So I drive an A, but my friend drives a Z!

[iKnoYooNikka]

Sorry for the lame title but I'm new here and drive an 05 Acura RSX Type-S (pics below). It is supercharged netting ~300WHP. I'm here to learn more about the Z community because a good friend of mine is a fresh, very enthusiastic 370Z owner and he is looking for help towards modifying his car since he keeps losing to mine lol. He is not very message board savvy yet but it's a work in progress. He is overly anxious to do all kinds of crazy mods to his car but I'm trying to keep him from ruining it or ricing it up haha. To me, the 370Z is a well-packaged, well-tuned, beautiful and amazingly built machine. Don't have much else to say but glad to be here and looking forward to learning a few things from fellow Z owners. Any tips for starter mods is appreciated, and now for the pics!

My car:






His Z just so we can end on a good note :

[theDreamer]

Easy bolt ons:
~Intake - Stillen Gen III or Injen
~Exhaust - Stillen, Fast Intentions, Berk, JDM brand, AAM, etc.
~HFC - Berk, Stillen Fast Intention

Show/Handling:
~Wheel/Tire
~Coilover

[iKnoYooNikka]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm suggesting he give I/H/E a try first and see how he likes it then we'll make plans to go boost if he wants way more. Those all seem like great products and I've heard of both F.I. and Stillen so I'll investigate further for gains.

As far as suspension is concerned, he is only looking for a subtle drop ~1.5in. He's anxious to do new wheels and has his eyes set on a set of Volks for now.

[Xan]

Hello and welcome! Nice RSX as well.

If he wants to boost, I wouldn't spend the money on the intake and possibly not even the exhaust.

There is a Stillen supercharger prep thread, where they say the (currently best CAI) Stillen G3 doesn't fit.

And for the exhaust, if you want to supercharge it a 2.5" woudl be fine.
But if you want to put a turbo on you're better of with a 3", so you would have to replace it again...

[Vegasboricua]

Welcome and best of luck to you!

[vipor]

COBB Tuning kthxbai! lol

[KingDavid]

I/H/E and a tune and he'll be making more power than you.

[vipor]

easily

[Red370]

Originally Posted by KingDavid

I/H/E and a tune and he'll be making more power than you.

a more easier route, I/HFC/E the headers are an intensive install, the others can be done in the garage on jack stands. I believe Semtex made 321whp on a dynojet with the G3's, HFC's and Stillen Exhaust, same setup as me.

[iKnoYooNikka]

Thanks for the compliments and input. I'll try to address it in order.

I'm aware that the intake and exhaust are both not optimal mods to invest in initially if the ultimate goal is towards turbo or sc, but I failed to mention that boost will likely occur further down the line rather than ASAP. That being said, since your 370Z comes so beastly out the box, by following an I/HFC/E route, I feel he'll be able to enjoy the mods more along with the car's response to each of them. I changed my exhaust 4 times, not so much because of restriction, but the noise level's differed as well as the build quality. Now I'm on a custom 3" and still hesitant.

It's his first sports car and he's still getting the hang of everything; tuning in general and not to mention the thrill of having RWD. A steady approach to working on his own car will be most advantageous.

As far as COBB tuning Vipor, I'm sure if we lived closer to DFW we would highly consider it. Houston's still not too far so I wouldn't mind visiting their facility for our Z. I've not yet had time to look into how these cars are tuned: chips, stand-alone ecu's, piggy-back, etc. COBB however has always held a good place in my mind because I have a few friends with subarus and some mazdaspeeds that make good use of their products.

I'm sure the mods we've laid out will put him past me HP-wise, and as Dreamer reported a range of 320'ish whp would be a very nice start...should make a run-in with my car a lot more interesting.

Any more insight on tuning would be nice just to get my thoughts going in that area. Thanks.

[theDreamer]

Tuning (in Texas) you have two choices: Cobb or Uprev
Uprev does a full new ROM which allows them to load three or four custom setups: Power, valet mode, stock, <1k RPM
Cobb I think does a wipe but just one map, but not 100% sure

Uprev has stated they will no be working on VVEL currently while Cobb is working on it. Opening VVEL is meant to give us good access to some nice tuning changes, but no one knows yet exactly what it will do.

I think he will enjoy basic bolt ons, even if he plans on dumping them down the road for forced induction parts. One thing I would mention is to look at getting supporting mods if he is 100% forced induction route, many of which do not hurt having early. Things like oil cooling, upgrading the brakes (pads/fluids/lines), wheels & tires, etc. Those items you will not replace down the road, will help now and in the future.

[OMGWTFBBQ]

So... this might be off-topic, but when are we going to see engine bay shots of the DC5?

[iKnoYooNikka]

Sure. Here's a picture of it in 06 right after I put it on and cleaned it up a little. A few things have changed since then but I don't always take pics of it because I like keeping it low key. Thieves sadly plague my area:


Cobb and Uprev, both very interesting options that I'll read further into when the time becomes available. The VVEL adjustments do sound promising but I guess just like everyone else we'll have to play the waiting game to see what comes of it. Is there one right now that reigns supreme or favorite over the other?

I agree with you about the element of fun that comes with the basic bolt-ons, and since they are so widely used, I don't see it being a huge problem reselling them when the time comes. I'm glad you mentioned the supporting mods because I have noticed a lot of threads on oil cooling in particular. I already made a note to check out that, DIY or pre-fabbed kits.

All suspension goodies will likely be addressed after the series of first GO-parts as he'll find out quickly enough if he wants to go fast he'll wanna be well equipped to control the speed and stop it. Besides that he's been really crazy about that rear fog light (lol) and pondering over some type of in-dash navi unit since he didn't get the factory option.

Keep the tips coming and I like how there's fellow Texans helping out.

[theDreamer]

Where in Texas are you (and your friend)?
The rear fog can be picked up from many vendors on the boards for around 50USD, but to get it wired up you will either have to do it yourself (buy the wire and everything) or buy a pre-made wiring harness for 150USD. In-dash navigation can open up a number of choices, do you want a full 7" screen or a smaller one, what other features do you need, etc. Top two choices with the navigation units is Kenwood or Pioneer.

[Strytnyne]

it will be fun to see how keith's car progresses, cant let u have all the fun man