Turbo Magazine Hails Godfather of Hi-Boost NSX

Hi Guys -

Need a quick opinion on my new scanner, I chose some random literature to scan - let me know what you think.


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Clik to SAVE AS a .pdf

I think I should get paid for my car's contribution to the front page of this magazine..... :wink:

Where's your Dyno? Post em if you gotem.....

len3.8 said:

I think I should get paid for my car's contribution to the front page of this magazine..... :wink:

Where's your Dyno? Post em if you gotem.....

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Len-

What does the grey filter do that is mounted below the blow-off valve? I don't see a catch can located near it... so I gather it is not there for that.

Hey Len -

Mine still needs about 600 miles on her before she is ready for the ol' dyno tuning. I still have a baseline file in the TEC3 and round 2 of non-detergent oil in the crankcase.

Sometime in July I plan to go back to GJ in uptown california to strap her down for some good lovin.

Guys - you can save the entire file as a pdf and zoom in to read the text if you click the link at the bottom of the original post -

Wolfie

Sig said:

Len-

What does the grey filter do that is mounted below the blow-off valve? I don't see a catch can located near it... so I gather it is not there for that.

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Looks likes it mounted on the BOV itself?



Armando

Mine doesn't have that filter, but I'm pretty sure it is on the blow-off .

I would guess any of the following 4 reasons its there:

1) Because you can

2) Add a fairly useless filter to get an extra bling-point at shows.

3) Prevent specks of oil from coming out into the engine bay during a big WHOOOSH - like maybe random slight oil escaping from the turbo compressor.

4) Prevent unfiltered air from sucking back in before it closes.

Black&Tan97Tnewportbeach said:

Mine doesn't have that filter, but I'm pretty sure it is on the blow-off .

I would guess any of the following 4 reasons its there:

1) Because you can

2) Add a fairly useless filter to get an extra bling-point at shows.

3) Prevent specks of oil from coming out into the engine bay during a big WHOOOSH - like maybe random slight oil escaping from the turbo compressor.

4) Prevent unfiltered air from sucking back in before it closes.

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Regardless of the one non-standard air filter, Gerry's worksmanship shown in those photos is amazing. It appears he delivers on both function and quality... which is a combination that seems to go by the wayside with many aftermarket tuners in the car world.

Sig, All. Sorry, I don't get to post as much as I used to. The catch can is just below that filter. I f you look closely you can see the chrome top of the filter. I am pretty sure the filter is on the blow off valve to contain any oiling that may sneak through as B&T has stated.. I don't have it either because my intercooler is not mounted up top. Mine is in the "unconventional", as someone has called it, spot right behind the muffler..

I am not really much further along than B&T is with my car.... Had a set back... Trans, working on getting that taken care of. Then I plan to get the final tuning done and get it on the dyno...

For some reason I have been busy as heck, I really have not looked at the car for the last Month. Plus it's too damn hot to drive it...
The quality of the components are as they seem in the pics. They are very nicely done. If I knew what I know now, I would have mounted the intercooler up top, I plan on a pretty nice widebody kit soon and the drawings look much better with a vented hatch.... :wink:

So if anyone has a bullet proof idea for a transmission please pass it on. It is the weak link, IMHO. I would rather break the half shafts, instead of shearing off teeth on the gears themselves..(Suspected not founded) :smile:

len3.8 said:

I think I should get paid for my car's contribution to the front page of this magazine..... :wink:



Where's your Dyno? Post em if you gotem.....

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You just be the guy in the article that "drove all the way back to Missouri."

len3.8 said:

So if anyone has a bullet proof idea for a transmission please pass it on. It is the weak link, IMHO. I would rather break the half shafts, instead of shearing off teeth on the gears themselves..(Suspected not founded) :smile:

Click to expand...

Couple of ideas for you Len:

1) You can do what Gene did and get the tranny compononents cryo'ed. Of the 3 cryo'd transmissions I'm aware of, none had problems. I only had my half shafts cyro'd on my car, but not the transmission. In retrospect, I would probably just do the transmission if I had it to do again.

2) What boost controller are you using?

If it doesn't have 'gain' control, perhaps you could install one that does and set it at a very conservative level to slow down your spool. With your turbo, the spool is ultra-quick and aggressive. Which in turn causes very abrupt and violent power changes. Those abrupt torque changes are generally what will chunk your tranny. If you could tame the spool your transmission might be a better friend.

3) Consider swapping the components on the hot side of your turbo for a larger trim wheel and A/R. That would also tame your spool. This would also provide you a side benefit of extending your top-end and not suffering a dramatic torque drop in the higher rpms.

In general, there not any vendors offering built transmissions... so options are limited.

len3.8 said:

So if anyone has a bullet proof idea for a transmission please pass it on. It is the weak link, IMHO. I would rather break the half shafts, instead of shearing off teeth on the gears themselves..(Suspected not founded) :smile:

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I noticed in your profile you were running 4:55 R&P. There is some thought that this R&P is much weaker than stock and I have found 6 failures including mine in talking to others. :frown:

jdnsx said:

I noticed in your profile you were running 4:55 R&P. There is some thought that this R&P is much weaker than stock and I have found 6 failures including mine in talking to others. :frown:

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I agree.

Len, were you still using the 4.55? If so, were able to even come close to holding traction with the gas pedal floored?

The stock 5 speed is actually pretty sweet at the power level you have.

Sig said:

I agree.

Len, were you still using the 4.55? If so, were able to even come close to holding traction with the gas pedal floored?

The stock 5 speed is actually pretty sweet at the power level you have.

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I noticed in your profile you were running 4:55 R&P. There is some thought that this R&P is much weaker than stock and I have found 6 failures including mine in talking to others.


I am suspecting the R&P as well as some other things that were changed in my transmission... The trans was packed pretty hard at the differential (I was told) which basically acted as a limited slip.. It was making noise when I picked it up. When in reverse or slow turns there would be noise. I had never heard this noise before.

Can't go with a 5speed due to spending mega $$$'s on a clutch for a 6 speed.
I don't drag race my car AT ALL.. No hard launches, No crazy downshifts, The trans was silky smooth before this. I will know much more when I finally get the trans out and apart. I will definitely post what I find.

Anyone considering this or any FI like this needs to know that the article is kind of glamorous, Tuning is monumental and extensive.. You need to know that there is so much more to then picking up your car and boosting into the sunset. There is breakin time for the engine, clutch, brakes ect... 500-1000 miles does not do it. Chro-Moly rings need time to seat.
Then you need to make sure your fuel maps and boost levels are in line.
Your fuel injectors can be an issue. Your EMS can be an issue. Make sure the wiring is perfect. make sure all piping and gaskets are perfectly fitted.

My car has an Aquamist system on it, so that is another setup that will need to be tweeked to run at optimum.

Also you WILL need big brakes Period. I don't care if you think you can drive like Mikka, the car gets to 160 before you know it.. BS you not. Not intending to, I reached this pretty quickly starting from a gentle roll at 70MPH running with a friend. (Very empty road)

Make sure you have the critical gauges to monitor the system.
If you experience down time, make sure you are in a close proximity to the person that will be servicing your car. If not get someone close to you that is of expert level. (Read we have noone in St. Louis) Do not let many Chefs cook in the kitchen...

Sig said:

Couple of ideas for you Len:

1) You can do what Gene did and get the tranny compononents cryo'ed. Of the 3 cryo'd transmissions I'm aware of, none had problems. I only had my half shafts cyro'd on my car, but not the transmission. In retrospect, I would probably just do the transmission if I had it to do again.


Thinking about doing this.. I know gene had this done, but His trans was never able to prove itself. Anyone of the trannies that you know of, running our kind of HP?

2) What boost controller are you using?

Apexi

If it doesn't have 'gain' control, perhaps you could install one that does and set it at a very conservative level to slow down your spool. With your turbo, the spool is ultra-quick and aggressive. Which in turn causes very abrupt and violent power changes. Those abrupt torque changes are generally what will chunk your tranny. If you could tame the spool your transmission might be a better friend.

It has Gain control over the entire ramp of the Boost cycle. I have never run over 1bar. Never needed to. The trans was suspect at the time I picked it up. It was making a noise that it had never made before.

3) Consider swapping the components on the hot side of your turbo for a larger trim wheel and A/R. That would also tame your spool. This would also provide you a side benefit of extending your top-end and not suffering a dramatic torque drop in the higher rpms.

In general, there not any vendors offering built transmissions... so options are limited.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I am finding that out on the trans. I am taking my time and researching all the possibilities. I only want to spend so much $$$'s on this car. Not being a person to quit, I will finish what I have started. If I had to do it all over again, this car would be stock and be my wifes.

It has Gain control over the entire ramp of the Boost cycle. I have never run over 1bar.

But what is your gain set at? I recall in talking to Brian (TurboNSX) that his gain was way higher than mine was set at. The lower the gain, the quicker the gate is opening, which results in a much less dramatic kick in the pants as boost comes on.

len3.8 said:

When in reverse or slow turns there would be noise. I had never heard this noise before.

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What kind of noise is it making?

KGP said:

It has Gain control over the entire ramp of the Boost cycle. I have never run over 1bar.

But what is your gain set at? I recall in talking to Brian (TurboNSX) that his gain was way higher than mine was set at. The lower the gain, the quicker the gate is opening, which results in a much less dramatic kick in the pants as boost comes on.

Click to expand...

I have never set my gain at more than 35%. It has been set conservatively the entire time I have used it. Brian runs at up to 75%.
he races from light to light sometimes.
I use my car as a grand tourer not as a street racer.
I am aware of the gain or boost percentages, that is what will be fine tuned to my style of driving.

Sig said:

What kind of noise is it making?

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More of a grind, A gear meshing grind to be exact. :frown:
I am checking into this more agressively after the holiday.
As I think the trans was damaged before I started boosting.
With the CTSC I never had the problem at all. never heard anything like this.
The trans was not stock by any means. It was geared a little differently than most and some other things were done, so I will post when I find out what the culprit is.


Sig what was involved with the Cryo process for the trans?
Gears, Shaft, ect?

len3.8 said:

Sig what was involved with the Cryo process for the trans?
Gears, Shaft, ect?

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It's a thermal process that takes all the steel parts (in my case anyway) of the tranny to a deep freeze. I did it because my tranny was being re-built, so it was easy to send the parts over to the cryo place. In your case, the tranny would need to be dissasembled.

FWIW, my gain was 10% on channel 1 (500whp) and 19% on channel 2 (550).

KGP said:

It's a thermal process that takes all the steel parts (in my case anyway) of the tranny to a deep freeze. I did it because my tranny was being re-built, so it was easy to send the parts over to the cryo place. In your case, the tranny would need to be dissasembled.

FWIW, my gain was 10% on channel 1 (500whp) and 19% on channel 2 (550).

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That is what I needed to know, the parts that you all did the Cryo to.
I have had this done on Pcar parts mainly rotors and some custom bearings.

I had planned on Cryo for the new trans setup, because I plan on building a new one. Even if not proven, I can't see where it would hurt the process unless I place financial pain in the mix.

At 10% I can see that that is conservative, However you guys have put your/their car under load much more than mine has been, at least in my possesion.

My car went through moderate breakin miles from Cali to Texas to here.
Never getting close to a large amount of boost. Until the engine had over 3500 miles on it, I never approached 1bar and it still has not been driven at 1bar. At it's lowest setting , running at 10% was the only time I ever reached .9. Yes I log my driving, I am trying to get it tuned correctly. :smile:

My trans literally has a puncture from the inside out.
Look below and you can pretty much see the crack.

Something in there obviously broke. turned into a projectile and cracked the Case. I have not drained the trans yet to see if I have other metal shavings in the fluid.

I am not really worried about the setback, because I Know that it will be taken care of. The down time, well This summer it was supposed to be in for a Widebody update so I really am not down any more than I would have been.

len3.8 said:

Something in there obviously broke. turned into a projectile and cracked the Case. I have not drained the trans yet to see if I have other metal shavings in the fluid.

I am not really worried about the setback, because I Know that it will be taken care of. The down time, well This summer it was supposed to be in for a Widebody update so I really am not down any more than I would have been.

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would that be an 02 lights + widebody update len? =) :biggrin:

very nice engine!!! :biggrin:

too bad I don't really like the exterior :frown:

About 4 months ago I met the guy who said he made you that CF hood scoop. No mention of his name in the article though. :frown:

len3.8 said:

I have never set my gain at more than 35%. It has been set conservatively the entire time I have used it. Brian runs at up to 75%.
he races from light to light sometimes.
I use my car as a grand tourer not as a street racer.
I am aware of the gain or boost percentages, that is what will be fine tuned to my style of driving.

Click to expand...

I run mine at 100% all the time, boost set at 18 psi, I also use a Blitz controller and not an Apexi.