A&Q about 350Z
Q:
Which one is best?
A:
maybe this poll will help...
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'05 350Z Chrome Silver Touring
'73 240Z
A:
please go to my350z.com and read and read and read until you cant anymore. theres so much FI experience and threads over there. unless of course youve just got 10k burning a hole in your pocket and dont really care, then i guess just rely on us hacks over here at zcar.com to spend your money.
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03 CS Touring
VIN #189
Post Edited (Jun 11, 9:22pm)
A:
You can upgrade the Greddy kit and it is fine. Not OK as is. It does not even have an upgraded fuel pump. You will almost certainly blow your engine with Greddy unless you upgrade the kit. The blown engines with Greddy if not upgraded are numerous and chilling.
Aside from that, the APS has new technology, more state of the art dual ball bearing tubos, water cooled and oil lubricated. No turbo timer needed for cool down with APS unlike Greddy as a result. APS spools a little faster.
APS has a fuel return system, Greddy does not. That is absolutely needed for safety and reliability. Why do you think the 300 ZX TT had a fuel return? Every elite engine builder will tell you a fuel return system is safer and more reliabile with TTs on your engine. It provides cooler fuel and more consistent fuel pressure. Without it sometimes you will run lean which can burn holes in pistons and bend rods. For which, Greddy is famous.
APS has a larger oil pan with cooling vents and a better oil pickup, Greddy does not.
APS has a shielded crank angle sensor wire, Greddy does not.
Greddy came out first. APS took longer to get to the market and is better engineered in my opinion.
Regardless of which kit, get the load based dyno tuning if you want the best chance at long engine life. This is critical. APS dealers have all gone through and been certified on this and have a load base dyno. Greddy???
I was looking at Greddy till APS came out. I just was not satisfied with a company that sold incomplete kits, unsafe kits, as Greddy did and ocntinues to do, but lied to people and said they were complete as is. Then many blown 350Z engines resulted (15 that I am aware of) and Greddy knew they were lying to people all the time and caused it, but did it for profit and said screw you to the people they duped. I have a low opinion of people like that, but that's just me. People who did not believe Greddy and knew enough to upgrade the kit right did fine.
I like 350Zmotoring.com (FORCED INDUCTION FORUM) a lot better than my350Z.com, but both have useful info. My 350Z.com is kinda shaddy with their business practices. do a search on this website. we discussed it several months ago.
Having said all that Greddy is a good kit if you add a few items to it. By the time you do that, it'll probably cost more than APS. Good luck either way.
Post Edited (Jun 12, 8:49pm)
A:
Personal opinions of mine (not about either kit). Im not a fan of ball bearing turbos they cost to much for the gain they give the average joe not to mention if you ever need one rebuilt you might as well just buy a new one and throw that one away. Also more power what do you mean you dont need a turbo timer? Ball bearing or not water cooled or not turbos still get hot and the oil going through them gets just as hot. If you dont let it cool off youll cauterize (sp) the turbo and realize how much that will shorten the lifespan of an expensive turbo.
A:
I hear you and what you are saying is the gospel that I went by for years as well on the need for a cool down period and turbo timer. But, APS answered this question directly and said you really do not need a turbo timer because of the improvements in turbo technology and the oil lubricated and water cooled aspect. Larger oil pan with oil cooler in the kit. And they say it won't coke the oil. And the expected life span is much longer with these state of the art tubos. They say these turbos have a life expectancy of 150,000 to 200,000 miles. Turbos have come a long way in the 16 years since the 300 ZX TT came out.
I did (early 90s) have my turbo modified and went to ball bearings back in my eclipse turbo boy racer day and I could tell and appreciate the faster spool up. But that's just me. You'll get all sorts of opinions on that one.
Now just between you and me, I plan to do like before. In that I mean the last couple of miles or so before you shut the car down, not really run boost to any extent which naturally let's the turbos, etc., cool down. It's just best not to have the turbos on the boil and then just turn the engine off like you said. And if I have been running the car hard, like at the drag strip, I always sit there and let the car idle a couple of minutes to cool down after I take the long (route) cool down trip through the pits at slow speeds. I am kind of overkill on that sort of thing whether I need to be so much of not. And then if the newer turbos are better at handling heat and not coking the oil, etc., and that sort of thing, so much the better. I won't run a turbo timer, but I will give them an eqivalent cool down prior to enginge shut down. I think we are pretty close in our thinking on this.
Post Edited (Jun 13, 2:14pm)
A:
Yeah, but Garret turbos have always been known for the long lifespan. Though that lifespan is a direct reflection of how you drive and how you treat them. Ill go along with the fact that if the oil is at the same temp if you instantly kill the car as it would be if you let it run for a minute or two then that makes sense. Personally im just a lazy American who doesnt want to wait that 1 extra minute in the car. Though I im with ya I think were on the same page.
A:
Ok lots of talk of oil temp and blowing engines. How bout a Methanol Alcohol set up to keep things cool?
A:
Methanol injection has nothing to really do with oil temps. Itll keep detonation down though the same with alcohol injection.
A:
I may eventually use a water/methanol injection system just for extra safety to prevent pinging. I think it is real good for people on the west coast and places where the highest octane pump gas is 91. I can get 93 octane at the pump here in MD which makes it less of an issue. At the drag strip, with forced induction, I run the Sunoco GT plus 105 octane unleaded for safety.
My own opinion is that if you run a water/meth system with forced induction, you should tune the car with the water/meth system turned off. Then just use it for extra safety and not use it to tune for extra power. That way if you run outta water/methanol fluid or get the nozzle stopped up, you are not risking pinging. I have heard people say the water/meth liquid is corrosive to the system itself so you have parts wear out quickly so they are a high maintenance date and I have heard others say that is not the case. I have heard aquamist (pricey but effective) and Snow Performance are good brands of these systems.