len3.8 said:
Okay Gentlemen I have been waiting for this writeup on the VISIT.
Len, I intended on calling you, and still will, but I have received a few more e-mail's from others who also want a report. So, I guess I'll report here for everyone:
Initially, sjs, len3.8 and I planned a weekend visit to FX to inspect their turbo, as well as their engine building and tuning capabilities. Len couldn't make it because of a death and FX had something planned on Saturday, so sjs and I took a day off of work to meet them on Friday. Ken and Mike of FX were extremely generous with their time and answered pretty much all the questions that we could throw at them. For that I am appreciative of their time. Thanks guys.
On the engine build: First, I was impressed with the FX facility, some of the client cars in there, and some of the tools they had at their disposal. It was what I would expect from an outfit that I would plop-down mucho bucks to do an engine and turbo on my baby. We must have spent two hours talking about their engine build, most specifically their 3.2 low compression (so to speak) build they have configured for their turbo setup. While each and every builder seems to have a differing recipe in how they do things, I did come away confident that FX has the knowledge to do what they are trying to accomplish; provide a reliable build for their FX turbo kit. It seems that secrecy is the norm in the building and tuning world as far as exactly what they do to the engine as far as tolerances, certain parts and machining. FX does fit the stereotype here, and most likely has good reason. They have spent quite a bit of time and money building and testing their engine, pushing it to, and past, the breaking point in an attempt to accomplish their goal. With that said, FX did answer the tough and specific questions relating to exactly how they are doing what they are doing. Most likely because they knew full well that sjs and I were not on some spy hunt, and that some serious buyers made a 1,500 mile trip to decide whether or not to plunk down some mucho bucks. For the information given, I thank them. And no, don't ask me what information was given to us, as it was given in confidence, and will not be disclosed by this person. If you’re serious book a flight and ask them yourself. Bottom line; I was impressed with the 3.2 engine build, and would trust them with my motor.
As to the turbo kit: Maybe some of my expectations were a bit too high, at least in relation to where the system was in terms of being a ready "kit." It was explained that all of the final parts for the production kit are on order, and should arrive within two to three weeks. I assumed that it was ready to go, and that might be my unreasonable expectation. Okay, now to the meat of what most people want to know, how did the turbo perform: Believe it or not I can't really give a complete report for anyone
. While it was known that we would be visiting to put the turbo through a test so to speak, FX explained that they had just put in some larger injectors in order to crank up the boost and further explore the limits of their engine and turbo. Our expectation was that we would be able to drive the car to get a good idea of the turbo’s capabilities, and that didn’t happen. We had the G-cube ready to go, but couldn’t use it. I have to say, I was more than mildly disappointed in this. I would have thought that 3 potential buyers (I’m including len3.8 here) would have provided sufficient incentive to have the car tuned and ready for demo. Am I dismissing the turbo kit because of this? No, but it is a point of concern, especially because the trip was planned in advance, and because we altered our schedule to meet theirs, taking a day away from work. Ken did take us on some test runs to get an idea of the turbo’s power, and it shows real promise. Because of the injector/tuning issue, we were pretty much limited to some low gear runs, of which I can report that 2nd gear pulls much harder than my 6lb BBSC, and there is no doubt about that. I left with a wish un-fulfilled, to have been provided an opportunity to get some real-world measurements and to have been provided some seat time controlling an FI system (and engine build) that I am ready to plop down some big bucks on.
On the tuning side: Much of the time we spent talking revealed a great deal of insight on FX’s tuning capabilities. In short, I am confident they are capable tuners, and can handle this area in regards to an NSX FI application. I’m not going to get into the AEM versus the rest of the stand alone ECU world debate, but they feel there is good reason to use the Motec system, at least at this time. And with the Motec ECU, it appears they are very capable. On the other hand, I just can’t get the issue of the car not really being ready for us to drive out of my mind.
Conclusion: I dunno
! I’m certainly not discounting them as a potential solution. Rather, maybe I need to take a wait and see approach. Sure hate to have to make another trip to re-examine though. Engine build looks good, turbo has the dyno numbers and has been in testing for some time now. Maybe NSXPO is an option to further explore FI solutions, assuming I can find the time to get there. Right now it looks like I will continue discussions with other FI providers, and hope that the Holy Grail is found. Maybe it will show up in the FX kit. Seems they are close, but just weren’t ready to demonstrate as much this particular day.
A word to the wise; Missouri is the show-me state, and anyone who has lived here knows there is a whole lot of truth to the “show-me” thing.
Cheers.
