New to the 350Z family and have a few questions

[italiangt]

im new to the 350Z family, i have 06' 350 and i already got half my work place jealous... i was just wondering what should a couple of my first upgrades be? it honestly doesnt matter if its cosmtic or performance first, im eventually wanting to go all out with this car... and as for my other question, my car is an automatic/triptron. Is it possible to do a transmission swap for a manual? I know its gonna cost me an arm and a leg, but i took a lot into consideration and i came down to one conclusion... manual is much more fun!!!
Just let me know what you guys and gals think.

Thanks

[370Z/28]

First, get the other half of your workplace jealous.

Post a pic so we can critique. I'll be more than happy to suggest cosmetic improvements and the fellas can help you with your performance upgrades. Like I have said before, my Z is plenty fast for me.

[BusyBadger]

Welcome to NICO!

A transmission swap wouldn't really be worth the time & effort/trouble to do. The Nissan CD009 transmission alone runs about $2000. Besides changing out the transmission you'd need to a new clutch & flywheel, you'd need a new ECU/ECM for the car since the one you've got would have no idea what to do with the new bits. You'd need a clutch pedal, some new plumbing...and I've got ZERO idea how long it would actually take to do either. And like every other car project there's sure to be along list of stuff that you won't realize you need until you actually get into it. But that's not to say that you can't improve an automatic. This one is a little pricy, but it's not nearly as much as a transmission swap! A valve body upgrade will certainly wake up your car.

What are your plans for the car? Is it a daily driver? Weekend toy? Here are a few couple of other performance goodies you can consider.

I'm a beliver in driveline upgrades (I guess because I'm an NA guy). Quaife makes a LSD specifically for 350Z's with an automatic transmission for some extra traction and you could also change out your final drive from the 3.357 in the automatic to the 3.538 that's used in the manual to get some quicker acceleration at the price of some top end and a little fuel economy.

Suspension & handling upgrades should be the same across the board and those are so plentiful that we could have a few threads dedicated to them.

[italiangt]

i plan on using the car as a daily driver, but i want to also make sure that when i go to my local track i have plenty of power and performance under the hood...ill check into the valve body upgrade as well im interested in that... as for how my car looks this is my girl...

[Bubba1]

im new to the 350Z family, i have 06' 350 and i already got half my work place jealous... i was just wondering what should a couple of my first upgrades be? it honestly doesnt matter if its cosmtic or performance first, im eventually wanting to go all out with this car... and as for my other question, my car is an automatic/triptron. Is it possible to do a transmission swap for a manual? I know its gonna cost me an arm and a leg, but i took a lot into consideration and i came down to one conclusion... manual is much more fun!!!
Just let me know what you guys and gals think.

Thanks

Nice ride. Welcome. I agree the transmission conversion might be expensive enough that it could be just as easy to trade for a manual transmission model rather than doing the conversion. That said, yes, the manual is more fun, but that's not to say the auto is not fun. You can have plenty of giggles with an auto. Plus if your commute has a lotta stop/go, it might be preferable. As far as upgrades, if you're planning to do a few track days, (tracks with turns), if your Z does not have the Brembo package, you might want to consider a brake upgrade. while the standard brakes perform fine on track, the pads don't last long. You also might consider a tire upgrade to Z rated rubber. If you're talking drag strips, and looking only at acceleration, there are many things that can be done, the limiting factor is your budget.

enjoy

[italiangt]

I'm not knocking on the auto transmission, I enjoy it just as much as I would with a manual transmission, the triptron is really responsive, I just feel like I have more control over the car if I drive manual... That's all, busy badger suggested something and I'm probably going to take that route.

[370Z/28]

Beautiful car!

A few cosmetic suggestions. Replace the front amber corner lights with clear ones. I debadged my 370Z emblem only leaving the Nissan emblem on the back. You didn't give a rear shot, but make sure all you dealer emblems and crap like that are gone. I got a really nice looking Z license plate frame that is the same brushed aluminum as the door handles. Other than that, she is a beaut, keep her nice an shiny. Maybe someday you would want to look into some rims? I would think a black rim with a polished lip would look great on your color car.

As far as the auto transmission goes, you mention track and I'm assuming you mean drag strip. If you are drag racing that car, that auto transmission will be much more consistant than you could ever be with a manual. Consistancy is your key to winning.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[italiangt]

i like all the ideas, i think its gonna help out a lot... im interested in seeing what my car would like without the emblem... and the clear corner lights would be awesome!!! I did mean the drag strip... as well i also want to learn how to drift my car, i have another set of tires already lol just planning ahead... throw in your 2 cents again if you know anything about drifting... thanx a lot again!!! you guys are really great on here!!!

[370Z/28]

See how much cleaner the tail is without it? Let me warn you, they didn't come off easy. It will take a long time. I worry that maybe your paint might have faded and you would be able to see an outline of it. What do you think?

[italiangt]

i like it without the 370 emblem it looks clean, lol love the licence plate... my paint isnt faded but for some reason my pics dont go up here that easily im probably going to try to get a pic of the a** end of my car and post it up here...

[300ZXttZMAN]

im new to the 350Z family, i have 06' 350 and i already got half my work place jealous... i was just wondering what should a couple of my first upgrades be? it honestly doesnt matter if its cosmtic or performance first, im eventually wanting to go all out with this car... and as for my other question, my car is an automatic/triptron. Is it possible to do a transmission swap for a manual? I know its gonna cost me an arm and a leg, but i took a lot into consideration and i came down to one conclusion... manual is much more fun!!!
Just let me know what you guys and gals think.

Thanks

Nice ride. Welcome. I agree the transmission conversion might be expensive enough that it could be just as easy to trade for a manual transmission model rather than doing the conversion. That said, yes, the manual is more fun, but that's not to say the auto is not fun. You can have plenty of giggles with an auto. Plus if your commute has a lotta stop/go, it might be preferable. As far as upgrades, if you're planning to do a few track days, (tracks with turns), if your Z does not have the Brembo package, you might want to consider a brake upgrade. while the standard brakes perform fine on track, the pads don't last long. You also might consider a tire upgrade to Z rated rubber. If you're talking drag strips, and looking only at acceleration, there are many things that can be done, the limiting factor is your budget.

enjoy

I just want to get a notice on how well that was said absolutely perfect...

(not being sarcastic)