MOD REVIEWS AND COMMENTS

TWINTURBO WING

This is the wing off the 90-93 TwinTurbos. This was installed by the previous owner, so I don't know of any install problems or prices. I have been very happy with the look and quality of the piece - no fading or cracking of the paint or spoiler itself. I like the look that it gives the rear of the Z although sometimes I wish for the clean sleek look of the stock rounded hatch of the NA. Overall, I like this mod alot however I'm not sure I would have paid the money to have it done. One note for those 2+2 owners that would like to add a wing to their car - the hatch will become too heavy for the gas charged struts to hold up. As of now, the only fix I have found is to order the hatch struts for the 2+2 TT from Europe @ $100 apiece. I just live with the extra weight and use my arm to hold the hatch up.

TWINTURBO FRONT FASCIA

There isn't much to say about this item actually. Some people don't like the idea of making an NA look like a turbo. They feel that it "disgraces" the rest of the turbos by diluting them. Others feel that you shouldn't advertise something you don't have (this is usually considered "rice"). In general, I agree with this philosophy. Most people don't know that the Z's have different front ends for the turbo and non-turbo and those that do know would be able to tell mine is a non-turbo from other clues (back seats for one). Truth is - I don't care about what others think of my car because it is MY car. I simply like the turbo front end more than the non-turbo front from an asthetics point of view. To me it just looks better, plain and simple. I got the turbo front put on after a minor "fender bender" that broke my original NA bumper. Since there is no modification required for the turbo fascia, I had one installed as a replacement. I have been very happy with my choice and I would do it again if given the chance.

KENWOOD KDC-7011 CD PLAYER HEADUNIT

Review Coming Shortly

PPI 2240 2-CHANNEL AMP

There isn't that much to say about this amp except that it has been a great purchase. The sound it procuces is loud and VERY clean. The amp looks great with its bright chrome cover and anthracite body. Quality gold-plated connectors for all the wires and a plethora of tuning goodies (various crossovers with adjustable frequencies, bass boost, etc). It is perhaps the most transparent component in my audio system and that's the way it should be - clean and loud. I would recommend any PPI amp based on my experience with this one (one of their lowest end models).

BOSTON ACOUSTICS RALLY SERIES 6.5" COMPONENTS

Review Coming Shortly

BOSTON ACOUSTICS CX6 6.5" COAXIAL SPEAKERS

Review Coming Shortly

KENWOOD 10 DISC CHANGER

Review Coming Shortly

SAS BAZOOKA EL-8A TUBE

This product has the distinction of being the most mixed review I have done yet. I both love it and yet cannont recommend that anyone else buy it. How does that happen? Well, the sound and performance of the sub is just what I was looking for. I don't listen to real bass heavy music so I didn't need anything large or powerful. My greatest fear was that it might be too boomy and not very tight. I just wanted something that would augment my current bass but still be fairly accurate. The 8" powered SAS Bazooka did this perfectly for me. You must follow their recommendation of corner loading for good sound though (mine is about 2" from the rear hatch). The sub is compact, easy to install and sounds great. So why wouldn't I recommend it then? The reason is simply quality control. It is obviously horrible unless I just got a fluke. First off, after installing it, I got NO sound at all (I rewired and recheck my connections multiple times but I couldn't even get it to power up). Finally, in a last attempt to get it to work, I opened the tube up and found that the woofer wasn't wired to the amp. What kind of quality control/inspection/testing do they do that this would make it onto the market. Most people would not be comfortable opening up an electronic device and would therefore have to go through the hassle of returning it for a new one. Luckily, I don't fall into that category and so it was a simple fix for me. I then hooked it up again and it powered up fine, but it kept poping on and off (most noticable at low sound levels - sounded like a heartbeat). This eventually got so annoying that I unplugged the thing and opened it up again to see if I could find another problem. Well, I did!! The amp's circuit board was BARELY making a connection with its bus (the thing it connected to). The sad part is that it was screwed together like that so it wasn't like it just came loose. After removing the screws and fully seating the circut board, I re-attached the screws and hooked it up again. Problem solved and now it works perfectly. It shouldn't have ever been sold in the first place with those problems though and so I worry about other Bazooka products. Is their assembly this shoddy across the board on otherwise well designed products? I don't think I would take my chances again.

POWERSLOT ROTORS

Not Installed Yet - Review Coming Shortly

STAINLESS BRAKE LINES

Not Installed Yet - Review Coming Shortly

RAYBESTOS BRUTESTOP PADS

I have had these pads on for awhile and I can say that I am pleased with the results. Much better than the stock pads without any adverse affects (extra dust, noise, rotor wear, etc). As of yet, I can't compare them to anything other than the stock pads but I am fairly sure that I will be purchasing them again. The cost was around $40 for the front set.

JWT ECU

This is the computer upgrade made by JWT for the Z. It remaps all of the fuel/air codes, raises the rev limiter by 500 RPM and removes the top speed limiter. Gain for this is said to be about 15 hp and 8 ft-lbs of torque. The effect was mild for this mod, but does make the car more enjoyable to drive. I would say that it feel "peppier", but not faster. It just seems to respond faster to gas pedal changes. Also, the effect of this were minor below about 3500 RPM, but above that the car does pull harder in addition to the increased throttle response. I would do this mod again, but it is the least cost effective mod I've done for the car based on performance. In other words, expensive for what you get.

REDLINE MTL

When I bought the Z, I noticed that there was a slight grind shifting up into or down into 4th gear. Also, second gear was slightly rough and first was difficult to get into unless you were at a complete stop. It was recommened that I try Redline MTL to fix these problems and it worked great. You simply drain out the old fluid and replace with MTL. It is slightly thinner than the non-synthetic fluid and thus allows smoother shifts. Cold weather shifting is much improved also as well as a major reduction of heat transmitted to the center console and gear lever. If I had to do it again though, I would have tried MT-90 from Redline first. It is technically the correct grade and would have probably worked just as well as the MTL while retaining the correct thickness. There is some slight concern about the thinner MTL on the bearings in the transmission, but so far I have put nearly 12,000 miles on since the addition of the oil and have only experienced positive things.

REDLINE 75W90

I added this at the same time as I put the MTL in the transmission (all part of the 60K overhall that I did to my car). This is the correct weight/formula for the Z's limited slip rearend. To tell you the truth, I can't tell it is in there or not. I have heard that it reduces differential temps, increases gas mileage and reduces wear on parts. The differential is too low to the ground for me to touch so I will have to take other peoples word for it and I have noticed no major increase in gas mileage (maybe 1 MPG at the most with everthing else). As for wear, I haven't had any problems so I guess it is doing its job. It is just nice knowing that I have a quality product working back there.

REDLINE WATERWETTER

The engine in the Z produces plenty of heat and although the cooling system does and excellent job at keeping the heat under control, I wanted to help it out even further. After hearing many good things about WaterWetter, I decided to give it a try. All you do is add it to your cooling system with the anti-freeze and you are good to go. It doesn't wear out and so one treatment last for the life of the antifreeze. It works by reducing the surface tension of the water so that it can transfer heat from the engine to the radiator and out to the atmostphere much more efficiently. The company claims up to a 30 degree reduction in coolant temps and I believe them. I have nothing but high praise for this product in the Z and would recommend it to anyone. Unlike the truck, it doesn't seem to affect heater function or warm-up time in cold weather.

STILLEN POP CHARGER

I bought the Stillen intake. This is essentially a K&N filter with the machined adapter for the Z. Gain for this mod is said to be about 5 hp and 4 ft-lbs of torque. The best thing about this mod is two fold. 1. it is cheap and 2. you never have to buy new filters again. For the last reason alone, I would recommend this to anyone. I wasn't able to notice any performance increase with this nor did I get any intake "honking" as some have reported. Overall, a good mod but just don't expect too much from it.

PIAA 9006 SUPERWHITE BULBS

I was looking for more lighting out of the stock headlights and so I turned to these PIAA bulbs for some help. PIAA is known for a quality product and in this respect, they deliever. The bulbs are supposed to simulate the look of HID lighting found on high end cars like Lexus, Mercedes, etc while still utilizing the stock bulb type. They are also supposed to perform like a 100W bulb while only using 51W. I can say that after using them for some time that I am fairly disapointed with them, but I probably expected too much to begin with. While they don't look like HID (nothing does except the real thing), they do look good. They have a slight purple-ish tint to them which makes for a nice white light compared to stock. They are NOT those cheap looking ion blue lights you sometimes see. As for visability, they are no better or worse than the stock bulbs in normal conditions. They are not as bright as a 100W bulb, and in adverse conditions, I would say that they are worse than the stock bulbs. The white light is harder to see in the rain than the comparatively yellow light of the stock bulbs. For the price (~50), I would say pass if you are looking into more light. If you just want the look though then they are fine.

GLARE GUARD REMOVAL AND 55W BULBS

One of the best modifications that I have made to the car, and you can't beat the price - FREE. The stock foglights on the Z have a cover over the bulb that is designed to spread out the light onto the reflector causing it to have a wide and low dispersion on the road. However this cover, blocks a significant portion of the light from exiting the foglight housing, thus reducing overall light output. Cutting this cover off of the foglights, nearly doubles the amount of light hitting the road. Also, the light not only spreads low and wide, but also much further down the road before. With the stock bulbs in the foglight housing, the light output is near or slightly greater than the low beams and with the addtion of the 55W bulbs, the light output is even greater. Unlike the PIAA bulbs above, I would highly recommend this mod to anyone who wants more light at night from their Z's. The glare guard removal procedure can be found HERE

UNORTHODOX UNDERDRIVE PULLEY

This is the infamous Unorthodox underdrive pulley. They come in a variety of colors (mine is red) and replace the main crank pulley. They work by being lighter (less effort to spin) and smaller in diameter (spin accessories slower to free up horsepower). Gains for this are reported to be 11 hp and 7 ft-lbs of torque. This is one of the best mods I have done thus far. The car revs much faster and has a nice change in engine sound.

TOKICO ILLUMINAS

When I installed the Eibach springs described below, I also had these shocks installed at the same time. I went with the adjustables so that I could tailor the ride quality to my tastes in case the springs were too rough. These shocks are adjustable via a small dial ontop of the shock that is turned with a small flathead screwdriver. They are adjustable in five steps with setting "1" being the softest and setting "5" being the hardest. I would say that a setting of about "2" was equal to the original shocks at about 60,000 miles. I currently have my car at "3" in the rear and "2" in the front. I have so far been fairly pleased with these shocks but I do have one complaint and one comment. The comment would be that due to the adjustablity feature located on the top of the shock, you have to cut a small hole in the hatch area to adjust the rears. This isn't really a problem for me, but do realize that you will have to do this if you are considering these shocks and still want to adjust them. My complaint has to do with sound. At a setting of "1", the shocks (especially the rear ones) make a squishing sound as they compress. The fronts do this also on the lower settings but it isn't noticeable from inside the car. I have also heard some reports about premature failure from these shocks but so far nothing in that department from mine. I do like the adjustablity even though I keep them on the same setting most of the time. If I had to do it again, I might just stick with the stock shocks or look into some other companies (Bilstein, KYB or Koni).

EIBACH PRO-KIT

One thing that bothered me after owning the Z for awhile was the amount of front end dive and lift upon braking and acceleration. I just wished that there was some way to reduce or eliminate this from the car. Well, I am happy to say that these springs almost totally eliminated it while still keeping most of the nice ride characteristics that I liked in the first place. These springs lower the car 0.75" and greatly reduce body roll in addition to reducing dive/squat. They are progressively wound so that the ride is still soft over most bumps although I still wouldn't characterise the ride as soft (just right for me). I actually don't have anything bad to say about this upgrade at all. They did everything I wanted them to and more than I expected. Just be forewarned that you may get some increased front tire wear after the installation of these springs. The adjustable A-arms listed below cure that problem however.

STILLEN ADJUSTABLE A-ARMS

I had these done at the same time as the springs and shocks were put on. This is the best time to do them because you save on labor charges. I needed them because with the 17" rims and the stock springs, I was getting inside front tire wear very badly. This was due to the old springs and increased weight of the 17" rims causing too much negative camber. I knew with the new springs dropping the car 0.75" that the problem was only going to get worse. Since the Z doesn't allow of camber adjustments from the factory, these are one of the only choices to get camber back into spec. I don't really notice them at all with normal driving however it might have stiffened the front end a little due to the polyurethane bushings incorporated into the a-arms. It's hard to tell because I had the shocks and springs changed at the same time which made a huge difference in ride. Overall, I am happy with them as they seem to be working - front tire wear is significantly reduced. Eventually, I will recoup the costs of these because my tires are lasting longer. The only negative I have with them so far is their initial high cost.

DUNLOP D40M2

These were the tires that I bought the car with. I have mixed feeling about these tires, but overall they were decent. These tires had fantastic grip - very hard to break them loose, but they didn't telegraph when they were about to let go. They were either connected to the road or not - with no warning when they were about to become unconnected. Their ride quality was slightly above average for a high performance tire but were fairly loud. Steering response was also average. They wore unevenly, however I think that was more the fault of the 17" rims and no ability to adjust camber (reason for Stillen Adjustable A-Arms) than the tires. These tires were awful in the rain; they would hydroplane very easily and made for a nervous ride in the wet. They also seemed to follow imperfections in the road more than the new tires also. Size=235/45/17

YOKOHAMA A520

These tires replaced the Dunlops and have been better in virtually every category. They were slightly quieter, the steering response was slightly better, but about the same ride quality. The biggest improvement over the Dunlops was in the area of grip. While they don't have quite the same overall grip that the Dunlops did, they at least give some warning when they are reaching the limit of their adhesion to the road. This allows me to make corrections before I lose control, which the Dunlops didn't allow for. I would much rather trade a tiny bit in overall grip for some more feedback from the tire. I can't yet rate the tires wear characteristics accurately, but so far they show very little wear and it is even across the tread. I also can't rate them in the wet yet, but almost anything would be better than the Dunlops. As an added benefit, the tires have one of the best tread patterns I have ever seen. Size=235/45/17


UPDATE I can now say that they handle fairly well in the rain. While I still wouldn't say the Z is "comfortable" in the rain, it is at least less scary. I didn't hydroplane or feel loose even once but then again I took it very carefully. The car did feel like it had more grip and it definately sheds water better than the Dunlops. Not exactly a rain tire, but a big improvement in rain stability.

FITTAPALDI POLARIS

These were on the car when I purchased it and I have kept them so far. These are an all aluminum 17x8 Italian-made wheel. It is a strong, high quality wheel but it is not light (about 28 lbs each). They have also been chromed at some point, but either the chrome job wasn't done well, or they weren't taken care of because the chrome is starting to peel off the inner section. I like the look of a 5 star rim, but I wish it was a more open design. This would have also lightened them considerably. I will probably not replace them because of the high cost of quality aftermarket wheels. I am happy enough with them that I can't justify the cost of replacing them over the cost of doing something else with my money. If I were to replace them, I have some requirements for the new wheels - 1. lightweight (17 lbs or so), 2. open spoke design 3. either polished or chromed 4. 17x8 or 17x9 and 5. stick out another 1/2" or so.

TOP SPEED STRUT TOWER BRACE