STILLEN 370Z Supercharger System - Announcement!!!

RCZ · 09-28-2010, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nitex

Seriously? Did the Z shop in question send dynos or any diagnostic reports at all? If not then I understand to some degree. I guess it would come down to your word vs theirs in regards to performance. However if they have been sending any reports on the condition of the vehicle, then you all should know how his car is responding to your tune..

In all honesty, ive never believed in canned tunes. Seriously guys, to some extent our cars are all different. And each car DESERVES dyno time for a proper tune. IF you want the stillen kit DONOT get a damn canned tune yet if you can not afford R&D time. On that note, if your going FI plan on custom tuning. Not be cause stillens canned tune doesn't work. But because you should not be doing it ANY other way. If you want to be "carb legal" either leave your car stock, or wait till the front runners have been patient enough to work it out (not a cheap stab at you tom, i realize you have been through enough).

With that being said, i think at some point Stillen needs to throw the towel in on the canned tune idea if its just not working at their advertised numbers. Either lower the numbers or the price.

On a final note, for all you front runners. There is always the chance things will not go as planned. We were all crazy excited for this kit, and were all constantly asking when will it be released! Things didn't work out the way we hoped. Its time to move on, either pay the 10%, or go get your car tuned the way it deserves to be. There is no need to bash Stillen anymore. Either give them your business or don't. I realize this is easy to say from the sidelines, but I want to FI just as much as the next guy, and hope this gets resolved.

This man makes sense...good points. A tune that has to be approved by one of the most stringent guidelines for smog testing is going to maim the car from the start.

Stillen did screw the pooch at first by releasing numbers based on a pulley that was producing more PSI. I honestly think this was not done on purpose since a few customers (including myself) were actually sent the "overboost" pulley at first. So I think they realized it either wasn't safe or it wasn't going to pass carb. Either way, it's not going to produce the same numbers.

Interesting thing is that I rarely and I mean rarely go past 8psi. Maybe because I don't bang the limiter or because there's a slight pressure drop from my headers. I would not be surprised if Stillen tested the pulley and saw 8psi all day like I do, but then when the kit started going out, they started getting more and more people breaching 8psi on the dyno so they pulled it back.

In my opinion, no one's going to hit advertised numbers because of this...less boost + carb constraints. However, if you ask me, I think you can get 430whp out of the lower boost pulley if you get custom tuned. 450whp with the higher boost pulley that you might as well get if you ARE getting custom tuned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomnavone

They were sent seven different dynos. One for every tune they sent.

tomnavone, no offense, but anyone who thinks dynos are in any sort of way useful to solving a problem like this, has absolutely no idea about whats going on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shumby

This might actually be in the works as we speak.

We all know any tuner with experience can tune this kit. What I'd love to see is Sam make a safe, CARB approvable tune with this kit that runs completely smooth. Now that would be something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemansz20

I think this is what Chris from wheels direct has been saying consistently. A simple custom tune would probably get the job done, but Stillen doesnt seem to be manning up on that, and the customer doesnt want to bend using carb certification as the excuse. The simple fact is he has hfc's so I dont understand how you would be carb certified with that? Tom I know your having the issues, but how can you say you want carb certification when you have the hfc's, just go get a tune man and be done with it.

I think most people are hanging on to that warranty more than the CARB cert. 3rd party tune = no warranty and no carb.

Lug · 09-28-2010, 12:25 PM

Does the tune actually have to be "locked down" and unalterable to get CARB? I thought someone mentioned that that was why Stillen was going this particular uprev route and why standard tuning wouldn't work for the application. Anyone know for sure?

tomnavone · 09-28-2010, 12:36 PM

its locked u arent able to alter the tune or see the parameters of the tune. All they have asked of my shop after every tune fails is to send them the dyno. My shop has called stillen dozens of times to talk about my kit. Im not hiding anything and we are giving stillen everything that they have requested. Believe me i would rather be driving my car than talk about the stillen supercharger shortcomings. Luckily my shop rocks they havnt charged me to install the 7 different tunes or the 7 different dynos. Stillen claims they have the right tune after the previous one failed i have to drive a hour to my shop, have my shop install the tune and dyno which takes another hour, then i have to drive another hour home. Three hours of my time for each tune x seven tunes.

Lug · 09-28-2010, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomnavone

its locked u arent able to alter the tune or see the parameters of the tune. All they have asked of my shop after every tune fails is to send them the dyno. My shop has called stillen dozens of times to talk about my kit. Im not hiding anything and we are giving stillen everything that they have requested. Believe me i would rather be driving my car than talk about the stillen supercharger shortcomings. Luckily my shop rocks they havnt charged me to install the 7 different tunes or the 7 different dynos. Stillen claims they have the right tune after the previous one failed i have to drive a hour to my shop, have my shop install the tune and dyno which takes another hour, then i have to drive another hour home. Three hours of my time for each tune x seven tunes.

Do you think it has anything to do with hardware or is it strickly a tune issue?

tomnavone · 09-28-2010, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lug

Do you think it has anything to do with hardware or is it strickly a tune issue?

Its the tune.

Lug · 09-28-2010, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomnavone

Its the tune.

I know you're pissed, but if it were me, I'd go back to the "driveable" tune and just sit on it until Stillen can come up with a fix or stops trying. It doesn't cost you anything, and if the hardware is good, I bet the tune problems will get fixed eventually. Even if they don't, you get an custom tune and you will end up about where you want to be since no one else is going CARB as far as I know. A lot also depends on how long you have to return it. I'd check with Stillen on that. Otherwise you are gonna be out a good bit more money and more time to start over.

tomnavone · 09-28-2010, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lug

I know you're pissed, but if it were me, I'd go back to the "driveable" tune and just sit on it until Stillen can come up with a fix or stops trying. It doesn't cost you anything, and if the hardware is good, I bet the tune problems will get fixed eventually. Even if they don't, you get an custom tune and you will end up about where you want to be since no one else is going CARB as far as I know. A lot also depends on how long you have to return it. I'd check with Stillen on that. Otherwise you are gonna be out a good bit more money and more time to start over.

I have reverted back to the r6 tune from the newest r7 tune. The r6 tune is somewhat drivable but once u give it gas it has major lag and once the boost comes on the torque and hp just falls off the table. I think GTM is or was going to apply for carb for their supercharger.

Pat@SMM · 09-28-2010, 03:19 PM

I haven't had an opportunity to drive mine with the r7 tune so I can't really comment on how it runs yet. Although, regardless of how it may run I am going with a custom tune in the next couple of weeks. I spoke with a very reputable tuner in the Montreal area regarding the ongoing issues and he will just overide the Stillen tune with his own.

Chris_1 · 09-28-2010, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pat@SMM

I haven't had an opportunity to drive mine with the r7 tune so I can't really comment on how it runs yet. Although, regardless of how it may run I am going with a custom tune in the next couple of weeks. I spoke with a very reputable tuner in the Montreal area regarding the ongoing issues and he will just overide the Stillen tune with his own.

Thanks what Im talking about, this is the smart thing to do. Thumbs up to you, for doing this the right way.

I tried to do the box tune on my old turbo setup and it was never right. Custom tune, and magic the car ran real smooth. The charge pipe kept coming off haha, but that is neither here or there.

weiboy718 · 09-28-2010, 06:34 PM

Custom tune and carbed legal sounds fantastic hahaha!

Lug · 09-29-2010, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomnavone

I have reverted back to the r6 tune from the newest r7 tune. The r6 tune is somewhat drivable but once u give it gas it has major lag and once the boost comes on the torque and hp just falls off the table. I think GTM is or was going to apply for carb for their supercharger.

I was under the impression (correct me if I'm wrong) that the whole reason Stillen was using the weird tuning solution (locked down tune) was because it was required to get CARB cert. I've heard that JWT was trying to get CARB cert on their twin turbo setup on 350Z's for years and coudn't for similar reasons.

Phimosis · 09-29-2010, 01:08 PM

On carb cert: stillens current tunes aren't carb
certified. If they get one certified and you load it into rom, will Stillen give you the sticker, or do you have to buy the unit after they get approval, then send it to youbwoth only that one tune? If they will give you the sticker when they get one of their tunes approved, how is that different than running a custom tune for now, then running the carb approved tune once it's here? They should give you carb sticker if you revert your custom tune back, otherwise, they shouldnt be giving carb stickers to anyone who buys the kit before they get carb approval.

On the topic of warranty: is there a warranty policy in writing? I didn't receive one. If it's not in writing, there is no warranty. If there is a written policy, can someone point me to it? I keep seeing people debate whether to do a custom tune because of the warranty issue. If Stillen warranties their carb tune, that means everyone who has run tune r1-r7 are running non-approved tunes which would not be warranty qualified. If Stillen will warranty their non-carb tunes, people
like tomnavone that are running non-stock items like
HFC's that could be causing poor performance with the canned tune, could get Stillen to custom tune their cars, get it work work right and still have the warranty.

Just a thought, but I need more info on the true status of implied vs written warranty.

weiboy718 · 09-29-2010, 01:17 PM

Their warranty is for the hardware, not the car or engine. There is no warranty available till they get it carb approved.

shumby · 09-29-2010, 01:26 PM

wel then go get someone that knows how to tune your car to do it. I think you know who you should call

tomnavone · 09-29-2010, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle@STILLEN

We have been in contact with the insurance/warranty company and it looks like we will be able to offer the 3 year/36,000 mile engine warranty on this kit as well. We have a tentative, yes, on the warranty but we don't have the final confirmation yet. We should have that soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle@STILLEN

If the car is custom tuned then the warranty is 100% VOID. If someone wants to do a custom tuned supercharger setup then we highly recommend going with the tuner kit.

I found this about the warranty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle@STILLEN

The tune that the car comes with will be 99.9% dialed in however some people will want to get an extra one or two horsepower and maybe adjust their a/f a bit. However, the tune itself will be good from day one and won't need to be re-tuned later on.

^^Thought this was funny

09-28-2010, 12:25 PM	#1952 (permalink)
Lug A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 1,926 Drives: 2006 350Z Rep Power: 19	Does the tune actually have to be "locked down" and unalterable to get CARB? I thought someone mentioned that that was why Stillen was going this particular uprev route and why standard tuning wouldn't work for the application. Anyone know for sure? __________________ keep Chubbs in your pocket - Chubbs

09-28-2010, 12:36 PM	#1953 (permalink)
tomnavone Track Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: S.F. Bay Area Posts: 723 Drives: Supercharged 370z Rep Power: 17	its locked u arent able to alter the tune or see the parameters of the tune. All they have asked of my shop after every tune fails is to send them the dyno. My shop has called stillen dozens of times to talk about my kit. Im not hiding anything and we are giving stillen everything that they have requested. Believe me i would rather be driving my car than talk about the stillen supercharger shortcomings. Luckily my shop rocks they havnt charged me to install the 7 different tunes or the 7 different dynos. Stillen claims they have the right tune after the previous one failed i have to drive a hour to my shop, have my shop install the tune and dyno which takes another hour, then i have to drive another hour home. Three hours of my time for each tune x seven tunes. __________________ GTM Supercharger/HKS Camp2/Berk cbe/Motordyne art pipes/Hotchkis sways/ Eibach Springs/ Black Volk TE37/Bridgestone S-04 Powered by Last edited by tomnavone; 09-28-2010 at 01:30 PM.

09-29-2010, 01:26 PM	#1964 (permalink)
shumby Captin Canuck Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: with your mom Age: 44 Posts: 6,288 Drives: your sister Rep Power: 236	wel then go get someone that knows how to tune your car to do it. I think you know who you should call __________________ Originally Posted by SAM@GTM Engine detonation is not normal and it should never never happen, and whoever told that need to do something else for living . Sam

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09-28-2010, 03:19 PM	#1958 (permalink)
Pat@SMM Base Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 119 Drives: 2010 370Z Rep Power: 15	I haven't had an opportunity to drive mine with the r7 tune so I can't really comment on how it runs yet. Although, regardless of how it may run I am going with a custom tune in the next couple of weeks. I spoke with a very reputable tuner in the Montreal area regarding the ongoing issues and he will just overide the Stillen tune with his own.

09-28-2010, 06:34 PM	#1960 (permalink)
weiboy718 Track Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bay Area Posts: 923 Drives: Infiniti G37 Rep Power: 16	Custom tune and carbed legal sounds fantastic hahaha!

09-29-2010, 01:08 PM	#1962 (permalink)
Phimosis Enthusiast Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Oildale, CA Posts: 412 Drives: 2013 911 4S Rep Power: 416	On carb cert: stillens current tunes aren't carb certified. If they get one certified and you load it into rom, will Stillen give you the sticker, or do you have to buy the unit after they get approval, then send it to youbwoth only that one tune? If they will give you the sticker when they get one of their tunes approved, how is that different than running a custom tune for now, then running the carb approved tune once it's here? They should give you carb sticker if you revert your custom tune back, otherwise, they shouldnt be giving carb stickers to anyone who buys the kit before they get carb approval. On the topic of warranty: is there a warranty policy in writing? I didn't receive one. If it's not in writing, there is no warranty. If there is a written policy, can someone point me to it? I keep seeing people debate whether to do a custom tune because of the warranty issue. If Stillen warranties their carb tune, that means everyone who has run tune r1-r7 are running non-approved tunes which would not be warranty qualified. If Stillen will warranty their non-carb tunes, people like tomnavone that are running non-stock items like HFC's that could be causing poor performance with the canned tune, could get Stillen to custom tune their cars, get it work work right and still have the warranty. Just a thought, but I need more info on the true status of implied vs written warranty.

09-29-2010, 01:17 PM	#1963 (permalink)
weiboy718 Track Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bay Area Posts: 923 Drives: Infiniti G37 Rep Power: 16	Their warranty is for the hardware, not the car or engine. There is no warranty available till they get it carb approved.