First time buyer looking for some upgrades...

[whodey_15]

I just bought a white 03 Z touring edition that seems to be bone stock.. What kind of suggestions would you all consider to be a must to get this thing gaining some street rep?? I had it out cruising the other night and was apauled to see a civic running so close... I can't be letting this happen any longer so help me out guys...

[Mr. Z33]

All depends on your budget, but a good exhaust will help. I have the NISMO cat back on my 03 and love it! Next I think that I will do the NISMO headers, and depending on whether or not you go FI a good intake will help you.

[BusyBadger]

Street rep? You won't find many here that will endorse street racing and irresponsible behaviour in public.

That being said, the first thing I would do is to thoroughly check out the car and make sure everything is running as it should be before you start trying to improve the performance. If its close to the 60K mark you might as well take care of the service. If you don't know how the previous owner(s) drove it you should go with Schedule 1 maintenance. You can download any of the Nissan FSM's here.

After that: tires, tires, tires. Too much power is rarely a problem however, not enough traction frequently is. Better check out the brakes while you're putting on fresh rubber. Steel braided lines are a good idea unless you're looking to autocross your Z in the B-Stock category (I still can't believe Nissan didn't put them on as OEM equipment).

For performance beyond factory spec it would be helpful to know what sort of goals you had in mind and what sort of budget you're working with. There's no point in people suggesting different forced induction setups if you don't have the money to spend on them.

[xjmxstac]

Street rep? You won't find many here that will endorse street racing and irresponsible behaviour in public.

That being said, the first thing I would do is to thoroughly check out the car and make sure everything is running as it should be before you start trying to improve the performance. If its close to the 60K mark you might as well take care of the service. If you don't know how the previous owner(s) drove it you should go with Schedule 1 maintenance. You can download any of the Nissan FSM's here.

After that: tires, tires, tires. Too much power is rarely a problem however, not enough traction frequently is. Better check out the brakes while you're putting on fresh rubber. Steel braided lines are a good idea unless you're looking to autocross your Z in the B-Stock category (I still can't believe Nissan didn't put them on as OEM equipment).

For performance beyond factory spec it would be helpful to know what sort of goals you had in mind and what sort of budget you're working with. There's no point in people suggesting different forced induction setups if you don't have the money to spend on them.

+1^...and you'll need some driver mods. Learn your car first before adding any power. It can be as easy as turning off the tcs

[ZedHead]

+1 ^^ Just from driving around I think the car is faster with the TCS off. Seems odd but it really does feel faster. Anyone else wanna back me up?

[xjmxstac]

TCS cuts power off when the car feels that one or both rear wheels are slipping.With the TCS/VDC off, there are no restrictions.

[rmezz13]

Look for brands such as NISMO, Injen, AEM, K&N, STILLEN, Jim Wolf Technologies (JWT), Kinetix Racing, Motordyne, Technosquare, COBB, GReddy, HKS, so on and so forth.... These ae companies that make CAI, cat back exhausts, and various other upgrades/performance parts for our cars.

[ars13]

Don't worry about racing people on the street. It's your car and your life but the risk outweighs the reward in my opinion. Start with basic bolt on mods and see how you feel about your car after that. I agree with rmezz13 about what brands to look for. They seem to be the ones more concentrated on the z platform.

[micmicmotorbike]

It all depends on your goals and money!!!!If you want to race in NASA or SCCA check out the rule books for guidelines for classes. Always go with quality parts though. U want them to last the life of the car when possible.Good luck.