7. Nismo Catback (Performance Stage 3)

Before putting the car back on the dyno to re-tune with E-Manage and Skunk 2 spacer, we decide to save the time and maximum effort by adding on a Nismo catback (Titek test pipes next). Nismo has been well known for their quality and performance, not to mention it's 50 states smog legal. After seeing the catback Nismo did not disappoint us. The quality of the welds and pipings are top notch, and fitment was right on (install time took about 15 min. on the lift). The sport tone of the catback can only be heard when you are under throttle, gives your 350Z a sporty feel while under light load and cruising on the freeway the car sounds just like stock (you can actually talk on the cell phone with this catback!). What really impresses us are the butt feel on the throttle response and increased mid-range/top end gain. The car responded very well to this catback and 3rd gear pull now comes alive! Maybe the 70mm catback pipings along with Skunk spacer provide a good combination for each other, so at next stage we will be installing a pair of stainless TiTek test pipes with O2 cel-fix, and will be strapping the car on the dyno to see what # we can get out of the current setups. Overall, even without tuning the car responded so well so far with the intake, spacer and Nismo catback it is so fun to drive and it's so tempting to always keep revving up the car to feel the increased power/torque and the sexy exhaust notes from the exhaust!