i thought id make this thread to document the issues ive had with my APS TT kit since i installed it about a year ago. The APS kit is known for smoking and ive used this forum a lot to help diagnose my issues and hopefully this info will help those who are experiencing similar problems.

so i had a shop named Precision Autosports in Dayton, OH install my APS Tuner TT kit last august. they did the TT kit, APS test pipes and full catback, HKS EVC6, autometer nexus guages, 255lph walbo fuel pump, 600cc DW injectors, and a UTEC to control everything. we initially had problems with the UTEC holding idle so i switched to Osiris and it fixed everything. they made 395rwhp/369rwtq @ 7.5psi.

i noticed after about 300 miles the car would smoke (light blue, definitely oil) a little bit on decel and when i would come to a stop after driving it a bit, but only rarely and only on hotter days. i brought it back after reading about the oil pan drain fix that APS issued. my tuner recommended going with braided nylon hoses instead of the normal rubber ones. they installed those and cut the length to what APS recommended and i didnt really experience the smoke issue too much after that. it would come and go but was rare.

fast forward to about a month and a half ago. it started smoking a lot more often and then i noticed the a/f gauge would spike at 16 when going 40 in 4th or 60 in 6th, basically anytime the RPMs hovered around 2k. then the car would sputter until i gave it some kind of load. under WOT it was perfect. i talked to the UpRev guys and they said it sounded like i had a crappy tune and to get it retuned ASAP.

i found out that the tuner i got to install the kit apparently went bankrupt (which, honestly, was a good thing since they charged me way more than we agreed upon basically by strong arming me :/ ). the closest UpRev tuner was SlowMotion Motorsports in Columbus, about an hour away. i took it to them to get it retuned and we ran into some issues.

he noticed the tune was FULL of timing. he said it was a very aggressive tune and was surprised the motor hadnt popped already. he retuned it and made 400rwhp/365rwtq at 5.5psi. but it was smoking HEAVILY on decel and at idle. like WAY more than before. he gave it back to me and on the way back i went WOT at around 60 in 6th and noticed detonation. it NEVER detonated before. i also noticed it was smoking WAY more than before. i took it back and told him to fix it. he said it seems like by tuning it we exacerbated a previous issue the car may have had. so i told him to do some diagnostics and see why it was smoking/detonating.

that was about 3 weeks ago. they did a compression check and the compression was within 2psi difference. pretty much perfect. then they did a leakdown. the numbers were 1%, 1%, 2%, 2%, 4%, and 9%. he was worried about the 9% and said that could be a real issue and said i might need an engine rebuild. he said the smoke issue could be the ring seals. that or the turbo seals.

now i know the APS kit is extremely sensitive to oil levels and it is also known to blow turbo seals. so i had them work that issue first while i did more research about the possible ring issue. i called Forged and spoke to Decker. he said the 9% was nothing to worry about unless there was oil on the plugs, which there wasnt. it just means the motor is a little tired but its DEFINITELY not necessary to rebuild it. he said it sounds like turbo seals to him. if they werent 600 miles away thats the place i would take my car and there only. i am seriously jealous of you guys near Ga. but i digress.

so i had them remove the turbos to see if they needed a rebuild. they did so and said they looked perfect. however they did say the passenger side turbo oil line to the pan, the one APS did the fix for, was kinked. he said it was almost closed and it seemed to him that it would cause blowback and oil seepage through the turbo seals, but the turbos were COMPLETELY DRY. no sign of oil anywhere.

i read on here that a lot of guys with smoking issues put restrictors on the turbos and that seems to help. so i had them do so and also replace those nylon drains hoses with stainless braided so they wouldnt kink. i hopefully get the car back today and will update on whether the issue has been fixed. in the meantime, any advice anyone reading this has would be awesome. its really embarrassing to drop $15k into your car and have it smoke like a chimney.

 

awesome. just got off the phone with SlowMotion Motorsports....its still smoking. im seriously at a loss as to what the issue may be.

 

Just have a question..since the APS TT kit is known for smoking and if you knew this before you bought it why would you still buy that kit? There are plenty of other good turbo kits that seem to be more reliable than the APS TT. Since you're going through all of this trouble and spending extra cash I would sell that kit and go a different route.

 

i didnt know it was known for smoking until after i bought it :/

if i had to do it again id go with the greddy kit.

but it doesnt seem to be the kit thats the problem. looks like im going to need a rebuild

 

Unless the motor has some serious signs of problems such as rod knock I wouldn't think you'd have to rebuild. You shouldn't have been smoking right after it was installed. I would still try and sell the kit and try Greddy or JWT. If you have the money for a rebuild go for it.

 

this is pretty much what everyone is telling me but this smoking is a serious and frustrating issue.

and like i said all signs are saying its not the turbos leaking oil cause they were dry as a bone and the seals were fine when they took them off and inspected tham

 

The only time mine has smoked was when both the seals on the turbos were bad but that was back in 2007 and I have had no issues since then. I know FP is quite far from you but I would seriously considered transporting it there before going ahead with a engine rebuild which may not be required, it also may be cheaper having them look at it first.