timothypafford

Hello, I bought a 1995 Nissan 300 ZX 2+2 N/A about a 14 months ago. The car had about 110,000 miles when I bought it and now has about 140,000. I replaced the radiator and the water pump shortly after buying the car and now it seems that the rack and pinion is in need of replacement as the boots on both sides are shredded and i have to add power steering fluid about once a week. I am considering a good tune-up and possibly some mild upgrades to the motor next. I was interested on some advice as to where would be the best place to start, what are the most cost efficient upgrades, and things that would be relatively easy to do myself. I love the car and at the present time it does run a little rough (rough idle sometimes). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

ZLover4Life

First off, you rolled 120k miles... did you do the 120k tune-up? If not, you need to.

Second off, the rack might need to be replaced, but the high pressure power steering hose is also a common source of leaks, and should be replaced (or at least inspected), as well.

Regarding mods, the NA will never be all that fast, but you can start with a JWT POP Charger, a cat-back exhaust (Specialty Z performs best), and suspension and brake work to your liking.

CanyonCarver

After the intake and exhaust, an aftermarket ECU chip will provide noticeable improvements.

ZLover4Life

... on an NA?

Other than the increased rev limit, I'm not sure if I agree that the improvements will be noticeable. But that's more based on what I've read, than anything.

timothypafford

Thanks for the information guys. I've found that you have to be careful who you ask because most people would rather give an uninformed answer than admit that they really know nothing about the subject. I was wondering if a turbo conversion kit would be something to consider in the future. I have heard that the N/A motor is not built to handle the demand that the turbos would place on it. I also know that they can be pricey and it may be more cost efficient to buy a TT if I want one. What are the thoughts on this?

ZLover4Life

You absolutely cannot put turbos on the NA motor and expect it to be reliable, compression is too high and the motor WILL detonate. Not to mention, poorly-flowing air passageways would result in lackluster performance right up to when the engine popped.

If your chassis is in great condition, do a proper TT conversion by buying a full TT front clip (www.czp.us sells them for ~$3k) and swapping over all the TT components.

If your chassis is not in great condition (which is what it honestly sounds like), sell it and buy a TT if you want power. Clean TTs are expensive, though... normally area of $10k+.

domsgarage

cant you put a single turbo under the nose panel.....

ZLover4Life

Of course!

You can put a turbo anywhere you want....



... doesn't mean it'll work.


Yes, he blew his motor.

CanyonCarver

You can reliably run turbos on an N/A with a proper tune and no boosting over 9 - 10 psi.

BlueKitsune

Whoa what the...

domsgarage

I was trying to find that picture but didnt know where to look.

Bouta save it.

What a tool.