To all Modifiers..... Supercharger, Turbo, TT, etc

[HipHop]

Good morning, Good Afternoon, or Goodnight.

I'm not trying to be nosey, BUT! How do you guys do it?

1. Do all of you go to the track or just a daily driver?

2.How do you afford all the major mods? Credit Card? Great Job? Sponsor?

I'm 26 and a Lithographer(printer). I make pretty good money. And I would love to put another 10,000 grand in my car, but i can't afford that. I'm pretty sure most of you guys Financed while I Leased my coupe. It's sounds and looks exciting to transform your car the way you guys do. I know i could still mod and then sell parts when lease is up. The real killer to me is labor unless you're skilled yourself. I never owned a car until I moved to the suburbs 5 years ago. My second car was my coupe, learned how to drive stick on it. Realized you need two cars. Your weekend toy and your daily driver because my coupe is ding and paint chip city(didn't know about 3m). Anyway I have an 03 6mt, I'm shooting for an 06 6mt. And this time I'm doing wheels, minor exterior aesthetics, intake, pulley, chip, exhaust, but no supercharger or turbo(LOL).

Your comments are appreciated, maybe some day I can follow in your footsteps with an expensive hobby!

PS Don't know if he's blowin smoke, but one guy said he put 10,000 down and had a trade in. His payment for his coupe was like two hundred and change a month. http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Riffster]

To be frank, the coupe is an expensive car to mod - there are lots of other cars that are much cheaper to buy and to modify. But if you've caught the 'G mod bug' there's really no way to scratch that itch without buying one and modding it!

Answers to your questions ....

1. I doubt everybody here does much real performance driving - maybe 10% at most of the posters do, and in the real world I am sure that percentage goes down. My car pulls double duty - maybe it is time to get a second ride. http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/smirk.gif But I do keep the visits to HPDE's and AutoX's down - if it was just for that stuff I'd be at one or the other every weekend. But then it might stop being fun and special (at least for me - I'm not speaking for others!)

2. I eat Prince Spaghetti every night j/k! - seriously, I don't have kids to support and I have a decent-paying job. This is the first car in a long time I have done anything more than just change tires when they wear out. Something about the G coupe struck me. It hasn't been cheap, but it has been worth it. When it stops being worth it, I'll stop. (But don't hold your breath.)

HipHop, you do what you can on your budget - if I couldn't afford to add the mods I have, I wouldn't have done it. I think I have gotten more than a good 'ROI' on what I have put into the car - good times, met some nice people, and in the end isn't that a good part of what life is all about?

- Riff

[helldorado]

1. Do all of you go to the track or just a daily driver?




My coupe is my daily driver for right now, but once I boost the engine, it will probably be for fair weather and track events only.



2.How do you afford all the major mods? Credit Card? Great Job? Sponsor?




Credit card sometimes for a portion of the slightly larger ones so I can do them sooner, but I try to pay for as much as I can, and I'll pay off the credit card before I do anything big. No sponsors, their money isn't worth putting their name all over my car. I feel it sets a bad precedent that you'll put something crappy in your car and let them put their name on it just because its free.



I'm 26 and a Lithographer(printer). I make pretty good money. And I would love to put another 10,000 grand in my car, but i can't afford that. I'm pretty sure most of you guys Financed while I Leased my coupe. It's sounds and looks exciting to transform your car the way you guys do. I know i could still mod and then sell parts when lease is up. The real killer to me is labor unless you're skilled yourself. I never owned a car until I moved to the suburbs 5 years ago. My second car was my coupe, learned how to drive stick on it. Realized you need two cars. Your weekend toy and your daily driver because my coupe is ding and paint chip city(didn't know about 3m). Anyway I have an 03 6mt, I'm shooting for an 06 6mt. And this time I'm doing wheels, minor exterior aesthetics, intake, pulley, chip, exhaust, but no supercharger or turbo(LOL).

Your comments are appreciated, maybe some day I can follow in your footsteps with an expensive hobby!

PS Don't know if he's blowin smoke, but one guy said he put 10,000 down and had a trade in. His payment for his coupe was like two hundred and change a month. http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/confused.gif



Don't sweat modding, its not for everyone and its definitely not a sound form of investing your money. You have to do it for yourself and the love of the vehicle and having something unique because you'll really never see that money back. Only reason I can do this level at 25 is my job has me travelling 150-200 days a year, so most of my daily expenses are fully reimbursed. Add to that I don't see the logic in a having mortgage for a house I'd see on weekends (if that) and a fair majority of my income can be put towards the car right now. As my father and every other man with a family has told me, if I don't do it now, I won't be able to do it for at least another 20-30 years!

And its like, even though I plan to do a twin turbo next year, it could be pushed back to '07 or I could always say forget it if the budget doesn't allow. Thats the nice thing about modding, you work it to your budget and do what makes you happy. And the more I think that having a daily driver seems to make more sense with a boosted coupe, the more likely the twin turbo will be pushed back a year so I don't put myself far into debt trying to do everything in one shot. Thats what gets a lot of guys into trouble.

[HipHop]

2. I eat Prince Spaghetti every night j/k! - seriously, I don't have kids to support and I have a decent-paying job.

Ha, I know what you mean. No kiddies this way either. Still spoiling myself. I dig what your saying about doing what you can afford. Never overindulge.

good times, met some nice people, and in the end isn't that a good part of what life is all about?


Couldn't agree more, sad a lot of people don't feel this way.

Thanks for response!

[HipHop]

Don't sweat modding, its not for everyone and its definitely not a sound form of investing your money. You have to do it for yourself and the love of the vehicle and having something unique because you'll really never see that money back. Only reason I can do this level at 25 is my job has me travelling 150-200 days a year



Yeah I will do minor mods nothing major, just enough to satisfy my love for cars. And educate myself to working on a vehicle.

Sounds like a great job, with all the traveling.


As my father and every other man with a family has told me, if I don't do it now, I won't be able to do it for at least another 20-30 years!



I've heard this a million times over also. Don't want to fall into the coulda, woulda, shoulda category.

It all boils down to, doing what you can afford and pacing yourself.

Thanks guys!

Helldorado I told Riff he had a cool handle you do too. Have a good day gentleman!

[Eagle1]

1. Do all of you go to the track or just a daily driver?

Mine is a daily driver and I take it to the track about ten times a year. However, I do have other cars when I want to drive them.

2.How do you afford all the major mods? Credit Card? Great Job? Sponsor?

I pay cash for every mod. If I cannot pay cash, I don't do it. I am older, so even with five kids in private school, I can do this if I want to, because the seniority in my job provides a good income. If the G blows up, I can walk away without a problem, and I have more in it than it cost to begin with. To date I have no sponsors, but I may have one for a set of headers soon, just waiting to take delivery after it is hot jet heat treated.

Your comments are appreciated, maybe some day I can follow in your footsteps with an expensive hobby!

Just do what you can afford responsibly. IF you track it, be prepared to roll it into a ball and if you are lucky walk away. If you cannot afford to do that, don't track it.





I always liked cars, what young boy and man does not? But In high school I was raised overseas, so no license was possible. Then I went to college back east and having a car made no sense there. Then straight to two grad schools and a job, so my first real car purchase was not until I was almost 27. I was newly married...so I bought...a Volvo! Drove cruddy practical cars until I was 40, then got a turbo porsche. Had it a couple of years but my wife got sick with cancer, dumped the car and took to being Mr. Mom and Mr. Nurse, driving a van etc. Eight years of that. After she died I spent a couple of years just trying to see in color again.

Then, what the heck, decided to buy a car that would be more fun. Didn't want another Porsche, or Corvette, but something more subdued, with the potential to be made into something MEAN. Detroit had nothing in 03 that appealed to me. The VQ35DE and front midship design caught my attention. Good bones for a stealth fighter. Didn't dig the STI or the Evo (older guys want an interior that is not total garbage).
So, with lots of research and careful steps, gradually turned it into a respectable track car, with decent streetability. Easily will do under 1:45 at Laguna Seca and under 2:00 at Cal Speedway with the Roval. A pleasure to drive to work too. Not the fastest animal under the stars, but beats the pants off of most cars in serious driving. Used it as an excuse to go to race driving schools and really get an idea of how to drive properly at speed. It has served that purpose, and now I am not sure what to do with it. Probably just keep it around for awhile and move on to something else.

Would I do this at 25 years of age? Absolutely not. But it has served a number of purposes for me that were needed, and I could afford, that were a lot different than transportation. For me, it was worth it. For others, I rather doubt it. But that is what is fun about this, each man or woman can do exactly what they want to do, and that is ok. Just think honstly before you do any changes about exactly where and how far you want to go.

[helldorado]

Would I do this at 25 years of age? Absolutely not.



Hmm.... Uh-oh. http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Oh well! http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Riffster]

Would I do this at 25 years of age? Absolutely not.



Hmm.... Uh-oh. http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Oh well! http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/cool.gif



LOL .... you're not Eagle1 and he's not you - different strokes for different folks.

At 25 I really wasn't focused much on cars, I kinda was interested in partying and partying and .... well, partying!

- Riff

[Eagle1]

I envy both of you guys, somewhat. At 25 I was studying like a maniac. Basically worked like a whirling dervish at the studies from 18 to 27 (four years of college, three of law and two of business). My idea of a party was cook a fancy dinner and skip the library to conk out in bed before midnight. You would NOT want to trade places if having fun fit anywhere on your list of top ten things to do today...or this month for that matter. On the other hand, I have some freedoms now that most people my age never get, so there are tradeoffs that are positive.
On the car side, just figure what ever you put into it you will not get out. If it makes you happy and that is worth it, then fine. If not, don't do it. Takes all of the phony quantitative analysis out of it. Like agonizing whether one set of exhaust pipes gives 1hp more than another. It is the wrong issue. It is your car, and you are the driver. What is it that will bring a big smile and enjoyment to you in driving the car. For a lot of folks, especially with this car, the right answer is "absolutely nothing....I love it the way it is". And that is great. (especially if you are a Nissan engineer and hear that!)
What Riff does with his car is getting out on the extremes, but sane. Mine is orbital trajectory and no parachute. Just depends on what you can afford rationally, and want to do.

[helldorado]

Hehe, no worries guys. I'm always the anomoly. By no logical means should an 25 year old art-school dropout be a SAP consultant looking to do this kind of stuff. But I land on my feet and make the best out of every situation, and its worked out so far. http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/cool.gif

In regards to the car, everything I do to it is for me and my own enjoyment. No need to impress anybody. Only thing I ever hope to do is share some of my experiences and knowledge with other people in return that they will share a bit with me! Though I have to admit I'm starting to reconsider the TT route, not too crazy about the cost of building the engine, possibly being coupeless for 2-3 months, and needing a DD. The Stillen supercharger is getting a hard look now, not worried if I'm not the fastest coupe out there, as long as its reliable and works for me. http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Eagle1]

Helldorado, if you are going to consider a positive displacement blower such as a roots/eaton type, research it carefully to be sure it provides the type of power in the rpm ranges that you want. Those types work better down low in the rpm range and by the time you get up to 3500 rpm they are pretty much over and done. On a car where the max power NA does not come on until after 5500 rpm, running static compression at 10.3 to 1, the match is not ideal. It works, no argument there, especially if you intercool the air charge, but it is not ideal.

The centrifugals such as Vortech and Procharger are pretty similar, basically a belt driven "turbo". They don't even get started until after 3000 rpm, so as my tuner says...they are kinda "lazy". But if you keep your rpms up at 4k and above, they are mean animals. For road racing on the track...very nice indeed.

A third type that does not get much play is the Lysholm or twin screw type. Whipple makes them here. If you get yourself a real good qualified tuner who can get one and adapt it to your car, that might be the way to go. I do not think there is a kit for our car with that unit. It produces more power down low than a centrifugal, and more power up high than a roots/eaton. They are expensive though because the machining of the lobes to the screws is complex.

If you have the time, do the research.

[helldorado]

Thanks for the input Eagle. I have been pretty exhaustively researching the options for FI on the car. Hands down, a twin turbo unit is the most effective way to power the vehicle. A package like the one APS offers is very complete and well-tuned, however after doing a gut check, I don't think I need 400+ whp in a daily driver and I really am not looking to make the kind of investment necessary to build the engine with forged rods, modular deck piston sleeves, etc, as well as getting a second vehicle because the coupe could be out of commission for several months at a time for preparation or possible build issues.

Stillen's supercharger unit is a twin-screw design. This is why its the unit I'm seriously considering. I don't belive a Roots type supercharger is available for our car, but they run way too hot. The CSC types as in your Procharger or the Vortech are of little use to me since I have a 5AT and I don't keep the car in manumatic mode that much, so its harder to keep the engine running high to maintain boost. Also CSC units tend to be the loudest FI offering around, which is somewhat disenchanting. While the twin screw design doesn't offer as much peak power as the CSC units, they are absolute torque monsters and are well suited to the automatic transmission. The downside to the twin screw design is that its engine mounted, versus the CSC which can be mounted low and on the intake path. But twin screw's make peak boost around 2k rpm, run extremely quiet and cool, and provide the most efficient and even power. All that which makes them the choice to go for in my mind. It was actually actually my first inclination, but the power allure of the TT was pulling me away. Now that I'm back to being a bit more reasonable, twin screw is the most logical and useful choice for me. And it'll still be great at the track. http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/smile.gif Plus I do get some peace of mind knowing that Stillen has enough valid testing and faith in their unit that they have been underwritten that if you install their Stage 2 unit, you can get a 3 year, 36k warranty that covers the ENGINE for any damage if their SC should ever fail. That says a lot about the product.

For the install, all the superchargers are easier and less expensive than turbo's. The garage I take my car to get worked on for mods and maintenance, he is authorized as a Stillen dealer and has done SC installs in the past. Plus the guy is just an Infiniti Guru. Makes me feel better knowing he'll be working on my car, rather than taking it to another shop just because they have TT experience and he doesn't. The only thing I'll have to do is get the hood modified to allow clearance for the SC. I'm not a huge fan of Stillen's double dimple design, so I'll probably spend the $225, order their standalone cowl, and have a custom body shop use that as a template designing something better.

Oh and for the power, this is the kind of power curve that suits me best. http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/cool.gif
http://www.sportzmagazine.com/images_pages/images_downloads/Shootout-Stillen_Chart.gif