first upgrade?

[woody300zx]

Hey I just recently got a 1990 n/a 300zx and im sick and tired of Hondas acuras and v4 beating my car im running completely stock. What should I do to add some more torque and HP to my engine as a first upgrade. Intake? Less weight? Please I need help.

[KornFlakeZ]

n/a engines dont respond well to mods as in, power gains are very minimal compared to the cash your gonna put in the car... honestly i would save up for a tt front clip and do a swap... way cheaper than trying to make an n/a engine fast. on another hand, if hondas are beating your car then something is seriously wrong with your engine...

[t.mcginley.jr]

Getting a cone style intake and a catback exhaust will free up a small amount of horsepower, but you won't come close to TT hp numbers by a long shot. With every kind of upgrade short of turbos/supercharger a 300zx NA will struggle to make 250hp at the wheels. If you want more power you'll need a TT like KornFlake said. I also agree with him that Hondas and 4 cylinders should be beating you, unless they are running big turbos. You could be lacking power just because your engine needs some maintenance like cleaning throttle bodies, new correct style spark plugs, new style fuel injectors, clean MAF, etc.

[woody300zx]

Thanks guys. Totally makes sense. I should swap for a TT. Thanks for the advice.

[t.mcginley.jr]

You can swap, but in the long run it usually ends up being more expensive (and frustrating/time consuming) than finding a decent factory TT. It mostly depends on how much you have to spend, how much time you have, how much work you can do yourself, and if you really want to do the swap or not.

[woody300zx]

So a factory rt would be better? I'm confused right about now haha idk anymore I love my car but it definitely is starting to becoming difficult to decide how to fix it.

[t.mcginley.jr]

I'm saying if you want higher horsepower numbers like 250-300 and higher then start with a factory TT, that way you can just clean it up and start getting performance parts. Trying to do an NA to TT swap you end up spending thousands just to get it swapped and then still need to buy parts.

If you love your NA and can be happy with a little over 200hp, then just put some money into fixing it up with some new parts.

[nissanfreak12]

Thanks guys. Totally makes sense. I should swap for a TT. Thanks for the advice.

What you really should do it maintenance and suspension mods. Quit worrying that hondas are beating your Z, just be happy your not driving a honda. Be proud that you own and drive a Z. These are great cars and will be in style for years to come, can you say the same about most hondas?

The problem with swapping to a TT is its relatively expensive, 3-5k being frugal and doing everything yourself. Once you get to this, yes you can beat hondas, but now you will want to beat mustangs, gto's, vettes, and the list goes on and on. It will never stop and you will never be satisfied. One of the guys around here has over 500hp, and he wants more. Its an addiction when you start to boost, trust me I know, Im looking for the next upgrade to make it go faster.

Im not trying to be an a** in anyway, but from your comments you sound young and are far from being ready for a 300+ hp car. Educate yourself of these vehicles, they get expensive. Make it look good, rims, good paint job, good suspension, nice exhaust. People would rather see a great looking car than a beater that can crush most cars. My $.02.