Newbie... opinions on first mods...

 
Old May 17, 2005 | 03:11 PM
  #1  
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Newbie... opinions on first mods...

Hey guys-

I just got an 03 silver 6mt w/ nav. The car is amazing! I am 20 and live in St. Petersburg. I NEED to start modding this car. I am not doing anything crazy like FI b/c I have already had my fair share of blown motors and that gets to be really $$$.

What I want to do:
Tint-Any ideas of local places that do it REALLY dark?
Plenum-Crawford?
Intake-Z tube? HKS? NO CAI!!
Exhaust-HKS or Stillen? I hear Stillen is REALLY loud and I do a lot of interstate driving back and forth to school....
Headers-???
Suspension-Just want sway bars... no lowering.

Any opinions on specific brands?? Also, how mod friendly is Lokey? I hear they are REALLY nice, but I don't want to have any warranty issues. Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks,
Danny
Old May 17, 2005 | 05:51 PM
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First of all, Congrats on your new investment and welcome to the g35 community. Yes, Lokey is a MUST for all your aftermarket cravings (they installed most of my mods there). Service is awesome there too, just ask for John @ Lokey (Service Manager). If you decide to join the FGC, you can benfit from some real good deals such as window tint from Dexter (I believe almost half our club has gotten tint from him). Anyways, decide for yourself what is you want done first then we can all help you out. Good Luck. Congrats to Winky Wright from St. Pete.
Old May 17, 2005 | 05:56 PM
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Before you do any modding, you gotta join the Florida G35 Club. Club members get discounts from our sponsors, including Lokey. Check out our website and join.

Performance-wise, I'd recommend getting the crawford plenum first. You can order it from Lokey and have them install it for you (no warranty issue). That probably gives you the best bang for your bucks.

Honestly, I don't think changing your exhaust would give you that much more for your $800-$1000 investment. Stock sounds nice as it is anyways.
Old May 17, 2005 | 06:10 PM
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1. Join Club
2. Goto Lokey
3A. Crawford Plenum
3B. Z-Tube
3C. K&N Filter
4. APS Twin Turbo
Old May 17, 2005 | 06:31 PM
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Thanks guys for the replys. Do Exhaust systems really not add that much power? Maybe I need to look at some dyno sheets and then make my decision... As far as Dexter tinting windows... is he Rollmodl?? I'm sure he does good work considering it appears as most of you guys got it through him.

As far as APS Twin Turbo.... I thought about going F/I but realized that blowing a G motor is entirely too pricey for me!

More input on my first post is welcome!
Old May 17, 2005 | 06:40 PM
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1. Join Club
2. Goto Lokey
3A. Crawford Plenum
3B. Z-Tube
3C. K&N Filter


After this I would add:

Hi-Flow Cat Replacement- Crawford
Headers

It appears that exhaust is not the real bottleneck. SportZ Magazine did an exhaust shootout and the best, Stillen, added 8.1 HP and 7.3 TQ.
Old May 17, 2005 | 06:45 PM
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That sounds good. What are the advantages of going Crawford vs other brands... I know a lot of different companies make headers... NISMO, DC sports, and I think Stillen....
Old May 17, 2005 | 07:12 PM
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Yeah Dexter will do as dark as double limo if you wish

Crawford plenum or 1/2" plenum spacer.... that's what the boss told me to get!

Z tube will be as equally if not even more effective than pretty much any intake pipe out there, you can keep your stock airbox or you can get a popcharger, sounds awesome if you don't care that your car is sucking in hot air all the time..

Don't get the Stillen exhaust. It does sound really mean and loud at higher rpm, but under 3k the drone is unbelievable. I've heard nothing but good things about the HKS. I heard it on C-Keith's car (barely), sounds sweet and I've read nothing but positive feedback about it. The only thing I don't care for is the coloring of the exhaust tips..

As far as the sway bars, any adjustable ones will do. A lot of people running Hotchkis have complained about the bar shifting.. I don't have any personal experience, but people seem to like the 350EVO ones the best.

If you want to learn more about mods, why don't you drive down to the June 11 meet? You'll be able to hear everyone's exhaust, intake and so on, get some good advice and decide for yourself. Congrats on your new G, awesome aren't they.
Old May 17, 2005 | 07:27 PM
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yeah. I am currently talking to Dexter about getting it done right now. What kind of tint did you get? It's kind of hard to decide... so many choices...

Is the pop charger really that bad? I have heard mixed reviews as some people love it and some people only think it sucks in hot air. I am hearing enough about the droning thing that I am just going to not get it.... HKS is prob the way to go. Nothing but good things from it!
Old May 17, 2005 | 07:53 PM
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No way on the PopCharger in Florida. Neffster can tell you all about that. The stock airbox is a good design and can be made a little better with the K&N/Z-tube.

As far as the headers go, I would suggest you do your own research and see what matches you wallet. There are very few pre/post header dyno's posted on any of the boards. You can go from $500-$1200+ with Nismo and the Crawford being on the top end. However, it appears those are the two that give the best gains. I would also look at Nexus (sp?). There is a big thread on them at my350z. (Sister site to G35Driver.) Look at $400+ for the install of headers so, it can get expensive quickly. Be warned that some of the headers have little or no documented gains. Do some good research before you move on this.

Also take a look at the Crawford High-Flow cats. There appears to be a good performance gain there.

I have also heard good things about the HKS exaust. Joe from Lokey said he put one on and the fit was top of the line.
Old May 17, 2005 | 08:37 PM
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Welcome! When you are ready, we'd be happy to help you with your mods right at the dealer.

Originally Posted by FLFIRE
1. Join Club
2. Goto Lokey
3A. Crawford Plenum
3B. Z-Tube
3C. K&N Filter
By the way, I've got all of this in stock!
Old May 17, 2005 | 08:44 PM
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1. Most of all Florida G35 Club membership
2. Z-Tube
3. K&N Drop in
4. Crawford Plenum
5. Crawford Headers
6. Crawford Cats
7. Tint-Dexter
8. Clear Bra-Alan InvictaShield
9. KP Rollup Mod-(SFLG35) Daniel can sell the mod to you and install it
10. Exhaust-stock

You can purchase the Crawford mods either directly through Crawford or through Lokey. If you are planning on Crawford or Nismo headers call John at Lokey before you purchase them for an install price. The install isn't cheap. I know for the Crawford Headers they have to tilt the engine, it's a tight fit. It's not something you want to try yourself or have someone do that has never installed them before. I wouldn't trust anyone but Lokey for the install.
Old May 17, 2005 | 10:20 PM
  #13  
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Out of curiosity, how thick is this clear bra? Very noticeable when on the vehicle? Or thin like a piece of scotch tape?
Old May 17, 2005 | 10:23 PM
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8 mil is pretty standard. Sometime headlights are a little thicker. It's not very noticeable unless the car is dirty or it weas a bad install. If you have Alan install it you won'ty have any problems.
Old May 17, 2005 | 10:57 PM
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I am pretty sure it was on my car and I hated it.... maybe it was just a bad install... but it was pretty thick... who knows. Just curious.

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