Just finished my break-in period, does this engine not like to rev?
 

Just passed the 1200 mile break in period on my solid red 370z, it's been a long 3 weeks that's for sure.

So today I decided to have some fun, floored it in 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

The car is decently quick, doesn't quite feel like 332hp but hey I think the VQ engines always feel slower for some reason than the advertise HP right? Same thing with my sister's G35 coupe back in the days.

On to my concern, I've read a lot of reviews on how the engine sounds like a school bus ect, doesn't like to rev, sounds coarse ect. ect.

I think I would have to agree. This engine is fine puttering around at less than 4k miles but once it reaches to redline the motor sounds like its gonna tear itself apart! It just does not sound very happy at anything past 5k RPMs. Very coarse sounding.

Question is will an intake and nice exhaust system change the character of the engine at all? Maybe make it sound smoother somehow?

Other than the engine, I LOVE the way the car looks and drives. Absolutely beautiful, almost looks exotic. :tup:

yeah i have to agree with you, doesn't sound the best past 5k... so i don't rev past it...

it's a shame really... it was almost a perfect sports car... but nissan got the sound wrong...

yes. it will sound like a whole different engine. An intake will get you a nice throaty? sound up at 6-7.5k, and an exhaust will give you a nice growl down low that sounds like a V8. In addition, aftermarket headers and cats would only help make it sound and feel faster.


By the look of your screen name im guessing your coming from a k20?
If so, well so am i, so ill tell you this. First couple weeks of owning the Z i was not enjoying it as much because it wasnt as rev happy as it was and it didnt sound that nice either (compared to the k20). But getting used to all that low end torque and adding on a couple mods like you mentioned it brought back the enjoyment and much more.

Intake and exhaust will help smooth things out. The engine is a lot smoother without restricted breathing... its a big difference!

I agree that the car doesn't feel fast. Power delivery is, well, unexciting to say the least. You just have to trust that its going much quicker than you think it is.

i havent noticed any revving problems.

I do admit for some reason any speed feels slow.

I tend to feel asleep if I drive 60

hell I drove it at over 120 once.

it just felt like going 70

dangerous though

My engine sound/feel was like night and day above 5k (well, throughout the entire band, tbh) once I got new exhaust/HFCs. No words can express how much better it sounds and feels.

I have to say, my biggest disappointment was how coarse/rough the engine felt around 6k, right after break-in. I was so happy to get past break-in, only to be let down by the worry that my engine was about to explode.

If you plan on modding at all, make hfc/exhaust your first mods. Intakes aren't showing a lot of gains, from what I've seen, below the 6-7k RPM range, so it may not be the most "bang for buck" as a daily driver.

As far as being "slow", I think you'll notice the car seems to get a little quicker as you put the miles on it. It felt like I could floor it in 3rd gear and it wouldn't even respond. Now that I'm up around 3k miles (not much compared to other members), I think flooring it would put me into a ditch!

:iagree: Case in point: I'm driving on the Merritt Pkwy in CT the other day, there is a stretch between Westport and Norwalk where there are no exits for about 3 miles, and there are no other cars so I figure "what the hell, can't get much safer than this" so I turn on the radar detector and drop down a gear and floor it. In no time I'm going pretty fast, I figure maybe I'm getting close to 100...so I check the speedo and it's at 130. Holy schit. :eekdance:

Let's just say the power is very linear and that can fool you.

That's me with my Bunnies! They be groovin' on my hood ornament y0

Lol that's ******* cute, I don't care who you are. Bunnies ftw.

An exhaust really opens up the sound, I was actually shocked at how good my car sounded when I put the exhaust on. Also, the car will actually get faster as you put more miles on the engine. When I first got mine I thought it was "quick" but honestly was a bit disappointed however, seems like since I hit 3000 miles the car got significantly stronger.

You really need to be in the 5K+ area to even feel the true power - just look at the dyno charts. Course feeling or not, you sure wont feel any power below 5K much :)

Mine too, and really, the only thing I don't like about the car. While an exhaust and intake will change the sound, it really doesn't change the feel....

I'd have to say that my car has more of a feel of a barrier around 4-5k RPM. It's great up to there, then hits that loud unpleasant raucous zone. Then it's like breaking through the sound barrier and she just screams from 5.5k up to redline (pleasantly). For me, it's more of a rough zone at 5k than a bad entire upper end of the RPMs.

It may be mental, but I don't feel anywhere near the same harshness as I did from the engine.

Judging from your Einstein pic, I'd say "mental". :icon17:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/...25d551fd_o.jpg

I know for me that by adding the FI exhaust has atleast masked some of that harshness and I only hear to roar of the exhaust when Im stepping on it. It all sounds good now. And all I can say is when I got to 150 it got there real quick.

I will add, coming from a turbo the feel is different but I feel the car is faster, you just dont get that initial slammed into the seat feel like you do when the turbo kicks in.

Its not buttery smooth but I do feel like it helps the feel out a bit. Could be all in my head, though.

Well for me, I felt the same way when I first owned the car. If you do a couple searches of old threads, you'll see I left quite a few posts of how crappy the car sounded over 5k. Hell, I even made a video. I also felt the car was "slow" because I was never into the "self destruct" range 5k+ very often....


Fast forward one year later: I live in the "self destruct" zone. I've gotten use to the sound/feel and no longer hesitate revving into high rpms.

The car no longer feels slow.

The "feels slow for 332 hp" probably comes more from having less torque than most plus 300 hp engines (typically V8's) many are used to. Less torque mean you really have to wind it up in the rev range to "feel" it as much.

Im about to change the feel of the car to even faster, I think Im goign to go the route of an LSD and final gear upgrade as I wont be able to afford the SC. Im just trying to decide which gear ratio to do.

So based on what I understand, we have three typical upgrades:

The intakes:

STILLEN : STILLEN Generation 3 Ultra Long Tube Dual Intake Kit

The HFCs:

STILLEN : STILLEN Hi-Flow Catalytic Converters

And Exhausts:

STILLEN : STILLEN 370Z Dual Exhaust System

Are these the upgrades people keep talking about?! I feel like I am lost in all this terminology!

Stillen have great products and are very popular.

If you take a look in the Intake/Exhaust section, as well as the Sponsored Intake/Exhaust section, you'll also see the other vendors as well. Injen, Berk, Fast Intentions, Invidia, and ERZ come to mind.

I have had my car for 21000 miles and have installed stillen underdrive pully, gen3 intake, headers, berk highflow cats, FI exhaust, Tecnosquare reflash. I also have the 7spd auto, have driven it to the limits many times and have these observations. I believe the auto tranfers less vibration than the manual in stock or modified form. I LOVE the sound of my car at ALL rpms, its at its best from 5k to 7.5k! I burn no dectable oil, and broke it in hard early (i believe this is best, I think the rings seat earlier and better) 1st oilchange at 500 miles

needs more character?
 

This thread expresses some of my concerns. I traded in a modded 2006 STI with 300 wheel horsepower and feel like I have lost some of the grab you by the gut and wrench your soul experience. I have 750 miles on a NISMO and haven't really felt the love yet. I guess once you get used to a big turbo hit and rush of speed it does feel a lot tamer. I expected 350 hp to be in the 275whp range and not lose much compared to the Subaru, yet, the 370 feels a lot less aggressive. I have revved it out a few times and it felt better, but not great. I'm considering trading for a Cayman vs putting on all the bolt ons we've read about. Your thoughts?

I think you're taking turbo lag and turning it into an impression of power. I dont think you'll ever be pleased with N/A performance then if you cant get past the initial rush of boost. I'll take 300 N/A WHP with no boost rush versus 300 turbo WHP any day...even if you dont get the nice feeling of being pulled hard all of a sudden.

I can only tell you, from my own Nismo-upgrading experience, that adding a few bolt-ons and putting another couple thousand miles on it will certainly change your mind.

I'm sure it was a combination of things, but HFCs, CBE and getting well-past break-in all have nearly transformed my driving experience. As I've said before, in the first 1000 miles, if I floored it, the car would barely respond. Now, WOT puts me back in my own seat.

The car is more responsive. The engine got smoother. The sound of the car transformed. I'm telling you, night and day.

I've never driven an STI, so I can't directly compare what I feel now, to what you left behind in your previous car, but I implore you....give it some time, and maybe a couple mods. I think you'll see a difference.

The car doesn't wake up until you hit around 3000 miles.

I agree, the engine sound up top makes you cringe when you get there for the first time. I have a little over 5k now and I don't know if I've just gotten used to it, but it feels smoother and stronger than when I first got it. I just got my HFC's and K&N drop ins and I hope to get them on this weekend. I hope these will help improve the sound and smoothness.

I can only wonder if Nissan skipped on the exahaust to save some money and keep the cost lower. The CAI and exahust seem to completely transform this car into a 'Cayman beater' we hoped it would be.

I changed the ring and pinion in my 350Z to a 3.912 from the stock 3.56. It definitely makes a difference in the way the car accelerates. It also makes the car feel more torquey.

I guess it's not a fair comparison given my 3.9 gears, but that is one of my complaints about the 370Z. It doesn't feel as torquey down low as my modified 350Z does.

NISMO=350 horsies...Maybe???

im at 14 thousand miles and my car has never felt faster. i def. believe that the more you drive it the more it opens up