Suede Interior Work
 

Hey guys, it has been far too long since my last update! Anyway, I finally bought some black suede to start my project of wrapping certain parts of the interior in order to get rid of some of the cheap looking plastic in the low parts of the car.


Since this was the first time I have ever wrapped anything, I did the easiest part first which was the two door sill panels inside the cabin. They have been bugging me recently and I thought it would look great if they were covered in suede to tie into the door panels and suede seats that come with the Touring package. Onto the pictures: I only have my phone with me so the pictures are not the best, but I will take full pictures once I get back to school on Monday with my Nikon.


Here is a before:


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...-01-291553.jpg


A picture of the suede I picked up: it matches the suede in the door panel almost perfectly, could not be happier.


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...-01-291558.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...-01-291603.jpg


A quick 50/50: I will get installed pictures soon, but the one on the right is done and I finished the other one after. Both look fantastic.


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...-01-291654.jpg


I will update with better pictures Monday but I also plan on wrapping the C pillars, the "hats" on top of the gauges (if I can figure out how to remove them), and finally the kick panels inside the foot wells.

nice work!

Can't wait to see the results in person, was the material expensive?

Good job. Let's see the finaal product.

Thanks guys! I didn't think I was going to find decent fabric locally so I didn't bring my camera back this weekend. It looks amazing though and really helped break up the one solid cheapish looking plastic between the kick panel and door sill.

I am thinking about what to do next haha.

hey did you and i talk about vegas?

Final Suede Pictures
 

I was able to grab some decent shots of my suede work today, the sun was low by the time I got out of class and the car is a bit dirty but here it is:


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...1_1481copy.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...2_1482copy.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...3_1483copy.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...4_1484copy.jpg

This shot kind of shows how it matches in the sun with the suede door panel:


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...5_1485copy.jpg

looks good bud!

Looks really good! PM me a link of the source of the suede you ordered :)

Looks good Chris. :tup:

Thanks guys! It definitely looks so much better than the plain fake leather grain plastic look, PM sent btw!

suede looks great!

Snagged a little exhaust action today!
 

A big thanks goes to servo370z firstly, I bought his custom Injen CBE today with a resonated X pipe and two mufflers in the back. The burnt titanium tips look amazing although I didn't realize how large they were! They are double walled though. The welds are amazing as well, very clean and uniform almost resembling TIG welds.


Anyway, here is a 'teaser' picture if you will. I cleaned up the exhaust a bit but will take full pictures tomorrow and hope to have it installed this weekend.


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...-02-031730.jpg


Once I get this exhaust on, my Tanabe Y pipe will be up for grabs so look for a F/S thread in the coming week or so. Sorry my dorm room is so messy, it is not this bad most of the time!

I am planning to throw the exhaust on this weekend with my buddy who has a couple jack stands and some tools. Hopefully that will be tomorrow, I cannot wait! I still need to get a high quality video of the exhaust as it sits but I will do that before the stock exhaust is removed.

Alrighty, here are some full shots of the exhaust:


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0143_1493.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0142_1492.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0141_1491.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...0_1490copy.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...9_1489copy.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...8_1488copy.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...7_1487copy.jpg


Stay tuned for some videos!

thats gonna be sick Christian

looks fresh!

I had this exhaust on for the movie. Your gonna love it. Great exhaust. A lot of low wend torque

You should've Autographed it? :stirthepot:

they did autograpghed my paycheck.:ohsnap1:

:p

Ha, Nate mentioned you had it first. Why didn't you end up keeping it? Would you say it sounds similar to a F.I. exhaust in terms of deepness?

Thanks for the kind comments guys! I am so excited to install this it is not even funny, sayonara to this wimpy stock CBE!

The exhaust is now installed! It sounds super exotic, deep and refined but my god does it have some monster drone between 2-3krpm. I was shocked. I will be getting some sound deadening this week and doing the rear hatch area to see if it is better because I really like the sound otherwise!

Question: will some good sound deadening in the hatch get rid of a decent amount of this drone?
Before:


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...8_1260copy.jpg


After with new exhaust:


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...3_1496copy.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...1_1494copy.jpg

lovin the tips bud.

Sound deadening doesn't really do much for the drone since the frequencies are so low. It might even make it more noticeable since you won't hear the road noise as much.

I honestly like F.I. better had better mid range. I like something different. Look at me now I dont even have F.I. exhaust anymore.

Looks good, but I have tried to get rid of the drone in my FI, and was not able to do anything even did the sound proofing for the whole car.

Does it vibrates/rattles or just the sound?

Looks good Chris :)
Btw how's the distance from the lowest part of the can to the floor?

There is alot more clearance then F.I. I mean a lot.

I understand completely, the unique one off factor is something that I was really attracted to but I really need to figure out this drone haha. It sounds so sexy though, everyone was looking into my car driving down PCH and they would snap their heads if I rev matched down shifts haha.

Around 2,000rpm, it really shakes the car. The side view and rear view mirrors look like I am pounding a big sub in the trunk. Between 2-3krpm, the drone is bearable around town but is way too much for highway driving and I am not exactly the most sensitive person to loud exhausts either.

I will post a picture of what I plan to do using Helmholtz or side branch resonators.

Thanks Genaro! There is the same clearance as stock, there is definitely tons of room and I don't expect to scrape at all.

Quick Video Clip of a Cold Start
 

If you have a subwoofer or a set of good headphones, you will definitely hear the drone at startup.

This is what will be done to address the drone: two side branch resonators 29"s long to tune out some drone in the 2-3krpm range. They will go up into the recess where the stock muffler was and will be out of site when viewed from the rear.


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...Resonator2.jpg

Looks nice! Doesn't look like you put the spacers on?

Honestly, I haven't bought two more for the front and at the moment, I don't want to spend anymore on the Z until I have this exhaust sorted lol. I need to sell my Tanabe Y pipe first, then I will be able to pay for the front spacers.

wow, that exhaust looks good! nice to be different

Thats a good idea on the resonator side pipes; that other thread on this forum was interesting.

I just hate to cut into the exhaust though. It seems like the previous two guys running it had not problems with drone but they were on their stock cats so maybe my HFCs make a difference. I refuse to get rid of my Berks so the Injen has to go under the knife haha.

My Preliminary Exhaust Review
 

I have been driving around with my new Injen exhaust for a few days now and am getting a better feel for it in terms of performance and sound so I figured I would post an initial review.



Craftsmanship/Build Quality: the welds and build quality is top notch with even welds all around the exhaust with no splatter. The pipes are all polished well and the exhaust fit perfectly first try with no surprises. The only thing I wish was that the Y pipes did not have two 90 degree bends on either side as there is plenty of space to allow for smooth bends.

Sound: The sound is incredible. It is extremely deep, smooth, and exotic which is exactly what I was looking for. It is not overly loud but it definitely makes itself known. I smile every time I take it out because every time I touch the throttle, people all turn and look even if they are in their cars which is a great feeling. However, one issue I have is that there is some serious drone around 2,000 rpm. I am not that sensitive to drone or loud exhausts since my Saab was pretty loud but the drone is too much for me and is prevalent from 2-3krpm. I will be dealing with this with a set of Helmholtz resonators (branch resonators) that will be custom installed in the coming weeks to tune out the worse of the drone around 2,000 rpm without affecting the sound or volume of the exhaust (a major concern for me as I love it other than the drone).

Performance: I have become pretty good at feeling whether or not any power is picked up with these types of mods as I don't expect anything and can only be pleasantly surprised it gains are felt. I noticed power and torque gained with the first WOT pull I did, but more importantly the low end power has improved as the car is more willing to pull from low rpms. This is a big bonus but I obviously cannot tell of any proven gains until I get the car on a dyno.


In conclusion, I really love this exhaust and it fits the exact sound and look I was going for. Once the drone is finished, I believe this exhaust setup will be perfect! I will get some more video soon, but for now here is a cold start and a 3krpm rev:

Some Rev Action!
 

Need Your Opinion
 

I went to a relatively high end exhaust shop today to get the car on the rack and consider the various options for getting rid of at least 50% of the drone I am experiencing and came up with a few options that I wanted to get your input on.


Option 1:

the side branch resonators in the same style as the HKS/Ark exhaust systems right before the rear mufflers. Using resonators will take off much of the length I had calculated for my Helmholtz resonator design and will do the same job, plus it is a proven concept both in the aftermarket and on OEM exhausts for reducing drone.

This is going to be between $400-500 TIG welded and fully polished stainless steel. Between what I spent on the exhaust and the cost of this mod, it would still put the total exhaust cost around the price of most mid-high end exhausts on the market.


Option 2:

Sell this exhaust and find another. The previous owners had no issues but they were running on stock cats, plus this exhaust is unique in that it is 1 of 1 which is appealing versus something common. Less inclined to do this to be honest but always an option none the less.




So what would you guys do? I will be upfront in saying that I an inclined to keep it as it sounds different to any other exhaust I have heard for the 370z and has the unique one off factor but am still not sure it is worth the extra coin to get it the way I want it.