Which I now have in my car. I've has 2 issues of white smoke pouring out the exhaust. Both times, it was caused by the oil return line being kinked on the sways. It was scarey...but then once we figured out why it was smoking, we were hitting ourselves in the head.

 

1. JETPILOT / 4 warranty returns / Issues never resolved
2.VQ36 TURBO/ 2 returns/ Smoke has come back even with new built bottom end.
3. Redline350zz/ expired warranty/ thermal failure/ 11K miles/ TN oil/ atleast 1 minute idle before shutdown4. Gcoupeturbo/ expired warranty/ seals went bad on the turbo/had it rebuilt after i went TT/20k miles/ blew my motor

 

I've got the AAM pan spacer with the SS line, hopefully it should be fine...

 

Well this thread didnt last too long

 

Assuming that you put the oil line in the "correct" spot, the turbos should last a long long time. I'd guess none of these turbos is being overboosted since most are on stock motors. Turbos shouldn't be failing even without the use of a timer or cool down period unless we're talking about 50k+ miles IMO.

 

Agree... Has anyone that we know of tried using a Garret GT35R or other in place of the current Turbonetics snail?

 

I know of one person who has a GT35 G35. Makes about the same power at the Turbonetics at similar boost levels. I believe its made by Eternal Motorsports.

 

Yea this is a option I may look into later.

 

1. JETPILOT / 4 warranty returns / Issues never resolved
2.VQ36 TURBO/ 2 returns/ Smoke has come back even with new built bottom end.
3. Redline350zz/ expired warranty/ thermal failure/ 11K miles/ TN oil/ atleast 1 minute idle before shutdown4. Gcoupeturbo/ expired warranty/ seals went bad on the turbo/had it rebuilt after i went TT/20k miles/ blew my motor
4. 35Ounces replaced turbo under warranty which resolved issue for now - tapped block

Thought it would be useful to keep the list going for INFO as opposed to *****ing.

 

Bad seals, 10,000 miles on turbo, installed correctly, missed the warranty date by 1 week due to a shop having my car for half a year (long story)

 

Who expects problem-free F/I applications on NA motors? I do not. For one thing, installation and tuning are beyond the control of suppliers. (Of course, many F/I installations are pushed very hard so folks can win races. Racers assume the risk of product failure as a matter of routine.) Meanwhile, R&D marches on: The VQ35 continues to be better understood, better hardware and electronics are coming out all the time, and much improved installation techniques are being developed, too. With regard to VQ35 tuning, the base of knowledge seems to be growing exponentially right now.

Most suppliers/manufacturers, as part of their ongoing quality control and product improvement efforts, record and track product failure data for their own use. I assume Turbonetics keeps such records, too. While I would not expect your [proprietary] smoking turbo data to be shared here, perhaps a summary and your conclusions/solutions would short circuit the need for one member to gather "aftermarket" data from affected members. You guys are the experts, right?

Certainly, suppliers are not required to share such data, whether it indicates design flaws or highlights design superiority. But if you did, it would "look like" you guys are committed to helping us get a few steps closer to more reliable, smoke-free F/I installations.

Thank you.

 

I have no idea what you just said or how it helps this situation.
The bottomline here is that several (too many) TN kit owners have experienced seal failure with very few miles. Some of the smoking issues may be due to installation issues or maintenance but too many have been turbo seal failures. People are fast to point the finger (in both directions) so creating a list seems like a reasonable way to collect some data -regardless of the original posters motivations

 

I have noticed that TN was being much more reasonable in the past about replacing turbos. Now it seems they are drawing a hard line (one week after warranty should have been covered given that the failure did not occur overnight). I wonder if this is due to costs associated with replacing so many.

 

1. JETPILOT / 4 warranty returns / Issues never resolved
2.VQ36 TURBO/ 2 returns/ Smoke has come back even with new built bottom end.
3. Redline350zz/ expired warranty/ thermal failure/ 11K miles/ TN oil/ atleast 1 minute idle before shutdown4. Gcoupeturbo/ expired warranty/ seals went bad on the turbo/had it rebuilt after i went TT/20k miles/ blew my motor
4. 35Ounces replaced turbo under warranty which resolved issue for now - tapped block
5. redman333 / turbo lasted about 5k miles, returned the turbo and that lasted about 6k miles and I have smoke again / Oil drain tapped in upper oil pan with TN supplied line and fitting.

 

Sorry. Perhaps I was too wordy... Go ahead and make a list. That's one way of doing it.

My point is: Why go to the trouble of collecting incomplete data [at best], in hit/miss piecemeal fashion, over many days, when Turbonetics has it all right now? If Turbonetics shared their data and their findings now, nobody would have to make a list. We might still disagree on the findings, but all the data would be there for all to see. They could provide pictures and post-mortem notes on every case. That would help, wouldn't it?

 

The oil return line that comes with the kit is crap, it should be thrown out. Get a braided SS line and 45 deg fitting if you're doing this kit.

 

That is 100% correct!

And due to the big bucks involved, some folks will lie and cheat to escape responsibility for their own errors. The crux of the matter is: who is right, and who is wrong?

 

+100

 

Sure. You think they are gonna do that? I have land to sell you.