$15,000.00 for Mods...what would you do?

I have $15,000.00 to mod my Z and would like the opinion from some of you guys that have been at this for a while. Please keep in mind that I want to keep my Z street/smog legal, so that will limit what I am doing a bit.

I'm currently running an Injen CAI with the Borla TR Exhaust and the MAX Grounding Kit with some other cosmetic mods.

What I have in mind is the following:

Vortech Procharger
Rotora 4 Piston Big Brake Kit for the front
Ultimate Racing High Flow Cats
Eibach Sway Bar Kit
Eibach Springs
Crawford Plenum
Craford Tower Strut
B & M short throw shifter
Wheels/Tires (One of the following: 5Zigen Hyper 5ZR 19 X 8.5F / 19 X 9.5R w/ Falken/Toyo 235/35/19F 275/30/19R OR Volk GT-7 19 X 8.5F 19 X 9.5 R w/ Falken/Toyo 235/35/19F 275/30/19R

Any input/opinions you guys have would be greatly appreciated. I would like to start by 1 July, so I have a little time to consider about anything.

The main questions I have are:

1) Would a Procharger be the right option, or is Twin Turbo with intercooler the right way to go? If twin turbo is the right path, is street/smog legal?

2) Would the pulleys need to be replaced along with these mods? If so, would the Unorthodox pulley kit be the right kit?

3) Do I need to add an oil cooler?

4) Do I need to add a fuel management system?

5) Would a new ECU be a good idea?


I really appreciate your advice.

Well...we need to know a bit more about what you're trying to do with the car. All we know is what you want to do to it, and that it still needs to be street legal.

With $15k, I'd personally go for the new 4.3L AEBS stroker kit(~$8k), which includes sleeves(I think), and then add a supercharger(~$4k??), since it is supposed to be cheaper than the turbo kit. The rest(not much left) would go to suspension and brakes. But that's just me.

Anyway...
The main questions I have are:

1) Would a Procharger be the right option, or is Twin Turbo with intercooler the right way to go? If twin turbo is the right path, is street/smog legal?

Depends on how far you want to go, and what type of powerband you want/driving you'll be doing. Ask around, talk to people with both setups, and you might be able to find out what will be better for you.

3) Do I need to add an oil cooler?

It couldn't hurt. Depending on what your goals are, you might even need it.

4) Do I need to add a fuel management system?

Ditto.

5) Would a new ECU be a good idea?

Either a new ECU, or getting your stocker reprogrammed to take full advantage of your mods would help.

I'm just looking to add more power to the car. Every forum I have read says that you can get a little power from bolt-ons, but where you get the most is adding those bolt-ons to either twin turbo or a supercharger. The high flow cats should compliment the Borla nicely from what I hear. The rims, tires, and springs are a given. I was already planning those. The sway's I figured I would do while the wheels were off. Since I am considering a supercharger, I thought that maybe a big brake kit would be a good idea. I like the B & M short throw shifter. I drove a friends Z with one and decided I liked it enough to go with that also. Lastly, If I am going to add the supercharger, I may as well have the right air flow, so that is where the Crawford Plenum comes in.

I've been reading these forums for months. There was a recent article in Sport Compact Car, I believe, that is a review of adding horsepower to the Z and Stillen, JWT, and Greddy all have articles about how to achieve 400, 450, or even 500hp. I'm not familiar enough with the engine components to know what is the best choice. That is why I am asking.

I've read a little about the stroker kit, but not enough to choose one.

Any suggestions or information you can provide would be appreciated.

The GReddy Twin Turbo 350Z kit consists of two TD05H 18G turbos, a pair of Type-S external wastegates, two Airinx filter assemblies, a pair of cast turbo manifolds, required piping and hardware, larger main injectors and a preprogrammed e-Manage. Intercooling is handled by a GReddy front-mount, three-row chiller with cast aluminum end tanks. The intercooler is configured with dual inlets and a single 80mm outlet leading to the throttle body. Tuning is accomplished with leading-edge electronics, namely a GReddy e-Manage piggyback computer. The e-Manage commands upgraded 440cc RC Engineering injectors designed to fit the OE intake manifold and get the power flowing while keeping factory-spec duty cycles.

Preliminary Specs:

Standard Boost - 5.6
Compressor - TD05H 18G (2)
Horsepower - 334.2 whp
Torque - 339.2

only 6's

around 6 g's that is

THe Greddy TT kit wont be pretty bad. Still it is WHAT you want to do wit it. The Greddy TT kit comes with required ECU. THe Oil Cooler wont be bad either (u might need it). WIth the rest...i'd spend it on brakes or springs.

the car comes with a oil cooler from the factory

Get the Greddy or Power Enterprise TT kits. I would like turbos more than superchargers (but thats just me). Also get Tien coilovers or JIC coilovers. Go to RPMmotoring.com and they have really good deals. If you cant find some things listed on your site give em a call at there toll free #. Its posted on the site.

hmm.... do u have the brembo package? theyr really good brakes. umm i dunno like ive always liked to do things differently so what about doing it up NA with all the induction/exhaust upgrades, ECU, cams, internals and some high comp. pistons??? + u would need radiator, oil system upgrades and probably a vented bonnet would be good for keeping it cool. dont forget suspension... get some good coilovers... like the other guy said TEIN and JIC are the best.... and if u gonna ever take it off the street or do anything with high speed cornering/drifting whatever get a better LSD.

Yea get some good coilovers. RPMmotoring.com sells JIC for cheap prices.

I actually came up with a few things without going turbo or supercharged.

Kinetix Racing V4 Plenum (Installed)
Kinetix Racing High Flow Cats (Installed)
DC Sports Stainless Steel Headers - ordered
Volk SF Challenge (19 X 8.5F 19 X 9.5R) - ordered
Nitto 555 (245/35/19F 275/35/19R) - ordered
B & M Short Throw Shifter - ordered
JWT Aluminum Flywheel - ordered
Unorthodox Cam Pulley - ordered
TechnoSquare ECU Flash (When it is available)
Eibach Sway Bars front and rear - ordered
OE Diamond Drilled/Slotted Rotors - ordered
EBC Greenstuff brake pads - ordered
"Fairlady Z" Courtesy emblem - ordered
"Z" Courtesy emblem - ordered


The only thing I am really curious about it the ECU Flash. I've been reading up on the Apexi SAFC II, and from results of the other forums, it seems like a better idea than just a flashed ECU. So, I may do both. TechnoSquare cannot flash ECU's in Z's with a newer build date of 9/03 (I believe) and mine was built in 11/03, so I have to wait a few months for that.

The Kinetix plenum and cats have worked out great. There is an umbelievable throaty growl and it just plain drives faster. Combined with what I already have, they were a great choice. It kind of makes me wonder about test pipes now, but I want to stay smog legal.

I guess I'll save what is leftover, or look at a new head unit and upgrade the amp. Maybe add another sub.

Interesting choices . . . I haven't done too much to my Z and I've got around $15K in it already! If you do decide to go FI, keep in mind that you'll want to add gauges, clutch, and the hefty install price (TT, not so much with SC) to your budget. For instance, I got the Greddy TT w/intercooler and here's the cost breakdown:

Kit 5600
Turbo Timer 100
Gauges 700 (Varies)
Clutch 700 (Varies)
Dyno Tune 300
Install 2000 (plus or minus 500)
Grand Total: almost 10Gs
Add my 19" Volks and I've got about 13.5

As you can see, it adds up waaaayyyy too quick.

G