This is my plan, will it get me to 350 HP?
 

My car is due to arrive late November and my goal is to equal the power of the Nismo 370Z. From what I have read in various posts and magazine articles, the only difference between the 370Z and the Nismo is exhaust and ECU tuning. So I intend to have the dealer install the Nismo exhaust, do the required tuning and add the K&N drop in filters.

Would like to have this accomplished upon delivery and my dealer said they will have the Nismo exhaust shipped directly to the parts department and they also told me that the tuning is something they can do quite easily. I do realize that there are more potent HP gains available from other aftermarket exhausts, HFC, and cold air intakes, but I do not want my bumper removed or have possible warranty and/or state inspection issues. Car will go from dealer prep and then directly into my garage until mid March.

Maine is fairly limited when it comes to performance shops that can do this type of work and I do not want to drive the car out of state in the winter, simplicity works best for me. So the bottom line: I'm not too greedy, don't need to be the fastest Z but I don't want to be the slowest either. Does anyone else have this exact set up and will this meet my needs to reach 350 HP? Thanks for your advice! :)

The Nismo CBE doesn't provide much in terms of gain. Interesting that the dealer is offering an ECU tune, as well.

It all seems like they are just looking at you as an easy target and are going to rip you off. They will probably install the CBE and charge you more than an hour for labor, and then reset the ECU and tell you they tuned it!

If you want more power you need to do it right.

You need to do a little research. There are better cat-backs and intakes available. The drop in K&Ns will do nothing for power and the Fast Intentions and Berk cat-backs are better choices than the Nismo.

agree with the above posts

But will this formula get me the requested 18 HP gain, and if not, why does it work for the Nismo Z? The dealer said the labor costs will run me around $150 which sounds fair. I'm surely not set up to install it myself. Sounds like the big unsolved mystery is the so called "ECU Tune" and what it actually consists of.

I agree :iagree:

If you'd spend 5 minutes searching, you'd find plenty of dyno-proven results all over the place.

The short answer is yes, you'll pick up your 18 CRANK horsepower at least, more than likely. But I would NEVER even imagine of installing the silly Nismo exhaust for a "performance" gain. So many better options out there...

The CBE alone won't. And since we have no idea what their "ECU Tune" consists of we can't really say anything about that. But I'd be very skeptical.

FWIW, a FI or Stillen CBE is going to give you at least +18 hp to the wheels which would technically put you over 350 hp.

stillen gen3 or injen cai already gives you 15 to 18+ whp

then if you add cbe then you're good to go. not the slowest, not the fastest.

Mightybobo, you answered my main question, thanks. Never realized that the Nismo exhaust was that bad of a product, the installation at the dealer was going to be so easy for me.

Steve, the Stillen CBE was initially my first choice and now may end up being what I go with. I'll just have find a place to install it. Is a ECU tune required with that set up, and if not, why, when it's required with the Nismo exhaust. Upgrades seemed less complicated during my 5.0 LX days!

Also read that there were some installation/rattle issues with the Stillen CBE mounts?

With basic bolt ons an ECU tune is not required. We have an adaptive/smart ECU which does a pretty good job of "learning" bolt on mods. That's not to say a real dyno tune isn't going to be beneficial... it is, but it's not necessary.

I don't know who told you that the Nismo CBE requireda tune. That's simply untrue.

As far as the Stillen CBE rattling... I think that issue has been fixed. Some of their earlier runs did not fit well and made contact with parts of the car where they shouldn't have. I think they fixed that. I'd definitely check out all of the other CBEs available just to make sure you get the best one for you. I ended up going with FI and should have it late this week or next. :)

Good to see another Mustang guy on the boards. Surprisingly there are a lot of us here!

Read about the ECU tune on numerous sources including posts here. It was understood that the 18 HP gain achieved by the Nismo Z was due to the Nismo CBE and required tuning. And that was all I was really looking for as far as a performance boost. Thanks.

i think the FI exhaust and a simple JWT pop charger (short ram how you like it) will net your over what the nismo can do... WITHOUT a reflash.

Achieving 18 more hp can very easily be attained, but you will not notice the difference in power. Even 18whp isn't a huge jump in power. You will be spending money unnecessarily just to equal the output of the Nismo Z. Imo that's quite silly.

If you can't feel 18whp you need to get your butt dyno re-calibrated! It's not a huge difference, but it's noticeable.

add stillen's g3 intake and you've got as much hp as a nismo, and berks hfc and cbe on top of that and you > nismo

350 at the crank, sure.

350 at the wheels, nope.

g96818, I love your current and future improvements and if I were looking for bigger gains, that is how I would set it up. Though Steve's FI CBE is pretty pimpin also. But I do not want my front bumper removed and I do not want to deal with any potential emission/state inspection issues. I now realize the need to find a performance shop somewhere nearby in case I do not use the dealer for a Nismo CBE install. There has to be a place where the lobster boats go to get their aftermarket go fast parts installed!

One of the things you should do is find online or go to an emissions shop and ask what the state requirements are. Depending on the answer might give you some confidence in what you order.

I would look at through the exhaust section here on the boards and see what exhaust you like the best.

I did and it's between Stillen and Fast Intentions. Don't care for any exhaust that is too loud. Low profile and simple works for me, that is why I originally thought the Nismo CBE was perfect. But it appears that no one likes it, which tells me that anyone who actually purchased the Nismo 370Z must be scratching their heads?

Problem with Nismo exhaust is it is over-priced since it is an OEM item from Nissan. In the end you can get more from aftermarket without being to loud. You will be happy with a CBE, good gains and nice sound change.

The NISMO Z, despite having 350 HP, is not super crazy fast compared to the standard 370Z. The extra weight from the add-ons pretty much negates the extra power.

I'd like to see what the NISMO Z really puts down so we'll know what sort of "tuning" was involved.

As for CBE upgrade, IMO, the Z hauls a bit harder and becomes lively around 500 RPM sooner.

Imo I believe most Nismo 370 owners purchased it because of the upgraded suspension. Not for the 350hp or the exhaust. What's wonderful about this site is you have a lot of ppl who have already modded their 370's and you have info aplenty on exhaust choices. If you have a good mechanic where you are you can have them install your exhaust. It's a simple job. You don't need the dealer to do it.

Since you're just going to put the car in the garage immediately for 4 months, why not just wait? Drive it in the Spring and make the decision on what you need to do, You may like it just the way it is.....As a bonus, there will be more aftermarket options and more experience with them out there so you can make a more informed choice..

Exactly, those will bump you past a stock NISMO. The K&N drop ins don't yield any power (I have them in my Z) however, the response is improved.

:iagree:

There's no use in jumping the gun when the car is going to sit for four months. Enjoy the car for a bit, then store it for the winter. Come springtime, as Modshack says, there will probably be more options, and more information to help you pick.

yep, i agree with modshack as well... my Z will be hibernating in a month or two anyway so do not plan on any major mods until next season. :)

i think the Z with sport package runs pretty good in stock form...
i may not do much to it other than an intake for some VQ noise.

You are best to have the car sit stock in the garage while you pour over the countless threads on the fourm about upgrades so you can make an informed decision about the car. You're gonna be dieing to drive it so doing the research will help pass the time (well maybe it makes it worse....). There is a ton of information and a lot of personal opinion to sift through - its your car so you need to figure out what's best for you and your car.

Here are a few points though while we are on the topic....

If you want a quiet exhaust with a performance gain the NISMO is the quietest and is still going to give you better peformance over stock. Its a quality exhaust its just more expensive and not much louder than stock. Next would be the Stillen for volume although when you get your foot into it the exhaust is fairly agressive and it has better performance gains. The Fast Intentions (from what I hear) is the loudest of the three and likely the same performance gain as the Stillen. Both will be louder with a High Flow Cat. The HFC will also give you gains. Just a HFC or CBE is going to give you close to the same gains as the NISMO - both will likely give you more.

Another thing to note is the Cold Air Intake (CAI). If you opt for a short version such as the Stillen Gen 2, JWT, etc you will be drawing hot air from the engine bay which basically makes it a Hot Air Intake (the not so popular HAI).

Getting a performance tune at the Stealership isn't something I've heard of. As others have mentioned the ECU will "adapt" to the performance bolt ons just like it adapts to the changing atmospheric conditions from day to day, etc. I'd be very leary about claims of an ECU tune from a Stealership....

Modshack, great advice and that is what I'm going to do. I'll let you southern boys work out all the kinks with the various mods while I'm snowed in up here. Grew up in the Jacksonville area which isn't to far from you, my father was a career Marine. Thanks for everyone's help!

The only tune u need from your dealership is oil and differential coolers.
That will be money well spent imho.
AEM is coming out with a intake to compete against the stillen.
AEM makes great intakes and will probably will undercut the srillen by 100 bucks.
After reading many reviews, fast intentions is doin it up with there exhaust.
You can still have your dealer do the install.
One exhaust that has also caught my eye is AAM 2.5 true dual exhaust.
Greddy also has an exhaust with steel and titanium parts making it lighter than the comp.
8100 rpm technosquare tune is probably superior to the nismo.

The nismo tune really isn't anything and that 18hp nismo is providing has done nothing to boost performance as of yet. So listen to some of the guys on here. I'm just going by things I've learned from many on here. I had a g35 with a full set of stillen lungs but I'm changin up when I get my Z and try some new products.

:tup:...Good plan!

Another Satisfied Member...
Thanks Modshack

There is a flipside to all this... it is only september. Worst case scenario. U will hav an idea of what u want by nov. I think winter is a perfect time to mod the car. Then u can test it on fair days at the track. That's a great time to test... with cold air at the track. I kno u don't want to drive ur car too much in the winter. But unless u live in the arctic? It won't kill u 2 take your car on 3 or 4 track runs.
That way wen spring comes. Ur all set. Ur modded. Ur rollin n chillin.
Not rushing to get ur car done by july or august of next year so u can only enjoy it for 2 months...
That's just my 2 cents.

I think he's talking about flywheel HP not wheel since he's comparing to the 350 hp stock Nismo.

On a separate note, is the Nismo exhaust on the Nismo Z the same as the one sold for the regular 370Z? I remember the Nismo 350 with the CBE is different than the Nismo exhaust sold for the regular 350Z. When I asked the parts guy, he told me he didn't know.

Yes, the Nismo 370z has a different exhaust than the standard 370z.

My question isn't whether the nismo Z has a different exhaust than the standard Z. I was asking whether the Nismo Z exhaust is different than the Nismo exhaust aftermarket add on for the standard Z. I'm wondering because the parts guy told me they were different for the 350 and that he wasn't sure about the 370.

I'm under the impression that the Nismo exhaust would come from Nissan and if that the case should be the same as the Nismo factory installed exhaust.