AEM EMS vs Enthalpy Rom Tune

[KYZAAC]

I'm getting ready to do my turbo setup over. I don't really have a set budget, but don't want to go overboard. I was thinking $5000, maybe less. I am aiming for 400hp. Andrew from enjuku has been helping me out and kind of got me leaning towards the ROM tune, I'd like to get some other opinions.

I was set on the AEM, I figured get it now then I'd always have it. I don't know much about tuning, so I want to make sure I'm going with the right setup. I want the 2 step launch control, that can be addded to the rom tune. Is there any substantial benifits with the AEM that is worth the extra $1000?

Parts List: These parts are still a work in progress. Changes welcome. Parts listed below add up to $4600.88 on Enjuku's website

AEM EMS or Empathy ROM Tune
Garrett GTX2867
Tomei/Nismo 740cc Injectors
ISIS Electronic Boost Controller & Turbo Timer Combo
Z32 MAF
ER Spec Head Swap Package

[Lobo240sx]

With 5k you better get ROM TUNE. The AEM EMS or any other "decent" one is gonna run you 1,600 to 2k+ .

Do it right the 1st time and get a complete stand alone. It will save you money later on if you plan on going bigger turbo for mo SR20DET Powah!

[KYZAAC]

So I should go with the AEM? My original plan was to try and have it setup for 375-450hp range. Then I wouldn't have to buy anything else for it Down the road. Just adjust the boost. But in the lower range youd prob have some turbo lag. I think 400hp would be plenty for these cars tho. Especially on a street car.

So with the AEM, everytime I'd change something I'd have to take it to a tuner and get it retuned right? How much do they usually charge for a tune? The closest tuner around my area thst I know of Is in a different province and an 8-10 hour drive. So it may end up being a money racket for me.

[Lobo240sx]

So I should go with the AEM? My original plan was to try and have it setup for 375-450hp range. Then I wouldn't have to buy anything else for it Down the road. Just adjust the boost. But in the lower range youd prob have some turbo lag. I think 400hp would be plenty for these cars tho. Especially on a street car.

So with the AEM, everytime I'd change something I'd have to take it to a tuner and get it retuned right? How much do they usually charge for a tune? The closest tuner around my area thst I know of Is in a different province and an 8-10 hour drive. So it may end up being a money racket for me.

Ask your tuner first which EMS to get. Make sure they have the software to tune your car. AEM is good. If I had to do it all over again I'd go with a Motec. I know it's expensive, but for now I got the APEXI D-Jetro Power Commander and works fine.

400hp is more than plenty to handle most rides on the street. Light car High HP = Hauling a$$.
The price may vary per shop. If you are nice guy they'll probably hook you up for cheap on the dyno.

Most shops will charge like 80-100/hr to tune.

[KYZAAC]

Ugh, I'm going crazy. I don't know what to do now man.

I was actually 100% set on the aem up until yesterday. Now the guy from enjuku got me thinking its not really necessary, especially for the extra $1200 difference. I can just get the 2 step launch control added to the rom tune. I just don't know enough about the tuning aspect to realize what I need or what options I'm giving up.

Did anyone every use those Five-o injectors listed on enjukus site? They have great reviews everywhere I seen, plus they sell at half the price. I don't think I'd feel comfortable cheaping out on something as important as injectors. Just curious what you's thought

[KYZAAC]

I have a question about doing an intercooler pressure test. Whats the proper way to see if its not leaking. It's not suppose to hold pressure right?

I'd pump air through the intake, tighten up everywhere that was leaking, but it wouldn't hold pressure. after about 3 minutes the bov starts whistling. It's a Greddy RS. The BOV threaded Flange i got welded to the hotpipe has a small leak to, I have to spray water on to see it.

But the biggest problem I'm having is the Circuit sports Fuel Rail. It's made for the stock Manifold, and I'm using the ISIS Intake Manifold. The mounting brackets on the rail are all on 1 side, I have some air passing through the rubber insulator on the injector closest to the firewall. I tried a few different thing but nothing worked. It only leaks when i have the compressor up to like 40lbs. my boost will never be set that high. I haven't touched the car in months so im trying to figure out how I left it.

[Lobo240sx]

Get those boost leaks fixed man. Turbo cars are a PITA when it comes to pipes loosening up under load. Yes the inter cooler is supposed to hold pressure. Most of them hold like Max 26-30psi.

What kind of inter cooler do you have??? For me I got a Greddy didn't want to cheap on on an I/C.

[KYZAAC]

So when I hook the leak down tester up to the Intake and fill with say 20psi, Your saying I should be able shut the air off, and the I/c lines will hold 20 psi? Mines not doing that. The vacuum on my boost gauge reads 18-20.

I never touched the car in months, I'm gonna have to get familiar with where I left off when I go home on days off.

[compactfean]

No it will bleed the pressure off. The way you do a boost leak test is hook it to the intake of the turbo and turn the air on. Regulate the pressure to where your turbo is set at (this is also a way to dial in your boost controller because you can see what psi the actuator starts to move)
As far as the fuel rail, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but not only do you have the brackets for the s14/15 but even with the s13 brackets the mounting points won't line up with the isis/greddy manifold.

[compactfean]

Also I have used those five-o injectors on a customers build, as well as the isis boost controller and both actually worked pretty well. The boost controller is very simple and user friendly. The injectors come with o-rings and had zero issues with them with a rom tune. I get my rom tunes through ecutunerguy.com (aka e-mance) and my only complaint about the tunes is there a tad rich (probably for safety) and have ran many setups on rom tunes at 20+ psi including my current setup which is a rom tune with the greddy emanage ultimate piggy back.

[KYZAAC]

Thanks for the info. That is the way I've been doing the pressure tests. I realized after I got the fuel rail it was made for the stock manifold. Ill figure a way to make it work.

I might try those injectors. I never heard a bad thing about them. The guy at enjuku said they sell on average 1 set a day and only 2 ppl had an issue since they started selling them.

What's your recommendion on a turbo? I want 400hp. But that gtx2867 or whatever is like $1700 by the time u but the housing. Is there anything similar but a little cheaper?

[compactfean]

I'm a big fan of precision turbos with my newest being the pte6262 dbb. I spent $1500 on the turbo, v-band flange, t 3 gasket and something else (can't remember) are you planning on staying t2 or are you going t3 or 4? anything with the billet compressor wheel like the garrett gtx's and precision and borge warner turbos are all top dollar. Depending on what manifold you run will depend on what turbo id recommend.

[KYZAAC]

I will prob stick with the t2. I would like to switch to a top mount turbo, but i dont want to buy another manifold. The dollar signs have been adding up way to fast.

The shipping quotes i got were wrong apparently, now I find out the shipping fee's and border costs to get into canada are going to be at least another $2000.

[compactfean]

To get into canada? Idk. But for 400 hp you can get the gt3071r wg like I have but id recommend getting the larger housing. Our that gtx turbo you want, but 400hp is a lot out of a t2.

[KYZAAC]

Is that Isis top mount any good? All the other top mounts are over $700

[compactfean]

Manifold? I can't vouch for there longevity but I've rocked a ssautochrome manifold for almost 10 years now. Pretty solid manifold for the price.

[KYZAAC]

Manifold yea. What's the ssautocrome worth ?

What's the difference between top and bottom mounts? Can you use the same style turbos with different flanges? If I'm spending this much money I want to make sure I get what I want.

[compactfean]

T3= top mount. If you're spending big coin on a turbo setup, spend what's needed to switch to t3 top mount. There may be some fab work involved but if you ever want to go bigger your first must would be to switch to t 3 anyways. Bottom mount is always t2 which leaves you stuc with the biggest turbos you can get being the ones I mentioned. Last time I checked they were like $180.

[KYZAAC]

I just checked, there $280 + $100 shipping. I could easily spend $10k on the engine and still be cheaping out. I already have over $10k in the car and you would never think it.

If I could get 400hp or close to it on a bottom mount I don't think i'd really want much more. The gt3071r would pump out way more hp, but dont they have alot of turbo lag?

Realistically, what could I get out of the gt2871r? the specs says 250-400 for the .48 and 280-475 for the .56. what would i need to get close to that 400hp mark?

I might have to start ordering a few parts every week when i get paid. I'd rather have everything at once but I don't want leave the bank account dry in case i get laid off or something.

[compactfean]

The gt3071r wg is what I'm running and I'm at 27 psi on 93 octane so should easily be at 400hp. (the wg means t2 bottom mount) the only thing I would have changed was getting the smaller turbine housing. Id recommend the.86 housing for any t2 setup trying to reach 400 hp. Oh, and no.... Not laggy at all. Full boost by 4k. 8psi by like 3 k.

[compactfean]

The 2871r is the same as the 3071r but the 3071r has a larger turbine as it should. (the 2871r is mismatched imo). The gtx28 is beast from what I've heard. Id get the larger turbine housing with that turbo also and with that, has already been proven to break 500hp! If you have the coin, id go gtx but the regular gt series kick a** too.

[KYZAAC]

I dunno what to do now. I wish I had more experience with turbos. There pretty rare in my area. Once I actually get to drive my car I should have a better idea of what I'm looking for.

I'll start ordering parts and leave the turbo and ecu til last. That way I will have more cash to spend on a turbo and can get what I want. I just ordered a new set of kouki tails and origin streamline body kit. All that's left is the motor.

How much hp are the 750cc injectors good for? I'll prob will go with the gtx. Im not Going to cheap out on the turbo. I want something thst will hit 400 and with minimum turbo lag.

[KYZAAC]

If I do swap to a t3, what fab work would Be involved? Is there anything else that's needed? Would I have to get all new stainless lines and s***?

Everytime I do mods to the car I always go all out instead of the easy way and run into trouble every shot. If its going to be a b**** I'd rather stick with t2 I think.

[compactfean]

I'm stacking parts for my top mount setup right now. Only fab work needed is dump pipe (unless manifold comes with one) and hot pipe. Intake as well but since its a billion times easier too make an intake for top mount, isn't a big deal. Lines will have to be redone. (not sure on oil supply if it will reach but definately the drain) and the coolant lines if applicable. (my new turbo doesn't have coolant ports) also a external waste gate will have to be ran.

[KYZAAC]

Yea, I gotta make sure my stock setup works before I start changing s*** around again. I'm going to try and drill and tap thst fuel rail to mount a bracket to fix thst boost leak. I might just say f*** it and grab the gtx2860r. Heard that was suppose to be a decent turbo. Where can I order the housing for thst turbo? This turbo should bolt up without any modifications right?

[compactfean]

Yeah turbo should bolt right up. (you may have to switch to the gt28 style intake though) and the turbine housing you should be able to order from the same company that your getting the turbo from. Gtx turbos you have to buy the turbine housing separate. Gt turbos it comes with a housing, you just have to choose from there options.

[KYZAAC]

what is the gt28 style intake?

what size housing should I go with? what makes the gtx better then the gt style?

you prob already answered these questions, im away working and stuck in camp, im trying to search for info on my iphone, with no service. I have to hang out my room window to get a bar. sucks

I don't think I'll get to crazy withthe motor though. as long as its realiable and has enough power to have some fun ill be happy.

[compactfean]

The inlet and outlet of the turbo is a tad different than the t25 but its not that big of deal. Gtx has a billet compressor wheel redesigned for competition and air flow (its also lighter) the gt turbos duo not but both are dual ball bearing. Precision makes a dual ball bearing cea billet compressor wheel ”entry level” turbo that's t3 for alot less than garretts gtx and it rocks too.

[KYZAAC]

Someone just told me 400hp is to much to be reliable and I should get the gt2871r with the other mods mentioned to get around 330hp. 330 doesn't sound bad, but I don't want to end up wanting more next year. But I also want it to be reliable. Might be the safest choice.

[KYZAAC]

Would you recommend getting a set of cams? i was going to get a set and someone said they didnt do much for low end power and said to stay away. whats up with that>?