# Bye Bye VW, Hello Nissan



## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Wassup people. I'm pleased to annouce that I've left the VW world and have joined the ranks of the Nissan crowd. My baby's name is Nikki, she's an '04 Spec V and she's stock. Finally came across a forum that catters to nissan vehicles and I want opinions, your opinions, as to what you're experience have been, wish to do, regret having done, etc. She's not staying stock, that's for damn sure. Although rated 175hp, it's only at the crank, at the wheels it's more like 155. I wanna bring it up, up and up. Check her out, lemme know what you think. 

Much appreciated.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2649969


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## bossfn (Feb 11, 2007)

Make your first order of business taking off that bug deflector.


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

lol... ya, I've been meaning to get to that. Problem is, I'm affraid of tearing off paint as I remove the rubber buds between the hood and the deflector.


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## SΞ-R (May 9, 2007)

Ripping paint off is pretty hard, i mean i've never done it before


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

welcome! your paint should be fine if you take that off. just let the car sit in the sun for a while.
loctite your butterfly screws, get rid of the precat, and make sure all the recalls have been performed! (if there are any)
you can call up your nissan dealership with your vin to check on that.

intake/header/exhaust/mmi's are a very good combo for this car, so i'd start there. again, welcome to the board!


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## 2dr_Sentra (Dec 10, 2005)

Very bright color, nice car though


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Thank you all for writting. It's giving me good ideas as to what to budget for. I'm guessing I should stick with NISMO parts, correct? What's this I keep reading about the loctite your butterfly screws? My precat is off the stock header? Also, what are mmi's? 
Although I know abit about cars, Im still lacking knowledge for alot. Any help would be a blessing.



b15chik said:


> welcome! your paint should be fine if you take that off. just let the car sit in the sun for a while.
> loctite your butterfly screws, get rid of the precat, and make sure all the recalls have been performed! (if there are any)
> you can call up your nissan dealership with your vin to check on that.
> 
> intake/header/exhaust/mmi's are a very good combo for this car, so i'd start there. again, welcome to the board!


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

welcome!!!
check to see if any or all recalls have been performed (call dealer with vin#) pay close attention to the butterfly screws, if they have not been done DO IT!
you might want to start with a cat-back, header, cai.... but then again what do you want to gain?? 10,20,100 hp???


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

fast_kozak said:


> Thank you all for writting. It's giving me good ideas as to what to budget for. I'm guessing I should stick with NISMO parts, correct? What's this I keep reading about the loctite your butterfly screws? My precat is off the stock header? Also, what are mmi's?
> Although I know abit about cars, Im still lacking knowledge for alot. Any help would be a blessing.


just because it's nismo doesn't mean it's the best, lol. nismo makes some good stuff, but there are plenty of reputable brands that make parts for your car and usually cheaper

mmi's are motor mount inserts


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## 2dr_Sentra (Dec 10, 2005)

fast_kozak said:


> Thank you all for writting. It's giving me good ideas as to what to budget for. I'm guessing I should stick with NISMO parts, correct? What's this I keep reading about the loctite your butterfly screws? My precat is off the stock header? Also, what are mmi's?
> Although I know abit about cars, Im still lacking knowledge for alot. Any help would be a blessing.


Nismo makes some good stiff for this car, but its very expensive. Like b15chik said they're many other companys that make performance/aftermarket products for your car.


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

What's the deal with the butterfly screws? I hear them being mentioned alot. What's the story behind them, and how do I fix it? Thanks!



SPEEDO said:


> welcome!!!
> check to see if any or all recalls have been performed (call dealer with vin#) pay close attention to the butterfly screws, if they have not been done DO IT!
> you might want to start with a cat-back, header, cai.... but then again what do you want to gain?? 10,20,100 hp???


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

the butterfly screws located in your intake manifold are known to come loose and get sucked into your engine, very bad. if you loctite them, they can't go anywhere


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Is loctite like a glue or something? Or is it a word for (lock the screw tight)?



b15chik said:


> the butterfly screws located in your intake manifold are known to come loose and get sucked into your engine, very bad. if you loctite them, they can't go anywhere


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

yeah it's like a glue so the screws won't become loose. a lot of people use loctite on turbo setups


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Thank you for all your advice, I'll keep the forum posted as the days go by. I plan on bringing my car to the 200hp mark (I'd LOVE for it to be at the wheels.. but I'll settle for 200hp at the crank for now). Turbo kits are a lil pricy right now, especially since the manufactuer's warranty is extended to 2010/120000kms. I'll stick to the CAI, Header (with or without cat?), Cat back, Chip, and Tires+Rims. 
Dunno about suspension just yet, maybe sway bars too. 

Again, thanks to all who've replied and given advice. Much appreciated.


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

this isn't a vw, there isn't a "chip", lol
you can get to 200whp with bolt ons and probably cams and an safc. if you're going to be fully bolted you're going to want at least a set of springs on the car. it's going to handle like crap if not


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Sorry, like I said, I'm new. I just assumed you could chip ANY car. What's safc? There's too many new accronyms in the nissan world, lol.



b15chik said:


> this isn't a vw, there isn't a "chip", lol
> you can get to 200whp with bolt ons and probably cams and an safc. if you're going to be fully bolted you're going to want at least a set of springs on the car. it's going to handle like crap if not


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

And when you say 200whp, do you mean 200hp at the wheels?


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

i could have sworn i've seen someone get to 200whp with the mods i listed. 
safc is super air/fuel controller. basically it finetunes your a/f to get the most power out of it. they are discontinued now, but there are always used ones. the thing that replaced it (afc neo) is nice but way overpriced for what you'd need


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Sorry for sounding ignorant, but what does the accronym "whp" stand for? Cause I've also seen "bhp" used to describe a cars power, but I don't know the difference between the 2.




b15chik said:


> i could have sworn i've seen someone get to 200whp with the mods i listed.
> safc is super air/fuel controller. basically it finetunes your a/f to get the most power out of it. they are discontinued now, but there are always used ones. the thing that replaced it (afc neo) is nice but way overpriced for what you'd need


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

wheel horsepower


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## Jarek (Mar 29, 2005)

bhp is "brake horse power" 


don't feel like explaining.. google it lol:fluffy:


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## SΞ-R (May 9, 2007)

Bhp is hp from the crank without the trans water pump etc...


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Thanks you, both of you.

Is it possible to bring my car to 200whp with bolt-ons? I know b15chick said yes, but I'm a little confused.

This is the set-up I'm aiming for:



CAI
header (Do i get the header WITH or WITHOUT cat?)
Exhaust System (Hopefully nismo)
Nismo 17" Rims
Nismo S-Tune suspension
Nismo R-Tune Cam


Anyone feel like adding to it, or suggesting a better set-up? I am your student.


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## Jarek (Mar 29, 2005)

The point you've been missing.. is that to even get close to 200whp

Takes a lot of money, some people throw down as much $$ on NA mods like Intake header, exhaust, cams, SAFC at the same cost of a Turbo kit ... so do the math.


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Is that true? I mean, I guess if I can get some hookups on the parts then I'm cool. But turbo's, isn't that more more to maintain though? My compression ratio is 9.5:1 right now in my 2.5 Spec V. Is this suitable for a turbo, or will more engine work be required to support it? I've never concidered a turbo.




Jarek said:


> The point you've been missing.. is that to even get close to 200whp
> 
> Takes a lot of money, some people throw down as much $$ on NA mods like Intake header, exhaust, cams, SAFC at the same cost of a Turbo kit ... so do the math.


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## SΞ-R (May 9, 2007)

Eh full turbo kits are around 3000k, and yes not that great for everyday driving.


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## Jarek (Mar 29, 2005)

Turbonetics (large company that works on nissan turbo kits)

has a kit for this car, not sure if they still sell it since i have not been to a nissan message board since the kit came out a year ago this month?

costs roughly 5k$ 

According to Turbonetics as well as other nissan gurus on this and other boards, the QR25 can handle 8lbs of boost on stock internals for daily driving.... Only needed mod would be a head gasket, someone on The V Board (bare in mind a year ago) was working on a "heavy duty" head gasket for forced induced cars like the Spec V. Not sure what became of it though... 

Also if your not really mechanically inclined i would advise not to go turbo.... the maintenance is higher on turbo cars as well, oil changes are more frequent, all maintenance items are changed more frequently.


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

So pretty much I should stick to what I was suggesting before? Im not mechanically inclined much, and my car still has the manfac warranty. 

What's the difference between the header with the cat, and the header without the cat? And how would that work with an exhaust system? (combining one of those headers with it)



Jarek said:


> Turbonetics (large company that works on nissan turbo kits)
> 
> 
> Also if your not really mechanically inclined i would advise not to go turbo.... the maintenance is higher on turbo cars as well, oil changes are more frequent, all maintenance items are changed more frequently.


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## Jarek (Mar 29, 2005)

If you still have warranty... which on an 04 is probably extended warranty.

I would leave the car stock for the sake of convenience (technically basic mods wont void warranty depending on where you live and what kind of a dealer your dealing with so really.. it varies.. a lot.) , but if you don't care... here we go.

If your going to replace your Precat with a header with a cat.. its really pointless. They both still have cats.... They both eventually disintegrate (eventually... now or a few years later) For the sake of argument i still have the stock precat at 36000 miles (bought mine new in 05.) So nothing wrong with that.. after warranty is over or you reach around 60k i would suggest removing it (just don't throw it away... we're trying to keep the earth green here so we can pass emissions testing.) For quality i would stick with most name brand headers.... i just got off work so i can't think of any at the moment someone else can do that for me. 

simple break down?

Header with a cat = bad (good for your ozone though and with exhaust its not as loud and buzzy)
Header without a cat = bad for earth.. good for your car and makes it much louder.

Cures for noise? resonator, resonator, .... did i say resonator?:idhitit:


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Thanks alot. So pretty much I keep my stock resonator, or can I also get an aftermarket one?



Jarek said:


> Header with a cat = bad (good for your ozone though and with exhaust its not as loud and buzzy)
> Header without a cat = bad for earth.. good for your car and makes it much louder.
> 
> Cures for noise? resonator, resonator, .... did i say resonator?:idhitit:


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

you can put a bigger one in. i THINK the largest that you can fit is 18", something like that anyway


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

There are sizes to resonators? 
Who makes a good one? 
I want the S-Tune NISMO Cat Back. I don't care for the price, I want that specific brand, so which resonator should I go for? Again, I really appreciate all the replies you're providing.



b15chik said:


> you can put a bigger one in. i THINK the largest that you can fit is 18", something like that anyway


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

magnaflow makes resonators, and i forget the brand of mine...starline, star something or other.


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## Jarek (Mar 29, 2005)

The Nismo cat back is very quiet .... It said it's similar to Apex's WS2, hailed as a quiet exhaust for the spec V.


So i doubt you'll need a res.


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

yeah, with a header it's going to be louder obviously, but i don't think you'll want one either. some people just like it really quiet


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Ya that's what I want, a quiet exhaust. I'm annoyed of those "fart cans" you see attached to acura's and honda's. I just want my exhaust to perform. So:

CAI
Header (without Cat)
S-Tune NISMO Exhaust
Magnaflow Resonator

Should do the trick? Or am I still missing something?


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

don't buy a resonator until you put the exhaust and header on and see what it sounds like. you're spending enough on the exhaust already. you normally only need a larger resonator when you're using a universal muffler.

actually, why not look into the apexi ws2? it's one of if not the the quietest exhaust available for the spec


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

b15chik said:


> don't buy a resonator until you put the exhaust and header on and see what it sounds like. you're spending enough on the exhaust already. you normally only need a larger resonator when you're using a universal muffler.
> 
> actually, why not look into the apexi ws2? it's one of if not the the quietest exhaust available for the spec



BUT... is it AS performant as the nismo? HP for HP, torque for torque?


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## Jarek (Mar 29, 2005)

Couldn't tell you ... we'd need to dyno the cars.

Both perform well.. and sound great. Both are very pricey.....

can't go wrong with either one.. and they both look alike


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## b15chik (Jun 4, 2005)

fast_kozak said:


> BUT... is it AS performant as the nismo? HP for HP, torque for torque?


really you are never going to notice the difference whether it is or not. b15's don't gain much from a catback. but it's cheaper, and quieter, so i'd go with that one.


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

b15chik said:


> really you are never going to notice the difference whether it is or not. b15's don't gain much from a catback. but it's cheaper, and quieter, so i'd go with that one.



But it wouldn't be just for the cat-back, but the combination of cai/header... etc. I only ask because nissan's website claims 4HP and 5.5lb-ft of torque at the front wheels.


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## Jarek (Mar 29, 2005)

I'm not calling the site a liar.. or NISMO a liar for advertising those gains... but theres a few reasons why they claim those numbers.

It's crank HP (i think)
All cars are made different, two engines could have different gains from the same parts. (slightly different) also conditions influence the final result, like weather.

Simply put:

You'll get gains compared to stock (just not all that much number wise so don't expect to beat EVO's and WRX's anytime soon, and your butt will feel it more than a dyno chart.) , and it will sound better. :fluffy: also I'm jealous of you because you can buy these parts.. and i have to pay my debts instead.


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

Please, I'm nobody worth being jealous over. Just a kid with alot of questions. 

I'm happy that this thread is receiving lots of feedback, as soon as I get parts installed, I'll post before/after pics, including on my cardomain site.


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## Jarek (Mar 29, 2005)

fast_kozak said:


> Please, I'm nobody worth being jealous over. Just a kid with alot of questions.
> 
> I'm happy that this thread is receiving lots of feedback, as soon as I get parts installed, I'll post before/after pics, including on my cardomain site.



O no I'm not mad jealous... I've been feeling this way even before you posted this, Just need to motivate myself to pay my stuff off..


but yeah your welcome


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## caliman (May 9, 2007)

no cat= raspy sound cat= cleaner sound but no cat gives you better flow when i took mine off you could feel the difference and it made it a quite a bit louder depends on what you want.


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## fast_kozak (May 18, 2007)

I'm waiting for my buddy working at Nissan to let me know what kind of discounts he can get for the NISMO parts. Once that's in, after my NEW tires, and NEW system, I'm going to start working on my performance.


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