Intake Plenums
From Nissan 350Z & 370Z Wiki
The plenum is the chamber located between the runners of the intake manifold and the throttle body (on top of the engine). The OEM plenum is actually made of 2 parts: lower and upper. It has been shown through countless tests that increasing the internal volume of the plenum yields significant horsepower (up to 20!). This can be achieved by either:
- installing a plenum spacer
- installing an aftermarket upper plenum
- custom machining work on the lower plenum
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Overview
The stock plenum slopes down towards the front of the engine. Nissan designed this in order to clear the stock strut bar and hood on the 350Z (function after form). This sloping design restricts the airflow to the front cylinders, but an aftermarket plenum can help those front cylinders breathe. Aftermarket plenums either increase the overall height or remove the downward slope in the design, allowing more volume and greater airflow to all cylinders. Higher airflow is needed to achieve more power. Some companies are offering plenum spacers that utilize the stock plenum but still increase the overall volume and may alleviate the downward slope. Still others are offereing entire intake manifold replacements (upper and lower plenums). Personal preference and modding goals will play a part in which plenum is best for you.
- Note: Some aftermarket plenums will cause you to loose the stock strut bar, however some offer a custom strut bar for those that wish to have one. Strut Bars
- Addendum: The stock plenums on the HR (07+) engines have been revised, so an aftermarket plenum is unnecessary.
Upper Plenums
The upper plenum is the easiest to change out and provides good power gains. The stock forward sloping upper half starves the front cylinders out of much needed air. Below are the currently available upper plenums on the market.
APS Tall Boy Plenum
- List Price: $499.00
- Found For: $390
- Design: Upper Plenum
- Material: Aluminum
- Application: N/A or F/I
- Manufacturing: Casting
- Notes: special strut bar needed, cast finish
- APS
Crawford Plenum
- List Price: ----
- Found For: $350 / $550
- Design: Upper Plenum
- Material: Aluminum
- Application: N/A or F/I
- Manufacturing: Casting
- Notes: special strut bar needed, powdercoated black, polished +$200
- Crawford
Kinetix Molded Plenum
- List Price: $399.99
- Found For: $299.99
- Design: Upper Plenum
- Material: smooth, hi-temp, plastic.
- Application: Bolt-On, N/A only
- Manufacturing: injection molded
- Notes: Stock strut bar clears, New V+ is stronger for FI application
- Kinetix
Lower Plenums
Nissan 2005 Plenum
- List Price:
- Found For:
- Design: Lower Plenum
- Material: Aluminum
- Application:
- Manufacturing: Casting
- Notes: comes standard on 2005+ models, increases air flow to front cylinders
- Nissan
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This page is part of the Intake category. To learn more about related items click the links below. Components: Air Filters • Cold Air Intakes • Intake Accessories • Plenum Spacers FAQs: Intake (FAQ) • Intake Definitions • Intake System Overview • JWT Popcharger (FAQ) • Plenums and Manifolds (FAQ) Tutorials: Cold Air Intake Installation (Injen) • Intake Manifold Installation (Kinetix SSV) • JWT Popcharger Installation • Plenum Spacer Installation |
