24 Silver N Red 6MT Basic Build

[RedWinterZ]

Just broke in a 24 Silver n Red 6MT. Had a Black n Blue 23 6MT with catted down pipes, cat back, and ecu tek tune. Getting used to a stock car again but just completed my orders for the following:

AMS Track Cat Back
Nismo Intake
Z1 Radiator
Stillen Sway Bars
RSR Springs
Wheel Spacers
Rear Diff Support Kit and Bushings Spacers
Skid/Service Plate
Shifter Bushings, Z1 Short Shift kit, 8-Ball shift knod...awesome.
Window Tinting as well

Will use my Stage 1 Ecu Tek flash after I get home from getting these installed.

Will drive this for awhile before deciding to go for the catted down pipes again. TBD. What do you all think?

 

[AlanZ]

Why did you get rid of the 23?

 

[RedWinterZ]

Strange situation: dealership hit me up with a financing promotion and had a left over 24. They gave me a lower rate, lower monthly, and shorter term. Seemed legit to me, like I had nothing to lose except for the work I put into my 23. Gotta say it was hard to let go to a car I bonded with but I put on 20k miles and now have a brand new one!

 

[RedWinterZ]

I have all the mods in my first post installed and have a few hundred miles on them and the car is transformed.

The ride quality just from the springs are incredible and glad I stuck with the RSR. The Stillen sway bars keep the lateral movement down, feels incredibly sharp.

The tune with intake and exhaust are more than incremental. Probably going to do down pipes and a muffler this spring once I get good rubber.

Lastly the shifter upgrades have fundamentally altered the shifting experience. It's super short and super stiff but has solved any of that 2nd gear fringed feels like a race car now.

All in all I am having more satisfaction and fun with the car and would Advocate for these kinds of improvements that really should have come stock.

 

[RedWinterZ]

It's been 6 months living with the modification list from the above build. The car now has 14500 miles on it, mostly highway commuting. Drove the car for most the winter but experienced too many pucker moments and 1 case of losing control of the car at 70mph as rain turned to sleet. Ended up commuting with my truck for several weeks. The experience with the car is that it cannot handle the slightest of bad weather in the configuration that I have it. Not sure which factor exacerbates the issue though. Almost traded it in for a GOLF R manual for a better all-rounder and while it would be a fine vehicle there is such a gulf of difference between the two cars, pun intended. The Z is harsh, brutal, hard, tactile and raw and the Golf is a Soy Boy filled with cheap plastic parts, too much fancy electronics, and shifter is sloppy butter. The short shift kit and shifter bushings on the Z turn shifting into a brilliant experience with rare grind and a very Race Car feel.

Next Steps with the ar:

MAP Performance Downpipes (high flow cats)
AWE Muffler kits to slap on the back
Z1 Tune upgrade for the DP
Michelin Tires (potenzas gotta go)

For a daily that is there to provide viceral driving joy I can't really think of anything else to do to the car. Think for a daily this net combination of changes will do me solidly for the years to come.

 

[FlagonFly]

Thanks for the feedback on replacing the bushings and short shifter kit, I will have to move that up my list. Sliding into gears is a bit too janky for my taste, especially 2nd when it's cold. My old '84 Escort had better shift feel lol

 

[RedWinterZ]

Got Catted High Flow Down Pipea installed with a Z1 Stage 2 Tune. Feeling a huge power difference every where.

Also just got the Nismo coil overs installed and alignment. The drive is transformed, looking forward to a little hard driving. As a daily it is less bouncy by far and with far less dive but is also at least as comfortable as before. No complaints.