New Z owner in search of mod knowledge
 

I was hoping to get advice on some supporting mods, that I can get away with so I don't lose that all important warranty. I read about the overheating oil issues and the terrible brake fade. I also would like to replace the stock exhaust because that buzzy engine note after 5k needs to go.

I've read about some oil coolers on here and please correct me if I'm wrong, getting the Nismo oil cooler and having the dealer install it will increase the chances of retaining my warranty should anything go wrong?

Regarding the brakes; should replacing the pads, lines and fluid reduce or eliminate the brake fade? Recomendations would be great.

I am also trying to find out how far I can go with the exhaust while keeping (or try to) my warranty. This is my daily driver until I can get a cheapo secondary vehicle to beat on. CBE and intakes I'm sure is okay, it's the headers and HFC's that are in question.

I've owned my Z for a couple weeks now, but will be out of country for the next few months while I finish my tour. I'm hoping to get a good idea of what I can / plan to do to the car. I don't have alot of money to spend as my money is wrapped up in a future wedding and a house. So I'm focusing on what I think are essential "adjustments" to the car. Thanks in advance for the help

Get ready to drink from the firehose when people post their replies.

Does that firehose taste like beer?

First of all, thank you for your service to our country!
Second, It sounds like (to me atleast) that alot of it is dependent on your dealership. Be careful though -- just because you install a Nismo component and have the dealership install it I'm not sure that is always OK in regards to the warranty. Best bet IMHO is to establish a good relationship with your dealer. Some of the more sage members of this forum will likely have better advice! Good luck on your tour and be careful.

Hey SS,

If you do some searching around you'll find some more detailed information, but as briefly as I can:

1) That's something you'd need to work out with your dealer, but most likely no.

2) Brakes... high temp pads and fluid will definitely help with brake fade. The OEM pads overheat very quickly on track and the stock fluid can boil quickly. A good pad and a DOT 4 fluid will help with preventing that from happening. Stainless lines will help with pedal feel.

3) Exhaust 99% of the time has no warranty implications as far as a CBE goes. Intakes are more likely to give you warranty issues.

My thoughts:

If you don't track the car, leave the brakes alone for now. The OEM exhaust is a bottleneck, so even just a good CBE will free up 10-20 whp depending on the system, plus totally change the sound. That's where I'd start. If you are worried about warranty, leave the intakes alone. The factory airboxes are VERY efficient and the only gains you see with aftermarket typically come at the very top of the rev range.

Enjoy the Z and thanks for your service! :tiphat: :usa:

For brakes: even if you don't track, SS brake likes would add a better responsive feel even in everyday driving. When you install lines, you will need to flush the brake fluid, so replace it with proper DOT 4 or DOT 5 fluid while you're at it. Replace the brake pads with better ones after your current pads wear out to save some money.

For sound: resonated test pipes or HFC's are cheaper than full systems by a lot

Oil cooler: Nissan will be introducing better oil coolers for the 2012 model, so just wait for that product to come out n buy it

I noticed at least with my brakes that initial braking feels light, almost as if the brakes are weak. But when I press the pedal like I'm trying to push it through the floor, it feels like I'm about to go through the windshield. Is this a common occurance with other Z's using stock pads and sport package? Also, living in Las Vegas definitely makes me worry about my oil temps. Anyone else living in the desert or ridiculously hot climates notice oil temps higher than the standard norm (200-220) driving around town? When I bought it, it was fairly mild over the past two weeks and never got over 75. I'm thinking I will need that oil cooler berfore spring arrives. Also makes a good excuse for the Wife. She was already asking about an exhaust for her car, I think I can woo her into just sinking that into my car haha. Thank goodness I scored a wife with a heavier foot than I and gets her jollies off sexy car sounds and triple digit speeds. Helps feed my new (albeit expensive) hobby.

Yes, the stock brakes have to strike a balance between performance and day-to-day comfort. The OEM pads are good low dust pads with a lot of bite when you have the pedal all the way down. Not up to track use but they are really good on the street.

FWIW, the Z is just fine above 220*F on oil. There's no danger until you reach the first stage of limp mode at 280* which limits the revs to 5xxxx.

Dont worry about the brakes unless your tracking the car. Putting an Oil Cooler would be a good idea but is not needed once again unless your tracking the car. I would go with a Cat Back first.

+1 for CBE. Now you just have to decide which one!

^^^

+1 for a CBE first.

I had my car in central texas for July and August. While not as hot it was definitely over a 100 degrees 99% of the time and my normal oil temps were ~220. It may have strayed to 250 when pushing it, but in normal driving temps were never an issue.

:iagree: I would do the exhaust first as well.

Totally agree on leaving brakes alone and getting CBE if you're looking for one. No warranty issues.

If you go to track the car, even then, the oil cooler is more important than the brakes. At least, that's what Bryan Settle told me, and he knows a thing or two about tracking a Z. :D

I think that's a little dangerous...

If you think about it, the stock pads are not up to the task of operating at track temperatures. They will overheat, the fluid might boil, and you'll be stuck without brakes... very dangerous!

Now, for a stock car, it's probably going to be a little difficult to get to that point because the car would likely enter limp mode before you overheat the brakes. Add an oil cooler so the car can run the full ~30 minute session and you've got a good chance of roasting the brakes and not having them when you really need them!

If you track, brakes and and oil cooler are definitely a must! Brakes to keep you from killing yourself and the oil cooler to allow you to stay out on track for the full session. :tup:

I did my mods in the order listed below my sig.

I can't live without the oil cooler. Best mod.

The CBE changed the drone and added a bit of power. Intakes changed the sound for the better as well but I must admit to low, to no, power gains. I love the sound so much I am happy with them anyway.

Sway bars also offered noticeable gains. Well worth it. Better bang for the buck over coil overs.
The coil overs were expensive but also worth it.

When your tires are cooked I would highly recommend the Michelins. The sound on the freeway quiets down coupled with increased performance.


As far as brakes go, I have contemplated these but I never had any brake fade yet, including at the track. I do want cold braking to be high as I am most apt to need this going to work in the morning in my daily driver. So replacing with brakes that are better hot but need to get warmed up is scary too. I continue to down shift.

Good luck, stay safe, and thank you for your service.

Seconded. Brakes and Oil Cooler should both be treated as a "Requirement" for our car. Lack of oil cooler will not kill you. Lack of brakes however, CAN.

According to Bryan, though, the stock brakes, even the base brakes, are more brake than a lot of cars already on the track.

And yeah, brake fade can cause an accident, or you could feel the brakes slipping when they start to fade and safely pull over.

It is what it is. I'm getting a brake upgrade regardless.

Correct, they are a lot more "brake" (physically in size) than many cars on the track. However, their fade characteristics are fairly scary compared to many other cars. It tends to come rapidly and without warning. This may be a symptom due to PROFESSIONAL drivers pushing it harder, faster - a novice may take longer to heat them up and in turn, overheat them. But the potential easily remains that they can and will fade quickly compared to other cars - even others with smaller overall physical dimensions.

RCZ and I believe TravisJB have both experienced this - they called it "icing up".

BTW, the swiftness in the fade was evident in the Car and Driver test that caused the NISMO to crash - it came on so suddenly and without warning, they COULDNT safely pull over. Scary!

Yikes!

Well, the OP has sport brakes already anyway, so he'd probably be ok getting oil cooler and pads/fluid/lines before tracking, wouldn't you think? And that's not all that pricey compared to replacing the brakes.

Ice mode is not heat related. It's a failure mode of the z's abs controller.


The issue with the sport brakes is the way the calipers trap heat, failure is sudden. Theres almost no fade before near-total failure. It's a confusion issue.

Ahh, very true, I remember now. Sorry, been a while since I talked about ice mode.

Either way, brake fade comes sudden and without much warning.

I think to save money and time I will get the oil cooler on my first oil change, the brakes on my first fluid / pad change, and get the exhaust when cash permits. I can get the intake after those mods. Maybe that will cure the itch temporarily.

Well, theres some good over-the-counter creams that'll help...but its kinda the gift that keeps on giving....

Srsly though, nothing cures the modding itch I dont think :-p.

I'd recommend getting a real oil cooler than the Nissan one thats coming out, but thats me.

Yep. It's almost definitely a caliper heat handling defect. Guys swapping to a different caliper with the same rotors have seen good results.


Ice mode is a whole 'nother issue...not even gonna touch that.

I have Mod knowledge. Mod Squad knowledge!!!!

Far out, man. Groovy, baby.

RE:
nothing cures the modding itch I dont think :-p.

I want to spend more on mods, but only if it adds performance. Brakes fill the bill. GTR start button, Fairlady badges, etc are cool for others but not I.

Instead of modding I am thinking another car entirely. Keeping the Z and getting an E type convertible too. That way I can still sink money into a car.

I've been scratching my head for the past 8 or so hours and can't figure out if HFC's will fit with the F.I. LTH's and CBE or not. I just saw the video of Semtex's Z after he installed the headers and that was exactly what I was looking for. That **** sounds all business.:leghump:

You'll find most people who did headers thought it wasnt worth the labor/money, since you have to drop the motor I believe. The gains arent like on an LSX motor, assuming you're coming from that :)

I wasn't necessarily looking at the gains, more so the sound... Maybe while I have my day off I'll analyze it some more. A lot of money just to make it sound slightly different.

Then my point is even more valid - and you highlighted it lol. A lot of money for a different sound.

Just get HFC's (or test pipes if you can actually get away with it...) and a good CBE.

I think that headers, more specifically LTH's would be a more viable option after some extensive work in the motor (ie: headwork, cam, stroke etc) and/or superchrging where the car is moving much more air than a stock car with bolt on's. I'm still unsure if turbo systems use the stock headers not. But that is just my educated guess until this incurable itch finally gets the best of me... or my wallet.

I don't know why you guys are wasting money on the brakes when you are not tracking the car. The stock brakes are plenty powerful. The stopping power is excellent for a stock car in its price range. Anymore powerful and you will easily overwork the tires and get it into ABS. These cars can pull 1G on average under braking, other normal cars need slicks to archieve that.

Probably because many people feel that if it happens on the track, if could happen on the street.

Which is ridiculous of course, because you'd have to be a nut to cook your brakes that hard on the street anyway...

I agree. It is repeated attempt to hit the brakes hard that gets you the pad fade (note i said pad fade, not fluid fade). I guess the only scenario that could happen on the street is if you are coming down the Rockies at a decent clip or you ride your brakes like a dumb grandma down a steep grade. I just don't see how you can smoke the pads without driving like a complete moron. I am actually trying to get less aggressive pads than OEM so I get less lockup at autox, the stock pads have the tendency to engage the ABS at low grip surface. I am in the middle of changing my pads. When the weather clears up, I will go finish testing the 4 different pads I have so I can get an idea as to what works best.

The stock pedal does have a long travel, so I guess I can see where you want braided lines to get the stiff pedal. As far as braking distance gain, I don't see much.

Or be at ZDayZ.

My dilemma as well. I live on a mountain, push myself and still don't cook the brakes. It took me 12 years to use up the stock pads on my 300ZXtt. Tires are pretty much an annual event. I did get 7250 miles out of the long wearing Potenzas.

If I were to auto cross I can not imagine using them long enough between sets to lose them either. Maybe I'm wrong.

I re-checked my math, I have 250 autox runs (not 400) on the stock pads with 14K street miles. I have less than 25% wear on the stock pads. Of course now I am a little older and smarter, I don't pull a Vin Diesel down Main Street every chance I get. Still, I have never come close to smoking them on the street. Different story at the track of course.

Stock tires just don't last long, I just don't think you can get miracles on them. My first set of RE11 lasted about 8000 miles in the front, another 2-4K left in rear, I can probably squeeze another 6 months out of my current set because the car is getting much better wear thanks to the bigger front tires.

Speaking of brakes, I just finished reinstalling the XP10. Waiting for the rain to stop so I can test its braking power vs stock tomorrow. I am currently seeing about a 5 feet difference with better rear brakes, I don't know how the car is going to behave with the more aggressive fronts as I can see the car engaging ABS or ice mode easily.

Lets be honest, if you drove that road like a normal person, it wouldnt happen likely. Or, if you werent stuck behind someone being forced to threshold brake at every corner potentially lol.

The Dragon is an exception to the rule.

10 front/8 rear is what I run at the track. You can get ABS to kick in if you're really pushing it, but I'd say that's as aggressive as you'd ever want to get with stock rubber...

Honestly, even on the dragon you would have to drive like an idiot and be going way faster than you should be to cook the brakes. I didn't even get them to start fading on back and forth runs with no rest in between.