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< Back to 350Z Project home
Thank Bridgestone for sticky tires. Really.
Thank Bridgestone for sticky tires. Really.
When Brian from TechnoSQUARE called to let me know that they've
completed the ECU reprogramming on my 350Z, it was conveniently
at the end of a long working day. I returned the P.O.S. rental
back to trusty Enterprise and they dropped me off at
TechnoSQUARE's shop in Torrance. I was beat, after a tough
weekend, and everything Brian was telling me was basically a
blur. I want to get into my car and go home.
Got in the car, fired up the engine to that melodious rumble,
backed the car slowly out of their garage, put the car in gear.
Going through the motions as I slip the car into first gear.
Next thing I know, I left two small rubber peal marks in their
parking lot.
"What the?" was the first words that came to my mind. Okay. I'm
awake now. I've had ECU reprogramming done on my various "other"
vehicles, all by the best chip tuners from each respective car
make. And frankly, after spending thousands of dollars on ECU
tuning for OBD II cars, I was expecting a pleasant but subtle
change, no more than a few horses here or a lbs-ft or two there,
and a removed speed governor that I rarely (but occasionally do)
use.
Wasn't exactly expecting this.
Lets rewind a bit. I met with Brian the Thursday prior and had
discussed with him my options. I can either take the ECU out of
the 350Z and bring it back to TechnoSQUARE to have the basic
re-programming done, drive my beater for a few days, pick up the
ECU and re-install it, or I can drop off the 350Z, go rent a
car, go to work, come back and pick up the 350Z so they can
customize my ECU's fuel mapping and spark advance to the
modificiations already completed on the car (AEM intake, DC
header and exhaust). I choose option B.
Truth be told, Nissan left the parameters of the engine
management software a little on the conservative side. Right
after I installed the intake and exhaust, I KNEW right away that
the effect of the more efficient breathing up front and the
cat-back dual pipe system behind the engine wasn't tuned to its
full potential. The ECU struggles to find the right fuel mixture
and often leaves it too lean up high on the RPM range.
Especially after installing the header, I can often hear the
effect of un-burnt fuel igniting AFTER the combustion chamber as
I blip the throttle for a heel-toe downshift. Clear signs that
the ECU is out-matched by the bolt-ons supplied graciously by
AEM and DC Sports.
So imagine my very pleasant surprise, as I drove away from
TechnoSQUARE, of the newly optimized throttle map and advanced
spark timing tuned specifically to take full advantage of 91
octane gas. Lucky for me, the 275mm wide sticky stuff on the
rear end quickly hooked up despite my snafu with the throttle.
Thanks to Bridgestone, instead of a tangle with the concrete
parking dividers, the car quickly hooked up and took off like a
bat out of hell, unintentionally.
To be honest, it wasn't like the car gained 100 hp out of
no-where. One of the OTHER tricks TechnoSQUARE did, was adjust
the electronic throttle to respond to a more linear throttle
input. The throttle input from the factory follows a nice smooth
curve, with the first half of the pedal travel providing a
smaller increase in throttle plate opening, and the latter half
of the pedal travel providing a more rapid throttle opening, to
simulate the actions of a mechanical throttle as well as make it
smoother on launches. However, that makes the throttle seem
somewhat unresponsive. TechnoSQUARE flattened out the curve a
little to give you a more direct throttle control.
Anyway, as I drove away from TechnoSQUARE a happy man, I decided
to test the full range of the upgrade. Took the 110 North
onramp, left the car in second gear and took it all the way up
to 7,000 RPM (well, technically I have another 100 RPM). A few
more runs varying between 4,000 RPM to 7,000 RPM on the freeway
between 3rd and 4th gear confirmed quickly that the ECU
re-programming is working as advertised and then some.
When Nissan designed the VQ engine for the 350Z, they've
optimized the lower end of the torque curve to provide as much
torque as possible in the 3.5 liter V-6. Since more torque is
hard to come by between 700-3,000 RPM, TechnoSQUARE boosted the
mid-range to top-end torque and horsepower to take advantage of
the improved engine breathing. The end result is a civilized,
well behaved car when you're puttering about town (except the
throttle seems more sensitive), while at highway cruising speeds
ample power and torque is on tap, especially if your RPM is
above 3,000. It's only been a couple of weeks, but it's been a
very pleasant couple of weeks. Luckily for me, it's not quota
time yet for the local constables, because I've been, um,
exploring the other side of the legal speed limit quite a bit.
Another good thing about the ECU re-programming is that it
addressed some of the nagging issues I've had since I installed
the intake, exhaust and header. The idle speed has smoothed out,
the engine revs up to redline smoother, car doesn't sound like
it's farting or blowing raspberries when you gun it or rev match
downshift, which the missus seems to approve.
Best of all, since redline has been moved to 7,100 RPM I can hit
60 mph in 2nd gear!
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2004 350Z Performance Model
In Stock Form
Good: Lots of torque, excellent aerodynamics,
communicative steering, stock suspension rivaling high end
German design
Bad: Brakes not suited for the track
Ugly: Did we mention the brakes?
Upgrades
Tires
Bridgestone S-03s
Engine/Power
AEM Intake
DC Sports Exhaust and Header
Wheels
Forged BBS RGR 19"
Brakes
Rotora Slotted Front and Rear Rotors
Hawk Pads
Stainless steel lines
Suspension
NISMO S-Tune
NISMO Rear Sway Bar
Transmission
B&M Short Throw
Future Upgrades
Technosquare ECU
Forced Induction
Multi-piston Brake SystemNISMO clutch |
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