Soon to be TT Nismo
 

Update 12/29/2011:
Parts made it today! (Minus the steering coupler, which is back-ordered) Install will begin tomorrow, and I will keep the thread updated!

Big thanks to Sam and everyone at GTM for the great packing job, quality parts, and dealing with my constant phone calls!

Update 12/30/2011:
Made decent progress today. Got the ECU flashed, fuel pump replaced, injectors done and Passenger header off. Tomorrow will begin with the driver's side header. Only a couple hiccups today:
-The stupid heater pipe on the driver's side is a complete PITA to get off. I probably wasted an hour just on that. I was having trouble getting the clip off that holds part of the wiring harness, so I just cut it and will replace it.
-The injector pack was missing the Super Lube, so Sam is sending me some along with my steering coupler. I got the injectors in with no problem, but Sam suggested taking them back out and lubing them to ensure there are no leaks, so that's what I will do!

Things are going well and I will be back at it again tomorrow. Any comments or suggestions are welcome! I will try to add some pics later tonight/tomorrow.

Well I have been very bad at updating my thread. I have worked pretty much full time on the install from 12/30 to 1/6, with the occasional days off. Here is my synopsis:
- The GTM product quality is excellent (as many on the forum already know), I am very impressed with the parts, packaging, and support.
- Doing the install on jack stands with the engine in the car is a MAJOR pain. There were countless times where I thought putting a part on or getting bolts tight was going to be physically impossible, but if you persist, it can be done.
- You have to be ready to head to the store and buy some tools. There were a few times when I just couldn't get a bolt tight with the tools I had on hand.

I think going back to work next week will be a nice break from the hard work!

And now on to the results...
Pros:
The car is put back together and running strong. I have run a few data logs both in and out of boost, and everything looks good. In boost the car pulls strong and feels great overall. She fired right up on the first try and idled normally almost immediately. I was able to get everything together and take her out for some shakedown runs this afternoon. Sam has been great with answering my questions quickly and giving me much-needed feedback. (THANKS SAM!)

Cons:
I have been battling leaks on the Driver's Side turbo. On initial start up, I had a coolant leak and an oil leak. I was able to get the coolant leak fixed by tightening the banjo bolt a little more. I was also able to get rid of the oil leak by taking off the down pipe, waste gate pipe, and waste gate and getting an offset wrench up to tighten the oil feed banjo. After multiple start ups and re-tightening, the leak was fixed and I put everything back together. BUT today during some shakedown runs, the dreaded oil leak returned. It is the smallest drip, but none the less it is STILL there. At this point, I don't think I will have the time or patience to disassemble, attempt to fix the banjo, and reassemble. I plan to take the car to a shop in the next week or two to have the oil leak fixed and have them do a once-over of the car to make sure everything looks okay.

Final Thoughts:
Let me just say I knew what I was getting into with this project! I expected to have hurdles and am overall very happy with the outcome thus far. The GTM product is great and I am confident that the end result will be everything I expected and more. I will keep updating the thread and am hoping the car will be where I want it very soon!

Also, any performance shop recommendations in the DC/Northern Virginia area would be much appreciated! I need someone reliable to fix this oil leak!

6/22/2012 Update

Been driving the car quite a bit and have put close to 800 miles on the kit! Finally took it to the dyno at Moore Automotive today. I would like to thank the owner Bill and the rest of the team for their work!

I uploaded the graph below. It dips around 7k rpm every time, due to it pulling about a degree of timing. I sent Sam an email with the graph and data log to see what is going on. 455 whp peak and 475 wtq peak at 8.8psi - not too bad!

Nice! Congrats

External wastegates! That's agressive. Look forward to following your progress.

Thanks!
Yeah, decided to go with an option that allows for growth (and loud noise!). Can't wait to get started!

Nice!

You doing the install yourself?

That's the plan, yes! I have probably read through your intstall thread 50 times in the past couple months! I plan to devote about 2 weeks fulltime work to it. Any words of wisdom are much appreciated!

Working on it for two weeks full time should be plenty of time.

Words of wisdom.... Hmm. I think the most important is to take your time and when you get overwhelmed take a break. There will be times that you will be lying in bed and thinking about how to do the next step. Then you will dream about the install. LOL. There will be times that you want to pull your hair out but just keep thinking about how much fun you'll have when it's all done.

If you need any help along the way feel free to shoot me a PM and I'll do my best to help out.

Looking forward to your build thread.

Curious to see how it turns out. Thanks for the info pal. We'll be sure to tune in.:tiphat:

Ah man so the good dreams will turn to bad ones? Haha. I know I am in for quite the project, but can't be more pumped. Thanks for the offer, I am sure I will take you up on it. Are you Running on Sam's tune?

Ha ha. Yeah but the bad dreams turn back when it's all done.

Yes I am still on the canned tune from Sam. I may look into a custom tune next year when I get a better clutch. But the canned tune is great. No worries with it at all.

If you're doing a clutch also you may want to consider removing the transmission while you're doing the TT install. It will give you a ton of room.

My plan right now is to stick with the stock clutch for as long as it lasts (have 11k miles on it right now). But I don't anticipate it lasting too long. How has yours been holding up? Still running wastegate spring pressure for boost?

I did my install at 12k miles and the stock clutch is holding up well. The car has a little over 18k miles now. Honestly, if I was going to keep the boost where it is right now I would leave the clutch alone until it died. I am at 8psi and there is no slip like I had at first when I was up around 11psi.

Yes still on the waste gate spring. My plan is to get a clutch and boost controller over the winter. When I do that I'll probably go with a spring that'll put the lowest boost setting at around 6psi and using the controller I don't see myself going over 11psi until I build the motor.

^^^My plan exactly. May go with a boost controller now to serve as a boost gauge as well. Still need to figure out how I am going to monitor AFR, etc. I am contemplating the PLX devices option. I would rather not hack up the stock gauges and want a stock-looking interior. I am still looking into my options.

Quick Update
 

Well I went ahead and picked up a 34R oil cooler and the HKS EVC-S boost controller (pic below) from a couple of forum members (thanks guys!) and now just need to tackle the monitoring aspect.

I am planning to monitor boost via the EVC, since it has its own boost sensor. Anyone see any issues with that? I am thinking it should work fine.

As of now, I hope to monitor AFR and Oil Pressure via two gauges I'll install in a plate in the cubby (with the EVC), but I am still toying with the idea of going with the PLX Kiwi system to monitor sensors on my iPhone. I am just concerned there could be some delay. Anyone have any experience with this or suggestions?

Thanks! I'll keep updating as things change!

in for updates, should be a fun adventure:tup:

Can't wait until I have my own FI build thread....... Argh

Well I am still waiting on the kit, it should be here Thursday. In the meantime, I went ahead and made some progress and installed my PLX Devices gauges and EVC-S. I am happy with how it looks!

That's what I thought, too. I have the EVC-S as well. And it will, but NOT with the default settings.

The instructions are written by the developers (always a bad idea, instead of the installers), translated from Japanese (the Japanese equivalent of Chinglish), which makes it head-scratchingly obtuse, and there are default settings which will could RUIN your motor, if left alone.

Everything is measured in percentages instead of boost values. Except one crucial setting: Overboost Value. It's set at a default 11.6 lbs. It will rise to this immediately, unless you tame it down. All the other settings are mute in comparison.

OK, so 11.6lbs. That ain't so outrageous.... :rolleyes: Untill you find out it's 11.6 lbs OVER wastegate boost pressure. Which is probably 8-9 lbs on its own.

Of course the screen acronym for Overboost Value is : OPT That makes sense.... ;)

So this would spike right up to 20 lbs boost. I speak from experience.

So, BIG tip: drop that setting to 1.0 lbs, and use the offset value to raise boost from there.

Your techs can thank me later. :) Good luck on this. I'm watching.

Coop

^^^ Thanks for the heads up! From all the reading I have been doing on various forums, it does seem like the thing is not the most intuitive to setup. I plan on setting everything at the absolute lowest setting I can and working my way up, as you suggested. I will let you know how it works out!

Thanks again for preventing a 20psi+ spike on my first run!

Hey there! watching this closely too. That gauge looks good in there, congrats.

Great advice!

Clean installation. Looks like it came from the factory ^ ^

Hey the gauge looks good, Which PLX is that, an what can you monitor, Just oreder my Stillen SC last week and looking at guage solutions.
Congrats on the FI build:hello:

Thanks! I am happy with how it turned out. The gauge is the DM-100, it reads OBD-II data like throttle position, load, etc. I also have the AFR, Vac/Boost, and Oil Pressure sensor units that all daisy chain to the DM-100. I have it setup so I can view a combo of the sensor data and the OBD-II data. The sensors aren't hooked up yet, since I haven't installed the kit. Let me know if you have any questions about it or want any pics of what the gauge can display!

In for updates. Hope I can join the FI club in the future.

Thanx man..

Original post updated for the arrival of the parts today! Stay tuned!

:hello:

welcome

I can give you my setting on the evc-s as they will be close to what you have to dial it to. just remeber you adjust boost on the evc-s by the offset

That would be great, if you wouldn't mind! I will take any help I can get! :tup:

Updated first post with today's progress!

This is giving me a case of deja vu. :D

Looking very similar, isn't it? Haha. How did your injector install go? Did you use the super lube? Mine went it no problem, I just dont want leaks!

Not sure what I used but I did use lube of some sort.

Updated the OP with more progress, results, trials and tribulations!!

You should be able to use some white grease or something similar on the injectors.

This is a badass looking system and car!

Dyno numbers? How much was the entire kit shipped to your door? Did you have to purchase anything else? Exhaust, oil cooler etc...

Thank you! I have not driven the car much yet, since we are still working on some minor issues (oil leak), but I hope to get it on a dyno soon.

I went with the Stage II Turn Key Kit, found here:
GTM Motorsports*::*FORCED INDUCTION*::*GTM 370Z (TURN KEY) TWIN TURBO KIT

I also purchased the 3" Downpipes and Waste Gates found here:
GTM Motorsports*::*EXHAUST*::*GTM 3" Downpipes w/ TiAL waste gates (For GTM Twin Kit)

I picked up a 34 Row Oil Cooler from a forum member in the For Sale section. I currently am running an Invidia Gemini exhaust, but hope to upgrade to a 3" dual setup in the near future!

As for prices, the prices on the site are about accurate, but I would suggest giving Sam a call if you are interested at all. He will take care of you!

Well it has been awhile since I have posted an update, mainly due to the fact the car has been waiting to get worked on. I picked it up from my mechanic yesterday and have been driving it around. Here's an update:

-Originally I had an oil leak from the Driver's side turbo. It turns out, I had marred the banjo fitting and overtightened it during the install. The banjo bolt was all twisted, but luckily not broken. Sam sent me out some replacements, and it is now good and leak-free.

-I had some binding in the steering, which ended up being because I missed taking off the blue plastic piece on the steering rack during the install. There is no specific step, but if you look closely you can see that it is indeed removed in one of the pictures. That has been removed and the steering feels great.

-I could not get the Driver's side recirculation pipe to line up between the waste gate and down pipe. After messing with it for a while, we went ahead and modified the pipe: adjusted the bend, and TIG welded it back in place. The pipe looks good and fits like a charm now. (I no longer go deaf when under boost)

-When I was driving yesterday, I was stopped at a stoplight and the car shutoff on me. I tried to restart it 2 or 3 times with no luck. After pushing it into the shoulder and thinking "FML", I hit the start button one last time, and it fired right up. This has not happened again, but it does worry me. I may take a couple more data logs at idle for Sam to take a look at. My AFR fluctuates between 13.9 and 15.5ish at idle (I am not sure if this is normal, but it seems to be a pretty big fluctuation).

-There are still a few creeks and vibrations that were not there prior to the install. I plan to try and track those down as I continue to drive the car. I don't think there is anything rubbing or loose, so I am stumped as to what it could be.

Overall, I am very happy with the car FINALLY! I am only running waste gate pressure (seeing about 5.5psi) and my invidia exhaust, and the car is impressive. I can only imagine what it will be like with the 3" F.I. TDX and increased boost.

I will try to take some vids this week or weekend!

Awesome dude. 3" TDX huh? Hope you can track down the remaining gremlins and exercise them with extreme prejudice! Good luck!