Hello Guys,

As you know, I have been looking into F/I for a few months now. I want the same horsepower as I could get out of a high horsepower NA but found it more feasible to attain it through an F/I setup. I am very interested in the Turbonetics and APS Single Turbo kits as they will allow me to reach my goal without any other power mods and maintain stock drivability. By the way, my goal is 325rwhp. I would like to lower the boost till I hit 325rwhp as I am afraid of running boost on a stock motor. I have some questions and concerns I was hoping some of my fellow Z/G enthusiasts and experts could address:

1. From looking at photos of the APS ST setup it looks like the cat and y-pipe are replaced/eliminated. Will the kit remove my test pipes (Stillen) and my aftermarket y-pipe? Is the Turbonetics the same way?

2. What are the stock boost levels for each kit (APS and Turbonetics)?

3. I have a UR Pulley set, should this be removed when going F/I? If so, can it be replaced by a KJR Performance Lightweight pulley since it is not underdriven?

4. Which aftermarket radiator would be recommended that would clear the Turbo kit?
I am considering the Blitz Radiator.

5. What, if any, additional mods would be recommended when going for a low boost F/I setup?

Thanks In Advance guys!

Reav

 

Both kits will remove the cats and ypipe

Turbonetics is running 8 PSI out of the box

UR pulley should be ok with the Turbonetics kit

From what I have heard the Stillen radiator is the least increase in size so that is recommended

Additional mods with the Turbonetics kit are none except maybe for a boost gauge, and Wideband.

 

Thanks MIA,

You always come through with good info. Have you dynoed your Turbonetics setup? I want to hit about 325 below stock boost so at something like 6-7 psi, is this possible? Also, this is a little off-topic but what about intercooler sprayers... Can these be used without any bad side-effects?

 

Well at the low of boost pressure you shouldn't need a sprayer but yes it should work. If you are going to get one though I would get a standard water sprayer for the IC core. The nitrous have the chance of being sucked into your intake making it basically a dry shot. NOT GOOD!! As for 325 I'm sure you will hit that with MUCH LESS pressure then that. At 8 PSI I and others are making 380 to the wheels..

 

I agree. The Turbonetics kit is absolutely safe at 8psi as long as the install is done correctly. You will be at a safe 370-390hp at stock boost level. I'm sure you can probably adjust the wastegate for lower boost. The ECU should be able to make all necessary adjustments to operate efficiently at the lower boost setting.

As for the APS ST, there' are no kits installed outside of APS' own cars. The kit looks good but I'd like to see some numbers outside of their own test vehicles. I'm pretty sure the kit runs at 8psi out of the box, and if you wanted to adjust this, you'd have to have the unichip tuned by an authorized APS tuner.

 

Both of these kits will exceed your goal of 325rwhp.

 

Actually I believe the APS ST kit runs 8.5 PSI out of the box.... Either way both kits should be similar. ALthough I have not seen any 3 rd party numbers yet on the APS kit. There are some for Turbonetics and the APS ones should be available when the kits arrive in July I believe?

 

Wouldent he need a fuel system for the Turbonetics?
And whats the peck boost of the turbonetics kit ?

PeaCE.

**EDIT:Would he also need an LSD ?

 

No he wouldn't need a fuel system (do you mean a full return system?)

The Turbonetics kit comes with 380 cc injectors a Walbro pump and a reflash. I and others have had no problems with this setup. Peak boost on the Turbonetics kit is 8 PSI. He would only need an LSD if he has a base model like me... And if it is a base model dont get the Nismo diff unless you can look past the popcorn sound everytime you turn.... Thats what I have BTW.

 

Yes I ment the full return system..?
And @ what PSI does the turbo max out?
What PSI are you running + what are your #'s? (I wanna know since I dident get that at your site )

Iv also heard that the axels start breaking at 400WHP and over, do you suggest replacing those?

thanks
peACE.

 

I'm making about 380 RWHP at 8 PSI. The max efficient boost pressure on this turbo in this motor is probably around 20 PSI. Or roughly 550-600 RWHP depending on mods. Axels should be ok unless you are running drag radials..

 

your on stock internals right?
Why not push it past the 400WHP barrier?
It can be achieved with stock internals right?

thanks
peACE.

 

yes
no desire too
yes

 

I think you could possibly push the 400hp barrier with the turbonetics kit on stock boost. This would probably come from adding a well designed intake manifold, free flowing exhaust, and *possibly* some aftermarket headers.

 

MIAPLAYA and Turran:

I was wondering what "preventive mods", if any, you put on your car to keep it running safely. For example, oil cooler, radiator, return style fuel setup, etc etc. Finally, how much would it cost to fine tune a kit like this? I want to have it sent to technosquare to make sure it is 100% on the money.

EDIT: And one more thing... Can I swap the BOV? I want a WOOSH sound, something like the Blitz BOVs put out.

 

Honestly the only safety mods I have done are my gauges. Based on the data from them I have not seen any need to modify anything else. As for the tune the one that Turbonetics does is done using the same hardware that Technosquare uses. Turbonetics bought it from them so they could do the flash in house. I think you will be absolutely fine as it is...

 

Both will fufill your HP requirement easily.

Keep in mind the APS kit includes more parts for a little more money.
-Oil pan with return and baffling (no tapping upper oil pan)
-Fuel return system
-Bigger injectors
-Plug and play everything! (Except at the fuel tank)
-Less underhood engine heat
-Better FMIC (preference, I think vertical bar&plate is better from previous experience)
-Don't have to reroute/recharge your Air conditioning system
-Heat shrouding, superior engineering

On the other hand the Turbonetics kit
-Is available now, search some threads for impressions
-Has a good warranty which gets used a lot, and they seem to honor it.
-Costs less
-Has some additional parameters set in the ECU when flashed, this is very nice. These features would cost a few hundred dollars done seperately.
-Uses quality parts like the APS, though the engineering/layout doesn't seem as solid to me.

Since the TN won't work on an 05 it wasn't really an option for me, however, weighing the facts I would still choose APS. If not the APS, I would probably just buy a Vortech after reading about the TN probs (knowingly missing parts, fitment problems, noises, cracked block now).

Basically, just weighing the facts available (exclude my opinions on engineering and intercooler), APS is a better kit. Now the APS is not out, and when it does arrive could be a huge disaster or have some growing pains like the TN kit. However, APS has already proven they can build a good kit with their TT option, and their ST kit uses many of the same parts.

Disclaimer: With the GB option, the APS was a no-brainer. At the regular price it requires some thought. IMO it's still worth $800 more, but I would wait for it to come out to make sure.

 

Another good radiator: Koyo 350Z
Nismo Low Temperature
Thoermostat "Opens the valve at 68 deg C as compared to the factory valve opening set at 76 deg C.
As mentioned above the APS TT comes with most everything else, except the gaugaes.
Stock under 500 hp good. Over should do internals. Know several APS TT with stock moters rright around 450 here in NorCal presently. No problems.
Check the "Street Race" threads, they can tell you a lot, as there's where everybody puts the Z to work with "FI".
I only mention what I've got. Addtionally I have the jwt cams, but the Nisom cams are good too, either for the little extra if wanted hp.

 

Well, the APS might come with a pseudo fuel return system, an oil pan for the extra money, but both kits should be entirely safe on a stock motor and provide comparable performance gains. I'm not sure if it's worth the extra $1k if you're planning on staying at stock boost settings. However we aren't sure how the actual performance will compare as we're still waiting on people to actually recieve their kits.

Underhood engine heat with the turbonetics isn't a factor. I've already driven mine in mid-day tampa traffic under high heat and humidity. Not an issue. I'd be surprised to find that the vert plate provides any noticable difference over the traditional horizontal core intercooler. Bigger injectors aren't an issue if you plan on running normal boost anyway. Only time you might want to upgrade injectors is if you're running a built bottom end and at that point, you'll need to upgrade both kits' injectors.

My point is I don't see any reason to pay $1k extra for the APS kit if both kits are absoluetely safe on a stock motor, and provide similar performance. IF the APS kit was able to provide any substatial performance increase over Turbonetics, then it might be worth the extra cash, but it's too early to tell if that will be true or not.

Now that the group buys are over, I think your best option would be to see which kit offers the best performance for the dollar. Hopefully we will have some APS ST soon, and will be able to compare both kits in a real world situation.



And no, the Turbonetics kit hasn't had any more "growing pains" than the rest of the FI options out there. If you think the APS ST won't have install issues on the first run, you're wrong. No product is absolutely perfect. I think what really speaks for itself is how the company that makes the kit handles, and corrects, these inevitable problems encountered with a new product.

 

I'm not going to mudsling here but EVERY new kit has growing pains. The APS kit had problems with the oil feed lines, smoking burning through the turbos, wastegates not alllowing enough pressure for built motors, the Greddy kit had problems with the ignition harness, e-01 overwriting the Emanage, etc, PE had manifold cracking problems, Vortech has had pulley and belt problems, ATI had engine management problems, the list goes on. EVERY kit out there has had its share of problems. What seperates the different kit is how the manufacturers handle and resolve the problems. Yes on the first run of Turbonetics kits somethings were missing. That was resolve immediately. It has not been a problem since. What fitment problems were there? The only fitment issue I have heard of is fitting the kit with aftermarket headers which the kit was not designed to run. But even through that Turbonetics was on the phone with the customer ready to help out in a situation the kit was NEVER intended for. The "noises" was part of the same install. All other "fitment": problems were a matter of just adjusting the positioning on some piping which the owners were able to do once they realized the pipe was misaligned. Regardless of that Turboentics has stood behind their product even when it was installed with items and issues the kit was never intended for. That speaks volumes about this company and kit. Ask any Turbonetics owner that has contacted Turbonetics with a question and see what they think about the service they recieved. The Turbonetics kit is more then worth it. I have had the kit on my car since January with no issues to speak of.