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GTM turbo kit feedback thread
I know that I speak for myself and I believe probably many others when I say that I'm very interested in hearing some feedback from all you guys who are now running the gtm turbo kit.
Most of us have read quite a bit about it by now and gtm has been very informative, but I'm interested in hearing from the people who are currently runnin it, Particarly if it your z is a daily driven car. What kinda info I'm looking for? Torque curve, reliability, ease of install, any kinds of issues you have encountered. I am also very interested in hearing from people who are running the turnkey kit. How is the Osiris ecu flash working out. Would you go that route again knowing what you know now. As for the tuner version I am interested In seeing what ecu and fuel setup you have chosen and how well it is working out. I am particularly interested In the de version of the kit because there is much less information about it than there is about the hr version. Thanks guys. |
Interesting...
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all good questions! hopefully we get some informative answers.
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its easy to install it if u did install turbo kits on VQs befor :D
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TTT
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This is going to be a good thread.
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It seems like I'm the only one who had problems with it but I guess I'll just let the cat out of the bag.
I ordered my GTM Stage 5 kit around 4-12-2009 and I was told it would be 2-3 Weeks before it shipped, I was very patient because I know there was a large amount of orders for the kit. The kit finally showed up about 6-7 weeks later and everything looked A-OK until I started bolting the turbos to the manifolds. One turbo had a t-25 flange and the other turbo had a T-3 flange on it... WTF? So I called Sam and let him know about the mistake and he sent me another housing in ~ a week, but the crappy thing was I had to ship the old housing back at my expense. $13 wasn't really worth the hassle of trying to get the credit back so I just forgot about it. I immediately started putting the kit on the car and noticed that on one turbo the gasket didnt match up with the 5 bolt housing on the passenger side turbo. Not only did this make me have to modify the gasket with a dremel, I also had to modify the downpipe flange to bolt up to the turbo. I got the downpipe bolted up and tried to put the 4 bolt wastegate pipe on the manifold only to find out that it wouldnt bolt up flush to the manifold surface because the pipe was hitting the downpipe. I ended up having to take a hammer to the wastegate pipe and flattening one side to get it to fit right. I had all sorts of fitment issues that I know were not my fault, the intercooler brackets didnt line up with the holes on the intercooler, so now I have 5 bolts holding the intercooler on instead of 6. The front bumper wont fit on because the pass side intake pipe sticks out too far (I looked at another GTM G35 Coupe build and the pipe looks to be modified to go into the center of the car where as mine does not) and the driver side intake has nothing to support it so I have to cut the bracket off and weld a new one on. One other small issue was the fact I was missing 2 T-Bolt clamps as well. So here I am almost 4 months after I ordered the kit, still without a working car, still with no turbos (thats another story). I am done with this car after I get it tuned, the whole experience has basically ruined my passion for cars and I have no interest in modifying my G any more after this. And it only makes it worse that Stylin Z just made ~600 whp with my old kit :P |
Originally Posted by Blackbird CPV35
(Post 7604307)
It seems like I'm the only one who had problems with it but I guess I'll just let the cat out of the bag.
I ordered my GTM Stage 5 kit around 4-12-2009 and I was told it would be 2-3 Weeks before it shipped, I was very patient because I know there was a large amount of orders for the kit. The kit finally showed up about 6-7 weeks later and everything looked A-OK until I started bolting the turbos to the manifolds. One turbo had a t-25 flange and the other turbo had a T-3 flange on it... WTF? So I called Sam and let him know about the mistake and he sent me another housing in ~ a week, but the crappy thing was I had to ship the old housing back at my expense. $13 wasn't really worth the hassle of trying to get the credit back so I just forgot about it. I immediately started putting the kit on the car and noticed that on one turbo the gasket didnt match up with the 5 bolt housing on the passenger side turbo. Not only did this make me have to modify the gasket with a dremel, I also had to modify the downpipe flange to bolt up to the turbo. I got the downpipe bolted up and tried to put the 4 bolt wastegate pipe on the manifold only to find out that it wouldnt bolt up flush to the manifold surface because the pipe was hitting the downpipe. I ended up having to take a hammer to the wastegate pipe and flattening one side to get it to fit right. I had all sorts of fitment issues that I know were not my fault, the intercooler brackets didnt line up with the holes on the intercooler, so now I have 5 bolts holding the intercooler on instead of 6. The front bumper wont fit on because the pass side intake pipe sticks out too far (I looked at another GTM G35 Coupe build and the pipe looks to be modified to go into the center of the car where as mine does not) and the driver side intake has nothing to support it so I have to cut the bracket off and weld a new one on. One other small issue was the fact I was missing 2 T-Bolt clamps as well. So here I am almost 4 months after I ordered the kit, still without a working car, still with no turbos (thats another story). I am done with this car after I get it tuned, the whole experience has basically ruined my passion for cars and I have no interest in modifying my G any more after this. And it only makes it worse that Stylin Z just made ~600 whp with my old kit :P |
I bought the turn key kit and upgraded to the external wastegates. Install was very straight forward and done by me at home. I will say that I was missing afew small parts that Sam got out to me right away. The only issue I have had is the reroute pipes did not fit so I am forced to run open dumps.Sam is aware of the problem and assures me I will have the correct pipes soon but it has been 5 months. Also still waiting on the 93 octane tune....... again its been awhile on that as well. I would say it has been mostly possitive and would buy from GTM again in a heartbeat. The car gets beat on all the time and no issues to date.
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Originally Posted by Blackbird CPV35
(Post 7604307)
It seems like I'm the only one who had problems with it but I guess I'll just let the cat out of the bag.
I ordered my GTM Stage 5 kit around 4-12-2009 and I was told it would be 2-3 Weeks before it shipped, I was very patient because I know there was a large amount of orders for the kit. The kit finally showed up about 6-7 weeks later and everything looked A-OK until I started bolting the turbos to the manifolds. One turbo had a t-25 flange and the other turbo had a T-3 flange on it... WTF? So I called Sam and let him know about the mistake and he sent me another housing in ~ a week, but the crappy thing was I had to ship the old housing back at my expense. $13 wasn't really worth the hassle of trying to get the credit back so I just forgot about it. I immediately started putting the kit on the car and noticed that on one turbo the gasket didnt match up with the 5 bolt housing on the passenger side turbo. Not only did this make me have to modify the gasket with a dremel, I also had to modify the downpipe flange to bolt up to the turbo. I got the downpipe bolted up and tried to put the 4 bolt wastegate pipe on the manifold only to find out that it wouldnt bolt up flush to the manifold surface because the pipe was hitting the downpipe. I ended up having to take a hammer to the wastegate pipe and flattening one side to get it to fit right. I had all sorts of fitment issues that I know were not my fault, the intercooler brackets didnt line up with the holes on the intercooler, so now I have 5 bolts holding the intercooler on instead of 6. The front bumper wont fit on because the pass side intake pipe sticks out too far (I looked at another GTM G35 Coupe build and the pipe looks to be modified to go into the center of the car where as mine does not) and the driver side intake has nothing to support it so I have to cut the bracket off and weld a new one on. One other small issue was the fact I was missing 2 T-Bolt clamps as well. So here I am almost 4 months after I ordered the kit, still without a working car, still with no turbos (thats another story). I am done with this car after I get it tuned, the whole experience has basically ruined my passion for cars and I have no interest in modifying my G any more after this. And it only makes it worse that Stylin Z just made ~600 whp with my old kit :P I am truly sorry about your situation and can relate to your problems based on experiences with my own car. Unfortunately things don't always go as planned and the project keeps getting delayed - sometimes there are things that we cannot control. I am sorry one of the turbos were incorrect, we were very busy and somehow missed that Garret had sent us a mis-matched set. It was our fault, and we will be more careful to make sure it never happens again. We will PayPal you the $13 for shipping that it cost you to ship back the part. As far as these other fitment issues this is the first we are hearing of them, we haven't had any other complaints and would appreciate as much feedback as possible so if there is a problem we can correct it ASAP. We have revised our intake piping since the original kit and would be glad to send you the revised piping to make you happy, although I don't think it will at this point. When we received your turbos we had them inspected ASAP, they were tested, with out oil restrictiors, and they are perfectly fine - no oil is passing through the seals. It was odd that both turbos would be bad. So as you can see, the issue that has gotten you so frustrated is out of our control as well - the product is fine and has no defects, this could only lead to and installation issue or some other odd coincidence at play. Your drain lines could be too low, if you were trying to get a better angle than what we have in the instructions by placing the return lower in the pan it could be causing the oil to back up in the turbo. Another cause could be that your crank case is being pressurized and blowing oil through your PCV into the intake track. What ever the cause it was not a faulty turbo as we all thought. As you can see this is a bad situation for us as well, because now you are unhappy with us because of something that was beyond our control. We are still here to help if you need anything, just let us know - our number one priority is your satisfaction. P.S. Please don't take this as us putting the blame on you or anyone, we just want you to understand our perspective. -George GT Motorsports |
Originally Posted by neverenough
(Post 7604739)
I bought the turn key kit and upgraded to the external wastegates. Install was very straight forward and done by me at home. I will say that I was missing afew small parts that Sam got out to me right away. The only issue I have had is the reroute pipes did not fit so I am forced to run open dumps.Sam is aware of the problem and assures me I will have the correct pipes soon but it has been 5 months. Also still waiting on the 93 octane tune....... again its been awhile on that as well. I would say it has been mostly possitive and would buy from GTM again in a heartbeat. The car gets beat on all the time and no issues to date.
-George GT Motorsports |
This is slightly off topic but may help Blackbird. I recently had some smoking at idle on my kit after redoing some of the crankcase hoses. All I did was switch out the 5/8" heater hose I had in place to a little bit longer 3/8" fuel hose as I thought the thick hose was overkill and I wanted to move my open breather out of sight (already have a drilled out PCV). I went back to 5/8" hose and the light smoking at idle went away immediately. I didn't think the turbos would be that sensitive to crankcase pressure build up, but I guess they are...
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Originally Posted by George@GTM
(Post 7604855)
Jason,
I am truly sorry about your situation and can relate to your problems based on experiences with my own car. Unfortunately things don't always go as planned and the project keeps getting delayed - sometimes there are things that we cannot control. I am sorry one of the turbos were incorrect, we were very busy and somehow missed that Garret had sent us a mis-matched set. It was our fault, and we will be more careful to make sure it never happens again. We will PayPal you the $13 for shipping that it cost you to ship back the part. As far as these other fitment issues this is the first we are hearing of them, we haven't had any other complaints and would appreciate as much feedback as possible so if there is a problem we can correct it ASAP. We have revised our intake piping since the original kit and would be glad to send you the revised piping to make you happy, although I don't think it will at this point. When we received your turbos we had them inspected ASAP, they were tested, with out oil restrictiors, and they are perfectly fine - no oil is passing through the seals. It was odd that both turbos would be bad. So as you can see, the issue that has gotten you so frustrated is out of our control as well - the product is fine and has no defects, this could only lead to and installation issue or some other odd coincidence at play. Your drain lines could be too low, if you were trying to get a better angle than what we have in the instructions by placing the return lower in the pan it could be causing the oil to back up in the turbo. Another cause could be that your crank case is being pressurized and blowing oil through your PCV into the intake track. What ever the cause it was not a faulty turbo as we all thought. As you can see this is a bad situation for us as well, because now you are unhappy with us because of something that was beyond our control. We are still here to help if you need anything, just let us know - our number one priority is your satisfaction. P.S. Please don't take this as us putting the blame on you or anyone, we just want you to understand our perspective. -George GT Motorsports One other issue was the instructions, they were excellent but left out the part where you have to put the 1/4" spacers on the transmission mount. I neglected to do this and it caused some serious issues with the steering knuckle rubbing the turbine housing. As far as the turbos go, I am just waiting for them to get back to Injected and we are going to try to run the turbos with the restrictors you guys supplied. So far I know its not PCV related because there was no oil in the intercooler or intake piping, only in the exhaust housing of both turbos. I will keep everyone updated when the car finally runs |
Originally Posted by rcdash
(Post 7605007)
This is slightly off topic but may help Blackbird. I recently had some smoking at idle on my kit after redoing some of the crankcase hoses. All I did was switch out the 5/8" heater hose I had in place to a little bit longer 3/8" fuel hose as I thought the thick hose was overkill and I wanted to move my open breather out of sight (already have a drilled out PCV). I went back to 5/8" hose and the light smoking at idle went away immediately. I didn't think the turbos would be that sensitive to crankcase pressure build up, but I guess they are...
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Originally Posted by Blackbird CPV35
(Post 7605017)
I am running no hoses at all, my driver side valve cover is drilled out and vented to atmosphere and the pcv valve is drilled out and vented to atmosphere as well
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http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbob.../faqs.html#t16
From the Garrett website lower oil flow further reduces the risk of oil leakage compared to journal-bearing turbochargers. Oil pressure entering a ball-bearing turbocharger needs to be between 40 psi and 45 psi at the maximum engine operating speed. For many common passenger vehicle engines, this generally translates into a restrictor with a minimum of 0.040" diameter orifice upstream of the oil inlet on the turbocharger center section. |
I know my car would smell like it was burning oil, almost to the point where I didn.t want to drive it. Once I installed the oil restricter the smell is gone. I was told they are included in every kit now.
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Originally Posted by George@GTM
(Post 7604862)
I will find out about this for you and shoot you a PM. I was not aware of these issues.
-George GT Motorsports |
Originally Posted by neverenough
(Post 7605423)
I know my car would smell like it was burning oil, almost to the point where I didn.t want to drive it. Once I installed the oil restricter the smell is gone. I was told they are included in every kit now.
Both of our r&d cars the 350z hr and g37vhr never had any oil restrictors and never had any smoking issue . We start supplying an additional oil restrictor to the HR/VHR after dealing with a car that will smoke sometimes on decal, this was an 08 G35 Hr automatic sedan. With some additional testing we found the HR and VHr have a lot more oil press than the De, This sedan will have over 100 psi at the turbo (oil temp hot) at all the time. So we came up with the additional restrictor . I know its frustrating sometimes when dealing with any of these challenges, we are always working on supplying superior quality service Through continuous improvement in everything we do. We appreciate everyone input. Sam |
Subscribed..
Awesome thread!! |
Originally Posted by Blackbird CPV35
(Post 7604307)
It seems like I'm the only one who had problems with it but I guess I'll just let the cat out of the bag.
I ordered my GTM Stage 5 kit around 4-12-2009 and I was told it would be 2-3 Weeks before it shipped, I was very patient because I know there was a large amount of orders for the kit. The kit finally showed up about 6-7 weeks later and everything looked A-OK until I started bolting the turbos to the manifolds. One turbo had a t-25 flange and the other turbo had a T-3 flange on it... WTF? So I called Sam and let him know about the mistake and he sent me another housing in ~ a week, but the crappy thing was I had to ship the old housing back at my expense. $13 wasn't really worth the hassle of trying to get the credit back so I just forgot about it. I immediately started putting the kit on the car and noticed that on one turbo the gasket didnt match up with the 5 bolt housing on the passenger side turbo. Not only did this make me have to modify the gasket with a dremel, I also had to modify the downpipe flange to bolt up to the turbo. I got the downpipe bolted up and tried to put the 4 bolt wastegate pipe on the manifold only to find out that it wouldnt bolt up flush to the manifold surface because the pipe was hitting the downpipe. I ended up having to take a hammer to the wastegate pipe and flattening one side to get it to fit right. I had all sorts of fitment issues that I know were not my fault, the intercooler brackets didnt line up with the holes on the intercooler, so now I have 5 bolts holding the intercooler on instead of 6. The front bumper wont fit on because the pass side intake pipe sticks out too far (I looked at another GTM G35 Coupe build and the pipe looks to be modified to go into the center of the car where as mine does not) and the driver side intake has nothing to support it so I have to cut the bracket off and weld a new one on. One other small issue was the fact I was missing 2 T-Bolt clamps as well. So here I am almost 4 months after I ordered the kit, still without a working car, still with no turbos (thats another story). I am done with this car after I get it tuned, the whole experience has basically ruined my passion for cars and I have no interest in modifying my G any more after this. And it only makes it worse that Stylin Z just made ~600 whp with my old kit :P For me I ordered my kit and OS clutch 5 months ago and got the kit shipped 3 months later to find out its missing the thewastegate pipes and reroute pipes,then Sam sent me the clutch and thewastegate pipes a month after that and told me the reroute pipes needed to be redone and will ship it to me later, and since I bought the turn key kit I sent Sam my ROM FILE to get me a tune (MY CAR IS A NONE US CAR) as soon as i got the kit witch is two months ago and finally Sam called me yesterday and told me the tune should be finished in a couple of days. yaaay:icon21: The kit is one of the best kits I ever seen in term of quality.;) I will try to update this thread as I start installing the kit after I get the tune (hopefully in 1-2 weeks) and I shall see how hard is it to install and review the fitment and what ever I face then. stay tuned :thumbup: |
Originally Posted by midz350
(Post 7605607)
For me I ordered my kit and OS clutch 5 months ago and got the kit shipped 3 months later to find out its missing the thewastegate pipes and reroute pipes,then Sam sent me the clutch and thewastegate pipes a month after that and told me the reroute pipes needed to be redone and will ship it to me later, and since I bought the turn key kit I sent Sam my ROM FILE to get me a tune (MY CAR IS A NONE US CAR) as soon as i got the kit witch is two months ago and finally Sam called me yesterday and told me the tune should be finished in a couple of days. yaaay:icon21:
The kit is one of the best kits I ever seen in term of quality.;) I will try to update this thread as I start installing the kit after I get the tune (hopefully in 1-2 weeks) and I shall see how hard is it to install and review the fitment and what ever I face then. stay tuned :thumbup: |
Originally Posted by Sam@GTM
(Post 7605560)
Mike This applies only to HR and the VHR not the De, In a mater of fact Jason will be the first to get additional oil restrictors in top of the of the ones that comes in his turbos originally .
Both of our r&d cars the 350z hr and g37vhr never had any oil restrictors and never had any smoking issue . We start supplying an additional oil restrictor to the HR/VHR after dealing with a car that will smoke sometimes on decal, this was an 08 G35 Hr automatic sedan. With some additional testing we found the HR and VHr have a lot more oil press than the De, This sedan will have over 100 psi at the turbo (oil temp hot) at all the time. So we came up with the additional restrictor . I know its frustrating sometimes when dealing with any of these challenges, we are always working on supplying superior quality service Through continuous improvement in everything we do. We appreciate everyone input. Sam |
^on a 3.5l, good luck!
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Originally Posted by Kyle(Houston)
(Post 7606029)
I am glad you are finally getting your project done :thumbup:
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Originally Posted by Blackbird CPV35
(Post 7604307)
It seems like I'm the only one who had problems with it but I guess I'll just let the cat out of the bag.
I ordered my GTM Stage 5 kit around 4-12-2009 and I was told it would be 2-3 Weeks before it shipped, I was very patient because I know there was a large amount of orders for the kit. The kit finally showed up about 6-7 weeks later and everything looked A-OK until I started bolting the turbos to the manifolds. One turbo had a t-25 flange and the other turbo had a T-3 flange on it... WTF? So I called Sam and let him know about the mistake and he sent me another housing in ~ a week, but the crappy thing was I had to ship the old housing back at my expense. $13 wasn't really worth the hassle of trying to get the credit back so I just forgot about it. I immediately started putting the kit on the car and noticed that on one turbo the gasket didnt match up with the 5 bolt housing on the passenger side turbo. Not only did this make me have to modify the gasket with a dremel, I also had to modify the downpipe flange to bolt up to the turbo. I got the downpipe bolted up and tried to put the 4 bolt wastegate pipe on the manifold only to find out that it wouldnt bolt up flush to the manifold surface because the pipe was hitting the downpipe. I ended up having to take a hammer to the wastegate pipe and flattening one side to get it to fit right. I had all sorts of fitment issues that I know were not my fault, the intercooler brackets didnt line up with the holes on the intercooler, so now I have 5 bolts holding the intercooler on instead of 6. The front bumper wont fit on because the pass side intake pipe sticks out too far (I looked at another GTM G35 Coupe build and the pipe looks to be modified to go into the center of the car where as mine does not) and the driver side intake has nothing to support it so I have to cut the bracket off and weld a new one on. One other small issue was the fact I was missing 2 T-Bolt clamps as well. So here I am almost 4 months after I ordered the kit, still without a working car, still with no turbos (thats another story). I am done with this car after I get it tuned, the whole experience has basically ruined my passion for cars and I have no interest in modifying my G any more after this. And it only makes it worse that Stylin Z just made ~600 whp with my old kit :P When I called to order the kit Sam said it would take about 10 days before they ship it and it shipped exactly 10 days later and got to my house in about 3 business days and I was quite happy. This was pretty good time considering it usually takes about 6 days for me to get something from California. I have the kit with internal w/g's so I cannot comment on Blackbird's issue with the wastegate pipe fitment. I did however have my own issue with the internal wastegate actuator assembly. The threaded rod coming out of the actuator is supposed to thread into the extension piece that GTM supplies which is the piece that attaches to the actual wastegate. I threaded one of them together and it felt a little tight about halfway down but I didn't think anything of it. The next one did not go so smoothly. It threaded on fine until just before the halfway point then it just would not go anymore by hand. This left the actuator assembly too long so I decided to try to use a small set of pliers to turn it the extra, maybe 2 turns. The first turn went fine but then the actuator rod snapped. Yes, that is my fault that it snapped but both pieces that GTM machined were obviously not tapped properly and caused the issue to occur. The threads on the rods on the HKS actuators were fine before I threaded the GTM piece on. I called Sam and explained the situation and after a few phone calls he said he would replace it. I then received the new actuator and end piece and it didn't fit again, so I dremeled a few inches off the actuator rod and I was finally able to adjust it properly. The intercooler was/is a pain to say the least. I bolted up the first intercooler only to find out only one side (3 bolts) will bolt/line up. So I call Sam and tell him and he first suggests to try fitting it again and move it around and I proceed to tell him that I have tried many times, it does not fit. He asked me to send him pictures of it, so I did. The next day we get to talking and he offers me the steel welded brackets or a new intercooler and says that either one will solve the problem. Well, I wanted to keep the billet brackets so I asked him to send a new intercooler (I presume he thought they could weld the end-tank brackets to fit my brackets based on the pictures). A few days later the intercooler arrives and I ship back the old one along with the broken actuator. I'm all excited to drive the car and finally finish it up. Well, this intercooler has almost the exact same fitment as the old one, indicating that it is the brackets that are the issue. I then proceed to tell Sam that this new intercooler does not fit. I said maybe the aluminum was not properly aligned when it was put in the CNC machine and that I probably just have a bad set of brackets. After insisting that this probably isn't the case he asks me to send more pictures. I sent him pictures of this setup and called to confirm he got them. As with many other times I called him he was busy at the time (understandable) and whoever I spoke with said they would make sure he saw the e-mail. I figured I had hounded them enough with other issues and I would wait to here back from him, Well here I am 3 MONTHS LATER with NO RESPONSE. I had to dremel out the stud holes in the gaskets for the 5 bolt housing on both the driver and passenger sides. After spending time dremeling, I bolt up the downpipes and testpipes (int. w/g) and they are too close to the underbody. I removed the heat shields that go above the testpipes thinking maybe that extra, small amount of space would allow everything to clear. WRONG. Now everytime I accelerate I hear a banging noise on my floor :icon22:. Now, in all fairness I have yet to mention this issue to them because after the whole thing with the intercooler and not hearing back from them, I had enough of chasing them.I also have not been able to drive the car much for other reasons, which is also part of why I got sidetracked from addressing all the issues. I have a life, a job, and school to attend to. I had a few other small issues that I won't get into because they are negligible. Barring the issues with some of GTM's service/in-house manufacturing, the kit does include some top quality parts and I am happy with the drivability of it all. It runs great so far and the IC/intake piping fit pretty well in my case. I also must say, the few times I spoke with George over e-mail/pm he gave quick, accurate responses and was very understanding. I hope these are issues that are/have been addressed because this kit has great potential once all the kinks are worked out. |
By looking at the pictures experienced fabricators can tell that GTM is fairly new to building complex turbo systems, which isn't their fault. Everyone starts somewhere. they are a good company and do stand behind their work no matter what. And unfortunately there will be issues hopefully to which they can fix . Just give them some slack and they will be only getting better as time progresses..
I would assume they are using HKS manifolds, and building the rest from there. |
They don't use hks mainfolds. They have gtm stamped on them. The problem is them not responding to them promptly when the issue is brought up to them.
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wow... I wonder iff all these issues are fixed? I literally today was going to call and finally order my stuff and now I'm a little worried.
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believe me there are others out there with issues with this kit just never posted due to it being a waste of time and nothing ever gets resolved....
i my self was missing 60... yes 60 total parts out of the kit including down pipes when i received it 2 months after ordering. Sam sent part by part to us over 4 week time period... I eventually said f it and just fabricated the parts needed to make the kit work .... things i never got till this day are all the water lines and fittings for the turbos.. auto trans cooler with lines and fittings.... The kit is well put together and uses top quality parts, they just need a new warehouse guy or who ever packs these kits up.... So all that being said good luck with who ever buys these kits .... |
Originally Posted by 350z 6spd
(Post 7607398)
I would like to say that I am writing this only to inform others of possible issues that may go with getting this kit. Blackbird, you're not the only one who had problems with the gaskets, intercooler fitment, and missing clamps ( I was also missing two clamps). I have the Turn-Key HR kit in case anyone is interested.
When I called to order the kit Sam said it would take about 10 days before they ship it and it shipped exactly 10 days later and got to my house in about 3 business days and I was quite happy. This was pretty good time considering it usually takes about 6 days for me to get something from California. I have the kit with internal w/g's so I cannot comment on Blackbird's issue with the wastegate pipe fitment. I did however have my own issue with the internal wastegate actuator assembly. The threaded rod coming out of the actuator is supposed to thread into the extension piece that GTM supplies which is the piece that attaches to the actual wastegate. I threaded one of them together and it felt a little tight about halfway down but I didn't think anything of it. The next one did not go so smoothly. It threaded on fine until just before the halfway point then it just would not go anymore by hand. This left the actuator assembly too long so I decided to try to use a small set of pliers to turn it the extra, maybe 2 turns. The first turn went fine but then the actuator rod snapped. Yes, that is my fault that it snapped but both pieces that GTM machined were obviously not tapped properly and caused the issue to occur. The threads on the rods on the HKS actuators were fine before I threaded the GTM piece on. I called Sam and explained the situation and after a few phone calls he said he would replace it. I then received the new actuator and end piece and it didn't fit again, so I dremeled a few inches off the actuator rod and I was finally able to adjust it properly. The intercooler was/is a pain to say the least. I bolted up the first intercooler only to find out only one side (3 bolts) will bolt/line up. So I call Sam and tell him and he first suggests to try fitting it again and move it around and I proceed to tell him that I have tried many times, it does not fit. He asked me to send him pictures of it, so I did. The next day we get to talking and he offers me the steel welded brackets or a new intercooler and says that either one will solve the problem. Well, I wanted to keep the billet brackets so I asked him to send a new intercooler (I presume he thought they could weld the end-tank brackets to fit my brackets based on the pictures). A few days later the intercooler arrives and I ship back the old one along with the broken actuator. I'm all excited to drive the car and finally finish it up. Well, this intercooler has almost the exact same fitment as the old one, indicating that it is the brackets that are the issue. I then proceed to tell Sam that this new intercooler does not fit. I said maybe the aluminum was not properly aligned when it was put in the CNC machine and that I probably just have a bad set of brackets. After insisting that this probably isn't the case he asks me to send more pictures. I sent him pictures of this setup and called to confirm he got them. As with many other times I called him he was busy at the time (understandable) and whoever I spoke with said they would make sure he saw the e-mail. I figured I had hounded them enough with other issues and I would wait to here back from him, Well here I am 3 MONTHS LATER with NO RESPONSE. I had to dremel out the stud holes in the gaskets for the 5 bolt housing on both the driver and passenger sides. After spending time dremeling, I bolt up the downpipes and testpipes (int. w/g) and they are too close to the underbody. I removed the heat shields that go above the testpipes thinking maybe that extra, small amount of space would allow everything to clear. WRONG. Now everytime I accelerate I hear a banging noise on my floor :icon22:. Now, in all fairness I have yet to mention this issue to them because after the whole thing with the intercooler and not hearing back from them, I had enough of chasing them.I also have not been able to drive the car much for other reasons, which is also part of why I got sidetracked from addressing all the issues. I have a life, a job, and school to attend to. I had a few other small issues that I won't get into because they are negligible. Barring the issues with some of GTM's service/in-house manufacturing, the kit does include some top quality parts and I am happy with the drivability of it all. It runs great so far and the IC/intake piping fit pretty well in my case. I also must say, the few times I spoke with George over e-mail/pm he gave quick, accurate responses and was very understanding. I hope these are issues that are/have been addressed because this kit has great potential once all the kinks are worked out. This scares the **** out of me since I will start soon on the car and I live outside the US and any issues I will have will delay me weeks to get any parts replaced!!! :icon9: |
Originally Posted by midz350
(Post 7605607)
For me I ordered my kit and OS clutch 5 months ago and got the kit shipped 3 months later to find out its missing the thewastegate pipes and reroute pipes,then Sam sent me the clutch and thewastegate pipes a month after that and told me the reroute pipes needed to be redone and will ship it to me later, and since I bought the turn key kit I sent Sam my ROM FILE to get me a tune (MY CAR IS A NONE US CAR) as soon as i got the kit witch is two months ago and finally Sam called me yesterday and told me the tune should be finished in a couple of days. yaaay:icon21:
The kit is one of the best kits I ever seen in term of quality.;) I will try to update this thread as I start installing the kit after I get the tune (hopefully in 1-2 weeks) and I shall see how hard is it to install and review the fitment and what ever I face then. stay tuned :thumbup: i just got my engine today from the work shop and fixd all the issues. there was alloot of problems in my darton sleevs. it was not installd correctly. so thats way i had the head gasket issue. |
I'm glad it was nothing serious.
I might come to Kw8 after Eid ul-Fitr and I wanna check your ride. |
Originally Posted by midz350
(Post 7609520)
I'm glad it was nothing serious.
I might come to Kw8 after Eid ul-Fitr and I wanna check your ride. |
very interesting. I just saw the downpipe/external wastegate issue in person this weekend. it is my understanding that these problems are being worked out. I hope everything gets sorted out.
TTT |
Originally Posted by nathanwl2004
(Post 7612414)
very interesting. I just saw the downpipe/external wastegate issue in person this weekend. it is my understanding that these problems are being worked out. I hope everything gets sorted out.
TTT |
Originally Posted by 350z 6spd
(Post 7607398)
I would like to say that I am writing this only to inform others of possible issues that may go with getting this kit. Blackbird, you're not the only one who had problems with the gaskets, intercooler fitment, and missing clamps ( I was also missing two clamps). I have the Turn-Key HR kit in case anyone is interested.
When I called to order the kit Sam said it would take about 10 days before they ship it and it shipped exactly 10 days later and got to my house in about 3 business days and I was quite happy. This was pretty good time considering it usually takes about 6 days for me to get something from California. I have the kit with internal w/g's so I cannot comment on Blackbird's issue with the wastegate pipe fitment. I did however have my own issue with the internal wastegate actuator assembly. The threaded rod coming out of the actuator is supposed to thread into the extension piece that GTM supplies which is the piece that attaches to the actual wastegate. I threaded one of them together and it felt a little tight about halfway down but I didn't think anything of it. The next one did not go so smoothly. It threaded on fine until just before the halfway point then it just would not go anymore by hand. This left the actuator assembly too long so I decided to try to use a small set of pliers to turn it the extra, maybe 2 turns. The first turn went fine but then the actuator rod snapped. Yes, that is my fault that it snapped but both pieces that GTM machined were obviously not tapped properly and caused the issue to occur. The threads on the rods on the HKS actuators were fine before I threaded the GTM piece on. I called Sam and explained the situation and after a few phone calls he said he would replace it. I then received the new actuator and end piece and it didn't fit again, so I dremeled a few inches off the actuator rod and I was finally able to adjust it properly. The intercooler was/is a pain to say the least. I bolted up the first intercooler only to find out only one side (3 bolts) will bolt/line up. So I call Sam and tell him and he first suggests to try fitting it again and move it around and I proceed to tell him that I have tried many times, it does not fit. He asked me to send him pictures of it, so I did. The next day we get to talking and he offers me the steel welded brackets or a new intercooler and says that either one will solve the problem. Well, I wanted to keep the billet brackets so I asked him to send a new intercooler (I presume he thought they could weld the end-tank brackets to fit my brackets based on the pictures). A few days later the intercooler arrives and I ship back the old one along with the broken actuator. I'm all excited to drive the car and finally finish it up. Well, this intercooler has almost the exact same fitment as the old one, indicating that it is the brackets that are the issue. I then proceed to tell Sam that this new intercooler does not fit. I said maybe the aluminum was not properly aligned when it was put in the CNC machine and that I probably just have a bad set of brackets. After insisting that this probably isn't the case he asks me to send more pictures. I sent him pictures of this setup and called to confirm he got them. As with many other times I called him he was busy at the time (understandable) and whoever I spoke with said they would make sure he saw the e-mail. I figured I had hounded them enough with other issues and I would wait to here back from him, Well here I am 3 MONTHS LATER with NO RESPONSE. I had to dremel out the stud holes in the gaskets for the 5 bolt housing on both the driver and passenger sides. After spending time dremeling, I bolt up the downpipes and testpipes (int. w/g) and they are too close to the underbody. I removed the heat shields that go above the testpipes thinking maybe that extra, small amount of space would allow everything to clear. WRONG. Now everytime I accelerate I hear a banging noise on my floor :icon22:. Now, in all fairness I have yet to mention this issue to them because after the whole thing with the intercooler and not hearing back from them, I had enough of chasing them.I also have not been able to drive the car much for other reasons, which is also part of why I got sidetracked from addressing all the issues. I have a life, a job, and school to attend to. I had a few other small issues that I won't get into because they are negligible. Barring the issues with some of GTM's service/in-house manufacturing, the kit does include some top quality parts and I am happy with the drivability of it all. It runs great so far and the IC/intake piping fit pretty well in my case. I also must say, the few times I spoke with George over e-mail/pm he gave quick, accurate responses and was very understanding. I hope these are issues that are/have been addressed because this kit has great potential once all the kinks are worked out. and yes, there are some other small issues but it can be done. |
Originally Posted by ryan350zpower
(Post 7608407)
wow... I wonder iff all these issues are fixed? I literally today was going to call and finally order my stuff and now I'm a little worried.
I spoke to Sam about this thread.....always wait for all 3 sides of the story. |
Originally Posted by XKR
(Post 7612621)
You will be fine....If there is an issue...Sam will fix it....I have the GTM stage 6 kit and if there was an issue, I would know.
I spoke to Sam about this thread.....always wait for all 3 sides of the story. And I know Sam will fix WHAT EVER issues I will have;) but my only concern was the time delay since I live in the Middle East and any issue with the fitment would mean that I have to ship the parts back and wait for the new ones to get shipped and that is more waiting for someone that is tired of waiting and dreams at night about driving his turbocharged Z:skidmark:. |
Originally Posted by SmallTuner
(Post 7612467)
i didnt have this intercooler issue ur talking about.
and yes, there are some other small issues but it can be done. |
i can only imagine what kind of hassle GTM has to go thru for this kit... imagine how many different versions of the same kit they have to handle when its between 2 cars (350z/G35), both with at least 3 versions of engine & engine control (DE,RevUp,HR) and who knows what other minor differences inbetween, and mutiple options of turbo chargers (what like 5-6?) that surely have minor differences in fitment requirements (inlets,outlets,lines, etc), with 2 wastegate options (INT/EXT)... sounds like a major confusing PITA even if you do work on these cars all the time.
|
When this thread was posted I was going to keep my involvement to a minimum, after all it is for customer feed back and that type of feed back is what will allow us to improve our product and services. I will be the first to admit that there were some issues brought up that need to be addressed and we took them very seriously.
We do apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused, having said that I can assure everyone that we will not stop until we have met and exceeded your expectations. Here at GTM we believe in doing things right the first time, arguably we have built and installed more turbo systems on the Z and G than any other company in the world. On average we have anywhere between 30 to 40 cars in our shop that are sent to us from all over the country and outside the US, just by looking at the shop build section you can see that. We always followed a simple rule: Nothing ever leaves the shop until it is 100 % done right, and passes several QC checks. Now when we decided to become a turbo systems manufacturer, we took the same approach and we didn't spare any effort or expense in doing so. Having installed many JWT,APS, HKS and GReddy turbo systems we wanted to come back with some thing better and far superior in quaility, completeness, and upgradability - we wanted to come back with the ultimate forced induction solution period. Even when it comes to R&D cars we purchased designated cars for that purpose, from a 350Z DE to a 350Z Rev-up, 350Z HR, 370ZVHR, G35 and a G37. One of the things we wanted to offer with our turbo system is upgrade-ability. And we have seen many customer have to switch kits two or three times we wanted to come back with a turbo system that can grow with your power needs so when some one goes FI on a stock engine and then a year later wants to build a 1000 WHP car they can start with a stage one or two then when the time comes they can install a dual GT35R and not have to replace the turbo kit. We are the only company that have such a capabilty with 6 stages and 9 different turbo options which also makes the kit installation a little more technical than other kits So we spend a great amount of time trying to come back with the most comprehensive tear down procedures, parts list, and installation manual. Here is some of this info ..... http://www.gtmotorsports.com/Manuals..._G37_Coupe.pdf http://www.gtmotorsports.com/Manuals...ual_350ZHR.pdf http://www.gtmotorsports.com/Manuals...ist_350ZHR.pdf http://www.gtmotorsports.com/Manuals...own_350ZHR.pdf http://www.gtmotorsports.com/Manuals...ual_350ZDE.pdf http://www.gtmotorsports.com/Manuals...ist_350ZDE.pdf http://www.gtmotorsports.com/Manuals...own_350ZDE.pdf And we are continually updating and improving our instructions Sam GT MOTORSPORTS |
Originally Posted by midz350
(Post 7605607)
For me I ordered my kit and OS clutch 5 months ago and got the kit shipped 3 months later to find out its missing the thewastegate pipes and reroute pipes,then Sam sent me the clutch and thewastegate pipes a month after that and told me the reroute pipes needed to be redone and will ship it to me later, and since I bought the turn key kit I sent Sam my ROM FILE to get me a tune (MY CAR IS A NONE US CAR) as soon as i got the kit witch is two months ago and finally Sam called me yesterday and told me the tune should be finished in a couple of days. yaaay:icon21:
The kit is one of the best kits I ever seen in term of quality.;) I will try to update this thread as I start installing the kit after I get the tune (hopefully in 1-2 weeks) and I shall see how hard is it to install and review the fitment and what ever I face then. stay tuned :thumbup: Although I do value your business and I appreciate your input, I think it is only fair for us to mention that When you bought a OS Giken quad-plate HR clutch, you were informed that this clutch was a custom order and that it was the fist and the only quad-plate HR clutch ever made. The arrangement was to ship the turbo kit once we received the clutch, it took a lot longer to get the clutch than we were told not to mention that OS Giken added setup fee on the clutch that was not mentioned before; making the clutch sale a complete loss. As far as the ROM file we are doing the best we can to get you up and running, we have never seen your ECU ROM file before (none US car ) which makes things a little more difficult and we are working on it and we wont stop until we get you up and running. Thank you. Sam |
Originally Posted by 350z 6spd
(Post 7607398)
I would like to say that I am writing this only to inform others of possible issues that may go with getting this kit. Blackbird, you're not the only one who had problems with the gaskets, intercooler fitment, and missing clamps ( I was also missing two clamps). I have the Turn-Key HR kit in case anyone is interested.
When I called to order the kit Sam said it would take about 10 days before they ship it and it shipped exactly 10 days later and got to my house in about 3 business days and I was quite happy. This was pretty good time considering it usually takes about 6 days for me to get something from California. I have the kit with internal w/g's so I cannot comment on Blackbird's issue with the wastegate pipe fitment. I did however have my own issue with the internal wastegate actuator assembly. The threaded rod coming out of the actuator is supposed to thread into the extension piece that GTM supplies which is the piece that attaches to the actual wastegate. I threaded one of them together and it felt a little tight about halfway down but I didn't think anything of it. The next one did not go so smoothly. It threaded on fine until just before the halfway point then it just would not go anymore by hand. This left the actuator assembly too long so I decided to try to use a small set of pliers to turn it the extra, maybe 2 turns. The first turn went fine but then the actuator rod snapped. Yes, that is my fault that it snapped but both pieces that GTM machined were obviously not tapped properly and caused the issue to occur. The threads on the rods on the HKS actuators were fine before I threaded the GTM piece on. I called Sam and explained the situation and after a few phone calls he said he would replace it. I then received the new actuator and end piece and it didn't fit again, so I dremeled a few inches off the actuator rod and I was finally able to adjust it properly. The intercooler was/is a pain to say the least. I bolted up the first intercooler only to find out only one side (3 bolts) will bolt/line up. So I call Sam and tell him and he first suggests to try fitting it again and move it around and I proceed to tell him that I have tried many times, it does not fit. He asked me to send him pictures of it, so I did. The next day we get to talking and he offers me the steel welded brackets or a new intercooler and says that either one will solve the problem. Well, I wanted to keep the billet brackets so I asked him to send a new intercooler (I presume he thought they could weld the end-tank brackets to fit my brackets based on the pictures). A few days later the intercooler arrives and I ship back the old one along with the broken actuator. I'm all excited to drive the car and finally finish it up. Well, this intercooler has almost the exact same fitment as the old one, indicating that it is the brackets that are the issue. I then proceed to tell Sam that this new intercooler does not fit. I said maybe the aluminum was not properly aligned when it was put in the CNC machine and that I probably just have a bad set of brackets. After insisting that this probably isn't the case he asks me to send more pictures. I sent him pictures of this setup and called to confirm he got them. As with many other times I called him he was busy at the time (understandable) and whoever I spoke with said they would make sure he saw the e-mail. I figured I had hounded them enough with other issues and I would wait to here back from him, Well here I am 3 MONTHS LATER with NO RESPONSE. I had to dremel out the stud holes in the gaskets for the 5 bolt housing on both the driver and passenger sides. After spending time dremeling, I bolt up the downpipes and testpipes (int. w/g) and they are too close to the underbody. I removed the heat shields that go above the testpipes thinking maybe that extra, small amount of space would allow everything to clear. WRONG. Now everytime I accelerate I hear a banging noise on my floor :icon22:. Now, in all fairness I have yet to mention this issue to them because after the whole thing with the intercooler and not hearing back from them, I had enough of chasing them.I also have not been able to drive the car much for other reasons, which is also part of why I got sidetracked from addressing all the issues. I have a life, a job, and school to attend to. I had a few other small issues that I won't get into because they are negligible. Barring the issues with some of GTM's service/in-house manufacturing, the kit does include some top quality parts and I am happy with the drivability of it all. It runs great so far and the IC/intake piping fit pretty well in my case. I also must say, the few times I spoke with George over e-mail/pm he gave quick, accurate responses and was very understanding. I hope these are issues that are/have been addressed because this kit has great potential once all the kinks are worked out. To this day, we are still using the same parts for the internal waste gate actuator assembly that was sent to you, we have sold over 35 kits with internal waste gate set up and we had never sent a replacement to any one else but you; when we went and checked the issues that you brought to our attention, no problem was found in the design or the product, we had an issue with the rod we sent a replacement and that was that. The intercooler that you are saying does not fit was installed on a car literally, we took our 350zhr R&D car apart installed your intercooler and confirmed all 6 bolts installed correctly then shipped it back to you; again I don't have an answer except that there was an installation issue. Sam |
Originally Posted by k6750gsxr
(Post 7608438)
believe me there are others out there with issues with this kit just never posted due to it being a waste of time and nothing ever gets resolved....
i my self was missing 60... yes 60 total parts out of the kit including down pipes when i received it 2 months after ordering. Sam sent part by part to us over 4 week time period... I eventually said f it and just fabricated the parts needed to make the kit work .... things i never got till this day are all the water lines and fittings for the turbos.. auto trans cooler with lines and fittings.... The kit is well put together and uses top quality parts, they just need a new warehouse guy or who ever packs these kits up.... So all that being said good luck with who ever buys these kits .... Maybe you were miss informed by the shop that bought the kit for you, I have some e-mail between myself and the shop; I have one guy telling he got all the parts when I called to follow up and then receive an email from another person asking where are the parts, so there was a great deal of confusion to say the least. I found your statement to be greatly exaggerated and don't understand the motive behind it. Sam |
Wow Sam I really appreciate you taking the time to come on here and sort olotslot of these issues.
Any thoughts on the kit with regards to the other aspects of the system? ( ie drivability, maintenance, power levels/delivery and also the Osiris. |
I am looking at having a built longblock from GTM. Now I am a little worried. I hope they have lesser complains about the engines they build.
|
All new turbo kits have growing pains. I have put on HUNDREDS of various companies turbo kits over the past 20 years and I do not think that ANY have fit perfectly. This is including all the big names out there, Greddy, HKS, APS etc. A little bit of fabricating, making holes line up etc is pretty normal. It sounds like GTM is doing everything they can to remedy the problems. Sounds like they have great customer service too!!
|
Originally Posted by Sam@GTM
(Post 7613121)
Daniel,
To this day, we are still using the same parts for the internal waste gate actuator assembly that was sent to you, we have sold over 35 kits with internal waste gate set up and we had never sent a replacement to any one else but you; when we went and checked the issues that you brought to our attention, no problem was found in the design or the product, we had an issue with the rod we sent a replacement and that was that. The intercooler that you are saying does not fit was installed on a car literally, we took our 350zhr R&D car apart installed your intercooler and confirmed all 6 bolts installed correctly then shipped it back to you; again I don't have an answer except that there was an installation issue. Sam
Originally Posted by nathanwl2004
(Post 7613546)
Wow Sam I really appreciate you taking the time to come on here and sort olotslot of these issues.
Any thoughts on the kit with regards to the other aspects of the system? ( ie drivability, maintenance, power levels/delivery and also the Osiris. Another point I and others have stated is the kit includes some top quality parts (tial bovs, optional tial w/g's, garrett turbos, hks actuators on int. w/g, etc...) I had my local tuner do some fine tuning to really dial it in. My only feedback on Osiris is it drives great and without hiccups and has an easy to use user interface. Cipher also has a very easy to use interface and has so many uses. As for maintenance, well there's not much in addition to your normal up-keep. I routinely check water and oil connections at the turbos, change the oil, and check for loose couplers. If everything is installed correctly and double checked there shouldn't be any issues, as I haven't had any. I also installed an oil cooler for some added safety. |
Originally Posted by 350z 6spd
(Post 7613912)
Sam, with all due respect, the intercooler fitment is not due to an installation issue. I mean unless it is upside down (it's not) how can one possibly screw that up? As you know, you bolt your bracket to the impact beam bracket and then attach the intercooler to your brackets. It's pretty simple. I'm not someone who attempted to install this kit without having any experience. The issue obviously lies with the brackets considering both intercoolers didn't fit.
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