Chromatic's - 2008 350Z Build Journal/Log

[Rocky4510]

Nice write up as usual!

 

The Invidia with HFCs sounds awesome too! Also i agree with you on the Invidia sticker lol

[Chromatic]

Man you've been busy, great write up and the vids are a nice touch. Sounds awesome!

 

Yup, in hindsight I have.. Had the car just about 3 months.. accomplished quite a bit in that time .. Tune is next,..

 

Thanks!

Nice write up as usual!

 

The Invidia with HFCs sounds awesome too! Also i agree with you on the Invidia sticker lol

 

Thanks,.. much of that I just added was previous work,. I just wanted to get it all consolidated in my ongoing build log thread.. The engine stuff.. intakes, air diversion plate, logos, and such are within the past week..

 

And, I absolutely LOVE the way the sound turned out with the Invidia Gemini + Berk HFC's.. I don't want to alter it in any way whatsoever.. Zero rasp, perfect tone,.. not too loud (but loud).. and great power (I really felt the power kick in when I had the HFC's fitted).. .. Another has mentioned putting headers on, but honestly.. even if headers gave me 20 hp (which they wouldn't).. I don't want the sound changed 1 slight bit..

 

I was trying SOOOO hard to find a used or new Nismo S-Tune exhaust .. and I'm SO glad that the two deals I had fell through (got sold from under me).. on the Nismo S-tune,.. because the Invidia Gemini is a better exhaust in every way (to me). It produces more power,.. it has a chrome finish everywhere not just the tips.. front to back the Invidia Gemini is beautiful (shame you can't see it).. And the Nismo S-tune was a Y pipe to single pipe like Stock,.. the Invidia Gemini changed it all to a true functioning Dual exhaust,.. AND the sound from the Invidia Gemini is, imo, better than the Nismo S-tune.

 

I did have a complaint with the Invidia Gemini and that was after 3k RPM it got really quiet (stock like).. That's the primary reason I immediately went with the BERK HFC's.. (had them in my possession within 1-2 weeks at most after I installed the Invidia Gemini).. and was crossing my fingers by some miracle the two Cats would magically make the 3k-7500 rpm range open up and sound good and louder.. And that is exactly what it did. Left the low end 0-3k with the lovely deep Invidia Gemini tone.. and it's like the Berk HFC's were designed specifically to go with this Gemini exhaust.. as the cutoff at 3k was eliminated. Not sure what that was all about,.. but anyone who has just the Invidia Gemini .. I highly recommend the Berk's.

 

I was also surprised the Berk HFC's didn't introduce some Rasp to the exhaust,.. but they didn't. You can hear from my many clips .. that it's a nice smooth tone. I know several others on here have the identical exhaust setup (Invidia Gemini + berk hfc's) so it's a winner.

 

While I don't have personal experience with the other exhaust and hfc/testpipe combo's -- I would still bet (based on the sound clips/videos I've seen) the combo here is the best sounding you can get for the 350/VQ engine if you don't want Rasp,.. or ridiculous obnoxiously loud exhaust. (Though my DB meter did record this setup at 104dB's at it's peak.. so it's not quiet )

 

Also i agree with you on the Invidia sticker lol

 

Yup. I've already removed it hehe.. It's a good looking logo,.. Not sure if it's the reflection changes it has or what, but it just doesn't work there. So it's trash now. I'd like a pure white Invidia sticker/logo to put somewhere.. perhaps a small one to put neatly on the air diversion panel,.. I do like to have my perf. parts represented in the engine bay, just with "class". That invidia sticker is not classy lol..

 

I'll post another picture and maybe video cause I like using this Canon HF R500 after I remove the factory stickers and such to show the difference of the looks. Small things like that really make a big difference which the picture(s)/video will show. (To me anyways)

[Chromatic]

Well do something to your Zed everyday keeps Zeditis away? /shrug..

 

Anyway.. I removed the Invidia godawful sticker lol.. Sigh.

 

I removed the factory yellow and orange stickers.. and cleaned up the adhesive below them.

 

Then the orange on the K&N stickers was bugging me.. so I carefully hand cut them to be all "white" .. I think it looks cleaner.

 

So old:

 

And now:

 

 

Not huge changes.. but I feel better when I do something, no matter how minor

 

You guys have any links, tips, etc for the following?

 

Next are the Radiator Cap (any links for buying a cool one?)

 

Oil Dip stick -- (Paint?)

 

Windshield wiper reservoir Cap -- (Paint)

 

And I suppose Oil filler Cap (Links to cool ones?)

Edited March 18, 2014 by Chromatic

[wizurd]

Wow nice build thread!!! Like the work on the audio as well. Another thing I'm now tempted to do lol. Keep em coming. Cars really looking good.

[Chromatic]

Wow nice build thread!!! Like the work on the audio as well. Another thing I'm now tempted to do lol. Keep em coming. Cars really looking good.

 

Thanks. I'm addicted more than I've ever been to a car. Slightly over 3 months now.. and I think I've gone a little overboard.. but is that even possible with the Z's? As long as you keep it classy?

 

You can tell, probably, I'm a stickler for doing things right, and a perfectionist of sorts.. IE: The whole sticker removal, cutting , etc of the engine bay lol.

 

The audio build was SO involved -- between 100-200 hours of labor on my end over a week working 12+ hour days many times.. (little sleep).. I wish I would have had my camera(s) I have now then.. You would have really seen how I wired the car up,.. and how anal I was about my solders joints, using relays, running dedicated grounds,.. and neat wiring in general. Also I wish I could have video's more of it cause wiring of the headunit at least video'd while I talked about it (I can talk about the 350 forever).. on camera would have been invaluable to people who have questions about the wire colors and what wire goes where.

 

I know I was a bit confused when I was wiring back there.. it's not exactly clear cut on some of it. But oh well.

 

This thread will just continue to grow haha.. As you see I post minor sticker changes.. to major ripping my car apart for the audio system which is absolutely phenomenal.. to the middle ground Perf. mods like Catback, the HFC's, and so on..

 

I'll try to do more videos on everything I do.. no matter how "easy" it is and post them in here -- so if anyone wants to listen and watch my rambling arse doing something for the first time they can learn from my mistakes.

 

I've lost my "self-consciousness" of talking to the camera.. and how "unintelligent" I sound with my "accent".

Edited March 18, 2014 by Chromatic

[wizurd]

Think the cars still well within the classy category, don't worry about that.

Having a but of ocd seems to be the norm on the forum lol.

[Chromatic]

Like the work on the audio as well. Another thing I'm now tempted to do lol. Keep em coming. Cars really looking good.

 

I'm helping two people right now with Audio builds on the forum in PM's.. If you decide to do anything from throwing in a new headunit, to going as nuts as I did and ripping it all out and putting a full-on 7 speaker system, amp, re-wire, headunit, custom fab, etc.. I'll be happy to help you with any questions pre and during install you have.

Think the cars still well within the classy category, don't worry about that.

Having a but of ocd seems to be the norm on the forum lol.

 

Thanks, I'm definitely trying to stay in those bounds. The little cleanup I did with the above pictures of logo's made a world of difference in "my" eyes in the engine bay..

 

The way I approach much of this is to try and make it "pop" but also at the same time try to make it look at "factory", clean, and professional as possible -- if that makes sense. Sometimes less "flash" is more. IE: Toning down the K&N logo's, removing that flash Invidia logo,.. and ridding the car of the factory warning stickers was an example of that.

 

As for the OCD,.. Yeah, I think anytime someone starts treating a vehicle the way we do it crosses the line from how most people consider their cars as means of transportation and if it's nice,.. then great... to we are a bit obsessive with it. Though, if you are going to be "addicted" to something, there are much worse, less productive things to be addicted to.

[GIXXERUK]

Nice work, good thread

[JetSet]

One of the best "build" threads I've read on here .

 

 

Pete

[hensh65]

Very good build mate

[Almeida1234]

Coming along nice

[mattross1313]

Great thread!! Keep up the good work

[Chromatic]

Finished up Cruise Control / Audio today.

 

Surprisingly it went smoothly, no mistakes, etc. Took about 20-30 minutes start to finish.

 

Some pics for the build log:

 

Steering Wheel Before:

 

Removal of the Tamper Proof T-30 6mm Bolts:

 

Steering Wheel Off,.. all in at this point. -- If anyone does this, keep in mind not to let the Spiral move around (ie: Don't let it rotate on you without correcting):

 

Steering Wheel out - In pieces - Horn Springs and T-30 Torx Bolts out, etc..

 

Wheel back in - Lined up - Only Airbag left

 

Replaced the T-30 Tamper Bolts with Non Tamper, added Loctite:

 

All done -- Buttons Illuminate with Headlights.:

 

Ready to finish my Tune now,.. will have the file to Flash over Next week, and Cruise will be active, and Car will be tuned (doing it myself with Vince at R/T Tuning Adjusting the Data Logs from Osiris, etc.)

Edited April 2, 2014 by Chromatic

[GMballistic]

Great work and looks very cool all lit up in the dark.

[Chromatic]

My Tuner in Pennsylvania sent me the first ROM to start the Tuning process -- Included a basic new Map for the Mods I have, Valet Map, and Enabled Cruise Control (upgraded ECU from Base Model to Touring Model).

 

So I went ahead and Finished up the final installs on the Digital Cruise Circuit Switches for Clutch and Brake:

 

Then Successfully Changed/Flashed the ECU from Base to Touring via Uprev/Osiris Cable, OBD Port, and Laptop.

 

So far so good. Cruise works like a champ, Car feels much better, and for some reason it shifts better? (Maybe I knocked something around installing the switches.. shrug.)

 

Now time to Log Data via Cipher and get the Tuner to properly Dial it in over the next week or two.. Man, Love having Cruise control. (I know this is like what everyone has.. as like 1 percent of 350's are Base models.. but when you don't have it ,.. you notice it (least I do ).

 

I'll post some Video of the Live Data as it's insanely cool .. and unbelievable how it displays/reads out.... as I do some Pulls for my Data Logs for the Tuner.

[Chromatic]

Great work and looks very cool all lit up in the dark.

 

Yeah I thought so too.. All the 350's Buttons light up right? I heard some talk when I was finding part numbers to get the right buttons for this car that some people didn't get their buttons to illuminate? Surely that's not true.

[GIXXERUK]

Wow ! Nice work

 

It must of been a worry flashing the ecu as I take it you couldn't back up the oem map

[The Bounty Bar Kid]

Interesting read!

[GMballistic]

Great work and looks very cool all lit up in the dark.

 

Yeah I thought so too.. All the 350's Buttons light up right? I heard some talk when I was finding part numbers to get the right buttons for this car that some people didn't get their buttons to illuminate? Surely that's not true.

Think it is true unfortunately but only on the earlier 350's as mine don't illuminate (2003 model).

[Chromatic]

Part of the "E-tuning" Process is data-logging specific things the tuner asks for to help fine tune your 350.. (Sending these logs back, Tuner sends back new ROM, rinse/repeat until satisfied).

 

Mine wanted three things to start:

 

1) 60 seconds of (warm/full operating temp.) Idle.

 

2) Wide Open Full Throttle in 4th Gear from 2,000 RPM - 7,800 RPM

 

3) 10% (Very slow) Acceleration in 4th Gear from 1,500 RPM - 5,000 RPM

 

I talked to some police about some private closed off roads I could legally do these things,.. and they were very cool after I showed them my setup, laptop with Cipher, etc. They pointed me to two different Private roads that were no longer in use and closed off (but still accessible) - and said I could use them all I wanted.. Just to be safe.

 

If I didn't have the request for the WOT 4th Gear all the way to 7800 RPM I probably would have just done things on the Highway as the top speed(s) wouldn't have been far from normal speeds... but getting up to 130+ Mph (200+ Kph) is just nuts, imo, to do on a Public road.

 

So with that in mind Here are the logs/runs/pulls , cut down as best as I could.

 

1) Boring, but neat if you've never seen the Cipher software I guess: (Idle Log)

 

2) (WOT Log)This got a little Hairy, thus me only getting to 7,638 RPM (of the requested 7,800) and NOT making a second attempt. (Final RPM was 7,638 and the Speed at that RPM was 131Mph/211Kmh(Kph?) ) -- I know it's blurry.

[Chromatic]

3) (Slow Accel Log) I actually did three solid pulls of this one as the speeds were very comfortable and sent all three to the Tuner.. But since they are so similar just uploaded one of them. (10% Slow Throttle/Accel from 1,500 RPM - 5,000 RPM in 4th Gear (Tops out around 85-87 Mph/ ~140 Kph)

 

The logs turned out very smooth , nice curves... If anyone is into Tuning and wants to see them just let me know I'll post them up here..

 

Hope the (almost 7800 in 4th is "good enough" for my Tuner.. Felt a little unstable at those speeds on the older road I was on (Slight bumps/pot holes are magnified greatly).

 

This Cipher software is very cool.. It can do so many more things, if you guys want me to show a Demo of all the crap it does to your 350 lemme know I'll make a Vid of it's umpteen billion functions.

 

Take care,

[GIXXERUK]

Wow that was of the police

 

That cipher software is

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2014 by GIXXERUK

[JetSet]

Great work and looks very cool all lit up in the dark.

 

Yeah I thought so too.. All the 350's Buttons light up right? I heard some talk when I was finding part numbers to get the right buttons for this car that some people didn't get their buttons to illuminate? Surely that's not true.

 

 

Mine's a late prefacelift and doesn't have illuminated controls, think they were introduced with the facelift model in 2006.

 

 

Pete

[Chromatic]

Wow that was of the police

 

That cipher software is

 

Yeah, the police generally blow you off unless you can interest their "day" or evening with something in their boredom of patrols. I'm sure the car pulling up to them caught their attention a little.. but then the question was likely unusual.. and then I opened the car up for them to take a look at what was going on.. (IE: I wasn't trying to find some area to go "Street racing" with friends/others on.. ) they thought it was cool. It does look cool.. Plus I have other electronic setups going in the car as well so it looks a bit like a Police cruiser inside only with sort of the opposite tools lol.. I have the Escort Passport Max detector mounted, synched to an extra Iphone 4 with the Escort Live App going,.. the Headunit looks rather neat I suppose.. and then laptop connected to a power inverter with the Cipher software going lol.. So they got a short kick out of asking me questions about it and were happy to give me some spots that were legal/no longer in use by public.

 

I'm just glad none of them asked to drive it.. I don't trust many people driving my baby, much less a police officer (though I guess they are more qualified than most... so it's my negative experiences with officers in the past weighing in there lol).

 

And yes.. The cipher software is so very cool.. as is the Osiris, ROM Editor, etc..

 

I'm going to do a Video on software just holding the camera in a hand (not on a mount) on what the software does -- And my admittedly , at best, 50 percent understanding of it.

 

I know what most of the Parameters are,.. just honestly I don't know exactly how they all tie in together precisely.. I'm learning/reading .. but It is a lot to get down proper.

 

I just figured out you can change the colors of the screen..although that default amber color seems to be one of the easiest to read layouts.. but I can show that as well.

 

The stuff has other BCM options in it.. Where, for me it's just a toy, .. but I can see it being quite useful -- Where you can unlock the doors, roll down windows, turn on any light in the car, turn on and off warning lights on the dash and a ton more.. (I'll leave that for a video..) I thought that was cool to be tapping buttons on a computer screen and your rear hatch interior light coming on with the hatch closed (as I also have separate LED's under the strut bar linked to it ) lol.. I'm always needing more light in the car when doing stuff

[Chromatic]

Great work and looks very cool all lit up in the dark.

 

Yeah I thought so too.. All the 350's Buttons light up right? I heard some talk when I was finding part numbers to get the right buttons for this car that some people didn't get their buttons to illuminate? Surely that's not true.

 

 

Mine's a late prefacelift and doesn't have illuminated controls, think they were introduced with the facelift model in 2006.

 

 

Pete

 

Ah, I see. So no illuminated (steering wheel) controls on regular 350's prior to 2006? Glad they decided to add lights.. seems a dead obvious thing to add given at night time I can't see a thing on my steering wheel.. so the illuminated controls, while somewhat dim,.. really help.

 

If anyone without the illumination could do A LOT less work than I've done to just have what you guys have automatically.. "Cruise, volume, seek, etc.." to add illuminated controls. Could probably run your headunit/radio's illum. wire to the back of the controls (not the ones you have.. but could grab some from a later model I suppose) and They would light up with the headlight switch (first tick that turns on driving lights turns them on).

 

I'd imagine just running from the fuse box off a power source that is on/off with ignition (which is most) would work as well and may be an easier wire path as the whole lower plastic base of the steering column comes off. But.. that said.. you get used to things.

 

I'm already in just a few days quite used to my cruise and switching maps -- and that is with my regular cluster that doesn't light up Cruise and Set (even though they are printed on it.. doh) -- I really thought I'd go with a second hand cluster and get the mileage changed and all that.. but the more I drive now with this setup.. the more I don't see a need for it.

 

I don't need a light to tell me when cruise is on.. it's quite easy to press "on" then "set" and well if your car keeps speed without your foot on the accel , it's on

 

And for maps.. Holding the Set/accel (the toggle switch up top for cruise) and pressing the next button 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 times dictates your map.. Doesn't need a blinking light for me either.

 

I like how the maps change at any time.. I can be going 60mph down the road and without looking change to say map 5 and it changes on the fly. I thought map changes would likely need to be done with the engine off or something of the sort.. So that's unexpectedly nice.

 

The Valet map is nice.. I"ll use it with any place I drop the car off for anything.. tires, maintenance I can't do.. etc.. It limits it to 3k RPM.. but I thought that would let you go to whatever 3k in 6th gear equals,.. but it also secondarily and simultaneously limits the top speed to 32-33 mph. Which is plenty to move the car from the parking lot to shop and back out.. but not enough to have any "fun" with the customers car lol.

 

I may make the Video this evening on all the functions I "know of" so far with the Uprev/Osiris/Cipher software/hardware. Who knows, one of you guys may decide you want to run with an E-Tune instead of dropping it off somewhere. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.. I won't list them here for brevity.