They should arrive on Friday this week and I think the Stillen G3's will arrive next week. I'll take a crack at both but can easily see myself going up to Z-Fever to have the HFC's installed and then the car tuned. Ideally, I'd like to do the entire install myself and keep the car untuned for a few weeks to see if I can tell the difference after the tune is done. Believe me, I'll be posting in here once the next upgrade is in. Do we have any updates on the Stainless Steel tips yet?

I'm still waiting for a response from Nissan Generation....

Alright, time for an update (sorry it turned into such a long one and congrats to those who make it all the way through - plus I have a question all the way at the bottom if you just want to skip straight there and bypass all this jibberish) - some of you know that I had the Stillen G3's and Berk HFC's in my possession a few weeks ago. The Stillen's went in on March 26th. I didn't bother documenting much of it because that has been done quite well on this forum - thanks to Snakes709, DIGITONIUM, and AK370Z for the most excellent write-ups that helped get me through everything. The tip about the Carbide Dremel tool was also very helpful - cut through the stuff like butter. I wish I had taken a little more time on the driver side - lost my patience there at one point and put a small scratch on the lower pipe but overall I am very pleased with how things went. I really have to admire the work that went into designing these intakes - how they fit is just amazing and I can't help but wonder how many trial runs they must have made to get it just right.

As for the Berk's, I had been struggling with these for quite some time - I wasn't really sure I could do the work myself (thanks to M.Bonanni for the excellent DIY write-up by the way). I ordered numerous 1/2" extenstions and breaker bars in an attempt to convince myself that I was going to do it. I contacted a tuner in St. Petersburg (who will be doing my UpRev tune) about installing the cats and he gave me a fair quote. I also found a muffler shop here in Bradenton and stopped by there last Friday morning thinking the work would get done. Once the car was on the lift, the guy seemed to get skeptical himself and said the car would need to stay overnight and then require about 4 to 5 hours of work which would be a minimum of $200 but "hopefully" not more than $300 total to install. I brought the car home that morning quite depressed. :(

I had tried numerous times to loosen the top bolt on the passenger side - this to me is the easiest bolt to get to. On Saturday morning I tried again to loosen it with no luck. Instead I thought to try the nut underneath it and that one came out quite easily using my extensions and a 2 foot breaker bar. So, I grabbed my PB Blaster, built a long makeshift tube out of straws and fished it down to the rusty looking bolt. I gave it several hits with PB Blaster and let it sit in between dowsings as well as tapping it from time to time in hopes that the PB Blaster was working its way in there. One final battle and I had it loose - man I was :happydance: now.

That one left nut underneath on the passenger side and the removal phase would be half way done - 30 minutes later and I was feeling good. Next I moved on to the driver side bolt - at first it came loose and then it sheared in half so I knew it wouldn't be giving me anymore headaches. The bottom front bolt on the driver side is a royal pain to setup but it came free once everything was in place. The last nut on the driver side from underneath was a piece of cake. The 4 bolts connecting them to the mid-pipe were easy because I had already worked those before when I installed my HKS exhaust. At last, I had them all loose and just a few minutes later the stock cats were off. I did my best Wile E. Coyote immitation by jumping up and down on them as I pulverized them into the ground (just kidding, they are stored away in the Berk box :) ).

The new cats went in fairly easily - these used bolts with a 16mm head and a 14mm nut. Tightening all of those was a bit of a challenge but didn't take nearly as long as removing the old ones. I reconnected to the mid-pipe, put the cat brace back in place, and re-installed the O2 sensors underneath. Did some last minute polishing on the Stillen intake tubes and everything was back in place.

It was early Sunday morning before I could fire her up for the first time and it was in the low 60's. I honestly can't remember seeing exhaust come out of the car like that before but there were no warning lights on the dash - I guess the combination of the cold outside air, the new HFC's, and possibly higher exit exhaust temps made it look different. Cleaned up the garage a bit by putting away all the loose tools, gave her a quick bath, and it was off for a test run.

WOW! The combination of the Stillen G3's, Berk HFC's, and HKS Hi-Power exhaust are really something fun to experience. The sound alone is worth it but you throw in the improved performance and it's a win-win. Took her out yesterday evening with the wife to see Source Code (highly recommend it) and the car was turning heads everywhere we went - the sound draws them in and the looks hold their attention.

I really am surprised that I was able to get the HFC's installed myself - being quoted 4 to 5 hours by a "professional" with a lift and then me doing the work myself in the same amount of time with a jack and stands is still settling in with me. Unbelievable! Thanks to wheee! for pushing me on the install and recommending the components - if he hadn't continued to tell me I could do it then I seriously doubt I would've kept at it.

I do have one question for anyone who manages to read all the way through this - I believe this is normal but thought I would ask anyway - during acceleration now at around 4k to 5k rpm I start to hear a high pitched scream - is that the intakes or the HFC's or something else? I'm pretty sure it wasn't there when I just had the intakes on for a week. And, no, its not my wife in the passenger seat. :bowrofl:

Next up: Osiris UpRev tune (hopefully will have before and after Dyno's to post up)

Awesome. I knew you could do it! Congrats on the install and saving all that coin. Now go get the Swift Springs! lol
As for the noise, no clue as mine does not do that. Small leak somewhere or gap in the intake fittings?
Mark

I had the exact experience you had with installing my Berks, one nut came off easily while the other sheared the exhaust stud clean off. The performance benefits alone are worth it, not to mention adding to the already sweet HKS exhaust! You are now officially obligated to get some video I think. ;)

Soooo..... What's new?

Yeah, this thread is good, just read all the posts...waiting to hear the setup and see if he's made any more progress with the build ....

PM sent

Did you get the tune yet Lin?

Nah, hanging low on spending money for the time being - how about you? Any notable upgrades or improvements?

Well, I am currently on a course in Nova Scotia till March, then I am planning on a couple new things.
1) New Pilot Super Sports in 275/35/19 and 305/30/19 config
2) Custom alignment and camber
3) UpRev dyno tune
4) Kellyefields Hood Lift kit: in garage waiting for install
5) Fumoto Oil drain plug with locking clip: waiting in garage
6) Z1 SS Clutch line: waiting in garage
7) Painting inside drums of sport wheels Black Rose : undecided
8) DiNoc Carbon Fibre wrapped B Pillars: waitng to order the DiNoc and do it myself
9) 19 row oil cooler: if buddy parts out car
10) Hotchkis front and rear swaybar: if buddy parts out car

Looks like you'll be letting me know how the UpRev Dyno Tune goes. :)

Interested in how the Hotchkis swaybars do as well - had my eye on those for awhile. If I do anything this year it will probably be simple things that you have already done like tint and Swift springs. Always wanted to put the Touring rear view mirror in too - tired of fumbling for the garage door opener when I pull in the driveway.

+1 plus the Nissan Ester Oil didnt offer much features. currently i'm using HKS 10W 35 and they did great! and any plans on changing your wheels? :tup:

No problem, I'll keep you posted on the gains etc...

I had my eye on these rims for quite some time but right now its just not in the budget. I took the spare out one night and had it sitting next to the car and noticed how good it looks since its black so a cheaper option in the meantime might be to powder coat my sport rims black. I'd probably be happier with an UpRev tune though for the money. :)

:happydance:

So there's a very good chance I'm trading my baby in tomorrow after over 8 years of pure joy. I've done some small mods since moving to Ohio:

Winter setup (highly recommend this to anyone living up north)
Black powder coated the Rays sport rims
Homelink and self-dimming rear view mirror
Custom hood damper kit from kellyefields
Finally got an UpRev tune
Clutch helper spring upgrade

Will try to post some final photos up of her and some pics of my new lady soon. Stay tuned! :tiphat:

Say it isn’t so....!

Someday's for a short time I wish it wasn't true but I am really enjoying the new ride - here are some pics of her just before I traded her in:

http://www.the370z.com/members/linpa...ld-vehicle.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/linpa...48-ka-chow.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/linpa...ye-my-love.jpg

It was a tough decision but I ended up going with this:

http://www.the370z.com/members/linpa...-nice-ride.jpg

:eek::icon18:

Just kidding, I actually walked passed that car at lunch a few weeks back - it looked really awesome sitting there but I have to say it didn't impress when it fired up and drove off as much as I had expected it would.

Given my recent fairly monumental birthday, here's a hint at what I ended up going with:

http://www.the370z.com/members/linpa...-ride-hint.jpg

I'll post up more pics of the new ride shortly.

If anyone is interested, my old car is up for sale at what I feel is a steal of a price - do a search for Ganley Chevy of Aurora and look at Pre-Owned Nissan vehicles and you should find her - currently, going for $18.9k.

Well, here she is!

http://www.the370z.com/members/linpa...0717-punch.jpg
http://www.the370z.com/members/linpa...18-ka-chow.jpg
http://www.the370z.com/members/linpa...very-often.jpg
http://www.the370z.com/members/linpa...rctic-here.jpg
http://www.the370z.com/members/linpa...-new-roads.jpg

Already done a few mods (like the blue carbon fiber wrap on the bowties). Still miss my old girl and she's been purchased by someone else now. Hope she's being taken good care of in her new life.

Let's roll! :driving:

Bitchin' :rock: