backman_66

Anyone seen this? What the heck, I just randomly stumbled upon it.

https://www.cncinnovationsmy.com/pro...-intake-manifo

Josh South

OOOOOH! Interesting. That makes boosting it a lot easier. Wonder how hard it will be to make it run wit ha single throttle body.

backman_66

Probably a nightmare since it's designed to calculate for two separate banks. I haven't done any research into any forced induction kits since it'll never be a direction I go, but maybe it's something they tune for regularly?

STownSaint

After ~10yrs of ownership (almost at 50k miles), finally planning to install some modest upgrades on my G. At the moment, just looking to make the car look and sound a little cooler and handle a little tighter. My friend is about to certify as an instructor at VIR, so might have some track days coming up next spring. But for now, I only drive it about once per month (typically for weekend roadtrips), so my plan is to start with incremental improvements, see how those work out, then decide on what to do further.

Here's my plan:

• Long tube intakes, likely aFe/Takeda because the single-filter design looks cool (my summer front grill is mesh) and they shouldn't require much modification (maybe some trimming of those inlets to get the flexible couplers to pass thru). And I don't believe it'll require a tune. Not expecting a power loss/gain, but think they'd look good and maybe sounds cool too.
• High-flow cats, from what I've read and heard in vids, these will make the car get closer to the characteristic Infiniti G sound, deeper tone as well. And I've read that the cats are a major constraint in the exhaust system. I'm thinking the one from Fast Intentions (resonated) for the deeper tone without rasp and CEL. Berk ones sounds great too, but it seems FI ones are considered best out there?
• Axleback exhaust, thinking Top Speed (essentially a muffle delete). This is just to amplify the exhaust sound (but of course, trying to avoid rasp). Videos with HFC + straigh axleback don't seem to have much rasp. Has anyone tried this setup? Tanabe mufflers are also on my radar, but video clips seem too mild of a sound difference. There's a chance I eventually get around to other parts of the exhaust, but I'd like to start with axleback
• Handle, just front and rear sway bars for now. Want to stiffen things up, and I've read on here that sway bars are the most noticible improvement with handling. Coilovers or springs are likely not something I'd go for, I live in a city with rough streets, so I need my stock ride height and clearance (and the car sits fine to me). I plan to go with Hotchkis, they seem very popular on here (maybe due to convenience of being able to lubricate them without much work).

Grateful for any thoughts or feedback on the above, will likely use these holiday deals to stock up

BULL

For years plenty of people have been trying to out-do the OEM manifold for both HR/VHR mainly because it's ugly and doesnt say a damn thing when it comes to the engine.
Still, offers the best driveability with the least amount of heatsoak. Best low-end torque with best of the best of sacrifices in TQ and HP.

Following a few social media tuning accounts from comparisons between the GTR plenum swap, Stillen plenum the power drop is pretty severe where more power is needed to compensate the loss. The only one who was able to get some success was SOHO with their manifold.
It's in my opinion that the SOHO manifold is a mix of the HR + VHR manifold together. A slightly shorter runner with a better engineered entry per runner and bigger plenum size, they loose on the heatsoak aspect of it but out of ALL aftermarket options SOHO so far beats the rest as long as you can afford it.

The single plenum type manifold in this link was just a CAD attempt at pulling some attention to a designer in hopes of business venture. When you look at all of the cons you realize this.

Almost non-existing runners - this is a top end manifold so forget any type of torque down low and a massive power spike upon boost and VVEL engagement
Single throttle - means this will be super fun for the tuning aspect of it and will not run on a factory ecm without physical modification
102MM opening- designed from the LS TB point of view for MAX power it's placed in a poor location, coolant neck WILL get in the way of any piping, fitting an intake will be fun, etc

The fact that it has dropped $100 from the price must mean sales are through the floor

If I were to attempt to make this work would be via a spacer that would merge both throttles together however this means a 18mm throttle opening reduction from factory (OEM 60mm x 2) and nobody wants that.
The other way would be to place the throttles in line of one another so it will work with a single pipe but that would be an even bigger reduction of 60mm of throttle opening.

With the VHR you then have the tuning issue which is that only Haltech and a few others accept the VVEL ecm.
The worst part about it is that VHRs are lifting heads on even professional builds at the 900WHP mark from making 750+ TQ which is what kills them.
In the distant cousin world of the VR38 everyone uses twin throttles

I can only see this working on a HR running an LS throttle with a standalone ECM in a big bay so the hood doesnt get cut.
Putting this manifold in a very specific market, I see it staying more as an idea rather than working product.

backman_66

Speaking of LTH's, why is it that nobody ever runs cats after them? Is it because it's too far downstream in the exhaust? I've always wondered why it wouldn't work. Obviously you'd have to get o2 sensor extension wires...

BULL

I believe it's due to the "Bolt-on" mentality over an expensive product that it's demand comes from folks looking for the most power.

Cats would require a custom Y pipe which is not so bad, AF and O2 extensions which can be a pretty expensive add-on to an already expensive upgrade.

After all of this what would it gain? I believe with a set of cats the LTH would not make that much HP difference however it has the ability to give a unique sound.

Lastly it would cook your floors, though it's farther down the exhaust track it will still catalyze the unburnt fuel making them hot, the floor area does not have even half of the material the firewall area would and could potentially melt/burn something in that area.

backman_66

I agree with you that the people buying LTH's are looking for maximum power so that's most likely why they don't bother with cats. I'm sure it would gain power over the stock headers even with cats, though. Also LTH's will shift the powerband higher I believe, so that's another reason to choose them over shorties.

I've had LTH's before on two previous vehicles which eliminated the cats, and it really makes the exhaust sound louder and raspier, in general. It's not a sound that I want coming out of my G lol, which is why, if I ever get headers, it will be the z1 shorties along with resonated DE cats from Fast Intentions, which is going to cost a pretty penny for such a setup.

PDG

One idea is that you can pull your stock mufflers off and drive the car a bit to get an idea of how a muffler delete sounds before you spend the $400 on the Top Speed axle back.

I am in a similar position to you. I've owned the car for nearly 7 years, but recently started doing some mild mods. Wheels/tires, exhaust, Grom Vlite, post MAF tubes. These are great cars, and not much out there that really temps me, especially considering how expensive new and lightly used cars are. So I decided to personalize the G and drive the wheels off of it.

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

I've heard the muffler delete on the G, and it's pretty brutal. I don't recommend it, but you're right that it's a relatively easy thing to check out and experience for yourself.


I was in the same position back in 2009. My brand new 2003 Maxima SE 6MT was paid off, and I was still really enjoying the car, but I wanted more. Rather than move on, I started modifying the car. Turns out it was a decent platform for mods, and the next 3 years were a blast. So when I finally found my G37, I started in on a plan for modifications right from the start.

I consider myself fortunate to be in a position to have a new G37 and be able to modify it over the years while still relatively new. It's been a great time. No regrets.

PDG

I had a 2005 SRT-4 that I did a Mopar stage 1 ECU, turbo back exhaust, and Rays wheels on while it was still new. That car was deeply flawed, and I still miss it, lol. 230hp/250ft-lbs of torque through the front wheels meant prodigious wheel hop and lift throttle oversteer. The stock exhaust on those didn't have any mufflers, just a cat and resonator, and was tuned to pop and gurgle in stock form. It had so much personality.

The SRT-4 led me to wanting RWD for my next fun car. The G37S is a superior car in just about every metric, including handling, acceleration, and braking. But I'll always remember the SRT-4 fondly.

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

A friend of mine had a very similar looking SRT-4 that was heavily modified. It was surprisingly quick in a straight line and I clearly remember the sounds it made.

Epiphany

I learned to drive on my dads manual 06/07 PT Cruiser GT. Had an aftermarket muffler on it and was bright blue. Great in a straight line and that's about it, also had lots of wheel hop and torque steer. Cool car with a horrid turning circle.

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

I learned to drive in my father's rusty 1974 Ford Pinto Pony, with a 4MT. I mean, who really needs carpets or power steering? Seriously.

The only good thing about that car was it made my mother's 1976 Plymouth Volare station wagon seem positively luxurious.

Josh South

That pinto didn't explode, did it? I learned in a 4-speed as well. 1979 L-82 corvette That car ran out of gear so fast.LOL