We all know that boosting this platform isn't the cheapest, so with that said for those of you with have invested countless hours of labor and money, is it worth it? Was it worth all the work and money and you love it and it's everything you expected it to be, or knowing what you know would you have gone a different route?

 

I would have bought a Corvette if I knew I was going to drop as much as I did in the G. But since your question is subjective and not everyone has the same goals for their cars, you need to ask yourself how far your willing to go regarding power and a budget.

 

I know, and I also know that everyone has a different idea of what what "is worth it", and 'what is not worth it" and Im just trying to gauge what people with first hand experience think about this.

I do like corvette's, but I do have brand loyalty to nissan, but considering an engine build+turbo kit+install+misc parts and labor you need for boost will get very close or exceed 20k....to do things right...hhmmmm for 30k you can get a c6 with 400hp, bolt ons + tune=close to 500rwhp motor. But anyways, that's a conversation for another forum.

 

I don't think ANYONE goes into FI truely anticipating how much they're actually going to spend or how much time the car is going to spend "in the shop"...

Plus that $20K to "do it right" can go up in smoke in an instant and you're left holding the bill... seen it more than once

 

That's good general insight and observations but anyone with a boosted G want to chime in?

 

You mean besides the two who already commented?

 

If you want to go fast, sell it and buy a Vette or - a 2012 5.0 GT. High 12's stock off the showroom floor... Headers, exhaust, intake, DR's you're in the high 11's.

If you love your G like I love mine, then totally worth it. I don't want to go fast all the time and race and be competitive and be at the strip every weekend. I want to run low and slow, scrape a bunch of sh*t, make people look twice, stab the throttle and zip on up to XX speed whenever the f*ck I want, and then dust a couple of cars that run slower than mid 12's on the interstate when the time presents itself... I mean, on a closed course, that is.

But I don't drive mine daily. I have several other cars/trucks to tool around in when I feel like parking it. Or "putting her in time out" as I like to say. I also installed the blower, then bought a spare motor the next month. Turns out, that was a good decision on my part.

But I would set aside $10-15K in your budget for the first year.... and own a reliable beater car. Some people never have problems, some people have nothing BUT problems.

 

Wow.

 

Well, this is good for me to read so i can know too. i am looking into this in the future.

 

considering all the of responses are from guys who have done / still have major FI builds . I'll make it short and sweet.

-set aside 10-15k
-get a daily
-maintain
-have spare motor/get built motor
-Members who posted to help you have builds/knowledge that are beyond simple 'general insight'

*btw, no specific order on the above mentioned points.*


Do your research. then go back and read some more. Then when you think you have a grasp of FI on a VQ go back and do some more research.

 

Okay, well for YOU blue- I'll throw in my opinion.

If you're a car guy and have a firm grasp on how to tinker, then I think it's an awesome opportunity for you to breathe some life into what is otherwise an underperforming performance vehicle. Let's face it- rue the day you face off against some soccer mum in her empty minivan because if she's only interested in the first hundred feet or so she'll probably take you.

Throw 3000 dollars worth of breather mods and a tune onto the platform and you MIGHT stand a chance-

For guys that are less tech-savvy but know your way around enough to not be afraid with general tinkering- I wouldn't hesitate for 1 second to look into the Boosted Performance Mid-Mount single turbo kit. With minimal inteference a guy with the proper support and a friend who had a good grasp would be able to get things up and running- with room to grow as needs changed. There are other single turbo kits out there but between ageing kits and companies going out of business... BP is the ONLY company I would trust. His customer support is astonishing and the kits expand and contract VERY well. As you start getting into higher numbers you need to start looking into whether or not you're ready to start flogging around with transmissions / clutches... upgrading fuel systems... again- not a huge deal for guys who aren't afraid to take some time to muck about and get dirty. Certainly not ideal for the layperson (me)... and can get really expensive at 50-100 dollars an hour.

When you start looking at twins, you're getting into what I'm learning is a whole other ballgame. Functionally, all you're dealing with is another turbo and more piping... but the original install and problem solving the turbos themselves... or upgrading the turbos is more of a challenge often requring engine removals or raising. The additional piping is just extra piping- but a lot of the potential problem areas... leaks etc are a lot tougher to find. With that increased torque comes more wear and tear on the platform overall... leading to more "tinkering." Certainly someone with enough knowledge and tools can perform these tasks with ease and after a few kicks at it even someone with a little knowledge, courage and patience could get through it once they had a routine that worked. When the work is complete- what a thrill it must be to undress those who are expecting you to canter out of the gate with a measly 240whp... clubbing them in the quarter mile with your fire breathing 500+ WHP / TQ VQ!


As a layperson, I got into the turbo world in a well documented fashion in the "FI: we're not in kansas anymore..." thread- was doing my research... had some help along the way...

I drive the car now, despite the excellent quality shops that have helped make it what it is- both Intec Racing in Kent, WA and MonkeyNutz Racing in Burnaby, BC... there's ALWAYS something... some noise, some click, some hesitation, some warning light, some creak, some leak... and every single one of those things is garnished by the sound of a cash register slamming closed in my head. MNR is my current shop and they are fantastic... they treat me fairly, are great at resolving issues... but they have a business to run and every time I'm in there the wallet is coming out and I'm piling money upon money upon money. Part of that is my fault- I haven't had the courage, time or location to be able to work on my car- it's parked out on a street at the base of a driveway that is 100 feet long at almost 45% (and then some guys do the whole thing in their appartment complex parking lot... there are exceptions to everything)

Part of the need for knowledge and tools, and constant tinkering stems from the fact that it is a heavily modified car- not JUST a stock JWT kit slapped onto a stock platform. It's everything it needs to support it in the range of 450-520 WHP in a car designed for less than half that. A WHOLE car designed for less than half that accented by parts that may be good quality but that very seldom work alongside each other as well as all the engineered stock parts they replaced.

While some guys running singles are certified mechanics and some guys driving twins are laypeople who learned the ropes through blood, sweat and jeers- generally I'm seeing a lot more technical expertise required to fight through the challenges of TT (somewhat affordably), some general knowledge beneficial for guys who want ST...

As for the guys with the SC... can't speak for them because I don't pay a lot of attention.

To actually answer the question (just realized I never really did)- It hasn't been worth it... but then it's been a pretty wild ride too- not your ordinary, that's for sure.

I'm tired of it... wish I could just drive and enjoy it but I'm a long way from that. The added stress of "what next" has really starved me of the opportunity to enjoy it.

 

i've been boosted for 30k miles and would definitely do it again. i think people get into trouble if they aren't willing to put money into supporting mods, don't go with a solid tuner who's been working on this platform for a while, or just shoot for way too much power with a big build.

a simple stock block build with a vortech or low boost turbo setup shouldn't give a responsible owner too many problems.

 

I did not know that you two had/have boosted G's. My bad. We all make mistakes.

gotcha thanks for the info, I LOVE my G, I just wished it had 200-300 more horses is all. Im the type of person who likes to do things right the first time so I know it will cost 15-20k and of course I am in the process of getting second car to be my DD.



I think you completely missed the point of the thread. Im not asking for boost help in any way at all. I am a noob about VQ's and all, but Im not asking how to boost my car or what to buy or this or that. I am interesting in hearing first hand opinions of people who have had/own boosted G's, much like Ibelonginprison wrote. Opinions of what you think about the car before vs after is was boosted, did the final product meet your expectations of badassness, was it simple, was it hard, did you do it yourself, do you live the car boosted or would you have gone another route etc...

Lots of great info here! It's interesting that you say that...Im sorry to hear that there seems to be an issue of "if its not one thing its another", I wonder if other people have the same issues. Because at the end of the day all anyone would want is to drive their boosted G without worrying whats next.... You make very good points regarding boosting cars though, Id def go a single turbo route for simplicity and practical reasons.

I agree supporting mods are very important, 30k miles on stock motor or built motor? What kind of driving do you do, DD, track?

 

stock block. daily driver. half a dozen trips to the drag strip (maybe 30 passes total).

 

You can spend $8K on a basic SC setup and be satisified with the results or $30k on a full build and not be happy. Everyone has different goals and expectations, as well as shop experiences. A proffesional installation and tune will be a major factor for those that are FI and whether or not their builds are "worth it". Some in this thread have had bad experienes with shops and some have not. Again, its up to you whether it will be worth it or not. Personally I enjoy driving a relatively fast car, even though going FI was the worst financial decision I have ever made, but I knew that before jumping into the game. 2 years now without any major issues so I'm still happy with my money pit.