NA or SUPERCHARGED

Janjua8 · 04-12-2018, 03:27 AM

Got offered 2 Z's. One. 2011 nismo 19k miles, 25k. TWO. 2011 nismo 35k miles, SUPERCHARGED, 29k.

I don't track my car, but would like to once or twice. I don't need 600hp but def want to be past 350whp. Take down some 6th gen GT's with ease. At the same time the SC has about 30k miles on it. Idk how reliable those things are. I want the car to last me at least 10 years, with proper maintenance. I feel like the the dealer that has the SC Z is selling it high due to it having a SC. But if the SC is in good condition, then its worth it to me (car note being low 4's). What are some things to be mindful of, in checking the SC before purchase. What would you go for knowing it's a daily, but work commute is less than 2 miles lol. Gym about 15. The rest would be for pleasure and spirited driving, a pull here, a pull there. And 40 rolls here and there...is 320-340whp respectable? Or take the SC and merc GT's? If some of you that have had the stillen supercharger for a while can let me know how reliable they are or what issues you ran into, that would be great. Looking for what the best buy would be...

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Quicksilvers · 04-12-2018, 08:10 AM

In my experience with my our builds and helping with other Z enthusiasts builds naturally aspirated or forced induction the VQ37HR gets expensive quick. Parts and labor if you are not doing your own work is quite costly. If you do all the required general maintenance on time on your Z these cars will last a long time. If you are looking to have your Z last 10+ years I would recommend you stay naturally aspirated and do a few bolt on modifications and purchase a long extended warranty with your Z. Forced induction reliability depends a lot on many different things. If you want reliability/dependability with any forced induction set up hope that the correct fuel and air upgrades were done on the Stillen supercharger kit as well as is there a safe tune done by a reputable tuner with this supercharger set up? How was this Z used since the supercharger install? After 30K the supercharger head unit could need to be sent in to be rebuilt? There are a lot of variables to consider. Track days and track experience is enjoying and fun but it takes a toll on your Z with up keep and maintenance on your Z needing to be done. To meet your whp goals you could do it naturally aspirated and do all the bolt on’s under the sun but you will be very close or right at the cost of a single or twin turbo kit. If you want to keep up or beat the new 6th gen. Ford Mustang GT’s if that is what you are talking about it will require forced induction on your Z as those cars are underrated in terms of making power and it will be easier and more cost effective to go the forced induction route. Remember with forced induction the more you push the envelope the less reliable it will be.

Chuck33079 · 04-12-2018, 08:17 AM

Unless the previous owner did a lot of work to the kit, a Stillen car is a time bomb.

SouthArk370Z · 04-12-2018, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quicksilvers

... If you are looking to have your Z last 10+ years I would recommend you stay naturally aspirated and do a few bolt on modifications ...

FI is great if you can do your own maintenance and repairs or if you have a lot of disposable income. Going by your questions and comments, I'll guess that neither applies.

Buying an unknown FI installation is just asking for trouble.

bcfromfl · 04-12-2018, 08:39 AM

Having just gone through months of searching for a low-mileage 2015+ Nismo, I can tell you that both cars you refer to are overpriced. The NA car...maybe...if it is otherwise clean without any dings or scratches. Has either car been driven in the winter? The used Z market is tanking, and only pristine low-mileage cars are getting book. By way of comparison, I purchased my car for not that much more than the s/c car you've looked at, with only 2,300 miles on it...from a dealer no less. It also has a $2,000 clear wrap that the dealer wasn't even aware of. (I was there on the lot two days after they got the car in on a trade, knew what I was looking at, talked them down $1,500, and grabbed it.)

Also, car mods as a rule do not add significantly to the resale of a car, with the exception of some Z cars that have had thousands and thousands invested -- twin turbos are an example. If you decide you want to have a car that performs the way you'd like, you can't look at the parts as an "investment" that will come back when you sell. In some cases, mods can even drop the potential value.

I second what was said above about the Stillen kit. Supercharging the Z with the basic Stillen is a recipe for disaster, and I would be highly reluctant to purchase one with that kind of mileage. The A2A conversion is a completely different animal, and much, much safer for the engine. I think the s/c head unit would be the least of my worries with the basic Stillen kit. Don't focus so much on what the car has -- imagine how it was driven by the previous owner. Those are hard miles.

You're not going to pull away from recent-gen Mustangs without a lot of upgrades. An automatic tranny will help, but reduce the fun factor of the car. Also, an automatic will generally limit your hp/tq numbers without getting into an expensive rebuild.

You may be disappointed in the car if you decide to track it, without expensive suspension/brake mods and perhaps even tires. Depending upon how enthusiastic you are about it, you could go another $5-10,000 to seriously compete on a track.

For 90% of my searching, I used Autotrader and Cars.com. You can use their filters to narrow down the potential results, and both sites work well. Best of luck!

Janjua8 · 04-12-2018, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quicksilvers

In my experience with my our builds and helping with other Z enthusiasts builds naturally aspirated or forced induction the VQ37HR gets expensive quick. Parts and labor if you are not doing your own work is quite costly. If you do all the required general maintenance on time on your Z these cars will last a long time. If you are looking to have your Z last 10+ years I would recommend you stay naturally aspirated and do a few bolt on modifications and purchase a long extended warranty with your Z. Forced induction reliability depends a lot on many different things. If you want reliability/dependability with any forced induction set up hope that the correct fuel and air upgrades were done on the Stillen supercharger kit as well as is there a safe tune done by a reputable tuner with this supercharger set up? How was this Z used since the supercharger install? After 30K the supercharger head unit could need to be sent in to be rebuilt? There are a lot of variables to consider. Track days and track experience is enjoying and fun but it takes a toll on your Z with up keep and maintenance on your Z needing to be done. To meet your whp goals you could do it naturally aspirated and do all the bolt on’s under the sun but you will be very close or right at the cost of a single or twin turbo kit. If you want to keep up or beat the new 6th gen. Ford Mustang GT’s if that is what you are talking about it will require forced induction on your Z as those cars are underrated in terms of making power and it will be easier and more cost effective to go the forced induction route. Remember with forced induction the more you push the envelope the less reliable it will be.

Damn. I was under the impression that stillen made a nice little kit esp if it was just the stock kit....

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Janjua8 · 04-12-2018, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcfromfl

Having just gone through months of searching for a low-mileage 2015+ Nismo, I can tell you that both cars you refer to are overpriced. The NA car...maybe...if it is otherwise clean without any dings or scratches. Has either car been driven in the winter? The used Z market is tanking, and only pristine low-mileage cars are getting book. By way of comparison, I purchased my car for not that much more than the s/c car you've looked at, with only 2,300 miles on it...from a dealer no less. It also has a $2,000 clear wrap that the dealer wasn't even aware of. (I was there on the lot two days after they got the car in on a trade, knew what I was looking at, talked them down $1,500, and grabbed it.)

Also, car mods as a rule do not add significantly to the resale of a car, with the exception of some Z cars that have had thousands and thousands invested -- twin turbos are an example. If you decide you want to have a car that performs the way you'd like, you can't look at the parts as an "investment" that will come back when you sell. In some cases, mods can even drop the potential value.

I second what was said above about the Stillen kit. Supercharging the Z with the basic Stillen is a recipe for disaster, and I would be highly reluctant to purchase one with that kind of mileage. The A2A conversion is a completely different animal, and much, much safer for the engine. I think the s/c head unit would be the least of my worries with the basic Stillen kit. Don't focus so much on what the car has -- imagine how it was driven by the previous owner. Those are hard miles.

You're not going to pull away from recent-gen Mustangs without a lot of upgrades. An automatic tranny will help, but reduce the fun factor of the car. Also, an automatic will generally limit your hp/tq numbers without getting into an expensive rebuild.

You may be disappointed in the car if you decide to track it, without expensive suspension/brake mods and perhaps even tires. Depending upon how enthusiastic you are about it, you could go another $5-10,000 to seriously compete on a track.

For 90% of my searching, I used Autotrader and Cars.com. You can use their filters to narrow down the potential results, and both sites work well. Best of luck!

The black nismo is in very clean condition. I doubt theyll go any lower than 24 out the door tbh...

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Janjua8 · 04-12-2018, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthArk370Z

FI is great if you can do your own maintenance and repairs or if you have a lot of disposable income. Going by your questions and comments, I'll guess that neither applies.

Buying an unknown FI installation is just asking for trouble.

So me and a friend of mine (hes very experienced just installed a supercharger on his m3 e92 in his garage) would be the ones working on it. What's the biggest expense I expect??? If labor is all me and him...

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Janjua8 · 04-12-2018, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quicksilvers

In my experience with my our builds and helping with other Z enthusiasts builds naturally aspirated or forced induction the VQ37HR gets expensive quick. Parts and labor if you are not doing your own work is quite costly. If you do all the required general maintenance on time on your Z these cars will last a long time. If you are looking to have your Z last 10+ years I would recommend you stay naturally aspirated and do a few bolt on modifications and purchase a long extended warranty with your Z. Forced induction reliability depends a lot on many different things. If you want reliability/dependability with any forced induction set up hope that the correct fuel and air upgrades were done on the Stillen supercharger kit as well as is there a safe tune done by a reputable tuner with this supercharger set up? How was this Z used since the supercharger install? After 30K the supercharger head unit could need to be sent in to be rebuilt? There are a lot of variables to consider. Track days and track experience is enjoying and fun but it takes a toll on your Z with up keep and maintenance on your Z needing to be done. To meet your whp goals you could do it naturally aspirated and do all the bolt on’s under the sun but you will be very close or right at the cost of a single or twin turbo kit. If you want to keep up or beat the new 6th gen. Ford Mustang GT’s if that is what you are talking about it will require forced induction on your Z as those cars are underrated in terms of making power and it will be easier and more cost effective to go the forced induction route. Remember with forced induction the more you push the envelope the less reliable it will be.

What's the rebuild run?

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Chuck33079 · 04-12-2018, 02:35 PM

The concern with the Stillen kit is not rebuilding the sc. It's the fact that the kit, as originally designed, has a good chance of blowing the motor. It is not a safe kit to run out of the box. It needs several thousand dollars of parts to make it safe. If you buy the supercharged one, always keep $5k in the bank for when the motor blows.

Jinxx · 04-12-2018, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janjua8

Got offered 2 Z's. One. 2011 nismo 19k miles, 25k. TWO. 2011 nismo 35k miles, SUPERCHARGED, 29k.

I don't track my car, but would like to once or twice. I don't need 600hp but def want to be past 350whp. Take down some 6th gen GT's with ease. At the same time the SC has about 30k miles on it. Idk how reliable those things are. I want the car to last me at least 10 years, with proper maintenance. I feel like the the dealer that has the SC Z is selling it high due to it having a SC. But if the SC is in good condition, then its worth it to me (car note being low 4's). What are some things to be mindful of, in checking the SC before purchase. What would you go for knowing it's a daily, but work commute is less than 2 miles lol. Gym about 15. The rest would be for pleasure and spirited driving, a pull here, a pull there. And 40 rolls here and there...is 320-340whp respectable? Or take the SC and merc GT's? If some of you that have had the stillen supercharger for a while can let me know how reliable they are or what issues you ran into, that would be great. Looking for what the best buy would be...

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

From reading the first post shows very little knowledge in a boosted Z ,and its good to ask , but there is more to just asking which is better ...to even consider a Z that is already boosted you would need to know EXACLY what is under the hood and in the ECU. What was added to the basic kit ...has it been upgraded ..what its been tuned with ...who tuned it ...do you have the tuning licience info to retune or will you have to start over with a new one. So many things that need to be known,things that can add up to thousands in unexpected expenses or even worst, trashing the motor. Then even after all of that like everyone else said ...how was it driven and maintained.
The “ Best Buy “ question should be ..what is the safest buy , especially if you want it to last 10 years. Buy a clean Z and mod it as you learn more about it.

Quicksilvers · 04-12-2018, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janjua8

What's the rebuild run?

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Depends on what supercharger head unit you have? The Stillen tuner supercharger kit is expensive to begin with. Depending on if you want to upgrade the head unit it could be between 1K-2Kish just for a basic rebuild from Vortech on the standard V3. With no upgrades to the Stillen supercharger kit and not properly tuning this set up by a reputable tuner you will be running on barrowed time and opening up Pandora’s box. Unless you have the extra coin set aside to replace or rebuild your engine you should not have a supercharged Z to begin with. You should start off with a stock clean naturally aspirated Z and go from there. Definitely search this wonderful forum here and take the time to read about your Z. Good luck.

Janjua8 · 04-12-2018, 10:57 PM

Honestly. Screw the supercharged Z. You guys are saviors. Was leaning hard towards it until you guys talked me out of it. This is why this forum exists. So we can push boundaries and avoid costly mistakes. Thank you guys so much. Bless up!

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TopgunZ · 04-13-2018, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quicksilvers

Depending on if you want to upgrade the head unit it could be between 1K-2Kish just for a basic rebuild from Vortech on the standard V3.

Uhhh..You can buy a brand new V3 for just over 2K. They do not charge anywhere near that much. The basic rebuild from 928 is $400 and the premium, which upgrades to ABEC 9 ceramic bearings is $700. Thats a far cry from 1000 to 2000. Lets not just start tossing around numbers and misinform people on the forum.

cupcakez · 04-13-2018, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TopgunZ

Uhhh..You can buy a brand new V3 for just over 2K. They do not charge anywhere near that much. The basic rebuild from 928 is $400 and the premium, which upgrades to ABEC 9 ceramic bearings is $700. Thats a far cry from 1000 to 2000. Lets not just start tossing around numbers and misinform people on the forum.

Its 600 xD
I just purchased the V3 SC/SCi premium rebuilt package thay included all seals and bearings. Total was $599.
Then I purchased the impeller because I forgot the package did not include the impeller, which cost an extra $576 with $22 shipping -- totalling to $598!

Total was $1197!

04-12-2018, 03:27 AM	#1 (permalink)
Janjua8 Base Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Edison, New Jersey Posts: 27 Drives: 2014 370Z MidBlu M6 Rep Power: 8	NA or SUPERCHARGED Got offered 2 Z's. One. 2011 nismo 19k miles, 25k. TWO. 2011 nismo 35k miles, SUPERCHARGED, 29k. I don't track my car, but would like to once or twice. I don't need 600hp but def want to be past 350whp. Take down some 6th gen GT's with ease. At the same time the SC has about 30k miles on it. Idk how reliable those things are. I want the car to last me at least 10 years, with proper maintenance. I feel like the the dealer that has the SC Z is selling it high due to it having a SC. But if the SC is in good condition, then its worth it to me (car note being low 4's). What are some things to be mindful of, in checking the SC before purchase. What would you go for knowing it's a daily, but work commute is less than 2 miles lol. Gym about 15. The rest would be for pleasure and spirited driving, a pull here, a pull there. And 40 rolls here and there...is 320-340whp respectable? Or take the SC and merc GT's? If some of you that have had the stillen supercharger for a while can let me know how reliable they are or what issues you ran into, that would be great. Looking for what the best buy would be... Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

04-12-2018, 08:10 AM	#2 (permalink)
Quicksilvers A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2017 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 2,039 Drives: 2017 370z Rep Power: 25462	In my experience with my our builds and helping with other Z enthusiasts builds naturally aspirated or forced induction the VQ37HR gets expensive quick. Parts and labor if you are not doing your own work is quite costly. If you do all the required general maintenance on time on your Z these cars will last a long time. If you are looking to have your Z last 10+ years I would recommend you stay naturally aspirated and do a few bolt on modifications and purchase a long extended warranty with your Z. Forced induction reliability depends a lot on many different things. If you want reliability/dependability with any forced induction set up hope that the correct fuel and air upgrades were done on the Stillen supercharger kit as well as is there a safe tune done by a reputable tuner with this supercharger set up? How was this Z used since the supercharger install? After 30K the supercharger head unit could need to be sent in to be rebuilt? There are a lot of variables to consider. Track days and track experience is enjoying and fun but it takes a toll on your Z with up keep and maintenance on your Z needing to be done. To meet your whp goals you could do it naturally aspirated and do all the bolt on’s under the sun but you will be very close or right at the cost of a single or twin turbo kit. If you want to keep up or beat the new 6th gen. Ford Mustang GT’s if that is what you are talking about it will require forced induction on your Z as those cars are underrated in terms of making power and it will be easier and more cost effective to go the forced induction route. Remember with forced induction the more you push the envelope the less reliable it will be. SouthArk370Z likes this.

04-12-2018, 08:17 AM	#3 (permalink)
Chuck33079 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Houston Posts: 12,265 Drives: 2011 370ztt Rep Power: 29538	Unless the previous owner did a lot of work to the kit, a Stillen car is a time bomb. TBatt, Elmo370z, Jayhovah and 1 others like this. __________________ 2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

04-12-2018, 08:39 AM	#5 (permalink)
bcfromfl Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Youngstown, FL Posts: 256 Drives: 2015 PW Nismo 6MT Rep Power: 8	Having just gone through months of searching for a low-mileage 2015+ Nismo, I can tell you that both cars you refer to are overpriced. The NA car...maybe...if it is otherwise clean without any dings or scratches. Has either car been driven in the winter? The used Z market is tanking, and only pristine low-mileage cars are getting book. By way of comparison, I purchased my car for not that much more than the s/c car you've looked at, with only 2,300 miles on it...from a dealer no less. It also has a $2,000 clear wrap that the dealer wasn't even aware of. (I was there on the lot two days after they got the car in on a trade, knew what I was looking at, talked them down $1,500, and grabbed it.) Also, car mods as a rule do not add significantly to the resale of a car, with the exception of some Z cars that have had thousands and thousands invested -- twin turbos are an example. If you decide you want to have a car that performs the way you'd like, you can't look at the parts as an "investment" that will come back when you sell. In some cases, mods can even drop the potential value. I second what was said above about the Stillen kit. Supercharging the Z with the basic Stillen is a recipe for disaster, and I would be highly reluctant to purchase one with that kind of mileage. The A2A conversion is a completely different animal, and much, much safer for the engine. I think the s/c head unit would be the least of my worries with the basic Stillen kit. Don't focus so much on what the car has -- imagine how it was driven by the previous owner. Those are hard miles. You're not going to pull away from recent-gen Mustangs without a lot of upgrades. An automatic tranny will help, but reduce the fun factor of the car. Also, an automatic will generally limit your hp/tq numbers without getting into an expensive rebuild. You may be disappointed in the car if you decide to track it, without expensive suspension/brake mods and perhaps even tires. Depending upon how enthusiastic you are about it, you could go another $5-10,000 to seriously compete on a track. For 90% of my searching, I used Autotrader and Cars.com. You can use their filters to narrow down the potential results, and both sites work well. Best of luck! TBatt, Senna-F1 and Janjua8 like this.

04-12-2018, 02:35 PM	#10 (permalink)
Chuck33079 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Houston Posts: 12,265 Drives: 2011 370ztt Rep Power: 29538	The concern with the Stillen kit is not rebuilding the sc. It's the fact that the kit, as originally designed, has a good chance of blowing the motor. It is not a safe kit to run out of the box. It needs several thousand dollars of parts to make it safe. If you buy the supercharged one, always keep $5k in the bank for when the motor blows. Trips, ANMVQ and madwi like this. __________________ 2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

04-12-2018, 10:57 PM	#13 (permalink)
Janjua8 Base Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Edison, New Jersey Posts: 27 Drives: 2014 370Z MidBlu M6 Rep Power: 8	Honestly. Screw the supercharged Z. You guys are saviors. Was leaning hard towards it until you guys talked me out of it. This is why this forum exists. So we can push boundaries and avoid costly mistakes. Thank you guys so much. Bless up! Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk TBatt likes this.

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