[NOS2Go4Me]

Aka,Jul 8 2005, 03:08 PM Wrote:I'm not good at constructing vehicles... as I've never tried. $1500 work would probably turn into a lot more with me. Also I'm not sure I'd want a Truck? But thanks anyway :)
[right][snapback]120388[/snapback][/right]

Actually, it was on the road for about 4 months. It was certified, and would pretty easily again after some basic body work and a few minor motor repairs.

I understand completely :)

[Kelowna_Focus]

Buy a late 80's 300zx, there are lots around and cheap...

[Aka]

speaking of Z cars, I saw a really nice Orange Datsun 280ZX today while I was in Orangeville.

[Aka]

If I bought a ZX3 how much would it cost to add some horsepower. Say take it up to like 150 or something, or higher if possible on the cheap.

Also, how much does suspension cost, lower it a touch, but mostly make it handle better around the corners.

[Aka]

Was that a bad question?

[NOS2Go4Me]

Aka,Jul 11 2005, 01:34 PM Wrote:If I bought a ZX3 how much would it cost to add some horsepower. Say take it up to like 150 or something, or higher if possible on the cheap.

Also, how much does suspension cost, lower it a touch, but mostly make it handle better around the corners.
[right][snapback]121105[/snapback][/right]

They're 130 crank HP from the factory, so Intake / Header / High-flow cat / cat-back exhaust ought to do it. Add in Underdrive Pullies for that guaranteed 150HP mark.

Exhaust from MBRP - 199USD + tax.

Intake - 50-250CDN and up, tax or not depending on if it's new or not.

Header - probably 350-400 CDN

Underdrive Pulleys - 100-150CDN

High-flow Catalytic - no idea, ask Hardk0re. :D

Anything beyond stickier stock-sized tires, new wires and plugs, etc... will probably start costing a pretty penny. You could always just run a 50-75 dry shot of nitrous (ZEX, NX, NOS) for insta-ponies, but obviously that won't fly on the street... popo be haulin' your car off if the plumbing for nitrous is hooked-up while on the road.

EDIT - when modding, it's always best to think in WHP - Wheel HorsePower. IE - I really freaking hope I break 100 WHP at the dyno weekend, I want to drive Brooks' SVTF :D

So if you're 130HP at the crank, factor about 105-110HP at the wheels with a stock, manual ZX3 and a little less with the autotragic. :)

http://www.focaljet.com/shootout_0.html - when they did their shootout, they had a good, strong ZX3. Base was 112 WHP.

[Flofocus]

Aka,Jul 11 2005, 01:34 PM Wrote:If I bought a ZX3 how much would it cost to add some horsepower. Say take it up to like 150 or something, or higher if possible on the cheap.

-Cam Gears
-UDP
-Exhaust
-Intake
-Headers
-SCT



Should net you anywhere around 140-150WHP

Quote:Also, how much does suspension cost, lower it a touch, but mostly make it handle better around the corners.
[right][snapback]121105[/snapback][/right]

-FK Hitec Kit would be your best bet. ~ $500.00 for springs, shocks and front Struts.
-OR SVT Suspension pckg.

[Aka]

NOS2Go4Me,Jul 12 2005, 01:28 PM Wrote:They're 130 crank HP from the factory, so Intake / Header / High-flow cat / cat-back exhaust ought to do it. Add in Underdrive Pullies for that guaranteed 150HP mark.

Exhaust from MBRP - 199USD + tax.

Intake - 50-250CDN and up, tax or not depending on if it's new or not.

Header - probably 350-400 CDN

Underdrive Pulleys - 100-150CDN

High-flow Catalytic - no idea, ask Hardk0re. :D

Anything beyond stickier stock-sized tires, new wires and plugs, etc... will probably start costing a pretty penny. You could always just run a 50-75 dry shot of nitrous (ZEX, NX, NOS) for insta-ponies, but obviously that won't fly on the street... popo be haulin' your car off if the plumbing for nitrous is hooked-up while on the road.
[right][snapback]121407[/snapback][/right]

Yeah... but how would they know? I suppose those random checks, or if I got caught speeding. I don't think I want NOS anyway, ever. Unless I get into like, drag racing or something O_o but I like corners, and braking, and accellerating out of a corner.

So about a grand on top of purchase will get me about what I want, plus attempting to install it all myself lols. Oh and I suppose Suspension on top of that. And perhaps brakes to stop me, since well, stopping is probably more important than anything else.

Hmm... being the knowledgable person I am.... not...

What do all these parts do?

Intake I assume is air, allows more in, which is good.
Header does what?
High-flow cat allows the exhaust out quicker? as does the cat-back?
Underdrive pullies do what?

Thanks a bunch!

[NOS2Go4Me]

SVT suspension package is the best all-inclusive suspension package for ZX3/5/4-door owners on the market. It's the installation and subsequent alignment that you'll get bent over the table on... :rolleyes:

Header - larger exhaust tubing connected directly to the exhaust ports on the engine block. Less restrictions on the flow of gases leading to more power being made.

High-flow catalytic - same principle as above, pertains to the highly-restrictive noxious gas converter known as the "cat" or catalytic converter. It maintains most emissions requirements while allowing higher gas flow rates and more power again.

Cat-back, as above - you're absolutely right. Less back-pressure allows more gases to flow quicker, more power is made. The best cat-back systems made are generally made from stainless steel and will likely outlast the car itself.

Intake - when done right, it allows 3-4x more air to be made available per minute (Cubic Feet per Minute, always quoted as CFM) to the throttle body / intake manifold. More air means less work to make more power, less restrictions on power made. For serious tuning / advanced power, sometimes a larger throttle body (larger air inlet) is used as well. These can be 400CDN easily.

EDIT - also, the cooler the air drawn into the intake means the denser air has more oxygen per unit. More oxygen to burn alongside the gas means more power is made per combustion cycle of each piston. This is why forced-injection motors (supercharged, turbocharged) often rely on intercoolers beyond 6-7 PSI of pressure as air that is compressed beyond a certain point becomes hot and power is lost. Doubly so when turbochargers are concerned, as they become very hot due to the fact they're driven by the exhaust gas of the car they're powering and they turn at 30,000+ RPM.

SCT - Superchips Custom Tuning - this can be true, or "almost" true. Some SCT tunes are generic, and some are case-specific. If you add more than intake / header / UDP / exhaust, you're going to want some custom-tuning to fully appreciate what you've done to the motor. Even so, if all you do is the "small" mods, you might want to tune the engine anyways to get the best power and / or fuel economy out of your new additions as well.

[Aka]

Flofocus,Jul 12 2005, 01:35 PM Wrote:

Aka,Jul 11 2005, 01:34 PM Wrote:If I bought a ZX3 how much would it cost to add some horsepower. Say take it up to like 150 or something, or higher if possible on the cheap.

-Cam Gears
-UDP
-Exhaust
-Intake
-Headers
-SCT



Should net you anywhere around 140-150WHP

Quote:Also, how much does suspension cost, lower it a touch, but mostly make it handle better around the corners.
[right][snapback]121105[/snapback][/right]

-FK Hitec Kit would be your best bet. ~ $500.00 for springs, shocks and front Struts.
-OR SVT Suspension pckg.
[right][snapback]121413[/snapback][/right]

ah, WHP would be better yes :D
$500 to add to the $1000..

So $1500 or so, I can do that.

[Flofocus]

NOS2Go4Me,Jul 12 2005, 01:41 PM Wrote:SVT suspension package is the best all-inclusive suspension package for ZX3/5/4-door owners on the market. It's the installation and subsequent alignment that you'll get bent over the table on... :rolleyes:
[right][snapback]121419[/snapback][/right]

Jebus. :blink:

Install them yourself. Pay ford $60 to do the alignment.

You guys gotta learn how to us ethe wrench. Saves so many headchaes down the line and you'll actually know WTF your talking about when you do have to bring it in to the dealership :P

$300 to install brakes. :blink: Yeah, I'll learn how to do it myself, thank you very much. :lol:

[Aka]

NOS2Go4Me,Jul 12 2005, 01:41 PM Wrote:SVT suspension package is the best all-inclusive suspension package for ZX3/5/4-door owners on the market. It's the installation and subsequent alignment that you'll get bent over the table on... :rolleyes:
[right][snapback]121419[/snapback][/right]

Yeah I wondered about that....

[Flofocus]

Aka,Jul 12 2005, 01:42 PM Wrote:

Flofocus,Jul 12 2005, 01:35 PM Wrote:

Aka,Jul 11 2005, 01:34 PM Wrote:If I bought a ZX3 how much would it cost to add some horsepower. Say take it up to like 150 or something, or higher if possible on the cheap.

-Cam Gears
-UDP
-Exhaust
-Intake
-Headers
-SCT



Should net you anywhere around 140-150WHP

Quote:Also, how much does suspension cost, lower it a touch, but mostly make it handle better around the corners.
[right][snapback]121105[/snapback][/right]

-FK Hitec Kit would be your best bet. ~ $500.00 for springs, shocks and front Struts.
-OR SVT Suspension pckg.
[right][snapback]121413[/snapback][/right]

ah, WHP would be better yes :D
$500 to add to the $1000..

So $1500 or so, I can do that.
[right][snapback]121421[/snapback][/right]

Forgot to add.....Dyno tuning because of those Cam gears.....since you would be going with the SCT anyways, they fine tune everything for ya at that point anyways. But yeah....add on $150-$250 for Dyno tuning/

[Aka]

heh... it starts adding up...

umm how much WHP does the SVT have? it's 170 hp crank? or... O_O

just wondering if after all this it's comparable to an SVT (except with a 5-speed instead of 6 I guess?)

[NOS2Go4Me]

The SVT normally works in around 145-150 WHP depending on the individual car.

The SVT has a leg up on the ZX3 as it has an extra cog to whip through and keep the engine at its power peak more. So even if you're @ 150WHP and feeling cocky... keep the hand in the pants and off the gearshift. :D

If you're looking to slap SVTs around, either go SVT and mod, or just go Forced Induction.

EDIT - remember, the most important part of ANY car is the driver. If the SVT driver can't launch or shift, he's toast. If you can't launch or shift, same deal.

[Flofocus]

Aka,Jul 12 2005, 01:53 PM Wrote:heh... it starts adding up...

umm how much WHP does the SVT have? it's 170 hp crank? or... O_O

just wondering if after all this it's comparable to an SVT (except with a 5-speed instead of 6 I guess?)
[right][snapback]121426[/snapback][/right]

It ain't cheap. Thats for sure.

Most SVT's dyno around the 150-155WHP Mark from what I've seen.

[Aka]

Well I don't want to go out racing SVTs or anything, I was just wondering how comparable it would be.

I'd like to keep it cheap, and the SVTs dont' come as cheap as a ZX3. Remember I'm looking $5000-7000. So if I can get a ZX3 for say 5-6000 I can then throw on some of these mods, and then maybe later add a few more. But if I buy at $7000 I wont be able to do anything immediately, as I'll need money for insurance as well. So the cheaper I can do things the better, but I also don't want a car that's going to brake immediately.

So it's a compromise really...

[NOS2Go4Me]

Personally, I'd say invest the extra $1000 in a lower-mileage example. Mileage is all in cars.

After that, and getting used to your new car (because each new one is unique), then start small. I had only a K+N replacement airbox filter for a year before I started modding.

Well, saving for a wedding / house had something to do with it too :P

[Flofocus]

Aka,Jul 12 2005, 02:00 PM Wrote:Well I don't want to go out racing SVTs or anything, I was just wondering how comparable it would be.

I'd like to keep it cheap, and the SVTs dont' come as cheap as a ZX3. Remember I'm looking $5000-7000. So if I can get a ZX3 for say 5-6000 I can then throw on some of these mods, and then maybe later add a few more. But if I buy at $7000 I wont be able to do anything immediately, as I'll need money for insurance as well. So the cheaper I can do things the better, but I also don't want a car that's going to brake immediately.

So it's a compromise really...
[right][snapback]121430[/snapback][/right]

get the ZX3, keep the extra $1000, put in a Internet savings account. Keep adding to that account every month. Wait till it hits $5000.00. Buy Supercharger/Turbocharger of your choice.

Done.

:lol:

EDIT: Just to add, you wont regret the wait. :icon_mrgreen:

[NOS2Go4Me]

Quiet, FI pimp! :lol: