Who installed the kit? That dyno chart is not good? From 4.4Krpm to 5.7Krpm the AF is lower than 10. Then at 7.0Krpm it is at 13. There is your problem. If the dealer sees that graph you are out of luck IMO. I'm suprised your car lasted as long as it did.

 

Blowby could have occured from detonation but not by overfill. Although I'm not sure how this could have occured with the ATI kit?

 

Our good friends at Altered Atmospheres. I agree that the A/F of 10 wasn't good. Which is why I had it retuned in January. Unfortunately, I never got a printout from that dyno.

 

No. And, I'm certain there was no overfill as I chat with my autotech while he works.

The consumption problem took place overtime. The first thing I noticed was that the oil pressure was dropping to lower levels. Infact, the oil pressure would drop close to zero at about the time that my 3,000 mi. oil change was due. I figured this was normal since some oil loss is normal.

But, after awhile, I noticed that oil pressure would drop quickly overtime. Finally, after one oil change, my oil pressure dropped to zero after only a month or a month and a half after the oil change. There was no way this was normal. So, I took it into the dealership. My dealership has straight shooters in the service department so I knew I could trust them to take care of the problem, and they did.

All my oil changes were done at the same dealership, religiously every 3,000 to 3,500 mi. That combined with the fact that the Z has a rev limiter convinced NNA that there was no abuse. Besides, I have no doubt that the ECU was checked with Consult II and my driving habits were reviewed. Nissan and my dealership know I drive my Z aggressively and did not have any problem with that fact.

Additionally, none of my NA mods are significant enough to come even close to causing detonation that would damage the rings. The only other notable point is that after 7,000 mi, I switched to Mobil 1 synthetic. With my new engine, I don't believe this was the problem but, I'm sticking with Nissan's oil recommendations just incase this somehow had anything to do with it.

I was advised that it's rare but everyone once in a while, there are VQ engines that have this problem. I understand Nissan takes the engines and the engineers tear them down to try to figure out what happened.

That's about all I can offer you in detail about the problem. If you wish, you might want to contact Torrance Nissan in California because they have handled at least two or three defective engines.

Lastly, recognize, Nissan staff routinely read these forums and that everything you post here will likely be read. So, keep that in mind as this is all public record that could be used by anyone as evidence of admission or fault.

 

First of all remove that dyno sheet from the forums. Next contact AA (assuming they are still in business). Inform them of what happened and that you can't believe they let you out of the shop with a tune like that. It was a ticking time bomb.

Then go through the normal procedures with Nissan. There is a chance they wont want to deal with it and just pay for a new engine. (highly unlikey but still I would do it just the same). If they decline you will need to go after AA as it looks very obvious they are to blame. (I'm referring to legal action, although you are probably upset enough to do something else.)

Out of all the blown up engines with ATI kits. All of the kits were bought and/or tuned by AA or had parts from AA. (to my knowledge) Please tell me you didn't buy the ecu upgrade he sold

 

How damaged is it? Is the block ok?If so i might be interested in purchasing it.$$$

 

its my understanding the engine is not destroyed....isnt it just essentially no holding compression and burning oil? The block should be in good shape.

 

The engine is fine in terms of block and stuff. It sucks that this happened, but I'm not pissed at anyone. I doubt I could get anyone involved to accept a single bit of responsiblity. The only thing I've got going for me is I've got $7000 saved up that I was planning for forged internals anyway. I'm not going to loose sleep over it that's for sure. **** happens, move on. That's the risks of FI as far as I'm concerned. I'm not looking to hoodwink anyone. Facts are facts, let the chips fall where they may. I'd rather spend the 7K on a rebuild than on a lawyer any day.

 

It sounds like you have a pretty good attitude about this. I would be furious if my engine blew up and my tuning looked like yours. I guess thats just me. Especially since you are not the first to have this issue, with this shop. Its too bad the other guys didn't have $7K saved up. Granted it is partially your responsiblilty not to leave but I take it you didn't know any better?

How serious are you about upgrading the engine? I'm assuming you are going to replace the pistons, rods, head?cams?, etc. Depending on how serious you are, you may need more than $7K.

 

The heads can wait IMO because a proper job with oversized valves would be close to $2400. If done right, that could net maybe 30+ at the wheels if boosting 14+ psi, but there is a chance it might be alot less.

 

I'm having this exact same problem with my coupe right now and mine is NA, I didn't take it too seriously till now, I just got the 30k mile service a couple of weeks ago, and I KNOW they changed the oil and I'm getting the warning already. I'll probably call tomorrow and set up an appointment, I'll let you know what they say

 

Yes, I was uninformed at the time. Plus, I was moving to Florida at the time which exasperated the situation. Granted, I learned enough to realize I needed to get it retuned in January. But, I fear that these guys (Lugo Performance) didn't do a great job either. Even though the a/f graph they had was much better, when I got the AEM O2 installed I was running much richer than what they showed.

As for the ugprades, I was planning pistons & rods. On the wall about the cams, and hadn't considered the head.


But, right now. I think my plan is to go with the new motor and sell off the old parts to offset the cost...

FOR SALE:
motor
procharger
j&s safeguard

WTB:
motor
nismo cai

Either that, or buy a daily driver with the 7K and only use the Z for going on dates and Z meets.

I still have the borla, stop techs, and stereo install that make dumping the car prohibitive.

 

noah check your pm

 

How much for the shortblock? Dibs!!!

 

I think he is keeping his block. If not...can I be second in line?