Come now! Do you really think he can go back to stock after driving around with nearly 450whp?

 

No way!

 

Shiet he said hes ready to sell it as is, with a blown motor. So yeah I would think he would put it back to stock.

 

oh I understood return to stock and keep it the car. Return to stock and sell the car and TT kit is more understandable.

 

I've thought about this, did you find your block on Ebay, here or another online supplier?

 

Hey Brian,

Any dx on the motor? Was it a lean A/F or the warmer weather inducing knock / detonation or what? Begs the question if the Unichip is capable of monitoring and preventing these types of bad outcomes? The UTEC advertises its knock detection - does the Unichip also do this? Does the Unichip keep any data logs that can be examined?

Just wondering if you'll ever be able to figure out what went wrong exactly...

 

i don't think the unichip detects knock.

sorry to hear of your outcome, BrianlG35C. i too, suffered from FI abuse with the APS TT pretune. although my car did not have a drastic detonation effect, my conrod was bent and the wrist pin was cracked. the engine had a ticking noise that was unbearable.

been a bit over a month since the car has gone to the shop for a new heart... going with GTM spec billet rods, overbore wiseco pistons, 5 angle valve job and some good ol' artisanship.

 

Brian,

I just read about your misfortune, sorry to hear about this.

What is the current status of the car?

I'm not sure if I ever told you but I have a complete long block sitting in my garage.

 

Why not find a long block (assuming yours is beyond repair) and ship it down to SGP Racing for their $3700 short block upgrade.

http://sgpracing-store.stores.yahoo.net/sgpravqmo.html

You might end up sinking $6-7K in it, but you will probably end up with a rather reliable long term solution.

The realities are that a loss has been incurred and it will end up costing you no matter what you do. If you can swing the cash flow, you would probably like this result the best - and you might even be inclined to squeeze out a few more WHP!

I went down to GRD and rode in their APS G35. They made some rather confident sounding remarks about the OEM block being able to handle WHP in your range, but I didn't buy it. Then I wrote to Peter at APS and asked his opinion about the limits of the OEM engine. He told me they don't recommend anything over 380 WHP with the stock engine.

As tough as it is to swallow, it seems necessary to budget an additional $5K in a TT install just for an engine rebuild. That pushes the realistic price of a "do it right the first time" TT to at least $16K (cooling can't be ignored either). These blown engine stories are far too commonplace and heartbreaking to pretend that the risk is worth it.

Hope you can make the best decision for your situation!

 

Very well said, Bill.

Sorry about your engine, Brian. Good luck.

 

^^^ this comes from the man who's seen his fair share of blown stuff - in all meanings of the word. POP happens...

 

So, in reality, what it comes down to is this; Do you want a very fast $35K car that costs $50K or do you want a very fast $50K car?

 

I think you'll hard pressed to find a $50K car that can outperform a fully built VQ35. I smoke stock vettes all day long, no problems, on LOW boost. Crank up the boost and I slaughter stock Z06s.

For most people it's not about just having a fast car. It's about taking a stock car and getting the most out of it. If I, for example, bought a $50K car I would still plan on putting $30K in to it to make it better then it was from the factory.

The G35 is a really good platform because you get a pretty good deal on the car. I love the stock handling and supsension, and the VQ is a start towards performance. I basically view the G as a great handling car that only lacks power. Spend a few $$$ and build the motor and you'll be left with a great car.

 

I don't disagree with what you are saying. It's how much trouble are you willing to deal with. If I can spend 50K and get a NA car that is close to the same performance and NOT have to worry about blown motors, busted trannies, shredded diffs, etc. I (personally) would much prefer that option.

 

Can you list some 11s cars that cost under $50K brand new?

I think the closest you will get is the GTO or the Vette (as far as NA goes). But, neither of them will run 11s stock.