ENT-Z Build Thread
 

It's long overdue, but I figured I would join the rank and file and put up my own build thread.

I purchased the car new in May of 2009 and have been reading the forum regularly even before that. I've used the knowledge I've gained on this site to guide my build choices. The car didn't see very many modifications for the first year or so but recently I have been making a lot of changes. It's still not complete but I figured it's far enough along now to start this journal.

Stock Configuration
- Manual Transmission
- Magnetic Black, Persimmon Interior
- Sports and Touring Package
- Navigation
- Splash Guards

Drivetrain Mods
- Boosted Performance Single Turbo Kit
- Southbend Stage III Clutch
- Southbend Racing Steel Flywheel (still lighter than stock)
- RJM Adjustable Clutch Pedal Assembly
- Z1 Stainless Steel Clutch Line
- Motul RBF 600 Clutch Fluid
- Motul 300 manual transmission fluid
- Redline 75W90 gear oil for rear differential
- Redline 0W40 motor oil
- Kinetix magnetic drain plug
- Canton Racing Products Accusump 3 quart reservoir with electronic valve for prevention of oil pressure loss on track and for pre-oiling block before engine start up

Exhaust Mods
- Fast Intentions TDX with 18" resonators and carbon fiber mufflers

Cooling Mods
- Z1 34 Row Oil Cooler
- Oil cooler thermostat
- JWT Oil Pan Spacer (included in BP Turbo Kit)
- Z1 Power Steering Cooler
- CSF Racing Radiator
- Z1 Silicone Radiator Hoses

Suspension Mods
- Tein monoflex coilovers with EDFC Active including optional GPS sensor
- Whiteline front and rear adjustable sway bars
- Whiteline rear sway bar end links
- SPL front sway bar end links
- SPL Front Upper Control Arms
- SPL Front Impact Bushings
- SPL Front Lower Arm Bushings
- SPL Rear Camber Links
- SPL Rear Traction Links
- SPL Rear Mid Links
- SPL Rear Eccentric Lockout Kit

Braking System Mods
- Z1 Stainless Steel Brake Line
- ATE Type 200 Racing Brake Fluid
- Carbotech XP8 pads

Electronics Mods
- HKS EVC-S Boost Controller
- PLX Multigauge with additional sensor modules for Air Fuel Ratio, Oil Pressure, Boost/Vacuum
- Escort 9500 Radar Detector
- Steering wheel lock bypass harness by BDL

Interior Mods
- Black fuel gauge overlay by member simota1
- Blendmount for Escort 9500 radar detector with invisicord wiring to homelink mirror
- Custom bracket for mounting HKS EVC-S boost controller to radar detector blendmount
- One off custom a-pillar gauge mount with carbon fiber accent for PLX gauge by member GaleForce

Exterior Mods
- Orange powdercoated calipers (to match my seats) by member Mike
- Avant Garde M310 19 inch wheels in Dolphin Grey powdercoat
- Bridgestone RE-11 285 up front and 305 rear (going wider with next set since I now have a turbo)
- Tint 15% all around
- Stillen front fascia with mesh insert and fangs
- Stillen side skirts
- Carbonsignal Varis replica rear diffuser

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psc82d93d9.jpg
They day I brought her home!

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psbcd720b8.jpg
All cleaned up after window tint and before new wheels/caliper color change

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1f242a80.png
Sitting in the infield between sessions at Gateway Motorsports Park

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psfc824b1c.png
Heading down the main straight

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psc9fd19f1.jpg
Deconstruction begins

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6f985e4d.jpg
Pretty radiator

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psb21986ea.jpg
Radiator, Oil Cooler, Power Steering Cooler, Scavenge pump in place

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0e83251e.jpg
Oil pan spacer

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psc85d6d9b.jpg
Intercooler mounted

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps997eb5d0.jpg
Accusump mounted where stock muffler heat shield used to be

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psddb9c8a5.jpg
Some of the exhaust side going in. The turbo flange on the left ended up not being straight - had to take it off and send it to a machine shop to prevent an exhaust leak - I was bummed about that!

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps93f0c030.jpg
Here is what the gap looked like at the top after everything was torqued down

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psba4d9327.jpg
A pic with a straight edge lying along it - not straight :(

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps80139ac9.jpg
Back from the machine shop and now the turbo can go in!

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3dcfb3b6.jpg
Looking good now

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psa84b961d.jpg
A little different angle

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psf7c1608b.jpg
Under the hood

Nice mods! Looking forward to pics.

nice build man! Can't wait to see more pictures

First round of pics up. More to come as the turbo build finishes up!

I had similar gap on my turbo flange. Wondering if I should have someone look at it. Did you mention it to Sasha?

Nice build! we got very similar builds :)

Looks nice man,

Can't wait to see it at the next St. Louis meet.

Sweet ride man!

I did tell him and sent him the photos. He said it would be fine after some heat cycles went in the metal and re-tighten them. I trusted the judgement of my installer though since they build and fabricate race cars. He said it would definitely leak exhaust there so they took it to the machine shop and now there is no gap at all.

Yeah I noticed that. Also very similar to GaleForce. I have been following both your builds for a while. I'm very interested in what you are up to with the Racelogic system. It was something I was eyeing from GTM but it looks like you are doing something even more trick with it??

Photo size
 

Hey dumb question but my pics are like thumbnail size. Everyone else has big pics in their posts. Do you have to have your photos hosted on a separate site to make that happen? Sorry I'm a newb at photo posts!

I upload mine to flickr... then open the picture and to enlarge the image and right click and copy the url image address and post it on here

or if you upload ALL your photo to your album in your profile.. you can copy the link from there and post it on here

I use photobucket to upload my pics and videos to, been using it for 5-6 years now.

I'll keep that in mind. Mine looked like yours did when I had issues with the turbo fitting the charge piping. After getting a better fit, I tightened mine up from the top first and then the bottom and the gap is pretty much gone. I'll check it out after a couple of drives and retighten everything. If I have issues I'll know to take that pipe to a machine shop.

As far as photos go, sign up for a free Flickr or Photobucket account. For some reason Flickr doesn't always cooperate with the forum software and leaves dead links. I haven't had any issues using photobucket.

Got the photobucket up and running...pics are full size now.

Next minor, yet annoying, issue is that the oil reservoir for the turbo wasn't completely straight either, this caused a very minor oil seepage from around that gasket. It's back off to the machine shop again :(

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps10fadc92.jpg

Rob, things are coming together nicely.

On the flange side of things...I have honstly never had any issues with leaks due to weld/heat warping. It is odd that the shop insisted on machining them. They are 3/8" thick, and should straigten out rather well after the bolts are torqued down. Over 50 kits sold with this same flange..no issues reported.

The reserovoir should not be warped at all...perhaps a small bump in the welding in the area with the small tab sticking out? Again, each kit has one of these and I have not had issue reported.

I will take note of these small things noted here, and ensure it is not a problem in the future.

On that note, since there may be additional unexprected install charges (machining of flanges) I will be more than happy to cover them for you through paypal.


Just shoot me a PM or email, and we can go on from there.

Sorry for any trouble this may have caused.

Sasha - thanks for your generous offer! I will be in touch once I get all the final bills. Top notch customer service as always!

Also, these guys are extra particular with everything (which is how I want my car handled) so perhaps it wouldn't have been an issue if they left it as is, but they don't like (nor do I) to leave things up to a little chance if it can be improved upon!

I will say that they have been very complimentary with the quality of the kit with the exception of these little details. The installer is really excited to do this build because of how well put together the kit is.

Who is doing your install?

Jon and Nate at ET Tuning in Union.

Awesome build going on ENT-Z! Quick question... how much space was there between the CSF radiator and that black metal beam in the middle? I have a 72 row that may pose an issue with fitment on mine and was wondering if there was more than 2" of clearance.

Well I didn't look that closely when I was visiting the car last but I recall everything being very tight in that area. I'm a little doubtful if there is 2" there. I will check it out closer if I can for you.

Good progress the last few days.

The turbo oil reservoir was straigthened up at the machine shop - this took care of the last of the oil leaks.

Wiring for the PLX gauge and sensor modules was done - hid the modules in the passenger footwell styrofoam blocking.

Today the car actually went for a drive!

Tomorrow should be dyno/tune day and I plan to pick her up this weekend! :happydance:

Pics when I have more time to upload this weekend!

Good stuff...can't wait to see the results. You will be only the second person to dyno with this kit, and third to have a complete running/installed car with it.

I'm still waiting for this snow to melt so I can get my exhaust finished and a proper dyno. Looking forward to seeing your results Rob.

Awesome build, keep it uup.

Got any pictures of the hidden modules? Did you cut the foam to make them fit or just tuck them in behind the foam? I was thinking of using velcro in combination of tucking them in right along the firewall to hold them.

Looks good man! Crazy how fast a build comes together when you pay a shop to do it. I wish I had more time to put into mine, haha.

Getting the journal up to speed
 

So to play a little catch up on what has been going down the last few days...

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psc301a3a9.jpg
New fuel pump went in

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psde7d8b51.jpg
The styrofoam in the passenger footwell where the gauge modules are being hidden away

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps00366aa2.jpg
A shot of where that styrofoam came from

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1bd21846.jpg
That thing above the mirror is the bracket for my EVC-S boost controller

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1e7fcbdd.jpg
The next issue we encountered was that the serial port type plug for my PLX gauge was not going to fit through this opening

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psac5def05.jpg
The quick although not ideal solution was to cut and splice the 15 wires. The other option would be to disassemble the dash

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps206d7401.jpg
Next obstacle was that my custom gauge pod wouldn't clear the speaker cover. This meant the custom a pillar wouldn't clip in by the headliner.

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psf5579295.jpg
Here is the gap I'm talking about. Luckily they were able to grind down the pod to clear the speaker grill and everything fit in. As a nice bonus, the gentleman that made this one off piece for me is going to help cover the costs of making it fit or replace it with a new one if I am not satisfied with their modifications. :tiphat:

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psc91cac76.jpg
With all that being done, it was started for the first time!! :happydance:

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1cb8057d.jpg
Body work back on and ready for a test drive

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps50c73806.jpg
A little dyno time!

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4b1d2a45.jpg
There it is. 459 rear wheel hp and 431 rear wheel torque on 9 psi boost. I'm a little surprised the torque was that high and the hp that low (not that 460 wheel hp is anything to sneeze at). There is an issue with the mass air meter maxing out at 4500 rpm and I wonder if changing this out (if possible) may allow more power up top... After 4500 rpm the car is running very rich, which of course is better than lean, but we would like to get this cleaned up.

I'm going to pick it up this weekend!! I anticipate some additional tweaking with the tune in the near future. I have the option of running as low as 5 psi boost for daily driving which is nice. I'll be turning it up for my next track weekend March 23-24.

Next major upgrade will be the install and paint of my stillen front fascia, side skirts and varis rep rear diffuser. Looking forward to a great spring/summer/fall with this car! :driving:

:eekdance: Ahh I hope you can make it to the meet on the 30th!

Don't break it between then and now.

Rob, I have been in touch with your tuner (Jon) all day (about a dozen emails). It is strange that he is seeing MAF sensor issues, and having the voltage peak and hold at about 4.5V. Something is def. off with that.

I have contacted two of the best UpRev tuners that I know, and both agree that the OEM MAF sensors are good to almost 600whp with the charge pipe size that comes with the kit. Perhaps there is a parameter in UpRev that is not adjusted properly...?

What fuel was the car tuned on?

Tuned on 93 octane. I appreciate your looking into this. I know he has been contact with Uprev directly as well. I'm sure we will get it sorted in the future and I'll just go easy on it until then!

Thanks for posting pics of the module install, to me honest I never thought of pulling out the foot support and attaching them from underneath. It is probably a better way to go than what I was thinking.

Hope you get the tuning issue sorted out.

Mitch

No problem...it is odd that he is seeing this issue. I talked to Sebz at SpecialtyZ yesterday as well. He is the one that tuned the test car up here during a fly in group tune session.

There was no issues with MAF sensor voltage at all.


He also just wrapped up tunning a kit with the same pipe configuration (size), also no problem at all. They are using the same 2.75" charge pipes going to the TB's just like I have. The voltage issue should not come up at all till you start approaching 600whp with that configuration.

I also don't trust UpRev support all that much to be honest. Vince@R/T tunning is my go to guy when it comes to UpRev questions. By far the best/most experienced IMO. The fact that they did not ask (Jon when he called them) what pipe size the MAF's were housed in is enough for me to question things.

I just don't like seeing my customers with these sort of issues, even though they are not kit related..:mad:

On a more positive note, I asked Jon what he thought of the kit...his reply:

Overall the kit was fantastic!

He did mention the flanges...and I will work on correcting that.

Yeah I don't know what to say about all that. I'm hoping that Seb will be coming to St. Louis to do a group tune this Spring as they did last year. I will have him take a look at it then.

I spoke to Seb the other day via email and he said they'll be back :tup:

Definitely keep me in the loop on this!

Good news is that the tuning issue with the MAF actually seems to be corrected! Not going to do another dyno pull right now though so I can't tell you what she would put down if pulled all the way to 7500 rpm.

I picked her up today and it was pouring all day so I didn't get to have any fun. I will say at interstate speeds the car easily broke traction at 3 psi boost in 6th gear in the wet. Looking forward to the drive to work tomorrow!

Are you running the 18's just for the winter?

Do you have a set of sport wheels or aftermarket?

Yes I have Blizzaks on plasti dipped stock 18s for winter. I sold my sport wheels and bought 19 inch avant garde dolphin gray M310s a few years back. I might try to trade tower74 for his Nismo rims though - we shall see.