I have been longing for another boosted vehicle ever since I had to get rid of my V6 turbo Firebird Formula.
My original plan was to get a 350Z and do a TT kit on it. But when I saw the 370 I had to have it.
My plan always has been to do some sort of FI on my Z. I had gone back and forth as to a SC or TT. I thought I had made my mind to wait for the Stage II SC from GTM.
Well, after a few conversations with Sam I changed my mind and went with a TT kit.
I really wanted turbo, there really isn't anything like the feeling when boost kicks in. I ordered my Stage I TT kit with external waste gates on March 31st.
I received it today.
Everything was packaged perfectly.
Mmmm.... I can hear the turbo spooling already.
I wanted to share my build as I go. I am doing all of the install myself in my garage. The engine will stay in the car.
I am by no means a mechanic but I have been playing with cars all of my life and I have a good bit of mechanical ability. I feel like I know just enough to get myself in trouble.
I started the install today and I made some great progress.
Here is the fuel pump ready to go back in:
Tear down:
I got to page 43 in the install manual.
The headers are off and tomorrow I hope to get the turbo manifolds bolted up.
The install has been relatively pain free up to this point.
I ran into one issue so far. The upper O2 sensors are cross threaded into the headers. I have read on here that this is sometimes an issue so it looks like I'll be buying some new ones.
I will post some more pictures of my progress tomorrow and then I am off to work for a few days so nothing will be done again until Wednesday.
5/1/11 Update:
I am very happy with all that I have been able to get done over the last two days.
I got all of the steering and engine spacers installed:
I was also able to get the most intimidating part of this install done.
Tapping the passenger head:
This is the most difficult part about leaving the engine in the car. Very little room to maneuver a right angle drill. I used a 90 degree chuck adapter from Harbor Freight.
I also had to shorten the drill bit by about 1 1/4 inch.
But I got it done and even mounted the manifolds.
Passenger side:
Driver side:
I found that you really have to monkey with the manifolds to get them to sit properly before you bolt them down.
That's probably just another byproduct of leaving the engine in the car.
All in all, I have to say that things have gone well. I read the manual probably 100 times over the last few months so there weren't any real surprises. Just the normal stuff when you take a car apart.
I get back on Tuesday night so I'll be able to pick up the install on Wednesday morning.
5/4/11 Update:
So today was not as productive as I was hoping. I woke up late and didn't have as much time as I wanted. I did get both turbos mounted but I should have gotten more done.
I swear it's the stuff you never expect to hold you up that does. Those spring loaded hose clamps that Nissan is so proud of are causing me to get far too many blood blisters.
here are some quick shots of the turbos in their new homes:
Passenger side
Driver side
So I guess I am going at a good pace. So far I have about 25 hours over three days of working.
I leave again tomorrow morning and I am back on Saturday afternoon. I have to attend to my lawn if its not raining so it looks like Sunday before I can get back to it.
5/8/11 Update:
The progress has slowed even more. I have to say that this would be a lot easier if the engine were out. I am finding myself fighting the smallest things. If you do things the way the instructions say then you wont be able to tighten some of the lines. If you are going to try this with the engine in just be prepared to think outside the box rather then follow the manual to the letter.
I was able to save myself some cash today. The upper 02 sensors are salvageable. I used a thread repair die and it worked perfectly!
I am not sure if the instructions that I have are an early version but there seems to be some information missing.
For example, the starter wire needs to be removed and the connector straightened. Then it says to reinstall the wire. Well, if you do that then the wire is in the way of the outlet for the driver side turbo. I figured out that you have to remove a part on the starter that relocates the wire. Once you remove that part the turbo fits without issue.
But all in all I am making progress. Today I got the coolant and oil lines all run and tomorrow I will start on the oil cooler and intercooler piping.
I am hoping to be able to get it running on Thursday. It all depends on how I make out tomorrow. I am out on a trip again Tuesday and back Wednesday. If I don't get far enough then I am optimistic that I should have it running early next week.
5/9/11 Update:
I got a lot done today. Mounted and connected the oil cooler and intercooler. I even got the passenger down pipe and waste gate installed. Now that there is more stuff in the way it is getting more and more difficult to get things tightened down. Lots of extensions and universal joints.
If I can get an early jump on Thursday I might be able to fire it up.
Here are some pics:
5/12/11 Update:
IT'S ALIVE!!!!!
Wow, today was not starting out well.
I had a real hard time getting the recirc pipes to align on the driver side. After about two hours of messing with it I decided to just leave the waste gates open. But that meant that I had to undo the passenger side. That was a bigger pain then I thought it would be. I am going to get the dump pipes from Sam anyway. I just wasted a bunch of time today. I should have just left them open from the start.
Then the steering coupler didn't want to cooperate. That took another few hours and some filing to get it to go on.
Then my Uprev software was giving me problems. I had to restart my computer and update Uprev.
After that I flashed the ECU and fired her up. Started without any issues and idled like stock after about a minute.
No fluid leaks but I think I have a coupler that is not tight. During my shakedown run I heard a slight "kazoo" sound when the boost starts.
That will have to wait as I cannot work on it until Tuesday.
With the way today started, I couldn't be happier that it is actually running. Next week I will be doing some debugging.
Here are a few more pics:
5/17/11 Update:
I started out by making sure that all of my couplers were tight. I found one that could have been a bit tighter and another that didn't seem to be aligned well. After those were fixed I went for a quick ride to see if I'd fixed the "kazoo" sound. The noise was gone but the car just didn't feel right. I figured that I should just go ahead and install the AFR and boost gauges.
After those were mounted I went for another ride and still something was wrong.
I decided to just put the car away for the day and get back to it tomorrow. That's when I noticed something. When I was realigning one of the couplers I had to fully remove one of the inter cooler pipes and I guess I never tightened it back up. Oops.
Well, needless to say that once that was back in place, I went for another easy ride and the car feels great again.
I haven't really gotten on it yet. I need to do another data log and have Sam make sure everything is good before I do.
I was able to hook up the Berk exhaust without doing any modifications to the flex pipe. Just got some gaskets from the local Monroe shop and it worked great. I have also noticed that my Berk exhaust it WAY too quiet now. Not sure I like that. I really loved the way it sounded. I may just have to look into the 3" exhaust.
Here is a shot of the gauges installed. I know that pillar mounted gauges aren't popular but I LOVE them. It reminds me of my Firebird.
5/19/11 Update
Today I can call the car finished... well finished for now.
There are a few small issues that I have to attend to. First the boost was supposed to be at about 10psi but for some reason it is 12-13psi. That's just asking for trouble that I do not want. Sam is sending me some new springs for the waste gates.
There is a small hot start issue that Sam has assured me can be fixed with a tweak to the tune. I just have to let him know the specifics of when it is hard to start.
I am going to need a clutch sooner rather then later. I was pushing it a bit on the highway and I felt it slip. I'm thinking about going with the OS Giken twin plate and the Z speed CSC. That will have to wait just a little bit.
Also there are some random clunks here and there that I have to hunt down.
But for the most part the car is running great. This thing is a BEAST! I am loving it even though I am still being fairly easy on it.
Oh. and that whole part about it not being loud enough. Uhh, yeah. Four words.... Open Dump Waste Gates.
Here are some pictures and vids!
