The Sophia Project

SS_Firehawk

An SS_Firehawk Build Thread

Review Index:
1. AE Performance Oil Cooler (MAR2012)
2. Motordyne XYZ Y pipe with HFC option (FEB2012)
3. Tanabe Medallion exhaust (FEB 2012)
4. PPE Long Tube Headers, dyno and vids of all exhaust mods (FEB2012)
5. AEM Cold Air Intake & video (MAR 2012)
6. NST Pulleys & dyno results of CAI and pulleys (MAR 2012)
7. Motordyne M370 Intake Manifold, bad install vids, bad dyno graph, & tuned results of stock and M370 (AUG 2012)
8. GTM TSC Initial Review
9. GTM TSC Final Review and Videos



Thread Index:
1. GTM Twin SC Offer
2. Transporting car and parts to GTM
3. GTM Baseline Dynojet
4. GTM Baseline Mustang Dyno
5. Parts list being installed @ GTM
6. O2 Sensor Problems
7. GTM TSC Pics
8. GTM TSC Initial thoughts and dyno

So I'm going to try and consolidate all the stuff I've done over the past year with My Z into one spot. I've been procrastinating because it sucks to repost everything. My car has no name, I only refer it as a "her" "she". So with that said, here we go.


2011
So quick background on me and My Z. I bought it back in late Sep 2011. The vehicle was built in July 2011 and shipped stateside in August. It arrived at the dealer and had been there for maybe a couple weeks before I claimed my prize. My Wife had purchased a new Maxima and gave me a healthy beat down in my old 325. I was in the market for a sports car and with the new VPP pricing for Military and the sales/service they gave my Wife, they earned my business. I came in knowing I wanted a base Z with a sport package and didn't care about anything else. Found one with floormats, trunk mat, mud guards, and the glowing Z door sill protector. Cost of the Z was $36,700, and $32,400 after VPP. Tax free and at 4%. I was good to go. Two weeks later, I went back to Afghanistan and went ape $hit on these forums learning everything I could and ordering stuff to throw on when I got back home.

The first thing I wanted for sure and ordered first were PPE long tube headers. I was working on a budget and my saw everything I bought... So I was critical of price but refused to sacrifice quality. Found ceramic coated Long Tube Headers brand new on the forums and jumped on it as soon as I saw it. Spent $870 total. Saved nearly $400 compared to buying brand new.

Next thing I ordered was an AE performance oil cooler. I was first eying a 34 row, but again saw one come up on the forums for $700, I snatched it up, quantified the importance to my Wife and ended up saving another $400 over retail.

Next thing I ordered was the Motordyne M370 intake manifold. Again I perused the forums till I found one for sale. I bought it for $470 including shipping. Saved about $120 compared to buying new.

I asked for AEM CAI's for my bday and the family pitched in to get them for me from Amazon.com. I found the powder coated grey ones for $372 with free shipping. This was by far the best deal I've seen them. They had non powder coated for $321, but I didn't want them shiny. Saved a lot of money compared to the $475-$550 I saw.

I purchased the Motordyne XYZ Y pipe new with a HFC. I wanted to keep a cat so I wouldn't get harassed by Law enforcement. I picked up both for $540 shipped. Not much if any saved on this. I researched a lot and this gave me the flexibility and performance I was looking for. On paper it matched inner diameter of the headers and the exhaust I was looking at.

The exhaust was by far the hardest decision. Fast Intentions did not have a HFC option on their CBE at the time and Motordyne did not have theirs out as well. Nearly every other exhaust got nixed because they were X pipes. 5zigen and Tanabe were standouts, but expensive. The other Y pipe exhausts were either mind boggling expensive or too cheap to trust. I ended up going back to the Tanabe mid pipe back exhaust and found it for $1207 shipped. Saved around $300 compared to every other placed I found.

Last thing I ordered before I returned home was the NST pulleys I found on group buy. I was able to get both pulleys in dark grey (I like subdued) for $190 shipped. I read a lot about these and their infamy. I could not find a valid argument that they would destroy my motor, and as of writing, it's still in one piece. I saved around $40 from this deal and found the correct belt size elsewhere for like $10 cheaper.

2012

2012 was mostly the install process which I will detail below. This is the list of parts ordered in preparation for FI/track time.

I ordered new spark plugs as a troubleshooting measure which I will illustrate below. I was running rich for four months and finally tracked down most of the problems. The two big outstanding issue I saw were a persistent P0300 SES and a 14whp loss in power over my last dyno in March. I ordered these from Z1 and ran nearly $100. Also purchased some Redline oil for the oil change. Total charge was $185 shipped. I linked more information regarding these O2 sensors and the below dyno graphs are with the existing O2 issues. The only graph that has not been afflicted with this problem is the stock graph... Hence the low dyno numbers for the mods done.

I sold my M370 manifold and instantly regretted it when I received the results with the stock manifold dyno a couple days later. I picked up an new M370 instake manifold and new XYZ resonator to play with for $690 shipped. Saved around $100 by ordering with B2autodesign. They had a good deal, also a forum sponsor.

Black Friday came around this year and Z1 had some great deals as we now know. I saw $150 off on the radiator and it instantly made me excited. I talked to my Wife and she gave me the go ahead. I then snuck in some hood struts with the order as I hate the stupid prop rod. Total was $560 shipped. Saved $170 from that deal

Then Z1 said they were extending the sale through the weekend, and so as any addict would do, I went to their site and started to look around... I saw the sport package brake upgrade listed for $498 and I was like sssssshhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiittttttt. I optioned it with some ATE super blue and stoptech pads. I would have gone with Carbotechs but I wasn't sure when I would be able to go to some track events, so I felt it a good compromise. I then started looking at their hose replacements and decided since I'm getting a new radiator, why not? So I ordered it all. Total came to $758 shipped. I saved another $140 from this deal.


2013
I recently purchased a JWT clutch/flywheel kit, upgraded CSC and clutch line. clutch/flywheel was purchased from a private seller here, and was very new. The upgraded CSC is through GTM. Suspension mods will be minor. Nismo Dampers, with Swift springs and some swaybars/endlinks. Maybe something to fix the rear camber after the drop as well. I decided to stick with stock Rays 20/25mm spacers on 265/35/19 & 305/30/19 RE11's. Also decided to go with GTM for my FI which is detailed later. I relinked the latest dyno's here so it's easier to find. These were taken without the M370 intake manifold. For results with the M370 manifold, click the link in the index. They cannot be compared to the dyno's below.
Had to make changes to my parts lineup. CSF radiator wouldn't work with my build, Z1 hoses wouldn't work either, my kick @ss oil cooler has to go too. I also decided to sell the M370 manifold (again I know!!!) because in FI applications, it's benefits are muted and needed to recoup funds. They were replaced with GTM's 70mm competition radiator, shroud and 14" SPAL HO fans, twin oil coolers, and their new baffled oil pan. They also fixed the issues going on with the car I've been tracking down. I knew my car was down on power, dyno graphs weren't smooth, torque was especially low, horsepower was down as well. When headers were installed, the O2 sensors weren't wired correctly, and they flip flopped their positioning. Upstream was in down stream and vice versa. And 2013 continues...
















To follow will be all the relevant posts, video's and dyno results I have available as well as my headaches and findings.

Additional links to older threads with more information about some headaches and decision making.

LTH with HFC + CBE = ?

Here is the link posting to my troubleshooting regarding my O2 sensor and the tips forums members gave me.

Cipher reading weird AFR's on my car

Here is a link to a thread I started regarding my decision to stay NA or go FI.

Stay NA or go to the Dark Side?

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SS_Firehawk

AE Performance Oil Cooler
Package: I bought it from a forum member, was missing the thermostatic plate gasket, power steering cooler lines, and needed a crush washer... No big deal, made our own gasket and all was good...
Installation: I did not install it, but I was with the shop most of the night. They said it was pretty straight forward, but it was huge. Ran into a few snags with the missing components, but it was to no fault of the MFR. It bolted on and fits like an oem piece, albeit a huge one.
Warning: If your CAI moves your windshield washer fluid to the front of the bumper instead of the corner, it may not fit with the oil cooler. I have an AEM CAI and I was unable to install the windshield washer fluid reservoir.
Appearance: Looks like sex! It's subtle, but if anyone knows what they are looking at behind the grille, it's beautiful. It fits perfect and dimensionally, it looks great filling up that space.
Performance: I did not track this part yet. I did take it to Magic Mountain from Las Vegas this weekend. Average speeds fluctuated from 80 to 100 mph. There were a few instances of 130mph. Never did the oil get over 180F. Hill climbs made little difference in temps. When accelerating through a couple gears, the temps would rise, but the oil cooler is so aggressive that as soon as I stopped, temps dropped back down to 160-170F. I'll assume that 160-170F is the normal operating temp with this oil cooler in cool weather (60-70F). Previous temps were 200-220 in same conditions. Without taking it to the track, I can't judge it in that aspect, but I feel confident I would be more worried about my brakes or tires than my oil.
Conclusion: I bought it used for $750. For an oil cooler, it's still steep, but I feel this was money well spent and the difference was so dramatic, I couldn't believe the difference. If the price of this kit is too much ($800 on a huge sale atm), I'm sure the 34row from Z1 will be a great alternative.

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SS_Firehawk

Motordyne XYZ Y pipe
Posting a Motordyne XYZ Y pipe review after about two months of it being on my car. I did not do the install my self. Keep in mind I installed this with PPE LTH's and a Tanabe Medallion exhaust. WHP results will not be accurate as the dyno was done with all exhaust mods.

Packaging: Came in well wrapped and protected in a normal brown box. Everything I needed came with except the clamp to install the cat. I bought one on my own and used that for the install.
Installation: Install was very straight forward. This was done in less than an hour. The Y pipe fit almost perfectly with the PPE headers and exactly to the Tanabe exhaust. Everything bolted up and lines up fine. It's very easy to remove the cat if I ever wanted to add an extra resonator or straight pipe.
Appearance: The Y pipe came unpolished but made of T304 stainless. With the rest of the exhaust, it fit right in and looks all business. One would be hard pressed to recognize that it did not come with the rest of the Tanabe exhaust. The welds were tight and the fitment was spot on.
Performance & sound: I can't comment very accurately on this particular topic because of the other exhaust components. I do know that having the cat helped remove a lot of the rasp and reduce the sound level of the exhaust. It definitely has no issues with flow. It doesn't feel chocked up like the stock Y pipe. If I were to remove the cat and install another resonator, I'm sure I would gain more power from the car, but I particularly think it's bad a$$ that I can run a cat with LTH's. Just having the choice to run however I want is a huge bonus and worth the extra coin.
Conclusion: I bought this shipped for around $515. For it to mate to the other parts as well as it did is a boon. Everything just worked. Having the option to run straight, resonated, and cats is fantastic. This definitely cost more than an Ebay pipe, but this is on a different level. I foresee myself experimenting with the different options it provides. I have videos and dyno's posted here: LTH with HFC + CBE = ? There are updated videos and dyno's at the end of the thread with intakes and pulleys installed. Let me know if you would like me to repost them here.

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SS_Firehawk

Tanabe Medallion Exhaust
Finally writing a review on the Tanabe Medallion Exhaust. I did not install this myself, and this was installed with other exhaust components that will definitely change the original sound of this exhaust. Those were the PPE LTH's and Motordyne XYZ Y pipe with Cat.
Packaging: This was a big MF'N box. Everything was wrapped and protected well. Everything needed for the install was included and nothing missing. This would no fit in my 2011 Nissan Maxima trunk with the seats down because the box was too big to fit through the hole that goes into the rear passenger area when seats are down.
Installation: This took less than an hour and bolted up with absolutely no fitment or rubbing issues. The shop said this was one of the easiest exhausts that they installed. It mated perfectly to the Motordyne Y pipe. This is easily done with simple tools and a jack. I didn't have any
Appearance: The exhaust looks stunning. My only complaint is that the entire exhaust isn;t polished but it is very minor. The cans and the tips do come polished. The welds look great and the quality was fantastic. The tips lined up perfectly to the rear bumper and were center. The are absolutely stunning to look at and are the only visual giveaway that this car is not stock without looking under the car. The cans sit high up and are nearly impossible to dent. If the car were lowered, the exhaust would have no issues with clearance. The cans can be seen if you were to bend over to look, but not standing at any distance unless you were the size of a child.
Performance & Sound: This doesn't sound like any of the videos because of my exhaust configuration. This is considered one of the quieter exhausts on the market. When headers and HFC added, this is not a quiet exhaust system anymore. There are two 18" resonators that really help clean up the rasp from the headers and reduce drone to something manageable. I can't say enough about how well it sounds with the PPE headers. I hated the way the headers sounded in the videos, but came out lucky after everything was installed. It's quiet when cruising, and screams at anything more than part throttle. My Wife loves the sound, as does my Mother in Law (she's 56). My Father is slightly jealous (he drives a Cayman S) and I get to wake up my Pot head neighbors every morning I start it up. It shakes everything for a good 30 seconds on a cold start.
Conclusion: I picked this is for $1215 on a price match with shipping back in January. I don't regret this purchase at all. This is a great deal for a JDM piece that is definitely different from the crowd. The fitment, build quality, sound, and price were fantastic. If there is anyone on the fence with this particular exhaust, just hit the order button. There are a lot of exhausts available for this vehicle and I'll throw my hat in for the Tanabe system.

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SS_Firehawk

PPE Long Tube Headers
I've had these headers installed on my car for almost two months now and I'm finally writing a review on what I think. This will follow the same format as my previous reviews.Keep in mind I had this installed with a Motordyne XYZ Y pipe with a high flow catalytic converter, and Tanabe Medallion exhaust. Performance, installation, and sound may change depending on your setup.

Package: I can't say too much about it as I bought these unused from a seller here in the forums. The box was raggedy, but the headers were wrapped in bubble wrap, instructions were present, and all gaskets/wires, and bolts were there as well.
Installation: I did not install these headers myself. I would not recommend it unless your ready to break tools, bust knuckles and become infuriated over it's difficulty in these cars. My shop misquoted me at $400ish for the headers and exhaust. After the work was done, they say the job cost closer to $600-$800, but they kept their original quote and that's what I paid. The passenger side is easier than the driver side. The driver side is difficult to position, tighten, and work around in every sense of the word. Bolts may break when removing the old header. Good news is that you do not have to play with the demon bolt, just remove header and cat in one piece. Over all, this is probably one of the most difficult installs there is for the Z. There is nothing easy about it. When extending the O2 senors, extend one wire at a time and do not use an impact wrench with them still in the cats. You will destroy them and will need to purchase new ones. Also take note, that I currently have a SES light that has been persistent since the install. I'm hoping tuning will resolve this.
Appearance: I believe these may be mild steel and not T304, but I don't know for sure because I did not order them. If you have a flashlight they look badass. It's difficult to see them as they are tucked deep in the engine compartment and they are coated black. The ceramic coating I believe is good for 1600F and looks awesome. It looks understated for sure. If you want something more flashy, they have different coating options that keep the metal appearance. They WILL change color due to extreme temps though, so be aware.
Performance & Sound: There are no test pipes, ART pipes, HFC's, or any other pipe that connects to the stock headers or shorty headers that will make as much horsepower as Long Tube Headers. Scavenging is very apparent with the PPE's. Rasp is also very apparent with PPE's. If you are running longer resonators or cats somewhere in your exhaust, it will help A LOT with reducing or eliminating rasp. These will turn any tame exhaust system into a chest pumping beast. I have these installed with the Motordyne XYZ Y pipe with CAT, and Tanabe exhaust. With these, the exhaust has a very high pitched sound when running over 5k rpm. The sound starts changing after 3500rpm. At redline, the sound is nothing I've heard from any exhaust setup on these vehicles; It wails like a banshee. At low rpm, it has a smooth mellow sound that burbles off throttle. Everyone (even my Mother in Law) thinks the car sounds great. It's very primal sounding. With a full exhaust untuned, I picked up 30whp over my best baseline. Power was still building at 7500 rpm with stock intakes. This still holds true with CAI's as well. It was dynoed a week after baseline in the same conditions and immediately after install. It did feel like the car picked up more power as the ECU adjusted. The car only had about 3k miles at time of baseline and install.
Conclusion: I picked these up for $750 which I consider a great price. Install was $400. For $1150 total, (exhaust install included in price) this was a great bang for buck purchase in my case. The sound is unique, the whp increase was dramatic, and they work as advertised. There was no fluff in the numbers. I made power in every part of the rev range, my low end torque did not drop, but improved, WHP increased everywhere, and they fit perfectly with the Motordyne Y pipe I had installed. The cats and Tanabe exhaust cleaned a lot of the rasp out except when the exhaust is still cold. I would say rasp is the only thing I did not care for. But for the vast performance increase, it is more than worth it. Here is the original dyno chart as well as a couple video's I have in another thread. First 3 pics courtesy of Esfourteens for sale thread. I bought them haha.

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SS_Firehawk

AEM Cold air Intake
Part were installed by Force Fed Racing. other mods installed at the same time were pulley's, oil cooler and M370 intake manifold (manifold was not on during dyno's due to unknown problem)

Package: This kit comes with more screws, clamps and zip ties than I needed. Box was in great condition, and components were well protected.
Installation: We had to remove the front bumper, unbolt the wheel well, remove the wheels, and a few other misc parts to get the intake tubes into their proper location. This took a bit of trial and error. Everything else bolted on fine. Pretty straight forward for the most part. The maf sensors are located at the bottom of the intake tube, not up top near the throttle bodies. These are not as simple as shorties, but badassery dictates it was well worth the additional trouble.
Warning: If you are running an oil cooler that was as large as my AE performance oil cooler, the windshield washer reservoir will not fit in the relocated spot because it runs into the oil cooler. (in front of the radiator top driver side)
Appearance: I bought the dark grey colored tubes to match my pulleys and keep the bling out of the engine compartment. They look amazing! I open the hood and there are these ominous tubes that lead downward and out of sight. It compliments my header pipes well because now I can actually see them! It's understated awesomeness. These are obviously my own thoughts. If you are looking for more bling factor, get the chrome ones. The paint helps prevent the scratches that come with sliding metal across metal as well.
Performance: Looking at the dyno charts, there was a large performance gain across the board. It may be difficlut to discern the difference between the pulleys and CAI, but it is known that most of the gains from CAI's are at the top of the rpm range. Pulleys I believe on average are about 5whp throughout the rpm range. The results are untuned and AFR's were between 13.5 and 13.8 throughout most of the run, with the exception being 4100-5000 rpm where it peaked at about 14. It's easy to see because the curve is slightly different there. Look at the dyno sheets and interpret them as you see fit.
Conclusion: With most of us seeing diminishing returns on our mods after our first one, I was surprised to see 10WHP throughout the entire rpm range and up to 16 more above my last dyno. I do not really hear any sucking sound from the CAI, nor do I hear any exhaust pitch changes. There may be a slight difference, but I do not notice it. I highly recommend this over the Injens and Stillens based solely on value. Performance seems on par with it's competitors and I don't have to oil my filters.

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SS_Firehawk

NST Pulleys
I did a writeup on the other parts I installed at the same time as the pulley. I'm just trying to assist in posting relevant information in the hopes that the forum members can discern the gains from one part to the other. So with that said, I'll post a quick writeup of my experience so far with the NST pulley kit. I did not install this myself, but was with the mechanic throughout most of the process.

Package: Package was very light and inside a USPS box. Alt. pulley was wrapped in newspaper and inside the crank pulley, which was also wrapped in news paper. I ordered them in grey and they came as such. There were a couple dings but nothing to get butt hurt about.
Installation: The install was about what is expected with pulleys. The radiator fans were removed for space, as well as the radiator overflow reservoir. The stock crank pulley came off fairly typical. (Only 4k miles). The alternator was removed and placed in a vice to remove and replace the pulley. Installing the NST crank pulley was a bit tougher. We had to grind it down some more because it was so damn tight. The shop took their time to do it right to prevent it from seizing and bonding to the crank (making a PITA to remove in the future).
Appearance: They are grey and tucked deep inside the engine bay... It looks great and matches my CAI :P But aesthetically, it's difficult to discern from an OEM piece from looking at it after the car is put back together.
Performance: I can definitely notice a difference in comparison to the stock pulleys. It revs easier, synchro make 2nd to 1st down shifts smoother than before with less surge, and it definitely made power throughout the rpm range. The dynos below are including the gains from my AEM CAI. CAI's are known to provide more power up top and not much below 6500 rpm where the stock intake starts to run out of breath. I have a dyno chart showing my baseline, then full exhaust, and then everything in my sig (not including M370). With the pulleys and intake, I gained an average of 10whp all the way up to 6500 rpm, and from there the gains are more substantial. This is most likely from the CAI showing it's performance advantage over the stock intakes. There are no squeaks or noises coming from the pulleys, and the engine feels very smooth throughout the rpm range. It feels like what Nissan should have done in the first place. My voltages are consistent and the same as well.
Conclusion: I bought these from NST on a group buy a while back for $190 and I spent $24 buying the appropriate belt off of Amazon (was cheaper). It is hard to get a better value (minus install costs) for the money than these pulleys. I doesn't just make power in the mid range or up top, it's everywhere. I don't need to sacrifice drive ability, start ups, voltages, harmonics, nothing. This is a nicely engineered kit that removes every negative connotation we've all heard about crank pulleys.

Dyno 2, Blue is baseline, red is LTH, y pipe + cat and exhaust, green is everything in my sig (no M370).

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SS_Firehawk

Motordyne M370 Intake Manifold
So I picked up my car last night at 0200am from the shop and it sounded surprisingly different compared to what it used to sound like with the LTH and CBE. I'm not sure if it's an exhaust leak or the AEM intakes. Force Fed Racing did an awesome job getting everything installed and back together. They worked extra late last night so I can get it back sooner. George and Johnny are standup guys and showed me a lot of new things. I talked to Tony at Motordyne and we ruled out the intake manifold. We also believed the Pulleys and of course oil cooler to be a nonissue as well. The oil cooler is impressive btw. Tony showed me how to build a stethoscope out of copper tube and some flexible tubing to search out exhaust leaks, I'll post a video of that when I make it. These are the videos of the bad install followed by the dyno. ALL VIDEOS ARE WITHOUT A TUNE & SES LIGHT IS ON (uprev purchased [SES light flickers a lot when accelerating])
Bad Install

Bad Install


Bad Install vs previous Dyno



The power is definitely down, I've never heard a Z sound like this one does now, and I'm sure I'm in desperate need of a tune. I'm averaging 12.2 mpg right now. I'm taking it in to get the SES read, the car dyno'd, and get AFR readings. I do know that there is an exhaust leak at the Y pipe and header on the passenger side, but very minor. I put about 70 miles on it since last night.


Just got back from the shop, I'm uploading dyno information right now. The issues was with the M370 intake manifold. I'm not sure if it was installed incorrectly or something is wrong with it. I did two pulls as you can see from the graph, the powerloss was really bad. We swapped out the manifold and put the stock back one and instantly made nearly 100whp more. Doing only two pulls and no ecu learning, I gained 16whp over my previous setup.

The first dyno is a comparison between my best run and the M370 manifold run. The second dyno sheet is a comparison with the stock manifold back on with my baseline dyno. Again this is no tuning and SES on.

I have the stock manifold on and sounds great again. Once I get the silver plate, ill be installing and troubleshooting again. When the issue is fixed, ill post the fix action here and the results in this thread for closure as well as the M370 thread because its a much larger thread and more popular.

I found the F'n plate in the boxes I gave the shop! $%^#! I'm going to have them put this @!&% back on for free, hopefully today.

They pointed it out to me when I went to go pick up the box. I did give them a lot of stuff to install, I think like 4 different boxes. I don't blame them for being clueless, but just not looking hard enough when we needed it. Problem was I didn't know that piece had to be on there or that I even had it. I was in constant contact with him during the installk to try and make sure it was done right. The manifold was the only thing I had that we had to find instructions for and had any real questions about. Now that it's been installed and removed, it's much easier. All I want is the M370 back on and not be charged as it was still a mishap on the shop. He is already expecting more business from me next week any ways. To not do this would be highly egregious on their part.

M370 was installed last night again, properly this time. The problem definitely was the seal between the manifold and the block. Now that it's on properly, it is definitely working as advertised.

I completed my testing with the M370. I posted all the info up in a different thread, but because this is the official manifold thread, I thought Id share just a bit of info about it.

I took my car to The shop in early August to get tuned. I started the tuning at night around 1am. It was still 100+ air temps. I had the M370 on and just replaced a faulty O2 sensor on the precat passenger side that I believed was damaged after the header install. All runs were taken in 4th gear again (saw 0 difference in prior testing on this dyno with my car). I also had 93 octane in the vehicle.

Drivetrain loss is roughly 20% with this dyno. Initial dyno pull was 280 whp... That was pretty bad considering the mods on the vehicle. After about two hours of tuning, the best we got was 304whp and 243lbft tq. So I got back some hp, but I'm not seeing the numbers I had at the end of March. Disappointed, I uninstalled the M370 and put the stock manifold back on. I went back to the shop, we strapped her down and went back at it again. Initial dyno with no other changes were 302whp and 233lbft tq. After about an hour of tuning we were able to bring it up to 306whp and 236lbft tq.

I sold my intake manifold before I did the final testing because I thought I should be making a lot more than 304whp on a dynojet, which I still think I should. But, after seeing the results, I am going to purchase another to put back on my vehicle. Below are the results, Blue is the M370 Manifold, red is the red is the stock manifold. This is all the proof I needed to validate the purchase. Power under the curve was higher, smoother, and the M370 clears out a lot of the rasp at the same time

Cover fits fine, just don't put the Motordyne provided cover on if you put the factory cover on. I noticed the power difference. It isn't an OMG difference, but it's there. It also sounds better. It reduced my rasp to almost nothing, and sounds deeper, not as high pitched as the stock manifold.




August Tuned M370 vs Tuned stock Manifold

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SS_Firehawk

GTM Twin Super Charger (initial)

This post is a repost from page 15. I will edit this into a full review when I have the car and have more ample time.

Oh my effin goodness, that car is absurd! It drives like a Z with more power at slow speeds. Everything is just butter. Once past 3500 rpm I can really feel things open up. 1st gear is just sacrificial to your tire God. Outside of that the car holds traction surprisingly well. But the reality is, no one will truly understand how refined this car feels, and how fantastic it feels to drive until you're in it. I'm amazed. Words just feel inadequate. I felt like a little kid, the smiles on mine and my Wife's face was permanent. The money spent felt irrelevant. It's absolutely outstanding. I did confirm the superchargers are Rotrex C30-94's which are the largest in the line. Sam seriosly did four pulls on the dyno while tuning and it put down what it did. They weren't even going for big numbers! GTM will post a thread on the finished product so I'll let them finish this off and then just append it here. I serious stand here amazed and lost for words to fully describe it. It feels so natural and evolutionary in the way it feels and makes power!

The superchargers make a faint high pitched whine too. Darth Vader BPV sound effects rock. The Whiteline sways are great. Not sure what they set them at, but roll and understeer were minimal. New rotors lines and pads made a big diff in brake feel, the car has much more initial bite too. The clutch feels stiffer with the JWT clutch/flywheel. It def chatters. I don't mind, Wife wants me to upgrade to an OSG unit when it goes. Sam feels it won't last too long at these power levels. The flywheel really lets the engine spin quickly, I noticed it immedietly, more so then pulleys. SRM is rev matching like a champ, it feels much more aggressive. I dig it. That's most of the good stuff I can think of in my 15 min drive. Hood struts... Eff that prop rod.
















































Pulley issues in November: Well, one of my belts is shredding and I believe it's from that tweaked pulley. Will post pics in a few








And the pulley failed and belt is off. Car still drives normally at low speed luckily, I didn't hear the belt break or the pulley fail, it just did. I was only a couple miles from home when it happened so no big deal. Just a lot of rubber in my engine bay i need to clean now.









GTM kept the car for roughly 6 weeks while I worked out of town and fixed everything free of charge. I still see small bits of belt coming off, but not sure if its old rubber or from the new belt. There is just the smallest hint of squeek when warming up, then it goes away. I also smell rubber from the belt when I mash the gas. I'm not sure what's causing it, but I'm paying close attention.

SS_Firehawk

I'll use this to post my final review and videos with the GTM TSC kit. These vids are also posted later in my journal.

During the building phase, it was borderline infuriating getting updates from GTM. They did cut me a sweet deal on the kit, and was only 30 days late for my time hack. Which looking back in retrospect is an act of God. They shipped all my parts I sold to the people who bought them, and packeged it really well. They even cleaned up my oil cooler for resale after one sale fell through because it looked like hell. They allowed me to make payments at my convienience (as long as it was paid up by delivery), so I sent them a mortgage sized check bi-weekly. When picking up the car, I was there for two days and roughly 8 hours each day waiting. That was annoying and my Wife was running low on patience.

The craftsmanship on the kit though is superb. Everything fits so tight, it's a miracle everything made it in. The intercoolers are millimeters behind the crash bar, the oil coolers barely fit between the intercoolers and the bumper. The SC oil coolers sit behind the fangs and the filters are right there too. The radiator, fans and shroud are b!tchen and look boss in the engine bay. I got a good first hand look of the oil pans and the baffling system. I'm happy to have it in my car. It was an inexpensive upgrade.

They installed my sways, rotors, lines, pads, clutch, flywheel, and CSC. Everything fit perfectly and they did an outstanding job with it. They warned me about the clutch being on the ragged edge. I wasn't sure if Sam was trying to upsell me or not so I took my chances. Well, the clutch gets soft when I'm beating on it, especially in the heat. They also shopped around to find the perfect meth tank to install in the hatch. I'm glad they went with what they did. It's large, and all I need to do is cut out the carpet for everything to fit flush (the neck and cap will stick out). I should also mention that they finally unf@cked my O2 sensors. They discovered the wiring problem, the pre cats in the post cat location, and of course the melted chaos. Unfortunately for me, they definitely got their money to diagnose and fix it. I will be fair and say they cut me a deal on the hours.

I consider myself fortunate to have the experience I had with them go well (for the most part). All the parts were already there, but they are too busy for their own good. Every lift has a car, and the floorspace is filled with more cars. Because of this, they didn't start tearing into my car until March (it was picked up and delived at the beginning of December). They ran two initial dyno tests on their dynojet and then their new Mustang dyno. As jobs took priority, mine went into the backburner, but they never told me whether it was on hold or not. That was irritating. If there isn't going to be any meaningful progress, tell me so I'm not expecting it. I had second thoughts about the whole thing a few times, especially after seeing the final bill and how much I dumped into it.

I will give props to Sam for working so much on his broken leg. That whole thing became a downward spiral as most of us know to his health. Those health issues are no excuse for customer service that could use some major improvement, but I noticed and appreciate that. When I went to leave the first time, it was discovered a relay had gone bad to my rear tail lights. I called them and drove back. I was also concerned about some excessive squeaking. They replaced a pulley, the belt, and fixed the relay free of charge. They also topped off my meth and gave me almost an entire gallon for free. When my car destroyed a pulley and belt, Sam didn't hesitate to pick up the car on his dime and fix it. There was no arguing, I sent pics, an email and a call. When waiting at GTM, I had great conversations with nearly all of the GTM staff about opinions, the forum, projects, future products, etc. It was pretty awesome learning about things before they put out the word. So cudos for that as well.

For all the communication problems, the waiting, the money, it all faded when I was able to hear her for the first time. They kept telling me how great it sounded. I heard a familiar tone on the rollers when they strapped her down, but it sounded meaner, deeper down low, sweeter mids, and a howl that would make a wolf feel sheepish. The test drive was a revelation. The car wasn't finished, and looked it, but the power was just so smooth and easy. It was exactly what I had in mind when going with this kit. My Wife even got in on the test drive and it sold every penny I spent on the car to her. It even sold her the idea of getting meth installed. Now a big negative for me is that when I delivered the car to them, it was clean as a whistle. When I got it back, it was dirty as hell, so dirty I had to clean the windshield three times to be able to drive home. It's a small thing that goes a long way. Spend the f@cking money and clean your customers car when you deliver it. This was the same thing when I destroyed the belt. It was returned dirty with belt particles in the engine bay. I'm just now scheduling an appointment to get the engine bay detailed, the car clayed, polished, buffed, and waxed from top to bottom. I'm so busy, I can't even clean my own damn car.

In closing, I'm aware of GTM's shortcomings and their strengths. I'm completely satisfied after having the car for 8 months, and 60/40 with my personal dealings with GTM over the course of a year. If I were to build my motor by choice, or because I killed it, I would definitely stil consider them.

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SS_Firehawk

HUGE UPDATE!, GTM will be picking up my car, all the parts I bought and taking it back to their shop in a transport vehicle. They will be installing their Twin C30 Supercharger system! They gave me an offer I could not refuse. I'll update as much as I can.

I apologize to Sasha and Boosted Performance as I was set on running his system. I still endorse his kit as it's amazing. His service to me as a potential customer have been outstanding. I can't begin to explain how blindsided I was by GTM's offer. It's as if the clouds parted, ray's of light.... NVM that BS, My car is getting Twin Supercharged!

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gabe3d

Good luck with your build

bullitt5897

GTM is going to do an amazing job on your car! You will be thoroughly impressed with the quality of the work!!!

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Shop Cars: 2013 318whp Nismo VspecII 370z *SOLD*, 2009 1000hp+ 93oct 4.0L TT 370z Fast Intentions STAGE 4 #054

SS_Firehawk

Thanks for the support. I will be gone for another 9 months. Car should be done in 3-4 months. Heck they can take as long as they need, as long as it's done when I get back home. Had to call and cancel on my old shop here at home for next month. I felt like I betrayed them lol. But they are all good. Just a bunch of car guys who happen to own a shop and dyno. I guess I'm loyal with business. It's a little bit old school, but if I find a deal elsewhere, I'd rather take the time to price match with a company that took the time to serve me before.

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Mr&Mrs

Im in for this, car looks great. Twin C30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Awesome!

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Project Z <--Click - Check out the link too many mods to list!