Want a 400Z to modify, should I start with NISMO?

[KrackaC8]

Katum68, I’m going with the aluminum oil pan next week and Nismo sway bars after that. I love the “Dan Gurney on the highways”! That’s what I’m looking for! LOL

Kacka, any reason you went with Stillen sways over Nismo or the Mishimoto pieces over Nismo?

My attraction to Nismo is that it was designed for the Z by Nissan, less chances for “side effects” so to speak. Not lookin to build a Fismo, it’s more of a compatibility thing.

Nismo USA parts are relabeled aftermarket components, not designed or made by Nissan.

I personally feel the Stillen swaybars are the best available for street use since they retain the stock mounts & bushings, meaning no creaks & squeaks. I'm very happy with how balanced the car feels; zero side effects.

I like Mishimoto since they perform legit in-house R&D and back up their testing with data. One unique feature of the Mishimoto heat exchanger is that it reuses the stock stone guard for less puncture risk. A unique feature of the Mishimoto intercoolers is that you can retain the stock engine cover. These are the little details that I appreciate.

 

[Katum68]

Nismo USA parts are relabeled aftermarket components, not designed or made by Nissan.

I personally feel the Stillen swaybars are the best available for street use since they retain the stock mounts & bushings, meaning no creaks & squeaks. I'm very happy with how balanced the car feels; zero side effects.

I like Mishimoto since they perform legit in-house R&D and back up their testing with data. One unique feature of the Mishimoto heat exchanger is that it reuses the stock stone guard for less puncture risk. A unique feature of the Mishimoto intercoolers is that you can retain the stock engine cover. These are the little details that I appreciate.

many parts sold under the NISMO USA catalog are co-developed or manufactured by third-party aftermarket companies (such as AMS Performance for intakes or Rays Engineering for wheels), they are officially licensed, engineered in collaboration with Nissan, and fully backed by Nissan’s factory warranty

 

[KrackaC8]

many parts sold under the NISMO USA catalog are co-developed or manufactured by third-party aftermarket companies (such as AMS Performance for intakes or Rays Engineering for wheels), they are officially licensed, engineered in collaboration with Nissan, and fully backed by Nissan’s factory warranty

Sounds like exaggerated AI claims. Just be sure to check the facts before relying on that statement.

 

[trackratZ]

Nismo USA parts are relabeled aftermarket components, not designed or made by Nissan.

I personally feel the Stillen swaybars are the best available for street use since they retain the stock mounts & bushings, meaning no creaks & squeaks. I'm very happy with how balanced the car feels; zero side effects.

I like Mishimoto since they perform legit in-house R&D and back up their testing with data. One unique feature of the Mishimoto heat exchanger is that it reuses the stock stone guard for less puncture risk. A unique feature of the Mishimoto intercoolers is that you can retain the stock engine cover. These are the little details that I appreciate.

True quality in both cases. I visited the Stillen shop here locally and since they've been in business for decades, their QC and aftermarket is top notch, where I got my swaybar set. Set to firmest front and soft rear for now. Mishimoto also makes quality stuff. Retaining stock mounting and locations also shows attention to detail on their designs.

 

[KrackaC8]

True quality in both cases. I visited the Stillen shop here locally and since they've been in business for decades, their QC and aftermarket is top notch, where I got my swaybar set. Set to firmest front and soft rear for now. Mishimoto also makes quality stuff. Retaining stock mounting and locations also shows attention to detail on their designs.

Agreed on all counts. I had never purchased a Stillen product before, but was absolutely impressed with the fitment of their bars. They had a pretty decent YouTube video about their R&D and QC as well. I've had some poor luck with a few other aftermarket swaybar brands so I've become quite picky when it comes to choosing one.

The first Mishimoto product I ever purchased was their intake for my wife's Wrangler in 2023; I really loved their attention to detail and technical write-ups of their R&D process. They were an easy choice for my Z when it came to purchasing a heat exchanger and intercoolers after researching the offerings/competition.

 

[Exquisite_Red]

Nismo USA parts are relabeled aftermarket components, not designed or made by Nissan.

Kracka, not calling you out specifically, because I've seen this said many times on here. But just want to make the point... Literally every part on the vehicle is a rebranded aftermarket part, lol. Like, other than some stampings for the unibody, Nissan doesn't actually make anything. So I don't understand why the Nismo USA parts get a special hatred. Just an observation. No offense intended, and maybe someone can explain the distinction.

 

[KrackaC8]

Kracka, not calling you out specifically, because I've seen this said many times on here. But just want to make the point... Literally every part on the vehicle is a rebranded aftermarket part, lol. Like, other than some stampings for the unibody, Nissan doesn't actually make anything. So I don't understand why the Nismo USA parts get a special hatred. Just an observation. No offense intended, and maybe someone can explain the distinction.

Completely understood. My point to get across was just that Nissan/Nismo engineers we're not designing and/or manufacturing the parts. They simply hit them with the stamp of approval and threw their logo on them. Not to say they're bad parts...but all may not be as it appears on the surface.

 

[Katum68]

I have a lot of NISMO parts on my Z. They are backed up by NISSAN if there is any failure. If you hate NISMO so much what do you think is better?

 

[KrackaC8]

I have a lot of NISMO parts on my Z. They are backed up by NISSAN if there is any failure. If you hate NISMO so much what do you think is better?

I'm glad you like the parts you chose. Who's hating Nismo? Who said their products are bad? The only mention of it that I saw was the one comment about their swaybars breaking which is a fact and why they were pulled off the market for a period of time to presumably correct the flaw.

People do need to understand there is a difference between Nismo USA and Nismo of Japan, though. I also wouldn't blanketly assume any failures are backed up by Nissan unless you have that it writing by the dealer who sold & installed the parts. If that's the case, then awesome! I do think they can be ordered with the car for dealer installation which is cool.

End of the day, they're all aftermarket parts and we're all free to choose whatever brand(s) we prefer regardless of the reasoning.

I personally gave a few of the Nismo products a look and consideration before ultimately deciding on other brands for a variety of reasons. If there are any specific ones you're curious about let me know and I can lay out my own pros/cons that drove my decision making process.

 

[sarge]

Agreed on all counts. I had never purchased a Stillen product before, but was absolutely impressed with the fitment of their bars. They had a pretty decent YouTube video about their R&D and QC as well. I've had some poor luck with a few other aftermarket swaybar brands so I've become quite picky when it comes to choosing one.

The first Mishimoto product I ever purchased was their intake for my wife's Wrangler in 2023; I really loved their attention to detail and technical write-ups of their R&D process. They were an easy choice for my Z when it came to purchasing a heat exchanger and intercoolers after researching the offerings/competition.

Thank you, I appreciate the reply’s, I understand the reasoning behind your choices. More to think about while I collect the $. LOL that’s half the fun of modding these cars!

 

[Katum68]

I'm glad you like the parts you chose. Who's hating Nismo? Who said their products are bad? The only mention of it that I saw was the one comment about their swaybars breaking which is a fact and why they were pulled off the market for a period of time to presumably correct the flaw.

People do need to understand there is a difference between Nismo USA and Nismo of Japan, though. I also wouldn't blanketly assume any failures are backed up by Nissan unless you have that it writing by the dealer who sold & installed the parts. If that's the case, then awesome! I do think they can be ordered with the car for dealer installation which is cool.

End of the day, they're all aftermarket parts and we're all free to choose whatever brand(s) we prefer regardless of the reasoning.

I personally gave a few of the Nismo products a look and consideration before ultimately deciding on other brands for a variety of reasons. If there are any specific ones you're curious about let me know and I can lay out my own pros/cons that drove my decision making process.

A NISMO part bought at my Nissan Dealership is backed up by the Dealership. I bought the NISMO clutch. There were a couple of issues and the dealership replaced the Transmission and the NISMO Clutch no charge.

 

[Katum68]

A NISMO part bought at my Nissan Dealership is backed up by the Dealership. I bought the NISMO clutch. There were a couple of issues and the dealership replaced the Transmission and the NISMO Clutch no charge.

the other simple thought I had is that if anything happened due to the install of NUSMO parts, the dealership would honor the warranty and they have,

 

[KrackaC8]

Glad that worked out well! It's nice hearing success stories from dealer interactions.

 

[socketz67]

There's lot of Z cars. If you do a search for 400Z you not only see the RZ34, you see people calling it the 400Z since it was rumored to be coming out as a direct successor to the 350Z and 370Z. You just lost what little cool points you had and got yourself blocked for being a troll.

I haven’t seen anyone use that name in a year or two, but I knew what you meant.

if modifications are what you are targeting, the sport model is the most cost effective. Many also like the simplicity of the interior. Big brakes and LSD are your big ticket items, but if you are building a car then a BBK is at the top of the list. Paint matched calipers. LSDs will become available as these cars start getting totaled. I suspect traction concepts will have a conversion kit for the Z open diff as well as they already offer a kit for the Q50 Red Sport (R200, not sure if the sport uses the same diff). Putting an open diff on that car was a head scratcher

 

[jc604]

Im considering a nismo as there are big discounts. I will probably wait next year tho as the 2027 does have the gtr brakes. I wouldnt even consider the sport or performance now as before i had to upgrade things to my liking as suspension/arro Tires are not good as well as well as the seating position, i was gonna go with the bride stradia iii to seat lower as get better comfort. With the nismo at least u get the gtr brakes/tires/ and recaros along with the aero and improved transmission if i were to go the 9speed. Seems like 6 speed is out of the picture unless theres a heavy discount i wouldn’t consider going backwards in performance