280zxbrandon

I've spent a good 2 or 3 hours scouring the internet and have concluded the following;
There are very few performance upgrades for a non turbo z31.


Please, prove me wrong.


I won't be able to afford an sbc or turbo swap for a long time, so I'm looking for any bolt ons or reasonably priced modifications to get a few extra horse power.

I should mention that my car will be a daily driver, and will not be much of a highway monster/top speed type car.

With that said, what headers would be ideal for me(assuming that there are aftermarket headers out there for vg30e)?
Is there any particular suspension kit z31 guys are fond of?

Please no "just go turbo/sbc" or "just search n00b" replies. I'm tired of searching. I will be driving the z31 daily as a girlfriend picker upper/to school driver and have no time/budget for an all out motor swap.

Any and all feedback is appreciated.

edit: is the KA24 throttle body a straight forward swap? Or do you need the spacer as with the L series?

duowing

I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems to me without some serious engine work or a turbo. You just won't get too much out of a non-turbo Z31. Although the Non-turbo can be turbo'd, it just takes some effort, and you can't run a smuch boost due to the higher compression.

Here's a good site:
http://www.redz31.com/

This site covers the guy's whole process of making his N/A engine into a Turbo engine rather than completely dropping in a turbo engine. Also a whole bunch of other things that can be done with the car, but like I said, don't expect a huge amount of power to come out of the N/As on these cars.

jfairladyz

If you're looking for headers for a VG30DE then they're not going to fit your car. You need headers for a VG30E. Later Foreign market Z31's got the DE (and some other motors) but over here it's all single cam.

jfairladyz

http://www.zcarparts.com/store/merch...ory_Code=PEC03

http://www.zcarparts.com/store/merch...ory_Code=PEC02

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/mm...ers~parts.html

Those are Pacesetter headers in the second link. Not sure which one's MSA sells but I suspect they are Pacesetter as well.

280zxbrandon

Oops. Tyo. I meant VG30E. I was aware of only having the Single cam in the US. Also: I keep reading about the pathfinder intake manifold. Does it have a better flow than the z31's intake manifold?

I'm sorry if these are noob questions. I've owned three s130's, and this is my first non L series engine'd car.

FreeLanceBum

Go with the MSA headers, they are better than the pacesetters. I've heard bad things about them.
There are also Nismo headers available: http://www.nismoparts.com/catalog/?section=247

The 240SX throttle body requires rerouting of coolant lines, and swapping of the linkage. Find one for the Stanza, it's the same 60mm bore, and the coolant line hookups are in the right places, and you don't have to swap the linkage. Also, you will need to port match the TB to the intake plenum. And no spacer is required.
These TB's are on ebay from time to time, or you could junk yeard it.

Regarding the plenum options: http://www.redz31.com/pages/plenums.html
With the pathy intake, you have to tweak the hood, change the distrubutor, and move some stuff around, and no chance of a strut brace either.
more on that: http://www.z31.com/pathy.shtml

As for suspension, get the poly bushing kit from MSA, Tokico Hp(blue) shocks and struts, and stiffer springs. I'd reccomend lowering it some as well.

Good luck.

280zxbrandon

Hey thanks man! Appreciate the links and effort.