onagao

After disappointing results from two other reputable shops, I took my Vortech 350Z to Jotech Motorsports to see what they could do. The results were simply incredible.

Gained:
70wtq @ 4500rpm
50whp @ 6200rpm
... even with the belt slipping.

Final Numbers:
413whp, 340wtq (91 Octane)

The car feels like a totally different animal. The power delivery and torque progression are incredibly smooth, and it comes on so strong now that I can barely maintain traction over 5000rpm in 2nd gear (and I've triggered TCS toward the top of 3rd on more than one occasion). I'm looking forward to burning through these tires and getting a softer compound sometime in the future... along with a new belt.

It's also worth mentioning that the gentlemen at Jotech were consummate professionals from start to finish. I have nothing but the highest praise for everyone I encountered at their shop.

/// Details Below ///

Car:
- 2006 350Z (6MT, VQ35DE RevUp)

Modifications:
- Vortech V3 SCI Supercharger Kit
- GTM 2.87" Pulley
- Koyo Racing Radiator
- Stillen Engine Damper
- Z1 Urethane Motor Mounts
- Z1 Performance Brakes
- Z1 Lightweight Clutch/Flywheel
- Mishimoto Racing Thermostat
- Uprev MAF GT
- Injector Dynamics 725cc Injectors
- Walbro 250 LPH Fuel Pump
- HGK 1-Step-Colder Spark Plugs
- Innovate Motorsports Guages (w/ WB-AFR)
- Motordyne MREV2 Lower Plenum
- Motordyne 5/16" Plenum Spacer
- Stillen Headers
- Motordyne ART Pipes
- Motordyne TDX V2 Exhaust
- Tuned by Jotech Motorsports

Wheels: Avant Garde M310
Tires: 19x9.5 245/35/19, 19x11 275/35/19 (Hankook V12)
Suspension: Tein S.Tech Springs

Seibon TS Hood (07-08 Carbon Fiber)
Stillen V1 Wing.

///

Huge thanks to Jotech Motorsports! They are masters of their craft.

rustyschopshop

Glad to hear you had luck with them, I had origionally planned on using them but several people in the area recommended to steer clear and use PRT performance instead. Always nice to hear when people get a proper tune with good results.

I am assuming your are running uprev? not in your mod list

onagao

Yep, I'm running on Uprev software.

Interestingly, PRT Performance was actually the last shop that tuned my car before Jotech; they were responsible for the baseline you see in the video that had me so disappointed. Steve is a really great guy, and he definitely improved on the tune from the shop prior... but I imagine he might do better work on NA applications?

rustyschopshop

Thanks for your review on 2 local shops. I am still far from doing a tune, but I love hearing reviews so I know where to send people in conversations and in planning my budget for future mods.

NissanZcrazy

iTrader: (1)

Hmm,you have me second guessing my tune now haha. Mind you,you have larger injectors and a Vortech instead of a Procharger.
Was it cold outside when you were getting it tuned?There seems to be more smoke than I'm used to seeing. But then again I can't see what's coming out of my exhaust either?

bealljk

iTrader: (13)

^I'm neutral in this and don't have a dog in the fight...but a few things to consider...

as far as the your recognized gains - were they using the same dyno? same brand of dyno? and similar conditions? Obviously there will be some uncontrollable tolerance issues no matter what...

If I was a professional tuner with a reputation and a financial stake in the fight - I would dial anything I do back a click or two to ensure reliability and to account for reasonable inconsistencies...in a round about kind of way, your first tuners may have been doing you a favor in protecting you from yourself.

If you pop your engine because your timing is aggressive that extra 70 wt wont mean much you'll be awfully angry at the guy that put you there.

My point is, don't automatically assume your initial tuners were incompetent or didnt do a good job.

onagao

It was about 65-75 degrees on the day of tuning. A couple of those runs had a little more smoke than others, but I chalk that up to the tuning process. That, and I'm also running Motordyne ART pipes instead of catalytic converters, so I get to project all of that goodness straight out into the atmosphere

Now on the other clips where I'm just revving - those were taken on actually on a really foggy day, so that was actually just moisture/vapor and not smoke. It doesn't ordinarily look quite like that, but since I though it looked kind of cool, (especially the wispy bit after the dyno clips), I just stuck with using those clips.

onagao

The baseline in the video was the best run we got out of the tune I brought the car in on. They didn't remove the car from the dyno until everything was completely done, so that effectively controls that variable. That's definitely a valid question, though; comparisons from different dynos on different days are hardly worth anyone's while.

Your other points are fair, as well. I don't hold anything against Steve at PRT for not doing as good a job as Thomas at Jotech. Something that Thomas said to me as he was tuning the car might have clued me in to what made all of the difference: he said that as he was tuning the car, he was getting feedback as though there might be pinging/knock taking place, but it didn't match what he was experiencing with the car. So (and this is something Steve at PRT never did) instead of just trusting what the computer was telling him, he grabbed his stethoscope and began listening to the motor and tuning from that. At the end of it, he said that what's on there is definitely safe, and the ECU is still actively set to protect it - I just have a really noisy engine.

It really may have been that one extra step that Jotech knew to take that made all of the difference, but it sure made a heck of a difference. Like I said, I don't think Steve is incompetent by any means - what he did on my car was still leaps and bounds better than what the first tuner did. I just think he was less effective in this particular case, on this particular car.

Now the first tuner... don't even get me started with them. After nearly 3 months and thousands of dollars, they gave me a car that was filthy, damaged, could barely start, was stuttering, misfiring, running extremely rich, with aggressive timing, and a disabled knock sensor. That first tuner was Omar at Uprev in Austin, TX.

So after that awful experience... followed up by an underwhelming tune... to have Jotech finally bring this car to its full potential in such a big way. I can't help but heap praises upon them. They did something that two highly-reputable shops failed to do, and they fixed something that has been a thorn in my side for nearly 3 years. I finally have my car the way I've always wanted it to be.