I just bought my first G37 yesterday and it seems like a proper first mod would be a engine oil cooler. I guess my first question is how imperative is this, i.e. is my car a ticking time bomb without it or can it wait a little while? I've got a 2010 with 74K miles on it and while it's going to be my daily driver it's going to be difficult not to drive it a little harder (or a lot harder ) than the Toyota Camry I just upgraded from. I know nothing about installing either but perhaps an oil temperature gauge would be a cheaper/easier alternative up front?

My second question is how heavy duty does the cooler need to be? Both Stillen and Z1 have multiple options as far as how many rows it has. As mentioned above, I will likely drive my G37 harder than my Camry but I'm never going to take it to the track or drag race it so while it's only $100 or so difference between the different models a 100 bucks is a 100 bucks.

 

If you're not taking your G to the track, an oil cooler might not be needed. Depending on where you live, an oil cooler may only be useful on certain days.

 

i use a GReddy 13 row cooler and i have never hit hit limp mode on the track with that set up but maybe i'm just slow lol. i doubt you will need anything more than that or at all for just street or even mountain driving although adding more capacity to your oiling system won't hurt

what you might also want to consider investing in would be an oil pressure gauge since these motors have known issues with the cheap oil gallery gaskets giving out causing engine failure
some gauges like the innovate mtx-d i recently bought can measure both oil pressure and temperature in the same gauge

 

I live in Northern California so while it gets hot a few weeks out of the year it sounds like I might be fine just getting a temp gauge

 

Yeah, you don't need an aftermarket oil cooler for a daily driver that sees no track days.

Assuming you're up on all the proper maintenance considerations... coolant flush, brake fluid, transmission fluid, PS fluid, etc., then the answer to what your first mod should be is aftermarket swaybars. The answer is always swaybars.

Welcome to the forum, OP. You're going to like that G a lot more than your old Camry, although you may not enjoy how more often you have to fill the tank, or using premium fuel.

 

Thanks, Rochester. I think the cost of fuel will be far outweighed by the smile put on my face by driving this thing. And the compliments from random people at the gas station about how nice it looks I actually spent about five hours on the freeway with it yesterday and if the measurement is accurate it claims I got 28 mpg, and that’s with my increasingly heavy foot. My Camry has 200K miles on it and is also a V6 so hopefully the gas bill increase won’t be too noticeable.

Swaybars, huh? At the moment my plan is to (eventually) get the IPL side skirts/bumpers and maybe lower it just a little. Should I wait until after lowering it to decide which sway bar to get, or at least lock in what coil over kit I want first? It’s hard because I think the ride height is going to be dictated by what it looks like with the side skirts. I don’t want to lower it very much, maybe only a half inch - I like how classy the car looks and don’t want to detract from that too much by slamming it. I see a lot of nice G’s here but most are lowered way more than I want mine to be.

As far as the swaybars, I don’t know much about aftermarket suspension so I’m not sure if they’re one size/type per vehicle or if I need to choose based on other factors like ride height, etc.

 

IPL side skirts look awkward on a Coupe at OEM ride height, but fantastic when lowered with good wheel fitment. I know that's a strong opinion about such a small visual change, but I think it's a common one.

AFAIK, the brand of aftermarket swaybars isn't so much important as the fact that they're stiffer, and the car responds really well to the upgrade.

 

You want an oil pressure gauge, not temp.
you are looking to save a motor when/if the gallery gaskets fail.
the stock oil press warning light comes on way too late!
If auto, you should divorce the oil/water cooler and add an external one.
Also consider a valve body shift kit.
Dont know what trim level you've got, but an LSD is absolutely necessary in these cars.
LSD before suspension.
Only other important thing i can think of, for a new owner, is to reroute the sunroof drains BEFORE they fry your BCM, ECM and ruin your carpet/padding.

 

That’s good to know about those side skirts as I think the car definitely looks better with something down there but most I see are more overstated than I want. Below is what it looks like now so I think the IPL SS and bumpers will make a night and day difference.

 

- 10/4

Roger Roger

It’s an automatic Journey which if I’ve done my homework right means I have RWD which has the LSD. I think…feel free to noob slap me if I got that part wrong


- Been reading about that issue here and it’s definitely on my todo list.

Thank you so much, there’s clearly a lot to learn about these Guys so I appreciate the input ​​​​​​​
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