With that said, how many owners with the Fcon knock amp have actually seen knock on the display??

 

True, the threshold must be set right, its easy enough to do though. For a DIY tuner the active knock control is a must. For a shop that has a dyno and tunes for you its not a big deal after they tune it for you, they set it and you live with their tune which is usually a fairly safe tune, thats a good thing for those who choose to buy a tune and want piece of mind. How many degrees of timing does a shop roll back after they find your the maximum timing point where the motor knocks knocks... 2 maybe as much as 5... I dunno... but the more timing you can safely run the more power you can make. For a 500whp car how much power is 2-3 degrees of timing realy worth... I'd guess 20whp maybe? I want that extra power! If the knock threshold is set up correctly it will dance with the knock and you can get the most out of your set up.

I'll blow mine up tomorrow for sure now!!!

 

LOL. I have planned this build in such a way that I will not blow the motor. I want 100,000 miles without a major problem. I should have no problems hitting my WHP goals, so no need to tune to that degree. It sounds like you know what you're doing, so that's awesome. I don't know the first thing about tuning my car. I just want it tuned the way I want it once, then I'll switch the modes for High/Low Octane as needed.

good luck.

 

no care that goes with aftermarket FI is ever safe, but you sure did get the best components so it should be as good as it gets... i dont see a problem with yoru powergoals and tunning needs

 

Im sorry, I'll be honest with you and not blow smoke up your a$$. You will be LUCKY to even hit 50,000 miles on a built TT set-up even with the best components. Ask shops to give you an HONEST opinion on how long they think a motor will last at even a measly 500whp, not one will say anything close to 100K miles. If people REALLY knew how much money they waste and how long most of these engines last most wouldnt build.

<-----speaks from experience, take it for what its worth.

 

For most owners of non-dd built cars here, it would take 5-10 years to even drive 50,000 miles.

What in your experience is the most probable point of failure on a built motor?

 

"measly" 500whp, driven hard when out, lucky to make 30K miles. I put 9000 miles on my car in 1 yr, and 3 months.

Different engines, different failures but in all Ive built (2 non VQ) even at VERY low power levels the bearings dont last. Keeping oil religious at good levels I had a motor let go at 30K miles. Not using stock componenets = non OEM longevity.

People thinking "if I overbuild and run low power levels I should have OEM reliablity" have it coming to them. This is all really a good topic for another thread, but I dont feel like saying more. So how do you like the Haltech?

 

Alberto so your saying that non oem parts are not the same quality as oem parts. Did you blow your built motor? I find this hard to understand how these parts are supposed to be better than oem, yet you can't get any longevity out of them. It almost sound like your better off just sticking with moderate power with stock parts blow the motor and get another stocker and put it in and use it for longevity. Understand I'm not talking about hard core drag racing.

 

Its not really about just quality, there are other factors in play when it comes to longevity. For example, aftermarket bearing sets like the Cosworths are great quality pieces, but they are looser in spec and so they are not likely to last as long as tighter spec OEM bearings.

And of course we are subjecting these components to exponentially higher forces with FI, so there will be increased wear.

 

One word.... installation

 

Dont let what Im saying surprise you, its the truth! I dont post on heresay but experience. The Z forums-specifically the FI forum is such a godd@mn p!ssing match all the time that people cant share experiences both good and bad without the haters making stupid comments and the shop fan bois throwing in their worthless 2 cents. Because of that what did or didnt happen to my motor will likely not be posted, its sad its come to that.

Oh-FWIW my setup had less than 10 passes down the dragstrip...

 

I agree with what you're saying. Any time you push a motor beyond it's intended levels of operation, things will break. It doesn't really matter how high quality materials you use. These things happen.

As far as how long it will actually last, there are way too many factors at play. Obviously if the motor rarely sees boost it will last longer, etc...

 

all that getting "getting the strongest parts" 'the best ems" "the best installation" do is giving you the best chance possible...on that end(a lot also depends on driving habits)

 

Alberto my questions are not about a pissing match or shop related at all. I don't get involved in that crap or care about it. By the way you are talking about the motors in general a person is just better off sticking it out with a stock set up. My questions were geared toward me deciding to build or not. I have 60k on my engine 30k of which are boosted @ 9 psi, so longevity is a issue with me to a point. At this point I was also thinking of changing my engine mgt, currently using a utec so you can understand why. I've been trying to decide were to put my money motor or engine management. I wish this forum was more about personal experiences with peoples cars over the usual drama that goes on about the vendors and shops.

 

Your setup has lasted a long time. Id save for a motor if I was in your shoes, and at the time of the build do a better EM than UTEC.

 

I read about the Nissan bearings giving out on VQ's. article said that they removed all lead from the bearings for environmental purposes but apparently when the oil reaches a certain temperature it chemically alters the bearings permanately weakening them. Said even the factory sponsored SuperGT race teams are having problems with it. what about the aftermarket bearings with CT-1 and CT-2 coatings?

 

Now we should have a poll as to how many have used or are using the Haltech EMS since everyone claims it's so much better than the UTEC. I wanna see that poll.

 

Yeah pretty sure this isn't even a question, Haltech > Utec

 

Raising the dead threads are we....

 

I have it(Haltech) and wouldn't trade it for anything