BACKGROUND:
Hey guys, after weeks of throwing hours here and hours there, I got my car back together…and yesterday, we finally got her tuned. I want to thank Sam from GT Motorsports for coming out here to New Mexico to tune my car. Sam is one of the most well known tuners for the FCON (and several other engine management systems), I wanted the most reliable best tune possible, with one of the best engine managements possible, so Sam made it happen….Thanks Buddy! Sam meticulously tuned my car with the FCON VPRO, HKS knock amp w/A/F with use of headphones to listen for any form of detonation…

In Sam’s words, if you are not tuning with headphones, “You are crazy man” If you ask him if he always prefers to tune this way, he’ll say “Absolutely” “It’s not gonna be an issue” “F$%k yah” “Not a problem” …if any of you know this guy, you’ll be laughing at this point, those are his 4 famous phrases!!! Not making fun of you Sam...laughing with you!!! Love you like a brother

MY SETUP:

Bottom
Darton Sleeved Block 3.8L (GT Motorsports sleeve install)
Arias Extreme Duty Pistons 100mm
GTM Rods (rated up to 350hp per rod: light as an Eagle, almost as strong as a Pauter!)
Cometic HG’s 100mm
12mm head studs (heads torqued to 100ft lbs)
Rev Up oil pump









Heads
GTM ported and polished heads
Ferrea 1mm over sized valves
Tomei 268 cams





Fuel system
AAM stage II fuel system (bosch fuel pump +walbro intank)
RC injectors 750cc (boooooo, I’ll tell you why in a minute)

Drivetrain
ATS triple disc carbon clutch (costs more than most used cars on the road)
Driveshaft shop stage II axles

Turbos
TD0518g (standard greddy) REBUILT to two 60-1’s!!!
New turbo feed lines
Custom braided turbo return line (fancy)

Engine Management
HKS FCON VPRO
HKS Knock amp
HKS A/F monitor (works in conjunction with knock amp)

Cooling
Aquamist Water Injection Kit II (injects water based off of injector duty cycle-extremely accurate management of water injection- not just based off of vacuum pressure)

Koyo 3 row radiator
3” true dual exhaust, Tanabe mufflers (3” begins immediately from downpipes)
Exhaust manifolds heat wrapped, exhaust heat wrapped
EGT sensor tapped into exhaust manifold (not in the downpipe)
Dual Bank AFR

Other
Tein Flex Coilovers w/ EDFC
Racing Brake BBK: 14" rotors 6 pistons front caliper, relocated OEM caliper rear

My Story
Ok, so my original goal was to make as much power as humanly possible…after all of this time, my personal back-breaking labor (I did about 99.9% of all the labor with a friend of mine helping), and money invested…I think I may stay with my current power for some time…











After many conversations with Sam, he has convinced me of the following: get the car as STABLE as possible and stop at that power level, as soon as stability is compromised, stop there until the appropriate components are used to properly obtain the set numbers…

Let me explain; my setup is good for 850whp…but RC 750cc injectors obviously were not. Sam had warned me that I would need a better quality injector and a larger injector to break 700whp…I thought we could just play with the fuel pressure and get the desired result for the time being (not because I didn’t want larger injectors, its just, we didn’t get the HKS 1000cc injectors custom fit into the lower plenum in time)

The tuning on the dyno took a bit longer than expected (still very quick in my book; 4 hours). The reason for it taking longer is because we were playing with fuel pressure to try to keep the injectors around 80% duty cycle. As soon as we raised the fuel pressure over 50psi, the RC injectors started freaking out...they would have rich spikes at partial throttle, but still operate fine under boost…so under tons of power they worked, but drivability was going to be extremely compromised…Sam and I both did not want this…

Sam tuning with headphones:


Drifter style tuning: no front bumper (notice water injection setup driverside front corner)



It was about 100degrees outside and towards the end of the tuning, the car stopped making power with more boost (we suspect some sort of boost leak-awwwww) or craziness with the boost controller---we haven’t figured it out as of yet, but will soon…

So, we stopped at an extremely conservative 14psi of boost…very little timing (91 octane fuel map timing-even though I’m running 101)…and methanol injection to further reduce intake temps and keep the reliability factor high.

THE NUMBERS:
635rwhp, 537 ft lbs tq @14psi



please pay mind to the power curve...this is the BEST power curve I have ever seen on a 350z..this is the FCON and a great tuner at work…this type of power curve feels great on the street...when other power curves show the torque spike, or HP spike and come down, this indicates that the motor’s efficiency is taxed at the dropping point…notice how this tune makes power until redline (cams, heads, tuning)…I start to lose power at about 7000rpms…I need a different plenum (I have a stock plenum with a motordyne spacer)..it is choking after 7000rpm’s)

coolant temps: never broke 92 degrees on the dyno (The darton sleeves have proven time and time again to keep coolant temps very low-opposed to my non-sleeved motors in the past that spiked to over 100 degrees in a few pulls on the dyno (boiling)

intake temp: 62 degrees Celsius, then dropped to 42 degrees with methanol injection

EGT’s never went over 1400 degrees F (keep in mind, I repositioned the EGT probe from the downpipe (unreliable=meaningless…to the exhaust manifold, 3” from the head)

So my present goal has shifted, make a extremely fast streetcar with great reliability...that is what we did, this motor can handle much more, sure…but it is making sick amounts of power and still not pushed to its limits. I have so many people contacting me saying “I want to build a motor capable of "xxx power”… My advice...to ensure reliability and longevity, OVERBUILD and employ every safety precaution you can…this will cost more and be more work, but will prevent a sooner than expected repeat

Future Plans:
I may turn up the boost and make 800rwhp...this will be with HKS 1000cc injectors, but this power curve feels so insane on the street…much faster than my last setup of 615rwhp 574tq, it will keep me happy/scared for awhile. The power curve make such a difference, the power throws you back and makes more and more until redline, allowing traction to remain...vs. my last power numbers felt very unstable, wheels spinning everywhere, tons of power immediately when the turbo spool up, then falls on its face after the torque curve…


will post a video soon

-TODD

 

Good Lord!!!

 

GT motorsport is the only place I go to get things done to my car. They do things right and never mess up. I'll never take my car anywhere else.

 

Sam is a stand-up guy, he works like a dog, 7 days a week tuning, 18+hr days... I would recommend anyone and everyone on the west coast to go to GT Motorports, without a doubt...

Sam: take a vacation!!! You are gonna wear yourself out...

-TODD

 

nice numbers and awesome setup. Any thing special done to the suspension? other then the upgraded axles. And hooking up the tires even with the super smooth curve... you must have some trouble in first and second or no?

 

That power curve looks amazing...great tuning there.

 

How are you going to fix the intake starvation?

I've never heard of the intake manifold having restrictions even with a plenum on high hp 350's. Aren't there people making over 700rwhp with just a plenum?

 

the way the car builds boost, 1st gear spins a bit, 2nd gear a bit, 3rd gear hooks on street tires...i'm trying to find a boost leak as well (i suspect),,,will know more tomorrow

-TODD

(just made some vids, will be up soon)

 

ooo your missing a BBK from your awesome setup!

 

Good S H I T bro congrats...It was good talking to you about your setup...

 

Very impressive; great work guys.

 

thx..added to list.. (racing brake 14" rotor, 6 piston caliper)

 

How much did you pay SAM to get to NM?

 

He usually charges $1000/day + all expenses paid...

 

Wow-thats an awesome TQ curve. Congrats....

 

Darn, I dont think i can afford that.
How much did it cost you for everything, engine..turbo.....labor??

 

Holy Congrats man! That's one insane dyno.

I got to drive a turbo Z down the 1/4 mile track here last weekend. It was a bad idea. I want boost now.

-Acree

 

i did the install...so labor was breaking my back...(not a dollar amount)

engine is about a 13k setup, 2600 clucth.flywheel, 3k engine management, 3K fuel system w/injectors...

rebuilt turbos 1400

woah, hurts to see those numbers....

 

Where did you get the turbos rebuilt? Do you have the 20g compressor or is it a true 60-1 wheel?

 

He's doing my built engine too but I'm just doing a shortblock. Debating turning up the boost to 13 psi or not.