A&Q about 350Z
Q:
Okay so here goes..
I bought an 05 roadster but i got auto cause i'm always on the phone and hate stick in traffic .. and i figured it had the auto/stick feature so i thought wat the heck its a z and still kicks ass.. yes i know thats the biggest mistake ive made.. but now i need your help.
if i add headers/catback/intake etc will it really make much difference that i have auto? I know that you can fluctuate shiftin on auto's by playing with the accelerator, but want to know if all the performance upgrades will really be worth it on an auto..
i'll appreciate all the feedback.. thanks
A:
I'm also interested in knowing this.
I would guess that it wouldn't make a lick of difference since the transmission isn't related to what the intake or exhaust does.
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guns and guitars, bikinis and fast cars - slide behind the wheel and GO!!
A:
Well im far from an expert, but seems to me you would have the same gain as a stick?!?!?
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A:
The performance gains should improve performance regardless of the transmission.
A:
In response i have a 03 enthusiast auto, i have added nismmo cat back, cai & a UR underdrive crank pulley. there is quite a difference in performance with the mods mentioned, i would put my hp @ the flywheel at about 307. from my research headers are labor intensive and some dealers will give you grief with warranty issues in the event something should need to be repaired. remember in the event they"dealer" want you to return your vehicle to factory setup the headers are labor intensive putting on and taking off. i haved also noticed mpg increases with the above mods as well.
Post Edited (Aug 24, 7:17pm)
A:
Now there are many anti-forced induction people on this website regarding perceived reliability concerns, so you can believe whatever you want.
But if you are interested, APS makes a great single and twin turbo kit for our 350Zs. Either of which will get you 400 hp to the wheels on stock 350Z engine internals. if you can afford to build up the bottom end of the engine, that is a real good idea and a real must if you want to run more power than above. Along those lines of reliability. My own opinion is that I would not put that APS kit (or any other FI kit) on my car unless it was installed and tuned by an APS dealer or someone with comparable equipment and dyno tuning experience. Load based dyno tuning is the only way to go and makes a huge differnce power wise and reliability wise. I would only trust my tuning to an APS dealer or one that I know has a lot of successful experience tuning with load based dynos. And only APS dealers or someone who can tune unichips can get in and tune them (APS kits I'm speaking of here) anyway. APS dealers have very high standards. You have to have a load based dyno and pass a ceritification course through APS before you can become an APS dealer. Their fine tuning though, tunes the engine with the turbo system installed at 176 points in the RPM and engine load band. They ain't playin' around.
Here is link to the APS Engine Mapping and Dyno tuning:
The APS fuel system is the best of any kit on the market and the only one with a fuel return system - which is needed for optimum reliability. APS is the only one that gives you a shielded crank angle system (CAS) wire and a larger oil pan (with oil cooling built in) in the standard kit.
You can make your own decision about reliability, but you can run boost reliably with our 10.3 to 1 compression if you have it set up real good. APS is the only kit set up real real good IMO. Hundreds have been installed on 350Zs and the only one with real significant engine problems was found to be because of a self install where the kit was installed wrong. The few other issues on other APS 350Zs have been traced to be the same thing - self installs or non APS dealer installation errors. There have been no significant problems with APS 350Zs if the install and tuning were done through a ceritified APS dealer. Hundreds of these kits are on the road with 20,000 to 30,000 miles on them already with no problemos.
JWT kit is probably ok as well, but puts out considerably less power (don't go by the Sport Z article because the power reported there was much more than you'll get with the standard kit that does not even have larger fuel injectors to support the big power.) If you go JWT, then get an aftermarket fuel return system and shielded CAS like APS has if you want your engine to hold up.
There are a lot of kids (and some older ones with less understanding than some of the kids, ha) that post on this forum that when you discuss it with them, you see that they know nothing about forced induction. They are scared to death of FI and that is good cause they do not have the maturity to use it anyway. I mean I've been doing this for over 20 years and won national level turbo drag races and know that there is no use discussing it with kids or not-kids whose arguments show you that they don't even know the difference between horsepower measured at the wheels and horsepower measured at the engine. And the like. The ones who scream loudest on here know the least of which they speak. They just falsely attack me and accuse me of being an APS dealer. Personal attacks are for people that cannot disuss things on an adult level. I am not an APS dealer or saleman. I will not sell you a kit or get you a deal on a kit or anything of the kind... Forced induction should only be done by mature knowledgeable enthusiasts who know what they are doing. Or people who are not experienced with FI, but have the ability to see past the end of their own noses and so are willing to learn. There are a few on this forum that do understand what you can and cannot do with FI. But a dearth of intelligence on the subject in general.
You can easily run low 12 sec. qtr. miles with the APS turbos on 350Zs with 400 hp and 400 lb. ft. of torque to the wheels. Will you notice a big difference compared to stock. Yes!
I would not run forced induction on an auto tranny 350Z without significant upgrades to the auto tranny to handle the torque. They just won't hold up long term. Not just valve body mods as that won't hold up long term IMO. I'd wait a couple of months if you are interested because I am testing this and think I have it covered auto tranny wise. My auto tranny upgrades are supposed to handle up to 600 lb. ft. of torque to the wheels. Guaranteed for the life of the car. And oh by the way, I am not selling tranny upgrades either, sheesh. My tranny guy says to send the kids to Level 10 and only send older mature FI people to him after I have tested the upgrades and if I like them. He does not even want his name posted on the internet. He has more business than he can handle via word of mouth. Only time will tell who is right on this issue and forced induction in general for 350Zs.
I dislike auto trannys on several levels but I have one because of an ankle injury. My car is having the AT upgraded now and the APS twin turbo install after that. I will post my qtr. times and how the engine holds up over time beause a few open minded people on this forum have asked me to do so who can discuss things like adults.
Post Edited (Aug 26, 11:46am)
A:
"a few open minded people"????????????????????? I have seen, with my own eyes, heard the complaints, a 350, with APS approved dealer install, at my local Z dealer service shop with a dessimated engine. I believed in APS prior to this but as they say, seeing is believing. My mind is open. But at the cost, and then the realization of engine maintanence/ turbo reassembly added on to an already expensive professional kit, even more $ if professsionaly installled.
A:
save your money for the '08 skyline...they will be running circles around our na and turbo/fi 350z's...in the jgtc/super gt , even they don't use a turbo/fi vq35 for their gt500 racing engines...do you think they know something we don't, i do...no need to boost this car, no reason at all.
Sportscar = 03 Z SS Performance Pure Stock