JoeD- With respect to your experience on the race track I would also like to suggest that perhaps one of the reasons you don't see FI systems, big brake kits, and other performance items on cars in NASA and SCCA and other series is because the rules for most classes (except unlimited) do not allow such modifications.
However, if you look at numerous Time Attack cars they are almost definitely running some form of forced induction and generally have no issues. However, a well prepared Time Attack car has also been thoroughly gone through and prepared for such events.
When engineered, installed, and operated properly aftermarket forced induction systems can be very reliable.
Engineering- This is a no brainer really, if it's not engineered well you will have issues. We have all seen half-assed engineering and terrible designs. Generally they are easy to see and easy to avoid. Sometimes though surprises can happen and this is when you must rely on a company who you believe or proves to you is doing all of the necessary endurance testing before releasing a part.
Installation- Installation is key in anything but becomes especially important when installing aftermarket forced induction systems. One split hose here, one poor seal there, one mistake during the tuning process and who knows what can happen. That is why a lot of companies are doing their best to make the installation process as simple as possible.
Operation- At the end of the day the owner/operator needs to keep in mind what modification they have made to their car. What fuel do you put in the car? What oil do you put in the car? How frequently do you service the vehicle? What do you honestly expect out of the car? Do you expect to be able to put 10K into your car and achieve 600 horsepower on a stock motor? Just sell your car now and go buy something else because it won't happen!
It is true and I don't think anyone is arguing the fact that Nissan, nor any other major manufacturer, plans for their cars to see forced induction if it does not come equipped with it from the factory. Rightfully so too, if they sell 100,000 Z's only 2-3% of them actually see some form of forced induction. So why should they build hot motors for only 2-3,000 cars? They wouldn't do it. That would raise the cost of the car for no good reason.
However, the Nissan motors are more than capable of handling boost on and off the track when the kit is properly engineered and installed. I assure you, Steve Millen and I will be putting our car to the test on the race track and we will not be going overboard on the car at first. We will be testing at numerous race tracks in a relatively stock trim and eventually (probably around 2011) we plan on racing the car in the Time Attack series.
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