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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

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Old 09-15-2009, 07:48 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Default 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!
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Old 09-15-2009, 07:54 PM   #2 (permalink)
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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.
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Old 09-15-2009, 07:55 PM   #3 (permalink)
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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.
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Old 09-15-2009, 07:58 PM   #4 (permalink)
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agree with the above posts
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Old 09-15-2009, 08:23 PM   #5 (permalink)
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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.
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Old 09-15-2009, 08:26 PM   #6 (permalink)
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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.
I agree
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Old 09-15-2009, 08:27 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by Portlander View Post
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.
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...
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Old 09-15-2009, 08:27 PM   #8 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by Portlander View Post
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.
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.
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Old 09-15-2009, 08:30 PM   #9 (permalink)
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stillen gen3 or injen cai already gives you 15 to 18+ whp
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Old 09-15-2009, 08:30 PM   #10 (permalink)
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then if you add cbe then you're good to go. not the slowest, not the fastest.
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Old 09-15-2009, 08:48 PM   #11 (permalink)
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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?
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Old 09-15-2009, 08:53 PM   #12 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by Portlander View Post
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!
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Old 09-15-2009, 09:01 PM   #13 (permalink)
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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.
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Old 09-15-2009, 09:08 PM   #14 (permalink)
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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.
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Old 09-15-2009, 09:09 PM   #15 (permalink)
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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.
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