i just put on my crawford, and let me tell you it sounds awesome, and feels awesome. but one question, i had to take out the two grommets for the two back bolts on the cover so they could screw in. if i left the rubber grommets i wouldn't have been able to screw them in since it would have been too much of an angle. please let me know if there is another way i am not aware of. thanks

By grommets, I assume you're speaking of the rubber bushings that fit around the four holes that the bolts go through that hold the cover to the plenum. If your are, I retained all 4 of mine. Just had to move and stretch the cover a bit for it to fit. The only problem I had was, when the plenum was powder coated, overspray went into one of the holes, and I broke a bolt off in the hole. I tried an Easy Out with no luck, I ended up drilling out the bolt and retapping the hole and using a new bolt. BTW, the stock bolt is an odd length. The one I ended up using is shorter.

And Yes, the plenum is awesome isn't it?

Lou

I heard the cover rubs on the hood insulation after the plenum install, any word on this?


Black/Willow 03.5 6MT, Premium, Navi, Aero, SAT
350Z Nismo CAI

Very slight rubbing in the oil fill area of the cover, and a little on the opposite side too. But no biggie.
To help this issue, I used the bolts from the stock plenum (the longer ones from the middle) to bolt the front 2 with a half inch spacer. Works great and allows the cover to be bolted down without bending it.
To do this you have to remove the 2 stock mounting studs first.

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do you guys have any pics? i'm interested

Here's a pic of my new setup: The 2 front 'studs' come out and are not used nor are the acorn nuts.
The longer plenum bolts screw into the same holes as the studs came out of, this time from the top down. The large nuts are used as a bushing underneath to prevent the cover from bending down excessively, and can be glued over the holes to prevent loss.

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155671-Engine cover.jpg

I have a dumb question. Will the 350z engine cover fit corrrectly? It seems that the Crawford is an inch high in the front. is t what causes the rubbing?<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by cliverman on 01/02/04 07:47 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

Here are some pics on this whole subject.

Here's a shot that show's the gap greated between the cover and the engine oil fill cap. I eventually created a black plastic collar to eliminate this ugly gap.


Here's a pic of the gap filling collar I spoke of above, I later sanded it and painted it in a black satin finish to match the finish on the engine cover. Very stealthy when I was done.


Here's a shot of where on the insulation mat under the hood and the plastic engine cover rub.What you are seeing is the damage it does to the insulation in rubbing.


This shot show's the exact sport on the engine cover itself where the rubbing is happening. Look for what looks like a dirty patch next to the oil cap hole. I could quite simply cut the portion off, creating a shape that looks as if it came from the factory that way, know one would know the difference.(Please ignor the strut tower bar in the back ground, that's for another post).


Ok, here's the catch I didn't expect, notice in this pic that the finish to the pleneum has been damaged by the plastic cover. Looking at the underside to the plastic cover, I can see why it damaged the finish, I should have known better, oh well.





"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.”
Edmund Burke

G35 6mt

Is that a strut bar im seeing? If so, where did you get it? Did it make a big difference in handling? Also, I got the z cover myself and am wondering if it would fit onto the crawford plenum without any sweat. Any input is appreciated.

2004 G35C 5AT Blk/Blk, Pfm Pkg

LOL, I asked in the caption to that pic that you ignor the strut tower bar in the back ground. It is not actually installed, but simply sitting their for test fitting. Remember the G35 isn't blessed with the mounts Nissan gave the 350Z so we can't install them, not without a lot of work. I plan on doing a in depth post covering the whole issue. It is the Crawford sturt tower bar, ment to work around their pleneum.

"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.”
Edmund Burke

G35 6mt

Has anyone polished their Crawford plenum themselves? I know Crawford has a polished version for $1100 and I think most of the additional cost comes from the labor required to hide the welds.

I'm considering leaving the plenum cover off and just taking a standard Crawford plenum (with the weld in place) and just having it polished.

I know I can't grind the weld down without quite a bit more welding and reinforcements from underneath so I'm thinking of going the cheaper route of just polishing it as is...I can live with the insightly weld for the cost savings.

Cliverman, Your question isn't dumb bro, but I have no answer for you. Someone with a 350Z cover and a Crawford Pl. will have to do the test fit, and I can't think of anyone with that combo, or anyone around here with a Z cover.

*************There must be 2 members out there that wouldn't mind test fitting their 'Z' cover on a Crawford?**************

Cliverman, If you find out, then let me know too. I may be interested in that combo.
TNX

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I have been looking into this for a while. In order to get a Z cover to fit properly you have to cut out the rear edge of the cover to match the leading edge of the Crawford. if you have a my350z.com login you can check out this thread . . .

http://www.my350z.com/forum/showthre...d+Engine+Cover

G35C - 6MT, DG, Aero, BSM, Flaps, Stillen Intake, Z tube, 6 Wire Grounding Kit, Clear Corners & more to go<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by gsedanman on 01/06/04 11:40 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

Z_with_back_seat, thanks for the link. The fit looks very feasible for the G's too, with minor modification to the cover.
I may consider this as an alternative to the stock cover and it's rubbing issue, possibly with a little 'dressup'???? on the Crawford Pl..
I copied and pasted the pic from the My350Z thread for our reference.


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165450-picture 161.jpg

Polished "Z" Plenum with Cut-Down "G" Engine Cover.
I wanted to expose more of the Polished Plenum + it mathes my Polished INGEN CAI...

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by RugRatCoupe on 01/07/04 06:11 AM.</EM></FONT></P>