Project Road Terror Z

[npez]

looks like you can get it in either or, just a matter of checking the option box.fwiw if you use any japanese device it will be bspt if pipe thread any american or chinese device will be npt.

Thanks Carl. That's why I had posted the question - I don't have a thermo switch at hand so I don't know the thread pitch; I need to buy the thermo-switch). So is what you're saying that the thermo switch being of Japanese origin will then be bspt? What threw me off is Z1 says most thermatic switches are NPT.

Please advise.....

Thanks,Nick.

[Carl H]

honestly man if i were you i would grab the hks fan controller and use it to trigger ground for the stock relays, using one of those will allow you to piggy back off of the stock ecu temp sensor and also give you a temp gauge and warning.i dont know what else they have out there that might be npt, perhaps the ebay special fan controller?

[T45]

I got fired from Pirtek. They have good hose though... lol

[npez]

honestly man if i were you i would grab the hks fan controller and use it to trigger ground for the stock relays, using one of those will allow you to piggy back off of the stock ecu temp sensor and also give you a temp gauge and warning.i dont know what else they have out there that might be npt, perhaps the ebay special fan controller?

Carl,

Thanks for the feedback. I hadn't seen this before - and it looks very cool. As I am looking at around $100 for the adapter and the sensor, and I found the HKS for $174 so far, and it will piggy-back off the ECT sensor. I think the extra $74 are going to be well worth it. I noticed it does do the 2-stage function on 1 fan (which really doesn't matter as the SPAL radiator fan and the low speed winding on the condenser fan will come on together off one relay) and then the second stage will put the condernser fan on high-speed off the second relay.

So I think this will fit the bill perfectly. I'll look around a little more and see if that's the best price I can find, and probably go with the HKS fan controller even though it's a little more cost - it's still a better value and simplifies things further.

Thanks again bud....

Nick.

[npez]

Since an oil scavenging pump will be required, what pump do you all recommend/have used? Will I be able to tee both turbo drain returns into the inlet of the pump and then have the outlet go to the oil pan?

I've read a variety of posts on the internet (ranging from electric oil pumps, differential fluid pumps, to a moroso fuel pump that's all metalic inside), but wanted to get some recommendations here.

Please advise.

Thanks,Nick.

[Carl H]

mocal makes a pump explicitly for oil, best bet i think.

[npez]

mocal makes a pump explicitly for oil, best bet i think.

Thanks Carl. I looked into it and it seems like a good unit. Are you aware if this is ample enough to be tee'd to both turbo drains? I would think so with 2GPM, it may even pull a vaccuum in the center cartridge which would be good as well.

Shane, out of curiosity what are you using in your rear mount setup?

Thanks again for all the help.

Nick.

[qsiguy]

I'm using a SHURflo model 8000-643-236. It's doing the job well so far. The head of it leaks a bit, re-torquing helped but it still leaks just a little. 1.8 GPM so it's similar to what you are looking at. This little pump will move much more than I am allowing it to. I have a needle valve on the feed line up in the engine bay to keep feed pressure in check. That's the main problem people encounter in the oil system, too much feed pressure. I also have a sight glass just before the oil dumps back into the motor so I can make sure I have flow. Price is pretty good at around $120 if I remember correctly but I'd suggest a purpose built scavenge pump designed for oil like the Mocal one you are looking at. You should have no trouble at all draining both turbos with one of these pumps.

Here is mine.

[npez]

Shane,

Thanks for the feedback. BTW, on the needle valve you're using, you mentioned using it as you were worried that you would blow the seals on the turbo. Are you "drawing" from the turbo's suction side in your setup? I was under the impression that sucking oil would at worse create a vacuum in the center cartridge, which would at worse draw more oil. I would've thought the restrictor on the oil inlet line on the turbo would prevent this sort of thing. Please advise, as I need to take the needle valve under consideration if this is not the case.

Thanks,Nick.

[npez]

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick update. Craigztoyz came over this afternoon and after a lot of work we got the crossmember modified and the engine back in and mounted. Everything lined up perfectly and we did the cruise control bracket mod as well. After this process it appears that the factory power steering pump will not fit (sway bar clearance issue). Thinking about electric p/s from MR2 or similar - if anyone has any other recommendations for this I'd love to hear them.

I've got to do some cleanup work and re-spray the cross-member, and then I'll take pictures and post. Sometime next week I should be receiving the 555cc injectors, orings, and hicas eliminator and will install the hicas eliminator the rest will wait for another couple of weeks or so.

The turbos are going to end up in the nose of the car as it is impossible to get plumbing to run the air filters from the turbos in a sidemount orientation (the turbos have 4" inlets so there is no cast small radius elbow to accomodate the restriction). So with that said, I will design a bracket to hang them and then will tow the car sometime next week to have the manifolds and exhaust system done. Once complete (this will actually take 1-2 weeks for the full exhaust with tie ins to the factory exhaust) I will have a 2.5 inch turbo bypass pipe with a turbo inlet flange on one side and a 5-bolt flange on the other fabricated, so I can remove the turbos and run the car initially in normally aspirated form.

During this time, I will try to order the rest of the parts I need in order to get the car running (fan controller, water pump pulley, hoses, belts, etc.) as well as some phase 2A parts (scavenging pump, nistune, ostrich2) with the phase 2a parts needing to wait until after father's day.

That's the plan at least. I'll keep you updated with the progress being made and will post pictures when I take some more.

Thanks again to Craig for all the hard work, a very long night, and a job well done!

Thanks,Nick.

[qsiguy]

My oil system starts with an oil filter sandwich plate. I have a braided 1/4 line from that into a brass T with a pressure sending unit for my dash oil pressure gauge. From there it goes into a needle valve then via 1/4" ID transmission hose to the rear into a 1/4" stainless steel check valve (prob. not necessary but I'd heard a few people used them and I had this one), after that it goes into another ss braided 1/4" line into the turbo inlet. Turbo outlet goes into 3/8" transmission cooler line up into the trunk into the oil scavenge pump then out back up to the front into a modified glass fuel filter I am using as a sight glass to verify oil flow, then it goes into a brass fitting mounted on in the passenger side valve cover near the filler cap. As far as electrical, I have it wired through a relay directly to the battery with an 8 gauge wire I ran to the trunk. It doesn't need to be that big but I wanted to be able to add stuff later. The relay is switched on when the ignition is in the ON position. I also have a variable timer circuit set to about 30 seconds which keeps the oil pump running after I turn off the key to drain the oil from the turbo. I set this time by shutting down the car with the pump still on and watched the sight glass until oil stopped flowing...took about 30 seconds.

How I "tuned" my oil system was leave off the drain hose from the pump but the feed line was complete with the needle valve closed. I started the motor and slowly opened the needle valve and monitored oil flow out of the turbo. I had the oil drain going into a 2 liter pop bottle. It didn't take opening the valve very far to get a steady flow at idle. Oil pressure is pretty low at idle and I wanted to set it up to have low but steady flow at idle. At cruise I have about 70-80 PSI of oil pressure so there is much more oil feeding the turbo when the RPMs are up. I have never noticed any smoke from oil in the turbo and flow is always good when I have checked it (which I do often).

[T45]

Be sure to keep an eye on the shurflo. I worked on a lot of boats and they fail a lot. I am pretty sure the salt water/air environment has a lot to do with it, but nevertheless I have replaced some that were only a few months old. Just my exp with them, hopefully running oil and being in a dry, salt free environment will lead to long life for yours.

[qsiguy]

Thanks, I do check it almost daily. I used it because I read good reports about it from other rear mount turbo users and the budget was pretty tight for the original install. If I ever need to replace it I will most likely go with something like the Mocal model. There are a few on the market that have a heat sink on the motor, I'd like that. It does get pretty hot.

EDIT: I just remembered something about how STS does their scavenge pumps. I can't confirm this but it looks like they use a Hobbs pressure switch to activate a warning light or something if the pump fails. The Hobbs switch is just before the oil pump in all their installs. If the pump stops the pressure in the line between the pump and turbo should go up rapidly. I think I will add one of these



Here's a pump that would work too from Summit Racing, it's a transmission/diff oil cooler pump.http://store.summitracing.com/...w=sku
Modified by qsiguy at 10:15 AM 6/6/2008

[npez]

Shane,

Thanks for the information. So the needle valve is on the turbo's oil inlet side and is used as the restrictor. I must've misunderstood that it was on the return side and hence my original question. Sorry for the confusion.

So you ended up teeing off of the sandwitch plate versus the stock oil pressure sending unit location?

Please advise and thanks again for all the help.....

Nick.

[qsiguy]

Yes oil filter plate was really easy in my case, first thought was to use the pressure sending unit but it was more difficult to access and I was told the threads were uncommon.

Here's a shot of the pressure sending unit and needle valve and the oil filter sandwich plate.

[qsiguy]

Oh, by the way, I ordered a Moates Ostrich 2 last night, Looking forward to real time tuning I'll let you know how it works.

[npez]

Thanks Shane. That looks really sweet. BTW - where did you end up purchasing your sandwitch plate for your oil filter setup? I found one but was curious on what you ended up using and if you've had good luck with it.

Awesome on the ostrich2 as well. Let me know how it works out - I'm waiting until after father's day before I go buying anything just in case I get something from the kids.

Thanks again.

Nick.

[Carl H]

perhaps consider using an oil plate with a thermostat for an external oil cooler, the vh is a good engine but all engines benifit from stable oil temps.twin turbos are not going to help oil temps any either...i'd sudgest the greddy plate, its pretty cheap (80$) and has 4 different ports for pressure supplies to a cooler as well as temp or pressure sensors.

[npez]

perhaps consider using an oil plate with a thermostat for an external oil cooler, the vh is a good engine but all engines benifit from stable oil temps.twin turbos are not going to help oil temps any either...i'd sudgest the greddy plate, its pretty cheap (80$) and has 4 different ports for pressure supplies to a cooler as well as temp or pressure sensors.

Thanks Carl. Do you have the part# for the greddy plate or should I just look for the greddy plate for a 300zx? I believe they're the same if I'm not mistaken.

Please advise.

Thanks,Nick.

[Carl H]

has gone up in price...http://www.240sxmotoring.com/groilcoadw.html

[craigztoyz]

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick update. Craigztoyz came over this afternoon and after a lot of work we got the crossmember modified and the engine back in and mounted. Everything lined up perfectly and we did the cruise control bracket mod as well. After this process it appears that the factory power steering pump will not fit (sway bar clearance issue). Thinking about electric p/s from MR2 or similar - if anyone has any other recommendations for this I'd love to hear them.

I've got to do some cleanup work and re-spray the cross-member, and then I'll take pictures and post. Sometime next week I should be receiving the 555cc injectors, orings, and hicas eliminator and will install the hicas eliminator the rest will wait for another couple of weeks or so.

The turbos are going to end up in the nose of the car as it is impossible to get plumbing to run the air filters from the turbos in a sidemount orientation (the turbos have 4" inlets so there is no cast small radius elbow to accomodate the restriction). So with that said, I will design a bracket to hang them and then will tow the car sometime next week to have the manifolds and exhaust system done. Once complete (this will actually take 1-2 weeks for the full exhaust with tie ins to the factory exhaust) I will have a 2.5 inch turbo bypass pipe with a turbo inlet flange on one side and a 5-bolt flange on the other fabricated, so I can remove the turbos and run the car initially in normally aspirated form.

During this time, I will try to order the rest of the parts I need in order to get the car running (fan controller, water pump pulley, hoses, belts, etc.) as well as some phase 2A parts (scavenging pump, nistune, ostrich2) with the phase 2a parts needing to wait until after father's day.

That's the plan at least. I'll keep you updated with the progress being made and will post pictures when I take some more.

Thanks again to Craig for all the hard work, a very long night, and a job well done!

Thanks,Nick.

Nick, It was fun, tiring, but fun. got home about 6:30 am, flying about 95. I was up 26 hours in the end, but all worthwhile.

I am very happy with the mounts, and sure that even with what you are throwing at it, (Guys, to see the compressors on these turbo's in hand, DAMN) I am sure that the mounts are not going to be a problem. Wish I had brought a small grinder (1 1/2") to get it really cleaned up in the small areas. But oh well, I can see how much pride you take in that beautiful car, and am sure you will enjoy the time spent.

On the car- WOW. the hood has never been off the car- factory seal on mounts. very clean, and sweet exhaust tips. rims n tires, are a really nice choice.

Garage- Very uncomfortable, horrible working, conditions, Yeah right. Funny I am in there grinding away at 2 am, windows open, a/c on, relaxing, standing looking at the mounts at eye height. Agh to be so lucky... and most of all, on having a wife, who is ok with all this, and buys you that lift, and that was before you blew the motor. Lucky, and the girls of course, adorable. Thanx again, and well, sorry my son is a handful.

This is going to be a very wicked car. I can't wait to take it for a spin.

Thanx again, for the fun, and I will be in touch later in weekend. Craig

[npez]

Craig,

Thanks again brother - I'm glad you made it home safe; and thank you for the compliments. No worries on the welds, I'll clean everything up before I spray the cross-member and take some photos.

I liked your son as well - definitely full of energy! BTW, when it's all done you can come down and take her for a spin - bring a change of underwear I've got a feeling that I'm going to have traction issues when it's all said and done, but hey that's just another challenge to overcome - maybe some 60-80 treadwear tires will begin to help over the 220s that I've got on there now.....

Thanks again for the awesome work - and it was nice to finally meet you in person....

Nick.

[npez]

has gone up in price...http://www.240sxmotoring.com/groilcoadw.html

Very sweet! I'm going to have to snatch one of these up. I'll probably plumb the TT oil cooler though a little small to start off with and then go from there as I implement the various turbo phases.

Thanks a bunch for locating the part for me.

Nick.

[qsiguy]

Found the oil filter sandwich plate on e-bay. Nothing special. It's worked fine, no problems or complaints. It has 4 outputs available on it.

[npez]

Found the oil filter sandwich plate on e-bay. Nothing special. It's worked fine, no problems or complaints. It has 4 outputs available on it.

Thanks Shane. Did your's have the thermostat that Carl mentioned in it Sounds like a good feature to have.....

Please advise.

Thanks,Nick.

[npez]

Received my 555 (615) cc rotary injectors and HICAS eliminator kit from Z1 motorsports. Also picked up a water pump pulley today to end that headache. I'll be buying the MAF sensor today/tomorrow to complete the immediate needs.

My friend is coming over tomorrow so we can weld some brackets to mount the turbos in the nose and also modify the P/S bracket to get the VH P/S pump situated. My oilpan should be arriving from Craig's tomorrow so I'll pull the motor sometime on Friday to put it in, swap the mazworx adapter, clean up and paint the crossmember (I'll post PICs of this) and then put everything back together again.

I also located some K&N filters that stand about 4.5 inches from flange to tip with 4" diameter inlets. This scenario allows the turbos to be mounted in the nose and the front of the filters to clear the bumper support. Once we get the brackets fabbed, I can finally flatbed the car over to the exhaust place to have the manifolds, etc. TIG'd up and all the cross-connects to the factory exhaust system completed.

I'll post some pictures once we have the turbos mounted up, and then of the manifolds once they're done.

Nick.

[craigztoyz]

Sweet, Cuz, I only took a few pics, and yours came out Strong as hell, and was super impressed with the final fit/angle for the mounts. But weld splatter was a PITA to get cleaned out of tight areas. Remember, dont grind down too much, Strength is what matters. I love how strong that plate is. I am using it on a few other projects too.

[npez]

So I sat down and bought the rest of the stainless flanges, 4 stainless flex pipes to accomodate motor torque with the fixed mount turbos so I'll have everything in time for the rest of the exhaust fabrication. I also picked up a nice MAF for a good price. But at the end of the day OMG just the stainless flanges and parts needed for the exhaust have already added up to over $300 that doesn't include the fab work that still needs to be done.

Anyway after my little spending spree I think I better go to bed before I get myself in trouble with my wife

Nick.

[T45]

HUH? You're just getting started!!! lol Wait, it gets better. I quit counting after the engine was bolted in and have probably spent over 1k in b.s. just to get it complete. Infiniti parts are not cheap. New plugs, belts, hoses and then the headache of making new p.s. lines, ac lines, radiator hoses, etc.

You have a long way to go. Save the pennies and don't let the ol lady know what's goin down in the air conditioned man room.

[npez]

HUH? You're just getting started!!! lol Wait, it gets better. I quit counting after the engine was bolted in and have probably spent over 1k in b.s. just to get it complete. Infiniti parts are not cheap. New plugs, belts, hoses and then the headache of making new p.s. lines, ac lines, radiator hoses, etc.

Oh, I know what you mean. I've got a spreadsheet outlining all the expected parts needed with estimated budgetary pricing on what they will cost. For some reason last night when I was buying more flanges to design the exhaust so it's "modular", it caught me off guard - I don't know why - maybe I was just tired.

Anyway, I had budgeted $11K to get me through to the end of phase 2b. With Phase 1 being around $4K, Phase 2A adding another $3K, and Phase 2B adding another $4K. These #s were based on me having a lot of the parts needed already (i.e. Nismo Injectors, RPS segmented flywheel & RPS clutch, Howe racing radiator & SPAL fan, etc.). I still think I will need to add a 15-20% contingency just to be safe though. I still think that for the money you cannot beat this value. Before starting to go down this route, I had estimates done by Z1 and SGP racing to have a VG30DETT "built" with everything needed to produce around 550RWHP - the quotes came in at around $14K; so for a little less money I'm going to end up with more HP and more importantly a torque curve the 6 cyl will envy.

My wife is *very* cool with everything - she just likes to understand costs so there are no surprises. After all she's the one that manages all the day to day finances in the household

I'm now starting to get anxious to get this thing done so I can start it up..... I think we're getting really close to being there.

Thanks,Nick.