How many have you have had issues from a turbo/supercharger?
 

I always shy away from getting a turbo or supercharger because I think it could add problems in the future and lower the life of the engine. How many of you have had success and how many of you have had issues with possibly a blown engine or anything else?

I'm looking for people that have had success with them to that thread is just looking for blown motors from it

Adding boost will always lower the engine life. I've had my Z boosted for 20k miles and no major engine failures. Compression has dropped slightly but still in spec.


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Look at the sticky in the FI section. There's lots of guys with lots of miles on their FI setups.

Yeah that's why I'll prob just go and do some simple things like a stillen dual intake and a good exhaust system. A turbo seems like a lot of fun though lol did you do your own turbo install?

I wish I could do my own install. I'm not set up for it at all.


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It'd be cool to do that kinda stuff yourself wish I knew to

How many? Every single person ever. Was it worth it? Every single second.

Nuff said.

Problems with the kit itself? Only the fact that the intercooler mounting holes were in the wrong spots.

I'm sure the added power wore the engine down some. However, my car still runs strong. The added power busted a few things here and there. All pretty much expected or just about.

The sucky thing is when something minor or major happens it's a little hard to figure it out.

YzGyz

I did my own install and have not had any major problems yet! There have been a few little gremlins since we finished the kit install (at the time once we got it running, I was out of time to keep working on it) but nothing that has kept me from DDing it and I have been sorting through them as time allows. Nothing new has popped up since the install. I'm at 11k boosted miles so far and would do it again in a heartbeat. Go drive a 450+whp boosted Z, it will make your mind up for you.

I wish I could drive a boosted Z and see how it would drive and feel for me but too bad I don't know anyone with one lol I mean the car stock feels exhilarating I love how it drives I couldn't imagine it boosted that'd be f*****g amazing

How long has yours been boosted?

It is. That much power is supercar territory. Go post in the regional subforum to see if anyone in your area will take you for a ride along...

If you are the least bit worried about reliability, up-time, etc, adding FI is not the way to go. If you are willing to sacrifice those things to increase your Smiles Per Gallon, I say go for it.

Installation is seldom a straight-forward affair - be prepared to spend 2 to 3 times what your original estimate is. And it's definitely not a job for the average weekend mechanic - don't forget to budget for labor. Make sure you have the resources to do the extra maintenance and fix what breaks. It helps to have a second vehicle.

All of this is good advice. I hope I didn't make it sound too simple...

I DIYed my install with the help of my brother in law and we are just weekend mechanics.. but because we weren't skilled that install took more than two weeks working 10+hours a day on it.. we are also both engineers so we have a knack for thinking things out and spotting potential for problems. It helped that I bought a kit that can be installed without pulling the motor, and my brother in law has a lift in his garage... I went halfway across the country to do the install in his garage with his help and then be able to get the car tuned at a known good VQ tuner (JTRAN) that was local to him.

I also have a second vehicle (beater ford ranger) for when I am working on the Z, which does happen as I continue to add preventative mods like upgraded diff bushings, catch cans, etc.... if you are the type to DIY a turbo kit you'll certainly keep tinkering and improving. I don't DD my Z because it's my only vehicle... I DD it because I want to drive it every day.

If you are going to farm the work out... as SouthArk has said the price and time for the labor can start creeping on you. If I was going to a shop, I would only go to one of the handful of well known Z shops in the country so I could be confident they'll understand the scope of the project and be realistic with me about the timeline and budget. Even though it took me so many days to install my kit the first time, we think we could probably install one now 5 or 6 days... If we did it often, maybe 4. Find a shop that regularly builds these things.

I have been boosted for a little over three years and 30k miles and the stuff I chase is really not out of proportion with an NA Z that gets used in the same way I use mine. I am just over 50k miles total on my engine and the compression is still very good...somewhere between 46 and 48 psi on all cylinders. If you stay around 600whp or less and 550 ft/lbs/tq you should be fine for a long time. Just make sure the kit is installed right and you use a top tier tuner. Tuning is everything!!!

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These guys have it right. It's not that a boosted Z can't be reliable, it's just that it requires you to be on top of everything a lot more than a NA Z. Tuning and maintenance is key. You don't necessarily have to do the install yourself, but you need to understand how it all works together. If you do have an issue, it's usually because you've got parts from 11 different aftermarket suppliers on there, and sometimes that can cause issues. I daily drove mine for years, but having a second car can go a long way when you're waiting on the UPS guy to get your car back on the road. If you can't DIY and you don't have a local shop that has done multiple boosted Zs (install and tune), you might to want to punt on the project. Sure, you can ship the car somewhere for install and tune, but that doesn't help you when you're out in the garage gremlin hunting. You need more than a basic level of mechanical ability or be willing to pay labor on everything. And on a boosted Z, everything takes an hour or two longer when you're paying labor. There's just a lot of extra crap packed in there, and you always have to remove 14 other things to get access to the $18 part you have to replace.

It's all based on your comfort and experience level. It's not an entry-level project. If the idea of throwing $15-20k at the car, keeping another $10k or so as an emergency "oh ****" shortblock fund, and realizing the penalty for skimping on parts or maintenance is a low five figure hit, then you might want to stay with bolt ons. If you would get upset and frustrated when the car regularly steals $200-300 from you for random bs, you're not going to have a good time.

All that being said, a boosted Z is "holy ****" fast. It's awesome. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Again though, be realistic with yourself - would you be able to handle a car that will happily throw you off the road backwards in an instant if you do something stupid? 500whp is a ton of power. With all the videos and stuff on the internet with random 1000whp cars, it's easy to forget that 500whp is more than 99% of the vehicles you will ever see in your life and it absolutely requires respect at all times.

The other thing to keep in mind is that it's never done. You will ALWAYS want more. Anything you drive every day will start to feel slow, and then you have to buy more stuff to get that same feeling back.

How many have you have had issues from a turbo/supercharger?
 

[QUOTE=Chuck33079;3639148. There's just a lot of extra crap packed in there, and you always have to remove 14 other things to get access to the $18 part you have to replace. [/QUOTE]



THIS. I am dealing with this issue right now. I have the most minor coolant leak from a banjo connector on my driver side turbo. The part is literally 60 bucks from the manufacturer ! But to get to it practically requires you to drop the engine. So, I took this as an opportunity to drop a newer engine in, ceramic coat some things, upgrade engine and tranny mounts, along with a new clutch set up, so it's not a complete waste of labor cost. Luckily, my guy hooks me up and is not charging me extra labor to install the upgrades. So yea, a minor issue can turn into a big ordeal #becauseracecar


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:iagree::iagree::iagree: This in spades, I started at a little less than 500whp and the power is addicting but as Chuck says every time I do a mod big or small it is like I have a new car all over again. Also he is spot on regarding the power and other cars on the road or track. I started tracking this past year and I have yet to run at full boost. I ran the last two track weekends at my lowest boost setting and there were only three cars each weekend that could match mine in power and they were better drivers to lol, but that is the point. Learn to drive as all power does is get you in trouble faster with more significant consequences!

This thread should be stickied or folded into one of the FI for Noobs threads.

46-48 psi... WTF, my 11:1 SB350 was something like 150 if I remember right. I would thing we should be over that since we have higher compression. Never checked my 370Z but maybe it's something with the cams or the VVEL?

Yeah need to check your numbers. Seb was like those numbers are pretty darn good for use and abuse on my engine. I had it done because I thought I had blown my head gasket back in February.

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Everybody has stated the truth here. I turned my pistons, rods and valves into glitter because of a tiny hole. Slapped in another engine and started over. The catch there is that I did my install and "I" let attention to detail slip even when it was obvious. Car's running fine now at 9psi and the plan is to swap in an IPP built stage 2 longblock to replace the current motor with less than 17k miles on it. Why?..........like they said, once you feel 500whp you want 600whp. If I had a do over would I do it? All day and twice on Sundays. Would I do it the same way? The only change I'd make is that from the start I should've built the bottom end. My engine failed because of a hole in a vacuum line to one of the wastegates. It spiked to 23psi when it went and did'nt stand a chance.

LOL, you and I are both right...I checked the compression at each cylinder and the number you posted is correct for compression done for the coolant system. :tup:

All good stuff here. Keys are good kit, good install (including heat management), good tune and the correct fuel.

I'm three years plus on my kit and no serious issues. I chased down some minor oil leaks for awhile but I rebuilt all AN lined from scratch myself and haven't had an issues since.

I recommend DIY if you have the skills. It's going to put you leaps and bounds ahead during troubleshooting if you installed the kit.

Short story long, if you have a good kit and maintain it properly, you should have a car that lasts a long time.

Thanks to you all for the informative responses back and the advice given. It seems to me that there is too much maintenance work involved with a turbo and it could cost too much money in the long run for me right now. And I don't think I have any reliable shops I could trust that are putting turbos in Z's all the time and tuning them as well. I want to do some mods still though so I'm thinking just some simple things such as a Stillen dual intake along with an exhaust but unsure of brand for exhaust maybe stillen or fast intentions?

If you just want to have some good fun. Get your intake , exhaust , test pipes or hfc and a remote tune. If you want to step it up later add an M370 intake manifold with headers and swap out to 4.08 gears. Or forget everything else and just do the gears. That was the one mod I felt immediately when I had my G37 and it wasn't even 4.08. I went from 3.36 to 3.69 and I knew I did something special on the drive home.

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