FI Car Owners..Your honest opinion please.
 

I have searched and read many FI builds... SC's & TT's in different stages and brands and for those of you who actually have FI cars please correct me If I am wrong...But it seems that many (not all) of the builds after so much hard work, effort and money the owners somehow get dissatisfied with little or big "gremlins/issues" and before you know it the Z is gone???

Is a FI Z just not meant to be a reliable car as many owners have even made comments about having extra money set aside for the issues that come with having a FI Z.

I recently sold my 996tt that had about 500hp with some mods and after 5 years of ownership & hard driving ;) at times my only issue was replacing a dead battery.

I appreciate your response :tiphat:

Let me also tell you.. I really like/enjoy my Z and although it does not have the same power the fun factor and tighter feel brings a smile to my face :tup:

Projects turn to disgust mainly for 3 reasons:

1. Shops are notoriously bad estimating how long something will take. That 2 month project will take 6 months.
2. Owners keep changing their mind mid-project. Sometimes this is related to #1 "It has been in the shop so long now, might as well do X" and sometimes these changes help cause #1.
3. Owners want to be different for some reason. They want to do something that hasn't been done, even if it will only provide a 5% improvement. Stay away from this impulse. Do the kit and the upgrade combo that is proven, reproducible, and well documented for time to install.

FI cars are really worth it if you do it yourself and can maintain it yourself. Like MMC said Shops can tkae a long time and that can get annoying. Do you really want to have to rely on someone else if anything ever goes wrong? For some people that is necessary and I can apprecaite that it just makes it difficult because you want your car all of the time. But if you have to rely on a shop for everything a kit is certainly the easiest but way more expensive way to go.

A Daily driver, spare cash, and time to do your own projects will make the car very satisfying. If you can do all of that I would not do the kit route as recommended above. Most of the FI community has some generic kit and thats what slows progress on a platform. Thats why im thinking out of the box with my build. Hell im not even stopping with 1 custom build im doing 2 for the car one single turbo and one twin. But pioneering isnt for everyone.

With anything aftermarket expect some issues though. Nothing is perfect. Manufacturers spend years and millions on R&D when they release a new vehicle to make it reliable.

I am facing the same question as the OP. I love my Z but I want to give it that extra punch. I have heard great things about the GTM supercharger kit but I'm still on the fence. I need to talk to some people currently running this set up.

I traded in a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP with the factory Eaton M-50 on my 370Z. It was reasonably reliable but not a huge performance enhancer. The two are probably related.
From what I have seen of most DIY FI, the main problems are user related - either poor selection of components or poor installation.
Just about any mod that takes the car very far from what the factory intended is going to be high maintenance and/or low reliability.
If you are making mods like FI you are more than likely going to drive a lot harder than the car was designed for which brings more maintenance and less reliability.

What it boils down to is, if you're gonna push the envelope, you're gonna break things. Accept it and be prepared.
If you want reliable, low maintenance FI get it from the factory or have someone that knows what they are doing design and install.

:iagree:

I am one who had a Z, installed a GTM TT kit on it myself and then a year later I sold it. Not for any reliability reason or because of problems with a shop.

Sometimes life just happens.


I started saving for FI as soon as I purchased my Z. I was single at the time and the word impractical didn't even enter my mindset.

Fast forward a year and I finally had the money to get a kit. Also, in the past year, I began dating a woman and it was getting serious.

I installed the kit and was having an absolute blast with the car. My girlfriends son was my co pilot and it was great.... Until the three of us wanted to go somewhere in the car. My girl would have to drive separate. We did that a few times to the local C&C.

Fast forward another year and girlfriend became wife. This in and of itself was not the demise of the Z.

My wife became pregnant and I mentioned that I should think about selling the Z. She immediately said that shouldn't sell it. Actually, she was very adamant that I not sell it. But the more I thought about it, it just didn't make sense to keep it. My time with the car would've been few and far between. The overall cost of the car could not justify keeping it.

For me it was an easy decision. I put it up for sale and it sold very quickly. (Probably should've asked more for it) :D

I do miss my car some but it has a new life with the new owner and he is very happy with the car. He's also done some things to it that were on my dream wish list. So it's kind of cool to see it with parts that I could only wish for.

I can't speak for anyone else but I honestly didn't expect to ever sell it. Life just happened and I made a decision based on what I felt was the best course of action.

Since I have sold the car I have let my mind wander and I have a bunch of different car related projects that I would like to do. I am not sure which one I will settle on but it's been fun trying to decide.

These are great and variable responses that have many views. What I gather is that it may be possible to FI the Z with a proven kit but obviously be prepared for additional spending as normal wear is no longer normal once boosted.

I guess I was spoiled with my 996TT as it was pretty much bullet proof and never gave me any issues. I really enjoy my Z and love that its a vert but really want the option of a future boost. Nothing crazy just a simple stage 1 SC maybe? with a good tune to keep things from wearing prematurely and hopefully keep it more reliable.

I am sure your responses and insight might help others that are on the fence like I am. I personally want to enjoy the car go through the bolt on mod process of suspension, exhaust, HFCs, intake and light wheels enjoy it more then make the jump to FI. This of course would be based on good feedback like your responses.

OEM FI cars don't (generally) have wear issues because they're.. OEM.. FI cars. (This is in reference to your comparisons to your 911 Turbo, and even if you bought a Carrera/S/4S and turboed it, the development for FI is already done by Porsche and huge engineering firms the world over, so it's still not apples to apples)

On the Z, there's not even a FI version available at all, so everything from the mechanicals to the tuning solution (while great) is engineered by entities that aren't multi-billion dollar automakers.

With a 'Stage 1 S/C' you could probably get away with a lot. It's not that much more power.

If that extra power, however, makes you drive it like you stole it... Well, if you drove like that completely stock, you'd have issues eventually, too.

:)

Edit: Full disclosure, I've never personally owned an aftermarket-FI'd car. I've had several OEM turbo cars, including my current daily driver (MS3) and have been around people with aftermarket FI my entire adult life, so I've observed a lot, even if it hasn't been happening to me personally. :)

I have 17k miles in ~17 months on a GTM Stage 1 SC kit installed by a local shop. Other than several oil leaks and some cooling issues I have not encountered any serious problems.

I am also still in the stock clutch and CSC for now, but I do not launch the car either. Launching the car is hard on the clutch and just results in wheel spin on some expensive rubber. Not worth it IMO. But from a roll, the car is impressive.

I also eventually got a custom tune to eek out a little more power for 419WHP/350WTQ. The tune from Sam is pretty good though.

Here is a post I made a while back that might help. I would just tell you that proper preparation prevents piss poor performance. I am not going to tell you that you will get OEM like reliability with an after market FI setup but for me it has been worth the trade off so far.

http://www.the370z.com/forced-induct...ml#post1478665

THIS

aftermarket anything tends to wear out your engine more so then OEM(besides things like CBE or intakes), but if you maintain the car as recommended by aftermarket company and OEM, the modified car should be just as reliable as a stock car

The OP was asking why many people tend to sell their cars not long after doing a major project, not a debate on can a FI car be reliable.

2 seats can be a beast when you have more than that to cart around. Others have some "issues" with a company or particular part and jump ship. Some people fail to maintain their vehicle like it requires in it's FI'd state and Return To Stock and either trade in or sell.

I was very close to trading in on a G37S Coupe or IPL and transplanting my parts over. Good thing we have another vehicle, she is understanding, AND I could not find an IPL within a reasonable distance in a manual..................

This is the exact reason I switched looking at the 'Z's and went for a G37. I often ride as a family now and that was a smart choice.

Human nature: Once you scratch that itch, you either want more or something different. I'm a fool, because I can't leave well-enough alone, even though it surpasses expectations. Another one will sell theirs. At some point, so will I.

No exact answer in this forum. A psychology forum may give a better answer. LOL!

Coop

A boosted z is wild man, just maintain it and you'll be fine

:iagree:

Someone said it ,it comes down to 3 things a good FI kit,a good tune,and a good installation when all 3 of these things meet it will make a fantastic ride ,depending on power level you choose then that's when reliably comes into play.
The engine that is in the 370/G37 can take allot of abuse ,you can easily push 450 rwhp and still be very reliable also your right foot helps control reliability.

I love my boosted g37. I had a good installer and a great tune from Jon@Z1. 534/500 and the car sees full boost everyday. Puts a smile on my face everytime I turn the car on, make the BoV go off or smash on a 'Vette or Evo or Subbie.
I'm married and jus recently had a baby girl. Wifey is very understanding and doesn't mind what I do with my car as long as I take care of the family and house first. I have no intentions of selling my car or FI kit anytime soon.
Everyone has different circumstances, I don't really see a lot of people selling their turbo kits. I see a lot of people selling their superchargers tho and then going turbo but we all know why that happens.

I have a twin turbo 370z 7AT. Probably the most controversial to boost because of the 7AT. My first transmission blew due to tuner not adjusting torque management. Got a new tranmission under warranty and had another tuner tune car. 12000 miles later couldnt be happier 485 whp on 7psi and car is my DD.

Was going to sell car because another baby coming to household soon but I might just swing another car and keep the Z. I just cant seem to part with it especially boosted!



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Hi all...I bought my 370z about 4 months ago, and even though I won't be able to boost it for any time now, I had the same question. It would be nice to have some statistics about how relaible the boosted 370z are...on average. Of course, we know it will all depend on boost level, complexity and quality of install, driving and maintenance habits etc, but just a guideline. As many people that have a boosted 370z that may want to comment, the better.

Ditto. sub'd.

When you say your 7AT blew, is it the good ol' 5-7 gears start to slip?

Actually 3-4 .

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Another thing that bugs me is monitoring the systems, I need to use ROM editor here and there to check for AT slippage, and always have to worry about seeing a clutch pack slippage. But if the AT does give up, I'll just order the clutch packs from GTM for an upgrade.

So it could be that some of the issues I have read which made me start this thread, could be a change in a persons life i.e.. a baby or something breaks and people just give up or get fed up and dump the car??

One big question I have for you as a 7at owner myself is how did you get Nissan to replace your transmission under warranty being boosted :confused:

Good to have friends in high places at Nissan Corp. :)

IPL GTM Twin Turbo Auto
 

I sent my brand new IPL to GTM to have it twin Turbo'd at 3k miles.
Since then I have had several "minor" issues that keep me ALLWAYS on my guard.
I have no plans o sell the car, in fact I was hoping to drive it for a very Lon time.
I'm slightly over 500whp and love the power. The car is a true thrill, but at a price. I KNOW I will have to sink more $$$ in it as I drive it hard. There is ALLWAYS the cost in the back of my head. I think this is the reason people get rid of their boosted G's/Z's.
If I had the dough, in hindsight, a Turbo'd M5 or GTR would have been in my garage. But saying that, I don't have the $$$ and my G37 is a killer sleeper car.
I know I will likely have to replace/rebuild/upgrade the trans at some point in the "near" future.
Not having my own "shop" in my garage means that I have to call my install shop every time my car runs rough or I get some funny noise or error light. This can wear on you.
If you do commit to FI your ride. Estimate 2x to 3x what the shop says for timing. This will save you MASSIVE brain damage from waiting for your project to be complete.
Good luck!!

Here is my take on it:
-People sell because they under invest and over expect what they should get.

Not all are like this, but going into the forced induction car on a N/A vehicle can be a big expense and many underestimate this amount. I have been boosted with a SC since 19k miles and just over 50k miles at the end of the year (and a time of about 2.5 years). I have yet to track my car (ring or 1/4 mile) but I do enjoy the fun street driving, plus the pain of daily driving the car. It is a blast to drive but it is not 100% perfect but I never expected it to be.

Very true, I am glad I found a great dealership who did my install and allowed me to do warranty work even for the transmission.

:iagree:

It comes down 90% to expectations. A large number of people have never taken on a project of such cost and magnitude before, and it can surprising what you need to invest (both time and money).

That makes a world of difference, and have to outlay cash for those things while dealing with a shady shop makes for a completely different experience.

Thanks for your reply and time to share your experience.. :tiphat:

Wow... How do you guys find dealers that give you warranty even though you are boosted :confused:

I asked my service advisor who is a cool dude if I boosted my car would I still have warranty? He said honestly you would not as Nissan would say the FI created the additional stress that caused the failure. If any alterations you do to your car can be linked to the breakdown you will be denied :thumbsdown:

He said this to me in a very sincere manner.

You were the first 1 with the 16g kit right? GTM won't get back to me with a price. Could you message me what I'm lookin at for price ?

Some dealers will play ball, some won't. The dealer installed mine.

If I had to guess why people get rid of FI'd Z's, it would be that they cut corners on the build and/or install, and have nagging little issues that eventually drive them nuts. The guys that have no problems seem to be the ones that bought all the supporting mods, and had it installed by a shop with experience with that particular setup.

As far as reliablity goes, I figured that if the car can handle 500-550whp without a problem, I'd aim for the 450-475whp area and be happy. That's still a lot of power, and the car's my daily driver. I don't feel comfortable running something right up to the ragged edge. Still need to get it on the dyno and see how close to that number I got.

When you say supporting mods, are you referring to oil coolers and (for the 7AT folks) transmission coolers? Are there any other mods needed to safely support a boosted vehicle?

Yes. Supporting mods like oil coolers, gauges to monitor the system, clutch flywheel, csc upgrade, prolly to be on an even safer side u could go meth to keep detonation down even more. For AT guys tranny coolers, VBU upgrade n I believe u have to tune the AT also thru Osiris to help keep from slippage.
All these aid in keeping everything in check and being able to monitor if ur overheating oil or over boosting. People who cut these corners can't really tell and realize only when the motor goes BOOM something was wrong.

Have most boosted 7at's gone through replacement or repairs of the transmission due to its stock limitations?

Great question. Subscribe

From the back of my head, wow370 popped 3-4 gears, Shumby and 1 other, both are SC I think, popped 4-5 gears.

GTM has a good FI tranny pdf article somewhere...