Vortech Supercharged 350Z - Short Drive-By Clips 

Baby 350z

I hear you. Sometimes is comes down to getting the right tune. If you check out some of my later videos, I ended up getting it re-tuned because I felt a similar sense that it wasn't enough power (amazing results with Jotech). Especially with forced-induction builds, not all tunes are created equal. And if you blow it up... well. You can always just throw a V8 in there... that had always been my backup plan.

+Justin Andras Stikwititfitness Thanks! Sounds like you have some good taste :p

oNAGAo haha yeah I just bought the car about 5 months ago. Its a 03 350z with volk wheels like yours with the red ring around the rim. The person before me had good taste lol. Nice ride bro and keep it clean !

The supercharger I got was the V3 SCi Trim Tuner Kit (satin). It usually runs about $4,400, but with my military discount, it cost me about $3,800. I ended up doing the installation myself, so I cut those costs out of the picture as well. Of course... with the bare minimum cost consideration of supporting mods for the Tuner Kit (Fuel Pump: $100, Injectors: $750, UpRev MAF GT: $350, Spark Plugs: $60, Tune: est. $500)... it ends up costing a bit more. The whole transformation project the car underwent after my deployment ran me around $10,000. And that's not counting all of the thousands of dollars from the intake manifold and exhaust modifications I had already done. ... This is making me sad. Modding cars is too bloody expensive. At any rate, the big difference between the V2 and V3 is that the V3 is self-lubricating, whereas the V2 requires that you tap into the oil pan shared by the motor. I'd recommend the V3 over the V2 any day for that level of simplicity and convenience. I think the V3 is meant to run more quietly as well, but I'm not certain.

oNAGAo Wow man! Thanks for the great response! And it makes me sad about how expensive it is too! Atleast your Z is basically done!!! I am just at the start :(. Go out and enjoy your Z! You deserve it!

I would recommend the ART Pipes over any other option. In my experience, and in what I've read, it will give you the best sound and the best performance gains, hands-down. If money is a constricting factor, then I'd go with the Berk High Flow Cats, as they'll really help preserve the great sound the exhaust gives you - moreso than the AAM Test Pipes. The test pipes will probably give you a good bang for your buck in comparison to the Berks, but I can't say how it will affect the overall sound. All in all, I'd save up and go with Motordyne ART Pipes. It'll be worth the money - it certainly was in my case.

Thanks! As for smoke, not really. I would get some pretty pungent fumes, but no visible smoke of any kind - my first guess in your case would be the tune.

Thanks! Actually, the wheels are Avant Garde M310 (Matte Black) - the red pinstriping was custom work I did myself. 19x9.5 245/35/19 Hankook V12, 19x11 275/35/19 Hankook V12.

oNAGAo Thanks! I decided to have the original Rays repainted to matte black and I'll do the red pinstripe with rim tape.

No worries, man. I'm happy to help. Pretty much, the supporting mods you will need to acquire are the ones I listed in the parenthetical. With the tuner kit, you will need to get larger injectors, a high flow fuel pump, and one-step-colder spark plugs. With the increased air flow, an upgraded MAF sensor is all but mandatory for tuning purposes. You'll then need to have the car taken to a **GOOD AND RELIABLE** tuner who can then tune the car on a dyno. You can look at the parts list I have in the video description to see which parts I settled on after doing a few months of research. Another thing to know about running a supercharger is that the car will run SIGNIFICANTLY hotter than stock. That's why I went ahead and upgraded the radiator and thermostat. In retrospect, I wish I had dropped the cash to get an oil cooler as well... but that's another $700. Ultimately, what I would recommend is finding a good tuner that specializes in UpRev software somewhere in your area. I can give all kinds of advice and tips (and I'm more than happy to), but it's important to get that sort of a working relationship established so that your tuning (or installation, if you so choose) goes smoothly. Learn from my mistakes: I made the awful decision of taking my car to UpRev in Austin, TX... and they absolutely screwed me. Their tuning software is fantastic, but the guys who worked there at the physical shop (one was fired afterward), charged me upwards of $3,000, ruined my Motordyne exhaust tips, ruined my shift knob, ruined the cover of the dash cluster, gave me the run-around for about 2 months, and left me with a shitty tune I had to have re-done in Dallas the next year after my car was stuttering bogging down. It was such a bad experience, I actually hated driving my car. Seriously. That's the biggest advice I can give anyone considering this process: find a good, reputable 350z tuner you can trust. Don't know if I fully answered your question, so feel free to ask if you have any more.

Wow. Thanks for this answer. I will take your advise.

I'm pretty sure they are. The mounting hardware and everything else will definitely be different, but the supercharger itself, as I understand it, should be the same thing from Vortech for each application. Still, I'd call Vortech (they're pretty helpful) and ask them to be sure before dropping the sort of cash necessary to acquire one of them.

Thanks! It's running on Tein S Tech springs, so it's slightly lowered.

Thanks! It's the Stillen V1 wing. I love it - it's not overstated, and it really works to flow with the visual lines of the car. I've always thought it best to err on the side of understatement when it comes to a car's exterior.

Yes absolutly, i have the Nismo Wing ATM but your spoiler flows so well with the line of the car, it's like the standard one on steroids. Thanks for the name, gonna see if i can get this on my Z in Swiss :/

Sure thing. Shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to answer.

+oNAGAo not sure how to pm but was this engine running stock internals? and how did you combat oil issues with the revup?

+Kanaan Nichols Yeah, this is all on stock internals. Everywhere I've read seems to suggest that 2006 and earlier should be pretty safe up to around 420whp, after which you might worry about the rods being compromised. As for any oil issues, my car actually fell prey to the infamous RevUp oil consumption issue right before my warranty ran out, so I was able to get it covered without much complication. The dealership replaced the entire lower end under warranty, which means that despite the 59K miles on the odometer, I'm running this supercharger setup on what is largely a new motor, so that's really reassuring. And I haven't had any issues since then.

I'm up in Bartlesville, now. And likewise for your service as well, brother.

+dalton williams It's a Motordyne TDX (a first generation one - the newer ones have rounded resonance chambers and "Motordyne" etched into them). It's expensive, but probably the best sounding exhaust you can buy on this platform for both sound and performance. There's more footage of it from a recent video I made: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b_MJeAWZ-fU.html And footage of it from a long time ago when I first had it installed (without the supercharger or headers): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Han8fRSMovA.html

+Christopher Morales Nice! Mine is an enthusiast model actually. And that's a very smart choice to go with fully built internals; if I had the time/money, I probably would have done the same thing. I almost regret not doing it...

+oNAGAo you on Facebook? Chris morales with my Z profile pic

Lex Sadly, the market for Z & G cars in the area just wasn't big enough at the time to sustain the business, and they had to close up several years ago. It's a real shame, because Chris (the man who ran it) was a top-notch professional. The closest reputable shop that I've found is PRT Performance in Dallas, but I'm keeping my eyes open for others.

oNAGAo are you still in TTown? My wife was ran off the road by an idiot in a Mustang into a guard rail and took off. Needless to say I got the body work done and decided to go ahead and fix her up, so I'm on the hunt for both replacement and performance parts. I missed Z Fest this year as it happened the weekend before. Let me know if you have any parts avaliable.

They're Avant Garde M310 wheels (matte black with custom red pinstripe). The tires are Front: 19x9.5 245/35/19; Rear: 19x11 275/35/19 (Hankook V12). I love the fitment, but if I ever decide to take it to the track, I might consider possibly going with wider tires and a fender roll... although there's no rubbing at this point, it does get close.

+John Mendola Yeah, if these things didn't last so bloody long, I might have moved on to another set by now :)

+oNAGAo Indeed.. that's because you need a softer compound for better traction :-)

+John Mendola To your point on the tires... I just got the car re-tuned at Jotech Motorsports on Friday, and they worked some crazy wizardry to add well over 50ft-lbs of torque... So with my V12s, I'm now breaking loose at 80mph in 3rd gear.

Not entirely sure how much it was pushing when I made this video, I had the car re-tuned in my latest video, where ended up putting down 413whp and 340wtq.

+Edison Melara It's the Stillen V1 wing.

Probably because this isn't a body kit. It's an OEM-style hood with vents in it and a lip spoiler. Maybe brush up on your cars before hating on them.