Forced induction insight and advice needed
 

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some insight regarding some forced induction options. I’ve been reading through the forced induction forums for some time now gathering up the information I can. Now that I am currently in the market to go forced induction, I wanted to get some advice and insight from those of you who have experience or knowledge about these kits.

The 3 kits I am currently considering is the Fast Intentions Stage 1 twin turbo kit, the Soho Stage 2 Top Mount Single turbo kit, and the Soho A2A Supercharger kit. My 370Z is a 6 speed manual and my goal is to be right around the 600 whp range. The plan for the car is to be daily driven most of the year as long as it’s not too cold or snowing/raining. As well as hitting the drag strip a few times a year.
Thank you!

Fast Intentions hands down is the best high quality kit.

So the power delivery profiles (TQ curves) of the turbos kits vs the A2A S/C kits are very different. I have a S/C kit & can tell you that all of the power is top end (5k+), not much mid range TQ. The car is fast, but you have to drive it like you stole it. You don't get the same mid range TQ as you would w/ a turbo, thus the car doesn't feel as fast. However, it does hook up pretty well, so it's able to make good use of the power. If money were no object I would have gone turbo & most likely Fast Intentions. Also, i wanted to do the work myself & simply don't have the facility to remove & replace the motor, which is required to install the FI turbo kit. W/ the S/C kit, the complete installation can be done w/out removing the motor. So the all in cost of the turbo kits including installation is a lot higher. Just depends on your budget & how you want the car to drive.

Thanks for the input Spooler and CGR! Seems like the Fast Intentions kit is collectively the preferred kit if possible. I just don’t want to count out the Soho single turbo kit and supercharger kit without hearing some feedback on them first. The insight on the supercharger kits is definitely much appreciated, thanks again CGR. Any ideas on how well the S/C and single turbo kits react when launching them?

In case you have not seen it. We offer a supercharger kit which makes just as much power, more torque (by utilizing the stock manifold) and removes all of the problems associated with the Soho kit, which was our Gen 1 kit that was copied.

Also, it costs hundreds of dollars less. Let me know if you would like more information.

www.topgunspeedworks.com

Top gunz has been revolutionized the blower units for this platform. C38R I dyno

What's your all-in budget? And do you plan to do any/all of the work yourself, or hire it out? If planning to DIY, what's your skill level?

All of our kits will meet your power goal. The biggest factor you need to decide on is how you want the power delivery. If you want it to be linear, go SC. If you want it to hit hard initially and carry go turbo. If you have any questions give me a call at 704-839-0435 or email me at george@sohomotorsports.com

Thanks everyone for reaching out! Just from what I’ve heard so far I think I’ll rule out doing a supercharger kit just for the reason that I’ve always had turbo cars and love the way they drive.

Thanks Topgunz, I did just come across your kit and if I was still considering the supercharger I would definitely include yours as an option!

I originally budgeted and put away money specifically towards the twin turbo kit. I did put away $14k for the turbo kit and exhaust to go with it as well as $4k in extra parts. I am planning to do all the work myself, I do have all the tools and lift necessary to do most jobs. In terms of experience I do have done everything from simple bolt ons to a number of motor swaps and short block/head work.

Thanks George, I am considering your single turbo kit however I just haven’t seen many people running it or talking about it.

Thanks everyone for chiming in! I really appreciate it!

$14k with you providing the labor can definitely get you 600whp, but is going to be a really, really tight fit if you want to go with the FI TT system.... though if you can negotiate a discount with them or be willing to expand your budget a little that would the no-brainer option.


The major items needed are the kit, return fuel system+injectors+pump, exhaust, clutch, oil cooler, and tune. Then a zillion little things like gauges, etc.


Another very solid option would be the BP Single turbo kit, or the upcoming BP TT kit. http://www.the370z.com/forced-induct...oes-twins.html


If I were you, I would call FI and promise to vomit their logo all over your ride if they would give you a small discount... or expand your all-in budget by a thousand bucks or two to give you some margin for error.

Even if you secure that, understand you will likely have to go with more budget friendly items for exhaust and clutch, and a diff upgrade is probably out of the question (and also not super necessary for a street car).


I am sure some on this forum will have differing opinions of the cost of going TT - but I am one of the resident cheap skates that did my 500whp TT build for well under $10k. Staying on budget for a street car build is much easier than if the car will see track time.

EDIT: I wrote that long message before I reread what you just said and realized you had $18k to play with, not $14k.

FI TT kit is the way to go. If you are providing all the labor, it's a no-brainer choice and you should be able to get a really solid build with that budget.

I hate working on stuff. Nothing I can't stand more than to be tweaking things all the time. That's why I have a Fast Intentions TT kit. It freaking works and easy to maintain.

If the car is a good, reliable car and you want to continue to use it as a daily driver then I would recommend not touching it. Installing Stillen's supercharger kit was the biggest mistake I made with my Z. The kit went on at 21k miles I have only had about 7 months trouble free, beyond that modifying this car turned it into the biggest piece of s**t! If you want something reliable that you don't have the mess with every freaking weekend trying to fix issues then don't touch it. If you want a turbo'd or supercharged car I would recommend buying one that has a turbo or SC from the factory. Right now, I am wasting money on insurance for this car because it is in garage with the hood up more than it is on the road.

If you go FI all I can say is good luck and have a backup vehicle to drive. Luckily I have my '98 Ram 1500 that is a thousand times for reliable than this POS Nissan with no thanks to Stillen.

If you have the Stillen w2a kit then yes, it was a big mistake. A reputable aftermarket turbo or a2a supercharger kit is dependable.

The original Stillen kit can be extremely reliable as long as the install is done correctly and your are after very modest gains. Upgrading to eliminate the shortfalls allows that Vortech based kit to make both very high power and be reliable. Again, do it right the first time and you will have a headache free car. Cutting corners or having a poor install and tune can definitely result in a bad experience.

Most of the guys that have done their homework and put in the time, effort, maintenance and extra money to ensure its done right have left the forum. But there's lots of guys with 10s of thousands of miles on these platforms without an issue.

If you want a "built not bought" car that has supercar performance then do it right. If you want a car that you don't care to know how it works and take it to pennzoil for maintenance then buy an untouched C7 or CTSV, just don't cry when a tuner Z gaps you.

I'm sorry you've had a bad experience, but I'm not sure what to say other than I completely disagree w/ your conclusion / advice. There are lots of folks on here, myself included, who have had very good, reliable performance from boosted applications.

Vex, check with your tuner & ensure that the ecm on the 2020 model will be tunable with any of these kits first :tup:
At one time there were storage issues on the newer models :ugh2:

I modified my Nissan Titan with SUPPOSEDLY good parts. I have had nothing but problems, and regret the thousands I spent on it. After the problems appeared, more thorough research turned up that for a few people, they also encountered the exact same issues and after spending tremendous effort and money to solve the problems, they all just cut their losses and sold their trucks. I'm going to need to reinstall expensive OEM parts back on to my truck to get her running right again.
This experience is what keeps me from modifying my Q60, I really don't like how torqueless the VQ is, but I am loving the reliability of the Q60.

Did Vex say he was going to modify a 2020? If he did I would strongly advise him to wait for the new 300Z TT. It will have the VR motor in it. If Vex buys a new 370Z and then drops $18K on it...he'll be way over the buy-in for a new VR powered Z.

Heck, I watched a YouTube channel that had a story about 3 great "sports cars" for under $10K. One of them was a 2009 370Z. They paid $10K for it and it was in excellent condition. I tried to find a 370Z in my area (WA State) for near that price, and the lowest I could find was $15K. I had an idea that at $10K plus the $18K for boost would make for a decent turbo Z project, but if I can't get one under $15K then I need to drop at least another $18K that would be up to $33K for a car over a decade old. Some of the older 370Zs may need extra money to repair issues like rear diff bushing, steering column lock, wear and tear, etc.
Or I could wait until the new VR powered Z drops and just buy a factory turbo car for little more. The new VR powered Q60's are getting sorted, there's people running low 10's and high 9's....that's with 7AT and weighing 650 pounds more than a Z.

I custom fabbed my own turbo for my 2013 ford raptor making 680hp and it has 25k boosted on it without a single hiccup. 🤷

I realize many people have good outcomes with their vehicles when they are modded. It is all dependent on:
quality of parts
knowledge of people doing install
knowledge of tuner
access to appropriate tools (doesn't need to be the best/fanciest tools)
access to fabrication in many cases
time
money

I'm pretty sure you have access to the majority of that, and you definitely know what you are doing.

When I did the LT headers, full exhaust and UpRev tune on my Titan, almost all of the feedback I saw on that was positive. Unfortunately, when I ran in to issues, I found out those were well documented also, however I didn't come across those topics until I searched the specific issues I am having. Such as when I received my parts, I could tell they were poorly fabricated (everyone said "it'll be fine, they all kinda look like that") then the engine codes that indicate exhaust leaks. The incredible hassle of working on a Nissan Titan compared to any of the Big 3 trucks (nearly impossible to do headers on the 4x4 without losing your sanity) and lastly the incredible noise that took 2 UQ resonators to tame (still too loud). Then the tuning...eh, how can the tuner not realize that the left bank of my engine has a persistent exhaust leak (from the crappy headers I bought)?? They kept tuning despite obvious AF imbalances. This has been a bad experience for me. When calculating the cost of having a turbo 370Z, it gets so close to the cost of a new, already FI car (next Z) for the average Joe, that it may be worth considering getting the car that is already boosted AND brand new.

My previous car, a 2016 GTI, all I needed to do was slap on a JB4. Which happens to be available for the VR. I am sold on that approach now.

Also, right now, the market is in turmoil. Parts are hard to get in some cases, I personally have had problems with metal fabricators in my area due to them being fearful of the 'rona, and used car prices are ridiculous.

If I truly could get a first or second year 370Z for under $10K I would DEFINITELY have another go at modifying. For those who already have their Z, that's totally different than considering obtaining a new 370Z then adding boost, when a turbo Z is on the horizon.

IMO.
All those kits are good, but I think with a 600WHP goal the FI kit would be easiest to reach that number, a single turbo or SC wouldn't be as simple unless your going E85. Also your budget looks fine for everything outside the motor, with 600WHP and the associated amount of TQ you may want to consider work on the internals?

I appreciate the advice Tchertel, I understand where you are coming from and before I bought the Z I considered a number of more expensive cars that where fast from the factory as well. I've done the whole buy a fast car and don't touch it thing before and the feeling of building the car myself versus buying something already fast is just a better feeling for me. I do have my truck which has reliably gotten me around for multiple years so if I do have to put some work into the Z, its not my only vehicle. I don't mind spending time in the garage, in fact its almost like therapy to me.



I did talk with my tuner and everything seems to check out well on the tuning side. The plan is to run ecutek tuning wise.



That is correct, I am modifying a 2020 370Z Sport. The new Z does look promising and who knows maybe in another few years I'll pick one up. However I do believe in waiting past the first year to avoid any potential first year issues. That makes it 2 to 3 years down the line before I would even consider getting one (Depending on how it looks on final release). I did consider a used one for cheaper but I never plan to get rid of this Z and for a car that I plan to keep for as long as I am around a new one just made sense.



Thanks for the input! The plan is without a doubt to go E85. I live within 15 minutes of multiple E85 stations. I did decide that I will put aside a spare block to either serve as a stock replacement block if anything should go wrong or if everything goes well then a spare block to be built on the side.

I appreciate everyone whos been chiming in, It's good to hear from everyone. This is including those who have had great success and those who, unfortunately, have had poor experiences. All the advice and insight has been helpful in some way, shape, or form.

F.I is a fine kit, no doubt about it. But just about any turbo kit on the market will hit 600whp on pump fuel without much effort. Our kits out of the box are good for at least that, and customers have made almost 900whp with fuel system upgrades on DE engines.

Yep, buying from Stillen was a mistake but since I live here in Komifornia I did not have much of a choice as I need that freaking sticker. However, that sticker does me no good right now as I cannot keep the check engine lights away long enough for the I/M Monitors to become ready. Not sure what I will do when May rolls around and is time for the Z's first smog check. Stillen completely mis-represents their kits so anyone who does not need to worry about smog inspections don't go with the Stillen kit.

I am currently working with a tuner to see what we can find and clean up the cold idle to not pop anymore P0300s.

Not sure who your tuner is but I would look up either Sebastian from Spec Z or Eugene from Infinity Auto Care. Both of those guys should be able to get your car tuned properly to pass smog.

What not to do. Read the whole train wreck.

http://www.the370z.com/forced-induct...harger-46.html

:rofl2::rofl2:

+9000000000000

To tchertel, send your car to Seb at Specialty Z. He will get you squared away.

Take it from me who's been through hell and back. Mickey Mouse Racing hack job install + sh!t tune = my Z sat abandoned on the street for three years untouched because I didn't want to deal with the headaches. I finally sucked it up and towed my Z 90 miles one way to Seb. After tuning my custom supercharger setup, I've been dailying it for the past year and a half at ~400hp/380ftlb with absolutely no issues. I'm going twins soon so that'll be fun.

To the OP, go with the Fast Intentions kit. But the most important part is finding a solid tuner. This is make or break.

Last November I went with Fast Intention's Stage 1 kit, with their 3" down pipes, exhaust, high flow cats, E85 flex fuel kit and return fuel system. Made 630 whp and 500 tq. Been a year now, absolutely no issues. The car still feels solid and reliable as if it were stock, should've come this way from the factory. Good luck with your build :-)