Hey guys I was down at Brainstorm (los Angeles) last weekend to do a checkup on my car, before track day (more on that later) and I was talking with them about some of the latest toys that arrived from the aussies,

They now have the Single Turbo kit from APS as well as a few more Twin Turbos, and their "true" 2.5" dual exhaust kits.

Plus they have the G35 with the Twin Turbo and the Convertible 350z with the single turbos ready for your review & inspection and may be possible to go for ride alongs.

While I was down there they were kicking around the idea of getting a BBQ together and I thought I'd check in with everyone here to see what they might be up to the weekend of the 9th, since everyone's going to be busy this weekend of the 4th.

Could any & all those interested let me know and I'll see what I can put together, it's been a while since I've seen some of ya so it'd be cool to see what everyone has been up to.

As most of you know Brainstorm has installed & tuned my APS Twin Turbo since last November and the car has been bulletproof since day 1. I've been on street, Strip (1/8th mile 8.1 @ Irwindale), and track (Big Willow 1:45 6/28/05) and the kit/car has been fantastic.

My car was in the last issue of Sport Z Magazine in the turbo shoot out and put down 415RWHP on the Dynapack, the only cars there to do more HP were ringers from Greddy & Jim Wolf Technology (manufacturer provided) and they only put down another 15/20HP more than I did, which I could easily tune more aggressively and exceed it, while still having a daily driver.

I wasn't there to kill with numbers, I was there to impress with the overall drivability as well as great performance.

 

My APS TT will arrive here probably around July 14th after that I have to go to Brainstorm to get it installed, so I am up for a BBQ to get to know them prior or around the time of the install

what did you run at Irwindale? I've never seen a turboed Z there except for that cop car

 

You're specific kit isn't going to be in until the 14th? I was under the impression there were a few available now, maybe you should check on that.

Yea defintely checking them out prior to install (anywhere) is a good idea, the good news is that Don is there now and between Don & Ed you're more than well covered mechanically and tuning wise.

I ran 8.133, that cop car wasn't turboed yet when I was there about a month ago. I know he was going into the Turbonetics single, I was trying to talk him into the APS but apparently he was getting a fantastic deal from Turbonetics.

How is cop car running now?

 

You're one of the few to have seen the single kit, any impressions? Get to see it run?

 

In short, I would say the single setup is very nice, and if you want good power delivery, on a daily driver without huge HP goals or lots of moola, it's a good way to go.

I actually drove the car the day after the install was complete, this is while one of the guys from APS was actually on site @ brainstorm doing the install of the Single on the 350z and the Twins on the G35.

As some of us here know, I was also one of the few that drove the Turbonetics car before it was available on the market, courtesy of Brad Lewis, Vice President of Turbonetics so I've got a good idea how a Single Turbo "can" perform on a 350z.

All i can say is that the power from the APS turbo was available somewhat sooner and seem to be more linear in the delivery than what I recall with the turbonetics kit. The turbonetics came on soon & smoothly but as it neared it's "powerband" there was a noticeable kick (not there is anything wrong with that) wherease the APS just continued to climb in response to as much (or little) throttle you gave it.

In both cases, I can tell you that there is not anything that makes you feel like "damn there is lag" before you get response from the turbo/engine.

On my initial test drive I did make the suggestion to be more aggressive with the tune to bring in a little more power sooner than later, so that a "performance enthusist" type driver would get a better sense the "turbo is there" and fortunately they agreed and since have made the tune a bit more agressive, but it's still a great daily driver when driven as such.

As we all know, there is all kinds of opinions out there, some based on facts, (unfortunately most are not) as the way to make forced induction for the 350z.

Clearly APS has done considerably reasearch, and testing before delivering their kits, and I do believe it offers superior design (and some components) vs the Turbonetics kit, and essentially any super charger out there.

The right way to look at this Single Vs. Twin approach is the following, A single turbo is considerably better in comparisson to a supercharger approach for about the same money.

In both ST or SC setups, you can spend more money and make more modifications to the engine/supercharger to get more power. The HP ceiling is greatly increased on a Twin Turbo setup and you get power sooner due to the smaller turbos being able to spool up faster.

My setup works for me because I get more power sooner, and there is much more of a punch than in a single, and If I didn't have higher HP plans for my car I would not hesitate to pick up a single turbo setup from APS.

I do plan to take my car to the 500RWHP daily driver mode, (I'm currently at 400) and eventually a trick setup to allow for about 600 with the flick of a switch and 100 octane fuel.

 

I'm not buying the kit from Brainstorm I got it as part of the group buy going on here a while back and the kits just arrived and waiting for customs clearance supposedly by next week...

The cop car did 8.3, I only saw him do one run

 

Nice review...

 

Thanks for the review I am shocked your not banned... LOL

 

lol, he's not banned because he did a review the proper way, where as Peter spent most of the time bashing every customer basically calling them morons...while wanting us to buy his product but not helping out in supporting this site...see the difference?

 

8.3? That's pretty good, that's what the STI's were doing somewhat modded.

For my first time out on the 1/8th I did fairly well IMOO of course.

As far as your kit goes, you're going to have them do the install & tuning right?

 

Banned? ha I know what you are talking about though.

Look it's this simple, APS hasn't done a single thing for me so I don't have any obligation one way or the other. They made a product that I purchased, and the bottom line anyone can make a product, it's the front line support for the product that is going to make it or break it, and in most cases it's going to be your shop/tuner, and in my case it's Brainstorm.

Most important to me in my life, is my integrity. You don't have to agree me with me, or even like me, but at least you Always know where I'm coming from.

My "review" is just what I experienced, with some opinion about what I know.

I gave the same review of the Turbonetics kit immediately after I drove it but at the time there was no other Single Turbo setup out there, and I only had limited exposure to super chargers in the 350 at that time.

Is APS perfect, not quite but they did an awseome job with both of these turbo kits for our Z and being the first (11/04) APS TT in southern california, and having traveresed nearly all conditions (street, strip, and track) I can say the product in conjnction with my tuner is rock solid.

 

As a matter of fact I just made my apointment with Brainstorm for the week of July 18th...I'm so excited

 

Wish I still live in LA so I could attend with you all. Thanks Joe...really glad the kit is working nicely for you.

I cant recall, but has anyone posted a USA APS Single T dyno chart? I'd be interested in taking a look at that as well.
I have seen the ones on APS's website, but I am looking for a USA installed and dynoed version.

 

Hey Sharrif! Man it's been a while, last time we were talking I was trying to gear up for the speed magazine turbo shoot out, didn't catch them in time but I did get into Sport Z Magazine with theirs.

Yea it'd be nice to have you out there as well, you've gotta be one of the most referenced users when it comes to forced induction/serious engine mods.

I'm going to have a few dyno charts up soon.

 

Hey Alpine,
I was wondering about the shootout in Sport Z mag. Thanks for explaining a little. Your car putting down 415 hp at the wheels is about what I expected. I thought JWT was a more conservative kit, stock fuel injectors, and such. I thought JWT would put out more like maybe 400 hp at the engine, more like 330 to 340 hp at the wheels. I am talking about the standard stock setup JWT kit like any of us might install. And the wording in the dyno chart pictures in Sport Z was confusing with something about "flywheel" instead of hp to the wheels (I am away from home on a trip and I don't have Sport Z to refer to for exact wording). If the JWT is a ringer, though, that would explain it.

What do you think your 8.1 sec. eighth mile translates to as a qtr. mile time? I am leaning toward the APS twin Ts now instead of the APS ST. I plan to get the APS Tall Boy Plenum, test pipes, and APS true dual exhaust as well. I want to get it tuned to about 425 hp to the wheels. Run low 12 to high 11 sec. qtrs. on drag radials?

 

BTW that cop car that is turbo and runs at Irwindale is the Turbonetics kit on a 5AT car...

 

Hi Joe,

Nice review of the APS ST and glad to hear that your car has been running well. I have to concur with you about the APS TT and the quality work done at Brainstorm. I now have abut 8,000 mi on my APS Kit (414 whp) with NO problems. I'm still running the stock clutch but I think I'm beginning to get some slippage.

Let me know about the BBQ on the 9th. I might be able to make it down to LA and it would be nice to see you and the guys at Brainstorm.

 

Alpine :
Some question.
1) How many PSI you are running?
2) Are you still keep the standard 10.3 :1 CR or lower?
3) If the CR is lower, do you need to tune the ECU accordingly?

I am planing to have APs TT on mine but wonder if I keep the standard 8 PSI, should I have the forged pistons and rods? If so, should I run at lower CR?

Hope you can advise me on this.

 

Can anyone help me with this question?

If I decide to forged internal but still keep the boost at 8 PSI (standard recommend psi out of the box for APs TT). Should I run at 10.3 : 1 CR or better running lower CR. If lower, how low? 9.5:1, 9:1 or 8.5:1. I do not want to lost so much low end but want to have most reliable engine.

Please help me on above question. Thank you.

 

I know this kit hasn't been out long but how reliable do you think this kit is? In other words what are the chances it could blow the engine? I'm seriously thinking of this kit but am afraid for something to go wrong as this is my only means of transportation. I need something that I can just slap on and call it a day.