40th Stillen Supercharger Build
 

Just recently got my car back. I bought this supercharger kit used, so naturally we were missing some minor parts. The cog belts were the wrong size (tooth count indicated they are actually for a 350z, so they will be for sale soon!), the aftermarket coolant reservoir was too big, few bolts here and there...

After it was all installed we were able to make 400rwhp/340ftlb of torque @ 7psi.

The install/tuning was done by R/T tuning. They did an amazing job -very clean install.

We are currently working out an issue where the ecu switches into valet mode while I'm driving.

Other than that it's very fun to drive and I will post pics soon!

Also wondering if it would be worth getting the 9lb pulleys. I see some people on this forum making high 400's which is where I REALLY would like to be. Are the 9lb pulleys the solution?

Current Setup:
Stillen Supercharger Kit
928 impeller
550cc injectors
Berk Test Pipes
CNT Cat Back Exhaust
Aeromotive Stealth 355lph Fuel Pump

I would advise going back to stock cats. We have seen significant power drops when using HFC's and Test Pipes with our supercharger. Also, if you are planning on going with the 9 lb pulley you will need at least 600cc injectors and I would recommend UpRev GT MAF's to make tuning easier.

Are you on 93 Octane?

Thanks for the reply. Yes I run 93 Octane. I suppose long tube headers are out of the picture if im going to stock cats...

Mark, won't the stock cats burn up and need to be replaced after a certain period of time? Also, isn't there potential for the stock cat debris/burnt material to get back into the engine?

How much power is lost from going to test pipes? I'm currently using test pipes. My power/tq is listed in my sig.

the stock cats will last longer than HFC's, the ceramic oem element last longer than the coated foil in a HFC.

How long though? OEM cats are expensive.

sub'd for more info

1slow370 is correct. The stock cats will last longer than HFC's and are also more durable. They are very unlikely to break apart. We have seen HFC's blow out and clog the exhaust. I would not be concerned with the stock cats breaking up and sending pieces into the engine. The exhaust gases are coming out so fast I don't even know if that would be possible.

You are going to lose almost 1 lb of boost in the actual cylinder from using test pipes so you'd probably get back 20 whp from going back to stock cats (though I see you are on an upgraded blower which we have not tested). There is a chance with the upgraded blower the boost would be too high in the cylinders but I couldn't not say without testing.

@Nism0 If you are piecing parts together for the kit, might as well go with some 725-750cc injectors.

After my tune I will sell you my 600cc injectors cheap..

PM me the price.

Just an update for anyone interested.

I am trying to get a hold of some OEM Cats. Just ordered my boost gauge (I'm a little late on that I know). I also forgot to add in that I have a 928 impeller (will be updating that now).

I'll see how the car responds to the cats being added back on and take it from there. All around it's still very fun to drive at the moment :tup:

With the stock cats back on you'll pick up a lot . Your only seeing 7PSI I had the impeller and was seeing 11-12 PSI and made 457 WHP g37x coupe your going to see a NICE change with the stock cats.

what boost gauge you end up going with?

I'm under the impression that I can put the stock CATs back on and see 8psi. Would I need another tune to see 11+psi?

I went with the PROSPORT 52mm EVO Series Digital Red / Blue Led Boost Gauge

No way will you only see 8psi with the impeller. I had the Stillen Stock pully (8psi) and the impeller upgrade from Vortch same as the 928 and was seeing 11-12 PSI. I had no other mods the the SC or differnt pulley. I have a thread on hear all about my run at 500 WHP. Name of thread is Stillen500 WHP. You will need a new tune because you wil see more PSI.

btw 500 WHP on their kit will not happen :( just be happy with mid 400's .

An gauges I went the same as above prosport, I had all three oil , trans temp and boost plus AEM wideband

So by putting the cats back on I will see 11psi? And I've been reading other peoples experience with this kit. Not that I would ever go over 500whp (I have no intentions of building my motor) but why will 500hp not happen on this kit? It seems to have a lot of potential with some modifications...

Looking forward to the day all 40th's are boosted! Welcome to the club!

Thank you sir! :tiphat:

Just saw the 'Red dome'...hahah. Me too! My daughter hates it and the local guys say it is like I am a pimp! But screw both...I love it. Hate bright lights inside the car. I even keep the dash dim. And love the Stillen front...good choice. I'm going to start a 'Boosted 40th's Going to ZdayZ '15' thread...right now. Hope you will join us.

I like the blue better cause I can actually see in my car, but it didn't fit the theme of the 40th lol. I would LOVE to go to ZdayZ. Give me a link to the thread!!

i have a set of used 750cc injectors for sale for $425 bucks i upgraded to i.d 1000cc injectors. so pm if your interested

i have the stillen cats on now, the best bet would be to go OEM cats then? this means i will lose HP and TQ correct? and the exhaust will be quieter?

You will actually gain HP back with the Stock Cats over the HFC's or Test Pipes. The exhaust will be a little quieter.

I would like to say yes, because I did. I only had the Impeller upgrade ( Vortec one) and went from 9PSI to 11-12 PSI. I never saw 8PSI the kit out of the box and custom tune I was seeing 9PSI all day long, Made the Impeller upgrade ( with a handful of supporting fuel mods) and saw 11PSI. I tried to reach 500WHP and fell 43 WHP short:ugh2:

Always had the Stock cats, Just cat back from Exotic speed

Agreed :tiphat:

The fact that by running stock cats you'll make more power, still be reliable, and be 50 state smog legal is pretty awesome.


That said, I do bet that with some cams, that reduce overlap, you'll be able to make 500 whp on this platform.

There are no such things as "cam"(and or large cam profile) upgrades for this car. Well there are but they are VERY impractical money wise and to my knowledge haven't been proven to provide results.

I don't think that it is practical, nor do I suggest that it is absolutely necessary.

Overlap of the cams profiles is the important part. You dont want overlap on a f/i car. (overlap is the length of time both the intake and exhaust valves are open at the same time.) All internal combustion motors rely on cylinder pressure. F/I cars need only one set of valves open at a time to reduce boost loss out of the exhaust.

With cams that reduce overlap, you can raise boost without worrying that it'll escape out of the exhaust valves. Additionally, you can run the car without the cat, allowing you make more power that. On other platforms, running catless with an s/c = more power.

This is by no means a knock on any of the s/c and t/c kits that are available. They work great. I'm just saying that if we had the opportunity to reduce overlap, I think that we'd be able to make even more power. I defer to the k20 civic si that is running 15lbs of boost and making 420+ hp and 29X lb ft of torque...that's impressive and he used cams to get there.

There are not "cams" for our car in the traditional sense because of VVEL, it acts like a virtual cam on the intake side.
On the exhaust side we do have a physical cam, but it requires being able to adjust VVEL with the exhaust cam to make any difference which has not happened yet.

So you're saying that once we crack VVEL, we'll be running down gtrs in our boosted zs? :happydance:

VVEL is technically "unlocked" already, but since its ability to be controlled we have not see any huge boom in power or changes. Whether it is from tuners not wanting to touch it or it has no gains without other additions I am not sure yet.

I know Z1 has touched it, uprev in Austin of course as since they write the software, but no word about others.

Update:

So after my initial post I've notice a loss in power. My tuner said something about data not copying over and sent me a new tune. And this is where the story picks back up.

After speaking with Stillen I recently puts cats back on and only see a max of 7psi very high up in the rpms, basically redline (I'm guessing this means I do not have a 928 impeller?). The map switching has stopped but now I've felt a huge loss of power. I sent logs to Stillen and they said besides running a little rich up top everything is fine.

I also sent logs to my tuner and he said on 2 out of my 3 pulls my throttle body is only opening half way even though he can see in the logs that my pedal is 100% down. I tried doing a throttle body reset and I didn't notice any difference. I checked around for boost leaks and couldn't find any. Though I'm sure a smoke test would be better then a soap and water test.

Any input is appreciated I've been very upset with the results after the amount of money I've spent on this setup. Especially since I really do not have time to troubleshoot everyday which is why I went to a shop.

I guess I will be taking the 3 hour drive back to R/T so they can put it back on the dyno. Getting annoyed, but I guess that's how it goes.

Thanks in advanced to any input. Mark at Stillen has been great and so has Vince at R/T tuning!

How's your fuel pressure? Sounds simialr to the things I was feeling with mine before it quit. I wasn't able to make any boost at the end . Fuel pump install was no good .
But 7 psi even on the stock 8 psi you should see 9 . Do you try reloading your tune resetting everything ? I felt a loss in power at another time but was still making 9psi.
I reflashed my tune back in and the car was fine

I can try reloading it again, but yes I've reloaded the new tune before. According to the tuner everything except the throttle body is fine. So I can only go off what he's saying meaning the fuel pressure is ok.

So would this point to a minor boost leak as well? Cause I never see 8psi even if I bury the rpms. Most I see is 7 right near redline.

Drove all the way back to the shop and it didn't go on the dyno >.< . They test drove it and said it runs fine. I'm glad I drove 3 hours back and forth for nothing.

I reload the tune and it runs fine. As soon as I come to a stop the car drops to around 500 rpms under idle and kicks back up to around 1k. After that I have a lot less power. It's like the ecu is not accepting my tune and throwing it into a limp mode. And I can get this to happen EVER time I reflash the ecu. I sent about 5 data logs to the tuner, but they are always slammed and they have trouble making time to check my logs out.

Not sure what else to do but bring it somewhere else which I don't want to do because shop hoping will get you in trouble. But I've been trying to solve this problem all year and now I'm getting annoyed.

Anyone else have an issue like this? If so what can I do? I really would like to enjoy the car once this year....

Very sorry for your troubles man, sounds frustrating. Have you checked for vacuum leaks? I had a similar issue with the idle dropping and saw I had a vacuum leak which was the culprit. Before I found the leak I would start my car and it would instantly be in limp mode and once I shut off and restart it goes back to normal. 2 months troubleshooting and it was a damn vacuum leak causing this issue. Very weird but that was the case with me.

I sprayed brake cleaner around my throttle bodies and that's where my leak was. The idle dropped instantly after I sprayed directly at it so I swapped out my O-Rings behind the throttle bodies, secured everything and all was good.

I checked for leaks the other day. I'll check again with a smoke test instead. Thanks I'll be back lol

if its your idle sounds like a vacuum leak to me also if the car is not getting correct boost levels could be same reason.

I agree with this 100% and this was causing lots of issues for me as well. Idle/boost/tune were all thrown out of whack.