G35 Turbocharged
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G35 Turbocharged
Hey guys, I'm thinking of buying an 04 G35 turbocharged. Here are the specs from the seller.....
Turbonetics Turbo kit, purchased from Turbokits.com, a kintex ssv racing manifold, and a borla exhaust, also had a UTEC put in when the car was tuned, also has a 3 gauge pod with Oil Pressure, Boost, and Water Temp. This car is the most loaded you can buy from the factory has everything including Nav.
The Check Engine Light is on, talked to my tuner told him the codes and he said its probably just a vacuum leak minor fix car still runs fine.
So I was wondering is their any danger in buying this car? Its an automatic, but was wondering if the turbocharger can effect the engine or put any stress on the car? I don't wanna buy this thing and then have to dump a bunch of cash into it all the time. Also any1 know what UTEC is?
P.s. I posted this in the G35 discussion section but realised there was an FI section ;-)
Turbonetics Turbo kit, purchased from Turbokits.com, a kintex ssv racing manifold, and a borla exhaust, also had a UTEC put in when the car was tuned, also has a 3 gauge pod with Oil Pressure, Boost, and Water Temp. This car is the most loaded you can buy from the factory has everything including Nav.
The Check Engine Light is on, talked to my tuner told him the codes and he said its probably just a vacuum leak minor fix car still runs fine.
So I was wondering is their any danger in buying this car? Its an automatic, but was wondering if the turbocharger can effect the engine or put any stress on the car? I don't wanna buy this thing and then have to dump a bunch of cash into it all the time. Also any1 know what UTEC is?
P.s. I posted this in the G35 discussion section but realised there was an FI section ;-)
UTEC is the stand alone engine management system. It takes control of the cars computer and makes adjustments so the motor can handle the new airflow from the turbo.
There could be a danger. If you know nothing about turbo setups, it would be hard to know what to look for. Like any purchase of a car, you could take it to a tuner shop that is familiar with Turbos, turbonectics, UTEC and G35s. They would be able to tell you if its worth it.
Base on your description, it would be hard to diagnos the issue of the light. I had a light but it was a o2 sensor tripped by my electronic Cut out. Yours could be anything.
There could be a danger. If you know nothing about turbo setups, it would be hard to know what to look for. Like any purchase of a car, you could take it to a tuner shop that is familiar with Turbos, turbonectics, UTEC and G35s. They would be able to tell you if its worth it.
Base on your description, it would be hard to diagnos the issue of the light. I had a light but it was a o2 sensor tripped by my electronic Cut out. Yours could be anything.
Personally I would never buy another persons project unless it was a personal friend. Your just asking for unknowns. Buy a stock car that way you know 100% what your getting yourself into. To me that's like an un-written rule. Always buy stock or next to stock.
you want a 2nd hand turbo car which did not come with turbos from the factory and you don't want to have to dump a bunch of cash into it all the time?
That's like a paradox.
Anyway, pay however much to get the car fully inspected and set aside $5000 for repairs. If you are really set on buying an FI car, buy one that came turbo from the factory and have the same PPI done. If I were set on FI I'd just get a 300ZX TT and mod it. Do the same PPI and look for one with good paint. I like side airbags and the interior of my g35 though even though it's slower.
That's like a paradox.
Anyway, pay however much to get the car fully inspected and set aside $5000 for repairs. If you are really set on buying an FI car, buy one that came turbo from the factory and have the same PPI done. If I were set on FI I'd just get a 300ZX TT and mod it. Do the same PPI and look for one with good paint. I like side airbags and the interior of my g35 though even though it's slower.
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Hey guys, I'm thinking of buying an 04 G35 turbocharged. Here are the specs from the seller.....
Turbonetics Turbo kit, purchased from Turbokits.com, a kintex ssv racing manifold, and a borla exhaust, also had a UTEC put in when the car was tuned, also has a 3 gauge pod with Oil Pressure, Boost, and Water Temp. This car is the most loaded you can buy from the factory has everything including Nav.
The Check Engine Light is on, talked to my tuner told him the codes and he said its probably just a vacuum leak minor fix car still runs fine.
So I was wondering is their any danger in buying this car? Its an automatic, but was wondering if the turbocharger can effect the engine or put any stress on the car? I don't wanna buy this thing and then have to dump a bunch of cash into it all the time. Also any1 know what UTEC is?
P.s. I posted this in the G35 discussion section but realised there was an FI section ;-)
Turbonetics Turbo kit, purchased from Turbokits.com, a kintex ssv racing manifold, and a borla exhaust, also had a UTEC put in when the car was tuned, also has a 3 gauge pod with Oil Pressure, Boost, and Water Temp. This car is the most loaded you can buy from the factory has everything including Nav.
The Check Engine Light is on, talked to my tuner told him the codes and he said its probably just a vacuum leak minor fix car still runs fine.
So I was wondering is their any danger in buying this car? Its an automatic, but was wondering if the turbocharger can effect the engine or put any stress on the car? I don't wanna buy this thing and then have to dump a bunch of cash into it all the time. Also any1 know what UTEC is?
P.s. I posted this in the G35 discussion section but realised there was an FI section ;-)
I couldnt see any reason as to why a turbocharger would add stress or reduce the life of the motor. Extra heat and pressure are actually very good for the internals.
I say go for it.
Last edited by abcdo4dkIdjkm; Mar 16, 2010 at 05:02 PM.
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bludiamond, can I ask who your tuner is? Where was this car tuned? Talk to the tuner who worked on this car - odds are they know it better than the owner. Is your tuner and the tuner who built this car both reliable?
It worries me a little that there is no A/F gauge (air/fuel ratio). It might be somewhere other than the a-pillar pod, but you didn't mention it. Anyone who is concerned somewhat about the stats of their engine wants to know A/F, especially at WOT (wide open throttle).
Does the car smoke at start up? Does it smoke under acceleration, and if so what color is smoke? Does the owner have receipt of maintenance (oil changes, transmission service, regularly scheduled maintenance).
Is the 5AT built? Does it have any upgrades like tranny cooler, valve body, torque converter? If not... you'd need to get this looked at ASAP. Turbos make much more torque than superchargers. Torque and heat kill the automatic transmission. Pull the tranny dipstick and see if the fluid smells burnt and note the color; it should be a shade of blood red (best way I can think to describe it), not black.
Research common problems that Turbonetics cars have had. They have a fair share - like many other FI systems and check this car out to see if it has any of the symptoms. Why is the seller letting it go with a CEL for a vacuum leak? Easy enough fix, why not do it? Might be a good indication he hasn't taken care of the car all along. Keep in mind that a CEL is common on not just VQ's, but many FI cars. No cats is the main reason = "left/right bank too lean/rich".
The UTEC is a fine system. It's not the best, but certainly not the worst. I have run it on my car for 3+ years with no issues. It is NOT a stand alone system like mentioned above. It's a piggyback so it works WITH your stock ECU and modifies signals when in boost. Speaking of boost, how many pounds is this car running?
Each car is different. This owner may have babied the car, kept immaculate care and records. You buy it, and the very first stomp the engine blows. On the other hand, the owner may have beaten the car to death, not cared, knows it falling apart and is selling it and the first time you step on the gas it pops. And any combo in between is possible.
Buying an FI is car is not too much different than buying any other used car. You need to know what to look for, you need to research this system. The FI G community is not that big, and narrowing it own to your state and city you can probably find out a lot about this car by searching and asking around. I sold one of my old FI cars because the guy investigated and everyone told him I baby my cars, never race, and just enjoy them. You may hear that this guy street races anything that comes his way and has videos on YouTube doing donuts and bouncing off the rev limiter.
No matter what you better have some money in the bank. Enough to cover a blown engine and slipping tranny. $5000 left over for fixes sounds low to me...
It worries me a little that there is no A/F gauge (air/fuel ratio). It might be somewhere other than the a-pillar pod, but you didn't mention it. Anyone who is concerned somewhat about the stats of their engine wants to know A/F, especially at WOT (wide open throttle).
Does the car smoke at start up? Does it smoke under acceleration, and if so what color is smoke? Does the owner have receipt of maintenance (oil changes, transmission service, regularly scheduled maintenance).
Is the 5AT built? Does it have any upgrades like tranny cooler, valve body, torque converter? If not... you'd need to get this looked at ASAP. Turbos make much more torque than superchargers. Torque and heat kill the automatic transmission. Pull the tranny dipstick and see if the fluid smells burnt and note the color; it should be a shade of blood red (best way I can think to describe it), not black.
Research common problems that Turbonetics cars have had. They have a fair share - like many other FI systems and check this car out to see if it has any of the symptoms. Why is the seller letting it go with a CEL for a vacuum leak? Easy enough fix, why not do it? Might be a good indication he hasn't taken care of the car all along. Keep in mind that a CEL is common on not just VQ's, but many FI cars. No cats is the main reason = "left/right bank too lean/rich".
The UTEC is a fine system. It's not the best, but certainly not the worst. I have run it on my car for 3+ years with no issues. It is NOT a stand alone system like mentioned above. It's a piggyback so it works WITH your stock ECU and modifies signals when in boost. Speaking of boost, how many pounds is this car running?
Each car is different. This owner may have babied the car, kept immaculate care and records. You buy it, and the very first stomp the engine blows. On the other hand, the owner may have beaten the car to death, not cared, knows it falling apart and is selling it and the first time you step on the gas it pops. And any combo in between is possible.
Buying an FI is car is not too much different than buying any other used car. You need to know what to look for, you need to research this system. The FI G community is not that big, and narrowing it own to your state and city you can probably find out a lot about this car by searching and asking around. I sold one of my old FI cars because the guy investigated and everyone told him I baby my cars, never race, and just enjoy them. You may hear that this guy street races anything that comes his way and has videos on YouTube doing donuts and bouncing off the rev limiter.
No matter what you better have some money in the bank. Enough to cover a blown engine and slipping tranny. $5000 left over for fixes sounds low to me...
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Do not listen to 'deep in her z'. He is some law student somewhere and doesn't know anything about cars.
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Get it to a shop and do a compression/leak down test on the motor. That is the only way to find out if the motor is still good. Find a shop that know our car and had done mulitple turbo/SC install and tune and have them inspect and make sure the tune is also good.
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UTEC controls the valve timing in the engine. Its kind of like VTEC but its for turboed VQ35 motors.
I couldnt see any reason as to why a turbocharger would add stress or reduce the life of the motor. Extra heat and pressure are actually very good for the internals.
I say go for it.
I couldnt see any reason as to why a turbocharger would add stress or reduce the life of the motor. Extra heat and pressure are actually very good for the internals.
I say go for it.
The UTEC is a fine system. It's not the best, but certainly not the worst. I have run it on my car for 3+ years with no issues. It is NOT a stand alone system like mentioned above. It's a piggyback so it works WITH your stock ECU and modifies signals when in boost. Speaking of boost, how many pounds is this car running?
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I was clearly joking about the valve timing thing 
.
But you forget to mention that it also has controls for fuel (the speed density fueling is a nice feature), detects knock, and has the ability to scale injectors. All very important when going FI
. But you forget to mention that it also has controls for fuel (the speed density fueling is a nice feature), detects knock, and has the ability to scale injectors. All very important when going FI
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I did mentoned the fuel on my next post... one thing you forgot is that Utec Temp Compensation Suck a&&
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You are definetelly right about the temp compensation. Gotta watch the tune, especially in those hot summer months. Allot of people are starting to run there FI cars with uprev. Im very curious about that setup.
Last edited by abcdo4dkIdjkm; Mar 16, 2010 at 05:18 PM.
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I do my own tuning and I was offered to try the Osiris. After looking at the manual then it really doesnt make sense for me to switch because I'm going to loose a lot of functionality and protection. Osiris dont offer 3rd party wideband support so street tuning is a pain unless you trust the OEM 02 sensor for tuning or rent a dyno all the time. You also loose the knock control on the higher rpm and the overboost fuel cutoff with Osiris. There are more but both are good system and both have its pros/cons...
