Eh guys.

Someone I know and trust (cough... Gord...cough) told me awhile back that I would likely get some good feedback from some experienced FI guys over here. I'm a G35driver.com guy and don't get me wrong I've had a metric ton of help from the folks over there. I'm an Alberta boy recently moved out to the coast with the project car. My network is largely back in Alberta, along with their respective networks of guys who could help me get my hands dirty with this project. First, the details:

06 Couple, AT (I know, I know!) and the kit (already purchased and sitting in many boxes in my place) is a JWT 700BB. Associated mods are accumulating, including 680cc injectors (from Sylvan), a fuel system including rails, return, fuel pump and RRR (from Red35), 3 gauge cluster in A pillar format with boost, F/A and oil temp (probably need to swap one of those for tranny temp judging by some other advice)... I'm running COBB as well and though I know some will undoubtedly cringe I am confident that it will sustain my needs until I go towards more exotic setups and a more robust (ie: built / clutchpack upgrade) tranny.

I'm unquestionably an FI n008... but I've had a great amount of support over on driver and hope to get some valuable input from the guys around here too. I'm not a car guy- but I'm very interested in this aspect of the vehicle and really eager to learn.

I have a shop identified to do the install... but to be honest this isn't really the way I wanted it done. They said I could go in every now and then and take pictures... but I couldn't get my hands in at all. This basically ruins all the benefit I expected in being involved in the tear down and the install process... to learn the system, the car and be prepared to problem solve the build on my own instead of- in the words of a wise man- pay someone to problem solve their own work.

I am reaching out a bit to any 350 guys who know the island and perhaps have a bit more of a network established out here. I'm looking for enthusiasts or tech shops who have some space and some time to do the build and let me participate as much as I can.

If you want more information on how the process went down- check out the thread in driver:

http://g35driver.com/forums/canada/3...s-anymore.html


Thanks again guys!

eno

 

Understandable from an insurance point of view.

Its really just bolting on parts. Its not nearly as exciting as you hope it to be, esp if they have a lift. There really isnt much teardown. undo the suspension, wiring and tranny mount. raise the car off the motor. bolt on new manifolds/turbo. drop car back onto motor. plug everything back in.

I can understand you wanna get your hands dirty, but do you have the tools to pull the car apart if something happened? If thats the case, why not do it yourself? Like I said, its not hard at all, just time consuming.


good luck finding a shop that suits your needs though.

 

When it starts leaking some fluid or breaks down, you'll learn all about it - I wouldn't worry about that. My advice is to let one shop do as much as possible so they can stand behind their work. Your turn to work on the car comes afterwards - you'll be tweaking it and modding it continuously...

 

^+1

guaranteed

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm really hovering over the two options- I just wish the services were more available on the island.

 

Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of options in BC in general, much less the island. In the lower mainland you basically have Racing Greed in Coquitlam, Garage5 and Drivehard in Richmond and maybe one or two other shops but of course those are still a bit away from you and I don't think they'd let you take part in the process. Your best best is to read read read on this site and maybe find someone local that can come to your place and help out. Hell, offer someone from the shop some cash off hours to come give you a hand and show you how its done.

 

Thanks for the feedback Zjoe. Sounds like you know of a few places up here- perhaps you've heard about the two shops mentioned below?


I've approached two shops in the victoria area- namely Progressive and AutoFX. Both shops seem to fit the bill- though from opposite ends of the coin. One started with autobody work and did side work in performance upgrades and the other started with performance upgrades and ended up leaning more towards body work.

Garage 5 came up in a conversation the other day because I'm still looking for a "tuning" solution. The "best" solution offered to me from a trusted person is in Vancouver on the mainland- but I don't know specfically who that is yet (was a bit premature at the time to get that detail.) The challenge is going to be to either limp the car over to the mainland, get it towed or find someone local who isn't going to blow up the car. There is talk of adjusting fuel rate down through the mapping software and stay out of boost during the trip... again suggestions from folks I trust but none of us were too clear on how possible that is.

That hunt continues...


eno

 

I don't know either of those shops you mentioned but that is only because I don't spend any time on the island. I think that if you want to bring it over I'd hire a car hauler to just load up your car on the back of a flat bed and truck it over. Done and done.

Again, refer to the shops I mentioned as they are the quality guys to consider in the lower mainland.

 

I guess if I'm going to spend this kind of money on upgrading the car I might as well not gawk at the cost of flat bedding it over to make sure the tune is done right. Thanks for the leads- If it's the best option I'll definitely be heeding this advice.

Eno

 

You might want to consider a new place called 5252 Motorsports. I am now an Alberta guy but I went to high school with one of their guys, and I can tell you that he has been heavily influenced by the best car guy I have ever come across in any capacity. I can't say I've been there myself because I just don't live there now, but I think they offer almost exactly what you're after.
I am new to tuner cars, as well, so it's not like my opinion carries too much weight on here but it might be worth your while to stop by & see if you get a good vibe from the place.
I think taking it to the mainland is a really bad idea. A "few quick trips" on the ferrey with a trailer or an over-height is a lot of wasted $ and A LOT of hours. I agree that it's a skill, but I really doubt that installation and tuning is such a fine art that no one is qualified south of Nanaimo.

 

With all due respect this is a dangerous post. I fully agree that the OP should check out the shop but to say that pulling the car up on a flat bed and taking it to the mainland is a really bad idea is really bad advice. Some shops have customers bring their cars several hundred miles to get tuned properly or for a proper install or both. I've heard of a few that have sent their cars cross country. It's worth it especially if you've got some high end parts that you don't want to cook from a bad tune. Btw, on 5252's site they have a dyno sheet from a 08 Gt Mustang with the heading "amazing 317 hp!". If that is amazing then their doing it wrong.

OP, contact David at Garage5. He's good peeps. And like I said call up Racing Greed and Drivehard. Talk to them all, tell them what you want to do, and go with your gut. These guys all work on 350Z's all the time and know the cars well. Experience with YOUR car is what you want.

 

If you're spending tens of thousands of dollars on a build a tow bill shouldn't be his main concern. i would try to get it all done at the same shop if possible, it will lead to less finger pointing if issues arise.

I still think he should bring it back to Alberta to get the work done?!

 

Quoting ZJoe "Some shops have customers bring their cars several hundred miles to get tuned properly or for a proper install or both. I've heard of a few that have sent their cars cross country."
I have nothing against tuning shops and the services that they provide, but I just refuse to believe that it's rational to drag a car out of our hemisphere to find one that "really knows what they're doing." Are they skilled? Yes. However, they are not physicians, engineers, dentists, accountants or attorneys, yet my city is lousy with all of these professionals to the extent that I can easily find one that meets my needs. If I have enough dentists in my city that I can find one whom I feel is competent enough to work on my teeth, which are something that I require to eat, why shouldn't this guy be able to find someone to install/tune a turbo?

 

When your dentist messes up cleaning your teeth do you have to have them all pulled out and buy all new ones? Do you go without eating while waiting for the new teeth to be made?

IMHO, OP if you have someone like Gord giving you advice, you may want to listen. He's the Canadian equivalent of me. He's built it and blown it up and knows what he's talking about. Decide if you want to do the install yourself. If so, then the money saved could offset the expense of towing the car to a proven shop for start-up and tuning.

If it all goes wrong.... BLAME CANADA

 

I rest my case.

 

If you're interested I am friends with a very competent Uprev protuner in the Seattle area thats available to travel, I can put you in touch with him. I've personally watched him tune 10+ VQ35DE FI set ups and he definitely knows what he's doing.

 

These sound arguments have me convinced and I don't know what I was thinking before. I'm a little embarrassed, but now I fully understand that we are talking about something really important: a $25k, 5 year old car.
If I am unfortunate enough to get cancer, I will be able to find an oncologist in my city to advise and provide me with chemo-therapy. If I get a brain tumor requiring surgery so critical that there will be a 5% chance of death and a 25% chance of paralysis, there will be a surgeon in my city up to the challenge. HIV? No problem! A capable pharmacist will dispense AZT drugs within my area code. Want to make my g/f's D's into double-D's? A host of cosmetic surgeons await. For these and other life altering decisions, I can find someone reasonably local who was trained in a nationally accredited program at a university.
But, when it comes to a 5 year old, $25k car, that's when I get serious. First, I'll drive it home from work on a public road. You know, the kind where nothing but a painted yellow line separates me from a head-on collision with the "average motorist" who got C-minuses in high school. When I get home, out come the white gloves and I'll lower the tire pressure by about 15psi before the doors close on its hermetically sealed container. The freight jet that I charter will deliver it to Cape Canaveral, where we can finally get some of the qualified folks from NASA to work on it. I'm not talking about some slack-jawed, regular professional engineer here! These boys all have Ph.D's. You know about those Laplace transforms going on in the background of the transfer functions in your basic proportional-integral-differential controllers used in your ECU? These guys can do those in their heads!! That's the kind of people I'd want when it comes to something as serious as a 5 year old, $25k vehicle.
I wish I could offer more help finding a shop for you, but I'm just trying to put things into perspective. Maybe if we were on myRollsRoycePhantom.com I wouldn't be as cynical...

 

I can find someone reasonably local who was trained in a nationally accredited program at a university.


You're talking about dentists and Doctors people that have years of schooling behind them and take tests to get certified, Mechanics take a couple months of schooling, then write an open book test to get a license even then most tuning shops don't have all licensed mechanics maybe one or two guys and they may not even work on your car because they are busy doing brake jobs or other work that the shop is required to have certified techs do. Tuners don't need any schooling or certification. So you comparisons are like dollars to doughnuts same rules don't apply.

You keep saying about your teeth and brain tumor or even your wife's DDs so would you let an uncertified doctor maybe a med student try give your wife and enhancement I am sure he will learn as he goes your wife is not a model so what is the big deal, maybe the med student can take a crack at your brain surgery he has stitched a few cuts up before so it is similar your not a pro athlete so it doesn't matter if he messes up. Maybe a dental assistant can give you a root canal she works at a dental office and has seen it done before she works on teeth. Your arguments compare to the above they just don't make sense at all!! Just because you have a 5 year old car doesn't mean anyone that works at an auto repair shop can successfully instal and tune TT kit. You want a shop that is familiar with the car and installing and tuning a TT kit. Just like you want to see the cosmetic surgeons "work" before you hand you old lady over to him for her botched boob job and same with my dentist, I want people that have done it before and come recommended from someone that they have worked on or someone that has first hand knowledge of their work.

If you spend $20,000 boosting your car you might want to take it to a shop that has done it before with success. But with your thought process that it is not a Rolls Royce so take it down to the local quick lube and have the grade 10 drop outs bolt a TT set up on your car and tune it, a 5 year old car what is the worst that could happen you could be out $10,000 on install and tuning and looking for a shop to spend another $15,000 to rebuild your motor fix your TT instal and properly tune your car.
Do we need Ph.Ds from NASA...no but you need a competent shop the whole point of the thread. Is there someone in Victoria that can do it likely but no one seems to know the shop that can perform the magic and until they do go with what you know

You couldn't figure out how to get a crank pulley off with out asking and you had instructions. You are not qualified to supply FI advice, this section is not for you stick to the threads about Pop chargers and intake spacers that is more your level.

And take Canada off your location it is guys like you that make us northerners look like a$$holes.

 

Sylvan I can't agree with what you just said more... lol I wanted to say something along the same lines but just couldn't put the effort into formulating a clear and concise retort

 

I know I spent way too much time on it. I am a little cranky and on edge I haven't had a day off work since september 27th and i am sick of guys that know it all but yet can't complete simple tasks on their own cars without asking for help yet somehow feel qualified to tell others it is simple stuff anyone can do it .