holyshit, this looks like my next door neighbor! :eek:

http://www.the370z.com/avatars/seize...ine=1360035288


:rofl2:

wat? mods are a waste? like using callaway golf clubs to hit a 100? or silver spoon to eat mac&cheeze?

i suppose. but then there's the 'because i can' factor too? ... :confused:



not a waste if it makes your car more exciting...even if it's just for the sound or looks.

As long as you revert back to stock before selling, it's usually not a problem. Simple things like intake or exhaust generally do not depreciate the value as they're considered common and minimally intrusive.

The 370 is not a cheap car to mod and the engine doesn't have much room to grow in terms of NA bolt-ons.

Post-Maf tubes/drop-in filters/test pipes/exhaust are, to me, a worthwhile investment. Diminishing returns kicks in pretty hard after this.

I would agree that the 370 is not a "good car to mod" compared to many FI vehicles that can get a 50hp/50tq+ boost from a simple ecu piggyback or flash for $500+/-

Exactly what kenchan said. Mods are about individualizing your car and making it your own.if you want to spend 10k to make your car look or sound better with little hip gains no one can or should tell you no.

Many of the performance mods will decrease the resale value, especially at a dealer or car lot. Going by what the few sales ppl I have talked to about this say, they assume that, even if the mods themselves don't affect reliability, the heavy right foot that usually goes with performance mods does. YMMV.

I'm not trying to say one shouldn't mod their car to their heart's content, just that it is seldom a wise business decision. You just don't get your money back when you go to sell. But most mods aren't business - I've spent a lot of money on sex, drugs, and rock & roll that I'll never get back, but it was still worth it. :driving:

Tell your friend he is a waste.

:icon18:

just keep your stock parts and put them back on the car when ready to sell.

last time i sold one of my cars to carmax, they gave me an apprasial $1000 less than the stock car value due to the mods on the car. they gave me the option to bring back the stock bits the next day loose in the trunk so that i get the full amount. i just went back the next day to get the full amount and just gave them the aftermarket stuff that was still on the car. i didnt really care

He doesn't even have an STI?... Thats like owning a v6 auto mustang and trash talking about how fast your car is...

Mods for a car (the basic bolt-ons) are not just for performance but for enjoyment. When you hear the rev up of the engine etc its like sex, especially if your driving a roadster. Makes your car WAY more enjoyable, esp the Z being its so quiet stock.

Hold on a sec tho, 3.7 v6 stangs with track pack did pretty good in CD's lightning lap did it?

:iagree: EXACTLY!!!

:iagree:

There are mainly two group of buyers.

Non-car enthusiast - They always look for something legit. And they will think nothing will be more legit and reliable then a stock car.

Car enthusiast - They know their sh!t and they love to mod their cars. BUT, they'd rather to get a stock car to begin/have fun with rather then let YOU mod on the car and sell it to them. They have their own opinion and taste on mods thus they will look for a stock car too.

The only group of people will(or should I say want to) buy a moded car is those kids who are turning themself into car enthusiast while don't know much sh!t yet will think wow this moded 370 is so cool! BUT usually they don't have money to buy one...

So to sum up, doesn't matter how good YOU think or in fact the aftermarket parts you put on your car, less buyers will be intestested in your car. Thus lower the car value.

Based on my true story... I ended up getting more money back and sold my G35 coupe much faster after I put the car back to stock. There were soooo many people interested in my Fast Intentions CBE and HKS coilovers but not so much on my G35 coupe WITH the Fast Intentions and HKS on it...

I drive a leased base model z... I had to spend at least 5,000 in mods just to make the car enjoyable...

Horrible stock oversteer and tires had to go= swift springs $300, Michelin pilot super sport 1200$
Embarrassing quiet exhaust = fast intentions 1300$
Horrible stock speakers blown first 2 days, $500 for headunit and speakers

Getting a z is a waste of money too, might as well get a civic.

OP, your friend actually gets the point. Put it in this way, if you can't beat a M3 in a stock 370z, you still can't beat them in a 370z with all the bolt on mods... The intake and exhaust only gains you at higher end but sacrifice a little on lower end. So street driving you won't feel a sh!t unless you don't mind to rev the engine up high all the time... It's the nature of NA cars... His factory turbocharged WRX will probably gain much more on the exhaust and intake mods.

Having said that, mod is fun and the exhaust will give you the awesome sound so it's not total waste of money.

I think your friend is a waste of Friendship :icon23:

Talking from experience, yes you will feel the difference, yes you will hear the difference, and yes, makes the car that much more pleasurable to drive just around town or on a cruise... But then, it is your money and your decision.

I get what your friend is saying. Other engines take mods better than the VQ, there really can't even be dsicussion about that. Will you notice with mods? Yes but come on the VQ needs FI to really see any benifit from Mods. You take an STi and just a few simple mods you can pull a lot of power out of it. Dollar for dollar there are much more mod friendly engines over the VQ. You get on these forums and when you have a totally stock car people don't understand. I go through that on the G forums as I won't do mods to my IPL. My Z I have but have I seen any real HP gains? Not much, but my Z sounds better!

It's okay, I know people who still doesn't know the 370Z exists.

Is that a 350Z?

:stirthepot:

well I would say. your friend got a point because he said for daily drive. Do they have any highway or street in this country that I can legally drive over 100 mphs on my daily drive without getting pull over by the cops? and it is only 30 hp gain and u feel at high speed or whatever he said. However, It is your car man. You can do whatever you want. He was saying waste of money. However, It is not his money. If I have a million dollar for saving, I wont care who will complain me. I will get a Lamborghini even ppl said it is waste of money because it is only 2 seats, but It is my entertainment!!!

Yea, I had a friend who bought a G35 when he saw my car. I already had it for 2 years and he didn't even know about the 370Z.

Another questioned the logic of buying a 370Z when I had the 350Z for 6 years. He kept asking "WHY!?" Now he knows why :)

Im not sure why you guys are hating, but OP's friend is absolutely right.

If you think this 30 whp gain for 5000 is not a waste then you should ride an EVO or STI to show you what they can do with 5000.

Im speaking from experience, I went from full bolts on with tune except headers all the way to turbo on same car G37 Coupe. I went with TT because I felt nothing.. no harder pulls no neck breaker no nothing!!

"IF" I wanna stay NA, I would sell my intakes and test pipe and go back to stock just leaving aftermarket exhaust and not because of gains but because of sound.

THIS

Go FI or go home.

I wont mod. I dont need the extra sound or power. The car will double the US posted speed limit on any freeway in the US.
I can sit on the limiter here in Germany no problem. The car is more than most people can handle.
Before you mod - get some driver training and enjoy the immense power already under your a--. That is where the fun is. Using and controlling the power you have. More power to sit on cruize control at 65 or 70? Put it in the bank for your next ride.
My input is polite and yes its your ride and your money. Fire at will :)

Honda guys would probably say, shyte....$5000!?, my civic cost haf dat!

In all seriousness, it honestly doesn't matter if you mod or stay stock as long as it makes you happy and can afford it. I've seen people spend $30k in mods and were really happy with thier cars but were flat out broke and miserable.

If you can swing $3k in mods for around 30whp gains, it's not really a "waste" comparing $1/hp on more serious mods like forced induction. It's just more rewarding & responsive on certain cars. A rwd two-door, two-seater isn't exactly the most practical thing to begin with.

OP, I think your friend is a bit jelly cause his car is ugly.....it's an awesome performance car, but come on....the last thing on my mind when someone mentions a subby is a sexy looking car.

well said.

/thread.

He's right. But it's your car and money.

As a DD, I kept my engine stock because I don't think it's worth it in the long run...or short run.

i put hps post-maf tubes in my car cause i was just bored one day.

Here is my main goals for the mods that will be done to my car shortly.

Swift springs with H&R spacers: Looks better

F.I exhaust: Sounds better

Notice performance wasn't the main priority, it just so happens that I'll be getting improved performance out of the mods as well which is little bonus.

Performance is not the only reason people mod.

fixed

No mods are not worth the investment, it only satisfy you the owner. When you sell the car the mods a worth $0.00.

Period, a car is not an investment but a hobby. So if you have the money is up you!

Correction WELL ZED .....can't help it. Self promoting and shameless, I know.

Wow lol. I was not expecting this many comments on this thread. But man you guys gave me a crap load of input that is just amazing. I know what i am going to do now. I cant believe i needed so many people to convince me to do what i wanted to do. Well thanks guys! I would rate Z forums! Friendliest forums ever! I think he might be a lil jelly too though! men's competitive side comes out with these kinda things. I guess i wouldnt feel the difference but their just bragging numbers in the end on the dyno and stuff.

Quoted for truth! :D

a good exhaust note = Priceless

The hiss of your HFC when next to someone and you let off the gas at highway speed= Priceless awesomeness

watching other drivers in crappy cars try to impress you because they see you are modded=More pricessless +1 if they almost wreck doing it

sorry, but 30-40whp is something you can definately feel.

:iagree:I really agree and I don't understand this $5000 estimate too...
(Oh, and I'm not going to argue what $5000 buys you if you have an STi or Evo, or even a domestic car)


(Oil cooler is a necessity, or if you have a '12+, maybe you don't)

Lets say you get a FI exhaust (12" and shipping to the Midwest), FI HFCs (+shipping), and a Stillen G3 intake (assume $30 shipping) and lets say you NEED a tune...
AND
Let's assume you SUCK at finding a good deal, and youre buying eveything at MSRP... $1340+$530+$555+$700=$3125...
That's not $5000... It's almost $2000 away from $5000 actually... Even if you buy a Motordyne or a DEpointfive0 custom manifold for $525 or $450 respectively...
You're still at $3575... Still a bit more that $1400 away from $5000...

$3575 for a $35000+ car is 10%~, you gain a CONSERVATIVE 10% gain, probably much more (assume 280WHP to 310)
Mathematically your mods are worth it. (Side fact $119.17/WHP added)
Side fact 2: (I made 321WHP, and no tune... So assuming I had 280HP and ended with 321WHP without my own manifold I had a 14.64% gain... $57.74/WHP added... And I got my parts for a crapload cheaper, I did that with $160 Megan resonated TPs, LOL)

Yeah, a TT kit will probably net you a BIT more bang for the buck... If you have the buck to begin with
(Breaking it down, a bog standard GTM TT tuner kit is $6800, $2091 for the 3" GTM exhaust, a 34 row oil cooler (with thermostatic plate, assume $30 shipping) $628, CSF radiator (assume $30 shipping) $628, a tune $900 (assume $200 more because it will probably take longer to tune), and god help you if you are auto and want your car to last, and god help you if you don't want to burn the clutch too easily, god help you if you're paying someone else to install it, and you've not got to worry about 50 other things... That brings your total to...
$11047, and that's if you install it yourself, and you don't upgrade anything else, and your car runs fine without anything breaking, and without shipping for the GTM kit...

Assuming you go from 280WHP to 470WHP (using the Forced Induction thread), you have a gain of 190WHP... You're at $58.14/WHP added.
Yes IT IS a better return... But you do sacrifice other things, and that isn't with any other mods you would normally choose/should do...




Again... Tell your friend to run off a cliff because god forbid he drives...

your friend is a fool.
in terms of just straight line performance, stock for stock the z will walk an sti/evo, much less a wrx. i can attest to this. it wasn't until my friend with an evo x got full bolt-ons and a tune making 357awhp could he pass me, and i was running him in his favor at 40-50mph rolls. his power gear is 3rd, and after that i start reeling him back.

have your friend run you, and you'll see what i mean when you're laughing away while your friend is yelling "Monicaaaaaaa!" if u do run, just keep your windows up (the drag from wind is huge), and power shift.

here's a link to back up my statement. the wrx in the link has more mods than what you listed your friend having and it makes a bit less hp but noticeably more torque than a stock z due to it being boosted. it's all the same in the end because the stock turbo is small and is going to lose it's breath after 3rd gear and these rally cars are built for mid-range power, while we are top end.

Five Steps to Making More Power in Your Subaru WRX – Feature – Car and Driver

you only live once, so do what makes you feel happy and have fun, but always drive it hard

I agree, which is why when i created a mod plan for my babygirl Vanity (my 370z) i looked at where i felt the exec's at Nissan held the engineers back because of a budget only (Chief engineer of the 370Z is Shinjiro Yukawa), and i took care of the most important things first, the best clearbra (did all these things the first week after waiting 5 1/2 months for my girl to be delivered after pre ordering), then the best tint (same shop was used took a whole day), GT-R button, Tanabe exhaust, K&N air filters (always have used one in previous vehicles), and silicone hose set from Z1, couldn't be happier. To each his own on how far you want to mod, your the one that has to be happy with your Z. :happydance: