By 8 Must-Have Mods for The Nissan 350z
This platform remained mostly unchanged from 2003 – 2008, but the 350 era of the Z car featured two different versions of the VQ35 engine: the VQ35DE from ’03-’05, and then the VQ35HR from ’06-’08, and that carried on into the 370z. Most of the mods that we talked about in this article are going to work for any 350z regardless of which engine is under the hood, but of course, when it comes to engine mods, especially intakes and throttle bodies, you’re going to want to make sure that you get the right parts for your engine application. Now you probably already know which engine you have under the hood but if you’re a noob and you need a little pointer, the best way to tell is that the DE features the single intake tube, and the HR features the dual throttle body setup.
VIDE0: 8 Must-Have Mods for The Nissan 350z: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whkA3aVYXa8&feature=youtu.be
Known problems with the 350z
Now as you mod your 350z you better recognize that there are a few issues that could come up. This includes excessive oil consumption—especially if you’re going to go to a boosted application—which of course if you don’t address leads to literally the end of that engine’s life. Also, the crank and the camshaft sensors can also fail while you’re driving which literally shuts the car off leaving you looking for a place to land. These are not going to happen to everybody but it’s just something to keep an eye on otherwise you’re going to have a bad time.
Some of the mods we recommend in this article we don’t have available for purchase on Motoroso.com but we recommend them anyway because they might be the right fit for you. Most of the mods we share here are available for purchase at Motoroso.com where you can reach us on live chat or call us toll-free at 1.833.MOTOROSO—that is 833.668.6767. We’re here to help you find and buy the mods that you need, and we love making package bundle deals for our most loyal clientele. Without further ado let’s dig into the must-have mods for our fairlady, the Nissan 350z.
350Z Mods:
1. The Exhaust System
The exhaust system on your 350z offers ample opportunity for uncorking serious power, sound, and throttle response, and it’s such an important area of modification we have made a post and video (COMING SOON) just about deep dive on exhaust for the 350z. Make sure you watch that video if exhaust mods are at the top of your list. The TLDR version is that this system is broken up into three major areas: the exhaust manifold, the catalytic converter, and the cat-back segment of the exhaust. This engine can get a little bit raspy between 2,500 and 3,500 RPM so you’re going to want to make sure you do your research about the different combinations and what that might sound like, and you can always reach out to us and we’ll help you pick the perfect combo.
Headers
If power and sound gains are of primary importance to you, you’re going to get the best bang for your buck in the exhaust category by replacing that cast exhaust manifold with a set of tubular headers. This is going to improve mid-range torque, add top-end power, and you can gain 10-20 wheel horsepower with a good set of headers and a proper tune. Headers come configured a bunch of different ways you have got short-tube, long-tube, equal length, and unequal length headers that are going to give you different power and sound profiles but here are a few options that are popular in the industry. One of our favorite products is Borla because they are a really experienced company with great warranties on their product and are also a great bang for the buck. These products make a solid 10 horsepower gain, sound really good, and come in at under $800.
A little further up the food chain, Tomei is known for its sound. They are known to have a nice dry racy sound and they are definitely going to be a little bit louder, produce just a little bit more horsepower (around 12HP), and they are known to be some of the lightest short tube headers that you can get, and they will set you back around $900. The ISR performance long tube headers are actually also a cat delete which is going to provide maximum flow, maximum power gains, and a very effective price point well under $600, and you don’t have to buy catted pipes or test pipes.
High Flow Cat or Catless Test Pipes
Next up on the list is a set of high-flow cats or catless test pipes as another way to unlock more power and sound from your 350z. You can unlock up to 4 – 10 horsepower and it’ll set you back anywhere between $150 and $600 depending on your configuration. Going catless is technically race only and is illegal in some states so make sure you check local laws and make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Invidia is a brand that focuses on making great performance parts for JDM applications like this 350z, and for $200 they make a catless test pipe that we like a lot. You can also get from Invidia a set of high-flow catted test pipes which are going to set you back around $600. It’s a little more money, but at least it’s going to be legal in most states.
Cat-Back Exhaust System
Last up on exhaust is a cat-back exhaust system. This is one of the most popular and easiest mods to do on any car and there are dozens of options for the 350z. In this article, we’re just going to call to attention that one of the most iconic and popular systems for the 350z and most popular among the community is the Tomei Expreme Ti. this is a full titanium system that’s going to be a lot lighter than stainless steel only costs a little over $1,000 which is a great value for a titanium exhaust system, and it’s got one of the loudest, deepest, and sportiest sounds of any exhaust you can put on a 350z.
2. Plenum Spacer
A plenum spacer is our next must-have mod, and it is one of the absolute must-haves for the VQ35 engine. Because of the unique design of the intake manifold, the air is not distributed evenly, and a plenum spacer will increase the volume and more evenly distribute the air. It funnels more air into the front cylinders and has an immediate and noticeable improvement in mid-range torque and power. This is such an inexpensive mod—under $250—that it’s got to make it the best bang for the buck on a 350z. These plenum spacers come in different sizes. The thicker the spacer the more internal air volume and the more air distribution inside the manifold, but with thicker spacers, you might start running into problems with fitting your strut tower brace. Motordyne is one of the most popular options in the industry and it’s a 5/16” spacer. Skunk2 also makes a 5/8” spacer that includes spacers for your strut tower brace so you can have that extra volume and still keep your strut tower brace. We love that, and that is available for purchase on motoroso.com for about $230.
3. Cold Air Intake
Next up is a cold air intake system which can help gain between 5 and 15 horsepower. The higher horsepower numbers come from the HR version of the engine from 06-08 because it has dual intakes. This is another category where there’s quite a lot to talk about and there’s a lot of options in the industry, so we have made a video about intakes, throttle bodies, and that plenum spacer. Check out that video if this is another mod that’s high up on your list. We are going to recommend the Injen (Intake for VQ35DE ’03-’06) or (Intake for VQ35HR ’07-’08) because it’s one of the most popular for this application. The Injen cold air intake replaces that cheap plastic tube with a nice metal tube with a high-flowing filter that’s going to get tons of air into the engine. It also puts the filter down inside the bumper the furthest away from the engine compartment pulling in that nice cold dense air from outside, getting that in so you can make maximum power. These also come in at a great price point and you can buy them at Motoroso.com.
4. Throttle Body
One of the things Nissan was doing when they introduced the HR version of the VQ35 engine was adding a second throttle body. Having that second throttle body lets more air into the engine giving it better throttle response, better acceleration, flattening the torque curve, and overall, just feeling way more snappy, responsive, and powerful. So, on the DE version of the engine, this truly is a must-have mod but on both versions of the engine you can upgrade up to a 75 mm throttle body and it’s going to give you all of those performance gains I just mentioned. Throttle bodies are going to set you back around $300 a piece… good improvement for not a lot of cash.
5. Coilovers
Another area where there are lots of mods and lots to cover is the suspension of your car and you guessed it, we have made a video just for suspension mods for 350z. Check that out if you want to do the deep dive on coilovers, sway bars, and all the suspension opportunities for improvement. In this article, we’re going to make one recommendation: stay away from lowering springs and get yourself a set of coilovers. I know they are more expensive, I know it’s tempting to just do lowering springs, but lowering springs over your stock shocks which are garbage is just going to make your car handle like crap.
We highly recommend getting a set of proper coilovers because it’s going to give you all the adjustments and the higher quality damper to make the car feel much more refined than it ever did from the factory. It’s going to give you ride height adjustment control so you can control exactly how high the car sits front and back. It lets you customize that stance exactly the way you want it—optimize it for the wheels and tires that you have chosen. It is going to give you spring rate adjustments—you can swap the springs out and actually spring the car differently firm or softer depending on the ride quality that you’re looking for and the type of driving you’re doing. Most importantly, it’s going to give you compression and rebound damping controls to shape the way the shock works and how the car responds to driver and road input. This is going to allow you to make the car feel really smooth and supple on the street or really firm and snappy on the racetrack. All those controls are going to equal better handling and better feel on the road and at the racetrack.
Two brands that we really like in the industry are BC Racing, which has an entry-level shock for around $1000 for all four corners—it’s an incredible value and it has all the features I just talked about.
KW Suspension is one of the leading manufacturers of motorsports suspension in the world, we’re authorized dealers for both of these, and we can help get you into a set of coilovers that are going to do exactly what you want and give you the performance that you need. We’re an authorized KW Dealer, reach out to us at 833.MOTOROSO for your custom coilover consultation.
Buy the KW Variant 2 Coilover Kit for the Nissan 350Z Here!!
Buy the KW Variant 3 Coilover Kit for the Nissan 350Z Here!!
6. Wheels and Tires
Wheels and tires are one of the most obvious modifications for any vehicle out there and can range from just something you like the look of a little bit more, or just something that’s going to drop weight and give you dramatically better performance than you might have, especially if you’re taking the car to the racetrack. There are literally thousands if not millions of options as far as design, size, finish, and the type of tires, and the tire sizes that you can run on your 350z. It’s almost endless and we cannot cover all of that here—that would be impossible–but we’re going to give you a good idea of what you might be able to look for as far as common sizes and common setups, then you will need to do a bunch of research to understand exactly what it is you’re trying to put together and we are always here to help with that.
For a fit that is going to look flush with the body, a popular setup is getting 19” X 9.5” wheels in the front, and 19” X 10.5” wheels in the rear—both with a +12 offset. With these wheels, you can run a 255/35 in the front, and a 275/35 in the rear for a full and flush fit.
A very popular setup for track days and racing is not to be up at that 19” but sticking with an 18” wheel. A lot of people like to go with a square setup, going 9.5” wide in the front and rear. A lot of people are doing a +15 offset and then they are running 245/35s front and rear. When it comes to slamming that thing on airbags and getting it all cambered and stanced up, that is a whole different world and a whole different ball game. It depends on a whole lot of variables on what’s going to work, and what mods you have done to your car, so what we recommend is that if there is a specific look that you’re going for, find people that have got that set up already and then ask them what they did to get that exact appearance and look, and then come back to Motoroso and we’ll help you find and buy the products you need.
7. Brakes
So, we have got all this great stuff to make your car go faster and handle better, but now it’s time to get this thing slowed down. One of the best ways to drop your lap times at a racetrack is by having good brakes, and the brakes on the 350z are a weak point. If you have a 350z with the upgraded OEM Brembo brakes, you are in a better place but you’re still probably going to at least want pads and rotors. If you have the base 350z brakes, they are inadequate if you’re doing any sort of street aggressive driving or track day driving and you should strongly consider getting yourself a big brake kit. There are inexpensive kits from brands like Powerstop that are going to give you a better caliper, pads, and rotors, or you can go up to something much more powerful like an Akebono kit or Brembo: the masters of braking technology. We are an authorized Brembo dealer and we would be glad to chat with you and figure out what exactly you need out of your brakes and help put together a kit that’s going to work for you, give us a call at 833.MOTOROSO.
BUY THE POWER STOP FRONT BRAKE KIT FOR THE NISSAN 350Z HERE!!
BUY THE POWER STOP REAR BRAKE KIT FOR THE NISSAN 350Z HERE!!
BUY THE POWER STOP FRONT AND REAR BRAKE KIT FOR THE NISSAN 350Z HERE!!
8. Clutch
The clutch in your 350z is not really that terrible—it’ll last if you’re just doing some daily driving—but if you’re starting to push more power and you’re driving aggressively, or you’re going to the racetrack, consider putting in a performance clutch: you’re going to get better clutch engagement, better pedal feel, and things like ceramic discs that are going to last longer and handle heat better. As you start adding those power mods, you don’t want to burn the clutch out and be stranded out on the street or lose time on a track day that you paid for, so putting a clutch in ahead of time is going to allow you to enjoy the performance of a racing clutch without worrying about the thing burning out on you like a ticking time bomb. For around $600 you can get yourself an ACT clutch that has an integrated flywheel and ceramic discs which are going to be strong, durable, and do the trick. That clutch is also available here on Motoroso.com.
Whenever you are ready to purchase mods for your Nissan 350z, shop over at Motoroso.com where you can browse over a million top name brand products!
You can hit us on live chat, and you can call us toll-free at 833-MOTOROSO (833.668.6767).
