Is the Z NOT a tuner friendly car?

BigT

Its tough for me to explain it seems. lol

My evo X had 370whp, bolt ons and tune only. My evo 8 had 420 whp with a small 20g turbo. My DSM also had 400whp with a 20g turbo. All built and tuned by myself. Those cars responded so well to mods, handled and drove so FUN. Also, they were great starting platforms. Go to any auto-x, road coarse, or drag strip and these cars can compete with the best of them.

Now, I wanted something new to start with. Part out and trade in my last evo, the 8, and purchased a Z. This is just slightly over a year ago. The Z is a great car. I truelly enjoy it, more than just for its performance. The motor is so smooth. The ride is surprisingly very good. (try driving an Evo or STI, the Z is a BMW compared to those) The car is fantastic. It even gets great gas mileage. I'm contemplating keeping this car for a while, a long while.

I'm getting married in September. I have an appointment with Ignition Motorsports to install a Stillen supercharger in October. But, now i'm wondering if its even worth it. A stock turbo Evo will run circles around this car. The Z performs WELL in so many ways, but it does nothing GREATLY.

I've come to this conclusion. I either need to get my priorities straight and decide what I want from this car. Or move on.

mike12002us

I wouldnt say it runs cirlces around the Z.

Sports Car Comparison - 2011 Nissan 370Z vs. 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo GSR - Road & Track

BigT

You're more bi-polar than I am. We are talking modified cars here.

Evo's make great drag cars, auto-x cars, and road coarse car. I don't see any shop actively trying to compete with a Z in any of those categories outside of Doran Racing.


I think some of you are just posting in this thread to derail my point instead of understanding what i'm trying to say.

theDreamer

Have you even tried to research this car or just upset you miss your turbo?
Look up Fast Intentions, GTM, Boosted Performance, AAM, Z1, etc.


1/4 mile:
official 1/4 mile track times

Auto-X most members do not really post much on this forum. There are a good 5-7 Houston members who compete very highly in the local/regional Auto-X but never post here.

Track, spend some time in here: Track / Autocross / Drifting / Dragstrip - Nissan 370Z Forum
Have some great members like Sphon, Wstar, Mike, Travis, etc who are funding themselves & building great track cars. Most are N/A currently and pushing the limits of the chassis and a few are making the jump to boost finally. We will start seeing realistic limits of this car under heavy modifications.

Honestly it sounds like you miss the "big" gains from a factory turbo car, which honestly is going to be any factory turbo car. I see the new ecoboost (turbo) F150 by Ford & people throw on a new intake and pick up 30whp. With a N/A car it will require more work because the car is tuned out most of the way from factory, and honestly if you care so much about racing. Take the car stock to a track first, it will be completely different than any AWD car you have driven. Weight distribution, AWD v RWD, V6 N/A motor, learn to drive the car factory & then start to add mods where you need them to fulfill your racing needs.

__________________
theDreamer's Z // Fast Intentions // Uprev // GTM // HKS // TEIN
theDreamer's Silvia // URAS // GREDDY
Houston Zs // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

Cmike2780

Proof?

If you're gunning for big gains, the Stillen won't cut it. You need to go with a twin turbo setup. You're also comparing a car design to be NA to a car designed with turbos from the factory. From someone with your experience, it shouldn't be that difficult to understand how the Evo is more receptive to breather mods. Also, by your account, I thought whp numbers and dynos didn't matter?

__________________

[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

BigT

Touche! But, I owned those cars and actively had fun with them on racetracks. I didn't come in this thread to post their dyno graphs. I can compare the real life because i've experienced both cars.

StangerGT

1. For saying you have experiance racing, you sure sound like someone who just cares about what HP numbers they can generate.

2. Go buy another Evo if they are so amazing.

3. And somehow I doubt its the biggest attention getter outside of a supercar.

__________________
Maximum Motorsports Susp. | MM Adj. Rear LCA | MM CC Plates | MM Front Coilovers 350lb | MM Rear 500lb Springs | Full Cobra Brakes | FR 3.73 Gears | FR LSD/31 Spline | JPC/SCT Tune | MGW Short Shifter | Star Spec 265/35/18x9 F - 275/35/18x10 R | stock exhaust lolz

Haboob

No dyno sheets, those don't mean anything.

/thread

That's what it sounds like.

As Zman (and others above) have said, FI responds so much more to bolt-ons than NA.

It's almost comparing apples to oranges.

Drex

so the problem is factory FI vs NA and the ease of power gains with FI vs NA?

__________________
2011 Nissan 370z | 6MT | Magnetic Black | Sport Package

BigT

If the Z was factory FI, that would be SWEET! Tell them to ditch the VVEL too.

theDreamer

The VVEL system will be the way modern cars go, it is early so there are some kinks (think direct injection) but having the ability to electronically control the intake cam is huge. Can easily just dial in your needs with a tune without having to swap out parts.

__________________
theDreamer's Z // Fast Intentions // Uprev // GTM // HKS // TEIN
theDreamer's Silvia // URAS // GREDDY
Houston Zs // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

BigT

Dreamer, if what Ecutek is saying is true, i'll be the first in line to jump on their bandwagon. VVEL is a fantastic technology, but only when you can manipulate it. Otherwise we are just throwing boost out of the motor. Literally.

theDreamer

How do you know that though? The VVEL system with a factory exhaust cam plus tuning the intake cam could be worthless. Looking at a lot, and I mean a lot, of boosted VQ37 motors and comparing them across the board to the VQ35 (DE to HR) we are seeing equal if not better gains when applying forced induction.
The VVEL system might create more power, but honestly it will be a larger expense, because you will need to incorporate an exhaust cam into the tuning mix to see true benefits.

__________________
theDreamer's Z // Fast Intentions // Uprev // GTM // HKS // TEIN
theDreamer's Silvia // URAS // GREDDY
Houston Zs // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

BigT

From my understand, the exhaust cam is already quite aggressive with the Z. I'm sure it can be designed better as any OEM would never make anything too aggressive. But, full control over the intake cam should do wonders. Imagine being able to set your own profile, your own lift, your own duration with the flick of a mouse? Less overlap can already create more boosted power with gains for NA motors as well. Most of what VVEL does has to do with emissions. But, when we have control, that is the icing on the cake.

Also, with the recent exposure to osiris from ecutek, it is quite possible that we are leaving quite a bit on the table. DE and HR motors are making the same power with more boost. Imagine what our motors can do with that same amount. HP per PSI should dramatically increase.

mike12002us

You brought up the stock part, I responded.