Mid-pipe on the intake, as in the piping that the MAF dips into. That's all.

Already have FI RHFC... although they're 2.25 at the flange into a 2.50" cat back. Rob, there's just no way I'm swapping cats because of that.


Agreed. The only thing at this point that interests me would be having a LW flywheel. I go back and forth on that idea a lot. Might happen, might not. Not a power added, per se, but could be fun nonetheless.

 

I noticed the same thing as well to where I was using less throttle to accelerate the normal way I typically do (if that makes sense). Enjoyed the write up man, always enjoy your posts. Have fun with the new tune!

 

I'll give feedback on the lightweight flywheel here by the end of the weekend, hopefully. Kiddo has a sleepover so I've got incentive to run errands... all day. IMHO the LWF is a good idea if you're replacing the clutch / otherwise removing the transmission anyway. Otherwise... the labor is a bit steep, at 5x the cost of the part.

Glad you're happy with the tune. It's always more incremental feeling than you think it will be - if you net huge gains, you likely were running like crap in the first place LOL. Just shows that Nissan gets the programming close to right...

I don't think larger plumbing in or out will help unless you go forced induction, and why spend another $15K to get there? Although I'd love to have boost, even at the VR30 level, it's more work than I'm interested in and I bet you feel the same.

I need to find out what Z1's after-tune support is like - I'm concerned that just a dyno tune (albeit a steady-state dyno, not a power-run only dyno) might evidence drive-ability issues in normal driving. But their in-person tuning is supposedly top notch, so... :shrug:

 

Actually let the car sit in the garage for a few days after closing the books on this tuning project. (And by not driving it for a few days, I mean "back to normal", LOL)

Took it out last night and this afternoon, however. And after a few days to relax, I stand by the comments on how much more smoothly the car runs. All aspects of driving the car are just better... particularly shifting, but also coming out in first gear, or just cruising, or letting off the throttle and simply letting any gear slow down approaching a stop. There's also more mid-range power, easily demonstrated when digging into the throttle from 2-3K up to 5K in 3rd, 4th and 5th gears. And there's that new howl in those situations, replacing what was otherwise a growling noise.

In other words, all those detailed observations from 3 days ago... I stand by them. The car just runs better and drives better.

Glad I did this. Money well spent.

 

Getting some Dyno numbers would be super cool

Good to see it was worth it

 

A week later, and even my 17 year old daughter noticed the change in the car yesterday, as a passenger no less. She said the car sounds better, feels faster to her, and it's a smoother ride overall. The thing she said that made me smile was that I was more relaxed driving the car than I normally was. According to her, I'm typically tensed up when operating the car, like always on edge and fighting with the car just to drive it. That was kind of interesting, and right in line with my thinking that the G is just easier to drive than before the tune, because it's running better.

Hmmm. The things you don't know until you have the perspective to see it. Anyway... very content.

 

That Growling effect is the change in timing. A slow growling typically points to retarded timing past a certain throttle angle. Typically a tuned setup will sound exactly like you're experiencing, effortless where you're getting the result of the pedal angle you're demanding.

 

The cats are the single most important mod for the VQ, I would think going from 2.25"-2.5" may be worthwhile. Not to mention swapping out aftermarket cats is much easier than the OEM rusted garbage

What did Eugene say about going to a long tube intake?

 

If these old FI cats ever fail, then absolutely I'd match up a new set of cats to the pipe diameter of the catback. But other than that, like I said, Rob, I won't be chasing down stuff like that.


I didn't ask, because I'm keeping the R2C kit for now. If I ever get motivated to upgrade the intakes again, I'll figure it out then.

Not dismissing it, however, because now that the tune is behind me, there's nothing left on my list to plan for. So new intakes and a tune refresher is a possibility, if only to keep me occupied next year messing around with the car.

 

I've often said that I don't drive the car much. For example, this Friday morning was the first time I drove it since last Friday. In other words, it's been sitting for about a week, which might seem odd, but that's the the way of things.

Anyway, one of the benefits of not driving the car much is what that does to how you perceive the driving experience. Familiarity gives way to recollection, and it really lets you appreciate how things have changed. In this case, the tune. And man have things changed! All my comments about shifting cleanly both up and down the gears, all those observations of the engine running smoother in a variety of conditions, the appreciation of having more grunt in the midrange, all that stuff... it still rings true. Really, really true.

Years ago 4DRZ said he found the tune a more worthy mod than the short rear gears, and I've been wondering where I'd land in that comparison. Honestly, I can't pick. The gear mod was more of a gut-punch, whereas the tune is more of a holistic thing, where the sum of the parts are more than the individual components, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, thought I'd circle back and comment on this thought. Still very, very happy.

 

I really appreciate your updates man. I'm in a pretty similar situation I guess. I drive the G once a week or so. It does help to keep things fresh when driving it less often. I guess even though I have all of my power mods done and tuned, I still feel like the car is lacking (more on this below).

I am envious of your gears. Swapping my RSX's 4.3fd to a 5.08 was my fave mod by far. The stock 3.7fd in our G's combined with the heavy, dual mass flywheel makes the car feel so dang sluggish, even with all of my mods. It's almost getting dissatisfying at this point, lol. It's a big hurdle to cross monetarily. And it's something I'm trying to save up for so I can do it all at once. 4.08's, lightweight flywheel, clutch, CMAK, and diff brace.

 

This is how I feel as well. The low end and the ability for the car to get into it's powerband is underwhelming. Doesn't help I am coming from a V8 however.....

 

Thanks, Backman. And I appreciate your support here on this project.

The diff brace costs almost nothing and is a total DIY. Dude, if I can install the thing, anyone can. Dovetail that project with a diff fluid change, and reward yourself afterwards.

As for the gears... I did that as a multi-part project as well:

1. Aug 2016 - $592 for the gear & pinion
2. Sep 2016 - $110 for the Whiteline diff bushings kit (because there)
3. Jan 2017 - $252 for the diff rebuild kit (bearings and stuff)
4. May 2017 - $918 for Installation

All told, I spent $1872 for the mod, which included upgrading to poly bushings. Lots of money, sure, but very much worth it. You won't regret it.

When you're just cruising around the neighborhood, and for whatever reason you feel like digging deep into the throttle while in second gear, the car just hunkers down and explodes with the most rewarding kind of noise and acceleration. It's very addictive. And it's all NA, like some kind of Japanese musclecar.

 

I think at this point I'd only mess with gearing if I found a good deal on a torsen-style limited slip. Which, hey, might happen - I didn't think I'd be doing shocks or 2-piece rotors this year either.

 

My thoughts exactly, use-case dependent of course, but if I’m dropping and opening the Diff a proper mechanical LSD will go in.