This coming from someone that has gone FI and hindsight is always 20/20. For those of you looking to begin modding, want big gains but without the headaches (and price tag) of a turbo kit.. these are the modifications I would go for and why. (This is on a 6mt Coupe by the way)

Tilton Street Clutch/Flywheel assembly - Believe it or not my car was just as fun with the Tilton as it is with the APS Twin Turbo.. if you can deal with the cement mixer noise (just get the idle bumped up to get rid of the noise) the revs were nothing less than beautiful.. and the gains were unbelievable. The dyno only showed 10hp but the fun factor felt like 30whp.. no joke.

3.9 Final Drive - Never had the chance to get this installed but from what I've read from other owners experience that it only enhances the Tilton assembly and it is another modification that may not show on the dyno but makes a big difference in performance..

Nismo Exhaust - Some people may not like how loud it is and if not then I say go with the fujitsu which is the same thing.. just quieter. I think the Nismo is just right as far as gains and aggressiveness goes, plus its lighter than stock so you just cannot go wrong.

High Flow Cats - I had Random Technologies but I do not recommend them, the gains were nice and they sounded great but they have a problem with collapsing, I hear crawfords high flow cats work nicely.

Injen Intake - I personally saw at a dyno day with 10-12 350Z and G35's, the ones with Injen Intakes consistently dyno'd higher than others with the Pop Charger, and Nismo intake.

Technosquare Reflash - Brings everything together and works nicely BUT... Utec will be releasing their product for G35's and 350Z's soon which will give you more options as far as tuning goes.

Everything else would be for ride/handling.. Nismo Sways or Hotchkis, Eibach Springs or if you have deep pockets Tein Flex coilovers and certainly a wider set of aftermarket wheels. Hope this helps some of the new guys out. later

 

is that utec chip gona give any gains?

 

Thanks for the post man, I (and I'm sure others as well) appreciate it.

Questions: - At what rpm did your cement noise go away w/the tilton during acceleration (2000, 2300, ect.)?

What up w/this new chip?

 

Utec should do wonders for n/a G35's and 350Z's.. especially with other bolt ons. I will say this, even with my twin turbo kit.. if a G35 with these bolt ons plus engine manage lined up with me at the track, I would be a little nervous. Seriously, because you're doing two things that forced induction doesnt address, weight reduction which makes a big difference and powertrain loss (through the much lighter clutch and flywheel)

I ran a 13.9 @ 102.4mph with test pipes, nismo exhaust and a pop charger.. I'm not going to say 12's are possible although I believe its possible but at least mid 13's.

With the tilton, I hear if you bump the idle up to 900rpms the cement mixer noise isnt half as bad.. personally I didnt care cause when I rev'd up once people understood what was going on, the car literally rev'd like a motorcycle.

 

btw the n/a Utec 350Z dyno'd 275whp.. no suprise here that is with other bolt ons as well.

 

What is the total cost of these mods? Esp the tilton Clutch & flywheel setup? While they sound great, they sound like they will all add up the same price as a nice Single Turbo kit by the time your done, and then you dont have the "cool" factor of a turbo (which shouldnt matter, but to me it does )

Just curious...great post btw...i would read interesting posts like this all day long...

 

Theres two ways you can do it.. buy everything new or look for used parts.. used will literally put you at half the cost (I know of a tilton clutch and flywheel for sell for $500 right now vs. $1400 brand new)

3.9 Final drive is $1000

Nismo Exhaust $900

High Flow Cats $400

Injen Intake $150 (not really sure of the price though so I may be wrong)

Utec $1000 (educated guess here)

or technosquare reflash $500

So everything brand new we'll say $4,850 worse case scenario.

Vs.

APS Single Turbo for example

The APS Single turbo is $5800

Installation we'll say $1500 to be on the safe side

Gauges $400

Tuning on average is $100 - $150 an hour and you WILL need tuning unless you leave the car completely stock

So we'll round everything up at $8000.

From experience two things will prompt you to want more power from your turbo setup.

1. Seeing how easily everyone else is making horsepower on the VQ safely.. you will want to turn up the boost.. and the bottleneck with the stock system are the cats and exhaust.. Single turbo deletes the cats so we'll add the cost of headers and exhaust.. $1200

2. You will get used to the power, people who go the turbo route are looking for neck snapping power.. it may snap your neck at first but after a couple of months it will feel like stock again. This goes back to tuning @ $100 - $150 an hour.

N/A has one other advantage over turbo... warranty. As long as you have not touched any of the engine internals (Cams) you have a better chance of the dealership honoring your drivetrain warranty, turbo dont even ask. The dealerships gave me hell about test pipes when I had them, I can only imagine someone expecting warranty work with a single turbo, most times they wont even touch the car.

One last thing to consider, the N/A mods I've listed can be done over a period of time, turbo you're paying the lump sum all at once. And should you decide to sell your G it is a lot easier to remove bolt on modifications than it would be to remove an entire turbo kit and fuel system.

I dont want to discourage anyone from going the FI route because it is GREAT, just knowing that you would blow a corvette away if need be and the neck snapping torquie is amazing.. but also know your situation and have a good relationship with your local shop. One major problem I have had is finding a shop that is reliable. Hope this helps a little bit more.. if not let me know.

 

I realize my math may be off cause I didnt add the cost of bolt on modifications as well, but while replacing the clutch it shouldnt cost much more to get the exhaust done.. the cats have to come out anyway so there shouldnt be a charge if you get it done at the same time. Intake and ECU can be done on your own.. very easy install.

 

Have you guys found the clutch to make a huge difference? I have the Nismo lightened flywheel, and I love it, but I'm wondering if a new clutch should be on the future mod list.

I like the idea of potency with NA. My last car was turboed, and I think it will be fun remaining NA.

So far I've got the flywheel, wider tires, and Nismo exhaust from your mod list.

 

42 - How do you like the NISMO flywheel? Noise, operation, etc.?

 

I'm not trying to doubt you, but I've yet to see any dynos that show any real gains from a cold air intake. Usually, you may gain some on the top end, but you will lose on the low end.

Now, you are right in the fact that the Injen is better than the Nismo. That's a fact.

 

I totally understand, just reporting what I saw. Personally I never felt real gains from an intake alone but I do think it compliments other breathing mods.

 

With that said, are you telling us that N/A mods are a much better direction to go in? I've been one of several people trying to decide whether or not to go FI. I'm leaning on the side of NOT going FI at this point. I still feel I can accomplish everything I want to, without getting to risky with FI.

I used to think that the VQ35 engine was pretty much at it's peak performance, because so many people said that bolt-ons wouldn't help it. However, lately it seems that the secrets to the VQ35 engine are being revealed and people are finally finding out how to unleash lots of power WITHOUT forced induction.

 

I like it a lot! The engine revs quicker, and is a lot of fun to drive around. Honestly though, I have no reference for comparison to any other brand flywheel (besides stock), so I can't say that it is better or worse than any others.

There is slight mechanical noise when starting in a lower rev range, not unlike the description above.

I have been very happy will all Nismo parts so far.

 

I'm not saying N/A is better but I probably would have been happier sticking with N/A rather than FI for now.. my gripes with FI is this:

Its a toss up, some people go miles and miles without problems and then others have problems from day one. Notice how many TT'd 350Z's and G35's are going up for sale (including mine) People are getting tired of the headaches.

VERY high maintenance, I seriously do not advise anyone to go the FI route if they cannot do a simple oil change or they are scared to remove the stock engine cover. There will be times when you have to diagnose problems on your own which means getting the car jacked up and looking everywhere, if you don't know what you are looking at you are in trouble.

Having a competent shop in the area that you trust is a MUST, and by competent I mean experience with the VQ35 engine. There are plenty of experienced shops in the Atlanta area where I stay but I do not trust any of them.. why? The ones I have been to haven't impressed me, or they just lack the experience with these cars.

There is a shop here called Batlground.. GREAT people and they really know their stuff.. when it comes to STi's, Evo's Supra's, etc but I inquired about just getting a water injection kit installed and they completely want to change my engine management. Not saying they don't know what they are doing, they just lack the knowledge and experience.

Basically I'm saying the G35 or 350Z can be just as fun without all of the headaches, granted there is no feeling like full boost planting you in your seat, but when you feel like you're walking on egg shells every time you start the car up its just not worth it any more.