Have $4200 to spend on mods
 

Since my Nismo got hit and I am fortunate by obtaining good amount of $$$ due to damages (nismo factory exhaust $3300 + mod savings) I will treat it as my Z never got hit :ughdance:
Already had Ark grip which got damaged but still have cnc hfc. After countless hrs of searching I made a following list of mods which should put me around that $4200 price range. What you guys think?

Ark grip exhaust
Akuma intake
Uprev tune
TWM STS + weighted shift knob
Z1 34 row oil cooler and their brake lines + motul rbf 600 brake fluid
brake pads I think CL RC 5+ but still not 100% sure
powdercoating wheels gloss black and yellow calipers

FI exhaust
Akuma intake
Uprev tune
TWM STS + weighted shift knob
Z1 34 row oil cooler and their brake lines + motul rbf 600 brake fluid
brake pads I think CL RC 5+ but still not 100% sure
powdercoating wheels Gunmetal and yellow calipers

Not a fan of black wheels. I would go with a FI Exhaust and a Stillen G3 intake. Or just save it for a TT or SC

I had ark grip and I loved the sound. Perfect for my taste. Personally have no experience with FI exhaust plus the wait is just not good for me right.
Im sure gunmetal would look good as hell but black is what I really want.

Ha ha we're in the same boat. I'm doing the same thing. Definitely picking up Berk HFC and Stillen cermaic headers (already have the stillen G3 intake).

Probably going to spend the rest on powder coating my calipers red and blow whatever's left on CFE's shop for interior parts.

I was gonna go with stillen G3 but decided with Akuma intake which looks very promising.
If you get the headers make sure to get it tunes otherwise you will be running lean.
No exhaust for you?

Last priority. I'm one of the few who actually kinda likes the exhaust note on the nismo CBE. Pretty sure HP gains are minimal anyway.
So anyway, when the headers and cats go on i'm going to have it thrown on the dyno and pay for the uprev license and tuning.

Question about that though: Once the tune is done, will I lose it if my battery goes dead? Am I better off just buying my own aftermarket tuner?

The nismo exhaust was definitely too quiet for me but I guess everyone has their own taste.

Once your ecu its flashed with a tune it will stay there.

Yeah I agree it's quiet but it's not offensive - looking for HP gains first. It's just last on my list or now.

Edit: Plus I'm told the header/HFC install will make the car a great deal louder so I'll be interested to see what that sounds like before making changes. If it sounds raspy, it's gone for sure.

based on the research I think CBE would be better option for you if you are looking for most gains. Nismo exhaust is still pretty restrictive. Supposedly headers dont give much hp and for a lot of ppl here the cost and install is not worth the gain. Are you gonna install the headers yourself or have shop to do it?

Did some poking around and can't find a direct comparison between the stock nismo exhaust / FI / Stillen. Suggestions? I'm not going to swap it out based upon exhaust note alone.

If I'm going to do HFC, might as well do the headers at the same time. The garage that will (more than likely) do the work isn't going to charge me extra for the headers if I do the cats at the same time. Fairly certain HFCs do have noticable gains - don't they?

Better get that in writing, The exhaust man,s are a M Fer. Very little room to work.

I have berk cats. and I noticed the difference in sound and Perf.

Yeah the cats will give noticable gains and I would get that in writing as well because headers are much much harder to install. Theres just such a little room to play with. Some shops usually charge about at least 600 to a 1000 per install for headers or lth. It all depends on the shop.

So two more questions:

-Is there a link somewhere that will let me compare HP gains amongst exhausts? Stock NISMO, Stillen, Greddy, Ark Grip, FI etc?

-Anyone had any experience with lettering on calipers? I spoke to a shop today that basically told me that trying to add a nismo logo to powder coated calipers won't work well and even if they can pull it off, they'll look like crap after a year or two. I PM'ed this question to Mike - just curious if anyone else has attempted it.

Edit: Never mind on #2. Mike is worth the wait apparently.

Most cbe system will give you similar gains with minimal differences.

What did Mike say about lettering calipers? Im about to powdercoat mine and wanna put nismo letters as well. Maybe high temperature decals?