TerribleONE

TerribleONEs review of my experience with Fast Intentions!

First let me just start off by giving Tony, Dan, and Seb from Specialty Z a huge thank you. This dream could not have become reality without them! A little history before I go on to my prototype TT experience. I have known Tony and Dan for about 5+ years now, and have loved their shop ever since I met them when they installed my F.I CBE on my G37 at their old shop in Northridge. Didnt take long for me to feel welcome by the entire F.I. team and the atmosphere in the shop was great! I would always tell Tony that he needed to bring a TT kit out for the VHR platform after drooling over their 1000HP turbo Mustangs. Unfortunately my G37 was totaled by a family member and I got out of the car scene for a while.

Fast forward a few years, and I picked up a 2010 370Z touring and knew right away who I was going to call for my exhaust. Sure enough, the timing was perfect and Tony said he had something even better for me. We got to talking and were both drooling over the idea of a TT kit. I put a few hundred miles on the car before handing it over to Tony & Dan to work their magic.

Set backs: I will start with the bad first since I like my dessert last! Tony and Dan originally told me this project would take around 6 months. Obviously, things were extended FAR past this. Overall, F.I. had my car for just over a year and a half although I did drop it off a bit early. To be fair, I need to go into detail of what held things up as IMO it was not a lack of drive from the F.I. team. From losing loved ones, F.I. moving to a new and much improved location, and major setbacks in getting the manifolds casted properly, really gave all of us a challenge. I just kept telling myself everyday that it would be worth it in the long run. Were there some days when I wanted to just snap on them? Yes absolutely! However, Tony and Dan definitely did do everything they could to make up for delays and it really shows their dedication to customer service! Dan and Tony basically installed everything on my car from my Powerhouse Amuse body kit, wheels, seats, gauges, sway bars, and are still going to install my BBK when all the craziness dies down. On top of that, they also paid my way to ZdayZ so we could debut the TT kit their. Wow was that an amazing experience! Overall, even with all the delays if I could go back I would not of changed a thing. This kit fully exceeded my expectations as well as Tony and Dans service.

Prototype phase: During this point, Dan put some miles on the car to make sure everything would hold up in real world conditions, and we also went to the 1/4 mile to see if the car really was making the power (546WHP/457WTQ) Sure enough with Dans awesome driving, we were able to get the car to set the stock block 1/4 record which was very cool! I am confident I could get the car to run mid to high 11s no problem after some practice. They were also cool enough to let me put some miles on the car which was awesome but a huge tease! Lol

Zdayz: As I said, what an awesome time! It was amazing to have the car all the way on the other side of the country and get to drive Tail of the Dragon. Beyond that, it was a blast to run the car at the Forged Performance airstrip event, meet tons of Z enthusiasts, and get to know the F.I. crew a bit better. On top of the show itself, Tony and Dan put in tons of late nights to get the car ready and did not rush anything even with the shortage of time. This again shows their dedication and passion for this industry. I am really hoping all of us get to make it out there again this year!


Okay, now on to the REALLY good stuff and what most of you are actually interested in! Be prepared because I am going to sound like a broken record as this kit really just takes the TT market to the next level IMO. I will be honest and say I have not personally driven in another TT 370Z however I have seen tons of dyno charts, as well as driven a TT HR 350Z and there is just no comparison.

Go

Power: Awesome! There is power all the way through the power band, and a TON of it. The car just pulls and pulls all the way to redline and there is no noticeable drop off like some other TT cars I have driven. I have had the privilege of driving tons of fast cars and while dyno #s are one thing, a lot of it is how the car actually drives! The power is so linear and it is very predictable! I have not once got on the throttle or got more or less than I was expecting which is also pretty common with F.I. cars. This is extremely important for the guys who want to hit the track or really push the car in the canyons. I have been running the car @ 8PSI and have put about 1000 miles on it so far personally. We are planning to have the car back on the dyno within the next few weeks to check the tune and a few other things. Then it is 100 octane and 10PSI time! From what Dan has told me, I am gonna have an even better review once I drive it on the race tune.

Throttle response: Again, really amazing. This makes driving the car even around town so much fun! Say you are cruising around even under 3k RPMs, gone are the days of kicking down a gear to pass someone. Just tip into the throttle just a little and there is tons of torque to get you moving! Even just spooling the turbos to 2-3PSI. As I said, I have driven plenty of other FI cars from TT V8s, 6s, and 4s. Nothing compares to the throttle response my car has, stock, or aftermarket. Hell, even my Dad's GTR with a axle back, and a tune doesnt spool anywhere near how my car does. Another great example, I was fooling around with my buddies Mazda Speed3 which uses a VERY small turbo. Still he does not out spool my car. He even brake boosted and did not once pull ahead of me. Again, Dan told me that this is even better on the 100 octane tune, and on top of that we can reroute the wastegates to make boost come on even stronger. Stay tuned for more on this as well.

Drivability: This is arguably the best part of this kit. As I said I have about 1k miles on it so far, and I have not once had any weird issues. The car is quiet and docile when you want it to be, but make no mistake you get on that go pedal and it will take off like a bat out of hell. With the power being so predictable, it makes it easy to enjoy boost even in town without causing to big of a scene. I see no reason why someone could not DD this setup, even running the Specialty Z 6 puck clutch. What an amazing unit! Barely a stiffer pedal feel than stock, but grabs like a 6 puck should! I would definitely recommend this to any true enthusiast. The car has no problem staying out of boost, and honestly gets better MPG IF you can keep your foot out of it. Acceleration is so effortless and you can get up to speed so quick with such little throttle input. I have hand calculated a few of my first tanks and got between 17-19MPG with some hard driving and about 80% street and canyon driving. This is not a concern to me at all however I know some people do take this into consideration. Another thing I would like to touch on is how cool my car is staying. I have read a ton of stuff on here that FI creates a ton of excess heat and a lot of guys are having to run aftermarket radiators, etc. I am only using a 25 row F.I. oil cooler setup, stock radiator, and no other cooling mods and I have yet to get the oil temps over 210. Water temps haven't moved at all either.

Overall opinion: I am more than pleased with my TT kit, and all the other work F.I. did to my car. They really are "fueled by passion". All of the work that was done is clean, and top notch. Even things that are not their specialty! The car pulls like a raped ape, and has not once left me sitting there wanting the boost to come in quicker. I definitely would recommend anyone looking for FI for their Z, to not look any further! From the looks of terror I get from the BMW, Audi, and Porsche drivers when I give them a little BOV action, or the smiles from my dad sitting shotgun who owns multiple supercars, it really goes to show you how well this car performs on just 8 pounds of boost!.


Between the bad days, and the good days I am more than happy to be apart of the F.I. team. Tony and Dan definitely made the delays up to me, and some! On top of that, I am very glad to be apart of bringing this amazing kit to the market for our platform. I know it is not the cheapest, but I really can promise you this kit performs the best. Not only does it perform, but it is honestly beautiful to look at. The manifolds really belong in a art gallery. I cannot wait to see other reviews as I think this kit is going to be a game changer. I want to thank Tony, Dan, and Seb again for coming through on all their promises, and some. I cannot wait to do more business with them in the future. Call me a fanboy, but I am a lifetime customer forsure of both F.I. and specialty Z as they provide excellent service, and definitely go above and beyond where ever possible.

I have prepared a little build video for you guys. Stay tuned for part II of my review @ 10PSI and also a lot more video to come! Thank you for taking the time to read my review. If you are local and want to go for a demo ride, or just ask me some questions do not hesitate to send me a PM!

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