[bradical]

what 35 mods do you feel give the best "bang for the buck" so to speak? i.e.. anyone recommend one modification over another for the best gain in HP, or overall sound/look,etc..??

i was thinking of looking into doing the air filter thing. i think it would look nice and maybe produce a little smoother acceleration and some addtl power. any thoughts from experienced folks out there?

 

[particlefx]

This is an excellent question! It would be nice to compare $$$ per hp too.

 

[MustGoFastR]

what 35 mods do you feel give the best "bang for the buck" so to speak? i.e.. anyone recommend one modification over another for the best gain in HP, or overall sound/look,etc..??

Best bang for the buck mod: Crawford Plenum. Period. The Stillen Intake and Z tube compliment it nicely.

After that, I've been hearing good things about the UR crank pulley from the Z guys. I believe ujmot is checking into this...

 

[ujmot]

Judging from the Z/G mods thus far. The best bang for the buck mods seem to be:

All under $500:

Crank Pulley - UR themselves dont do installs anymore. I am still looking around for local shops that carry them and do installs.

Free Flow Cats - Kinetix, Crawford, Random Technology all seem to give good gains.

Plenum - I ordered the Kinetix, should be in by the end of the wk. Crawford has proven itself to be a great mod.

Filter/Intake - Stillen/JWT pop charger w/ Z tube.

TBA the paddock version - still fabricating one. Will report once it's all finalized.

 

[Ak1nza]

Popcharger!

Actually I wouldn't think the crawford is best bang for the buck. If you purchase the crawford plenum you lose your stock plenum or pay 200 more to keep your stock plenum.

In my opinion the best bang for the buck mod is the JWT Popcharger. The G35 heatshield fits perfectly on our FX. Here is a pic of it in my engine bay!

I also have a 350Z tube which removes the resonators on the intake pipe for a straight pipe. This does not have to be done since additional parts have to be sourced to make the Z-tube long enough for the popcharger.

For the price (around 100 before shipping) it definitely is worth it as a mod. Around 3K RPM, any use of the accelerator gives a nice Pssssp pssssp sound as you hear the air being sucked in. Then above 4K RPM the sound is just marvelous!!



I recommend checking out Jason @ performance nissan if you are interested. He is a great guy and he took care of me with my popcharger heatshield. He will take care of you! You can reach him at [email protected]

Tell him you're an avid FXer from the online forums and he'll be glad to help you out.

 

[contaygious]

after reading up on the 350z forums it seems to me that the most efficent way to up HP is just to get a supercharger. course u will prolly need to upgrade the brakes among other things to compensate, but u will most likely end up paying more than a sc if u try to buy all the parts that u need to match the hp (if its even possible). course if u dont need all that hp and dont want to spend 7k then just disregard this post :wink:

hey is is true if u go FI that u need a special exhaust to compensate? by special i mean wider.

 

[particlefx]

Perhaps this is too simplistic, but what should be expected for the fx35? Anyone care to fill in the blanks:

Modification           Cost             HP       TQ
----------------------------------------------------
Filter/Intake          $100            +        +
Crank Pulley
Free Flow Cats
Plenum
SC

or should I go search the Z forums instead?

 

[ujmot]

I think its safe to say that the Plenum is good for atleast 10hp @ peak.
Free Flow cats are good for ~8+hp.
Crank Pulley is good for ~4-6 hp through out the entire range (added benefit is faster revs).
The intake I'm not so sure about. Maybe good for a few HP, especially on the top end. I think it will compliment the mods you put in the car.

With all these mods in the car, I would bet atleast a 20hp increase as well as a healthy increase in TQ numbers as well.

 

[ujmot]

Hope All_Bark from my350Z doesnt mind me posting this but here goes:

the first (Blue) is the baseline that includes
injen/pop charger hybrid full cai
borla true dual
ur pulleys
grounding kit

the second (Red)
all the above plus the Kinetix Hi-Flow Cats

the third (Green)
all of the above plus the Kinetix Plenum

the numbers are now sae and smoothed to 3!

 

[MustGoFastR]

Re: Popcharger!

Actually I wouldn't think the crawford is best bang for the buck. If you purchase the crawford plenum you lose your stock plenum or pay 200 more to keep your stock plenum.

In my opinion the best bang for the buck mod is the JWT Popcharger. The G35 heatshield fits perfectly on our FX. Here is a pic of it in my engine bay!

True about losing the stock plenum with the Crawford, but IMHO, you'll never want for it and I think the Crawford v5 looks beter and would rather rely on a metal piece than plastic. The Kinetix is fine also, if you want to go that way, though; they deliver identical performance. Just remember you'll need to try to rig up something yourself if you want to use the engine cover.

As for the Intake: the Stillen fits even better. It's heat shield is larger and it utilizes/incorporates the stock scoop at the top front of the airbox. Looks very stock/stealth when installed.

Looking at actaul HP/$ gains, though, the plenum can't be beat with 9 peak HP and 19-20 @ redline.

 

[particlefx]

And what about an ECU re-program? As I recall that's around $600. What could you expect to gain with some or all the mods and without any mods? (assuming the programmer was competent)

 

[ujmot]

Not sure what kind of gains you'd get from a ECU reflash. It would be the last thing I'd do to maximize the mods and prevent the car from running too rich/lean.

With all of these mods, gains will vary car by car, mod by mod. So there are no definitive HP/TQ gains to any mod, just an estimate of what you should expect.

 

[particlefx]

This is the VQ35 from someone's Z?

 

[ujmot]

yes, a 350Z. the mods are listed above.

 

[bradical]

ok, the next question is, how complicated are the installs for the

(1) crawford plenum
(2) stillen intake
(3) Z tube

i.e.. what tools do you need, time, and most of all mechanical experience. i am fairly mechanically inclined and have a degree in civil engineering but i certainly dont want to get in over my head and break my FX!

down the road, i would love to add a supercharger or turbocharger, but that would be after i pay this baby off and let these offering mature a bit more

 

[gtxjoe]

Are the 350Z cats compatible with the FX? or do we need custom work to put free flow cats on?

Here's a 350z one for example http://www.kinetixracing.com/index.asp? ... Category=2

 

[ujmot]

ok, the next question is, how complicated are the installs for the

(1) crawford plenum
(2) stillen intake
(3) Z tube

i.e.. what tools do you need, time, and most of all mechanical experience. i am fairly mechanically inclined and have a degree in civil engineering but i certainly dont want to get in over my head and break my FX!

down the road, i would love to add a supercharger or turbocharger, but that would be after i pay this baby off and let these offering mature a bit more

All very easy. Just basic bolt on mods. I thinkt he tools needed for the Plenum is just an allen wrench for the throttle body and a rachet wrench with 10 and 12mm sockets. I think a 10mm socket, plyers and a screw driver is all you'd need to replace the intake.

Ask MustGoFastR as he did all these mods already.

 

[ujmot]

Are the 350Z cats compatible with the FX? or do we need custom work to put free flow cats on?

Here's a 350z one for example http://www.kinetixracing.com/index.asp? ... Category=2

Not 100% sure yet. I am hoping it is a direct bolt on fit.

 

[esemes]

Are the 350Z cats compatible with the FX? or do we need custom work to put free flow cats on?

Here's a 350z one for example http://www.kinetixracing.com/index.asp? ... Category=2

Not 100% sure yet. I am hoping it is a direct bolt on fit.

i have contacted paddock for the past two weeks....

nary a returned call..... i am beginning to lose my enthusiasm, to say the least........

 

[ujmot]

They didnt call me but I didnt bother to call them either. I will call them sometime this week to get an udate. Hopefully my drive up there wasnt a waste of my time.