Tips on Nissan 370z Tuning

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Nissan 370Zs are awesome to work on and with the right uprated parts you can dramatically enhance your driving enjoyment. Nissan took all the best from 350z, looked at the criticims and then produced the stunning 370z.

The early 350Z suffers from a lack of low down power and we are please that this was addressed to a large degree in the 370z with totally revised engine, all new intake manifolds and exhaust header/manifold design.

TorqueCars particularly like the automatic throttle blip when you change down, making you look like a driving pro. 

Improving the handling for DIY mechanics first priority in your 370Z tuning project. The standard handling is pretty good but aftermarket suspension kits will tighten things up just a little more.

To compare the 350Z and 370Z see this article.

Handling modifications are top of many to do lists for the 370Z.

Setting some negative camber at the front and a few degrees of toe in to improve stability or toe out for better cornering, will often benefit your 370Z in handling and cornering.

We would go to a maximum drop of 20mm - 30 mm. on most models. You risk rubbing on the arches if you go lower than this.

You'll risk rubbing on those lovely flared arches if you go lower than this and it would be shame to compromise the great setup of this car.

(You should always get the camber reset and readjusted after a suspension tweak perhaps adding slight negative camber as the car is lowered.) Always get adjustable shocks to allow you to set the car up for your preferred driving style.

Our aim in 370Z engine tuning should be to increase peak power and Torque at the top end.

The new engine is a real stormer but some still find it a little light on Torque at the lower rpm range.

Nissan 370z Tuning modifications.

Beware of high oil temperatures, these engines can run pretty hot on track days and we suggest you keep an eye on the oil temps. If you suffer from high temperatures then you will need to get an oil cooler fitted.

We also note that the engines NEED high octane fuel. If you put low octane in them you will suffer from a risk of detonation and premature wear. If there is no choice and you have to use low octane fuel then keep the engine speeds down to minimise the risk of damage.

There was just one (at the time of writing) engine options on the 370z, the VF37VHR.

This is much much stronger and better for tuning up than the early 350z engines, coping with up to 450hp with few issues, the former is safe to around 400hp.

These are the uprated modifications are usually carried out by our members, decide how far you want to push your car before you get going.

Getting the best tuning upgrade kits for your planned usage of the car is vital. Stage 3 competition upgrades just won't work well on the road and will make the car undrivable.

Please watch our video which covers the 5 principles of tuning your car. Be sure to keep up with our latest YouTube content and subscribe.

Best mods for your 370Z

1. Brake Mods - Improve your ability to stop should be high on your agenda.
2. Intake Mods and Exhaust Upgrades - Be aware on their own these mods will NOT ADD PERFORMANCE in most applications, but they can help release power after other mods by minimizing the restriction.
3. Turbo upgrades - forced induction is the most efficient approach to raise the intake air supply, this means you are able to burn more fuel and make power gains. It is one of the most challenging mods but provides the best gains.
4. Low mass flywheel - a lower weight flywheel will enhance the engines ability to rev freely. Not a great mod for all 370Z engines.
5. 370Z Suspension Tuning - Fitting a more sporty Suspension kit dramatically improves 370Z handling Adjustable coilovers and better bushings are what is needed here.
6. Remaps - 370Z engine tuning/remapping gives the most advantage compared to your outlay, replacement ECUs, and inline Tuning boxes are all alternatives.
7. Head work - The goals of porting and flowing the head are to get air flowing into the engine while removing flow restrictions and turbulence.
8. Fast road cams are generally the biggest mechanical mod upgrade, but ideally be fitted by someone qualified to set them up properly and you might struggle to find one but there might be a local firm to regrind a stock camshaft for you.

370Z Tuning Stages

Typical stage 1 mods often include: Remap, Panel air filter, Sports exhaust, Alloy wheels, Suspension upgrade (drop 30mm - 40 mm.), Lighter flywheel.

Typical stage 2 mods often include: high flow fuel injector, Power/Sport clutch, fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam.

Typical stage 3 mods often include: Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing, Sports gearbox, Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves), Competition cam.

Your goal when tuning should be a flat and wide torque band. You want to avoid sending all the torque to be at the top end of the rev range unless you are creating a competition car which lives at the top of the rev range.

Remapping the 370z

(In some cases, as we find here, the factory ECU is locked flashing is not an option, so an aftermarket ECU is the route to take, and many of these will outperform factory ECU's but make sure it has knock protection and that you get it set up properly.)

Some of our members recommended the following aftermarket ECU's from their projects. You'll generally find harnesses available now for most of the aftermarket ECU options for these engines.

• Apexi
• Syvecs
• Haltech Elite 1000/1500
• Megasquirt
• LINK G4X
• IMPUL Hi Power

An aftermarket ECU is harder to setup and requires some specialist knowledge of your engine and parts you've fitted, but gives better performance and helps you optimize the timing and fuelling to a fine degree of accuracy - we suggest you go for the Link G4+ (or a G4 with an external knock control unit) or the better but more expensive Syvecs ECU (the upgraded data logging feature is extremely useful)

It will usually give you around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and 15% on NA (naturally aspirated) engines, but your mileage will vary depending on the mods you've done and the condition of your engine.

In this article we shall give a little insight into the world to the best performance parts for your car, but we'd encourage you to spend some time on the site looking into the details of each type of performance mod.

A fast road cam with a duration of around 265 degrees will be one of the best power mods you can do mechanically to your engine (other than adding forced induction).

It maximises the intake and exhaust flow and increases the power if done right. Ideally you'd add other mods and finish up with a remap. We'd also caution you not to go with a competition cam as this upsets the engines idling and general town driving characteristics.

Don't forget to increase the fuelling when you are increasing the power - it makes the car more thirsty.

Using higher octane fuel is another option if you find you are suffering from pinking or premature ignition on your Nissan project after fitting other motorsport mods. Improved injectors will enable you to supply sufficient fuel to the engine.

Uprate the fuel pump to cope with the extra fuel requirements of your tuned 370Z's uprated injectors.

Nissan 370z Intake and Exhaust Tuning.

The next area for modification is the intake and exhaust. Please note that WE DO NOT FEEL YOU GET POWER GAINS FROM INDUCTION KITS, unless you have tuned your car extensively and are finding that the standard air intake has become a limitation.

Induction kits can work well on turbo engines and larger engines (if supplied with a suitable cold air feed or air box), generally though we'd just recommend for 370Z engines you should just fit a sports panel air filter preferably made from cotton.

Do not go with the biggest exhaust you can find this will slow up the exhaust flow rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches.

Getting the head ported and polished will further help more air into each cylinder but Nissan have already done a great job on the 370z head. To get any improvement then you need to hand the job over to a professional with a flow bench. A 3 angle valve job will have an impact on performance as will porting and polishing the head and balancing and blueprinting.

Your clutch can seriously let you down if it starts to slip, especially if it is getting on a bit and the standard clutches are only ever good for power gains of up to 40%. Fit an uprated clutch to avoid power losses through the transmission.

Nissan 370z Wheel modifications.

The benefits of alloy wheels include lowering your unsprung weight and more efficient brake cooling via the extra air flow they allow.

If you are serious about performance then you will need to carefully choose your tires - ideally with a track legal slick tire. The drawback to large alloys on your 370Z is that you're altering your final drive ratio and this will have a detrimental effect on performance.

If you get big alloy wheels you will be changing your final drive ratio. Although some people have gone larger we would stick to a 18 inch rim size as the maximum with low profile tyres.

If you would like to know more, or just get some friendly advice on Tuning your car please join us in our car forums where you can discuss 370z options in more detail with our 370z owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Nissan tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification

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