Like any 15 years old car that spent its life on the Mid Atlantic region, the oem exhaust was rusted so badly that most of the clamps and bent started to fail. So I warmed up my credit card and started ordering a full exhaust that includes High Flow Cats. At the same time, I've noticed my shocks were shot and the lowering springs made the car too low for my driveway. Yes, I have a gravel driveway at the end of a gravel road. low means a lot of rocks are hitting the undertrays.

I settled with the NVidia Gemini Exhaust coupled with Berks HFC for the exhaust. This was $1000 cheaper than a brand new OEM Exhaust and about the same price for the OEM damper/spring kits. I never thought Nissan OEM parts were so expensive.

This exhaust uses the same diameter of the OEM. 2.5" but it is a true dual exhaust.  It has a little raps at around 2500-3000 rpm but not completely unbearable. It is fully stainless steel that include 2 resonators and a heavy rear dual baffled muffler.

Within the same week, I received my Coil overs with the Berk HFC from Z1 Motorsports. 

The stance coilovers came with the standard spring rates. 10K Front and 8K rear. They are OEM style , which means the rear coils are outside the dampers and fits inside the original spring buckets. They have 16 points dampening adjustment range and do provide OEM ride heights front and rear.

To complete the first round of modification, I did purchased the whiteline poly bushing kits since the car suspension were original most bushings are showing their age.

Installing the exhaust took me a good full day. Most of it was spent making sure I raise the car safely on jack stands high enough. Working under a low profile car is scary and the last thing I want is to be crushed by it. Fitment was great but not perfect as the rear muffler don't seat level perfectly. I am being picky here since the difference is less than 1/2".

The coil overs took a good afternoon. While working on them, I've noticed the ball joints on the lower control arm are leaking. So I orderered some from Z1 and installed them a few weeks later.

Obvisouly, After replacing the exhaust, I made some noise. I would say it took about 2 weeks for the HFC to settle. The whole exhaust sounds really nice and now , you can hear that V6 rumble past 4000rpm while being quiet at lower speed. I do feel the engine is having a better throttle response and rev a little faster than before. I believe the HFC are really opening up the exhaust.

The coilovers really settled the car down. Proof that my oem shocks were dead. Steering felt more responsive and the ride less bouncy but harsh enough to feel the road. The car is starting to give me some improved feedback from the new dampers and a few poly bushing installed. I raised the ride heights to about 1/2" below oem settings. This helped the alignment , now I am ready for some new tires.