fallward

To follow up on my previous outline of differences, I have conducted an experiment. I have fitted a USDM muffler from a 2006 350z (part number 20100-CF50A) to replace my stock JDM muffler from a 2003 Z33 (part number B0100CD90A). The new USDM muffler is definitely louder. I have since removed my central exhaust resonator too and the exhaust is sounding very nice, almost perfect. So there we have it. The exhaust system does differ between JDM import models and other models, even if they look identical.

Hi there, I've also got a JDM model and looked into this. It's an air resonator chamber. Much like the central exhaust resonator, the idea is that it reduces particular sound frequencies (for example, there may be a particular RPM band that produces vibration or noise, which Nissan decided to tune out). I experimented by taking it off and plugging the hole, but honestly it seemed to make zero difference to sound or performance. I noticed that the USDM models don't have these, so whatever Japan was trying to tune out must not have been an issue there. I hope that's helpful.

I know nobody here is interested, but for the sake of documenting this for someone else I'm going to report back on this thread. I'm comparing the difference between a JDM Fairlady Z and a USDM 350z, after noticing that the JDM model is much quieter than the US. It turns out that the exhaust system appears to be different between the two, although not visibly. The part numbers differ between several components - whether that means the parts are different in reality I don't know. For VQ35DE models only, here are the different part numbers for the main parts of the exhaust system: USDM 350z: 2003+ CAT CONVERTER: 208B2-CD425 2006 CAT CONVERTER: 208B2-AC325 2003+ Y PIPE: 20020AM660 2003+ MID RESONATOR: 20300CD000 2003+ BACK MUFFLER: 20100CD010 2006+ BACK MUFFLER: 20100-CF50A JDM Z33 Fairlady Z: 2002+ CAT CONVERTER: 208B3-AL926 2002+ Y PIPE: 20020-AF625 2002+ MID RESONATOR: 20300-CD025 2002+ BACK MUFFLER: B0100CD90A 2006+ BACK MUFFLER: 20100CD025 As you can see, the part numbers differ between every part. My hunch is that most of the sound difference comes from the cats and the rear muffler (but probably the cats due to very different emission laws in Japan vs USA). If you're trying to replicate the sound of a stock USDM 350z (and you should, it's one of the best sounding stock exhaust systems I've heard) then you're best to replace the entire system from the cats back. I hope that's helpful to someone out there (most likely Canadians and Americans who have imported a Z33 instead of buying a local 350z). Cheers

My story gets worse. My theory about it being the cats may have been wrong - I removed the USDM muffler completely and "straight-piped" to the stock tips, under the assumption that this would not be as loud as the "muffler delete" clips on YouTube. I was wrong. It's unbelievably loud and I hate it. Now I'm stuck. I just want a light, throaty sound from the exhaust but I can't seem to get it. I'm still interested to find out what exactly the differences are in the USDM vs JDM exhaust, because the stock USDM sound is what I want...

Hi everyone, First time poster - I'm trying not to create a new thread for existing topics. I'm resurrecting this thread because there doesn't seem to be a solid answer for this. I have a 2002 JDM Fairlady Z, with a stock intake/exhaust. The exhaust is far too quiet. In my pursuit of the North American 350z stock sound, I purchased a 350z rear muffler (rear box) and installed it thinking that would do the trick. It opened up the exhaust sound the slightest amount, but otherwise it's still very very quiet. Does anyone know what other part of the exhaust is different between the JDM Fairlady Z and the USDM 350z? I'm thinking it must be the cats now. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you