Comments: 1. Gallery Gasket: 176k, still haven't needed! :P (This is NOT advice, check your oil pressure, like Matthew said) 2. Coil Over: Stock actually runs very well, so I would advise nothing less than coil overs. Springs alone well get you the ride height, but usually sacrifice the ride and performance. 3. Plenum: Absolute must, like he said, best power per dollar. I would swap your valve cover gaskets while you're there, as that requires plenum removal and they always fail. 4. Exhaust: Choose carefully here: the VQ is notorious for sounding like hot garbage with a cheap or overly loud exhaust. 5. Brakes: After setting mine on fire, I can tell you: get a BBK if you track. The 370z Akebono adapters are an excellent, cheap option that are bigger than even the 350z Brembos. 6a. Sways: Careful with going too stiff in the rear, especially on non-traction models; good way to wipe out. (unless you drift) 6b. Bushings: Go too solid, the ride will vibrate a filling loose. Whiteline is a good way to go. 7. Wheels: Be careful with wheels you track: thin spoke, cast wheels usually won't survive the track long term. If you are looking for light weight, thin spoke wheels, go forged, like the factory Ray's. 8. Clutch Kit: For those not wanting too stiff a pedal, consider a twin disc: double the surface area means less clamping force need = lighter pedal. 9. Diff Brace: Yup, always good. 10. Intake: The primary benefit, imo, of an intake is throttle response, not power. The tiny snorkel of the stock intakes lead to lag in throttle.
Great comments. 350Z HR owner here, 2 thirds of this list I whole-heartedly agree with, and the other third is only because I don't know enough about it to have an opinion on. Replying for the algorithm, to bump you further up the list as it seems this comment is vastly underrated.
Something that’s not on this list that should be number 1 and is number 1 for all cars is TIRES. Tires offer the biggest bang for buck arguably. Improved ride, Increased performance accelerating, decelerating, and cornering, less road noise, lower unsprung mass and rotational mass. Whatever you are after just pick the right tire to suit. I always recommend Michelins. Expensive but worth the cost when you consider they’re the best by far.
I feel like one you overlooked is AERO. Ignoring some garish body kit that just adds drag and actually produces lift, properly tuned aero, I find, is essential for the track specifically on the 350z, as the rear bumper really is a bowl shaped parachute. The Nismo V3 kit, for instance, makes a night and day difference at high speed in terms of stability.
As a 42-year-old man with kids and a mortgage I've long left the tuner scene, but I'm slowly getting back into it. Can't afford an Evo Plus I kind of want to stay away from the four cylinder turbos. A Nissan 350Z seems to be my best bet without looking like a boy racer. Tough to find them up here in New England
Truth about the gallery gaskets! The steel reinforced ones are the ticket imo especially if planning to shim up the regulator or go with VHR gears in a DE pump, or both. Been plenty of times those paper gaskets were the last piece of trash to come out the pickup tube
IMO check out NISformance. They have a pump with symetrical billet HR/VHR gears that goes in the DE/Rev-up and flows more than either. Used to let you specify shims in the regulator spring to add +10,20,30 PSI up past 5k. Oil out the pump flows up a chamber in the rear timing cover into a gallery that feeds the mains, squirters and the head gallery which is towards the top of the rear cover. The stock gaskets are thin paper and crack and blow out a section. HRs are notorious for doing it because of the wider pump gears but high milage DE's love to flake too.
Can't wait to feel the difference with the plenum Spacer on my 03 Australian Delivered Model. Considering a Exhaust to pair with the Spacer. Want it to be a close to stock as possible.
Plenum spacer and Motordyne ART pipes with a good Y-pipe will be the most noticeable improvement for a bolt on build....significantly nicer than stock, talking from experience :). And add a 1lb shift knob for much smoother stick, and add the RJM Adjustable Fulcrum Point Clutch Pedal.....transforms the car completely and makes it vastly more fun to drive without any jerky starts from a stop.
Honestly Z1 has made a name for them selfs i was at your shop for years 2010. This list is kinda bad though. Coilovers are good but we all know breaks are #1. List should be #1 breaks #2 oil cooler + radiator #3 cat back #4 CAI #5 spacer #6 tune #7 coilovers #8 suspension aka A-arms #9 diff brace and new bushings #10 clutch & fly These are most important and in this order as our cars have hot oil problems.
@@Z1Motorsports23 I didn't know that I thought they were saying it should be the first mod 😂. You guys really should do the 75 mm throttle body though. And so the importance of a tune I see too many people running around with full bolt-ons and no tune destroying their engine I 100% believe this should be a channel where you guys bust a lot of bad info.
you sure about oil pressure at idle when the temp is warmed up. not cold... google says idle should be at 14psi on a stock 350z after the car is warmed up
Also can you please do a dyno video of your 75mm throttlebody? There is such bad info out there when people think that a 75mm throttlebody will give 10+whp...... I would like to see a video of a tuned car hitting the dyno. Then adding a 75mm throttlebody and dyno it again same time and see if there is even a 2 whp gain. We all know that these cars are hard tk even gain 5 whp per mod let alone the 10whp people claim from a +5mm difference in TB size as stock is 70mm....
If installing the 75mm TB from NWP or others, you need an oversized intake (3.5" with upgraded MAF) and a plenum spacer larger than the typical 5/16". A 1/2" from Motordyne or 5/8" from Skunk will do, and a clever Uprev tune needs to go in. Also needs shorties and a double catback to flow out the back. On a plain old auto DE with the above I gained 45 rwhp on a Dyno Dynamics heartbroker dyno, Sep 2018 @ RS Tuning in Woodbridge. Radek knows his stuff.
Bro i have a 06 m35x with vq35de, engine upgrades are easy to find, idk what to do about transmission upgrades and the suspension parts that cant be swapped with g35 sedan parts plz help me out,
PLEASE HELP I am supercharging my 350z and am working bottom up already pistons and rods suspension and braking, fuel pump etc but i’m looking at valve covers and the only options i see are oem or aluminum. Will the oem be able to hold 400+ hp for the price? or is there a brand out there specified for boosted vq’s
your valvecovers have absolutely nothing to do with horsepower dude. literally their single purpose is to keep to oil slapping off the cams contained in the engine and out of the spark plug holes. valvecovers serve zero purpose when it comes to power.. this question makes me wonder how you intend to boost your car without knowing something so obvious.
Absolutely not. All VQs are reliable except the revup with its low tension piston rings, suffering incredible blowby and blowing head gaskets for about 19 years now.
i bought a Tomei From Z1 MotorSports in 2021 and after installing the Tomei, i got pulled over the next day. All in all buy the TOMEI EXHAUST!! lol . Yes im from CA. Yes it was a 350z HR
