Well, my G that I got about two months ago is just about broken in, sitting at almost 2k miles. It's got a JWT pop and a Z tube, and I'm really not sure what to do next. I thought about the Kinetix SSV Manifold, but I've heard nothing but bad things about it. I don't really have an intention of going F/I anytime soon...so what do you all honestly suggest for some solid NA gains? Pulleys, test pipes, headers? All opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

Crawford makes some nice mods for our cars...plenum, headers, HF cats. How much do you want to spend?

 

I don't really mind price, because I'm just going to do mods over time, I just want the highest quality really.

 

When you say "solid NA gains" I will define that as 20 HP. It is going to be tough to get much more than that without some serious $.

Take some time to do searches on "headers" "cats" and "plenum" on this site and my350z with a special attention to the dyno days. That will help you go in the right direction and understand this issues with your options. However, I will concur with the others:

Crawford Plenum, Crawford or Nismo Headers, Crawford Cats.

I would not do the test pipes without some seeing the same model on the same year car and no problems. A number of people are getting CEL's with test pipes and a bad rasp to the exhaust sound. The Crawford Cats are a better option.

 

Save your money and buy a bike.......I'm finished modding my car and I only have 2 things. Ive realized its just a big waste of money, so now I have my eyes on a gsxr 750 and that will be my speed demon and the G will be for cruising.

 

My suggestion would be, exhaust, pipes, headers, cats, ummm or maybe go for some style with rims?

 

I guess he and I are the biggest mod non-believers on here. If you have an 05 6MT anything is a big waste of money, moreso than on other years/trims. Forget about plenums, spacers and manifolds.. if you want a nicer sound, get an exhaust, if you want a nicer look, get wheels, if you want better handling, get coilovers and sways and be done with it. High flow cats are a good thing, headers and pulleys are too, but that's as far as I would go on an NA car. Just my buck fifty.

 

I agree... if you want a fast NA car, you shouldn't have gotten a G. I am merely doin, headers, cats, exhaust, plenum and then I'm done... after that Yamaha R6 here I come...

 

Well for someone who has not tried a set of headers or cams BEFORE you tried the plenum mods, I'd say the comment made above is a little 'before its time'. The 2005's are already at levels of well modded 2004's (as far as hp goes, but not torque) however I believe that there are things, like headers, that SHOULD help improve in that area. Cams, although expensive, SHOULD also help out quite a bit in the torque area. After those, a used spacer or a used Crawford Plenum might be a nice thing to try out. If it doesn't seem to do the trick just resell it for the same price you paid for it and be on your way. Then again, YMMV...

BTW, GeePasta (a FGC Sponsor) is offering a great deal on a new set of CRAWFORD HEADERS!

 

I don't think you need to try the mods to tell that there isn't going to be a huge gain in power. It's simple to read the hundreds of posts about how useless NA mods are. If you are lookin for a little more power, that's all good, but if you are looking for serious power, I would go FI. The reason I got headers before the plenum is because I got a pretty good deal on the headers... and I am still deciding on which plenum I want.

 

Don't you mean your buck o' five?

 

Todd, you were the one who posted that your headers have given you the biggest gain to date and that you can't guarantee how they're going to work on a bone stock G, so the truth is no one really knows. There was a dyno of a Z with Nismo headers only, but that's the only one I know of of headers as a stand-alone mod. Like I said above, I believe in headers, though I wish everyone who claims something about one brand or another would do a before and after dyno. I too believe in the quality of Crawford Z's products, but if I were to buy a set of Crawford headers and have them installed at Lokey Infiniti (I wouldn't trust many other places with my car), those headers would run me close to 2 grand with labor, gas, etc. Yes, the Crawford are equal length, the tube length is allegedly longer than TopSpeed/DC/etc, obviously they are of higher quality (not to be confused with gains). It's just the $/hp that's not worth to me at this point, hence the reason why I said what I said. Maybe when the cam package becomes available, it will be a whole different story altogether.

 

And yes you are right in the way you think about mod sequence. None of these mods does much on its own, but again the cost of a full set of bolt-ons is right up there with going FI. If I ever get headers and can prove that I gained an x amount of power, I would no doubt try a plenum as another breathing mod. It kind of makes sense to improve airflow if I already have a better flowing system that's given me the core gain. But still, I'm a little sceptical for reasons you already mentioned, the kind of power the 298/300hp engine is putting down stock and the marginal gains from the plenum alone.

 

If I had to do it all over again I would get one of the ST kits and be done with it. $6k after install, 350whp and little chance of snapping rods. Yes I do already own 2 bikes(600rr track and 1000rr street) but it is still fun to have a fast and nice car. Oh well $25k down the tubes but I'll have close to 600whp when it's done. I just never really got the TT looking to put this much money into the car. I think I would be happy with 350whp and 6k. I did the plenum, test pipes, full exhaust and reflash and it sounded better and ran .3 better in the quarter. That's ok but not worth the investment IMHO. Take it for what it's worth. What do I know I'm a FI guy.

 

I'll have to totally agree with you there. Unless you go forced induction, I don't think any mods you do will really make a noticeable difference. It's fun to mod, but I wouldn't expect huge gains unless you go FI.