New 370z owner! Need some expert advice
 

Guys,

I am new to this forum and just purchased a 370z. I had a g35 coupe that I recently sold in which was bone stock. Loved the car, now it is time for a real sports car! Just bought a 2009 black 370z auto (wanted manual) for 23k with 12k miles Got a good deal.

I have done tons of research on this website and others and have found this website has a lot more members who know what they are talking about.

I have raced motorcycles before (street bikes) and have done all the mods myself, however, cars are different. After researching different posts on here, etc.. I have few questions about the potential mods for my car. Before I get into it, here are my goals for modding:
1. No actual engine or suspension mods needed, not going to track the car.
2. I would like to gain extra HP
3. I absolutely do not want a set up that is too loud or gives a drone sound on the interstate

I have been working with someone at Concept Performance and they have answered some questions for me. I want some feedback from you based on my current selections. Let me know what you think.

Mods I think I will go with:
1. Injen SP1989P Cold Air Intake - I want as much HP as possible but still easy to install.

2. Stillen 508385C Ceramic Coated Headers. Want to try to avoid significant heat to engine. They said these help that…?

3. Motordyne VQHRART Advanced Resonance Art test Pipes.

4. Akrapovic Titanium Evolution Exhaust – seems a bit on the muted side, but excellent build? Listened to clips and sounds good. Anything else to suggest for a system?

Again, I don’t want anything really loud. Questions are:

What do you think of this list?
Any suggestions for anything different to fairly easily increase HP
And with the Test Pipes, does the Advanced Resonance ART test pipes cut down on the sound? Do test pipes in general increase sound considerably?

I have akrapovic on my motorcycle and they make the absolute best motorcycle exhaust systems you can buy.

Any other suggestions? Will any of these aforementioned mods affect engine life?

Thanks for all your help guys. Great Forum.

Stillen headers don't make power. The 370 has a good set of headers already. Test pipes are loud. If noise is a concern, get high flow cats instead.

Honestly, any shop that recommends Stillen headers is a shop I would avoid. Plus, the OEM headers have plenty of heat shielding.

My experience with test pipes, which are the Motordyne v2 ones, is they did not really increase the overall loudness of the car much unless it is really cold outside. If I had to try and give an estimate...I would say....mayyyybe 10% - 15% increase on regular days.

For myself, switching the exhaust did more for loudness than test pipes did.

[EDIT] Just figured out a better way to describe my experience. Post test pipe installation, it is not any harder for me to have a conversation in the car at a normal speaking level.

Hey OP,

Congrats on your purchase.

With the mods you are listing you won't see too much of an HP gain, a little jump here and there, butt dyno will feel it, but no significant jump in numbers on paper.

With bikes, little additions and bolt-ons has a significant larger impact. Not so with cars unfortunately (at least with 370).

ditch the headers, gains haven't been proven worth it.

I'd personally ditch the test pipes in favor of a good high flow cat if you're concerned about sound.

The rest of your plan looks good but I have no experience with that particular exhaust so I can't say if its going to drone on you or not.

probably should get the car retuned after you do those performance mods to get the most out of them as well.

I've put my answers in bold so they follow your questions. :tiphat:

Excellent responses. This is why I ask the questions. I do not want to mess with removing bumper for the cold air intake. I will take your advices a go with the others.

Also not doing the headers. Doesn't sound work it.

On so with the test pipes, do I understand this correctly?

1. Most hp gains are straight test pipes but loudest?
2. Second highest gains are resonated test pipes? Benefit being not as loud but still more hp than hfc?
3. Hfc are still upgrade to replacing cat but least amount of hp?

1. Yes
2. The resonator does not affect HP gains, only sound/rasp.
3. Yes, depending on which brand you go with and what size cell they use (100,200,300), they will have different impacts on HP and smell.

Also, check in your state/county to see if it is legal to not run cats. If you have to do emissions testing, you will have to swap them for the stock cats prior to your inspection. Some HFCs have passed I believe, but I can't remember which ones.

Your answer is forced induction, it's the only way to real gains. Everything else is chicken scratch especially if you're used to how hard a bike pulls.

Hope you have patience.:shakes head:

With a A/T 370,just go with a FI(supercharger is good for A/T).Headers are
a waste.Bling up the plumbing on your intakes with polished tubes.Drop in
K&N's.HFC's are best.In love the Amuse exhaust for the 350.Check on the 370 version.
Your are not gonna get the power increases youthink with the stuff you have listed.
Whats your budget?

:icon17: He's already said no engine mods, so FI is out the door right there.

Besides, the AT would need just as much spent on it to handle FI as the motor, not worth the cost.

The Amuse exhaust is way too expensive and doesn't give the best gains. He's not looking for "massive" gains. Probably just more response feel on the ol' butt dyno.

Even after changing the intake, HFC/test pipes, CBE, headers won't increase the horsepower to a significant amount. I say save the money for a set of wheels + spacers, CBE, and maybe some exterior mods like a lip kit. It will make your Z look so much better but with similar performance.

With intake/HFC-TP/CBE and tune, he's probably looking in the realm of 30hp to gain possibly. That's a 10% improvement. Granted, not worth the cost of what it takes to get it on this car, but its still a significant amount.

U want to gain the most HP with little work....
Injen CAI + HFC + non res exhaust system + UpRev profession tune:tup:
I gained approx 5OHP & 45ftq @wheels with that set up.

:confused: Going from ~280 to ~320 whp is a significant amount. You'll absolutely feel it. That's a 15% power increase.

I would like to stay under 4k at this time and really don't want to touch the engine.

So far after reading these responses I am leaning toward

Akrapovic exhaust
Stollen gen ii intake
Art resonanate test pipes

Anyone have any experience with nismo intake?

Also concept z performance has the akrapovic for 2195... Don't know of that's good.

Akrapovic ME-NI/SS/1 Titanium Evolution Exhaust System 08+ Nissan 370Z - Free Shipping! - Nissan performance parts

Nice setup! But the Non-Res exhaust will be too loud. :icon17:

By significant I was thinking FI. To be clear what I tried to say is he was to spend all that money on those bolt on mods, might as well either go with FI or just cosmetic mods. Just my :twocents:

Between that and the fact it's an auto, boosting a car is pretty much out. Plus, it costs a hell of a lot more than bolt ons. If you buy used parts, you can get that 40-50 whp for $2-3k. Even if you cut corners, FI will cost 3x that.

lol FINE! Then go with bolt ons! :bowrofl:

:bowrofl:

Remember what Booger said to Tom Cruise..."Sometimes you gotta say 'What the ****?'.

I love how it sounds. I don't think i could ever fo with a resonated exhaust after hearing non res:tup:

Thanks for all the quick replies. Looking forward to start the mods.

Very good answers from our forum vets. I would choose post MAF tubes over Stillen Gen II's based only on price. The gains will be 95% the same. One thing that people had failed to mention that is documented in our http://www.the370z.com/tuning/55417-...ns-thread.html is tuning. If you replace your exhaust cats and intakes, it's a great idea to get it tuned.

If/when you start craving more power, might I suggest this? http://www.z1motorsports.com/g37_370...oducts_id=7223 I'll caution and say they don't work with the Motordyne ART pipes. They require VQ35DE TP's/HFC's/ART pipes.

4. Akrapovic Titanium Evolution Exhaust – seems a bit on the muted side, but excellent build? Listened to clips and sounds good. Anything else to suggest for a system?

Akrapovic is a good company I had one on my R1... But on our cars I think youll be more happy with Fast Intentions...

I was on the same boat with you on not touching the engine (I'm a very conservative person). But I've been thinking of getting a tune later down the line. If I remember correctly, aftermarket CAI will have our Z running a bit lean. *Someone please correct me if I'm wrong*

Is there a specific reason on why you wouldn't want your car getting a tune?

Like others mentioned, CAI,HFC/TP, CBE, and a proper tune can easily put out 310+ whp. The stock avg dyno is around 280whp (on a good day)

No a tune would be fine. What exactly will be tuned post these mods? Have dealership tune?

Btw, I'm sure you're big fan of Akrapovic judging by your enthusiasm in motorcycles. I rode dirt bikes my whole life and my brother races motorcycles all the time and I have vast knowledge in regards to Akrapovic exhaust in motorcycles. I know how good they are.

HOWEVER.......when it comes to 370z, I honestly believe that Akrapovic doesn't really reflect the potential they have on bikes. Looking at the Akrapovic exhaust you posted, it doesn't have whole lotta gains in power or in weight reduction. And Akrapovic exhaust was never popular/talked about in the 370z forum.

That's good to know. I am sure I can search exhaust threads, but given what everyone has been suggesting, are there any other exhausts worth looking at?
I had been considering hks and mortordyne before...

Since you don't want anything loud, just get a Nismo exhaust, Stillen intake, and a tune when you're done. The end.

No never bring it to a dealership to have a tune. That will only avoid your warranty if you still have it on your car. Matter of fact, dealership doesn't know how to tune a car.:icon18:

A tune doesn't necessary gain you much peak power. Its purpose is to correct your A/F ratio when you have enough breath mods on your car. It will optimized your mods and most likely gain the power under the curve and give you much better drivability. Generally speaking, when you have CAI + HFC/TP + CBE or more you will need a tune.

To me all the bolt-on mods won't significantly make your car go faster. You might FEEL it pulls harder that's all. Average people gain 25-35 whp and 15-20 torque to the wheel with CAI, HFC/TP, CBE and a tune. Not saying 50whp is impossible but you will need a good tuner with secret tricks to get you there(like Jon from Z1). Otherwise it's a hit or miss.

Like others have said, I'd ditch the header. Go with Stillen Gen III, MD ART pipes(quieter than the HFCs although they are TPs) or Fast Intentions Resonated HFCs, and Fast Intentions CBE(if power gain is your priority, but FI exhaust is loud and could have little drone) and an UpRev tune.

Good luck and have fun with mods.:tiphat:

I have HKS. Not sure about power gain. At least my butt dyno tells me no big differences(with stock cats and tune). HKS sounds really nice and it's not loud just like stock nismo exhaust. So it might suit your needs well. But HKS pair with Berk or other HFCs WILL be quite loud.

I've heard MD exhaust in person so many times with both stock cats and test pipes. With stock cats, it's not loud and sound very VQ. Pure sex! With test pipes, it sounds very loud you can actually scare people by stomping on the gas. But still sounds very nice like race car.

I just installed my HKS exhaust a week ago and kept the stock cats and i love it. i didn't want a loud cheap sounding exhaust and this one gives off the perfect deep rumble

That's what I am looking for. Good solid sound but not obnoxious.

Based on your comments/needs, I would consider the following:

1) Keep the stock headers and cats, the aftermarket upgrades don't give you a ton of power, but do make things quite a bit louder.
2) Consider a good resonated cat-back exhaust. It will give you the max power without the max sound. The Fast Intentions 12" and 18" resonated exhausts are extremely popular for the 370z and are very high quality.
3) Get a Stillen Gen 3 intake or similar (ones that go in front of the radiator). Taking off the front nose to install it is not very difficult and after the first time you do it you will wonder what the fuss is about. The aftermarket ones that stay in the engine bay don't make as much power and some will actually lose power once heat soaked.
4) Consider a small oil cooler (Z1 motorsports makes a nice kit).

I'd say my exhaust might be close to what you are looking for, but it's not very cost effective. I just posted some vids a couple weeks ago in the exhaust sound thread, it's towards the end. That whole thread will give you a great idea of what you have available. If you like high pitched exhausts, long tubes, test pipes, smaller resonators, and especially single exit exhausts do that. For a deeper sound, larger resonators help. It's harder to get a clean high pitch sounding exhaust as it can be raspy. There is a lot of info, so hopefully it helps you find what you are looking for

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

:iagree: http://www.the370z.com/intake-exhaus...ml#post2654345
You'll find what you're looking for:tup:
Btw....stainless steel cans will give you a higher pitch, carbon fiber cans will give you a nice deep smooth tone:tiphat:
My Z is loud but definitely does NOT sound cheap lol. Carbon fiber cans makes a huge difference on non res system.

For those who don't think a modified car is significantly faster, take a look at the drag times.

STOCK WITH STREET TIRES
1) jmarcel88 -------- 09 Base ----- 7AT 12.938 @ 108.31 mph 1.972 60ft
2) b1adesofcha0s ---- 09 Tour ----- 7AT 12.986 @ 107.46 mph 1.967 60ft - Yokohama Advan S4 245/45/18
3) Speedy ----------- 09 Tour Sport 7AT 13.080 @ 105.14 mph 2.083 60ft
4) tranceformer ----- 09 Base Sport 6MT 13.127 @ 105.27 mph 1.890 60ft - oil cooler

MODIFIED - ALL MOTOR
1) jnaut ------------ 09 Base Sport 6MT 12.245 @ 111.81 mph 1.813 60ft street
2) Z eliminator ----- 09 Tour Sport 7AT 12.420 @ 114.37 mph 1.854 60ft DR

That's a faster car to me.

Couldn't say it any better Chuck33079:tup:
To add a touch more.... For those that have never been to the track may think 13.1 vs 12.2 isn't much of a change........ One second, that's 1 second difference in a 1/4 mile race is equal to approx 10 cars faster than the 1 second slower car. Meaning that 12.2 will finish almost 10 cars ahead of the 13.1 car @ finish line:driving:
Mods make a huge difference in speed:eekdance: