STH Multi-Step Build Plan/Thread
 

So I've been rabidly consuming content on this forum for a while now. I'm making my way through Spoolers build thread and Elmo370z's as well. Soaking in all the knowledge and videos. Watching lots of Motive and Real st performance. Learning what I can about this platform.

I got my Solid Red BASE model 370z in June of 2020. It's the first car i'd ever bought, and the only car I've ever driven for more than a few hours (driver lessons)

I took it up to Shannonville Motorsports park in the summer for BRACK drivers institute training. We did laps on the track and a session on the skid pad. I'm certainly no race car driver. I don't think I even broke traction on my 225/245 stock tires (Michelin PS4).

So for anyone looking to come into this thread and see a flurry of new purchases and updates sorry I may disappoint.

I did want to put the plan that's been forming in my head down on e-paper. And maybe have it scrutinized by the folks here far more knowledgable than myself.

Being in Canada (Ontario) I'm also looking for any connections to make, or ways of getting things on my car without paying the duty tax. And local alternatives.
Shipping from Z1 is crazy too. I get hit so hard by UPS brokerage fees. I need to ask them if they will consider shipping via USPS. OR Handling brokerage and duties at point of sale. Or I may need to learn how to declare and import things myself, which will be annoying.

So the way I see it my build plan is going to have several stages and last likely many years. Currently I would say I'm in "Stage 0" as I haven't done anything of consequence to the car yet. I did buy a polisher and spend several months learning about paint correction and coating tho so I have been doing SOMETHING since I bought it. I'm just slowly easing into this money pit.

There's also to consider: This is my only car (tho I don't have to drive for work/social/groceries) I have no garage/tools/driveway. I've never worked on a car before (or owned one) BUT I do live next to one of the strips in midtown Toronto with like 10 Auto shops on it. As for Z specific shops we have Whitehead performance not too far away. And OnPoint dyno is close by as well (Sasha Anis, you may have heard about his hybrid 350z)

I'm going to list out possible stages that I have floating around in my head. And I may come back and add predicted pricing for each stage to help me budget better. Who knows maybe it can be useful information to someone else.

EDIT:

Sold my 2016 base for a 2018 sport model. Yay synchro rev match and zero accident car.

Legend:

• ordered
• purchased and in hand
• installed

Gadgets!:

• Neutrino Aurora + PDM (for managing power to gadgets)
• Apex Pro logging system (or Garmin Catalyst not sure)
• Stilo DG 10 Comms
• Possible accessory rail on the dash for device mounting
• Extra 12v cigarette sockets installed for powering my go pro behind me.
• Z-tech YAW switch cutoff controller

Stage 0: Mostly superficial

• Nismo Carbon fiber mirror caps
• Nismo Carbon Kick Plates
• Nismo Carbon B Pillar Finishers
• Nismo Floormats (because)
• Nismo Oil filler cap
• Cusco Red Anodized Swivel Tow Hook
• wheels spacers (20mm, 25mm Z1 spacer kit)
• Dry Carbon center console
• Brainiac Tablet kit + Douk audio usb/spdif interfance, carlink wireless carplay
• Password JDM Carbon fiber Radiator Cover and Battery/Brake cover ($450CAD)
  
• Gtr red start button
• Morimoto headlights
• Morimoto tail lights

Stage AUDIO 1: Subwoofer

• Stillen Grounding kit
• Knuconceptz ultimate positive and negative battery terminals
• Knuconceptz top post adaptor
• 2 x Singer 300amp circuit breakers
• Power Distribution Block
  
• Big 3 wiring upgrade
• 1/0 gauge Koloussus Fleks Cable power wire
• Nwaterproof 0awg buklhead connector
• JL audio subwoofer
• trunk sub enclosure to replace spare tire area.

Stage AUDIO 2: Active speakers

• JL audio VX800/8i
• JL audio tweeter x2
• JL audio woofer x2
• 4 channels run in active mode, using DSP controlled preout to the previously installed subwoofer

Stage AUDIO 3: Mid Speakers

• Jl audio mid speakers, either in the bose rear speaker location or in some kind of beauty panel behind the trunk brace bar.

Stage 0.1: Required Upgrades

• RJM Pedal Assembly (tilton)
• z1 full diff Wavetrac Differential
• Bell Raceworks Diff Brace
• Dual disc clutch upgrade. Thinking cmak kit but with https://osgikenusa.com/products/ns112-bj6 (should come with stainless lines)
• Motul RBF660

Stage 0.5: Minor/Minimum Upgrades

• Z1 Premium Braded Brake Lines
  
• Aluminum pedals
• GT3 Brake Ducts
• Coolerworx Short Shifter
• Z1 370z Alu Subframe Bushing collars (possible solid ones instead?)
• Z1 undershroud

Stage 1.1: Handling

• Vibra Technics Transmission Mount
• Z1 urethane motor mounts
• Hotchkis Front sway bar
• Z1 Subframe Collars
• Z1 Urethane Diff Bushings
• SPL Front sway bar end links
  
• Hotchkis Heavy Duty Billet Sway bar bushing brackets
• Tein Monoflex Coilovers
• SPL rear sway bar end links
• SPL Billet rear camber arms
• SPL Billet rear toe arms
• SPL Titanium Rear Traction Links
• SPL Front upper control arms
• SPL Eccentric lockout kit
• Full SPL bushing kit

Stage 1.2: NA Power (GOAL: 345WHP)

• Invidia Gemini Catback
• Z1 Intakes
• PPE Engineering Long tube headers ($1660USD) (Black coating, spike)
• Ecutek tune

Stage 1.3: Cooling

• CSF triple pass radiator with AC
• Fast Intentions 34 row Oil cooler kit, thermo
• Z1 baffled oil pan
• Z1 Power steering cooler upgrade ($208USD)

Stage 1.4: Wheels

• ARP extended studs
• Fender Rolling
• Volk ZE40 19 inch,
• Mich PS4S 275/35R19, 305/30R19

Stage 1.5: Brakes

• Racing Brake 2 piece rotors

Stage 1.6: Rigidity/Other stuff

• Soul performance Front Fender Braces
• Soul performance 4 Point front d-brace
• Soul performance Rear lower M Brace (maybe?)
• Soul performance Rear Tie Bar

Stage 1.7: Aero/Cosmetics

• V1 Nismo Body Kit Full Conversion and Wing
• INGS+1 Super Taikyu Bonnet

Stage 2.0: Fuel

• CJM New Twin pump and return system

Stage 2.1: Booooooooost (Goal 650WHP)

• OSG triple disk clutch
• Topgunz Rotrex super charger kit
• Retune

Stage 2.2: ????

Stage 3: CAMS???

Obviously this is all me putting down a method to the madness that's in my head currently. Subject to change/improvement. Probably won't see boost for a little while. But I may try SC and then TURBO in stage 4/5. who knows. Maybe I'll get Motec in stage 6? We shall see.

reserved

reserved 2

Engine and transmission mounts?

SPL bushings for front lower control arms and rear knuckles?

You will want brake cooking ducts for front at some point.

Probably wanna add ZSpeed CMAK (eliminate stock CSC that will eventually fail).

Toronto doesn’t have crazy hot summer, I assume that’s why you went with 25 instead of 34 row oil coolers?

Happy modding :driving:

I was thinking with the upgraded rad that has shown to lower oil temps already, perhaps I wouldnt need a 34 row. But I'm open to that as well.

Yeah I was eyeing the CJM motor mounts posted in some other threads.
Bushing were something I was looking at too, but I don't understand what I need. Or if I should get them all /shrug.

I was thinking doing the JWT heavy duty csc. when i upgrade my clutch, and replace the master cylinder as well at the same time

Definitely need to put Everything on paper; looking like you have things lined up in stages- as going Turbo...you wouldn’t need some of the preliminary parts mentioned :tiphat:

Yeah i think it might be a stretch for me to go straight to turbo. I kind of want to see how the car feels NA, which means buying an NA exhaust setup. Which really lends itself well into putting on a supercharger IMO since I can do an easier bolt on off of the NA setup than I would removing everything and doing a turbo.

That being said I think turbo is rather interesting as well. I've been looking at those Turbosmart electronically controlled butterfly wastegates. building a turbo setup to use that would be interesting for sure! For sure the ecutek doesn't have the current capability on the boost control pins to drive them but there was talk about making some kind of bridge to allow control via low current PWM signal. I'm definitely getting ahead of myself tho thinking about customizing a turbo setup at this stage in the plan haha.




I think it would be especially fun to nerd out over Motec control over boost via these. You could tune boost control very accurately it seems without all the pressure lines and solenoids (2 per wastegate if you wanted to do solenoid on top and bottom of the WG) As a stretch goal I would love to use Motec for traction control via boost pressure. Changing the boost pressure based on factors such as: user input (rotary switch), current gear, current rpm. But i'm geeking out over over engineering things rather than being practical.


One thing I'd be interested in is more in depth information on the fast intentions system

Do people watercool the wastegates? Would it be better to use Tial MV-S-A if not? (do those even fit, they are taller tho)

Could i use those turbosmart electronically controlled wastegates on the fast intentions kit. Probably wont fit? Maybe I could tweak the wastegate pipe to use the butterfly valve. Lot's of things to consider. What could I even use to control them. Are there many piggyback ECU's available that can work with signals from ecutek? Or do I need a full stand alone. I have years to figure this out I suppose. But it's fun to think about.

Stuff like this is the most interesting to me. TC_TsReduceReq and how you map that to different outputs like timing/spark/boost-pressure

watching this makes me want to go with darton sleeves with an and receiver groove for SS o-rings. Seems like theres quite a bit of added safety there at higher boost pressure. To get to that boost pressure without detonation I guess I'll have to figure out how to run higher octane fuel in ontario. Apparently there are concentrated race gas octane boosters that can be added to your tank of pump Ultra 94 octane. At least that's what Sasha Anis was using at one point.

Or maybe the Vulcan Cut Ring head gasket HMMMMMM very interesting stuff

There’s a few Mazworx VQ’s about to be completed pretty soon & mine will most likely be the last to be tuned :wtf2:
Whole bunch of stuff to do & only gonna be working on weekends with it.
Spooler’s thread has a lotta great information packed into it & knowing Mazworx’s reputation & having the proper machines to install the Darton sleeves properly, I went that way myself.
Lotta goodies & extras they do on a built engine :tup:

But you can safely go 500-525’ish safely on a stock block w/seasoned tuner.
But going 7,8,900+ Definitely build it :iagree:
But be prepared to purchase so quality barrels of fuel :ugh2:

Barrels of fuel is an impossibility as I essentially live in and apartment with no storage. Octane booster is really the only option. I can’t find any flex fuel systems that will work on anything but ethanol however. Though I only did a quick search. It really must be automated for a street car imo. And since we have no ethanol I’m a bit at a loss for how I can increase octane and have the car respond properly. Welcoming any and all ideas.

As for building the engine. That will be a post initial boost endeavour. I will stay at low 500s probably for a while, learning the car. The when the time has come to increase horsepower (and I’ve acquired a second vehicle) the car will hopefully make its way to mazworks. Or I’ll do what spoiler did and build a secondary engine.

Unless you purchase 5 gallon pails & mix your own :ugh2:
Ignite does make e98 & a lotta folks tune on e40,e50,e60,etc.....I’ll be running the ignite red e90 :driving:

Now you are learning. My Mazworx engine has some of these tricks. Darton MID sleeves have to be installed via a 3 or 4 axes CNC. The tolerances are extremely tight. They have to be perfect. The block is then step deck cut where just the sleeve cylinder is above the deck by several thousands. Mark uses a special headgasket with exactly like what is stated in the video. The MLS gasket folds back upon itself at the cylinder to increase clamp load. The advantages for a street car are this. If you blow the headgasket it can be repaired very easily. New gasket, deck the head and re-install. If you use a copper headgasket and O-rings everything will need to be redone. It is more costly and time consuming. There is a video that covers this in my thread. What SOHO has done is also covered in the video. Keep watching and researching. You are getting it.

I need to talk about one more thing. Our blocks are aluminum. So, when you cut a receiver groove in the block what will happen is the groove will dull and not be sharp. This will cause issues on how the copper headgasket is pushed into the groove. it won't be as sharp as say a Darton MID sleeve. This can cause sealing issues over time.

yeah i was more thinking about cutting the groove into the darton sleeve

That is one way. There are several ways to get the job done. All have their own pitfalls. The issue with sleeves is getting someone who knows what they are doing and that they have the proper CNC's to get it done. Plus, there are assembly challenges that I haven't talked about. Installing sleeves properly is not easy to do. That is why we have seen many failures when it is done.

I see you've priced some things. I don't know your financial situation, but going from a supercharger to a turbo is a lot of extra expense and hassle. I'd say pick 1 and run that way.

SOHO now has their 2.5 kit fitting with Z1 headers if you went that route vs the PPE set.
Fast Intentions is THE TT kit on the market. If you want a single, BP or SOHO.

As for cams, Jim Wolf has a C1 and C2 set. I've been running the C2s for a couple years. They really wake the car up on the top end. http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...ts-inside.html

Jun also makes cams for the VHR, but those are your only options.

I think I would probably only be trusting Mazworks to do it if i do it.


Well I think there's going to be quite a lot of time in between these things. I really like planning things in stages, so I have plenty of time to adjust and appreciate each level. I want to stay NA for a while. So I'm going to buy NA components, the next stage that works well for me from that would be a super charger. Since I can have that installed in toronto by Whitehead performance.
I can enjoy that for a while while having mazworks build me a darton sleeved block. Then I can sell the super charger, and na exhaust and drive down to MA-motorsports and have them do the new engine + twin turbo.

Going straight to turbo right away, would require me to save up a ton while only making 270whp. I'd rather step it up in stages. Maybe I'll skipp the supercharger entirely, who knows how the NA build will feel to me?

Maybe the engine will blow up on the supercharger + stock block /shrug I want to plan to change as little at a time as possible. Sure that's going to be a hassle when it comes to having to resell things. The money lost is worth the experience IMO

If you're comfortable with the down time, waiting on parts, extra expense, and all the other stress and headache that comes with it, then ball out.

Boost is expensive regardless of the route you choose, but many of us have played the NA game before and the $/HP ratio blows. You do have a very short list of NA mods, though, so you're not looking to fall as deep down that hole as I did.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best.

First thanks for taking the time to post all the details of your build and your goals and issues. Most people don't take the time to do that and either get flamed or get bad info.

My recommendations will be to go for the items that have the biggest bang for the buck because of your location and focused on building a good track car that still works on the street but probably won't be a great DD. Your situations is almost exactly like mine, except for the shipping.

First I see Z1 as the Amazon for Nissan Zs, it's one stop shopping but you can almost always get anything they sell there from other places and for less. Zspeed is good too, and don't be afraid to look for things on places like Rockauto too.

I have been using Boostane in my Miata and will use it in my Z as well. Seb from Specialty Z uses it in his with both pump gas and ethanol. It works very well!

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Personally I would avoid off the shelf boosters (too expensive) and ethanol (if it isn't readily available). If you really really want to raise the Octane use Toluene added to Gasoline. Used for decades, cheap, and available anywhere that sells paint. It's ~114 AKI and is less then 150 for 5 gallons.

It is all about what you are comfortable with. I have been using it for about a year now with good results. Seb has been recommending it to his clients and tuning their cars on it with no problems for a couple of years that I know of. As far as expense it is not as expensive as buying race fuel or any race ethanol at $400 plus per barrel. The technology on quality octane boosters has improved significantly. I wouldn't trust any off the shelf brand as I have no problem with Boostane and I have heard no issues with VP version as well.

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Yep I have been reading exactly about this. Threads like this

I haven't done my research yet about flex fuel systems but from what I gather it won't work with non ethanol. So I would need a 94 map and a higher octane map, and have to be diligent in adding the booster and only using the map when I have done so. Probably for track days only.

I have lots of work to do to find better deals. I'm going to be putting out feelers on the z34 canada facebook for better prices for stuff. Also there appears to be people selling things like SPL cheaper than z1. Z1 is fantastically convenient, but UPS brokerage fees are extortionary. And I need to learn how to declare my own imports to avoid the fees.

I also will likely drive down to the states to buy some of these stages all at once. Avoiding customs, tax and shipping. And I will get a nice road trip.
(I'm thinking stuff like the body kit roll cage from nextlevelperf, could all be installed in the US and I can just drive the car back to ontario, with no one the wiser :happydance:)

Then everything past bolt ons is over your ceiling right now. You will always be tinkering and maintaining a car once you go with any kind of aftermarket forced induction. You need to know what to do to keep it on the road, how to do it and own the tools and workspace required.

Also, aftermarket forced induction on a daily driver is a poor choice. I did it for years, but it is not the best way to do things. Even a reliable boosted Z will be down from time to time for parts, etc.

Honestly, if this is your first car the absolute worst thing I can think of is you having 500+ whp in a short wheelbase vehicle with traction problems.

We just run it all the time in the Miata, but we only really track the Miata so it's not a big deal and the Miata gets great fuel economy. The two of us can run a full day, eight sessions on about 14 gallons of gas! I do that in just over two sessions on e90 with the Z lol.

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^^^ This all day long. I would consider my first go around as having been reliable and it was in and out of the shop for various issues. Some small and some not so. Mine was basically the first production Fast Intentions TT kit to hit the street after the prototype kit. Chuck was in the game way before me and he shared his ups and downs and his decision to get a reliable daily driver. Fortunately for me the Z is a second car for me. Also, you should have the finances to deal with high performance issues. When you move to doing high performance mods your Z becomes a BOAT which stands for Bring On Another Thousand and that is for small repairs.

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hahah yes these are my thoughts exactly.

Now when you say daily driver this is not that. I don't have a need to drive anywhere, for any reason. Once my office opens up I will never drive my car to work. I work 5km away from where I live and usually ride either my bicycle, my onewheel, or my motorcycle. I could total this car and not buy a replacement, and I would have zero issues. I do not need this car at all, it's purely a toy. That being said, I'm not looking to total it or make it undriveable.

I really want to learn how to drive and will stay NA for a while. The reason why everything is in stages is so I can learn to deal with more horsepower slowly over time. I will be doing lots of driver training (already done one day of training at track.) Going to try and do 2 3 day training course this coming spring/summer. Also the stages will allow me to get to know the car better and shake down every stage properly, and overcome the maintenance issues that come up.

The other thing to realize is that I have no intention of ever moving to a rural area. Hence I will never have a garage. That's just the reality of living in Toronto. I will not let that stop me from doing FI on this car though. I am prepared for the shop fees. And i'm prepared to buy a floor jack and tools. But I probably will never have a garage or a driveway (for at least 5 years) so anything more than that is out of the picture.

Then you need to sit down and scale back your goals. Right now your plan ends in you selling a broken car for pennies on the dollar.

If you're saying I have to forgo any type of forced induction because I don't have a garage. Well I respect your opinion, but I'm going to ignore it at my own peril haha :tiphat: You can come back and say I told you so in a couple years when I blow it up.

Another Cupcake.

Seethru;

READ THIS THREAD FROM START TO FINISH.

http://www.the370z.com/forced-induct...ercharger.html

Yeah I've already read that all. Hopefully not! But who knows.

Im not saying forgo the project because of a lack of garage. I’m saying you should forgo the project because you have no garage, tools, mechanical skills, or driving skills.

Yet. Do bolt ons and suspension. Track the car for years. Learn how to take care of a car and buy the tools needed to do it. Then decide if you want to drop $20k on boost.

Or don’t. We could use another Shadow or CupcakeZ for our entertainment. Who are they, you ask? They are the last few people who walked in here without a clue and started buying go-fast parts. Read their threads. See the parallels. And then don’t be that guy.


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Just go slow if you are hell bent to do it. Keep your power goals low. Since you don't want to work on the car much or have the space too the only TT kit I would recommend is a Fast Intentions TT kit. The maintenance on that kit is very minimal. Boosted Performance is a maintenance nightmare. Once you get up and running then you can make a decision if you want to go further at that time.

Also, if you decide to go ahead on the project, make sure that you understand that you will need to ALWAYS have enough in the bank to purchase and install a new shortblock.

That's basically the plan I laid out in the post, though I may not stay NA for years, maybe 1.5 year or so. I'm not sure yet.

Anyway I'd appreciate if we could move past this and get my thread back on track thank you.

:iagree:
Solid advice. Op, you're just starting out in life. Take the advice from guys on here that have been doing this for years. You start out with 2 buckets. One full of luck. The other one is an empty bucket of experience. When the bucket of luck is empty. You hope that the bucket of experience is full. If not, you're in a world of hurt.

Lol I'm not 16 guys. I'm 34 years old. Sure I'm a complete noob at this car thing, but I don't think I'm an idiot. (I'm prepared to be proven wrong tho, good life lesson!)

Oh. If you're looking for only loving support and gentle handjobs no matter how dumb the plan, go to facebook. No idea is too dumb for them. Here we dispense good advice and tough love.

The honest to God truth is that you're going to be over your head by step one of your list. You need to come up the learning curve BEFORE you open your wallet. What you SHOULD do is go autoX the car for a year until you know WHY you're swapping out parts. It's a lot cheaper than open track days, its easier on consumables and you're a lot less likely to wad the car up.

Look - this is your first car and you're an inexperienced driver. You need miles driven, not horsepower.