Modifying The 350gt

[I GOT RICE]

really considering getting the v35 350gt (manual). want to make her hit mid 13's or better- down the quarter- whilst keeping her na. Stock, they run 14.6. any recommendations of the type of mods required would highly be appreciated. don't really want to spend more the 3k -depending on the mod. looked at a few cold air intake systems, exhausts, plenum spacers... etc but can't find to many info from customers actually testing this gear out and posting performance results.

thanks fella's

[R33_Dude]

I'm not sure how close you will get but the 350Z NA guys go with:

- good extractors ($1500+)

- high flow cat ($200)

- crossover pipe for the twin exhaust, resonator and functional muffler (probably an extra grand fitted)

- tyres (semi slick/super sticky I recommend Bridgestone Adrenalines at about $250 each, $1000 for four, excellent tyre, or if you want to be really awesome go some Mickey Thompson drag radials on about a 16" rim for maximum sidewall. Not sure on the pricing for those.)

- shielded intake of some description i.e. pod with an alloy cover or a high flow panel is just as good ($50-$250)

All in all it might cost you close to four grand. Best items are tyres first.

Run lower than street pressure at the track and throw out any crap that you don't need - spare, tools, sub, and whatever other crap you have kicking around in the boot.

Exhaust systems that people have recommended to me are x-force and the stainless ones from unique autosports (can't speak from experience here only others experience).

Intake is easy enough - personally I would just go with a panel filter, plenty of cars run 12's with a panel.

Thats about all I have experience with mate, and thats through friends not myself so don't take anything as gospel...

[scathing]

You're not likely to run mid 13's on just $3K worth of mods.

A catback will cost you $1K used. A pair of R-Comps in 17" (the smallest that will clear the brakes, you might get 16's to clear non-Brembos) around $800. A tuned piggyback ECU will be another $1500 (give or take). You'll see 14 flat to a high 13 with that.

The problem is most of the cheap and easy weight reduction is coming out of the boot, which you don't want.

I've got a 350Z, which is lighter than your car but pretty similar otherwise. With dead Falken Azenis RT215s, a HiTech catback, and a Unichip I've done 14 flat. A better dragger than me on fresh tyres would have gotten into the 13s (I can't remember if my 60' or my trap speed wasn't the highest of the night on that run, but it wasn't "perfect" and I know I'm shit at getting a car off the line) but I don't know if you'll do a mid 13 even if you are a driving god.

high flow cat ($200)

You're unlikely to get them that cheap. The car needs 2 cats. The cheapest I've seen is UAS at $250 each + labour for custom flanges

crossover pipe for the twin exhaust, resonator and functional muffler (probably an extra grand fitted)

On a NA car you're better off with something that goes into a single mid pipe, for a good area under the curve. $1-1.5K used for a JDM catback, a bit lower for a used HiTech.

I'll get around to going to the drags in a few months, and see what it runs on dead RE55S. The last time I drove the car on an...erm....private road the G-Tech said I ran a 13.8 ET, and that was before the shorter final drive.

[Eug]

best to check out the V-series section of the forums mate... you might find some info more relevant to your engine type.

[WORLD FAMOUS Z]

really considering getting the v35 350gt (manual). want to make her hit mid 13's or better- down the quarter- whilst keeping her na. Stock, they run 14.6. any recommendations of the type of mods required would highly be appreciated. don't really want to spend more the 3k -depending on the mod. looked at a few cold air intake systems, exhausts, plenum spacers... etc but can't find to many info from customers actually testing this gear out and posting performance results.

thanks fella's

There are a few tricks that you can use to get better 1/4 mile times with an NA setup. I used to work for a company that raced the 350Z in the Speed Grand Am Cup series here in the US a few years ago, and we developed a lot of parts for the car that worked really well to increase overall performance.

intakes:

You can get VERY good gains from spacer kits such as Motordyne spacers www.motordyneengineering.com You will basically be able to gain power while also shifting the powerband to the left of the dyno, meaning more "useable" power. this is important for straight line performance.

Also, stay away from most intakes that are a cold air design that move the filter down into the fender and outside of the engine, these tend to heat soak quickly, and especially on hot days, will actually heat up worse than other designs of intakes.

I have used the Stillen cold air intake box on my Z for years now, but have tried a few different intakes to compare them all, and the airbox of the stillen really does help to reduce intake air temps. I'd highly recomend it.

Exhaust:

Anything nearly that you do the the exhaust of the car will help benefit performance, but you don't want too much high end power, you still want low end torque for 1/4 mile racing. I would recomend looking at the motordyne shockwave exhaust, or perhaps a light weight titanium setup from JIC. headers will help, but keep the cats stock or just use a high flow unit, straight pipes will shift the power output back into the high end.

Tranny:

upgrade the trans with a light weight clutch/flywheel this is the best possible thing you can do to the car for acceleration IMO.

Exedy has nice setups. ACT is fine as well and actually is very durable for constant launching etc... Nismo is not light enough, stay away from that flywheel....

Also, you can upgrade the final drive of your differential from the 3.5 that is stock in the 6mt to a 3.9 or a 4.1 ring and pinion (available out of many USA NISSAN oem vehicles). Lastly, upgrading to a 2-way differential will be killer as well, When I did this on my Z, I noticed a tremendous difference in how the car handles the launch, and how well the car stayed straight instead of fishtailing slightly off the line.

Spend more money not on power adders, but on the transmission, this is the key for any 1/4 racer with these cars.

If you have any questions, you can always just contact me, I've worked on these cars for 5 years now....

[scathing]

There are a few tricks that you can use to get better 1/4 mile times with an NA setup.

The question is, can you run consistent 13 ETs while only spending USD$2500? Also consider that parts in Australia cost about 1.5-2 times as much as they do in the USA, once we've landed them. They all have to come from Japan or the USA anyway, as the market for FM platform cars is still quite small down here. That gives him an equivalent budget, to you, of around USD$1500.

It's easy to get a V into the 13s if you throw enough money at it. I just don't know how doable it is on his budget.