Level 10 seems to be hit or miss. I know some of the audi guys were very dissappointed with the S4 TC and rebuild. I would go with GTM, SFR, or Stillen.

 

Several reports of disappointment with Stillen also.

GTM, SGP, or SFR...

 

Was definitely rookie, and I guess you're the other one FX45???

minus500, MD 1/2" spacer, headers + test pipes, 9.0:1 Arias ED 0.02 overbore pistons, eagle h-beam rods, JWT valve springs, etc... AMS (in Chicago-land area, better known for work on Evo's and STi's and a lil bit of SRT-4 work) will be doin the turbo kit + UTEC either late this year or early next. Need to get the tranny work done soon, along with some major cooling upgrades... I'm so behind I got a closet full of crap waiting to go in, but I want to do it all at once, so I'm still gathering a little bit of things here and there.

I didn't say you went blindly into a built tranny, but I just didn't like the HP numbers thrown around is all And everybody was quick to correct on the fact that it's torque that the tranny's worried about.

Edit: oh yeah, Hampton Roads, 3 hrs from Maryland

 

SGP have a completely clean record? I was told there were some issues as of late with them? But overall good track record... I'll try and pinpoint the issues.

 

Hell no, I only drive coupes if I can! We met at Claude's place last year or something, had the black G35 with all the lighting on it.

 

I have the SGP VB . Nothing but good things to say . Actually shifts harder than I prefer 1st to 2nd at low rpm's and easy driving . Also have the EdgeRacing Tq. converter

 

Yeah that's my friend Dan...........he's a baller.

Raj, what temp sensor did you go with and what Innovate module do you have it sending to, LMA3 or SSI4?

 

Ahhh yea, did you stay long? I'm having a hard time remembering... alot of people left shortly after I got there... and I was one of if not the last person to leave...

 

I have both the LMA-3 and SSI-4 (to get the extra analog inputs) so that I can read oil temp, oil pressure, fuel pressure, coolant temp, transmission temp, boost, and a/f all through a pair of A-pillar mounted XD16 programmable gauges. I didn't know when purchasing that you have to physically rewire the XD16 to reprogram them to read a different sensor! When I read the manual, I was like WTH, you've got to be kidding, and I complained bitterly on their forum. Anyway, I also have a carPC that can display "soft gauges" on the display, so not too big a deal.

The temp sensors I picked were these:

Autometer sensors for $14 from Summit Racing

One of the main reasons is that the calibration scale has been published and tested.

The Innovate SSI-4 feeds the power to the senders, whose resistance varies according to the temp, and then the SSI-4 again reads the difference in voltage at the input point (0-5V).

I'm hoping the XD16 gauges firmware will one day allow on the fly updates to monitor anything in the MTS data stream - that's my hope anyway (so an alarm condition can trigger the gauge to display the value). It can't do that right now though so I have to make sure the carPC is running the innovate software on start up and during driving. Not a huge problem, but not as reliable as stand alone gauges (cause WinXP crashes now and then).

 

^ Sounds great. I've had my challenges trying to get their XD-16 to read boost. I still need to rewire my LMA3 to XD-16 one more time and see if it works. Once I get that figured out I'll try to run a trans temp sensor to one of my XD-16s.

Look forward to seeing your setup. Hopefully soon.

 

One channel on the LMA3 is pre-programmed for the built in MAP sensor. One oddity is you have to start a logging session for the software to "read" what sensors are available in the MTS chain. Then you can do the XD16 programming... Of course this is what I remember playing with this stuff back last May.

 

As some of you already know, the reputation on the boards is that the Stillen/Level 10 valve body upgrades are largely impotent, and SGP's version seems to be the only one worthy of purchase. Unfortunately, I have a Level 10 valve body in my vehicle, and would like nothing more that to get rid of it at this current time.

I called up Level 10 this morning to inquire about a potential return. I spoke to John Franko, who is the GM of Level Ten. He is now researching whether they have an OEM valve body for me to facilitate the return, although the terms of the return are still unclear.

In any case, John was very aggressive in having me drop by their shop to fix the problem. In his words, the "transmission programming" in my car needs to be re-tuned since my car has an aftermarket ECU. He says that the Level Ten valve body is configured for OEM applications, and because the "transmission programming" was never changed to work with the aftermarket ECU, it will not shift properly. John was very aggressive about this, and said he was a foreman Nissan technician at the Ramsey dealership in NJ for over a decade.

This is the first I have ever heard of anything like "transmission programming." I don't even think I've ever heard of this term from SGP regarding their product. However, I know next to nothing about transmission builds. Is this for real, and can fixing it really help their impotent valve body? Can any of you experts chime in here?

Thanks.

 

To my knowledge, no one has "cracked" the TCM to allow program alteration. However, it is unclear what can be done with Nissan's Consult II device (if level 10 has one). It could be that level 10 has learned from their mistakes and can supply you with a more aggressive valve body upgrade by changing out parts mechanically, bypassing firmware programming. GTM also now has a valve body upgrade, so at least there is a choice. I would call either (or both) Sam at GTM and Thomas at SGP and see how their offerings compare to what Level 10 will provide.

 

Dude customer service at level 10 is the pits. I bought a vb that didn't work in my car and they charged me a 10% restocking fee just to return it. Level 10 SUX

 

Curious. Do you remember who you talked to at Level 10? During the summer I spoke to Mike, who was a bit sketchy. Mike is the one I purchased the L10 VB from. Today, the GM told me Mike has since been fired.

 

yeah mike was the one i talked to. You know how they charge the core charge for like 1g? Well he tried to not only charge me a 25% restocking fee (not 10% just remembered) but he tried to charge me 25% of the cost of the valve body and the deposit making it around 500 bux he was trying to **** me out of.

 

He did some shady business with me as well. He said he would ship it to me via next day. When that didn't happen, he said I could drive up to Level Ten and pick it up and he would not charge me $100 shipping. After I picked it up, I said I never got the $100 shipping refund, and he said if he refunded me the shipping, he would change me more on the valve body for tax.

Has anyone had any experience with the GM, John Franko?

I want to know if it was Mike at Level Ten that was not trustworthy, or if it is Level Ten, the company, as a whole, that is not deserving.

 

I think level 10 actually does stillens VB's

 

you think pretty highly of yourself if you think we are friends.


JK....Ron knows what I think about his car. He has helped me out with a bunch of stuff on my car as well....Trying to break in the Titanium block and all....


man im still going on about that thread.

 

Finally received the GTM Valve Body earlier this week, and just had it installed.

Updates here if you are inetrested.