300zx N/A Upgrade advise

300zx N/A Upgrade advise
I'm 17 and just got a 1991 N/A 300zx. My goal was to get a 1999-2002 Silvia S15 Spec-R but with an affordable deal on a red, seductive 300 I couldn't pass it up. The car cost me $5,000 and even thou it has over 200,000 miles registered on it (yea ALOT right) the engine was either swapped or rebuilt because it runs as if it was brand new. I knew the previous owner and knew that they had put alot of work into the car. I bought it with a custom exhaust, intake pipes, and a set of toyo racing tires alone with two spairs. At least thats all that I've noticed so far. Well with all that said about the car I'd like to ask for some upgrading tips that will still leave my engine reliable. Converting it to a TT is just out of the question because u basically hav to rebuild half the engine to keep it from going to the grave. Any other suggestions would be much appreciated. Oh and by the way with aftermarket intake pipes and air filters would the increased airflow need to be accounted for with the ECU?

By the way I just found out and I'd jus like to say sorry for posting this forum in this section instead of the R&M section.

posted by  cake872

if u wanna go the tt way.. just buy a creat motor, or find a used tt motor for sale that has low miles on it...
thats what i did...
it'll save u allot of headache and give u that extra gusto ur looking for..
besides that, i'd get it chiped, and then go from thiere.

posted by  preprodigy

I didnt even think about the ECU. Any ideas on what chip I may want to look at? And the engine swap is the way to go but ya see I live in the Bahamas and although tuning cars is big in the city the duty to bring shit in just kills. First I'd have to buy the engine and then pay shipping and then 4o% if not more on whatever my total cost was.

posted by  cake872

Ahh, the Z34..favorite nissan of all time, even more than the skyline. Your best bet would probbably to do a few more mods, and then put an e-manage or a similar deal on there and take it to get dyno tuned. For a lot of cars, simply tuning them can make a world of difference. As far as TT swaps, its a BIG deal having to swap motor and I believe the trans was also different. Ive driven a 300zx N/A with t-tops and I personally loved every minute, but I didnt get to really push it. You can start by seeing if there are any worthwhile suspension parts (struts with stiffer damping, stiffer springs, etc.) I do not recall the 300 I drove having a strut bar in front or back...throw them on they DO help despite what some say. Check the filters on the intakes, if they are some generic crap, toss them for namebrand ones (I personally use an AEM other than them I would only use Fujita, Injen, etc. not the "power adder" you get at pep boys for 19.95). See if there are bigger throttle bodies available..yes it will be pricey since you have 2. Also, check for the exhaust header(s), and see if they are factory or aftermarket. I do not know these cars very well, but this is usually where people start modding their cars, with simple i/h/e (intake header exhaust) mods, so check all of your stuff, and let us know what you find. Also, I know they are tough cars to work on, so while we can give you a broad idea of what to do, you should also look into a car-specific forum...trust me they are out there. Good luck, let us know what you find, and post some pictures, I love the older Z MUCH more than the new one.

EDIT: this isnt repair or maintenance stuff, its upgrades, so you are ok. As far as what intake pipe works best, I cant really say becuase they are different from each manufacturer...in fact there may not be all that many for your car to start, but im sure they are out there. Do some reading, and see which works best. Its a lot to do with the size and bends of the pipes, the filter location, filter flow, tube thickness to account for heatsoak...there is a lot to intakes, more than most think anyway.

posted by  newyorker

Its actually Z32

Also most convert to TT by buying a front clip from a TT from Japan and swapping them out. Ive seen the go for around 2500 on ebay for a 50K mile front clip.

posted by  Enthusiast

Shit, my bad lol I knew I had something ****ed up. We had a guy in our local car club who did the swap. Here is the journal

http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29841

The swap starts in the middle of the page

posted by  newyorker

Hey I really appreciate the tips. I only no about the parts from a quick glance havent got the chance to really look at it as yet. I will thou and pictures I will take for sure. I no it has injen intake pipes already but gotta check the filters. And yea you had me thinking about a 350z when u said z34. I never hurd of a z34 but thats what i assumed u were talkin about or jus mixed up.

posted by  cake872

Well ive had the car for about 3 weeks now and the only mods include intake pipes for the manifold and exhaust tips. Oh and a airfilter. I want to go with dual separate intake pipes and air filters that will sit behind the luvers to take in all that cool air. Does anyone no exactly what I need for that and if its better than the intake thats already there or not?

posted by  cake872