phelan's 370Z (W.I.P.)

RCZ · 10-26-2010, 10:44 AM

That car looks so obnoxiously good it hurts.

Fly1 Motorsports · 10-27-2010, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCZ

That car looks so obnoxiously good it hurts.

Maaaan...I saw Andrew's car @ Amplified a few weeks back. Believe me when I say that the pics don't do it justice. Gorgeous build...

phelan · 10-27-2010, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theflyest1

Maaaan...I saw Andrew's car @ Amplified a few weeks back. Believe me when I say that the pics don't do it justice. Gorgeous build...

I see everybody at Amplified. I don't need to go to meets. Just stop by at the shop, I'm probably there

HKYStormFront · 10-27-2010, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCZ

That car looks so obnoxiously good it hurts in my pants.

fixed! siiiiiiiiick dude. much WIN, this thread haz

zero · 10-27-2010, 11:12 PM

^ I didn't see you last time I was there.

phelan · 10-28-2010, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zero

^ I didn't see you last time I was there.

Who told you to go golfing all afternoon

phelan · 12-12-2010, 12:39 PM

Update (short version, as I will post with pictures later):

I took the car in to service at Fontana Nissan last week because the car kept throwing a CEL light. The code was P0456, which denotes a pinhole-esque leak in the fuel evaporator system. I thought it was a gas cap issue; and so did everybody else.

Well...long story short, it wasn't. My Amuse exhaust caused issues with the fuel system's charcoal canister, and I had to replace the charcoal canister out of pocket. The car is back with the exhaust dropped almost 2 inches to mitigate any interference issues. I'm still trying to figure out what happened, and what to do.

Pics and an improved write-up to follow, but I'm posting this up here because I'm out of ideas, so I'd like to hear some thoughts from the community.

Special thanks go to Frank and Jerome @ Fontana Nissan for helping me out, and Mike @ BPAuto for his continued support

SoCal 370Z · 12-12-2010, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phelan

The car is back with the exhaust dropped almost 2 inches to mitigate any interference issues.

Pics please of before and after the two inch drop. And how the hell did you accomplish a two inch exhaust drop?

phelan · 12-12-2010, 12:49 PM

Flipped the mounting brackets upside down.

I should add that I'm not putting this up as a dig on any company. Aftermarket parts like this always carry inherent risk, one I've been taking for a while now as well. I think there are ways to fix this, just need to figure out what is the best and cleanest way to do it. My hope is that we all learn from this, so others with the amuse exhaust are aware of what CAN (but not necessarily will!) happen.

Also for the record I have already contacted amuse through BPAuto. So can't say I'm just coming out and flaming first (and really! I'm not trying to fan flames at all!!)

kevin1985912 · 12-12-2010, 01:55 PM

dude, who's that girl on your profile pic? She is so pretty~~

phelan · 12-12-2010, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin1985912

dude, who's that girl on your profile pic? She is so pretty~~

Yui.

As promised, here are more pics of the car in its current condition:

You can see the massive gap I now have between the bumper and the exhaust tips. For comparison's sake, here's the old position:

This condition is TEMPORARY ONLY. It's only there so I could take it back home from Fontana Nissan. Once I figure out how to fix Rin up, I plan to flip the mounting brackets back to the correct orientation, etc.

See next post for the actual issue...

phelan · 12-12-2010, 03:55 PM

Now then, for the main culprit of my troubles...the charcoal canister.

Now I do not believe the JDM models HAVE this thing, so maybe that's playing into what's going on here. Also, KEEP IN MIND MY EXHAUST IS DIFFERENT THAN THE STANDARD R1 EXTRA. The secondary pipes (the ones I'm having issues with) have been enlarged by .5 inches to accommodate future forced induction plans. With that said, from what I see, it looks like even the regular version will have issues.

Here is the car as seen at Fontana Nissan when I took Rin in for service:

You can see the exhaust biting into the charcoal canister already. Here's a closer look at what is going on.

These pictures show pretty clearly what happened. The radiated heat from the exhaust pipes melted through a lot of it already, and the holes in the canister tripped the P0456 minor leak CEL code.

Due to the extreme hazard of driving around with this condition (this IS the fuel system we're dealing with here!), I bought a new canister and replaced it. Since we haven't figured out the whole clearance issue, we had to make do with moving the exhaust downwards to make it all fit and not melt.

The following is a bad angle, it looks like it's touching, but I have about .5 inches of space between the components.

Of course now there's black crud on the top of the exhaust piping

it will be unnoticeable when I fix it all, but for now it's pathetic.

370zproject · 12-12-2010, 02:09 PM

^lol

FairladyZ10PG · 12-12-2010, 03:43 PM

Sorry to hear. This news concerns me deeply since amuse r1 was next on my to do list. I'm curious to hear what amuse has to say about this. Please keep us posted and good luck.

phelan · 12-12-2010, 04:00 PM

Other thoughts:

-As mentioned, I think the USDM models are the only ones that need to be concerned with this. I don't think anybody else has a charcoal canister.

-This interference condition was NOT present during the time of installation. My theory is that the rubber hangars have contracted a bit since install, especially with the very light titanium exhaust that is now hanging from it. Remember, the titanium exhaust is less than half the weight of the stock exhaust. That's quite a bit less force per hangar. The one issue I still have with this would be the exhaust moving about an inch...doesn't seem like there was THAT much play in it, but I can't think of anything else that would cause this to happen.

-The interference was also not noticeable during installation possibly because we pulled down a bit on the exhaust, and stressed the hangars. Given they don't have a spring-like rebound rate, while the car was on the lift it didn't interfere. As time passed, it might have pulled it into the canister.

-The 350Z has similar issues on select exhausts, such as Stillen and GReddy. The solution for the 350Z crowd was to create a relocation bracket for the canister. I'm curious to know if the bracket would work on this. I might have to talk to Josh or Kyle on this one.

-The other alternative is to modify the canister itself. I took possession of the damaged canister I had on Rin since day 1, and I'm thinking if I can file down the affected area, I can eliminate the interference altogether. Thoughts?

-I'm open to any other ideas anybody has.

This isn't the happiest update I've been able to post, and honestly, I haven't driven the car around since I took it back from Fontana. Lots of issues with it right now, so it's best left alone in the garage until I get it fixed.

Any input would be very much appreciated

10-27-2010, 11:12 PM	#5 (permalink)
zero A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Southern California Posts: 1,259 Drives: MK 7.5 Golf R Rep Power: 23	^ I didn't see you last time I was there. __________________

12-12-2010, 12:39 PM	#7 (permalink)
phelan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: CA Age: 39 Posts: 9,513 Drives: Scoobaroo Rep Power: 3407	Update (short version, as I will post with pictures later): I took the car in to service at Fontana Nissan last week because the car kept throwing a CEL light. The code was P0456, which denotes a pinhole-esque leak in the fuel evaporator system. I thought it was a gas cap issue; and so did everybody else. Well...long story short, it wasn't. My Amuse exhaust caused issues with the fuel system's charcoal canister, and I had to replace the charcoal canister out of pocket. The car is back with the exhaust dropped almost 2 inches to mitigate any interference issues. I'm still trying to figure out what happened, and what to do. Pics and an improved write-up to follow, but I'm posting this up here because I'm out of ideas, so I'd like to hear some thoughts from the community. Special thanks go to Frank and Jerome @ Fontana Nissan for helping me out, and Mike @ BPAuto for his continued support __________________ 凛 ('Rin') - 2009 Nissan 370Z With silence comes peace. With peace comes freedom. With freedom comes silence.

12-12-2010, 12:49 PM	#9 (permalink)
phelan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: CA Age: 39 Posts: 9,513 Drives: Scoobaroo Rep Power: 3407	Flipped the mounting brackets upside down. I should add that I'm not putting this up as a dig on any company. Aftermarket parts like this always carry inherent risk, one I've been taking for a while now as well. I think there are ways to fix this, just need to figure out what is the best and cleanest way to do it. My hope is that we all learn from this, so others with the amuse exhaust are aware of what CAN (but not necessarily will!) happen. Also for the record I have already contacted amuse through BPAuto. So can't say I'm just coming out and flaming first (and really! I'm not trying to fan flames at all!!) __________________ 凛 ('Rin') - 2009 Nissan 370Z With silence comes peace. With peace comes freedom. With freedom comes silence. Last edited by phelan; 12-12-2010 at 12:54 PM.

12-12-2010, 01:55 PM	#10 (permalink)
kevin1985912 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: san diego Age: 39 Posts: 285 Drives: 370zMT touring sport Rep Power: 17	dude, who's that girl on your profile pic? She is so pretty~~ __________________ FI non resonated test pipes, CBE. Stillen G3 intakes, Amuse Kit, KW V3 coilovers, SSR Type F, Blackout headlights. 3M clear bra, UpRev tune, 320whp, 260 wtq http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...ect-raven.html

12-12-2010, 03:55 PM	#12 (permalink)
phelan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: CA Age: 39 Posts: 9,513 Drives: Scoobaroo Rep Power: 3407	Now then, for the main culprit of my troubles...the charcoal canister. Now I do not believe the JDM models HAVE this thing, so maybe that's playing into what's going on here. Also, KEEP IN MIND MY EXHAUST IS DIFFERENT THAN THE STANDARD R1 EXTRA. The secondary pipes (the ones I'm having issues with) have been enlarged by .5 inches to accommodate future forced induction plans. With that said, from what I see, it looks like even the regular version will have issues. Here is the car as seen at Fontana Nissan when I took Rin in for service: You can see the exhaust biting into the charcoal canister already. Here's a closer look at what is going on. These pictures show pretty clearly what happened. The radiated heat from the exhaust pipes melted through a lot of it already, and the holes in the canister tripped the P0456 minor leak CEL code. Due to the extreme hazard of driving around with this condition (this IS the fuel system we're dealing with here!), I bought a new canister and replaced it. Since we haven't figured out the whole clearance issue, we had to make do with moving the exhaust downwards to make it all fit and not melt. The following is a bad angle, it looks like it's touching, but I have about .5 inches of space between the components. Of course now there's black crud on the top of the exhaust piping it will be unnoticeable when I fix it all, but for now it's pathetic. __________________ 凛 ('Rin') - 2009 Nissan 370Z With silence comes peace. With peace comes freedom. With freedom comes silence. Last edited by phelan; 12-12-2010 at 04:02 PM.

10-26-2010, 10:44 AM	#1 (permalink)
RCZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami Posts: 6,403 Drives: '09 370Z Rep Power: 1119	That car looks so obnoxiously good it hurts.

12-12-2010, 02:09 PM	#13 (permalink)
370zproject A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Memphis Age: 35 Posts: 16,104 Drives: 09 A/T 370z blue Rep Power: 54	^lol __________________ Brake Upgrade Package ate blue, hawk hp ceramic pads, and slotted rotors

12-12-2010, 03:43 PM	#14 (permalink)
FairladyZ10PG A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: SoCal-IE Posts: 1,890 Drives: PGraphite m6 Rep Power: 255	Sorry to hear. This news concerns me deeply since amuse r1 was next on my to do list. I'm curious to hear what amuse has to say about this. Please keep us posted and good luck. __________________ ///MPPSK///M Performance FRONT SPLITTER///M Performance KIDNEY GRILLS///MPerformance CF MIRRORS///MPerformance CF SPOILER///AC SCHNITZER

12-12-2010, 04:00 PM	#15 (permalink)
phelan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: CA Age: 39 Posts: 9,513 Drives: Scoobaroo Rep Power: 3407	Other thoughts: -As mentioned, I think the USDM models are the only ones that need to be concerned with this. I don't think anybody else has a charcoal canister. -This interference condition was NOT present during the time of installation. My theory is that the rubber hangars have contracted a bit since install, especially with the very light titanium exhaust that is now hanging from it. Remember, the titanium exhaust is less than half the weight of the stock exhaust. That's quite a bit less force per hangar. The one issue I still have with this would be the exhaust moving about an inch...doesn't seem like there was THAT much play in it, but I can't think of anything else that would cause this to happen. -The interference was also not noticeable during installation possibly because we pulled down a bit on the exhaust, and stressed the hangars. Given they don't have a spring-like rebound rate, while the car was on the lift it didn't interfere. As time passed, it might have pulled it into the canister. -The 350Z has similar issues on select exhausts, such as Stillen and GReddy. The solution for the 350Z crowd was to create a relocation bracket for the canister. I'm curious to know if the bracket would work on this. I might have to talk to Josh or Kyle on this one. -The other alternative is to modify the canister itself. I took possession of the damaged canister I had on Rin since day 1, and I'm thinking if I can file down the affected area, I can eliminate the interference altogether. Thoughts? -I'm open to any other ideas anybody has. This isn't the happiest update I've been able to post, and honestly, I haven't driven the car around since I took it back from Fontana. Lots of issues with it right now, so it's best left alone in the garage until I get it fixed. Any input would be very much appreciated __________________ 凛 ('Rin') - 2009 Nissan 370Z With silence comes peace. With peace comes freedom. With freedom comes silence.