Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

SS_Firehawk · 11-30-2012, 07:39 AM

The Sophia Project

An SS_Firehawk Build Thread

Review Index:
1. AE Performance Oil Cooler (MAR2012)
2. Motordyne XYZ Y pipe with HFC option (FEB2012)
3. Tanabe Medallion exhaust (FEB 2012)
4. PPE Long Tube Headers, dyno and vids of all exhaust mods (FEB2012)
5. AEM Cold Air Intake & video (MAR 2012)
6. NST Pulleys & dyno results of CAI and pulleys (MAR 2012)
7. Motordyne M370 Intake Manifold, bad install vids, bad dyno graph, & tuned results of stock and M370 (AUG 2012)
8. GTM TSC Initial Review
9. GTM TSC Final Review and Videos

Thread Index:
1. GTM Twin SC Offer
2. Transporting car and parts to GTM
3. GTM Baseline Dynojet
4. GTM Baseline Mustang Dyno
5. Parts list being installed @ GTM
6. O2 Sensor Problems
7. GTM TSC Pics
8. GTM TSC Initial thoughts and dyno

So I'm going to try and consolidate all the stuff I've done over the past year with My Z into one spot. I've been procrastinating because it sucks to repost everything. My car has no name, I only refer it as a "her" "she". So with that said, here we go.

2011
So quick background on me and My Z. I bought it back in late Sep 2011. The vehicle was built in July 2011 and shipped stateside in August. It arrived at the dealer and had been there for maybe a couple weeks before I claimed my prize. My Wife had purchased a new Maxima and gave me a healthy beat down in my old 325. I was in the market for a sports car and with the new VPP pricing for Military and the sales/service they gave my Wife, they earned my business. I came in knowing I wanted a base Z with a sport package and didn't care about anything else. Found one with floormats, trunk mat, mud guards, and the glowing Z door sill protector. Cost of the Z was $36,700, and $32,400 after VPP. Tax free and at 4%. I was good to go. Two weeks later, I went back to Afghanistan and went ape $hit on these forums learning everything I could and ordering stuff to throw on when I got back home.

The first thing I wanted for sure and ordered first were PPE long tube headers. I was working on a budget and my saw everything I bought... So I was critical of price but refused to sacrifice quality. Found ceramic coated Long Tube Headers brand new on the forums and jumped on it as soon as I saw it. Spent $870 total. Saved nearly $400 compared to buying brand new.

Next thing I ordered was an AE performance oil cooler. I was first eying a 34 row, but again saw one come up on the forums for $700, I snatched it up, quantified the importance to my Wife and ended up saving another $400 over retail.

Next thing I ordered was the Motordyne M370 intake manifold. Again I perused the forums till I found one for sale. I bought it for $470 including shipping. Saved about $120 compared to buying new.

I asked for AEM CAI's for my bday and the family pitched in to get them for me from Amazon.com. I found the powder coated grey ones for $372 with free shipping. This was by far the best deal I've seen them. They had non powder coated for $321, but I didn't want them shiny. Saved a lot of money compared to the $475-$550 I saw.

I purchased the Motordyne XYZ Y pipe new with a HFC. I wanted to keep a cat so I wouldn't get harassed by Law enforcement. I picked up both for $540 shipped. Not much if any saved on this. I researched a lot and this gave me the flexibility and performance I was looking for. On paper it matched inner diameter of the headers and the exhaust I was looking at.

The exhaust was by far the hardest decision. Fast Intentions did not have a HFC option on their CBE at the time and Motordyne did not have theirs out as well. Nearly every other exhaust got nixed because they were X pipes. 5zigen and Tanabe were standouts, but expensive. The other Y pipe exhausts were either mind boggling expensive or too cheap to trust. I ended up going back to the Tanabe mid pipe back exhaust and found it for $1207 shipped. Saved around $300 compared to every other placed I found.

Last thing I ordered before I returned home was the NST pulleys I found on group buy. I was able to get both pulleys in dark grey (I like subdued) for $190 shipped. I read a lot about these and their infamy. I could not find a valid argument that they would destroy my motor, and as of writing, it's still in one piece. I saved around $40 from this deal and found the correct belt size elsewhere for like $10 cheaper.

2012

2012 was mostly the install process which I will detail below. This is the list of parts ordered in preparation for FI/track time.

I ordered new spark plugs as a troubleshooting measure which I will illustrate below. I was running rich for four months and finally tracked down most of the problems. The two big outstanding issue I saw were a persistent P0300 SES and a 14whp loss in power over my last dyno in March. I ordered these from Z1 and ran nearly $100. Also purchased some Redline oil for the oil change. Total charge was $185 shipped. I linked more information regarding these O2 sensors and the below dyno graphs are with the existing O2 issues. The only graph that has not been afflicted with this problem is the stock graph... Hence the low dyno numbers for the mods done.

I sold my M370 manifold and instantly regretted it when I received the results with the stock manifold dyno a couple days later. I picked up an new M370 instake manifold and new XYZ resonator to play with for $690 shipped. Saved around $100 by ordering with B2autodesign. They had a good deal, also a forum sponsor.

Black Friday came around this year and Z1 had some great deals as we now know. I saw $150 off on the radiator and it instantly made me excited. I talked to my Wife and she gave me the go ahead. I then snuck in some hood struts with the order as I hate the stupid prop rod. Total was $560 shipped. Saved $170 from that deal

Then Z1 said they were extending the sale through the weekend, and so as any addict would do, I went to their site and started to look around... I saw the sport package brake upgrade listed for $498 and I was like sssssshhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiittttttt. I optioned it with some ATE super blue and stoptech pads. I would have gone with Carbotechs but I wasn't sure when I would be able to go to some track events, so I felt it a good compromise. I then started looking at their hose replacements and decided since I'm getting a new radiator, why not? So I ordered it all. Total came to $758 shipped. I saved another $140 from this deal.

2013
I recently purchased a JWT clutch/flywheel kit, upgraded CSC and clutch line. clutch/flywheel was purchased from a private seller here, and was very new. The upgraded CSC is through GTM. Suspension mods will be minor. Nismo Dampers, with Swift springs and some swaybars/endlinks. Maybe something to fix the rear camber after the drop as well. I decided to stick with stock Rays 20/25mm spacers on 265/35/19 & 305/30/19 RE11's. Also decided to go with GTM for my FI which is detailed later. I relinked the latest dyno's here so it's easier to find. These were taken without the M370 intake manifold. For results with the M370 manifold, click the link in the index. They cannot be compared to the dyno's below.
Had to make changes to my parts lineup. CSF radiator wouldn't work with my build, Z1 hoses wouldn't work either, my kick @ss oil cooler has to go too. I also decided to sell the M370 manifold (again I know!!!) because in FI applications, it's benefits are muted and needed to recoup funds. They were replaced with GTM's 70mm competition radiator, shroud and 14" SPAL HO fans, twin oil coolers, and their new baffled oil pan. They also fixed the issues going on with the car I've been tracking down. I knew my car was down on power, dyno graphs weren't smooth, torque was especially low, horsepower was down as well. When headers were installed, the O2 sensors weren't wired correctly, and they flip flopped their positioning. Upstream was in down stream and vice versa. And 2013 continues...

To follow will be all the relevant posts, video's and dyno results I have available as well as my headaches and findings.

Additional links to older threads with more information about some headaches and decision making.

LTH with HFC + CBE = ?

Here is the link posting to my troubleshooting regarding my O2 sensor and the tips forums members gave me.

Cipher reading weird AFR's on my car

Here is a link to a thread I started regarding my decision to stay NA or go FI.

Stay NA or go to the Dark Side?

11-30-2012, 07:39 AM	#1 (permalink)
SS_Firehawk Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Tampa Posts: 4,142 Drives: 13' Magma Red Nismo Rep Power: 7334	The Sophia Project The Sophia Project An SS_Firehawk Build Thread Review Index: 1. AE Performance Oil Cooler (MAR2012) 2. Motordyne XYZ Y pipe with HFC option (FEB2012) 3. Tanabe Medallion exhaust (FEB 2012) 4. PPE Long Tube Headers, dyno and vids of all exhaust mods (FEB2012) 5. AEM Cold Air Intake & video (MAR 2012) 6. NST Pulleys & dyno results of CAI and pulleys (MAR 2012) 7. Motordyne M370 Intake Manifold, bad install vids, bad dyno graph, & tuned results of stock and M370 (AUG 2012) 8. GTM TSC Initial Review 9. GTM TSC Final Review and Videos Thread Index: 1. GTM Twin SC Offer 2. Transporting car and parts to GTM 3. GTM Baseline Dynojet 4. GTM Baseline Mustang Dyno 5. Parts list being installed @ GTM 6. O2 Sensor Problems 7. GTM TSC Pics 8. GTM TSC Initial thoughts and dyno So I'm going to try and consolidate all the stuff I've done over the past year with My Z into one spot. I've been procrastinating because it sucks to repost everything. My car has no name, I only refer it as a "her" "she". So with that said, here we go. 2011 So quick background on me and My Z. I bought it back in late Sep 2011. The vehicle was built in July 2011 and shipped stateside in August. It arrived at the dealer and had been there for maybe a couple weeks before I claimed my prize. My Wife had purchased a new Maxima and gave me a healthy beat down in my old 325. I was in the market for a sports car and with the new VPP pricing for Military and the sales/service they gave my Wife, they earned my business. I came in knowing I wanted a base Z with a sport package and didn't care about anything else. Found one with floormats, trunk mat, mud guards, and the glowing Z door sill protector. Cost of the Z was $36,700, and $32,400 after VPP. Tax free and at 4%. I was good to go. Two weeks later, I went back to Afghanistan and went ape $hit on these forums learning everything I could and ordering stuff to throw on when I got back home. The first thing I wanted for sure and ordered first were PPE long tube headers. I was working on a budget and my saw everything I bought... So I was critical of price but refused to sacrifice quality. Found ceramic coated Long Tube Headers brand new on the forums and jumped on it as soon as I saw it. Spent $870 total. Saved nearly $400 compared to buying brand new. Next thing I ordered was an AE performance oil cooler. I was first eying a 34 row, but again saw one come up on the forums for $700, I snatched it up, quantified the importance to my Wife and ended up saving another $400 over retail. Next thing I ordered was the Motordyne M370 intake manifold. Again I perused the forums till I found one for sale. I bought it for $470 including shipping. Saved about $120 compared to buying new. I asked for AEM CAI's for my bday and the family pitched in to get them for me from Amazon.com. I found the powder coated grey ones for $372 with free shipping. This was by far the best deal I've seen them. They had non powder coated for $321, but I didn't want them shiny. Saved a lot of money compared to the $475-$550 I saw. I purchased the Motordyne XYZ Y pipe new with a HFC. I wanted to keep a cat so I wouldn't get harassed by Law enforcement. I picked up both for $540 shipped. Not much if any saved on this. I researched a lot and this gave me the flexibility and performance I was looking for. On paper it matched inner diameter of the headers and the exhaust I was looking at. The exhaust was by far the hardest decision. Fast Intentions did not have a HFC option on their CBE at the time and Motordyne did not have theirs out as well. Nearly every other exhaust got nixed because they were X pipes. 5zigen and Tanabe were standouts, but expensive. The other Y pipe exhausts were either mind boggling expensive or too cheap to trust. I ended up going back to the Tanabe mid pipe back exhaust and found it for $1207 shipped. Saved around $300 compared to every other placed I found. Last thing I ordered before I returned home was the NST pulleys I found on group buy. I was able to get both pulleys in dark grey (I like subdued) for $190 shipped. I read a lot about these and their infamy. I could not find a valid argument that they would destroy my motor, and as of writing, it's still in one piece. I saved around $40 from this deal and found the correct belt size elsewhere for like $10 cheaper. 2012 2012 was mostly the install process which I will detail below. This is the list of parts ordered in preparation for FI/track time. I ordered new spark plugs as a troubleshooting measure which I will illustrate below. I was running rich for four months and finally tracked down most of the problems. The two big outstanding issue I saw were a persistent P0300 SES and a 14whp loss in power over my last dyno in March. I ordered these from Z1 and ran nearly $100. Also purchased some Redline oil for the oil change. Total charge was $185 shipped. I linked more information regarding these O2 sensors and the below dyno graphs are with the existing O2 issues. The only graph that has not been afflicted with this problem is the stock graph... Hence the low dyno numbers for the mods done. I sold my M370 manifold and instantly regretted it when I received the results with the stock manifold dyno a couple days later. I picked up an new M370 instake manifold and new XYZ resonator to play with for $690 shipped. Saved around $100 by ordering with B2autodesign. They had a good deal, also a forum sponsor. Black Friday came around this year and Z1 had some great deals as we now know. I saw $150 off on the radiator and it instantly made me excited. I talked to my Wife and she gave me the go ahead. I then snuck in some hood struts with the order as I hate the stupid prop rod. Total was $560 shipped. Saved $170 from that deal Then Z1 said they were extending the sale through the weekend, and so as any addict would do, I went to their site and started to look around... I saw the sport package brake upgrade listed for $498 and I was like sssssshhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiittttttt. I optioned it with some ATE super blue and stoptech pads. I would have gone with Carbotechs but I wasn't sure when I would be able to go to some track events, so I felt it a good compromise. I then started looking at their hose replacements and decided since I'm getting a new radiator, why not? So I ordered it all. Total came to $758 shipped. I saved another $140 from this deal. 2013 I recently purchased a JWT clutch/flywheel kit, upgraded CSC and clutch line. clutch/flywheel was purchased from a private seller here, and was very new. The upgraded CSC is through GTM. Suspension mods will be minor. Nismo Dampers, with Swift springs and some swaybars/endlinks. Maybe something to fix the rear camber after the drop as well. I decided to stick with stock Rays 20/25mm spacers on 265/35/19 & 305/30/19 RE11's. Also decided to go with GTM for my FI which is detailed later. I relinked the latest dyno's here so it's easier to find. These were taken without the M370 intake manifold. For results with the M370 manifold, click the link in the index. They cannot be compared to the dyno's below. Had to make changes to my parts lineup. CSF radiator wouldn't work with my build, Z1 hoses wouldn't work either, my kick @ss oil cooler has to go too. I also decided to sell the M370 manifold (again I know!!!) because in FI applications, it's benefits are muted and needed to recoup funds. They were replaced with GTM's 70mm competition radiator, shroud and 14" SPAL HO fans, twin oil coolers, and their new baffled oil pan. They also fixed the issues going on with the car I've been tracking down. I knew my car was down on power, dyno graphs weren't smooth, torque was especially low, horsepower was down as well. When headers were installed, the O2 sensors weren't wired correctly, and they flip flopped their positioning. Upstream was in down stream and vice versa. And 2013 continues... To follow will be all the relevant posts, video's and dyno results I have available as well as my headaches and findings. Additional links to older threads with more information about some headaches and decision making. LTH with HFC + CBE = ? Here is the link posting to my troubleshooting regarding my O2 sensor and the tips forums members gave me. Cipher reading weird AFR's on my car Here is a link to a thread I started regarding my decision to stay NA or go FI. Stay NA or go to the Dark Side? __________________ Old Car:GTM TSC'd 550whp / 410lbft tq @ 11.88PSI New Car: Under Construction Last edited by SS_Firehawk; 03-06-2014 at 10:48 PM.