Hi boys,

I own a highly-modified TT 350Z. Dumped about $30k of mods into the car. You can click on the link in my signature for a small picture.

Anyway, I love my car. But I am growing weary and tired of certain things. For instance, sweating it everywhere I go... dings, potholes, and most of all scraping the bodykit on every driveway because it's so low. Another small downside is that it's a 2-seater, and that I'm going to have to put it away for the winter primarily because of RWD, and secondarily due to exposure to crappy conditions.

I'm pushin about 420whp. Had my fair share of races, but the stock motor has weak components (i.e: rods) that aren't meant for boost, so for me to really keep the car I would probably need to rebuild the motor. Especially since lately I've had mysterious white smoke appear when I free-rev the engine. My mechanics can't figure out where it's coming from, but the engine is a possibility.

So now I have a dilemma. Do I:

a) Continue driving the car and face a small chance of engine failure and large expenses afterwards.
b) Sell the car and get a used Evo8 for around 22k to throw around as a daily driver and not worry about ? Keep the rest of the cash and invest it. By the way I don't mean any disrespect to the car by saying I wouldn't worry about it
c) Build the motor and continue digging myself deeper into this car.

I particularly love the Evo8 because of the 4 seats, the AWD, and the speed/handling characteristics. I don't particularly love the way it looks from the rear, which reminds me of a winged Civic, but I'd be willing to make compromises.

I'm just afraid that if I do get an Evo, that I'll wind up doing the same things I did to the Z. Especially since TurboTrix is about an hour away :-\

What would you guys do in my shoes ?

More importantly, I've seen a bunch of various "failure" threads around here. Does that mean that if I started modding the car I'd run into the same kind of issues I'm having with my Z now ? I don't want to face that kind of dilemma anymore. Bottom line: Is there a high probability of being able to modify and run a daily-driven Evo8 all-year-round without having it spend time in the shop for repairs?

What is the most you would push a stock Evo8 and still believe you'll get 100k out of it without problems ? Reason I ask is because there are local people selling 11-second Evo8's for about 26k. I'm curious if that would bring too much headache to the table... should I just stick with stock ?

Thank you in advance for any input.

 

You're gonna mod the EVO8... face that fact first. I would say you'll be better off with the EVO since its already boosted from the factory. I personally would buy a very midly or not-modded EVO and just buy enough for the car to make you happy. Would you be happy with 300~ish AWHP? You can achieve that number fairly inexpensively and reliably. I would say going about 350HP would require more $$$ and possibly reliability... thats just my opinion though, there are guys with much more exp than me on this board.

Just my 2 cents...

 

Get the evo ^_* Although that is a veryyyyyyyy nice 350 and usually I don't like 350z

 

It's not quite as bad as you make it sound. For about $5k these will make around 360 whp easily on pump gas and won't harm you're reliability any. (Assuming your tune doesn't suck, and you said you live near TurboTrix so i'm assuming it won't.)

Intake
Turbo Back
AEM EMS
Cams and Gears
Intercooler and Pipes
HKS SSQV
Walbro Fuel Pump
720cc Injectors

Add in some ARP Head studs, metal headgasket, and a HKS GT 3037S Turbo kit for another $4-5k and you got 400 awhp or so on pump gas.

Just some ideas

 

I had an '03 350Z Track model and I sunk a lot of money into N/A mods, but not as much as you have spent. I took the car to the racetrack about a dozen times. It was pretty fast on the straights, but couldn't keep up with a lot of lower hp cars in the turns. I admit that some of that is my lack of performance driving skills and experience, as this is the first car I have ever tracked.

I was getting sick of having so much $$$ in the Z, and not keeping up with other cars, whether cheaper (EVO, STi, S2000) or more expensive (911, Corvette, E46 M3).

I'll finish the story later. But I think you are stuck in your Z, barring a catastrophe or a miracle.

 

Thank you fellas for the input and the warm reception.

Forbiden, what does 360whp get you in the 1320 on one of these buggers ? How about 400whp ? Also, I've read that the top end of the car Evo isn't that great, such as for highway runs. Does that all change with that first list of mods (cams, etc) that you posted ? What cars would the 360whp Evo8 be comparable to in terms of straight-line performance ?

Thanks much.

PS: Here's some entertainment for you guys, a video of my Z in action:

http://web.njit.edu/~rm73/350z.wmv

 

u can get 450 AWHP for $10 grand. thats on pump gas. ask TurboTrix how....

if u can sell the car and not lose a lot of money then i will suggest u sell it and get the evo.

 

350 awhp will get u into low low 12s for an average driver. 450awhp will see mid 11's.

 

First off, gorgeous car. Very nice looking, without going over the top. Now then, if I were you and was worried about engine failure I would do one of two things, 1. take some the riskier mods of my 350Z (or bodykit if your worried about scrapping that up) and just keep the car, sell the unused mods and then maybe just buy a used civic (shudder) or a SUV for winter or 2. Sell my 350Z and buy an Evo, and mod it up slightly. Only problem I can see with option 2 is if you dump some money into the Evo are you gonna have the same worries about winter as with 350Z? Not with control but with the general crappy winter weather scrapping up the car. If you answer yes to that just get some snow tires for your 350Z. No point in buying a new car just to keep it in garage like the 350Z.

 

you're at njit? haha, i'm at rutgers-newark. i should have my evo by the end of the month (depending on when the '05s come in), i'll give you a ride if you're still deciding by then

sorry for the off topic post, btw. haha.

 

It seems to me that you've got almost too much money into the 350z to sell it. To me, it makes more sense to spend the extra money and build the motor so I could reliably enjoy the 350z I spent so much time and money to build.

By selling your 350z you'll loose most of the money invested, and all of the time. Also, if you bought an Evo, you'd be back to square 1 , but with a slower car.

I love Evo's, but that 350z is a monster, and already faster than a stock or lightly modded Evo. I'd keep it, strenghten the engine, boot to 10psi, and be happy. As for the snow driving, I'd buy a cheap-*** 1980's Audi w/ AWD.

- Jason

 

Thanks Amby, that helps somewhat. And thanks holee ;]

 

No problem, happy to give as little help as I did.

 

sick car keep the Z and buy a beater for the winter -- if you have enough money to modd that car the way you did you have enough money to buy a beater for the winterr

 

Yeah I think you guys have a point about the winter beater.

Well, it's highly likely that if I do build the engine, I'll *****-out build it. I wouldn't be happy with anything less than 650whp after enduring those kind of expenses. Sigh.

Well, thank you all again for the responses. I appreciate it. Maybe you'll see me one day in Modified or wrapped around a tree somewhere... ;]

Oh, here are a few more pics, btw.

http://web.njit.edu/~rm73/z1.jpg
http://web.njit.edu/~rm73/z6.jpg
http://web.njit.edu/~rm73/z7.jpg
http://web.njit.edu/~rm73/z8.jpg

Peace.