LinPark's 370Z Journal

LinPark

Man, at a price of ¥ 1,500 aren't you worried it would fall off there and never be seen again? Not to mention, you are asking me to crawl up under the car AGAIN!!!! Good idea though!

wheee!

Mine has held on for two cars now! It was on Takayuki's Z before mine...

I get a few comments on it. I like it there. More of the sleeper effect...!

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wheee!

Watch the HKS SS Rolled tips thread for the group buy. Nissan Generation PM'd me that it was starting soon.

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Red__Zed

looks clean!

LinPark

Filled up at Chevron with 93 octane at $3.86 a gallon today - OUCH!

Finally tripped 3,100 miles this past week so I did the second oil change today and converted to synthetic with Redline 5W30. Second one went much faster and glad AK warned me to pull the magnetic plug away quickly or face hot oil spewing all over the place. Anyone complaining about the cost of oil really needs to look closer - my 5 quarts of Redline was about $55 and should last me quite awhile but to fill my tank cost me $60 and I'll be doing that again real soon.

Next up: Stillen G3 Intakes on the way, hunting for Berk HFC's, then an UpRev tune to dial it all in.

SPOHN

I just got 5qts of mobil 1 oil and filter for $33. On sale at Advance Auto till the end of the month.

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wheee!

I filled the Z up on Christmas Day (last time I drove her) and a full tank cost me $75. Today it would be closer to $85 ($1.20/litre)


... and we MAKE the stuff here! Something is not right......

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LinPark

After what happened in the Gulf, I was hoping gas would be free for Floridians until the cleanup was complete (which would be long after I'm dead and gone).

wheee!

Just drive down to the bay and scoop up your own!

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wheee!

How's the HFC's coming? Installed yet?

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LinPark

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?

wheee!

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

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LinPark

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 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.

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

wheee!

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

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christian370z

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.

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-320whp / 259wftlbs-
SP Rays -- RE-11s -- SpecialtyZ Tune -- Swift Springs -- Stillen 25R Oil Cooler -- Stillen G3 Intakes -- Berk HFCs -- F.I. 12" CBE -- Stillen Sway Bars -- Es14 Spring -- INGS+1 lip -- CF Spoiler -- GTR Start Button -- VLED Parking Lights -- PWJDM V2 shift knob