Stillen Supercharged 370Z from Austria
 

Since i have been taking pictures along the way, i thought i might as well share the journey me and my Z are taking from bone-stock to supercharged.

So here is the story:
Bought January this year in Germany having ~10.000 miles on it, MY10 Touring with all the gadgetry available.
Pre-owned by a lawyer, so pretty mint condition, no scratches at all, good as new.

After buying it, we drove down to Austria, where i live, it was snowing and icy roads, so i had to take extra care not to leave any nasty brown stains on the pristine seats (it came with summer tires only)

Here we are on the German Autobahn, unfortunately, due to ice and summer tires, i could not even think about flooring it..
http://s28.postimg.org/4e243zwcp/201...3_14_43_55.jpg

So, after 17 hours of driving, all the way from Frankfurt, Germany to Vienna, Austria, we finally got home..
http://s1.postimg.org/ejmopggff/2014_01_24_01_21_47.jpg
http://s21.postimg.org/de89qkm0j/201...4_01_22_07.jpg

After getting some sleep, i gave her a good clean and put her in good company, at my shop, next to my other ladies :)
http://s21.postimg.org/lc7a5yooj/201...1_17_17_39.jpg

After getting the paperwork sorted out (need to officially import, register and tax the car), i got my plates.

About 7 days later i was kinda fed up by the weak offset of the stock wheels.
Even though the "Touring" Model is the best spec we get in Europe, so it featured the wider 19 inch wheels, it still looked kinda odd.
So here we go, the tuning bug bites again:

http://s29.postimg.org/71sr8n1ev/201...4_21_07_31.jpg

H&R 40mm Spacers on the back

before:
http://s18.postimg.org/t48l7em55/201...21_27_48_r.jpg

after:
http://s10.postimg.org/cmzyxvbnt/201...21_28_01_r.jpg


I was happy with the offset on the back, but a couple of days later i decided to do something about the front as well.
Sorry, no pictures..
I went with 30mm H&R spacers

Wow 40mm rr and 30mm frt spacers :eek:

Thats pushing the limits of riding on spacers imo.

Typically most go with 25mm frt 25mm rr :ugh2:

Please make sure to re-torque them after some miles so you don't have an unpleasant surprise.

Thats combined width, so 20mm each side :)

I installed them back in February, so everythings good, re-torqued them, checked them, but thanks for the heads up!

Gotcha!

Good build so far keep us posted on your progress.

Now that the offset was good, it needed to be lower, so once again:
http://s22.postimg.org/de9p0axxd/201...1_11_58_03.jpg

Was in need of a special tool, i can't really remember what for, just found the picture:
http://s11.postimg.org/t12xhw3qr/201...1_12_38_24.jpg

I went with Tein S Tech Springs on stock shocks, since i used this combination on my other cars previously and it turned out pretty good if you are after a subtle appearance and ride quality
At first they are not that low, but they will settle after some time.
This is right after installing them:
http://s28.postimg.org/62vmovonh/201...3_07_38_56.jpg


There was not much progress throughout March, since i had to re-do the wiring of a friends Silvia..
http://s3.postimg.org/4tkvcxlrn/2014_03_10_20_48_06.jpg

and then this happened :eek:
http://s16.postimg.org/b7jk893np/201...2_10_02_18.jpg

Since i am super paranoid about letting anybody work on my cars i will probably change the windscreen myself, but havent gotten around to doing it yet due to work commitments..

In April this pretty piece arrived:
http://s27.postimg.org/jq8jc4qab/201...7_19_48_31.jpg

It's the Motordyne XYZ Pipe with the extra silencer option, added a little deeper tone, very subtle, but you can hear it.
According to the butt dyno there was not much improvement regarding power..

Timejump to May, nothing much happened, except for me being stupid enough to do this:
http://s4.postimg.org/p4gj5ddu5/2014_05_02_23_06_20.jpg

Since i had to fix this, i gave in to my urges and started detailing the whole car, including cutting, polishing, buffing, the whole shebang.
This is the flawless paint after countless hours of work, right before applying sealant:
http://s16.postimg.org/ywhfmhtqd/201...9_19_13_50.jpg

This is after applying a coat of quartz sealant (this takes a long time, requires perfect preparation, but after two weeks of letting it cure, it will harden and become unbelievably strong):
http://s28.postimg.org/iuo1jzjil/201...5_22_56_12.jpg

This is my method of checking against a flawless finish:
http://s21.postimg.org/s4zf11b3r/201...5_22_57_19.jpg

It's pretty easy actually, just shine a very bright light at the paint and take a picture using a good camera, this way you will see all of the imperfections along the reflections of the light.

I seem to have lost the pictures, but around this time i also installed Berk HFCs, which made the car feel a little bit more alive.

Stillen Gen3 Intakes
http://s27.postimg.org/d1wtlq0b7/201...0_23_29_05.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/5ryitlpkl/201...1_01_21_34.jpg

Inbetween we suddenly had a visitor, this is now the new shop security:
http://s2.postimg.org/aw8186p7d/2014_06_12_21_16_08.jpg

Bumped into a car show while on a business trip, thought i'd share this with you
This was at the San Jose Fleamarket (Revelocity Meet)
http://s24.postimg.org/l5s7h1qk5/201...2_12_08_21.jpg

Back home i even managed to get some seat time
http://s4.postimg.org/miu08jm8d/IMG_20140817_082122.jpg

Got myself the UpRev Tuner package, since i have access to a dyno at a friends shop and can do the mapping myself
http://s23.postimg.org/uopmpxaqz/IMG...826_192128.jpg


Last week the rest of my exhaust arrived, Tanabe Medalion Touring
http://s29.postimg.org/j58qkvv1j/IMG...906_003057.jpg

Installed the RJM Clutch Pedal and a reverse camera that hooks into the factory satnav (MY10 in Europe only had optional sensors, but no camera) couple of weeks ago.

That concludes the progress up until now.

But wait, there is more to come, here is a sneak peek:
http://s27.postimg.org/8k4mnuwwj/picture.jpg

I am sure you can guess what's next :D

Nice great progress so far, look forward to seen more

thanks :)

got new splashguards, just mounted the fronts for now, i do have the back ones as well, but not sure if i like them yet.

http://s8.postimg.org/759y2afwl/IMG_20140907_184408.jpg
http://s29.postimg.org/3vsj7pb6f/IMG...907_184415.jpg

oh and just to show you the awesomeness of quartz coatings, this is how "tedious" it is to remove brakedust on coated rims (just plain water in a sprayer bottle)

I have just prepared the wiring for the AEM Failsafe Gauge, that's the one that displays boost and AFR on one gauge.
It also has this failsafe feature where you can programm a map of afr vs boost vs rpm and use borders to determine a failure state, but i won't bother with that for now.

http://s13.postimg.org/48jh0ltmf/IMG...909_215825.jpg

http://s28.postimg.org/xfzrcp9n1/IMG...909_215837.jpg

http://s27.postimg.org/q9w2agmzn/IMG...909_215846.jpg

I have not mounted the Gauge as of yet, because i got Mr. GaleForce's awesome Gaugepod A-Pillar on the way, will post pictures as soon as it arrives.

On another note, the Stillen parcels came in this week. :happydance:

It was a bit of a nightmare getting them into Austria.
Somehow they managed to misplace the paperwork for the import in France.
I guess there was some kind of a mixup and the actually put paperwork for some airplane parts into my packages.

So the packages got into Austria and the Customs officers wanted to bill me some 60.000 USD in import tax for airplane parts from Cirrus. :confused:

I am still working this out with them, they released the packages and i got them now, still this was kind of a shocker at first as you might imagine.

As if this wasn't fun enough, one of the packages actually came in damaged, it looks like someone/something ripped it open.
http://s21.postimg.org/3ueewl6ev/DSC_0034.jpg

I am still unsure wether parts are missing, they could have easily fallen out through that huge gap.
We will unpack everything and go through the parts using the packaging list Adam@Stillen provided (thanks Adam :hello:)

It does not look like it was a packaging fault or anything, more like someone left it in the rain and then it caught on something when it was wet.
As you can see it is packaged nicely
http://s27.postimg.org/soxl5qyxv/IMG...911_194836.jpg

http://s12.postimg.org/zfi5ltuql/IMG...911_204338.jpg
http://s2.postimg.org/nvuy8fbd5/IMG_20140911_204347.jpg

So far so good, i'll be installing the fuel pump tomorrow, next week i'll probably go for a dynorun to get a baseline on the current setup and play with UpRev a little bit.

I am going to start installing the kit thursday next week, will keep you posted

Stillen super charger goodies!!!

Very cool! Nice to see it all come together!

I'm itching to start installing it right now, but i really want that baseline dyno run.
This terrible feeling when the parts are just sitting there waiting to be installed :excited:

thought i'd throw in some nice shots a friend took for me earlier this year (click on the preview pictures)

http://s25.postimg.org/xc2t9pe57/20140309_IGP5426.jpg
http://s25.postimg.org/5q01p0usb/201...Bearbeitet.jpg
http://s25.postimg.org/j86y1b6xn/20140309_IGP5475.jpg
http://s25.postimg.org/wdmg7f0t7/20140309_IGP5501.jpg
http://s25.postimg.org/il81bsa1n/20140309_IGP5511.jpg
http://s25.postimg.org/91ycibmjf/20140309_IGP5521.jpg

GaleForce's A-Pillar Gaugepod came in today :happydance:

I just ripped apart the center-console again to find the illumination/dimmer wire, so the gauge dims with the auto-headlights

Looks really good, thanks Gale :hello: !

http://s25.postimg.org/ynceno5i7/IMG...915_212335.jpg
http://s25.postimg.org/ry5v7nk67/IMG...915_213525.jpg

Didn't install the fuelling system over the weekend, i was just too laazyy :rolleyes:

Looks like i am going to be on the dyno wednesday for a baseline and start installing the SC Kit wednesday night.

just got back from the dyno.
I am pretty satisfied with the numbers, considering the mods done to it currently.
This was measured on a Dyno Dynamics, aka the Heartbreaker Dyno (it reads 15-20% lower than Dynojet and a couiple of % lower than Mustang Dynos)
http://s25.postimg.org/4njxu5k9r/whp_hp.jpg

Looks great, very nice.

thanks :)


so, 7 hours into the Supercharger install.
No major difficulties, no major breakdowns.

Except for some difficulties getting the nuts on the Plenum studs to budge, ended up removing all of the water lines behind the plenum and all of the hardlines, so i could get a spanner in there.

Oh and i managed to break a wrench and a hex socket, had to use my mighty magnet to get a piece of socket out of one of the throttle bodies.

I will do a little write up on things that would make the install easier if Stillen had put it in the manual, it's not too bad, just saves a couple minutes here and there where you try to figure something out that would be easily explained in a couple of sentences.

So, here is some of todays progress

Getting started (btw nice little owners map, holding a guide and the install manual as well as some stickers, looks neat, well done @Stillen!)
http://s25.postimg.org/kii4pr0f3/IMG...918_115752.jpg

Finally got the fuel pump out, little bit of a pain..
If someone struggles with this, just slide the black plastic thingy that holds the fuel gauge upwards, you can leave it dangling on the wires, pull out the assembly and pull out the gauge afterwards.
http://s25.postimg.org/yq7teed3z/IMG...918_131058.jpg

Oh, and be sure not to smoke next to all of the fuel vapor, you know, safety first ;)
http://s25.postimg.org/6ri91a0v3/IMG...918_131111.jpg

A few steps later, removed bumper, strut brace, plenum, disconnected most of the water and vacuum lines
http://s25.postimg.org/6g0soikf3/IMG...918_182530.jpg

Removed the fuel rail and pulled out the injectors
http://s25.postimg.org/cuztl6r4v/IMG...918_211237.jpg

Piles of parts that were pulled off, i am running out of workbenches to put them :)
http://s25.postimg.org/lej7ixzhb/IMG...918_211246.jpg

http://s25.postimg.org/nx4wjml7j/IMG...918_211249.jpg

New injectors installed
http://s25.postimg.org/k21ih221r/IMG...918_212216.jpg

And this is where we left off.
Pretty good progress for half a day and a long break for a "Wiener Schnitzel" :D

Hadn't we lost so much time tinkering with the Flangenuts on the Plenum Studs..
So, if someone struggles with this or is missing a deep enough socket, just remove the hardlines and use a spanner, it'll save you some headaches.

Regarding the fuel pump bucket modifications (drilling the jets larger, modifying the ring that holds the pump, breaking it, fixing it, swearing), i will order the CJM Kit, it is expensive, but it is well built and allows you to get rid of the flimsy bucket thingy..

6 more hours went into the Install today

Got the plenum in
http://s25.postimg.org/rvtducc0v/IMG...919_131707.jpg

Regarding the passenger side bolts, the ones that are kinda 'under' the plenum, do not stress out about them, i have read a lot and most people say they are a pain, some suggest serrating the bolts so you can use a flathead to tighten them.
It is not necessary, just remove the wiring loom in front of the plenum towards the radiator, kneel down in front of the passenger side headlight and shine a light under the plenum.
You can see the bolt easily and just use the long spanner that comes with the kit.
This way you are able to turn it about 100 degrees each spin, sure it takes some time, but it is nowhere near impossible

http://s25.postimg.org/58e4o6wgv/IMG...919_142721.jpg
This is how the (stillen supplied) bolt holding the adapter plate for the new idler pulley looks like after your wrench spins freely...
To me it looks like it is just too short to get a hold of enough thread, so it stripped the threads inside the block.
At first i was kinda pissed, but i will just get a similar bolt with a little longer threaded portion on it and make it work.
Inside the block there is a little more thread left.
If that doesn't work, well, time to remove the radiator, drill, tap and use a larger bolt or helicoil/timesert.
Not the end of the world, but still, i guess a longer bolt would have avoided that little episode..

http://s25.postimg.org/8ta07f10f/IMG...919_143725.jpg

Throttlebodies bolted up, water lines connected, starting to route the harness(es)

http://s25.postimg.org/3vwfmaz1b/IMG...919_143733.jpg

http://s25.postimg.org/3kjkna7z3/IMG...919_160114.jpg
Looks good...

Oh, wait:
http://s25.postimg.org/5qdvhsbfj/IMG...919_160105.jpg

Well, out it comes again, looks like this connector isn't going anywhere, there's just not enough room to connect it

Anyways, this is it for today, need to clean up the wiring and hose mess tomorrow, makes me sick looking at something like that..
http://s25.postimg.org/3n3ga4bmn/IMG...919_160121.jpg

Looks like this is nearing completion.
I still need to figure out a way to mount the intercooler heat exchanger and the oil cooler, any suggestions?

http://s25.postimg.org/53eys9ejj/IMG...919_160109.jpg

Great job! nothing like doing it yourself! This reminds me of the fun I had installing my own Stillen SC with a few friends. I would do it all over again if I had to :) Good stuff and nice work. You're going to enjoy it!

I feel like a kid in the back seat of a car on a long road trip... Is it done yet? Is it done yet? Is it done yet? Is it done yet? Is it done yet? :rofl2:

Thanks, i hope so, pretty soon i guess :)

This is what i am asking myself every ten minutes :)


Soo, pretty good progress today, started at 11am, just two short breaks, been at it till 1am
Hands are numb, feet are numb, pretty tired now, but it is *almost* done :excited:

Mounted the pump for the IC
http://s25.postimg.org/avts7dqe7/IMG...920_133304.jpg

Got the blower out and in again (after connecting the plug that was missing), got the belt installed, which was surprisingly easy even though i did it alone
http://s25.postimg.org/pgav27lcv/IMG...920_133311.jpg

IC cooling system tank installed
http://s25.postimg.org/5myr9i7z3/IMG...920_133316.jpg

Radiator overflow tank installed and hooked up(i like this one much better than the white plastic one pictured in the manual)
http://s25.postimg.org/hq8oat8f3/IMG...920_133326.jpg

This is the EVAP valve or purge valve, can anybody tell me wether the line i have connected to it in this picture is the right one?
I can't really remember what was on there when it was stock, now i am not sure.
The Stillen manual talks about connecting this valve to an outlet in the Plenum, but the valve has two outlets, maybe you are supposed to connect to the line pictured here and to the plenum?
No idea
http://s25.postimg.org/86yzhckwv/IMG...920_200028.jpg

Some pictures are missing, i had to remove the belt again, bend a water line some more, swear for a bit, install the radiator, drill some holes, swear some more, the usual stuff that happens at a shop :stirthepot:

Neat and tidy, lots of zip ties used.
I tried to group them together to make it look more organised.
http://s25.postimg.org/cu51j489r/IMG...921_011614.jpg

Installed the inlet side of things
Found myself struggeling with the vertical support beam infront of the radiator, it has an edge on it that cuts into the air filters, ended up beasting the thing until it stopped hurting the nice K&Ns :D
http://s25.postimg.org/bt4stzra7/IMG...921_011627.jpg

Needed to do a custom mount for the second horn (the Z comes with two tone horns in Europe)
Everything mounted up and connected, looks pretty good
http://s25.postimg.org/oykb03l5r/IMG...921_011642.jpg

This is the finished bay (the gold stuff is DEI heat reflective tape, should help with heat soak)
http://s25.postimg.org/nxk2az467/IMG...921_011601.jpg

The moneyshot
http://s25.postimg.org/mjsffo4wv/IMG...921_011606.jpg
http://s25.postimg.org/syrgccbmn/IMG...921_011621.jpg

So, whats missing is the oil cooler install, which should be pretty easy, since the bumper and inner fenders are removed anyways.
And there is one hose clamp that i couldn't get on tonight, i bailed after trying for about one and a half hours.. it's late anyways

So if anyone knows about that EVAP valve thingy, this is the one thing that will probably keep me up tonight..

Just a couple of hours more and it's time for the happy dance -> :happydance:

So, after an exhausting week at work, i finally got around to finishing her.

Installed the oil cooler today

I will probably move it, there is just too much going on on the passenger side front.
Currenty i have a big stack of coolers
Oil Cooler, P/S Cooler, IC Cooler, A/C Condenser, Water Cooler
Since i am going to switch the Stillen IC Cooler with a Frozenboost one, i will probably just move it to the Driverside.
http://s25.postimg.org/96l76844f/IMG...922_194011.jpg
http://s25.postimg.org/73fdcatpb/IMG...922_180329.jpg

And this is basically it, I started her up, after fiddling with the K-Multiplier to make up for the larger injectors and fuel pump.
She now idles at 14.7 AFR and no fuel correction, so i guess it just happened to hit the Sweet Spot..
http://s25.postimg.org/gp8xslkv3/IMG...927_221146.jpg

So now it is just a matter of freeing up some time to do a long dyno session, initial fuelling map, cleaning that up and going for ignition
Not long until i will know what this puppy delivers :happydance:

The SC sounds very mean, even when free reving it.
I am actually pretty surprised about how "easy going" all of this was, i definitely was expecting some major headaches.
But it went very smooth, big thumbs up Stillen, this Kit is as complete as it can be :tup:
And thanks again Adam@Stillen for taking care of everything!

Great job she looks good!

Thanks!

So, not much progress up until now.
I did not get a timespot on the dyno yet, my tuner is kind of busy, so i decided to take matters into my own hands.
On a businesstrip next week, after that i am going to tune her myself.

To make up for the lack of attention she is getting, i bought her this:
http://s25.postimg.org/mp8ojiqjj/IMG...004_200203.jpg

it's so soft and cosy, i am kinda jealous

I also took her for a quick spin to get the SC run in and sort out any issues that may arise.
There is a little bit of an oil film on the sway bar, so guess i need to tighten the oil cooler hoses just a tad more, apart from that everything looks good.
I did not get into it at all, just did the fuelling for light throttle < 3000rpm so i can baby her to the dyno safely

awesome! Definitely want too see those dyno numbers

Nicely done.

Great build details:tup:

Looking forward to the SC dyno pulls :tiphat:

Thanks!
i'm on it

Thanks

Thanks!

Well, i did do some tuning, finished up fuelling, pulled a lot of ignition timing to be safe, smoothed everything out.
She made 402 to the wheels with just 13 degrees of timing (stock would be around 25-30 degrees at WOT), we were about to start with the timing maps and power runs when desaster struck..
Well, not really a desaster, but a major inconvience..

My friend got into the car, wanted to change some settings in UpRev and flash her again.
He hit "Flash Rom" and got out of the car, after 2 minutes it was still not done flashing, so he took a look and noticed, that he had pulled the cable out of the OBD2 port..

Resulting in a bricked ECU, it does not even know the part number anymore.
We called UpRev, they walked us through the recovery steps, which did not work..
So now the ECU is on its way to Austin/TX, to be rewritten by UpRev.
Should be there by monday and back by friday..

Luckily the Guys at the dynoshop did not need the dyno for the next week, so i could just let her sit on the rollers.
This is how i left her:
http://s21.postimg.org/52zb65y07/IMG...015_140921.jpg

Looks like pretty bad luck, Omar@UpRev told me if something like this happens, 9 out of 10 times you can just re-flash the partially flashed ECU, and we just hit the 1 out of 10 times where you need to bench flash it..

I am a bit bummed about this, but on the other hand, i guess having 402 rwhp with barely any timing looks pretty promising :D

Great job and progress. At least you didnt hit a huge snag like me, my bottom end gave out on the dyno at 510whp.

Hey Niko

Great job and progress. :tup::tup:

Greetings

Thats too bad, which part gave out?

Danke Ivo!



The ECU arrived Thursday, mapping finished Friday, i drove her for the first time today, finally.

All went well, it is holding up very well, no temperature issues with the 34 row Stillen Race Series.

She made 448 whp.
Wheelspins through first and second, in third she is fishtailing but very manageable.
I guess its time for some meaty tires :tup:

The Exhaust Combo (Berk HFC, Motordyne XYZ, Tanabe Medaillon Touring) makes for a very nice note with the S/C, ocassional pops and bangs, some small flamage :happydance:

I got complimented on the sound multiple times today, makes for a big smile if random people give you a thumbs up when you pass them :driving:

BUT, it is still not fast enough, i don't know, maybe it is because of the missing torque punch you get from a turbo engine or maybe i am just too much used to power, but this just does not excite me as much as i was anticipating it would.
I miss that kind of *holy crap, this is fast* sensation i get from my other cars.
Don't get me wrong, it IS fast, judging from looking at the speedo and how fast the scenery passed by, it just doesn't feel that powerful.

However, i will probably address the weak points of the Stillen Kit first and see where it goes from there.

Here is the graph:
http://s11.postimg.org/kf91grtxf/whp_nm_after.jpg

Nice numbers!