# ok now what?



## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

Ok guys I was the the one who posted about the R-tune. I just bought an New 2005 350z track edition and all i can say is wow!!!! the steering is so freaking tight, if you bearly nudge it in any direction the car goes there. it understeers a bit but thats ok. Anyway, I wanted to know where I can go from here. I have $4371 to spend and wanted to get to 350hp and maybe some handling. The car already has Nismo catback exhaust, nismo LSD, Cold air intake, brembo, installed by dealer. please advise I don't know much about the z33.


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## 3-fity (Nov 1, 2002)

If all you're after is HP, turbo now! Don't waste time and money on NA mods if you are after significant gains. Just do some research. The APS kit seems to be the most complete package right now. It also makes safe HP Vs some of the other kits. Or go with a Vortech SC. If that was my money I would go with Vortech SC and the Hotchkis TVS1 kit.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

3-fity said:


> If all you're after is HP, turbo now! Don't waste time and money on NA mods if you are after significant gains. Just do some research. The APS kit seems to be the most complete package right now. It also makes safe HP Vs some of the other kits. Or go with a Vortech SC. If that was my money I would go with Vortech SC and the Hotchkis TVS1 kit.


Im not just after hp, im after reliable power. I would also like to keep my car balanced. I don't want to have so much power that every time I gun it the car becomes unstable. I also noticed that Both those forced induction kits cost more than the money I have to spend. a supercharger or turbo would be really nice though. I was also thinking in buying some full adjustible coilovers to improve the handling and get rid of some of that pesky understeer. Sugestions would be nice. I just came back 15 mins ago from buying a set of tein tie rods and a bushing set from my local speed shop ($247.59) I will post pics when i am done installing......I wonder how much of a headache its going to be to change the tie rods and Bushings on a 350z........


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## 3-fity (Nov 1, 2002)

Best mod I have done to make my driving experience more fun overall has been the Hotchkis TVS1 kit. It is a spring and sway bar kit designed to work with the stock shocks. Gets rid of the "bouncy" ride and makes the car feel more balanced overall.

P.S. Congrats on the purchase. I was recently thinking of selling mine..... quickly decided against it when I found out nothing compared.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

3-fity said:


> Best mod I have done to make my driving experience more fun overall has been the Hotchkis TVS1 kit. It is a spring and sway bar kit designed to work with the stock shocks. Gets rid of the "bouncy" ride and makes the car feel more balanced overall.
> 
> P.S. Congrats on the purchase. I was recently thinking of selling mine..... quickly decided against it when I found out nothing compared.


Thanks! 
Nothing does compare to the track 350z, there may be some faster cars out there but none that give you the this level of driving experience. Is the Hotchkis TVS1 beter than buying an adjustible coilover kit? oh yeah and does the TVS1 fix some of that naggy understeer??? 

P.S. It took me almost 7 hours to install the tie rods and the bushings and it was a pain in the neck. I tore my chiltons book up in the process. there are so many bushings!!!!!!! something like 74 of them!


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## 3-fity (Nov 1, 2002)

Bluehydro8 said:


> Thanks!
> Nothing does compare to the track 350z, there may be some faster cars out there but none that give you the this level of driving experience. Is the Hotchkis TVS1 beter than buying an adjustible coilover kit? oh yeah and does the TVS1 fix some of that naggy understeer???
> 
> P.S. It took me almost 7 hours to install the tie rods and the bushings and it was a pain in the neck. I tore my chiltons book up in the process. there are so many bushings!!!!!!! something like 74 of them!


The TVS1 kit is better than a coilover kit in the price catagory. It is a significant improvement in the steering reaction time and overall tightness of the car. You won't have problems with having to buy new camber arms to get within alignment either. With other coilover and spring kits the drop is to low in the front to be properly aligned.


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

Bluehydro8 said:


> Im not just after hp, im after reliable power.


Then DO NOT boost the motor at all. I would get the entire Crawford Package (plenum, headers, strut tower bar [optional], and high flow cats) http://www.crawfordzcar.com/ , JWT clutch and flywheel (this will make the biggest difference), 3.9evo, Koni yellows, RSR springs, Hotchkis sways, and JWT popcharger (I would take the popcharger over the Nismo CAI, you can sell the CAI).

The suspension will get rid of some of the understeer, but the staggered wheels help contribute to the slight understeer the car exhibits.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

JAMESZ said:


> Then DO NOT boost the motor at all. I would get the entire Crawford Package (plenum, headers, strut tower bar [optional], and high flow cats) http://www.crawfordzcar.com/ , JWT clutch and flywheel (this will make the biggest difference), 3.9evo, Koni yellows, RSR springs, Hotchkis sways, and JWT popcharger (I would take the popcharger over the Nismo CAI, you can sell the CAI).
> 
> The suspension will get rid of some of the understeer, but the staggered wheels help contribute to the slight understeer the car exhibits.


Thats why i said I didn't want more than 350hp, the engine is nice but it still needs a little kick, I am getting tired of Evo's giving me such a hard time. Can i get all those parts for $4300? I already changed out the stock track wheels and tires and put a set of Volk Te37's with BFGoodrich GForce TA KD, the drytraction not the crappy wet/dry ones that have football shaped tread.


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## 3-fity (Nov 1, 2002)

Bluehydro8 said:


> Thats why i said I didn't want more than 350hp, the engine is nice but it still needs a little kick, I am getting tired of Evo's giving me such a hard time. Can i get all those parts for $4300? I already changed out the stock track wheels and tires and put a set of Volk Te37's with BFGoodrich GForce TA KD, the drytraction not the crappy wet/dry ones that have football shaped tread.


The crawford package is top notch..... only problem is it is extremely expensive. I have all the stuff mentioned above as well as borla exhaust and cams and I am only making ~ 300whp. And that is 14/15K worth of stuff. OR.... for $4-5K you can drop on a properly tuned Vortech SC and make just shy of 350whp. If you get it tuned somewhere respectable it will be pretty reliable too. But as with all FI, its going to require tuning and retuning and constantly monitoring your cars condition.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

3-fity said:


> The crawford package is top notch..... only problem is it is extremely expensive. I have all the stuff mentioned above as well as borla exhaust and cams and I am only making ~ 300whp. And that is 14/15K worth of stuff. OR.... for $4-5K you can drop on a properly tuned Vortech SC and make just shy of 350whp. If you get it tuned somewhere respectable it will be pretty reliable too. But as with all FI, its going to require tuning and retuning and constantly monitoring your cars condition.


I havent Dynoed my car but the factory says that the engine at the crank makes 300 hp. I bought the new 05 track edition with 300hp not 287. so I imagine that I am making around 270 and the wheels. I see a lot of claims that a supercharger or turbo will make 420-430hp. is this true? i think I might go with forced induction, i already have a new APEX-I SAFC and a turbo timmer my Brother gave me for my birthday so maybe that might be enough to hit 350 along with a supercharger. What is the best out there. i don't want to compromise anymore. I want to go SC because of the no lag and cool whine sound, better low RPM torque. What is the Best Kit out there? Stillen, HKS, Vortec, Procharger?????? The car has been paid off and I tool out a loan for extra parts and insurance for a couple years.


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

A guy in the Middle Tennessee Z Club has an 05 track and it made really good gains with the crawford plenum, and now he has the entire package and the car is really quick. Getting to 300rwhp NA is nearly impossible. Doug at Crawford has (most likely) the most powerful NA in the country. It makes about 345 at the crank and high 280s to the rear wheels. He is currently trying to get a head cam package that will get the 350Z over 300rwhp NA. Right now he is testing the cams, so we will see. But as 3-fity mentioned it is expensive. In the end it will cost quite a bit, but it is reliable power.

You should be making in the low to mid 250s to the wheels right now stock. Which is really good compared to the 03/04 tracks and all the other trims. 

Turbo will get you around 400rwhp, but everyone blows up the motors. When you go to races the TT guys dont even run the cars hard because they are scared of sending the motor sky high.

If you go S/C I would only recommend the Vortech. You should get between 340 and 360 to the rear. 

If you do go F/I I can only recommend building the bottom end. If not I promise you eventually you will have to rebuild the motor.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

My car is too new to be breaking engines so i think I will go with the Vortec kit for now, I will later buy the whole crawford kit. Thanks for all the new information. I just realized something. the engine in my 95 300zx tt was way better than this one in out z33's. why is this. i have seen NA 300zx push almost 400hp, and the new and so called improved engine cannot make that much. I think we got ripped a new one guys. still handles like a dream though!


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

Ok I just picked up my Vortech kit from My local speed shop and it set me back $5,197.35. It probably all I am going to buy for a while now. this kit has way more parts than I thought it would. A couple bud and me are going to do the install to save some cash. I will send it to be tunned next week. the manual says that with constant work that it will take an average of 8-10 hours so i might finish it in 2 days. I will post pics as we go on the install., anyone here with the same kit that can give me some pointers to save some time?


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

Enjoy it! I would recomend getting a plenum asap. The headers and high flow cats. Enjoy the car.


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## 3-fity (Nov 1, 2002)

Jamez, My car made 287whp before my flywheel and pulleys. I am guessing Dougs does better than high 280's. Of course he did all the install of my parts including the cams. I could easily hit over 300 with an ECU retune. The last dyno the car was running 12.8 on the A/F. So its very possible to make 300whp NA, just VERY expensive.


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

3-fity said:


> Jamez, My car made 287whp before my flywheel and pulleys. I am guessing Dougs does better than high 280's. Of course he did all the install of my parts including the cams. I could easily hit over 300 with an ECU retune. The last dyno the car was running 12.8 on the A/F. So its very possible to make 300whp NA, just VERY expensive.


Nobody has done it yet. Each Dyno is different though. What type of Dyno were you on? Either that or you have the freak of freaks. Which cams are you using?


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

i am almost finished with the intall but getting the pulley belts on to the pulleys is alot harder than the manual says. I looked at a plenum but they are all ugly, I personally don't want to make my engine look ugly. Are there such things as billet ones or something. all i have left to do is the install of the electrical components..... hey did you guys know it comes with a boost guage but no pod to mount it.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

Bluehydro8 said:


> i am almost finished with the intall but getting the pulley belts on to the pulleys is alot harder than the manual says. I looked at a plenum but they are all ugly, I personally don't want to make my engine look ugly. Are there such things as billet ones or something. all i have left to do is the install of the electrical components..... hey did you guys know it comes with a boost guage but no pod to mount it.


Ok I finished the install and did some minor tunning with my SAFC and all I can say is WOW, this car got so much faster and the S/C whine sounds so freaking great, I am so exited to race something. Although I can feel my clutch start to slip not at high RPM's.... why is that the car is brand new and I havent been hard on the clutch yet, it only have 1300 miles on it, I thought it would last longer. I am also going to the dyno to make some more adjustments and to find out what my hp is... im thinking around 340-350hp this think feels lightning fast and I cant get over how cool the engine sounds. :fluffy:


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

It doesn't matter how new your clutch is... It's all about clamping force and your friction disc.. Neither of the 2 were meant to hold over 330HP or so... Just take it easy and if you feel it start to slip imediately drop the throttle... You wouldn't want a flywheel to expload on you now would you 

Plan on replacing the clutch in the next month or so... I'd go for a 6 puck clutch... Or a windowed one, if you don't plan on going for much more HP.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

asleepz said:


> It doesn't matter how new your clutch is... It's all about clamping force and your friction disc.. Neither of the 2 were meant to hold over 330HP or so... Just take it easy and if you feel it start to slip imediately drop the throttle... You wouldn't want a flywheel to expload on you now would you
> 
> Plan on replacing the clutch in the next month or so... I'd go for a 6 puck clutch... Or a windowed one, if you don't plan on going for much more HP.


I think i've reached my target HP, The car is fast enough for me. I am going to work on handling and weight A.k.a CF hood and hatch. I would like to buy a better clutch and maybe a better flywheel. What Brand of clutch and flywheel do you recomend?


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## 3-fity (Nov 1, 2002)

Hood won't save you but a pound or two maybe. The stock hood is made of aluminum and is really light already. I don't remember the total savings from the hatch, but I know its more significant.

I have the JWT clutch and flywheel and really like it. I hear really good things about the Tilton setup though.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

3-fity said:


> Hood won't save you but a pound or two maybe. The stock hood is made of aluminum and is really light already. I don't remember the total savings from the hatch, but I know its more significant.
> 
> I have the JWT clutch and flywheel and really like it. I hear really good things about the Tilton setup though.


I noticed that the hood is already pretty light. What other major weight changes can I make without messing with the styling of the car too much? I have never heard of the Brand Tilton but I did check out the JWT stuff and it does seem to be a good bang per buck. thanks for the advice!


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## 3-fity (Nov 1, 2002)

Problem is most of the weight in the Z is in the Chassis. You might save ~ 50lbs with a CF hatch. But to loose much more you would have to start ripping out insides.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

3-fity said:


> Problem is most of the weight in the Z is in the Chassis. You might save ~ 50lbs with a CF hatch. But to loose much more you would have to start ripping out insides.


Then I think I will just go with the carbon fiber. i have to desire to ripe apart my car. what if I go with Lexxan windows or something similar?


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

Bluehydro8 said:


> I looked at a plenum but they are all ugly, I personally don't want to make my engine look ugly. Are there such things as billet ones or something.


The new Crawford one is cast and it looks good in my opinion. 










I would recommend both the tilton and JWT clutch/flywheel packages. I would probably pick the tilton, but most people I know go JWT.

Also I would recommend getting supporting mods for the S/C.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

I've often wondered about Nissans obsession with putting the intake piping on the rear side of the manifold..... Did that with the Z31 too. Seems to me it just makes more time for the air to get hot, and it passes right over the exhaust. Someone needs to redo the entire intake system for minimum length and route it away from heat sources. Should be simple for anyone with any engineering skills.....


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

JAMESZ said:


> The new Crawford one is cast and it looks good in my opinion.
> 
> 
> I would recommend both the tilton and JWT clutch/flywheel packages. I would probably pick the tilton, but most people I know go JWT.
> ...


What do you mean by S/C supporting mods? Because I already have a walbro 255phl fuel pump, 555cc nismo injectors, Venom Fuel rails, I also have steel braided clutch and fuel lines. I still need to buy a better radiator. I havent bought the clutch yet so I will look into the tilton.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Go buy an '05 Anniversay model, or the Track model. Either one gets a full 300 Hp, though that would undoubtedly be on the crank. Still, it's about time Nissan brought back the old power standards. :thumbup:


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

Bluehydro8 said:


> What do you mean by S/C supporting mods? Because I already have a walbro 255phl fuel pump, 555cc nismo injectors, Venom Fuel rails, I also have steel braided clutch and fuel lines. I still need to buy a better radiator. I havent bought the clutch yet so I will look into the tilton.


As in intake and exhaust mods. Free up the air coming in and out. Plenum, headers, high flow cats, exhaust. After that I would probably leave it alone/focus on brakes and suspension.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

JAMESZ said:


> As in intake and exhaust mods. Free up the air coming in and out. Plenum, headers, high flow cats, exhaust. After that I would probably leave it alone/focus on brakes and suspension.


The kit came with an intake and I already have Nismo exhaust. I still need headers, High flow cats and a plenum. Thanks for the tips!

You guys should drive a 05 track and then drive an 05 performance and you will see a big difference in lateral accel. and torque. thats why i opted for the 05 track. Just my opinion.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Bluehydro8 said:


> The kit came with an intake and I already have Nismo exhaust. I still need headers, High flow cats and a plenum. Thanks for the tips!
> 
> You guys should drive a 05 track and then drive an 05 performance and you will see a big difference in lateral accel. and torque. thats why i opted for the 05 track. Just my opinion.


 Torque is down on the 300 Hp engine, though, from 274 to 260, vs the 287 Hp version.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

Zen31ZR said:


> Torque is down on the 300 Hp engine, though, from 274 to 260, vs the 287 Hp version.


I just noticed that. I didn't know the torque was lower on the 300hp engine, because it pulls significantly harder than the 287hp. thanks for the correction


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Bluehydro8 said:


> I just noticed that. I didn't know the torque was lower on the 300hp engine, because it pulls significantly harder than the 287hp. thanks for the correction


It'll pull more in the midrange and top end than the 287 Hp version, which is probably what you are feeling.


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