New Nissan 300zx owner (95 NA auto)

[BOOSTED SVT]

Hi all! For Christmas this year I bought my wife a 95 300zx NA automatic car to replace the one she had in the late 90's. She is not into speed but loves the styling of the Z car and hates shifting gears. This is why she wanted the automatic. I'm the car guy in the family and I'll go ahead and let out my little secret. I'm a Mustang guy. Notice that I did not say a Ford guy because short of the Mustang there's not another Ford I would be interested in owning. Truth being that I really love all cars that someone has taken the time to modify and love. Now I'm not talking about the beat up Honda Civic with the fart pipe on it, flame decals and wing that sticks up over the roof but the cars that someone has taken the time to do right. My Mustang project is done and I needed a new one to get started on to keep me occupied. Now I'm not bragging here, well maybe I am a little because I'm proud of my work but my Cobra has graced the pages of 2 separate Mustang magazines. The reason that I share this is to let you know that I have big plans for this Z and I want to do it right. I'm not interested in doing anything "halfway" to try and save a few bucks.

On to the new to us car. Some jack-nut cut the catalytic converters off and put some crappy single tip mufflers on it. Not the cool single tips but like a standard aluminized muffler that looks like it would go under a Buick. The car came from Jamestown Tennessee so it was "red-necked". The car sounds like a teenager owns it and that has got to go. I'm going to do a tag transfer from my Honda Accord (daily driver) to get by having to deal with emissions immediately and give myself some time to decide what exhaust route to go. She was perfectly happy with her completely stock exhaust from her '94 that she owned in the late '90's but did say that she would like a sound like one of my Mustangs. I showed her a LS swapped Z car and she just rolled her eyes at me... Lol. So my plans of a LS swap were destroyed before I ever had a chance to lay them out. It was meant as a joke to her really but being the speed demon that I am I would have followed through with her permission!! So, the question I have for y'all to begin with, and there will be plenty more, what would your reccomendations be for exhaust systems? We want a deep tone sound that doesn't sound like a kid owns the car. We are not interested in power gains at all. I really would like to keep, or go back to, the dual tip design but the factory tips seemed small to me. I like the look of the magnaflow tips that I've googled and seen their cat-back systems but don't want the car to be too loud. I've used Borla exhaust on all of my Mustangs and love them but have no clue what they would sound like on a V6. Any advice/help in making the right decision would be much appreciated. Because of the way the car currently sounds this will be my first project of many to come. Next up will be an interior upgrade as the leather seats are tired and worn. I was looking at some Katzkin replacement covers to keep the factory look and feel. She hates the Corbeau seats in my Cobra. After that will come wheels and possibly a brake upgrade kit, I don't like seeing small brakes behind larger wheels. After that will be paint, no Maaco job but something very serious. I'm wanting show quality paint and am willing to pay for it!

Thanks for reading guys. I am very excited about my new project!!

[NolimitZ32]

Welcome aboard, we'd love to see pictures of the Z and your Cobra so post them up. As for the exhaust most folks go after the BB, Magnaflow, Stillen, or Z1 units. There is quite a bit to choose from just stay away from the ebay specials (Megan, CX Racing, etc.). You know just as well as most of us that the exhaust alone will not produce the sound per se but you should be good with any of the name brand good header-back systems as long as you get them fully resonated otherwise you will have drone. Best suggestion I have is cruise youtube for different Z32 exhaust videos.

[ronin47]

This is exactly the kind of knowledge that I was hoping to tap into when I joined! I, too, would be interested in seeing pictures, so I hope you post them. I am lucky in that I grew up with my Z (my Dad was her original owner) and I know how meticulously and lovingly she was taken care of, but I also know that nothing at all was changed on her. She still has stock everything. I would love to follow your progress and see what you do with your Z!

[BOOSTED SVT]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! I'm not sure how to post pictures yet but have asked my wife for some help in doing it. I'll get them up as soon as I can.

[Afi]

Here are two videos taken from my '90 NA to help you compare:

1-Sound clip taken from the OEM exhaust (which had some exhaust leak though):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjKGxfdWI1c

2-Sound clip from taken from my car with a Specialty Z Catback (2.25", H-Pipe with resonators, Dual round tips):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZT64mqixUA

Hope it helps, take care!