I have Hotchkis but I bought them before Motordyne introduced theirs. I'd buy Motordyne over Hotchkis if I needed sways these days, but the Hotchkis are fine.

 

Just like on the TL/Accord forums. Everyone wants to know the best upgrades. Answer is always (assuming a base TL or an Accord) the TL-S rear anti-roll bar and for all models, a long tube J-pipe. With the TL-S bar in the rear (20 mm vs stock 13 mm) my car cornered flatter and understeered less. When I added the TL-S front bar (27 mm solid vs 25.7 hollow), some of the understeer was back so I got the Progress 24 mm rear bar. Very balanced feel for a FWD car.

Since the G35 is RWD and the sedan only has 52% of the weight over the front wheels, understeer is not as much of an issue, so going from 31/20 mm to 35/24 mm should maintain the same balance, just keep the car even flatter. Steering response should be sharper too. Definitely will do a review after I can install them. They should be here tomorrow but the weather here has been pretty decent so I've got details and Opti-Coat jobs booked out the wazoo. finding a couple hours of free time won't be easy at least through Sunday.

 

I am starting to get an itch for changing cars, but don't think my taste is something I can reasonably afford or risk high repairs that I'm not used to on a used German car out of warranty. Perhaps a good solution would be an extra mod to add to my G and keep me interested for another year or so.

Would adding HFCs be a good choice?
Are they more for sound, performance, or equally both?
Any problems adding them to an 06G35X with 125k miles other than maybe getting the bolts off?
Is there something else I should consider instead or am i just wasting money and should keep it as is for as long as I can?

*edit: I forgot that not all will likely see my sig. I currently have a K&N filter, z-tube, 5/16 copper isothermal spacer, Stillen cat back dual exhaust, and uprev etuned.*

 

Advice - buy 500cc-650cc motorcycle to fill your need for speed.

Keep car and don't mod as it is an 11-12 year old commuter.

 

I completely agree with modding sway bars first since it's not a wear and tear part, they are relatively cheap, and they are easy to swap out.

But...

When it comes to handling, your tires are the single most important piece of equipment on your car since they connect your car to the road. The more traction you have, the better your car can perform with whatever else it has or doesn't have. You can have the best suspension on the best handling car the world has ever seen, but none of that matters if it comes with crap tires. Any other mod we make to improve handling is just trying to improve that connection when we want it, when we need it.

Since improving handling means improving traction, your struts would be the next important item to improve since their primary job is to keep your tires to the ground, and that is what improves traction

In the hierarchy of importance for good handling, sway bars come in next. Think of sway bars as a mod that keeps your struts balanced with each other and moving together, garnering more traction by keeping the outside wheels from lifting off the ground during turns by correcting body roll.

But using sway bars for better handling can easily backfire since you do not want to completely eliminate body roll. Think about it, the outside tire always has to travel a longer distance during turns, and the more body roll you eliminate, the less of a difference there will be between inside and outside tires, which basically means you aren't turning at that point, which means your car is not propelling itself through the turn anymore, rather it is being dragged - kinda like trying to pull your regular two wheel roller luggage sideways as if it were a spinner - and that obviously won't get you through the turns faster.

And yea, that's why there is a difference between more Gs during the turn, and actually getting through the turn faster.

 

Okie dokie then well lets put a nice little mod over here
Weld a magnaflow 14815 onto stock exhaust see. And dont do a SRI m'okay.

 

Sounds damn good but.........

probably the worst car video I've ever seen, seriously. Way too much extraneous noise in the garage, peeling out (really, are we supposed to be impressed?), pulling into the garage with no lights at night, so dark we can't see **** etc. How about a "normal" daytime video out in the open so we can see the muffler in all of it's glory and hear that sweet tone w/o unnecessary noise getting in the way. Steven Spielberg you are not................but the muffler sounds great!

 

Thanks for the advise but then I wouldn't get to sit back and watch you guys get all worked up...geez
Most sound clips of exhaust are either fly by or revving. And the usually boring at idle for 5 minutes ones.
I work 4pm-4am. Sleep 7am-3pm. My "normal" daytime it's dark out lol

 

I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this but I say ditch the K&N. For one thing, most people over-oil them and that excess oil eventually works its way into the throttle body and sensors. Oil is "wet" and dirt sticks to wet things.

Secondly I honestly think in a blind test most people can't tell by sound whether they have a K&N or not. Stick with an OEM or even a dry aftermarket like Fram.

K&N is basically just a marketing firm.

 

I recall reading the package that you don't need to clean and oil them until like every 50k+ miles, are some doing it more often? I haven't touched mine since I put it in so its been like... 4 years or so. First time trying one, but I liked the buy it once and don't worry about changing it out lifestyle. Perhaps I should pull mine out and see how it looks.


Going into the sways that were brought up for someone else, I may have asked this before, but on the AWD I would consider doing the rear alone, but I think it'd be tough to do and possibly limited to one brand for fitment, plus I have dual exhaust so I don't know if any fit... need confirmation from someone who already tried it. The other problem is that I assume you need to remove part of the exhaust to get the old bar out and new one in? I don't know if I would be up for that and also won't likely want to pay 150 or so for install at a shop.

Maybe I need to revisit the aftermarket sub write-ups and try that, I've missed my old 12W3 that I had in a previous car. I know the install and required amp confused me in the past, but hopefully some of those users are still active to ask for clarification.

 

What mods do I get to keep up with a customer's Tesla Model S P100D?

 

K&N has solid marketing for most cars. Some cars really just need a different intake system (not a problem since 2007, because OEM's got smart and got more power from things like intake and exhaust).

For our car, nothing is better than an OEM filter replaced when recommended in the manual. Ask someone who's experienced limp mode if they'd ever go back to K&N after experiencing diagnosing a MAF sensor problem... lol.

 

Over oiled K&N filters causing MAF issues was pretty common when I had my Maximas and was on maxima.org. Usually some CRC MAF Sensor cleaner took care of the issue. I didn't have any problems when I re-oiled mine. But I followed the directions to avoid over-oiling the filter and then let it sit a couple hours before reinstalling it.

Original owner of my car had already added a K&N filter. Not sure if I am going to clean and re-oil it or get a filter that doesn't require oil.

 

How often do you clean and re-oil yours?
If I pull mine out for visual inspection am I supposed to see some light through it or anything to get a sign if it is clogged with pollen or other debris?

If i do mine, I would certainly plan on following the instructions and likely just let it sit over night to be sure it dries a bit.

 

K&N recommends every 50K miles. I've always followed that schedule with no issues on multiple vehicles over the years. If you live in a super dusty or dirty area might need to be cleaned more often though.