Chromatic

lol... I wish I took pictures of the 175 ft of wire I ran through the car.. but I got a little pre-occupied during that beast of a job. Can you believe I had the Car THAT apart for the first time 2 weeks after I bought it? I can't believe I got it all back together in one piece lol! All that shown.. IF I would have had the "Bose" stereo instead of the Base non amped one.. I wouldn't have done any of that.. but now that it's done, I enjoy it so much.. cept my new exhaust is causing me not to turn it on lol.

Well there are variations.. In my Base.. the speakers were worse than crap -- They were Clarion, but worse Clarion than the "Bose" amped speakers in your cars. When I did my 120hour install (yeah lol) -- of my stealth complete redo of the sound system.. This is one of the Factory "Clarion" speakers from the back.. Speaker magnets tell you a very GENERAL idea of speaker quality -- Bigger = better (but there's a lot more to it than that..) But in this case it tells the whole story. That little Nickle sized metal thing is the magnet: Yah.. terrible. Here's the magnet of one of the 7 speakers I installed: The Factory speaker was 4 watts RMS, -- The replacement speaker is 80watts RMS (RMS just means continuous power.. with speakers ignore "peak wattage/power". And here's my solution to the factory speakers:

I see. Makes sense.. I get 26mpg city,.. 30-31 highway. With exhaust I'm at 13.5 lol.. I'll settle down in a few days. Doing the math (off the top of my head ) -- My 26 mpg city (driving light).. equates to 21.649524 MPG for your "Imperial Gallon". Just a wild guess though.. As for the tips -- I initially was Stock looking plain stainless steel rolled tips all the way. I thought the blue looked dumb,.. ricey,.. stupid. Then, in a day or two I started looking at them again lol.. and I went from thinking they were juvenile to obviously thinking they were MUCH better! As for Straight vs Rolled -- To me BOTH have the angle (Here's on of my tips): So it was an easy choice.. The rolled looks MUCH more "expensive/Wellbuilt/nice" than the thin walled tips. Now if the rolled tips didn't have that slant in them.. I'd be on the fence .. but with the cut angle.. It's absolutely no question for me. You also have to remember everyone seeing your exhaust tips 90% of the time are seeing them from the back.. So the rolled tips come into play here.. think about exhaust when you see it most of the time? For me it's driving, and seeing a car in front of me. Do what I did.. keep looking at them and keep an open mind.. you'll come to a definite decision! Also,.. Invidia kept the tips off and they Clamp on (VERY VERY strong bolts that clamp them).. and when I installed mine they fit on extremely tight before you tighten them.. So tight I had a hard time adjusting them (they don't just slide in and out.. you have to put force on them to move them.). But the point is,.. worst case scenario you can buy tips and swap them out. I also went with the Titanium (blue) tips because that coating polishes right off in 10-15minutes of work if you wanted the regular stock looking all stainless/chrome look. Which I have no intention of doing, but it's an option, so you effectively get both tips in a manner of speaking.

Can you link me your Berk HFC's? Seems like the HFC's are quite expensive.. but the Test pipes (more power).. but risk the CEL are under $200.

Heh.. Yes, these cars do get substantially better gas mileage than I anticipated. I do 99% city driving, and averaged 24-26mpg.. After installing this CBE system my Average dropped to 13.5 mpg. lol.. Now I'm sure I'm not going to be that bad on it in the long run, but the CBE just begs you to have a little more fun with the car (Not break the speed limit, get pulled over stuff (if you have discipline).. but just totally throw the gas mileage out the window and play with the shifts/revs much more... -- Heck I was revving the engine at stop lights a little just to hear it.. sigh,.. I'm sure people thought I was juvenile.. but hey, I just put on a CBE! Give me a break. I'm sitting here and I'm about to go get in my car and drive it around just to hear the exhaust.. it's THAT GOOD. You'll be the same. And trust me, it's a cinch to install -- You don't even need to friend to help.. I didn't. The ONLY part that could use a third hand is getting the stock muffler out of the hangers and down.. use your knee's,.. (or a friend.. makes it more fun (but can make it slower as well ). The gallon is different? How so? A gallon is a gallon? Do you mean the total miles per tank (Are your tanks a different size?) Enumerate Algernon.

Berks FTW Berks have two votes.. is that the Invidia of the Cat world? Also... I keep reading this exhaust gets louder over time. I know it's true to some extent,.. but how have you guys noticed it's sound after 100, 1000, etc miles?

I LOVE MY NEW EXHAUST!!! haha.. But, I do want louder.. more more! haha.. I do too, it's so sexy. It too me so long cause I came straight back and went to work.. Had to install it myself cause of the shop being booked all day.. Don't regret it one bit now of course! lol.. Total self install time: 1:20 minutes.. I couldn't believe how easy it was! I spent 120 Hours on the overhaul of the interior and rewire/speakers/amps/ etc.. This was like replacing a couple bulbs on the Z

Well,.. Exhaust is on! ......and,.. I ended up doing it myself,.. that keeps happening.. I went down to my Mechanic first thing,.. and he wasn't there! He was going to be there in an hour,.. BUT, they had 8 jobs in front of me and there was no way they could get to my car today at all. I was bummed out to say the least,.. So I went and grabbed 2 more jack stands, some PB Lube.. and drove home. The removal of the stock exhaust went as easy as it possibly could have gone! I guess I got lucky to some degree,.. but instead of just wrenching the nuts by the Cats and Y pipe.. I decided instead to hold the Ratchet on them tightly and use a hammer to hit the wrench with hard quick knocks.. (Nothing hurting anything.. just I figured it gave me a shot to break the nuts first try..)... And it worked. Every single nut broke on the 2nd or 3rd hit .. Then I just Ratched them off. No stripping of the nuts,.. Once I got the Cat bolts and Y pipe bolts loose I wasn't worried about the bolts further towards the rear of the car. I got the factory exhaust off in 20 minutes! Hardest part for me was getting it out of the hangers (I didn't unbolt the hangers.. ). Then of course the Invidia Gemini Exhaust went on beautifully as expected. Did notice one thing,.. either I was missing a set of Gaskets from Invidia.. OR,.. they mean for you to re-use the gaskets that go to the Cats. Either way I re-used one "set" of gaskets. Checked for leaks,.. tight as it can be. In fact,.. my factory exhaust had a little "rasp/gurgle" when you let off the gas -- That is now gone.. it's 100% smooth, so there must have been some sort of small leak with the stock exhaust? The Invidia Gemini catback took me about an Hour.. I was really taking my time with it.. And the tips took longer than I expected, but got them lined up to my liking. Here's the car with exhaust on.. bolts "hand tight" and before I put the tips on. A few views of the Exhaust.. mainly to show the Passenger side pipe going Under (or over.. however you want to say it) the sway bar. Some random Pics of the Tips/Back of the exhaust: I love it! Sounds SO deep.. Under 2500 RPM it sounds the loudest.. maybe that will change as it "breaks in".. I don't know. And,.. yes.. I want it louder. lol.. Don't get me wrong I love this , perfect sound -- But I need just a bit more ,.. so I wonder if I should go with HFC's or Test pipes.. (I just don't want the Light to come on..) And not sure which will keep the great sound but maybe open up the sound once you pass 2500 Rpm to 5500rpm (Very quiet in this range). Also,.. my Gas mileage is going WAY down now. I have been shifting at 2100-2500 rpm.. There is NO way I can keep my driving like that now with this exhaust.. Oh dear :/ Believe it or not I noticed that it seemed to bump up power in the lower RPM range,.. not sure if that's normal for this exhaust? But I feel it down there, and it seemed to flatten out the power band a bit for me.. and I knew it would be strong up high due to the motor/exist power band. It Smokes some.. it SMELLS.. so it needs some breaking in. And , I've read that they get just a touch louder and richer sounding after some breaking in (This true?) Thanks for the recommendations guys,.. this IS the perfect exhaust,.. It's definitely sexy, retains the VQ sound, is louder.. and it's SUPER SUPER Deep .. way deeper than I thought. I just installed this incredible sound system and now I'm driving with the windows down and Head Unit/Radio turned off lol.

Well I'm off to see if I can get this put on.. Wish me luck! Hopefully he will be there, and not busy.. and be ready to do it I'll text and take pictures if appropriate during the install (maybe).. I will text on the forum though hehe.. I think you guys are up and about.. about 1pm there now I think. Take care

God damn this is annoying, had this today at the local supermarket. Parked as far away as possible, there was literally 50+ other spaces, however they chose to park about a foot away from my car. What the hell is wrong with these people? Luckily there didn't seem to be any marks left on my car, no idea how the driver managed to get out unless they were rake thin as my passenger couldn't get in. I left them a nasty note on their car, it really is unnecessary to park like that. I had this the other day but for a change I didn't mind, it was a guy in a lotus evora, he said I saw you're car and thought it safe to park by you Yeah.. if that happens to me,.. I'll be 100 percent 'ok' with it. Nice cars tend to park next to each other anyway lol.. Just in the 2 months I've had this.. I've noticed BMW's,.. a Shelby Cobra,.. various mercedes,.. Lexus's,.. Supra, etc have all parked next to me when I was 10+ spaces away lol. Not another 350, or even 300ZX or 370Z.. yet!

I wouldn't go that far with Stock exhaust on the 350.. I think it sounds "Decent" for a stocker.. It's mainly the 3.5 liter engine that is making the noise though,.. The Z's engine has won multiple prestigious awards and is by far the best design on the car. All the models engines are great.. but the last few years in the HR motor they started redesigning the entire motor design in a "transition" to the 3.7Liter .. So the HR motors have as much in common with the 3.7 liters as they do with the 03-05/06 3.5 motors believe it or not. Horsepower is increased, but the actual 0-60 and so on is very negligible.. I believe for all that redesign and upped HP to 306 stock on the Manual 6speed.. it netted 0.1 seconds 0-60mph lol. The dual intakes are a great improvement though. Yup most any exhaust is going to be an improvement.. But there are a few exhausts out there that just KILL the VQ unique sound.. absolutely annihilate it. The Invidia does not.. it just brings it to life if you will. I won't get the FULL sound out of this dual exhaust for a few hundred miles as it heats up the welds and burns the inside out a bit.. the tone will deepen and resonate further as it "breaks in".. and that's no "placebo effect" either lol.. This thing will likely be smoking for a bit on the drive home (white smoke) from the welds, and virgin material inside. It's interesting you already have a perf. exhaust on and still want to invest in the Invidia.. that's cool. I didn't initially care much about going true dual.. I wanted the Nismo S tune.. and was STUCK on that -- but after 2 people sold out from under me.. and it being impossible to locate after that.. I started looking elsewhere.. and the Invidia Gemini was the recommendation from EVERYONE.. I'm talking at least 20-30 people I personally asked on forums.. I haven't seen one BAD review online in any form ,.. on any website (youtube, forums, reviews on performance sites that sell the exhaust, etc.). I did find some Dyno charts from someone who JUST put the cat back Gemini on.. nothing else.. And they gained a real world 11 hp at the rear wheels. That's substantial! I am not buying this for power.. but 11hp you could feel (slightly).. but only slightly.. Takes 20-30 hp to really feel it , but just depends on how familiar you are with the car I guess.

I think so to.. I can change that to a *know so* hopefully today. I did the brakes and new set of rubber first week I had her in December.. Since then I've done a laundry list of improvements. Now is the right time for the exhaust. Just had her out and about.. was trying to get a good listen to the stock with windows down (even in the cold).. windows up.. getting on it a little.. gearing down etc.. Just for a good comparison. I'm hoping it will be a night and day difference, even inside the car. Though I did purposely choose a "quieter" exhaust out of what is available, but it isn't much of an exhaust if it's stock quiet lol.

Old topic -- But you reprogram the mileage on the 350Z with something like a USA Prog device. They cost $2500-$5000 for the device (hand held). It plugs into the back of the cluster and takes about 2-3 minutes to change. You literally let it read the EEPROM, then you input whatever mileage (or km's) you want.. press "OK" .. and it writes it. Done. Some, most? Nissan dealerships won't have this device, but they can certainly outsource it.. It's $50-$100 to have someone else do this for you that has the device. Cost is obviously due to price of the device not because it's difficult. It's VERY easy to operate.

lol.. I've had it for a few hours.. Earlier in the thread I said I'm getting my mechanic to throw it on as he quoted in my "limit" of must be under $100 to fit.. Exhaust came late afternoon,.. and getting it put on Friday (tom).. Otherwise I'd be putting it on now.. likely cursing , bleeding.. and cutting bolts out that got stripped or otherwise wouldn't come out.. I may end up bringing the car in 10 mins before his shop opens to be the first one in.. so there's no chance of him having some job that came in unexpectedly and not being able to get to it. Main thing I need him to do is remove old exhaust.. putting this exhaust on is about a 40 minute job with hand tools and jackstands.. With a lift and impact wrenches maybe 15-20minutes. Removal of old exhuast + plus installation of new exhaust (as you guys say "fitting".. lol -- makes me smile because it's a specific exhaust designed for my car .. it better fit absolutely perfectly..) should be oh.. 40-45 minutes by a mechanic of any skill level with a shop/lift/impact etc.. He's $95 an hour.. and I'm sure that's what it'l be $95 + tax. I may could get a cheaper price at a muffler shop somewhere downtown.. but I trust this guy, and he lets me help get under the car etc (all against safety/company policies I'm sure ) . Good thing about this Invidia Gemini exhaust is everyone who has put it on has said it doesn't take any "fitting" or adjustments.. it lines up near perfect just from hanging and bolting.. Any adjustments , if needed, are incredibly minor. I know you were being facetious

Exhaust arrived.. lugged it inside.. And just for reference here it is in Box next to me.. I'm 6 Ft. Tall (1.83m): Box opened without touching anything: Box with some packing removed: (decided to not take it off so it doesn't get nicked up while moving it around before installing). The Tips (one of them anyway) : (Titanium Rolled Lip) Very well protected.. as I already said MUCH larger than I expected from the picture that was shown.. But this is about what I expected when I ordered it.. An exhaust is large.. especially a dual exhaust.. I'm surprised they could pack it in this box, but it's not overly packed.. it fits well with a lot of room to move around.

I assume you mean for an Exhaust CB system? Just received my Invidia Gemini.. It's now in the Garage. That box is A LOT bigger than I pictured after seeing the pictures from Bullet's box on the floor. I measured the cargo area of the Z.. and it's something like 40-42" wide, and 11" (under the lip) high.. (length doesn't matter in this case..But it's like 38-41" long ).. I haven't measured that box.. but just from eye balling it , it doesn't appear that it is going to just drop right into the Hatch and close.. maybe it will.. Worst case I have to take it out of the box.. I need to look up what this exhaust vs factory weighs.. the ship weight was 72lbs.. Take away the box and the "rounding" by the shipper.. This exhaust is somewhere in the 60's. Just looked up what Factory exhaust weight was/is.. and it's 67.5lbs Stock (30.6 Kg).. In my short search couldn't find the weight of the Invidia Gemini CB .. I'm sure it's out there,.. and I'm sure it's lighter than stock, but not by much. Thanks though -- That's what I like to hear. I'm super good on clutches,.. with the good habits I developed from signing up to a Racing course to learn how to drive (properly) when I was 16,.. and moreover with my old age (34) not pushing the car very often.. (Shift under 2500-3k RPM 99% of the time) I'm hoping this clutch will hold out for quite some years. It's sort of luck of the draw with Z's and the Clutch Slave Cylinder,.. but I also think it's also people who fail to admit or realize that when you rag the hell out of a car it's going to make any part that's the weakest link in the "chain" so to speak.. fail prematurely. Not that plenty of drivers have had their Slave cylinders fail even at a few K miles after buying the Zed new.. but still you know what I mean. Hope my mechanic isn't otherwise too "busy" for the install tomorrow.. I'll do some quick sound videos stock v new -- and if I can find the stupid Charging cord for my Digital camera I'll charge it up to see if it gives a better sound than the Iphone which has a Crossover built in to cut 200hz and below off.

2008 - Silver Alloy (I believe that is what this colour is called). I really like silver cars (sports cars) for some reason .. The cherry red was what I loved as a teenager and young 20's.. but now I do not even like RED period anymore. Black, Silver, White, etc (The "classy" colours) are where I'm at in my old age One thing about blue Z's though.. is they were always 3-4k cheaper than all the rest .. and I could only attribute it to their colour. Shrug.

Yeah the first day I got this car I put Seafoam (1/4th a bottle.. much less than directed) into a full gastank.. I put 1/8th into the Oil,.. and used a vacuum line for a minute for part of it.. and still have a bit left. I also needed a bunch of supplies for detailing I was out of.. and ended up picking up some crazy expensive "true" Octane booster than boosted 20gals by 4 points (was like $30 for a small bottle). I dropped tha in as well.. And pulled the neg. battery terminal that night. I was really expcected MUCH worse gas mileage with this car.. while it's certainly not GOOD.. it's sustaining 23.5-29Mpg.. Averaging 23-24mpg with ciy driving. Which is a testament to how light I can keep my foot and my shift points. THough I do have a stong feeling the MPg is going to fall significantly with this new catback.. One reason I'm also taking it super easy on it is because these cars are known for CLutch slave cylinders to go out.. and driving them hard constantly certainly doesn't help this. I think after exhaust my next upgrade *may* be an aftermarket Clutch.. Or should I just let this one burn for another 20,000+ miles (if it goes that long.. 27k miles on car now).. then replace when this OEM one is gone? I'd really like to get the JDM CLutch pedal bracket that allows you to properly adjust your cl utch pedal lower to the floor while keeping the throwout bearing/clutch disengaged when you are pressing the clutch in. But it's $300-$500 last I checked. I did do the manual clutch adjustment myself about 2.5 Turns which significantly helped the clutch height and how it transitions in first gear, and into second.. As first gear was always a little tricky with the release point being SO high on the factory clutch. But I don't adjust it all the way because I've read too many stories of premature failure of the clutch from this as people's clutches would be slightly engaged at all times when they went too far. You guys and having the Auto-bahn relatively close by.. that must be insanely nice!

That's why I think the US's 93 (our normal top octane ) is somehow close to your 95-96 range... Because the engines are made the same.. high compression, etc.. and without the 93 octane you are going to get predetonation etc.. I'd have to look more into it.. but the rating system must be a little diff. between the pond.. But you guys still have a higher available octane than us for sure.

Yeah, that makes much more sense than the all Imperial system here.. Seems the mix there is all the "good" Imperial measurements/figures and the good Metric ones. I honestly Prefer miles over Kilometers.. I prefer MPG over Kilo's per Liter.. I don't know about Liters vs Gallons.. But I guess Gallons because it's a lower number -- And from what I've seen you guys pay a TON of money t fill the car up. I'd say $100+ pounds? It's an 18 gallon tank.. so it costs me about $70 to fill up (depending.. that's when it's cheap) - and I put premium in only.. Which you guys have an advantage on us.. We have 93 Octane at most gas stations (petrol stations) as our best.. which runs about $4 a Gallon.. So A bit under $80 to fill up. Though this car might hold between 18-19 gal, bone dry. And I've read somewhere you have like 95-97 even 100 octane fuels.. Someone discussed it and said that much of the UK's 95 Octane is equiv. to the US's 93.. quality.. but that since you guys have above the 95.. you still have an advantage we don't have access to. Of course I can put 108 Octane Racing fuel in it.. but at $10 a gallon.. or more, I'll pass ;D

Hey Darren.. glad you said that, cause that's what I ordered this past Saturday night lol. Invidia Gemini with The Titanium Rolled "Anodized" (blue) tips. Will arrive Tomorrow.. I'll have it on Friday. If anyone has any requests of pictures of the box, packing, what this or that piece looks like up close with pictures (or even an unboxing VIDEO) I'll do it.. no problem.

Thank ya's.. Here's a shot in a little more light.. but still this car is super dark due to the tint I guess.. I think I had so much trouble getting this thing out because I followed another BAD .. guide on how to take it out instead of just figuring it out myself.. Which didn't say to pull the front and back covers out (the ones that go all the way to the carpet/mat.. on front and back.. ) -- Those clip in to the piece in more than 10-12 spots front and back. So I was pulling on it when it wasn't ready to come off in the least. I DID crack it.. and freaked.. (slightly).. So what you see there is my "plastic repair" work.. -- Good thing I was refinishing it.. otherwise I would have been in trouble,.. I could afford to bond the plastic very sturdily .. then sand that down as needed. I have to be honest,.. when I make a mistake,.. I'm gonna admit it. But I salvaged the piece.. stronger than ever now, just took what would have been a 1-2 day job into a week job cause I was out getting the right stuff and trying different things to bond it very well.. (no super glue fixes lol).. But, even still. That piece is still VERY brittle.. just is that way period due to how thin it is and what it's made of. While I was doing that and rewiring the LED's the prev. owner sloppily put back there.. I looked for that supposed boot switch in the hatch under the strut bar.. I didn't see/feel find it? Is it in all the cars? This is a base model.. 2008.. ?? Not a big deal, but still curious.

Good.. deal. I thought the UK had been Metric for a long time.. and the US was the stubborn ones -- But we got our "imperial" standards from you guys.. duh. lol.. Oh I learned the Miles, Feet, Inches, Gallons, etc.. FIRST.. got very little time in comparison on Metric -- and in my adult life am learning Metric conversions between the two.. as they are both in popular use and just using one is silly.. Some things use Metric standards more broadly, and others use Imperials more broadly.. I am 6ft ZERO inches And between 182-183cm's.. I am 199lbs..or 90kg.. blah blah.. Kph does look MUCH faster on the speedometer lol.. But you guys fill your tanks up with liters.. and these cars have insane gas tank sizes.. so you guys put what 80 liters in a bone dry tank? Sheesh.

Thanks.. I almost went the darker color that came on the 2006's.. But, said nah.. I'll keep it where it was.. it works for this Silver car. What is the "Official" factory color for this car?

I started on this last week.. I re-did it about 3 times,.. cause I wasn't happy with the finish as I kept comparing pictures with the stock one and it wasn't quite right.. a little wetsanding fixed it up. Here's the end result. I'm happy with it! The Circle shape on it is the fliashlight lol.. It was nighttime when I finished,.. and with tinted windows it's not easy to get light in there.. despite having the hidden LEDS that shows all the light under the Strut Bar..