I was at the shop on Friday to get some work done on the Z and while I was there I discussed my FI options with the owner.
This is my plan:
I am a new homeowner, so going all out on both car and house is not an option for me. As much as I want to have an insanely powerful car, I don't want to live in one. So I am going to get something that would put me to like 350-375whp, so that I won't have to worry about my car's motor or tranny no matter how spiritedly I drive (VB will be done on the 5AT). It has to be minimal cost without any sacrifice of reliability. Also it has to be completely reversible. In a couple of years I will unbolt and sell it and either go all out on the Z with built motor, TT, etc or just switch to a GTR. Nice plan, no?

Now on to the issue at hand. The APS ST is one of the few kits I am looking at and from the component list seems to be most complete for the asking price. The impact shield on the bottom looks sturdy enough, so I am fairly comfortable with it. Now here is my question.

From reading back on the previous threads it seemed that almost most if all of it's owners had a problem with the boost dropping back to 4-5 PSI as approaching the redline. I haven't seen any recent topics or updates to this issue. Can any of the APS ST owners chyme in and tell me how are they doing with their kits. Has everyone managed to work problems out? Did it take a lot of work/$$ to rectify whatever was causing the problems? Has the APS done anything to update the kit by now?

Thanks to everyone.

P.S. If you had a problem which you don't want to discuss in the public forum for whatever you can PM me with it and I swear that it won't go past me.

Now let's see how quicly will Zivman respond (j/K )

 

1 question:

Do you live near an authorizes APS/UniChip dealer?

If not go TN. Trust me.

 

yep, totally agree.

 

Tig,

How is the turbo rebuild going? Post up some pix.

 

well as of right now its not fixed. the car runs fine and feels strong, not as strong as before. its a little laggier than before, but not by much, maybe a few hundred rpms. thanks to my ebc, boost goes up to around 11-12 and drops down to about 8 or so by redline. i dynoed it yesterday and it made 370hp and 404 tq. not bad considering what my turbine looks like! so i have to decide if its worth 1200 to get it fixed, right now im thinking it isnt.

 

I do live next to an APS dealer who also can tune the Unichip, so I am covered in that department. Now Tig, what happened to your St setup? A problem or are you going for more power with your ST?

 

the crossover pipe that joins the 2 banks, the one over the transmission disintegrated and sent metal thru the turbo. those little thin blades dont like hitting steel spinning at 100,000 rpms.

 

Oh, crap... Sorry to hear that.
Do you know what caused it?

 

not sure, either bad production or taking it on and off so many times, weakened the metal. who knows, it is a very thin piece tho, i bought a new flex joint and its much thicker and heavier than the one supplied with the kit. i ended up having a custom 2 piece crossover pipe made, now its a snap to install.

 

the 2 piece crossover to replace the flex joint altogether?
I guess I'll have to add that to my shopping list for an extra piece of mind with APS. If you don't mind, how much did the stronger flex pipe cost you? what about the x-over pipe?

 

i bought the flex joint from an online dealer, something like $30. i ended up not using it and just had that 2 piece pipe made. that cost me $40. there is a local guy here who does amazing fab work, custom turbo headers and stuff.

 

Cool, that's pennies comparing to the total price.
Do you think that he'd be able to make another one?

 

In response to the original thread:

28,000 (brutal) miles on my APS ST, and still runs strong. The boost taper is slight - not as significant as Internet rumor would lead you to believe. Out of the box it will deliver the #'s you stated above w/o worry.

I do, agree, however, that living near an APS dealer to help troubleshoot potential issues is a big plus.

If you have an opportunity to ride in an FI'd Z (regardless of mfgt'r) I would recommend it.

 

To answer the initial question....make sure to run the APS ST exhaust and trust me you won't have anymore boost issues. All you need is a free flowing exhaust and the APS is probably the best one out there anyways...

 

Additionally, the initial worries/concerns that early-APS owners were experiencing (check valve, injector harness, CAS harness failure, etc.) are, I believe, resolved as APS has had an opportunity to collect feedback and resolve issues. Worst-case scenario, if you have an issue and team-up with an APS dealer, I have found that to be the quickest and most effective way to get something resolved. Of course, YMMV and others may have a different experience to share.

 

Thank you very much. By now I rode in a Vortech'd Z, a Greddy'd Z and an APS'd one with built motor and about 600whp (holy $#!T!!!). I think at this point that any FI will keep me happy for a couple of years.
What did you have to change to achieve your numbers? Also, do you have a dyno chart with it?

 

I am planning to get it, but not right away. How loud is this thing with the APS exhaust anyway?

 

I do have a dealer nearby and I have seen some of his work, so I know that I am in good hands.

 

first....dont fall into the aps exhaust hype, thats all it is. there is no magic in their exhaust. yes a free flowing exhaust is better but in no way does aps have a patent on the free flowing exhaust. i admit its better than most out there for these cars. i know people that have the exhaust and still have a slight boost drop, and still have high egts. you can do just as good with buying another exhaust. i bought a used JIC single, thats 3" and it works fine, after i had the 1" resonator cut out. i spend a total of 400 on my exhaust. it just depends on your taste, if you like singles on the z.

i almost bought the exhaust from GRD but after i spoke to tuan about the exhaust, he said it was nice but not worth it.

second....dont always rely on the dealers to fix problems, it doesnt work that way, find an installer you trust and build a friendship with, that counts more than anything.

i didnt have any problems with faulty wiring harnesses. i just had the check valve problem which was an easy fix.

 

yeah dealers will rip you off, and still not solve anything, but i have a 350z expert that works at nissan, when i did have to bring my car there for minor wear and tear stuff, i would always tip him, and the things not covered he hook me up