VQ35HR ST (VSR) Begins
09-29-2014, 08:07 PM
#21
Bobby has been great keeping me updated the past week. He pulled the motor on Sunday and broke down the shortblock today to find oil starvation on bearings and rings. Most likely from excessive G's.
Glad I chose to rebuild this thing.
I ordered blackstone kit. Maybe I should buy a magnetic oil plug as well. Been meaning to do so for my differential as well. Im sure I've cooked the oil in that thing at the track. If only differential coolers weren't so expensive.
Glad I chose to rebuild this thing.
I ordered blackstone kit. Maybe I should buy a magnetic oil plug as well. Been meaning to do so for my differential as well. Im sure I've cooked the oil in that thing at the track. If only differential coolers weren't so expensive.
10-15-2014, 04:18 PM
#25
10-16-2014, 04:26 PM
#26
best way to get in contact is FB https://www.facebook.com/sandrperformanceFL
10-17-2014, 05:37 AM
#27
Great news! Car is tuned.
Bad news. Stock Nismo exhaust is holding the car back
Big Thanks to Bobby and VSR for working into the night getting the car together. Its been a great journey so far and its far from over.
There are a few more loose ends to pick up before the car can be shipped back. Regardless, I am siked to get the car back.
Of course, rough result:
6 psi = 380 whp
8 psi = 420 whp
13 psi = 500 whp
Don't have torque figures, but im sure its way more than the 260 lb-ft I had before. Again, the stock exhaust seems to be holding a good bit of that power back. Glad Bobby and VSR built that block. Once I put my big boy pants on, maybe I'll "invest" in a more free flowing exhaust and really unleash the single turbo's potential.
Next steps include a shake down to get all of the bugs out, data log to refine any potential rough spots, throw some larger tires on the car, and just enjoy my first car out of college as it should have came out of the factory
I'll post up dyno's when I get them.
A little honeymoon reflection (still early and i'll update as I go forward):
IMO, the true value in a performance shop is how they handle "incidents" as incidents will inevitably arise. Every shop has their oopies, more importantly though, Bobby has made right their oopies (based on the threads i've read on 370z). I hope my story is free of incidents, but knowing that Bobby will come through regardless really settles the mind.
Bad news. Stock Nismo exhaust is holding the car back
Big Thanks to Bobby and VSR for working into the night getting the car together. Its been a great journey so far and its far from over.
There are a few more loose ends to pick up before the car can be shipped back. Regardless, I am siked to get the car back.
Of course, rough result:
6 psi = 380 whp
8 psi = 420 whp
13 psi = 500 whp
Don't have torque figures, but im sure its way more than the 260 lb-ft I had before. Again, the stock exhaust seems to be holding a good bit of that power back. Glad Bobby and VSR built that block. Once I put my big boy pants on, maybe I'll "invest" in a more free flowing exhaust and really unleash the single turbo's potential.
Next steps include a shake down to get all of the bugs out, data log to refine any potential rough spots, throw some larger tires on the car, and just enjoy my first car out of college as it should have came out of the factory
I'll post up dyno's when I get them.
A little honeymoon reflection (still early and i'll update as I go forward):
IMO, the true value in a performance shop is how they handle "incidents" as incidents will inevitably arise. Every shop has their oopies, more importantly though, Bobby has made right their oopies (based on the threads i've read on 370z). I hope my story is free of incidents, but knowing that Bobby will come through regardless really settles the mind.
10-17-2014, 05:54 AM
#30
National Speed does good e-cutouts. They rave about them.
https://www.facebook.com/NationalSpeed
http://www.nationalspeedinc.com/
Also,
for finished build!
https://www.facebook.com/NationalSpeed
http://www.nationalspeedinc.com/
Also,
for finished build!
Last edited by Nismo350z#0310; 10-17-2014 at 05:58 AM.
10-17-2014, 06:54 AM
#31
I got mine from http://www.badlanzhpe.com/ I'm sure there are more expensive ones, but this one works well and seals perfectly, but you have to actually listen to the exhaust because it you have to manually hold the switch to close and open the valve. (which if you're not careful you could probably strip the gears)
You might want to look into a boost activated e-cutout. Might be closer to $500, but may be worth it not to hassle with a manual valve
You might want to look into a boost activated e-cutout. Might be closer to $500, but may be worth it not to hassle with a manual valve
10-17-2014, 07:09 AM
#32
I got mine from http://www.badlanzhpe.com/ I'm sure there are more expensive ones, but this one works well and seals perfectly, but you have to actually listen to the exhaust because it you have to manually hold the switch to close and open the valve. (which if you're not careful you could probably strip the gears)
You might want to look into a boost activated e-cutout. Might be closer to $500, but may be worth it not to hassle with a manual valve
You might want to look into a boost activated e-cutout. Might be closer to $500, but may be worth it not to hassle with a manual valve
This is the same as an external wastegate setup. Should just go with that. It's what I'm running, easy setup if you can fab the piping off the wastegate for it.
Last edited by Nismo350z#0310; 10-17-2014 at 11:16 AM.
10-17-2014, 11:28 AM
#35
Maybe Bobby can further elaborate but I pretty much stop listening when he said "it made no power". At that point, i was thinking of solutions.
10-27-2014, 11:18 PM
#38
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what pistons/rods? I just comment on their page but wouldn't hurt to ask twice.
I was unable to find their kit on the website. Chances are I won't be buying one, but looking at prices would be nice. Just learning as much as I can about the VQ35HR and it's capabilities.
I was unable to find their kit on the website. Chances are I won't be buying one, but looking at prices would be nice. Just learning as much as I can about the VQ35HR and it's capabilities.
10-28-2014, 06:52 PM
#39
05-12-2015, 08:38 AM
#40
7 months update:
I've driven ~700 miles, most of which have been a love hate relationship. First and foremost, the car is MUCH MUCH faster than when it went down to FL. All I have to say is, I should have boosted the car much sooner. I've never been a man of words, but the feeling is simply amazing.
Now for the bad, It started on the first day with a bunch of small things and has eventually escalated to getting the car fixed somewhere else. I knew things were going to be rough given the nature of the work so I had low expectations to begin with. (not a reflection of VSR but more so of an understanding that boosting a NA car is not easy and will fail in one way or another).
Bobby was extremely helpful at the beginning with flying up and fixing some of the issues but the car still isn't right. From what I've noticed with the quality of work and the litter of issues; I just don't have the confidence or trust anymore to send the car back. It seem to me that there were more items at play that affected the service (Bobby's spin off may be related but im speculating here) From what was conveyed to me, the car bounced around different techs (which I assumed to have different skill levels and different levels of commitment). However, the welds look great! For the welder to have broken his leg to come back and work on the car while in a wheelchair is simply astounding.
Now the laundry list of things: sigh...
- Radio wasn't seated back (granted, I had a rats nest back there but I got it to fit w/o shorting)
- Car misfired in bank 6 around 4k rpm (replaced injectors seem to fixed it)
- Couldn't turn over in colder temperatures without multiple cranks (FL is a sunny 70 when tuned)
- Bunch of missing bumper/fender clips along with an utterly destroyed undertray
- PCV return on intake manifold was cracked which most likely contributed to rough idle and misfires. I found a bunch of oil on the back side of the intake manifold so I added a catch can.
- Bunch of small vaccum/boost leaks everywhere (varying sized hoses and T's used to route boost lines)
- 2 bolts on transmission bell housing that secure the transmission to the engine block were floating and not torqued down
- Cross pipe from driver side headers to up-pipe was not heat wrapped (seems like a silly thing not to do since the exhaust pipe sat 1" away from transmission)
- Bunch of small items went missing and I had to reorder and overnight them (i'll leave it at that)
- Bunch of gauges I ordered didn't seem to work even though they were brand new? (I guess AEM LEDs blow out often)
- Car was missing 2.5qt of oil and 1/2 gallon of radiator fluid when delivered
- Tank cover over fuel pump left floating
- Fuel regulator secured to firewall with 1 screw
- Clutch wasn't bled properly and 2/3 of the pedal was dead. It was damn impossible to get the car into gear without smashing the clutch pedal. (I replaced it with a Tilton MC and SS lines)
- Lower transmission cover, clutch line cover missing
- PS line seem to sweat and needed replacement
- Sandwich plate plug needed tightening
- Sweet looking crash bar held onto frame rail with 2 bolts on either side instead of the 4 that exist
VSR fixed some of these issues when Bobbby flew up but there are still a bunch of items that I've been discovering and struggling to fix. The reality is, I really don't have time to correct the issues anymore so off to another shop.
My Retrospective:
It has been an interesting journey and one that I knew that was going to face some challenges. My expectations was to get a 'fast' car. Did I know there were going to be issues? Yes. Did I know it was going to take this long? Nope. There were plenty of things that could have gone better and things that I could have done to help facilitate the process. Were there things that VSR could have done better? Absolutely. Was I pissed at all of the BS that was wrong? Yup but Im over it and moving on. When **** goes wrong, you gotta realign your expectations. My expectations was to receive a fast toy and I think too many people have unrealistic expectations thinking everything will be perfect. A car has thousands of parts, its unrealistic to think everything will be done perfectly.
Future:
Locale really made things more difficult with interfacing with VSR, so i picked a local shop around here. Its a few miles down the road with a much smaller web presence, at least with Nissans. Certainly there will be challenges with the new shop but I will be sure to take some of the lessons learn with my previous experience forward to ensure things go a little smoother.
- recirculate the wastegate back into the exhaust
- replace Nismo exhaust with Motordyne TDX2
- throw in more Cats because smelling like gasoline at work sucks
- retune it for new exhaust, VA and not sure why boost comes in so late for a 6266 but being kicked in the pants is fun on the street but terrible at the track.
::cross fingers::
I've driven ~700 miles, most of which have been a love hate relationship. First and foremost, the car is MUCH MUCH faster than when it went down to FL. All I have to say is, I should have boosted the car much sooner. I've never been a man of words, but the feeling is simply amazing.
Now for the bad, It started on the first day with a bunch of small things and has eventually escalated to getting the car fixed somewhere else. I knew things were going to be rough given the nature of the work so I had low expectations to begin with. (not a reflection of VSR but more so of an understanding that boosting a NA car is not easy and will fail in one way or another).
Bobby was extremely helpful at the beginning with flying up and fixing some of the issues but the car still isn't right. From what I've noticed with the quality of work and the litter of issues; I just don't have the confidence or trust anymore to send the car back. It seem to me that there were more items at play that affected the service (Bobby's spin off may be related but im speculating here) From what was conveyed to me, the car bounced around different techs (which I assumed to have different skill levels and different levels of commitment). However, the welds look great! For the welder to have broken his leg to come back and work on the car while in a wheelchair is simply astounding.
Now the laundry list of things: sigh...
- Radio wasn't seated back (granted, I had a rats nest back there but I got it to fit w/o shorting)
- Car misfired in bank 6 around 4k rpm (replaced injectors seem to fixed it)
- Couldn't turn over in colder temperatures without multiple cranks (FL is a sunny 70 when tuned)
- Bunch of missing bumper/fender clips along with an utterly destroyed undertray
- PCV return on intake manifold was cracked which most likely contributed to rough idle and misfires. I found a bunch of oil on the back side of the intake manifold so I added a catch can.
- Bunch of small vaccum/boost leaks everywhere (varying sized hoses and T's used to route boost lines)
- 2 bolts on transmission bell housing that secure the transmission to the engine block were floating and not torqued down
- Cross pipe from driver side headers to up-pipe was not heat wrapped (seems like a silly thing not to do since the exhaust pipe sat 1" away from transmission)
- Bunch of small items went missing and I had to reorder and overnight them (i'll leave it at that)
- Bunch of gauges I ordered didn't seem to work even though they were brand new? (I guess AEM LEDs blow out often)
- Car was missing 2.5qt of oil and 1/2 gallon of radiator fluid when delivered
- Tank cover over fuel pump left floating
- Fuel regulator secured to firewall with 1 screw
- Clutch wasn't bled properly and 2/3 of the pedal was dead. It was damn impossible to get the car into gear without smashing the clutch pedal. (I replaced it with a Tilton MC and SS lines)
- Lower transmission cover, clutch line cover missing
- PS line seem to sweat and needed replacement
- Sandwich plate plug needed tightening
- Sweet looking crash bar held onto frame rail with 2 bolts on either side instead of the 4 that exist
VSR fixed some of these issues when Bobbby flew up but there are still a bunch of items that I've been discovering and struggling to fix. The reality is, I really don't have time to correct the issues anymore so off to another shop.
My Retrospective:
It has been an interesting journey and one that I knew that was going to face some challenges. My expectations was to get a 'fast' car. Did I know there were going to be issues? Yes. Did I know it was going to take this long? Nope. There were plenty of things that could have gone better and things that I could have done to help facilitate the process. Were there things that VSR could have done better? Absolutely. Was I pissed at all of the BS that was wrong? Yup but Im over it and moving on. When **** goes wrong, you gotta realign your expectations. My expectations was to receive a fast toy and I think too many people have unrealistic expectations thinking everything will be perfect. A car has thousands of parts, its unrealistic to think everything will be done perfectly.
Future:
Locale really made things more difficult with interfacing with VSR, so i picked a local shop around here. Its a few miles down the road with a much smaller web presence, at least with Nissans. Certainly there will be challenges with the new shop but I will be sure to take some of the lessons learn with my previous experience forward to ensure things go a little smoother.
- recirculate the wastegate back into the exhaust
- replace Nismo exhaust with Motordyne TDX2
- throw in more Cats because smelling like gasoline at work sucks
- retune it for new exhaust, VA and not sure why boost comes in so late for a 6266 but being kicked in the pants is fun on the street but terrible at the track.
::cross fingers::