Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

6MT · 08-08-2011, 09:49 PM

I've posted this in the Canadian section because.... well I'm in Canada. And you folks not in my area may or may not care about my experience.

Firstly, here's what was done to the car. (Pretty basic, really.) Stillen short-ram intakes, HFC's, CBE. I had these installed two plus years ago before I took delivery of the car at the dealership. So, I had no baseline to compare the before & after. But, I realized that the car was running pretty rich with the improved air flow. (BTW, I did have a dyno run at another shop two months after I took delivery. Let's just say the numbers from that dyno were a bit "scewed".)

Now, to my day. I booked an appointment with LightSpeed Innovations in Red Deer, Alberta. I was looked after promptly when I arrived (after my 2.5 hour drive).

They began by exchanging one of the rear oxygen sensors with a wider band unit than the OEM sensor. Also, two knock sensors were hooked up to listen for any irregularities. Then we removed the wheels and proceeded to hook-up the chassis dyno.

Here's where the experience was very gratifying. Cam (the owner) was perfectly OK with me removing my own wheels. You see, I have kind of "special" wheels. And I am picky about who touches them. Cam made me feel at ease and encouraged me to do what I was comfortable with. So I was the one who removed and re-installed them after we were done.

We did the first dyno for our baseline run. The numbers were lower than I thought, but I believe more realistic than the first "scewed" numbers I got at the other company. Next, Cam plugged in the AFR settings from DJpathfinders' tune (since his car was very similar to mine). Big improvement!

Cam then "tweaked" those numbers a bit and we showed even more improvement. A final try at improving the AFR settings was attempted, but the numbers fell off. Cam then looked at the timing. A try at adjusting the timing was made, but the numbers again fell off.

So the third run was the best, and those numbers were entered. Cam then removed the rear oxygen sensor inputs to the ECU, moved the rev limiter up to 8300 rpms, removed the speed limiter, and removed some EVAP component inputs. And we were done!

Here's the improvement percentages over the baseline run;

HP improvement was 5% and max torque improved 5% over a wider range than the baseline.

Now, for those of you looking to see the charts and the numbers.... you won't. There have been too many arguements and flaming posts on these forums that I've seen to warrant me NOT posting the numbers.

Let's just say the car drives considerably better. I was always concerned with the lack of power around 3000 to 4500 rpms. It seemed the car had this "wall" that it came up against at that point in the power band. Probably because of the richness of the AFR at that point. Also the engine seems to be much smoother throughout the entire powerband. The lower end torque improvement is very noticable. In fact when Cam and I took our test drive afterwards, I mentioned that the improvement was "seat-in-your-pants" feel. In other words... it was instantly noticable. And I am very pleased that we cleaned up the AFR and now should not have to worry about the rear oxygen sensors throwing codes. Also that the rev limiter was moved up so as to not cut-off right when the engine is making maximum power.

For those of you still sitting on the fence about the UpRev tune (as I was), I would highly recommend one. Even if you have not done any mods. Just the fact that the AFR was cleaned up should be proof enough for you.

LightSpeed Innovations is a small "family" business. As one who operates this type of business, I can tell you that I was very pleased with the service and attention I was given. Any question I had was answered and explained completely. Their shop is modern and very clean. The staff also were very pleasant. It seemed that while I was there, I was their only and most important customer. I'm not sure company endorsemants are allowed on here, but for those of you considering this.... I hope this review helps you.