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supercharge or replace?


Luke0549

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That is the question!

I have been researching supercharging recently and would be aiming for 400bhp.

I've worked out that it will probably cost around £7000 to get it to the level I want it.

Now, my question is, is it worth putting the money into the 350z, or do I put the £7000 and sell the zed to buy something else?

But what else?...

I've looked at e46 m3 - I think it looks dated and boring.

996 911, for 12k I would be looking at some poor examples.

Boxster s - meh. Would always get in it and be gutted I didn't get the 911. Same with the cayman.

Lotus Elise - couldn't live with it daily.

370z - all that money for very little upgrade.

Anybody got a suggestion for something that could rival a sc zed for a daily driver and several track days a year?

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Keep Zed, but VX220 for track, sorted.

 

A £12k 996 will always be worth £12K, drop £7k into a 350 and you'll lose half that overnight. Personally I'd always go for a new car, as the experience of owning something different is what excites me. An Elise should be on everyone's driveway at some point, you could run it for a year and not lose any money the other side.

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I find myself in a similar situation, but cant justify pumping that kind of money into my zed.

 

I would love a more track orientated car, elise, vx220 etc but I wouldnt be inspired to drive on the road, I.e road trips etc and cant have both.

 

E46 is just too close to the zed imho. Porsche, well just no for many reasons. 370z, would prefer a sc'd zed for the money.

 

I have been trawling the classifieds with nothing jumping out at me.

 

R34 GT T is about the only thing i am inspired by at present and not so sure thats a step on.

 

Good luck in your search.

Edited by Jetpilot
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I've just supercharged my 370z and know I'll never see that money back however love my z and don't forsee me selling it any time soon

 

I have always bought a car to keep it for as long as possible and my z hopefully will be no different

 

I guess you have decided if you like to keep cars a long time if the answer is no then I wouldn't supercharge because you are just going to lose money

 

The way I look at it is my z stands me at no more than it would of done to buy bran new and it's low enough miles to just service regular and look after and I don't plan on selling unless anything drastic happens

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This is my 3rd 350z in 4 years. I know I love the car, on track it handles well. Just would love a bit more grunt to it.

Back to trailing auto trader I think then for an upgrade.

The only thing that puts me off a 996 is the engine problems and cost if it goes wrong!! Plus, a standard carrera 2 isn't as much of a performance jump as originally thought! Only 300bhp...

Doesn't really seem like an upgrade, more of a slightly forward side step...

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Don't even think Porsche, trust me!!! £7000 + VAT for engine rebuild... IMS failures and bores scoring are so bloody common, I still can't believe we're talking about Porsche engines.

 

Supercharge the 350z, improve the suspension and forget about other cars, nothing else out there gets you that kind of power and handling within that budget.

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you seem to be quite a fan of the zed, so sounds like you should keep it and supercharge it! to get 400bhp from a different car you're talking a lot of money - cheapest way to 400bhp would be something like an M5 or a supercharged jag, neither of which would be good on track. if you want 400bhp and good on track, you're basically talking a decent Porsche, or something even more exotic.

 

most other cars at the price point (basic 911, M3, 370z) will likely feel pretty similar to a zed really, nothing noticeably faster. also, anything else you buy would probably depreciate at the same rate as the amount of money you'd lose by supercharging the zed.

 

having been in daz's old supercharged 350z, with associated suspension and tyres, it was really nice on a track, and rapido!

 

 

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A few know that I have also been having impure thoughts for a while now about chopping in the Zed. Crazy really as I have got it just the way I want.

 

Been trawling through autotrader for inspiration but not really feeling the love for anything. Only two possible candidates is the cayman and 370z though would have to mod the 370z to like it which is a road I don't fancy going down again lol.

Edited by Humpy
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Thing is do you actually think the zed will be better with a supercharger? How do you know that, definitively? It's a lot of money, hassle and tweaking to add power to a base model that doesn't need it. I have both a DE 350 and 370 Nismo and TBH I think the lower BHP/Ton ratio of the 350 works better on the road. Even with much improved handling on the Nismo it's still difficult to drive over eight tenths, so think carefully before winding a 350z up to 400bhp. Patronising post over!

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Stevo, read above, stay away from Porsche unless you take it to a proper specialist for 100 points check before buying, including boroscope test

Did you? ;)

 

 

Also, the percentage figures of bore scoring/IMS on the M96/M97 engines are between about 5-10%. If you buy with high mileage then the IMS is unlikely to go (if they're going to go, they usually go between 40k and 80k), and the boroscope inspection is easy to do so you can rule out bore scoring. Fitting the 3rd rad and a low temp stat along with correct warm up and cool down procedures then makes it incredibly unlikely the engine will go pop.

 

A Porsche is an incredible car to own, there's so much more to it than just straight line speed. The Boxster/Cayman has a delicacy of feel that only an Elise can better at that price, and a 911 is a whole new thing to learn and appreciate with the weight distribution. An FI Zed is great, especially with the supporting mods, but I'd rather go slower and have more fun. :) You can exploit an NA 350 much more than you can an FI one, and unless you're doing a lot of high power tracks (Silverstone, Spa, Monza etc) then the difference is more on the driver than anything.

 

A good driver in a VX220 will leave an average driver in a 400bhp Zed for dead on track.

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I've got a mate with a s2000 that leaves me for dead in places and hounds my pal in his evo

 

But then when we go anymore than half hour down a motorway his ears are bleeding and back is knackered lol

 

Horses for courses is the key its all about compromise

 

One other thing to consider is if you stretch the legs of a sc zed on the road your into licence loosing speeds in seconds so can definitely see where ekona is coming from saying you can have as much fun at lower speeds

 

I wouldn't say for a second that the power had overwhelmed the rest of the car it drives / handles as before just more :)

 

What ever you decide I hope you enjoy it and make it your decision not swayed by any opinions on here

 

It took me a lot to bite the bullet and do it and one day I might regret it but for now I love it and for me that's what life's about living for now

 

Good luck with what ever you decide

Edited by nissanman312
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Stevo, read above, stay away from Porsche unless you take it to a proper specialist for 100 points check before buying, including boroscope test

Did you? ;)

 

 

I didn't, but this is what I got in exchange, hence my comments above. I've been speaking with 3 Porsche specialists, the car is now with one of them, engine being stripped today. They said they see at least 1/month a Cayman, Boxter or 911 with the same problems as mine, and more common, IMS failures.

 

 

2015-06-01_12-00-37.jpeg

 

2015-06-01_12-01-06.jpeg

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Just to add some comments to this don`t run away with the idea that 5-10% failure rate is small.

In manufacturing terms that is a massive problem. Just think what that would mean if it was total brake failure.

 

This is the reason i did`nt buy a Porsche. They are getting cheap for a reason.

Sink 15K into an old air cooled model......now yer talking...........if you can avoid the rust .... ;)

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Some good points above.

 

As a road car i think the zed has enough power, but, imho on the track its either shy on some extra ponies or carrying too many pounds. However, its pretty easy to drive so you can get the best out of it, stick 400hp under the bonnet and it would be a handful, fine if your used to big hp rear wheel drive cars, but coming from std its a big step.

 

Sometimes improvement doesnt always mean buying something faster/better, i came from a Rx7 running 500hp to a zed, although the zed is considerably slower, its just a much nicer place to be and it ticks so many boxes and i suppose thats where i end up the same point as you. I am missing some more grunt, but unless my budget sky rockets, there is nothing that floats my boat unless those box requirements change.

 

In an ideal world as Ekona says, i would have a track focussed car and nice weekend pride and joy, but i dont drive the zed enough to warrant replacing it with 2 at the moment. So i am seeking the holy grail.

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I didn't, but this is what I got in exchange, hence my comments above. I've been speaking with 3 Porsche specialists, the car is now with one of them, engine being stripped today. They said they see at least 1/month a Cayman, Boxter or 911 with the same problems as mine, and more common, IMS failures.

That's why I told you to get the checks done BEFORE you buy the car, not after! :bang::lol: At least your warranty covers most of it though, still a fairly big chunk to suck up yourself though.

 

I agree, 10% is crap, but at least the knowledge is out there now and the buyer can protect himself for a relatively low cost before purchase.

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It's being cracked open today, the new garage promised to do it under £5k, so that's sorted. That's the reason I bought it without checks, as I had the warranty cover.

 

To conclude, until I can afford the 918 spider, I won't be buying another Porsche ever again.

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At the moment just stripping the engine and see how scored the bores are. That should happen before Friday, so that the warranty can send their engineer to inspect it. Once we see the damage and the cause, we will decide how to go further, sleeving or bore out and get bigger pistons etc, depending on what the warranty authorises.

 

I'm on it, don't worry, will help them supplying the parts at cost price...

 

We're off topic :)

Edited by octet@TORQEN
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