Well, after over 6 months without my car I FINALLY have it back. I was one of the very few unlucky ones who had a blown motor with my Vortech system. I knew the risks before going FI so I can't say that I was particluarly surprised when it happened. As many have said before, don't go FI unless you can afford to fix it if it goes. Hopefully my experience can help someone else learn from it and avoid the same situation.

Last fall I had experienced a few limp mode issues before putting car away for the winter. I never found exact cause. This spring I had the same issue once or twice in a couple of weeks. I noticed the wideband was reading quite rich during a 50 mile trip I took. Next day the car had a very loud exhaust sound. I made appointment to bring it to the tuner/mechanic (who is 60 miles away) and dropped it off later in the week. The engine supposedly seized while they were looking at it. They thought it was main bearings that went and heard some piston slap when they were troubleshooting (before it seized). Another odd thing was the tuner said the SS box program was found to be "corrupt" (not sure what caused that). I had the engine torn apart and found ALL of the crank bearings disintegrated. Nearest guess for cause I think is that the the FMU was somehow stuck on and gas ruined seals & bearings, etc. All that was left was a pile of metallic sludge. I am not a mechanic by any means and do not claim to know exactly what went wrong. PM me if you want more specifics.

I took this misfortune as an "opportunity" to make some improvements. Among the upgrades were the following:
- Aries 10.5:1 pistons
- Pauter rods
- ARP main studs
- 350Z track model oil pump
- AAM complete return fuel system
- Walbro 255lph fuel pump
- RC Engin. 440cc fuel injectors
- Greddy emanage Ultimate
- tons of other odds and ends required for complete rebuild

I was always a little worried with the SS box and FMU set up that came with the Vortech kit and I took this opportunity to ditch it for the much more capable emanage and upgraded fuel system.

Before the engine died, I was at 379whp and 319 tq. It ran reliable for over a year. I have to break in the engine for about 1000 miles or so and then I will have new HP #'s to share. I am going to tune with stock pulley 1st and then with the smaller 3.12 pulley with no other mods to see what the actual gains are with just the pulley. I should have #'s in the next two weeks or so.

It is great to be back!

~ Kevin

 

Glad to hear you're back up and running. So the FMU was the culprit? How much did all of the above set you back (just incase) since I'm running the same setup. If you don't want to post the numbers, but would share them via PM, that would be great.

 

Congrats! Looking forward to the dyno.

 

Thanks guys. It is great to be back.

We think it was the FMU. The weird thing was the SS program glitch. I am not sure if storing my car all winter (battery died) had anything to do with it.

Neff, you have PM.

~ K

 

Scary since I am running about the same numbers (385/315) on the 3.12. Sorry to hear your misfortune but do welcome you back to the club...

 

g8tor20,

The other couple of Vortech failure I have heard of were due to tuning and the failure point (I believe) was the rods. Mine were fine when removed. I haven't heard of anyone else with a failure quite like mine. Hopefully it was just a fluke. I do think that the limp mode issues I was having previously were an early indicator of something wrong but they occured very intermittently and were difficult to pinpoint the cause. It also didn't help that I had to drive 60 miles to my tuner which was probably when the final nail went in the coffin that was my engine. I think if you are tuned conservatively you will be fine. There are many people running the Vortech on stock internals (and 3.12 pulley) with no issues.

 

I got a good tune from CP Race...but I wouldn't call it conservative as I'm hitting 385/315 on stock everything with the 3.12. Most peopel went NA mods first and then went FI...I kinda jumped right into the boat.

I still have some EGT issues I'm trying to clear up. I hit above 1600 on hard runs. I'm thinking open bumper and/or dual exhaust should cool it down. I might ask for a conservative tune when I get it all retuned. No sense in trying to squeeze all the power out. We'll see....

 

Dude FINALLY your car is done!

 

Can't wait to see how it turns out! In fact, I smell a Boston Area meet after you get her past 1000 miles ; )

 

Matt, you aren't kidding ("FINALLY")!

Definitely will be up for some area or mini-meets. I am trying to get the miles on as fast as possible. Took a nice ride down the Cape yesterday!

 

What do you guys consider "conservative". If I go Vortech, I really want the chance of my motor dying to be minimal.

 

Dan_K,

The Vortech tune out of the box is conservative and pulls a good amount of timing. The stock tune supplied by Vortech is also based on an otherwise stock motor. If you do other mods that will affect air/fuel ratio (add plenum, headers, exhaust, etc.) then you may need to add some more fuel via Split Second software. It is a good idea to have it dyno tuned ANYWAY since every car reacts differently. More power can be found by adjusting timing but it also increases risk of detonation. Vortech out of the box should get you about 350 wheel HP on a 6MT.

~ Kevin

 

All I have is an intake and exhaust on my car. How much does the smaller pulley go for and how much of an increase in power does it give? If I get the 3.12 pulley(is this the same as the 9psi pulley?) and keep the exhaust, and I just want it tuned to 360-370 to the wheels, do I need the SS? I don't want to push it past 370 or maybe not even 360, because I want it to run reliable and not detonate for the next 20k+ miles.

 

Dan,

If the "intake" is a CAI it will be removed when installing the S/C (if it is the plenum, then you are OK). The full Vortech kit comes with a secondary fuel pump, fuel management unit (FMU), and Split Second module for controlling the FMU and pump. If you get the "tuner Kit", these 3 items are missing and you need to have some other form of engine management for the unit. There is a ton of info on this and especially my350z.com and it can be overwhelming. Just take your time, read all of the posts, and get familiar with the terminology and options. Find a repuatable installer & tuner and pick their brains as well.

The 3.12 pulley (= 9psi) is about $70 and requires a new belt as well (another $40 or so). And you will definitely need a new tune with the 3.12 pulley as it will ad more air to your mix.

Find someone near you who has one so you can see, HEAR, and drive in it if you have not already.

~ Kevin

 

Im thinking about going vortech too. Does anyone in the NY/LI area have a vortech? and where did they get it installed/tuned. Thats my main concern before I get the S/C.

Thanks

Chris