Originally posted by Ostrich
what mods work, what mods don't
who makes what parts
Intake - all work about the same and you get what you pay for. ie stay away from e-bay crap and go with Nismo, HS, AEM, or JWT pop
Header w/cat by Nismo...stay away. The cat has been known to break apart. Actually made by B&B.
Header w/o cat... - works wonderfully, but can make the stock exhaust sound like crap. Made by Nismo, HS, AEBS, OBX, SS Autochrome. I had a HS but sold it and got a Nismo. AEBS is a pretty piece, but just hasnt made the power yet that a Nismo or HS will. OBX, SS Autochrome, and earlier versions of the HS had fitament issues.
exhaust - Works but mostly just looks and sounds better. A definite must if you get a header. Greddy, APexi, Magnaflow, Stromung, Vibrant, etc etc....I had a Vibrant, but it was too loud for me. Sold it and had a custom fit in that has a 22" res and a 18" muffler. So it is pretty quiet for having a header.
Motor Mount inserts/replacements. A definite must to help control wheelhop. Energy Supension Inserts, Place Racing replacements, Powertech Imports Inserts, or ghetto fab some out of a tube of polyurethane in the stock mounts.
Lightened pulley - ehh 2whp for about $140 and it will rev a little quicker. UR, SWA, IM
Lightened clutch/flywheel, the JWT combo cant be beat for price or performance. Clutchmasters and Fidanza also make stuff for the QR.
JWT Balance Shaft removal kit. Good for about 6wtq across the whole band. Cons would be long term reliability is unknown with them removed. Although there are more than a few people who have had them out for over 35k miles with no problems.
Cams, loss of torque below 3k, but really comes alive above that, making from 8-10whp over stock. JWT or Nismo. JWT is slightly more aggressive. Stock cams seem to peak at about 6k, but aftermarket cams pull all the way to redline so if the ECU is cracked it should be able to make more power albeit with JWT springs or a complete Ferrea Valvetrain
S-AFC2 has been known to extract another 8-10 whp out of a full bolt-on plus cams QR.
Stillen QR-Pro has just released a A/F ratio adjuster that supposedly adjusts timing as well. Only one person that I know of has installed it and the butt dyno says it works, just a little skeptical on Stillens claims.
Short Shifters Improve the vague shift feel associated with the stock shifter. Nissan Motorsports, Nismo, and Mossy are all the same but marketed under different names. IMO it is the best TVM is OK too. Stay away from the B&M, they really missed the mark with their shifter, it has been known to snap the end off of the shift cable.
There is no chip/flash available yet. Dont believe what you see on e-bay(not like you did to begin with)
Early catastrophes involving the QR where most likely due to poor ring seating and precat breakup associated with the 02 and early 03 models. Midyear 03 and on QR's have been mostly rock solid.
Stock rods and pistons have been shown to be good up to 280whp on turbo applications. No one wants to push it much past that. Stock cranks with aftermarket rods and pistons have been performing up to 400whp.
Originally posted by Ostrich
what kind of rpm they work
All gains are in the 3000-6250 range.
Originally posted by Ostrich
how much they cost
Intake
Nismo, $220
HS, $180
AEM, $200
JWT pop $90?
Header w/cat by Nismo...$750
Header w/o cat
Nismo, $475
HS, $375
AEBS, $550
OBX, $150
SS Autochrome $150
exhaust
axle backs start around $200
to resonated Stromung with o2 bung for around $700
Motor Mount inserts/replacements
Energy Supension Inserts, $40
Place Racing replacements, $200ish
Powertech Imports Inserts $40
ghetto fab $25
Lightened pulley
UR $180
SWA $140
Impulse Mechanism $125
Lightened clutch/flywheel
JWT combo $655
Clutchmasters combo, $1100ish
Fidanza FW, $300
JWT Balance Shaft removal kit $90
Cams
JWT $540
Nismo. $600
JWT springs $212
Ferrea Valvetrain$850
S-AFC2 $275
Stillen QR-Pro $460
Short Shifters
Nismo, $150
TVM, $135
B&M, $145
Originally posted by Ostrich
where to get them installed, etc etc etc
I have done all my install work
Intake, Header, Catback, Pulley, Cams, Balance shaft removal, and a Tuned S-AFC2 has netted 191whp.
If I ever get the time over the next few weeks I will be remoning my Balance shafts, installing my cams and S-AFC2 and see if I cant make at least 180whp 180wtq.