Should I go FI?
 

So i've been wanting to go FI'd for a while now, and am seriously considering on if I should go FI or not. The big thing for me is reliability, and the fact that i have 94k miles on my Z. It is my daily driver and i would like to keep it like that for the next 6 years, but I also like to race it. I was originally considering going with the Stillen SC kit, but i've heard alot of complaints about the kit. I've recently been reading up about the BP turbo kit, and it seems almost too good to be true. So what would you guys recommend? Is going FI with 94k miles a bad idea? Also, how long roughly would it take to install it? Me and my buddy installed a twin turbo kit on his s4 in about 2 weekends, but its an entirely different car, and we pulled the motor.

Going F.I. is totally reliable as long as u keep up with ur maintenance. ...there's quite a few guys/gals on here that have gone F.I. for years and put thousands of miles on their car....just like anything else, if u abuse the $#! T out of it.....it won't last long....you're basically gonna have to do more monitoring and attention to details when you go F.I. You need to monitor ur oil and water temps your boost and constantly make checks for leaks etc. ...running ur car in bad conditions whether F.I. or N/A isn't good.

In regards to the Stillen kit....Idk but it works great for me and fits my needs. ...there are others that are not happy with the kit....but the way I look at it you gotta look at what's out there....know what you're gonna buy and realize what the kits limitations are.....If you have aspirations to break high 400WHP or 500WHP then I will tell you that the Stillen kit is not for you.....you can upgrade but it will cost u a lot of money and frustration and would be better off with a Turbo kit...A lot of people got frustrated with the Stillen kit because of its limitations and complexity of upgrading.....I personally went with the Stillen kit because it fit what I needed and have no intentions of getting anything more than what the kit can produce with a good tune....that's just me.....others have bigger goals and prefer a Turbo kit which will surely produce more HP....and that works for them.....

As for the BP kit it is what it is.....and IMHO you will get the most bang for ur buck with this kit.....reviews are there and the owner of the company stands behind his product and has been helpful with his customers when issues came up.....there were some complaints of him being off the grid when they some customers were trying to get a hold of him, but he was on vacation at the time... he is not a big company Ike Stillen or F.I. and builds his kits on a time schedule in house......considering that the guy has a life and family that come first before anything this is totally understandable that he did not reply during those times. I personally like the BP and F.I. kits.....if you're on a budget I will let u know that the BP kit will not disappoint. Tony and the F.I. crew offer a great product and customer service is top notch....AAM also has a great kit with good customer service as well...you have more options on choosing a kit on the Turbo side of the house.

As far as install the Stillen kit is a lot easier to install than any Turbo kit and will take u an average of 10-15 hours as it doesn't require u to drop the motor.....doing a Turbo Install can be done without the motor being dropped, but it will take u a lot longer, make u more frustrated and present complications when trying to torque certain parts down as the engine bay is tight. ...you're better off dropping the motor for a turbo install.

In the end it's your car.....figure out what you want.....what fits your needs....what ur HP goals are (long term) what your budget is and do a lot of reading and research to decide what kit you want to go with. You will need to buy some other things with an F.I. upgrade so be prepared for that...Best of luck to you man.

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to continue doing a little bit more research before pulling the trigger. As for other mods, what exactly is recommended for supporting mods to FI? I'm already going to be installing a lightwheel flywheel, as well as upgraded clutch and upgraded CSC and i've got the Stillen Catback exhaust (not sure about compatibility with the BP kit) with Stock cats and headers.

You're on the right track with the mods you have planned with your drivetrain.....you will also need to consider an oil cooler (34 row recommended), may want to upgrade ur radiator......I personally would use ur stock one til u need to replace it....just make sure that your fan timing is done during ur tune to keep temps decent....An LSD If you don't have one...if u have the stock one u may need to upgrade depending on how u drive ur car and what ur goals are (I.e. heavy tracking), and brakes. ...u will need to do an upgrade ur brake kit and suspension to help put down and stop all that extra power.

The Stillen exhaust will work with the BP kit but some.guys have upgraded to the F.I. 3 inch exhaust....your stock headers will be replaced with the exhaust manifolds with the turbos so no worry there, but u may want to go with TP's if you don't have emission issues in ur area....going F.I. will give u an increase in EGT'S which will burn out ur stock cats in the long run...plus u will just get more HP with a less restrictive exhaust....The stock cats are the most restrictive part in the 370Z exhaust set up....you will also need to invest In a boost gauge, AFR gauge, and a boost controller at the very least.

Take ur time.....it's a good chunk of change to put down and invest...I was on the fence for 2 years before I finally pulled the trigger.

I just recently installed my GTM/gamma supercharger and s far no issues and everything Bolio said is accurate ......I chose supercharger over the turbo due to the install it was more difficult than I wanted to do since I do my own work .....also with a turbo you will have to upgrade the clutch or it won't last ....I think the GTM kit was a happy mid ground for higher hp over the stillen but not as high as a turbo ...and it seems to be a all round street/track car that can be a daily driver as wel....but do your research for what fits your likes and dislikes.

You don't need to drop the motor on the bp kit. Now that I've installed both stillen and bp kit I would say I could do the bp kit faster.

No. Waste of money, get a faster car, etc

FI is the way to go. These cars come way underpowered ,but with some help from turbo's they turn into great reliable sport cars.

Its an expensive journey but its totally worth it. Theres nothing quite like driving a boosted Z.

As far as reliability, that is really dependent on you. If you want reliability, I would keep the boost low. Boost at 7psi is amazing and what I would consider really safe. The most important part about any forced induction build is the tune. Do not cheap out on the tune. With a good tune and low boost, your car should be able to handle anything you can throw at it with proper maintenance. There will always be a chance of your motor blowing. Depending on your setup, the chance maybe extremely low or fairly high. Do a lot of research and find what suites your needs.

From personal experience, the BP kit is excellent. Its very simple in design and easy to fix things if something goes bad. Sasha is the man when it comes to customer service. Every now and then its tough to get in contact with him because of reasons stated above, but he always comes through. He's a stand up guy. Not to mention the performance of the kit. Its pretty amazing as well.

I've been on the fence as well in regards to pulling the trigger on the boosted performance kit.

I actually made a post in the new BP thread a couple of hours ago. Trust me, you won't regret getting it if you are wanting forced induction.

I just realized this.....Interesting....Btw...what's the story why did u make the change from the BP turbo kit to Stillen SC kit? Most people go from S/C to Turbo. Just curious.