True. And think about the number of times you go out to eat, or buy an expensive bottle of liquor, or a $130 pair of jeans or shoes. That crap adds up fast, and it doesn't last. A car on the other hand, you can enjoy over and over.

 

It has nothing to do with "doing it right the first time". No matter what you do to an aftermarket forced induction car, there will always be problems. If you had not had any major issues with your car, consider yourself lucky because they will eventually come, and they will be expensive.

You can't even compare the amount of problems involved in OEM vs aftermarket forced induction. There is no comparison as far as quality and reliability.

 

you its safe to say that unfortunate experiences will pussify people from the idea about going big or go home FI, or pushing the limits of the vq

 

• The first decision to make is how long you intend to keep the car.
• Everyone that has posted comments regarding money and cars is correct.
• The bottom line is that you will never get your money back when the car is sold. If your are only going to keep the car for a couple of years you are going to lose money plain and simple.
  
• The second decision you need to make is will you beat the car on a regular basis. Many sports car owners who have square jobs and responsibilities simply don't have the chance to really get on the car often; for most a nice Sunday drive might be as good as it gets. If you are not an aggressive driver and will only beat the car occasionnally then skip the motor build all together. Nobody will disagree with me when I say that with a proper tune and boost settings a non-built setup will not only last but is extremely reliable. If your going to beat the car regularly in my opinion you have no choice but to build the motor. Myself and many others who drive aggressively have blown their non-built motors when it was pushed.
  
• The third decision you need to make is to make sure you have the budget to pay the doctor's who really build these cars the money they are worth. You also need the cash for a great ECU. I run an F-CON now but if I did it again today I'd buy a Haltech; between the traction control; boost by traction and user accessible software it's clearly superior.
  
• I would strongly recommend having your tuner create a "fuel-saver" map what is easily activated with a button. Between the larger injectors, aggressive tune and the price of fuel this is a no brain-er. I can get 25+ miles on the highway when I've engaged my "fuel saver" map; without this I would never drive the Z as much as I do simply because of the fuel prices. If you take this step you can enjoy decent fuel economy and super-car killing performance without question.
  
• The Z is not the "rich guy car" nor is it really a "status symbol." The Datsun/Nissan product line is about going fast economically. Not since the Supra has there been a platform sold in the US that is so easily turned into a super-car killer. I drive my Z because it makes me happy; if you don't want to burn the cash on an exotic there's no better choice on the market today for the price.
  
• The GT-R argument makes sense but only to a point. You can easily get a used Z and FI setup for under $30k all in. The built setup would cost $5-10k more depending on the options.
  
• Recently even on E-Bay I've noticed many professionally built Z's in the 400-500whp range for sale; that's another option to consider vs. buying a Z and transforming it yourself.

 

Are you kidding me? Once again you think that one size fits all. My experiences differ from what you have stated....

1)1993 RX7 R1...over 40 visits to the dealer. Either turbo problems, tranny, diff, or some other part falling off. Lemon lawed the car, I was dumb enough to buy another...gave up and gave the car to Pettit racing to exchange to aftermarket parts........ZERO issues after that.

2) 1997 911 Turbo....cooling issues, turbo issues, tranny issues. Once again...I had Porschetech rip the car apart.....no turbo issues no tranny or cooling issues after that ....just some other small problems after that.

3) 2003 911 Turbo....This car was hell....it was so bad that it is now a full time race car....so now all poblems are expected !!

4) 2006 Porsche Cayenne....POS !!!! It was a flip of a coin if you would have a good month with this SUV.


Out of all the FI'ed cars I have owned and still own...the G is the only car that has ran trouble free from the day I got it back from Forged. This is why I have dumped and am still dumping more money into it. This is the only FI'ed car I have injoyed! The only mistake I have made with this car was to exchange the hose clamps that Sharif installed for the big T-Bolt clams which will not hold anything over 18psi. Other than that ....best car to date.

When you go this route...you should have the back up funds. When you buy a Ferrari or Lambo with its 1 year unlimited miles...you know in advance that "Any day now" the **** is going to hit the wallet.

YOu say I am lucky...maybe...or you could also say that things were done correctly and I treat my cars well.

SO dont make it seem like OEM cars dont have issues and that if you go FI...things will always go wrong.

 

That is the key statement... if you treat your car well, and build it right, then you WILL enjoy it!

 

Mike, (XKR) I love reading your posts bro, lol! It makes me sooo much happier about doing my build!

 

Just as a FYI, a Ferrari F430 comes with a 90-day factory warranty.

Food for thought

 

Those cars actually have a problem with catching fire too. The same can't be said for FI Z's.

 

Great thread. I've said this before to a couple of our customers....modding a car is a HOBBY...not an investment. Do it becuase you enjoy it....not becuase you are expecting some kind of return on investment.

 

But you said that my car is worth alot of $$$$ or did you say I spent alot of $$$$


Whats up Tyler? You will be fine...just dont beat the crap out of the car in the hot weather or run it on 5 plugs instead of 6 and you will be fine. Use good oil and change it 2500 miles or less....oil is still cheaper than a motor. I change mine every 1500 miles or right after an event.

See you next year.

 

That's amazing a car for that money has such a short warranty. A $100 dvd player has a longer warranty than the ferrari...lol

 

I still believe you've been very lucky with your G. No doubt having quality work done on the car at a professional shop had a lot to do with it, but the aftermarket parts on these cars aren't near properly engineered OEM parts.

Sucks you've had such horrible luck with your previous car.

I would still rather go out and buy a fast car off the lot with a decent warranty any day of the week. Since getting raked over the coals on this car (in more ways than one) I'll never modify another vehicle again. The aftermarket industry just doesn't have the standards of quality that it should for such high dollar expenditure.

 

I just decided after 1x months of not driving my car that I could have better used this money elsewhere.

If I had a nicer factory car I would have enjoyed it all this time and not had to continually dump money into it to keep it running. There's something to be said for owning a fast car that still holds value and is under an active warranty. Maybe after all is said and done it will be satisfying, but the experienced has ruined the Z for me. I just hope that at the time it's actually running properly a) it's still legal to drive it on the street in the state I live, and b) that I can afford gas to drive it.

The legality of emissions testing and environmentalism really concerns me. With the way I see this country going in the next 4 years I'll be surprised if it is legal for any of us to drive these modified cars on the streets for much longer.

I wouldn't recommend the venture to anyone I talk to as it's pretty much rolling the dice and I now don't perceive as the risk being worth the reward. That is all.

 

I did not know that you had it that bad...I just thought that you wanted to try something new or a new way of FI'ing your car....thought you were just doing alot of R&D. I have read most of your posts and have even seen your last picture of your car and thought you were doing fine with it.

Yes I agree...I know for a fact that my car is trouble free because of who and how it was built.

I also agree that nothing beats a new or used car with a 3+ years of warranty. Half of the headache with aftermarket FI is having to come out of pocket whenever something goes wrong.

Good luck to you and your Z

 

This is something I never actually considered. Lucky for me, I can't see South Carolina (my home state) introducing any kind of emissions testing in the forseeable future. However, I'll be done with school in two years, and I have no idea where my work will take me (if I'm lucky enough to have work, lol). I guess its just another element to consider in the FI game .

 

Yeah. I've seen it coming for a while. You know how tough it is for the Cali FI guys. This is another reason why I'd love a high performance OEM car - you don't have to worry about the environmentalists.

 

Only problem I have with this statement is that you didn't necessarily use the after market industry. You went with a custom set up where I guess you encountered problems. XXK went with off the shelf turbo kit and has not had major or any problems to date. I know you had a goal for a bigger single set up which is why you did it at the time. If the Powerlabs kit was available at that time you may not be posting negatively about building your car since you would of had an off the shelf proven turbo kit to go with for big power. Just my opinion.

 

This is one good thing about Tennessee. I doubt they will ever introduce any emissions...becasue then Bubba couldn't drive his rusted out/jacked up Ford Bronco with no exhaust and 10 year old mud tires anywhere!

 

Seeing as you you're making assumptions as to what issues I've had over the years with my car, your point is moot. This has little to do with a few welded pipes and a turbo.

It is all the aftermarket industry, whether it's an exhaust fabricator in a shop, a turbo kit manufacturer, an engine builder, or body shop. There are very few in this industry that care for truly providing an excelent product, and most tend to charge exuberant rates and fees because it is industry standard to rape the customer.

I'm not saying this about anyone in particular, so please don't try and read between the lines. I've seen it in many cases, both in personal experience and through the experience of others. This industry is an industry of crooks and con men. If you find someone that you can truly trust, stick with them because they are a rare commodity.



I'm tired of hearing about the Powerlab kit anyway, if I were to be buying a new kit i'd honestly buy a Greddy TT kit first.