Hey everyone! My name is Connor and I've been lurking on here for a while just seeing whats the deal with these awesome cars. I made a post months ago asking for advice on an intake. I ended up going with the Stillen G2 intake, and surprised my Father as a birthday gift. *He loved it btw!

Anyways, I saved for almost 2 years and just bought an 09 G37 Journey Coupe and love it. Blacked out, and fast as hell. I'm at the point now, where I want to do some bolt on mods and make the car perfect for later on. Here's where the questions unfold.

1. Intake: I was thinking Stillen G2, but I wasn't sure if the G3 was better or not. The G3 has a lot more work installing but looks like it increases performace further than the 2nd Gen. Any recommendations for intakes?

2. Exhaust: Again I was thinking Stillen, but not entirely sure. Most nice ones for got 1k+ and that doesnt bother me, I just want the best performance. I'm not wimping out and doing a cat back, I want a full kit. Any ideas or recommendations would be great. Lower price if preferable. Sound doesn't matter. High vs. Low

3. Brakes - Rotors - Suspension: This is up for grabs. I have no idea where to go or what to do. Right now, I've got new pads and rotors look fine. So these can wait a while. Same goes for suspension.

4. ?: This section is just if im missing anything. Also if you guys have any personal items / parts, please mention them.

If you read this far, thanks. I'm currently Active Duty Air Force and dont have all the time in the world. But for this car, I can make time. Eventually, I want this car to push 500hp. So this is just the base of something awesome to come. Again, thanks so much for any help and I'll respond and keep you guys updated. If you want, ill even make videos to go along!

-ConnorJ177

 

First, thanks for your service. Second, congrats on the new car!

1. Go with Takeda, Stillen Gen 3, Z1 Motorsports or AAM for good performance that'll bolt on with no or little cutting. If you're a bit more adventurous, locate a Nismo R-Tune intake, just be prepared for a bit more fitting. The big advantage with the Nismo is the piping is as large or bigger than the others and the filters are in a spot that's not exposed to rain. They also have air bypass valves if the end of your intakes become submerged in water. The others mentioned do have a "rain shield" but I suspect, due to their proximity, they have an effect on flow.

If you never plan on tuning the car, go with the Stillen Gen 3's. My other suggestion would be, since you're aiming for 500hp, is to spend very little on the intake side. Maybe just elbows and filters. That'll all be replaced when you go forced induction unless you end up with the RJM supercharger kit.

2. Exhaust. Fast Intentions is well designed and seems to hold up to long-term use. I believe AAM Competition makes a 3" kit but that's designed for a turbocharged car, not a naturally aspirated car. So...you could hold off on the big bucks exhaust and go with either straight pipes or high flow cats. Or go with one of the less expensive eBay exhausts. There are several which are HKS knockoffs and will make just as much power. You can save up for something more forced induction friendly later if/when that happens.

3. What do you plan on using the car for? Street only? Just upgrade the rotors/pads if that's the case. Z1 makes some sexy two-piece rotors that shave a good deal of weight off the stock disks. Match those up with your pads of choice, Motul brake fluid and Z1 Premium braided brake lines. You'll be very happy. There's also a Z1 master cylinder brace which is a complete pain in the *** to install. If you're tracking, take a look at the Stillen/AP Racing kit or Racing Brake kit. A lot of the GTR guys use the Racing Brake kit for their cars and it's killer. It ain't cheap.

For suspension, it really depends on your budget. There are two types, full coil-overs and coilovers up front with the OEM spring location in the rear. So the spring is outboard and sits on the lower control arm and the actual damper doesn't have a spring around it like the front. Each has their advantages and it's a really lengthy discussion. Sway bars are a really inexpensive way to keep body motion in check with the stock suspension but you'll loose some compliance and it isn't optimal in my opinion.

4. We'll just leave this for forced induction. For a proper build (I'm assuming you have a manual and not the 7speed Auto (7AT), you're looking at about $15K, $20K with a new built bottom end.

In addition to the turbo kit, you'll want a big oil cooler, Quaife or Wavetrac rear limited slip differential, a bigger tire/wheel package (as big as you can get in the rear) with really grippy tires and full aftermarket suspension consisting of coilovers, front adjustable control arms, rear camber arms and, depending on which shocks you go with, either toe bolts or rear toe arms. SPL is the defecto choice but there are slightly less expensive options. Then there's the clutch or transmission upgrade. If you're auto, that'll be another additional $4K via Level10 but it'll handle 500hp all day.

You can do forced induction and not spend as much initially and then either upgrade or replace as things break. I often find it's a more expensive, in the long run, way to do things.

 

Welcome to the site, congrats on your new G and thanks for your service, can't really stress the last one enough


Can't add anything more than that excellent reply from Ape Factory except taking your time and try to get a complete plan since you're eventually going all-in. Really don't want to have to re-buy parts that may have seemed good at the time but will be sub-par when you go FI.

Be sure to set up a build thread so we can see how this goes over time, sounds like it's going to be exciting.

 

Gonna make this short and sweet.

1. Admin tuning 3" intake>Z1 cold air>Injen Cold air>Gen 3's
2. Best bank for your buck catback is Fast Intentions paired with test pipes
3. Get coils (this is really your choice depending on what you want), Z1 or stoptech Slotted rotors with some decent pads.
4. For 500 hp you can throw on a supercharger or turbo and be ok as the motor can handle a little more than that. Assuming you have the 6mt it just needs a clutch and flywheel that can handle power, it can handle 1000 whp+. If you have the auto then you need a Level 10 built trans. Depending on what you need you are looking at $8-12k before labor and tuning.

Again depending on what you are looking for there are things better than others. If you are planning to boost I would bother doing any of the intakes or bolt on mods as they are a waste then.

 

This is extremely helpful. Thanks so much for the in depth response. I already compiled a strong list of parts. For now, I am going to do the bolt on work. Stillen Gen 3 Intake, Berk hfc, Magnaflow Cat-back Exhaust, Wheels + Rotors. You mentioned a lot of brands i've never heard before, so i've just been digging deeper and finding more options and price ranges. Again thanks so much, and I'll keep you updated!

 

I would ditch the gen 3's for Z1 cold air's. Really nice conical design brings in nice gains and you don't need to trim the plastic. Berk is ehh not bad.

 

Okay, I'll check this out! Thanks again

 

@Ape Factory Thank you very much for your reply. I've been bouncing back from your post and Nick's to get a list going. I just want whats best for my car and at a reasonable price. You put a lot of effort in your post and I thank you for that. It means a lot. I'll keep everyone updated with vids and pics.

 

This. The admintuning intakes are NICE. Especially if you can opt for the 3.25" ones with bigger throttle bodies.

 

Hey,

You can contact us for pricing. From my experience and being in a lot of my friends cars.

The Takeda intake paired with the Ark Performance exhaust is an awesome setup.. Sounds amazing..

Feel free to reach out to us about any questions!

-Josh

 

1. adming tuning or stillen gen 3. Go cold air intake
2. fast intentions, motordyne cant go wrong with either
3.I had eibach pro kit and they were good but love my air set up now
4. Diode Dynamic tail as turn mod it's cheap ($40) ish (for tail lights)

you should read this for the newbies: https://www.myg37.com/forums/newbie-...read-this.html