Stillen Supercharger reliabiity

gussyturbo z

Hey are you guys running the 600cc injectors that came with the stillen kit? I am and uprev told me that they were maxed out? Anybody having this issue?

irondoc

I have no trouble with the clutch, but I am not racing the car.
Regarding the injectors, I am running the injectors that came with the kit. I asked my tuner about this, he seemed to feel they were more than adequate for my current warrantied Stillen tune at 395 whp

Osiris

Nor am I racing the car. I've had the kit for 2.5 years now and my stock clutch is going out. I plan to replace clutch and most definitely the CSC. I'm currently experiencing slipping under heavy acceleration. I've already had the clutch fluid boil on me and turn black. had to fully drain and refill. But this is most likely due to the CSC going out....it is plastic after all!

So, if you have this kit or any FI, i'd recommend a new clutch & CSC in your near future.

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darli328

Maybe I missed something, but how reliable is the stillen tune? I read through (and searched) here and read that it sucks and also read it's conservative. Does it suck because it doesn't make power or because it's not reliable or both? I'm looking into 50 state legal options for forced induction, I don't want to make ridiculous amounts power. Just a descent amount over stock and still be 50 state legal with somewhat stock reliability. Maybe it's a pipe dream, I have no idea.

gussyturbo z

Man I made 412hp and I drive it everyday to work not a single issue! When I got it tuned at uprev they told me that the 600cc injectors where not enough they were at 98% of use not a good thing. But I still drive it everyday.

darli328

That sounds really good and bad at the same time, haha. Am I correct in my understanding that if you don't use the Stillen tune it's no longer technically CARB legal?

BTW, I looked at your album. I really like your sleeper look and nice choice on the color of your Z.

irondoc

I suspect that many of the negative comments you read about the Stillen tune were in this thread in response to my troubles being the first to do the Stillen SC on a 2013. (I have not read about any similar issues on 2009-2012 models).
There were troubles at the outset, but those issues have been resolved. I am at 395whp with snow tires with no attempts to improve on the Stillen tune - (I will have it re dyno'ed when the Summer tires and wheels go on).
It is my DD, it is reliable and seamless with roughly 1000 miles on the kit.
I will post issues if and when they occur, and do an update in any case when the kit has 5K on it.

darli328

Not to sound completely ignorant but what does having a 2013 have to do with anything in this case? Correct me if I'm wrong but they didn't change anything other than the bumper/wheels right? And, neither of those would effect the Stillen SC. Also, a lot of the negative comments I've read about the Stillen SC are from a year or so ago. Mainly to do with how crappy the tune is, and how the install process requires you to cut/trim/bend pieces of your car. Personally I don't want to do that, I'd like something that doesn't require me to cut stock wires, bend and cut stock parts of the car to make something fit. But, I know this thread isn't about Stillen SC installation and I could be completely wrong on the install process.

theDreamer

The issues from the early days were tuning problems and people not hitting the numbers Stillen quoted. There were some 'other' issues that happened on a Stillen SC car, but no way to pinpoint what caused the actual issue (a blown motor).
Current model (2013) issues I have not read up on yet, but I would imagine there will be minor issues as with each model year they adjust things which can alter aftermarket parts.

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Osiris

other issues would include:

-sub-par components (eg: pulleys, bypass valve)
-dollar per horsepower gain too low
-minimal torque gains over stock vs compared to other FI kits
-intercooler only adequate up to approx 12psi.

just my 2 cents.

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Nut_N_Much

Something we have been thinking of to assist the cooling is a larger water reservoir. Pull out that plastic thing that comes with the kit. I'm sure it warms up in the engine compartment and really doesn't help to keep the water cool at all, if anything it helps keep it hot. Also we could run hard lines from the rear to the front that would help with the heat dissipation.

I'm going to mount this 1.5 gallon tank in the rear.
1. Its inside the car making the tank cooler.
2. Only 4 ft of the hose that supplies the water to the heat exchanger will be in the engine bay.
3. More water in the tank will allow longer cool off before it recycled.
4. The aluminum will absorb some of the heat.
5. Tanks mouth is large enough for Ice for Auto Cross or Drag.

Easy mod, should help some with better boost due to the denser air. Anyway I just wanted to share this. Kelly and I were talking about it a few days ago. Will let you know how it works!!! Theory is sound.

irondoc

You don't sound arrogant, you sound like you are assuming you know something that you do not.

According to Stillen the ECU programming changes every year and so Stillen's tune has to change as well.
According to Stillen - the 2012 tune will not work with any year but the 2012, and so on.
The 2013 was a new ECU for them. I had to buy the UpRev cable and software before the SC kit, and do a ROM dump so that Stillen could "Crack" the ECU code. Thy did so and said the tune would be 80% good to go. It was not, the car would not run at first. Then there was an install problem with the TBA, that was ultimately solved. Finally the car came home stalling every time I would decelerate to below 20mph. Stillen had a fix for that and the fix was included in the original kit. It is a shield that covers the air flow sensors to reduce turbulence. It did not fit the 2013 because of the change in the bumper. Rather than modify it to fit, my installer assumed it was superfluous and did not install it. Stillen would not even discuss the issue further until the shield was installed. They were correct. The shield had to be significantly modified to fit the 2013, but when installed it solved the problem.

elperuano

It's amazing that the inferior Stillen kit still gets this much play.

The main reason everyone goes for this kit is because with the Stillen SC and Stillen tune it's supposedly still keeps "warranty". For everyone that went this route they quickly realized the cost wasn't worth what the Stillen SC provided. The Stillen tune is complete garbage. You can almost make the same with the most mods people go with anyway i.e. exhaust intake tp/HFC and an Osiris tune.
Once people realized Stillen tune was garbage, to save face they threw the warranty out the window and went with a custom tune. Even then the gains for what ur paying is minimal.
Every Stillen owner will want more power and this is where it keeps adding up money wise. Buying different pulleys, brackets, upgrading this and that. Few posts above me this guy has to run a water/heater exchanger. It's always something este u have to upgrade or add to get little more HP out of it. I've seen direct meth injections on Stillen SC builds. It's comical. Also everytime they upgrade its straight back to the dyno for a few more pulls and redline tuning. Every Stillen owner has about 100 more dyno pulls and countless more hours at the local dyno shop than any other TT or single turbo owner out there. How's that for extra "safety and reliability" that they deceive u with.
Lastly in the end a MAJORITY of Stillen SC owners end up selling their kit and going with a TT or single set-up. I can count 3 off the top of my head. For the money pit it becomes you could save yourself a lot of grief n aggravation goin turbo.

I went stage 2 TT, os giken clutch, csc, exhaust, oil cooler and gauges. 1 time tune at Z1 and have never looked back. 1 dyno session is all I needed to achieve desired goal. And my kit is not what's holding me back for power, it's the stock block.
You guys should check out my350, they have lotta knowledge from people who tried the Stillen route. Be careful posting. They're not the same "yes" guys that I see around here a lot.

darli328

Ahh, I had no idea they change the ECU every year. I knew I was missing something, thanks.
Just curious, am I the only one that doesn't want to mangle my car to make something fit? Maybe it's a pipe dream of mine to want parts to just bolt up without modifications... If anyone can't tell I'm new to this so please excuse my ignorance

Nut_N_Much

Your not ignorant buddy. For people like us we don't need to most power, the highest boost. My nuts dropped long ago in Haiti, Somalia, AFG and Iraq. For out of the box fitment to get into the SC realm Stillen Kit is a good start. I personally like the GTM kit for SC, and Boost Performance for turbo. Also there customer service is real good!

Look at it this way, do you learn to ride a Motorcycle on a 1000cc/240 HP Super Bike. For enthusiasts, the kit is fine. Just a few recommendations to make it more reliable based off guys input that have ran the kit for a wile.

$170.00 25mm dual port BOV: JSC Speed
$38.95 idler pulley 4gr116-300 3inch from Vortex

The stock bands that hold the boost side on the manifold work fine but more reliable to have these on the pressure side. Good luck with what ever you choose to do!!!

Stainless Steel T-Bolt Hose Clamps : BoostController.com LLC - America's Source for High quality turbo boost controllers, silicone hose, and more performance products - 877-836-6155- precision boost control. Turbosmart Warehouse Distributor

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