That's the thing, there seems to be a shortaget of "proven" builds. The 5000 mile mark seems to be the magic number. Even the Forged S1 blocks are going through bearings @ 5k.

This one lasted 5000 miles at 580whp and 540wtq:

https://my350z.com/forum/forced-indu...on-thread.html

 

The way this community hides failures (many, many big name shops have and are currently doing this-including nasty law suits) and the way dyno queens are glorified as being run hard by shops and nuthuggers is ultimately why we arent progressing.

Most shops claim they run their cars hard, then when a customer has an engine issue, they are scrutinized for "abusing" the car. Funny how that works.

 

I could not agree more with this statement.

If there was only a way to find out how many busted built motors are out there. Cass I think is on number 5, so at least he shares his experiences, and people learn from it. This community will not go any further with the VQ if this keeps up.

 

I'm on 17k on my build, but besides some hard highway pulls, I don't push it much. I guess I'm still a little nervous of constantly rocking it. I keep boost at 10 psi most of the time.

 

Hmmm... I'm into the low 20k miles on a FP S1 block running at 15 psi, daily (when it's not freezing out). Spun bearings that occur thousands of miles after break in are caused by what exactly? Over-rev or lubrication failure (low oil or overheat). Perhaps early failure may be clearance/build errors or tuning error. Show me a perfectly running car that suddenly spins a bearing with (a) normal oil pressure, (b) an oil temp gauge in operating range and (c) a rev limiter engaged... I think that excludes all the failures?

 

I understand where you're coming from, but due to your experiences, Cass's and a host of other built guys I decided against a built setup. Hence, why the V8 swap was decided on. I would love to have kept the VQ and build it with a TT kit, but the uncertainty of weather or not it will hold together. I beat on my car very, very hard. Plus I race AutoX, and HPDE so I want to have a setup I can count on. I wouldn't want what happened to you and Cass happen to me. I can't afford 3 or more built setups. Either way I hope you get things straightened out. Sorry for the thread jack....

 

Are you saying that these shops are bringing lawsuits on their customers or vis versa?

 

^Suits and countersuits go hand in hand. Only the attorneys make out - everyone else loses.

Alberto may be right, but you have to look a little deeper into why failures get hidden. He didn't mention the finger pointing, back stabbing and mob mentality that this forum has the potential to engender. There is also a flip side with enthusiasts that have an infectious passion for this platform. Guess you have to take the bad with the good...

 

I'm wondering if some of these shops he's talking about are initiating the lawsuits. I could see how a customer could be the one initiating, but how I read his post was that the shops are going after the customer for posting what happened or maybe for them bashing the shop.

 

Exactly. These motors that are spinning bearings @ 5000+ miles are not just doing it because they were built poorly or because they are VQs. I do know that I have to keep a very close eye on my oil level as my turbos and crankcase ventilation both consume a good amount of oil. I check my oil two times a week and have to add 1.5-2 quarts roughly every 3000 miles. Then again, I built my own car (with a BZM longblock), so I'm very familiar with the car and constantly monitor things. I highly doubt most owners of built motor 350Zs are as **** as I am about their car's fluids, temps, etc.

ANY platform with a built up motor and a lot of extra power has issues. I have friends with evos, vettes, mustangs, etc. that have all had issues with built motors and 500+hp.

 

If you do autox and HPDEs you're better of with an N/A setup anyway. Way too much heat build up on a aftermarket turbo'd car on the track.

 

Same thing with a 'super reliable' V8 swap (sorry I lol'd), way more heat than stock and less space and airflow to dissipate it.

I always believe one should add to the cooling system every bit as much as the motor/whp is added to...seems to almost always be overlooked.

 

And no one knows the reason why there are so many VQ's with spun bearings??

 

Motors that spin bearings right away had a build issue. Motors that spin bearings at higher miles typically haven't had their oil levels watched very closely.

 

LS motors are skinnier than VQs since they are OHV, not DOHC. An LS motor shouldn't create much more heat than the stock VQ. I'm not condoning LS swaps as a "reliable" solution for a high hp 350z, simply stating that they are a better option for a track car than a turbo VQ.

Bigger radiators, pathfinder cooling mods, lower temp thermostats, etc. do NOTHING to lower the temps of the two turbos hanging off the sides of the motor when they are constantly working hard. They create more heat in an engine bay than any N/A motor does by itself.

 

Do you consider 3k mile higher miles?

Also one of the rods was too dark in color, apparently it exposed to too much heat

 

um, no that's relatively low miles for a bearing failure.

Was the dark rod the same one that had the bearing failure? It should have been.

 

Just going to offer my opinion on the bearings...

I had a rev limiter on my setups and monitored the oil level. The oil temp was my fail if I had to guess. EVERY time I took the car out it saw max boost and several hard pulls. On this last build I will try to drive more normally on a regular basis and I'm having a whole new host of gauges installed to more closely monitor oil temp, EGT, oil pressure and coolant temp.

I would say that I just over cooked the oil, or heated it to a point where it wasn't able to provide adequate lubrication. I had been runing the car with the anti-lag on and doing several back to back to back highway pulls when the oil pressure dropped and the bearing started to fail (confirmed by Blackstone). I cannot be sure if my customized setup of turbos and anti-lag or high boost with meth is in any way contributing to my failures. I do agree that most shops shy away from their FAIL in an effort to save face and cost the community as a whole. I can also say that I saw several Forged and Injected cars abused all day last year at the airstrip and they are all still running to my knowledge.

Now I will take a lesson from Raj and XKR and be vigilant about monitoring baseline readings and letting oil temps determine how hard the car gets pushed. Also, I will stop driving just like Alberto and drive in a more sane manor on most occasions so I can stop feeling like my 7 year old that breaks his brand new toy on Christmas day.

 

This is exactly why I only run mid 500s to the wheels. I never have to worry about my oil temps getting too high on the street or on the drag strip and I don't even have an oil cooler. I still have plenty of fun in a 10 second car that can trap almost 130mph and I can beat on it OVER AND OVER.

 

Actually it is. What does that mean?