how much is too much
 

considering going F.I. in the future, but since my Z is my daily driver, the mileage can stack up quickly.
so my question is, how many driven miles is considered "too much" to go turbo? at what point will i have to consider rebuilding the motor due to reliability being a greater issue.. Considering the motor hasn't been abused.

im currently at 26k, maybe this thread can help others as well. :tiphat:

I think the motor will probably take 450WHP reliably for a LONG time (assuming you get a larger radiator and much larger oil cooler
Transmission has it's own issues

very good point on the transmission, completely overlooked it.
i think ive seen people run 2 oil coolers on the motor? is that possible/necessary?

I think for any FI, lets say up to 550WHP, or a stage 1, a 34row is a necessity,
I'd personally run 2... I've already got a 25, and I'd add another 25.

I know a lot of people who run 25 rows with a FI kit and overheat their oil QUICK... Or the car starts pulling so much timing at 220 that it takes away from the point of going FI
(Ahem, Stillen, being cheapskates for only providing a 25)

*not an expert.

But I think also engine longevity can depend on amount of boost you're pushing.

From what Ive been told from sam at gtm that the 370z motors will hold around 550whp with a good tune and a big oil cooler is a must have.. I went with the gtm 34 row oil cooler myself...

nice! i think i might end up running 2 oil coolers lol

550WHP seems a bit high...
As a DD I'd go for around 450WHP

The motor can probably last as long as you want it really until you start pushing 550 or heavy driving (track abuse).
A solid tune with appropriate supporting mods will help greatly in making sure the engine lasts. I am at 400whp with 30k miles on my engine with the GTM stage 1 SC.

My advice would be not to turbo your daily driver.


There's a good possibility everything will be fine, but it's unwise to have your only car be a boosted vehicle you drive a lot.

IMO, first investment is a backup car. 98% of the time going FI gets you something reliable, but it's better to be prepared.

If you browse the classifieds here, you'll see a lot of boosted cars being sold, many by folks that didn't fully understand what they were getting themselves into.


In short--mileage isn't a problem, but the Z should not be your only car if you are going FI, unless you have great friends that will drive you around.

I'm a few hundred shy of 50k miles (TT'd at 22k miles), and my engine doesn't pushing 450 whp as often. For daily driving, it still doesn't see more than 5 PSI unless I'm at full throttle. I'd still like to be tuned to 500 whp though. :)

so is your Z a daily driver?

Thank you for that very informative response, I never really thought about it like that. So you mean that incase it breaks down right? or its just flat out a bad idea to use it for daily use? I have access to another vehicle, my dad has an 08 F-150 with 10k miles, which i put the majority of them when i went up to seattle. idk why he doesnt drive that thing :shakes head: lol. But if incase my Z
ever breaks down, i guess i can always go borrow his truck.

however if its just flat out a bad idea to drive a boosted Z on a daily basis, then ill just buy me another car :tiphat:

He means that you should always have a back-up just in case.
Remember you're gonna boost a natural NA car. Anytime u do this to ANY car you always have to leave yourself room to wiggle. You're adding almost 200+ hp to the motor and granted you should not cut any corners sometimes things will happen. Always best to have a back up jus in case something happens.

That being said my stage 2 TT g37 is pushin 540hp/500tq and I daily drive her and even more on weekends. Always sees full boost everytime I turn the car on. About 8k miles boosted so far, driven hard and no problems whatsoever *knocks on wood*
I also have a back up car, just in case.

Nothing wrong with it, just useful to have another way to get where you are going. Besides the risk of catastrophic issues, heavily modified cars tend to wind up with little niggly issues like loose fittings and such that you might not have time to fix before you need your car again.

It is my only car at the moment. On snow days I borrow my parents car since my dad already has to take my mom to work. I will look for a daily driver next year, though. That way I can handle the downtime to do some minor work on the Z like finally replacing exterior stuff that suffered tough times as a daily driver.

When you're driving casual as a daily driver, it hardly gets into boost. You have to hold the throttle at least 50% and let it rev past 2.5k RPM for it to boost. Even with moderate throttle and letting it rev past 3k RPM it won't get into boost. It pretty much behaves like an n/a car.

Has anyone done any long term reviews (still searching) for a GTM SC kit. There is a guy selling a slightly used kit so thinking of installing it in my daily drive. My drive is mainly freeways 170 miles daily plus there is a heat factor here so will it run fine if tuned conservatively on 350-360ish whp ofcourse with proper cooling

I don't see why you can't DD a boosted Z. Remember, you don't see boost until you're actually on the gas pedal. Cruising around with light throttle is no different than driving around N/A. If the kit is well installed and all the lines are properly fitted and torqued you're good to go.

I'd use a 7 psi WG spring pressure for daily driving, and a boost controller to run up to 10 psi when you feel like it. I'm assuming a stage 1 kit.

SC might be different then a turbo setup in terms of boost setting. Your daily drive mileage is less compared to what I'm asking of 170-200 miles round trip daily coming upto 4000 miles a month.

Was looking for more long term testing if someone has done it, know one guy here with a similar kit on G35s sedan he do get heating issues in traffic and more during summer months

Even our stock G's will overheat in summer in traffic here with A/C on full blast lol

The S/C is always making positive boost and is always putting extra load on the engine. Wish they came with compressor clutches like A/C compressors so you can switch them off in summers :D

I have a feeling if you S/C your Sedan you will end up parking it at home and commuting in your RB powered Z to work!

If you are worried about the Dubai heat, I suggest that you get the largest engine cooler, trans cooler (if auto), radiator, and run a methanol setup with a 50/50 mix for extra cooling. I have about 24,000 miles on my daily driven SC'd G35 Sedan and see about 5 psi at 3500 rpms and 11 at 7300. I think the methanol/water mix has helped tremendously during hot Texas days.

Even though I'm not DD I already have the basic covered for my car already for my FI build soon. I have 34R, CSF radiator, no AC (which is not reasonable for DD), Stillen front fascia (allows more air flow), vented/ gutted hood, and with GTM's new oil pan it will help tons. I'm also going to make some custom ducting into the engine bay I've came up with. I also don't run a cowl so that another big thing.

Also with a FI the Uprev can be used to turn on the fans sooner.

:tup: are all these miles with SC or just the mileage? I have driven already 35k miles since i got it in 14 months :icon18:. Coming to normal rpm range 5 psi will be the boost level most of my drive time which seems encouraging.

Bigger oil cooler already there with the kit and CSF/PRC radiator already on the list along with Spal fans and shroud. Methanol maybe for occasional use I can think off but dont want to depend on it that why asking here. Cooling in bumper and hood is not an issue.

Installed my stage 1 SC at 19,000 miles and sitting at just under 60,000 miles now.
My daily trip varies, not nearly 200 miles a day, but probably 50-100 depending on where I am going. My biggest things was cooling with the Texas heat. Upgraded radiator, good size oil cooler, soon I will be adding a vented hold & fender liner.

Other things are keeping up on maintenance, and monitoring everything. I run at 400whp and start seeing boost at 3,000 rpms but cruising in 6th at 70 or slower I can keep it at 0.0 all the time. MPG I am about what I see factory minus those days I get on it, but just driving it is not better or worse.

My Z is my only car and is my DD. That said I have my girl's Tahoe as well. I drive my car like I stole it most of the time. Maintenance is the key. As long as you are very familiar with your machine, you can diagnose possible issues before they arise. As far as boost goes, I am running 0.5 BAR (about 7.2-7.5 PSI) on low setting and 0.9 BAR (13ish PSI) on high setting. With that said, it all depends on your right foot. I don't break out with 6k RPM launches and WOT blasts regularly. Driving habits and maintenance are the keys to a DD TT Z. Have fun..........and don't forget about the "Oh ****" fund.

Oops,
I meant to say I see about 5 lbs at about 4500rmps, not 3500. The methanol/h20 kicks in at about 5lbs and is only used for safety and cooling. Occasionally I'll turn the meth kit off and switch to the appropriate map when I know I won't need the meth. The surge of the SC is very enjoyable, and it's very easy to keep out of boost when desired. I have 53k total miles on the G and 24k of them are boosted. Started out with the Stage 1 then graduated to the 1.5 after about 10k miles.

:tup:

Damn that Oh Shi*t fund!

:icon18:

Thats very encouraging :icon18:

Are you on stock radiator if not which one? I was looking for an aftermarket radiator last year for my friend's G35 couldn't find anything (working on the Z made me forgot everything on these cars lol)

PRC people make great custom ones.

if you are DDing your car, i would go with a supercharger, whether its a stillen or GTM kit, a supercharger will allow you to keep a similar powerband to the stock car because boost is matching the revs unlike a turbo where you are N/A until your spool point then you get there, you get a sudden torque surge(but that is all relative to your build and what type of turbos you are using, smaller turbos=better spool time but less top end, while bigger turbos=longer spool times but better top end)

imo you could go with either the stillen supercharger kit or the GTM 1.5 supercharger kit and be happy, both make lots of power under the curve which is what you want in a street build

mine s jsut a weekend car. i am getting the new gtm tt kit. and i'm confident that i can get by with a 25 row cooler and their larger capacity oil pan. now, on the other hand, if u go boosted and are constantly getting into boost while cruising around, u will see temps rise in a hurry. its all about how u drive

Got the kit today came with two 25 row oil coolers will install both on engine. Will order radiator and fan shroud then install

I still recommend a larger oil cooler. It's a nice low 80s day, and my oil temp peaked at 210-215F from getting lunch. Your car will start cutting power, and you'll feel the throttle response drop. Even with my 34 row I can see the slightly slower boost build up in 2nd.

Yes, still using my stock radiator because it has been working well. I would suggest that you use the stock one and see how it works out for you.

Thanks to one of the threads here regarding the coolant bleed cap, I'm going to get my coolant flushed again. My last tech didn't know about it after doing the heater core flush and only burped the system. I still hear bubbling in the core, and the car wants to overheat when ambient is at least 90F. When I picked it up in Houston, it can survive 100F+ temps without overheating.

Just dont want to risk anything with temp in range of 115 to 130 whole day long, specially on my way back driving everyday it will be 125-130.

Still evaluating the timeline either to install tune now or wait till september when it starts cooling a bit.

just remember blowing up and wearing out are two different things. have the motor compression or leakdown tested to so where it stands now if you are worried about the condition of it. barring a few cases i'm sure its fine but best to know before you do it. if it does come in on the low side you know a rebuild may be in your future.

How much of a temp difference is it for your seasons?
If it is that big of a concern then you might consider running 2 tunes. One for the high heat and one for super cold days. In Texas we usually are in the 70+ area for all the year so I run one tune and had it done in 100 degree heat, but always curious what a colder 60 degree day dyno run & tune could produce.

It's funny that you mention 2 tunes. I was just going to comment on how my single 34 row OC handles the awesome TX heat, but now I want to comment on multiple tunes. I have found that my low boost tune suffers from increased heat soak as opposed to my high boost tune that seems to be the more preferred one of the 2 for me. I have a strange stumble on the transition to positive boost pressure differential on low and almost nonexistent on high. But I think I have a vac leak and O2 sensor issues as well (just an intuitive guess) that I will be hunting down @ UPREV late this week or early next week.