if you are NA or turbo go with the UR, if you have a supercharger the KJR may be the one for you since it is not underdriven.

 

It is also recommended to replace your radiator cap at this time. You might as well throw a Nismo or other aftermarket cap on there (ARC, power enterprise, etc..) to improve the cooling system. Again, you can even get these at Nissan.

 

 

60,000 Miles

It is recommended to replace your radiator hoses. Well, you might as well put some Samco (or other aftermarket brand like Blitz) radiator hoses on to further improve the looks and function of your cooling system. Samcosport.com is the company, i-m-racing.com has some for sale.

 

While your at it, check out zeetoyz.com for a pi-thon compression lock kit made for the Samco hoses. Longer lasting seals and engine dress-up all in one.

 

 

60,000-80,000 Miles

Clutches come and go. For some people right around here that clutch may feel a little slippy. If you are getting a new clutch you might as well get a flywheel as well, because they come as package deals. If you are a good driver Tilton makes a full street clutch and 8 lb flywheel that takes some getting used to, but is very streetable. (They also make a race version as well if you are pushing over 300hp.) If you’re kinda iffy with the whole clutch and shift deal, Clutch Masters, JWT, Stillen, and Nismo offer packages with heavier flywheels (still lighter than stock though) that make stop and go traffic a little easier. Performancenissanparts.com has most of the above. ACT, ATS, Clutch Masters, Exedy, and OS Giken also make clutches (check out z1auto.com for these). And Fidanza and Unorthodox racing also make Flywheels.

 

While your replacing your clutch, you might as well replace the old clutch line with a new steel braided clutch line. This line will give your clutch a firmer feel and improve performance. An Agency power braided clutch line can be bought at i-m-racing.com.

 

While we are poking about in the tranny, lets get that LSD we have always wanted (for us base model guys). Driving in slippery conditions sucks, and if you try to take a corner fast…forget about it. An LSD is NOT traction control…but it helps a little. 350evo.com sells a preassembled rear end with a Nismo LSD and a 3.917 Final Drive. (Central 20 also makes the final drive gears for a little less money, but same quality.) If you have some extra money, get the upgraded Cusco LSD. (Qualife, ATS, and Kaaz also make these.) Oh yeah, traction AND better acceleration. Pair this with that clutch and flywheel combo and you might be racing motorcycles at red lights!

 

Also while that clutch is being redone you might as well finish off the job with a short shifter. There are a few out there, (350EVO, Fidanza, B+M, Rogue Engineering, Stillen) but Nismo offers an adjustable one that goes to a whopping 40% reduction from stock. Again, performancenissanparts.com or your Nissan dealer carries these.

 

And if you’re putting in a short shifter you’re going to want a new shift knob. I mean you just have to get a new one, right? Nismo sells tons of them: from rubber to carbon fiber to titanium. The black ball shift knob is shorter than stock, which will further reduce your throw. Performancenissanparts.com carries the whole nismo shift knob spectrum. Zeetoyz.com also has some that are weighted for easier shifting. OR if you wanna be trick you can get a shift knob with a flip top that reveals a button. Night Pager makes one and you can buy it at memoryfab.com. If you had opted for nitrous, you can make this your "happy button"...at least I would.

 

Also, for the ultimate in quick clutch performance…shorten the clutch engagement. Yup, you can actually shorten the length of the clutch pedal so it engages quicker. There is a DIY on freshalloy.com under infinity vehicles / infinity G35. It’s actually post # 67472643, if that helps.

 

One final mod that will help in this department is an Engine Damper. This is basically a shock absorber for your engine. When you hit the gas pedal from a dead stop or when you are switching gears, some of the force of the engine reving actually moves the engine. The damper will cease this movement and allow for slightly faster engagement and quicker power transference to the drivetrain. 5Zigen, Stillen, and Weapon R all make these. Check out Stillen.com for more info on the Stillen one.

 

AND for those of you with automatic transmissions who are now feeling pretty left out....SGP Racing and Stillen both offer an Automatic tranny valve body upgrade for you. This upgrade increases the power handling ability of the transmission and provides for smoother upshifts. Out of the 2, SGP Racing seems as though it would be the better choice.

 

80,000-100,000 Miles

Nothing lasts forever. If you’re doing some serious driving you will eventually need to replace your suspension. It may not give out for a while, but it may be getting a little loose, so right around here you may want to think about upgrading. Don't just get new springs, because that will cause added wear and tear on your shocks. Nismo S-tune is a great idea. But a Tein basic coilover will do the trick, is a little cheaper, and can be adjusted to your specs. Other (pricier) options include A'PEXi, AST, Bilstein, Buddy club, Central20, Cusco, Esprit, HKS, H&R, JIC-Magic, Memoryfab, Tanabe, Veilside, and Zeal. Check out the suspension section at i-m-racing.com for a good comparison. Tein also makes an EDFC unit: Electronic Damping Force Controller, which allows you to change damping force from inside the car with a touch of the button. (Only available with the Flex or CS units). I guess this is great if you feel like racing the canyons in the morning and then hittin the stip in the evening. And for those of you like the idea of the Tein EDFC but want a better suspension setup than Tein offers, Tanabe has a Sustec Pro Seven suspension setup with an optional TEAS (Tanabe Electronic Active Suspension), which can be programmed to adjust suspension depending on speed. It also has a hard driving version with higher spring rates (12.0kg, same as Tein).

 

While you’re at it, throw some sway bars in there to tighten up your ride. If you want a really tight ride Cusco sway bars provide a stiffness that is 137% the OEM front and 174% the OEM rear. However, since this is an everyday driver, something like the hotchkis sway bars will do the trick….especially since they are both 3 way adjustable. Other companies like 350EVo, Esprit, Eibach, Mines, Nismo, Progress Technology, and Stillen make swaybars as well. Again, check out the suspension section at i-m-racing.com.

 

And if you still want an even stiffer ride, you can pick up some GT Spec Lower arm bars to further increase chassis rigidity. A complete set will include their front and rear lower arm bars, lateral reinforcement bar, and 4 point ladder bar. Check out z1auto.com for these babies.

 

If you had opted for some fat wheels earlier and you now decide to lower your car an inch or more you will have serious alignment problems. To fix this you will need a good mechanic, or you may want to look at kinetixracing.com for their alignment package. For around $700 you can get adjustable front A-arms, rear camber arms, and rear traction arms. Add in a Stillen rear toe arm for around $400 and your alignment issues will be solved. These will have you back into spec, improve performance, and prevent uneven tire wear. Of course, for you performance oriented people, check out the 350evo adjustable suspension arms package which upgrades the arms (Front A, rear camber, and rear traction) to spherical bearings which will improve suspension in corners. Pair this with some JIC Magic rear toe control arm (also with spherical bearings) and you'll be eating up twisties (and possibly tires depending on what you do with those traction rods)! Other manufactures that make suspension components are: Central 20, Cusco, Esprit, Hotchkis, and SPC. To note also, it has been said that the adjustable toe rods that are sold (including the JIC Magic one I mentioned) cannot truly adjust toe. The only way to actually do that is with the SPC rear toe bolts. Check out z1auto.com for these.

 

And if you really don't want to replace all those suspension arms, but still want better handling, you can get upgraded bushings from Nismo. Check out performancenissanparts.com for these.

 

105,000 Miles

Now it is time to replace your spark plugs. Time for aftermarket. NGK makes plugs that are both 1 step and 2 steps colder. 2 Steps may be good for FI but we are staying NA, so go with the 1 step colder to get a little more performance out of your engine. If I'm not mistaken you can get these at your local autoparts store, but I actually saw them at stillen.com.

 

At this point in time your car is going to have some wear and tear on it. I bet if you took a look at your cam shafts they may show some wear and tear. They would probably last another 100,000 miles, but we are after performance….so go ahead and replace those babies. Nismo has a drop in set that needs little adjustment (except maybe idle). Esprit, Impul, Tomei, Top Speed, and JWT all make camshafts as well. You can get the Nismo ones off of Nissan or courtesyparts.com. Nismo (as well as some of the others) also offer a few different cams. For example, Nismo offers the direct replacement R-tune (262D, .426L in/ 256D, .426L ex) the Spec 1 (276D, .433L in/ 256D, .413L ex) which offers a little more top end power and the Spec 2 (284D, .433L in/ 268D, .413L ex) for those who want to really push the limits. Wait my mistake, for those who really want to push the limits you can get a set of Nismo cam blanks that can be ground to a max of 312 degress of duration and .551 inches of lift. Have fun!

 

By this time if you have not flashed your ECU (talked about later)…do so now. It is unlikely you will do any more performance mods after 100,000 miles. Your car may very well last for another 100,000 miles if taken care of….but nobody really mods 100,000+ mile cars. (I mean you have to save up for your next Z or Ferrari, right?) So flash it, and if you have already flashed it…do so again because you just put in new camshafts.

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Other mods to do when you see fit

 

3.) Intake

Replacing the upper plenum is a great way to boost the intake. If you are unaware, due to the steep slope of the stock plenum there is uneven air distribution to the front cylinders of our car; they get less air then the other cylinders. Aftermarket plenums improve engine performance by evening out airflow between all cylinders (vamping up airflow to the front cylinders). While there are a host of plenums out there, Kinetix is the cheapest since it does not require buying a new strut bar (and you do not have to modify your engine cover either). I am willing to bet it makes the same HP as any other plenum (Crawford or APS) as well, due to it being plastic. The HP gains from superior airflow allowed by bigger plenums compared to the smaller Kinetix plenum will be negated by heat soak caused by their aluminum shell. The plastic structure of the Kinetix plenum will allow for cooler intake temps. Therefore, a bigger aluminum plenum will most likely make the same hp numbers as the smaller plastic Kinetix plenum. You can get the kinetix plenum at kinetixracing.com, the crawford at Crawfordz.com, and the APS at airpowersystems.com.

 

OR instead of going with a new plenum, the other option is to go with a plenum spacer. Esprit makes one that is extremely unaffordable. However there is also a motodyne plenum spacer (1/4 inch, 3/8 inch, or 1/2 inch in size) an Altered Atmosphere Motorsports spec angled plenum spacer, or a Skunk2 CF spacer. These spacers are reported to give similar gains to the regular plenums at 1/2 the price, while retaining both the stock strut bar and engine cover (motodyne 1/4 inch only)! For those of you who want to retain your stock strut bar with a bigger plenum spacer (like the 1/2 inch) you can get a set of strut bar spacers and a set of hood spacers from motodyne. The strut bar spacers will raise your strut bar to accomodate the higher plenum and the hood spacers will raised the rear of your hood to accomodate the higher strut bar. As a bonus the hood spacers will allow for heat to escape from the engine bay and lower intake and engine temps!

 

Now the 35th anniversary edition Z comes with a revised lower plenum. It is revised to provide more airflow and evens off the airflow to the front cylinders. Basically, getting an aftermarket upper intake plenum or a 35th anniversary lower intake plenum should even out the airflow to the cylinders, but buying both...well that maybe just the bit of overkill we all crave! Performancenissanparts.com carries these...but so does your nissan dealer. For you 300HP motor guys, Motordyne engineering has a MREV mod that replaces your lower plenum with a collector which is supposed to produce pretty good gains.

 

There is also another way to fix the problems with the stock plenum: with a new intake manifold. Both speedforceracing.com and kinetixracing.com have developed entire intake manifolds (replaces upper and lower plenum as well as intake runners) to fix the whole plenum problem. They may be a little costly for us NA daily driver guys, but for those FI guys out there...this is the answer to your prayers. The kinetix one is a little cheaper and a new engine cover can be purchased to use in conjunction with it. The SPF manifold is a little more pricey, but for those of you who believe you get what you pay for.....

 

Now for those of you who purchased that intake manifold or replaced either plenum, you should look into getting some thermashield gaskets. These replace the gaskets connecting your lower plenum to the engine itself, the gaskets connecting the upper and lower plenum, and the throttle body gaskets. They will help to prevent heat soak in the manifold by insulating it from engine heat. Check out nextgearinc.com for these. Motodyne Engineering also makes thermo gaskets for the upper and lower plenums and has 2 options for the throttle body. One is a thermo gasket, and one can be turned on and off to either heat or not heat the throttle body.

 

Another mod which may help will be a new throttle body. 350evo.com or proflowdesign.com can take care of this. These throttle bodies will be bored, polished, and have the throttle plate and shaft modified. It will not cause huge increases in hp, but along with other intake modifications should be worth doing.

 

4.) Exhaust

Your exhaust starts with your headers. A cheap solution would be to get some DC sports ceramic headers for a little over $400. They are ceramic coated so they will transfer less heat to the engine bay. There are many other varieties out there including Crawford, Central20, Esprit, Memoryfab, Nismo, Stillen, Strup, Top Secret, and Top Speed...all who will cost a lot more and may perform better…..but did I mention will cost a lot more? Out of these, it is rumored that the Crawford headers provide the best performance gains due to their almost long tube design in a small tube package. Crawford calls it medusa style, and if you have the money...get them! (crawfordzcar.com) If not, 350zonline.com seems to have a pretty good price on DC sports headers. If you get some stainless steel headers you may want to get them jethot coated to prevent them from allowing heat to escape into the engine bay. Check out jet-hot.com. Another note is that all the aforementioned headers are short-tube, meaning they are shorter and allow you to keep your catalytic converters. Long-tube headers like the ones made by Xerd or 350Evo extend out to delete the catalytic converter pipes. That way instead of installing test-pipes or cat-delete pipes, all you need are these headers. (Only an opton for those of you who do not need to pass emissions testing.)

 

Next is the high flow smog legal catalytic converters. You can get some test pipes here to produce more horsepower…but then you would not be smog legal, would not pass emissions, and this would not be your everyday driver. Helix cats are supposed to be of very good quality. Random technology is supposedly top notch as well. Whatever brand you buy, just make sure it is smog legal and will pass emissions (Central20, Crawford, Kinetix, Nismo, Power Enterprises, and Ultimate Racing all have a product out there.) Check out i-m-racing.com for most of the above cats.

 

Now for those of you who don't have to go through emissions and purchased some short-tube headers instead of long-tube headers, you'll want those test pipes I mentioned. Amuse, Esprit, Helix, Mine's, and Stillen all make these small wonders.

 

Next is the cat back exhaust, or you can part it out by purchasing Y-pipes, mufflers, and tips. A good, cheap solution here is the Greddy Evo-2 cat-back dual exhaust for under $1K. Most full cat-back exhausts will be over $1K and some will be close to $2K (Veilside, Trial). Again, you want them to be able to pass emissions…and in some cases (depending on how strict the laws are around you) NOISE regulations. Greddy does not use a “collectionâ€

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6.) Other engine compartment mods

This would be a useless post without mentioning a grounding kit. Don’t expect anything more than 1 hp from these things, no matter what people tell you. Changing grounding wires doesn’t do a whole lot but make your engine compartment pretty. But it is cheap enough and if you have a lot of electronics in the car (radio systems) it will be good for their operation. Maxground.com (lower price) has them as does Z-Xtreme.com (more color options). Tons of other companies, like HKS, Hyper, IMR, Nismo, Stillen, and Sun Auto makes these as well.

 

Weapon R also makes an ignition Equalization kit, which focuses on improving ignition spark. This kit contains an equalizer plate that can also be used for your grounding kit.

 

Now similar to the $50-$150 grounding kit is the $250 Sun Auto Cyber Speed Hyper Voltage System. In essence, this is basically a capacitor which ensures constant consistent voltage draw from the battery and supplies it to the car (the same principle as the farad capacitors you use in your stereo system to ensure quality bass drops when you have a high wattage system). In cars where the lights dim when you downshift, or there is a lot of stereo noise, this should take care of those problems. It can also be used in conjunction with a grounding kit for improved idle and engine response. Sigmaautomotive.com carries these babies. A'PEXi also makes a similar, lower cost version.

 

You can also find carbon fiber battery, brake fluid, and engine covers at Zcarparts.com. There are also decorative clamps made by pi-thon, and Z-etched fluid covers made by Zeetoyz, both of which can be bought at Zeetoyz.com. Finally, you can get some stainless steel bolts and nuts at maxground.com. Style away….

 

For those of you with a crawford or APS plenum, you'll be looking for another strut bar because the stock strut bar is not high enough to fit over these plenums. Both crawford and APS offer one but so does ARC, DC Sports, Greddy, GT Spec, JIC Magic (aluminum or carbon fiber), and Stillen. You guys who bought a Seibon hood will be in the same boat, however instead of the stock strut bar not being high enough, it will now be too high. The Cusco strut bar sits lower than stock, and will fit under your hood, allowing it to close properly.

 

And while you are in there you can replace your horns with a pair of nismo Z horns. I won't award you cool points for this one, but some judge at a car show might. Check out performancenissanparts.com.

 

When you are all done with your performance mods, you should reflash your ECU. Any style modifications you do, do not effect the performance of the car (No, your Nismo sticker will not increase your horsepower)….so do them whenever. But, when you are done modifying the engine and related performance pieces of your Z, it is time to reflash your ECU. Right now Technosquareinc.com pretty much has the market cornered on this item. It’ll run you around $600, but it will bring all your performance mods to fruition, increase your rev limiter, and may even give you 1 or 2 more mpg’s. It is important to wait until you are done modding because subsequent reflashes cost somewhere around $150 or $200. Another company, Alteredatmosphere.com also offers an ECU reflash for $100 less than Technosquare. However they are relatively new to the game compared to technosquare and may not have as many "maps" available for highly modified engines.

 

And no, you cannot put a “chipâ€

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7.) Exterior

First…pick a color scheme. Something you like but not too complicated. It has to look nice…but remember…this is your daily driver. Door dings, rock chips, old ladies, and soccer moms are everywhere. Get a paint job you can touch up easily and won’t cost you $10,000 to redo when a soccer mom backs up into your car in the parking lot, and you have to repaint it!

 

Now I'm not going to go crazy naming every bodykit out there. Everyone has different tastes and everyone will like one kit over another. I suggest you go to bulletproofautomotive.com and i-m-racing.com and pour through their aero pages. Find a kit you like and then shop around for a good price. What I will do, however, is give solid recommendations following the theory of function over form. I will point out what body components are the most functional and deserve your attention if you value function over form. However, for those of you who want a full body kit that replaces everything, look at: (these are NOT cheap folks) K-one 350z European kit, Top Secret Wide-body kit (or long-nose wide-body kit) w/ spoiler+hood, Veilside Version 3 bodykit w/ overfenders+spoiler+hood.

 

Front bumper: If you believe function over form…get something with a big opening in the front for the radiator, a small scoop for the air intake in the front bumper, and a lip for downforce. The Ings+1 N-spec or the Initial-D bumpers have all these things, as does Strosek and Varis. Some bumpers, like the Bomex, DAMD, Fabulous GT sports, or the visage also have fog lights (but no front lip). This can be remedied with an APR wind splitter attached to the bottom of the front bumper, side splitters, or canards.

 

Side skirts: Function over form dictates they should have vents for the rear brakes. Greddy has vents….that go nowhere. They can, however, be modified to be functional. I believe Real sports z33 pro’s, Sarona, and Top Secret have vents as well, although I do not know if they are functional.

 

Rear bumper: A nice low bumper like the Veilside V3 looks pimp…but is not functional. Something that is high, has some vents, and a lip for downforce would prove ideal. Step into the light… Do-luck Aerowivern rear bumper which has all of this and adds a rear undertray for added downforce. I actually believe that the rear bumpers on some GT cars have less function than the Do-Luck rear bumper (yup, it looks that good).

 

Spoiler: The bigger the better actually. Bigger spoilers will create more downforce. In this respect, the Real Sports Dry carbon wing and the APR GT-300 are at the top of the chart, with the Ings+1 Power wing, Rotora GT wing, and the Top Secret GT wing all following at a close second. Do luck would come in 3rd because although their wing isn't high, it's very wide. However, big wings have been looked at negatively lately thanks to the fast and the furious crowd. So...check out Veilside for a middle of the road deal. Esprit and Fabulous make wings that will fit the bill as well.

 

And if a spoiler on the rear of the car still doesn't provide enough downforce for you, you can also buy the Stillen roof wing which puts a little lip on the edge of your roof.

 

Fenders: They look sweet already…but everything can be made better. Veilside makes an overfender kit to make them bigger, but that isn’t real function over form. Adding vents to improve aerodynamics is function over form. The simple way to do this is to buy some Sarona or Z3 front fenders with the vents already in them. The hard way to do this is to buy air ducts and put them in front of and in the rear of your rear fenders. This all depends on how deep your wallet is. All of these can be found at andysautsport.com

 

Rear hatch: Well if you are looking to lighten the load on your car, why not pick up a carbon fiber rear hatch? Seibon makes these and can be bought at z1auto.com. Amuse also makes a dry carbon one that I bet is even lighter....but is also about 4X the price of the seibon one! bulletproofautomotive.com carries the Amuse one. Autotecknic.com also makes one pretty cheap, but it is available for wholesale only.

 

Doors: Looking to shed even more weight? Go for some dry carbon doors by Amuse. However I warn you now that you will shed more weight from your wallet than your car because the MSRP on these things are just shy of $10K! These can be found at bulletproofautomotive.com. Although recently CF outer door skins and CF inner door skins have been released into the market for MUCH lower. Look around, but you may want a full roll cage if you put these on.

 

Door hinges: Ah, a very expensive, but very stand out look is the vertical door kit or lambo door kit. This is a much better alternative to tricking out your doors than a shaved door kit because it will not freeze in the winter. (Shaved doors have a habit of doing so.) Get this mod and watch everyone stare at you when you get out of your car at work! I-m-racing.com seems to have a cheap kit on their site. 350zonline.com also has a kit on their site. Check out decah.net for more info.

 

Door handles: Now since you didn’t get that shaved door handle kit you are going to have to paint your door handles the color of your car. The door handles ruin the lines of the Z, so don’t shave ‘em, paint ‘em. Of course...they do sell shaved door handle kits with up to 100 lb solenoids if you really need to have a shaved door handle kit. Just be warned that they will take a lot of bodywork to make them look right.

 

Mirrors: Do you love the look of the stock mirrors but want to be different than every one else? Do you love carbon fiber? Carbigncraft.com has carbon fiber mirror covers that come with tinted convex mirrors. Not cheap, but very cool (zcarparts.com carries some as well). If you want to go a little cheaper, zcarparts.com also has mirror bras. Otherwise, keep the stock mirrors because they are pretty damned cool looking (but Veilside and Mine's does make some aftermarket mirrors, if you have to get 'em).

 

Roof scoop: Speaking of deep wallets, this shouldn’t even be included for a daily driver, however I have been informed that roof scoops can be used simply to create more downforce, and do not necessarily have to direct air flow into the car. So…throw one on for some more downforce and watch everybody stare at you as you drive to work! (do a search for fast and the furious roof scoop on google and see what happens.)

 

Ok, you bought your aftermarket front bumper, but it didn't come with a grill, and you don't want your radiator getting chewed up by road debris. Go to performancenissanparts.com and check out their grill section. They have chrome finish, matte finish and even black chrome finish grills.

 

For those of you who bought an aftermarket bumper without a front bumper intake duct, you can get one from Varis or Mine's, which will feed more air directly into your short ram intake. Splparts.com carries the Varis and bulletproofautomotive.com carries the Mine's. There are also currently a few ducts on the market to feed the air from the opening into the intake. C-West makes a CF one especially for it's body kit. It may or may not work with the varis.

 

Overlays for all lights are key. Lights get scratched easily…plus I personally don’t like the “whiteâ€

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Graphics: Nismo has some and Stillen.com has some. You can even create your own at a place like edecals.com. Remember the key: TASTE! Nismo also has some wheel decals and various small decals to put here and there.

 

Front plate bracket: I know you don’t want it, and neither do I. But sometimes it is not worth getting hassled by the cops. Don’t use the one from the factory because you’ll have to put holes in your bumper. You can zip tie the plate if you want (easy on, easy off)…or buy the Zee bracket (courtesyparts.com), or the Stillen.com bracket. The Zee bracket is the most popular because it screws into your grill instead of your bumper. The Stillen bracket actually just screws into your tow hook hole…but while it doesn’t damage your car at all, it tends not to look as good as the Zee bracket.

Now while you are putting that plate bracket on get some smoked license plate shields for the front and rear of the car to darken those white plates (AutoZone, Pepboys). Use them with the Z license plate frame from Nissan (back only…why draw more attention to your front plate?) and some black screw covers (AutoZone, Pepboys)…and you are good to go.

 

Did someone say bra? Cause if you did there had better be a woman around. Bras detract from the smooth lines of the Z (or any car). If you are so paranoid that you must have a bra, get a clear 3M bra. They work wonders and you won't have that Hitler mustache on the front of your car. (Alas for those who MUST have a regular bra....go to courtesyparts.com, but don't say I didn't warn you when people say "there is just something about your car that I don't like. I don't know what it is... it looks good from the back.")

 

Finally, if you're up to the extra work, putting on a car cover at night will keep that paint gleeming. Courtesyparts.com or your nissan dealer has some made specifically for the Z. However, if you have a bodykit or spoile on your car those won't fit. Check out covercraft.com for some custom fit car covers. (If you are outside look into a weathercraft HD).

 

Oh...and to get that paint gleeming in the first place there is nothing better than Zaino. The masses can't be wrong! check out zainobros.com and welcome to the world of obsession. (A clay bar now and again will help as well.)

 

8.) Interior

Gauges: If you are NA, you should not need many, if any at all. However, even with NA applications, you will benefit from an A/F gauge (I would definetely recommend one of these if you went nitrous). AEM makes a wideband A/F gauge that is quite expensive, but is also quite accurate. Theoretically, if you bought the APEXI SAFII and this gauge, you could tune your A/F yourself...good luck though! Check out z1auto.com for this gauge. For other gauges such as fuel and air pressure gauges check out autometer.com.

 

Gauge pods: Well if your getting some gauges, your going to need some place to put them. Stillen offers a set of Carbon fiber A-pillar covers. The drivers side has two gauge pods in it, while the passengers side is just provided to match. I-m-racing.com and autometer (found at performancenissanparts.com) also make 2 and 3 gauge pod A-pillars that are a custom fit for the Z as well. Finally, Greddy makes individual gauge pods if, for instance, you are only running an A/F gauge. Check out z1auto.com for this.

 

Speaking of gauges, Nismo offers a direct replacement steering wheel gauge cluster. Check with your nissan dealer or performancenissanparts.com. I think they come in KMH and it costs a little extra to get them transfered to MPH. But it seems like a lot of money to spend on something you never look at. Isn't that why the first gauge on the dash displays MPH?

 

HUD: What, those 3 gauges in the center of the windshield aren’t good enough for you? I mean the first one tells you mph, tire pressure, temperature, blood alcohol content, etc... What more do you need? Ok, how about a heads up display that displays your speed on the windshield. Got ya covered…go to defi-shop.com and look around. This unit is produced by defi, the same company that makes many aftermarket gauges. So, if you bought this, some defi gauges, and a defi link unit, you could have all your gauge info displayed on the windshield as well.

 

Ok, you have a base model and you are jealous about the nifty homelink rearview mirrors other guys have. Well how about a pinhole backup camera in your trunk that sends a picture to a small lcd television screen in your rear view mirror. There are many out there, I found some at mobilvideozone.com.

 

Ok maybe you don't care what is behind you, but how about the ability to see further in front of you...in the dark. If you have deep pockets you can pick up a thermal imaging system with HUD for about $3500. This thing sees 5x farther than your low beams, 3x farther than your high beams, and projects the real time image on your windshield so you don't have to take your eyes off the road. Very tough to find as well, I saw one here: lingenfelter.com.

 

Not feeling the ultra-trick gadgets, huh? You'd rather be a race car driver, is that right? Well, pick up an F1 paddle shifter and have all your shifts at your fingertips! I have no idea how easy this is to install, or if you need any more components than the shifter and the sending box, but if this is something for you, it's made by night pager and can be found on memoryfab.com.

 

Steering wheel: No idea why you would change from stock, but it can be done. You’ll need to buy a hub adapter and then buy what ever chain-link, mink covered, or neon steering wheel your heart desires. If you want a quality steering wheel look for a Momo one. That will do you right, believe me. Modacar.com has some. (Sparco makes some good ones too.)

 

Pedals: Gotta get some pedals. You don’t want your feet slipping do you? (OK, if you want to shift fast you can get some nice slick ones.) There are many varieties out there, but check out AutoZone or pepboys first for some cheap ones. (Come on they are pedals, you step on them…you don’t need titanium, hand layed, kitten fur covered pedals for christ’s sake!) But, if you do... look for some Momo pedals: you can get them slick for racing or grooved for street. Modacar.com has a good selection of Momo and Sparco pedals. (And check out the ultra-trick looking Hyper pedals.)

 

Floor mats: You can get some Z floor and cargo mats from Nissan. There are also some nice aluminum “diamond plateâ€

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9.) Audio equipment

So much candy, so little money. There are too many possibilities. But here is an example of what you can do:

 

Navigation compartment: so much stuff can be put in here, it is silly! Screens, component radar control modules, gauges, speakers, audio equipment, air fresheners... use your imagination. For now, lets put a navigation screen in there. And for those of you who don't want to utilize it for electronics, my idea is to cut out a Z or something in the Nav door and put a neon light behind it to shine through.

 

The stock deck can be replaced with a double shelf: one for a cd/tuner and one for a dvd player (or satellite, hard drive, equalizer, cd shelf, EDFC controller, etc...)

 

Satellite radio can also fit in the sunglasses holder. So could a gauge or two.

 

You can put a component speaker system in place of the stock tweeters and front speakers. The tweeters are ¾ inch, but can easily be replaced with 1 inch tweeters. Both the front and rear speakers are 6.5’s.

 

For the rear speakers, just get a nice set of 6.5’s. Have patience when installing them, because basically all molding from the doors back have to be removed.

 

For the behind the seat spaces (one is the glove box) you can modify them to both have 2 racks in there, one to hold 2 amps (Go crazy and put a plexiglass cover on and cut out a Z in it to let air in) and one to hold playstation2 and X-box. (They can also be modified to each hold a subwoofer, however this is a poor location for your subwoofers.)

 

You can put an equalizer and a hard-drive / digital music holder in the 2 small spaces above the glove boxes (as well as DVD players, CD changers, ECU piggyback systems, etc...)

 

A flush under the strut box can be made with one or two 10 inch subs. It will not be flush if you want three 10 inch subs. This can easily be found on ebay. And no, 12's will not fit flush.

 

Custom “kickplatesâ€

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Notes on fluids:

 

Motor Oil: 5 quarts standard. 5.25 with oil cooler (stillen). 6.25 with high volume oil pan (APS).

Mobil 1 is good, Amsoil is better, and Silkolene is best.

 

Brake fluid:

ATE Super blue is good, Motul RBF 600 is better, and Castrol SRF is best.

 

Clutch fluid:

Same as brake fluid.

 

Manual transmission fluid: 3.25 quarts is standard

Redline MT-90 is preferred

 

Rear differential fluid: 1.5 quarts

Redline 75w90 is preferred

 

Power steering fluid: 1 Liter

Redline synthetic power steering fluid will do the trick

 

Coolant: 8.7 liters is standard

Recipe for keeping your temps down is as follows:

1 bottle Redline water wetter, then fill the rest of the radiator and overflow tank with a mixture of 1/2 coolant and 1/2 distilled water.

If you want a superior coolant try Motul Inugel expert ultra coolant

 

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Alright guys I don’t know what I missed. Maybe… Blow up doll so you can go in the carpool lane when you are alone, spark plugs in your exhaust pipes so your car blows fire, others….

 

I tried to be complete fellas. If this helps just one person….my time was not wasted!

[jerseymike68]

Thank You

[rtbiscuit]

i take it val helped someone then

[Mikelskas]

Great post. Helpful for a first time buyer like me.

[M1 6RYF]

What an amazing guide. Very helpful.

[Ekona]

This is the most epic thread for necroposting ever.

 

2006, 2009, 2013, 2015. Awesome skills!

[M1 6RYF]

This is the most epic thread for necroposting ever.

 

2006, 2009, 2013, 2015. Awesome skills!

 

I just had to urban dictionary necroposting