website Z1

[BDub13]

I have been looking at alot of products from the Z1 website. I have alot of questions though about which things are more worth the money.

air intakes
http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_in ... 7{428}2098
http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_in ... 43{125}551

wich of these will give more hosrsepower gains? which is more worth the cost? The site recomendsa chip upgrade for "applicaatinos 500horsepower or more. do I need to chip mine if it is not even close to 500 hp? would these intakes do more harm then good because they or not on a 500 hp machine? is there a different chip that would be better? what is the idle air balance thing? would it be necesary?

BOV
http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_in ... ts_id=2525

what exactly does a blow off valve do? would this setup be a good investment or shoul I just buy the hardpipes and some other BOV's seperatly?



throttle boddies
http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_in ... 5{337}1660

how much of a gain would I see from throttle bodies? would they be worth the cost?

underdrive pulleys
http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_in ... 35{120}507

I know that reducing rotational mass has very large gains, but would this set be worth the cost? what kind of numbers would we be looking at for increases?

ECU
http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_in ... ts_id=4512

my goal for the car is to get it between 500-600 rwhp, and reduce about 400 lbs of weight. would this ECU be a necesary investment, or just overkill. are there any others that would be better for my application? I live in a smallish town and dont think we really have any one that knows anything about playing around with the maps and stuff on an ECU.

Ignition
http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_in ... cts_id=833

I dont even know what this is. could some one please explain? would this also be a good investment? what kind of gains from something like this?

thanks for any information you can offer

[robomatic12]

Read the stickied thread at the top of the 300zx Technical.

everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-z32-t508377.html

Scroll down until you see "Destroying the World in Your Z32: Tuning Tips". That should answer every question.

If your aiming for 500-600whp. You are going to need bigger turbos, bigger injectors, bigger intercoolers, upgraded ecu, dual intake (I like the selin dual translator), upgraded clutch. That's just a few things to start thinking about. Read that thread and if you still have questions post back here

[vulcanrush]

what you can try is to step-up in power, maybe 450rwhp first, for example.

the more power, the more things you have to fix and adjust, etc.

how fast is your current car?

[marty1mc]

You may be on top of this already, but the first step is maintenance. How old/miles is your timing belt, water pump, seals, etc? If you don't know, then the first step is a 120k kit and I would also add upper plenum gasket and valve cover seals.

[BDub13]

I still dont know if there would be any benifit to buying hardpipes woth the HKS SSQV3 BOV's. Would I be gaining anything from buying those? What exactly do BOV's do?

Abd would throttle bodies be a wise way to spend my money?

[robomatic12]

BOV = WHOOOOSHHHHH noise. Does nothing for power increase, only need them when you are making big power where you can damage the turbos with stock recirculating valves.

Throttle bodies give you a little bit more response and some HP.

But this small stuff isn't going to get you to 500-600hp. I don't know what you are asking. Are you asking us to tell you what you need for 600hp? Or what do u have now? We need to know this stuff before we can help you.

[Ba11erz]

I have been looking at alot of products from the Z1 website. I have alot of questions though about which things are more worth the money.

thanks for any information you can offer

@BDub13,
your questions/comments are valid and after reviewing the recent replies, I wanted to caveat (add) what others had mentioned.

If you have and endless budget, then by all means blow your wad on everything either Z1, AshSPECZ, ImportPartsPro, SpecialityZ, or ConceptZPerformance has to offer relating to the 300zx TT.

Be warned, it could get costly very quickly even to get you to the 500-600whp range.

I would suggest you decide on your intentions:

1) Ultimate dream machine?
2) Show car with eye candy, bells & whistles?
3) Street King/Drag Stripper?
4) Time attack or maybe drifter?
5) Daily driver?

Without knowing your intentions it's really difficult to offer suggestions or advice on products.

Get familiar with the VG30DETT engine and most importantly the history on how it has evolved.

The Z32 has more than 20yrs of influence on Z enthusiasts making it an exceptional hobby to get into due to the endless expertise and resources available both online and in shops.

IMHO, the Z32s reputation exceeds its popularity.

Here are some additional reading material you may find useful in your quest:

A modding breakdown...
http://www.carolinazclub.com/simpleczc/ ... 07#msg1007

and a full explanation of performance upgrade stages...
http://www.twinturbo.net/net/viewmsg.as ... _id=870047

lastly, a one stop shop with a ton of links to all sorts of Z32 literature...
http://www.ttxtz.com/tech.html


BTW, its always refreshing to know someone else it getting bit by the Z32 bug.

GoodLuck

FTW!

[BDub13]

My goal for the car is to make 500-600 rwhp. It is currenly a completely stock TT. I am not going to dedicate it solely to drag racing, but will br taking it out to the local drag strip very once and a while to go spend the day with friends and make a coupons passes. I want it o dominate people on the street, but at the same time it will still go for style. I plan to put 19 x 7.5 on the front and 20 x 10 on the rear. What do I need to do to make it up to the 500-600 RWHP level, while still being street legal, and looking good.

[BDub13]

Also, was looking a some chips and ECU's on Z1. In the long run, would it be better to purchase a $500 JWT chip, or $1600 AMS ECU?

[car nut]

You need to do some research first, and try and learn what you're talking about.

As far as power goes, 500+rwhp is where things start getting tricky. I would start off with the 400hp TTZ pack from Z1 and see how you like that before you start going all crazy and spending money. Once you get sick of that, buy the 500hp pack and then go from there. 500rwhp is a lot of power, and I don't recommend jumping right into it.

As far as wheels go, again you need to do research. 19x7.5 will look stupid and 20x10 is ridiculous and heavy, not to mention the fact that it won't look that great. If you don't mind doing some work I'd go 18x10 all around, but remember; you'll need coilovers and F/R control arms if you really wanna set your stance up right. Most cars look stupid if they have nice wheels but a stock ride height.

Good luck, and let us know if you need anything.

[vulcanrush]

when you're talking about that kind of power, you're gonna have to rebuild your engine.

it's a strong engine, but it is a 20-year-old+ engine.

the pistons, specifically, are what you want to address.

also, focus on things such as cooling (intercoolers and upgraded radiators and oil coolers).

[Ba11erz]

Also, was looking a some chips and ECU's on Z1. In the long run, would it be better to purchase a $500 JWT chip, or $1600 AMS ECU?

I will comment only on my experience with the VG30DETT motor and what I have actually seen from other enthusiasts.

The thought of 500whp on a 300zxTT is a significant achievement at best. It is possible to just bolt on expensive components but usually in the long run, the owner gets either bored or moderately excited. As a result, a plausible desire exists to increase performance.

Performance can be desired in many ways but ultimately it's left up to the Z owner.

Often the Z owner immediately shoots for an all-out horsepower machine which can easily be gained if you have the budget and resources.

Here's what I did: For a few months I discussed with my mechanic on the direction I was headed for a performance enhancement. I made it very clear to him that I wanted to build my Z from the ground up. His responsibility; build the ultimate engine block with unlimited potential supporting upwards of 600whp. So we closed the deal on a Stage II long block engine rebuild. The purpose for doing a long block rebuild is to set the stage for power adders like turbos, NOS, and upgraded bolt-on components. A Stage II was in my budget and I was able to get all the "lickies & chewies" that make it sound nice and go wicked fast. (My dyno was 509rwhp, and I’m more than satisfied)

So if you're looking to get really cool (as in expensive) bolt on components, then you may want to consider a baseline long block engine rebuild. The significance of getting an engine rebuild is for establishing the tolerances and non-conditional loads your engine will undergo should you increase HP in an orderly staged fashion.

The VG30DETT engineers were brilliant when they designed the motor...because they had a hunch there will be a frenzy of “HP” Junkies to manufacture aftermarket parts for it. (Enter Z1 Motorsports, AshSPEC Z, ImportPartsPro et al) IMO the VG30DETT is by far one of the most artistically crafted engineered motors that can handle just about any power additions you throw at it. But be prepared, because just like most things in life...it's not perfect whereas heat and engine knock will certainly kill it in a heartbeat.

I recommend you do some research, get involved by talking to other folks (as you are in this forum) that have Z32s and get their perspective on the best approach for engine building and power build up. There are several books online that walk you through the design process. Hell, you can learn a thing or two by playing FORZA 2. Aside from just getting components, have fun with it.

Without further ado here's my recommendation to get to 500-600whp:
Think safety 1st!

1) Have a mechanic inspect your car top/bottom
HOSES, HICAS*, SUSPENSION, BRAKES, TIRES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SEATBELTS, DRIVETRAIN, CLUTCH, and STEERING RACK
...Replace/fix if necessary.

2)Do an engine pull:
TIMING BELT, SHORT BLOCK or LONG BLOCK, REBUILD KIT, EGR DELETE, ECU HARNESS, >STAGE 3 CLUTCH, REAR MAIN SEAL, transmission MOUNT
...replace/fix if necessary and do your cosmetics while things are out (e.g. powder coat valve covers, balance tube, engine bay, etc)
If your goal is 500-600 be sure your mechanic rebuilds your motor to support only that an nothing more. Otherwise you'll just be spending too much money on a hot-rod build for a daily-driven sometime drag-strip car.

3) Power build up
MSP HEADERS, SPLIT DOWN PIPES, 1PC DRIVESHAFT, TEST PIPES, CAT BACK EXH, TURBOS w/ WASTEGATES, SMIC (Side Mount Intercoolers), RADIATOR, OIL COOLER, BOOST CONTROLLER, 555cc/750cc INJECTORS, JWT DUAL POP, TURBO-TIMER, WIDEBAND UEGO, BOOST GAUGE, BOVs, and CHIPPED ECU<-highly recommend ZEMULATOR or NISTUNE for flexibility and control an aftermarket ECU is a bit much unless it will strictly be a racecar.

...other things to consider are solid INTAKE PIPES & NGK SPARKs. Ensure your mechanic builds everything to factory spec otherwise you risk your investment going "KABOOM

4) Dyno
After it's all said and done and your check is written for about $25K then haul it off to get dyno tested. A word to the wise...safe boost is 10-14psi as long as the turbos you select can handle it.

5) Drivability
NEVER, NEVER, EVER, neglect your suspension!!! Redo your entire suspension by a professional and lower it about an inch or two. 18x10 make the best setup as "car nut" mentioned with excellent handling and grip.

I apologize for the long post but I have to tell you that I’ve been down that road. Note to self…it never ends

[AZhitman]

I'll echo what others have said, which is often my first advice to n00bs:

Get your car in AS-NEW condition FIRST. This means performing EVERY bit of maintenance and restoration that's been neglected over the years.

You'll learn a TON about your car.

You'll find its weaknesses.

You'll find out just how great it performed when new.

You'll understand what aftermarket parts do, where they go, and how they work, MUCH better.

You'll avoid buying a pile of parts that may or may not do a damn thing to help, and MAY wind up popping a tired engine / trans / diff / etc.

[BDub13]

Thank u so much to every one who has posted inormarion on this topic. Your information has been very very helpful to me and has changed lots of my opinions on what I will be doing to my car. 

This is my situation. I am taking a year off from school to see if I enjoy cars enough to persue it as a career. I have some basic skills with the car. I have changed tires, put a clutch in my friends 240 and put on coilovers on my own 300. The obe I have right now is currently LHD non turbo 2 seater 1990 manual with a freshly rebuilt motor with 4k on it. After the winter I will be selling it and waiting for the perfect 1990-91 RHD manual 2 seater twin turbo. Then planning on doing some of the more basic upgrades to it. After I have done all that I am looking at purchasing a long block from Z1 and putting that in with an upgraded turbo system to get it up there to the 500rwhp range. 

I will state my goals for the car, as someone else had suggested this is a good idea. I want as reliable of 500rwhp as possible. I don't want things to be breaking all the time, it absolutely must be reliable. It will be a daily driver that I can take out to the drag strip occasionally just for fun to see what it can do. The 500RWHP is mostly for bragging rights, as well as cars are a passion of mine and I have no problems dumping money into it. 

Would I be harder to find basic parts for a RHD as opposed to a LHD? what years would be best? I know that 91 got a driver side airbag and 92 got passenger side airbag. Are there any other features that would only be available in certain years? 

After purchasing the car, thanks to some one on this forums input, I want to fix every single little problem on the car. Some one said something about a 120k package? What exactly is this and where to buy it from? The car will most likely be coming from out of province, so it will have to pass a safety check to get licensed. Will this be good enough for pointing out any little things that I should fix? 

I would like to do some weight reduction of useless things that i wont need. I know the 1990 year has little things that clean the front headlights. I find those completely useless and they look stupid. How hard would it be to take those off? How much weight would be saved from that? I am going to take the spare tire out. How hard would it be to take AC out? What about the heating system for the cabin? Difficulty? Would I lose my defrost ability then? Cruise control? Difficulty?  After that I am going to go get it dyno'd to see how much RWHP it is putting down. 

Also, just a side note here. If I found one that was automatic, as most of the ones for sale are, how hard would an auto to manual swap be? I know Z1 sells a kit or it for 2 grand. Would the stock transmission be able to hold 500 horsepower anyway? Besides an obvious clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel upgrade.

After all those preliminary stuffs are completed I want to begin modifying. Listed below, in order is what I plan on purchasing. Spaces represent seperate groups that I will be purchasing and installing at the same time before moving on to the next group. Any thoughts and opinions will be very helpful. Thank u for any comments! 

1. Turbo timer
Electronic boost controller

2. Dual intake
Chip
* what kind of chip is recommended? Would a chip or full ECU be recommended? Especially with a full engine rebuild, bigger turbos and injectors on the horizon. 

3. Downpipe
High flow cats
Cat back exhaust
Clutch (what kin of clutch is recommended for this kind of power)
Flywheel
One piece aluminum driveshaft

4. Tein coilovers
Rims 
* I have my heart set on 19's in the front and 20's on the back. What kind of widths should I look at? What kind of offset also to get them flush woth the outside of the car? I know these are very big sizes, but would the disadvantages from this big really be that bad? 
* will I need any camber arms or control arms or any other suspension pieces?

5. Underdrive pulley set
14" brake set from Z1
Cooling package from Z1
Oil cooler from Z1

6. Hard pipes with BOV's
* any other upgrades that will be needed before the longblock engine rebuild with bigger turbos? 

Miscilanious
Will I need to upgrade the LSD or axles at all for this power?
Will I née any other upgrades to suspension? It doesn't need to be able to handle corners at high speed. It won't be driven like that. 

Thank u soooo much if u actually read this far, and thank u again if u actually posted a reply with helpful info. I really love this website and the more knowledge I have before diving into this project the better! Sorry for any typo's, I wrote this in math class from my iPod. 

[robomatic12]

Would I be harder to find basic parts for a RHD as opposed to a LHD? what years would be best? I know that 91 got a driver side airbag and 92 got passenger side airbag. Are there any other features that would only be available in certain years?

Not really, only certain body parts for example right now I'm trying to find a windshield cowl for my RHD as the differ between LHD and RHD. Nothing else is really any problem. 95 would be the best year. 96 changed to OBD2 which makes modifying more difficult and there was a decrease in power.

Some one said something about a 120k package? What exactly is this and where to buy it from? The car will most likely be coming from out of province, so it will have to pass a safety check to get licensed. Will this be good enough for pointing out any little things that I should fix?

120k is a maintenance kit which includes timing belt, water pump, seals etc. Buy it from Z1 or CZP, you can get parts seperately from Nissan. OOP (Out of province) inspection will tell you any basic safety problems like tie rods but may not be as indepth depending on what shop is doing the inspection. They may do a quick and cheap or you can go to a higher end shop and get a full in depth inspection.

I would like to do some weight reduction of useless things that i wont need. I know the 1990 year has little things that clean the front headlights. I find those completely useless and they look stupid. How hard would it be to take those off? How much weight would be saved from that? I am going to take the spare tire out. How hard would it be to take AC out? What about the heating system for the cabin? Difficulty? Would I lose my defrost ability then? Cruise control? Difficulty? After that I am going to go get it dyno'd to see how much RWHP it is putting down.

I don't think it's necessarily the 1990 year that has the headlight washers but rather a North American thing, possibly Canadian? I can't recall. You would probably be left with holes in your bumper if you removed them. Probably little to none weight savings wise. Spare tire helps out with weight, just makesure you have some way of sealing a punctured tire. Removing heating system will eliminate your defrost system and why? It won't be comfortable anymore in the winter if it's your DD. Cruise control is easy to eliminate, just remove solenoid under hood and disconnect wiring. You realize that the weight savings wont increase your RWHP right?

Also, just a side note here. If I found one that was automatic, as most of the ones for sale are, how hard would an auto to manual swap be? I know Z1 sells a kit or it for 2 grand. Would the stock transmission be able to hold 500 horsepower anyway? Besides an obvious clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel upgrade.

Stock transmission should be fine with 500whp. The swap isn't bad at all, pretty simple if you have a good understanding of mechanics.

* what kind of chip is recommended? Would a chip or full ECU be recommended? Especially with a full engine rebuild, bigger turbos and injectors on the horizon.

I would reccomend nistune or something similar that you can have dyno tuned for maxiumum hp potential.

* I have my heart set on 19's in the front and 20's on the back. What kind of widths should I look at? What kind of offset also to get them flush woth the outside of the car? I know these are very big sizes, but would the disadvantages from this big really be that bad?

Why, oh why do you have your heart set on those sizes Please don't do that to your Z. Disadvantages are that they are heavy, look silly and do not help handling. 19's are BIG on a 300zx. 20's are REDICULOUS.

* will I need any camber arms or control arms or any other suspension pieces?

Yes, go for a fully adjustable suspension. Tension rods, upper control arms front and rear, traction rods, coilovers etc. Think about sway bars, strut bars and other chassis stiffening devices. Some upgraded rear subframe bushings/spacers will help wheel hop.

[car nut]

My goal for the car is to make 500-600 rwhp. It is currenly a completely stock TT.

The obe I have right now is currently LHD non turbo 2 seater 1990 manual with a freshly rebuilt motor with 4k on it.

I am taking a year off from school

I wrote this in math class from my iPod.

[vulcanrush]

yeah, it is a little confusing.

how can it be a stock tt and a non-turbo at the same time?

[ffrpwner]

BDub.....Do you have a non turbo or twin turbo...

If you have a non turbo like your profile says then you wont need all these parts yet the first thing you need to do if you want this kinda power is get a twin turbo motor and swap it in.

From the looks of all your question i would assume you are in no position to swap the motor in your self and a tt swap will run you 4 grand + if you buy your own parts and have some one do the labor so might want to check that out first.

[BDub13]

I currently have a non turbo. After winter I will be selling it and buying a twin turbo. All of the questions I'm asking have to so with things that I want to do to the twin turbo. Sorry for the confusion.

[vulcanrush]

bdub, i'm currently rebuilding a car also (tt), not 600rwhp+.

you can throw on a pair of turbo's that will get you 500-600rwhp, but besides reliability, the other question is driveability...and you don't want lag.

upgraded intercoolers and intercooler piping's, upgraded injectors (maybe a dual-fuel-pump at 600rwhp+), msp exhaust manifolds, 3'' dp's, etc.

[AZhitman]

People who have their heart set on a number often get that little heart broken.

A 500whp Z isn't a car for an amateur. I know very few drivers who could take full advantage of that much power, much less drive it on a regular basis.

Chasing a number is silly. Get the car first, THEN start in on it.

[canadian booster]

i hear everything you're saying BDub, and i'm right there with you, although i have to wait until my son is at least in school before i can start any real modifications 500rwhp is a good target i think, i was going to aim for 450 myself, but hey 500 why not.

i only work 5km from where i live (3mi ?) and regardless it's not about wasting horsepower, it's having it there when you want to use it, when you feel like blasing out of the pack of grannies on the highway or having fun at the track with a number in mind i see it as optimism, something to look forward to, setting goals, knowing it's not going to be an overnight project. AZhitman has 54898 more posts than i do though, maybe he's right, i'm just going on my own feeling..

just my 2 cents (1.8c USD),