About 3 months ago I decided to go single turbo with my second N54 powered car. Like many of those who have done the same, I got bored with what a stock turbo car could do, and didnt feel comfortable with the reliability inherent to hybrid options. I wasnt sure on what kit to go with but ultimately decided on Motivs kit for a variety of reasons, first and foremost being build quality and Jake being local to me.
I called him up, placed the order, paid a few days later, and here I am today. It was a simple process to order so I dont have much to say on that front. Updates were frequent and the fact that I know Jake personally probably aided in that process. My job has me on the road frequently during the fall and winter, so the wait wasnt a big deal at all.
The Kit:
Motiv 750
FP HTA 3586r .82ar
Tial MVR (re-circulated)
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The Install:
I had all parts installed at Sonic Tuning. I cant begin to say enough good things about them and the work they did. The folks who worked on my car were in touch with me on a daily basis, and were always available to answer the umpteen questions I had. Anyone in my neck of the woods would be well served to give them a visit. I was able to pick up the car on time and without any hassle. The car was kept indoors and away from snow for the duration of its stay, which I appreciated. Its the little things, ya know?
Im going to note the installation closely for my and others future reference. Apologies in advance as I dont have any structure planned for these observations.
- Motor has 64xxx miles on it right now. Has always been well cared for and has always run and logged wonderfully. If the blackstone reports mean anything, its in very nice shape and should be a good candidate to run a single turbo for an extended period of time.
- Stock turbos were puking oil. Boosted fine and no rattle but tons of shaft play, they were on their last legs.
- One of the downpipe gaskets was pretty fried up, exact cause unknown. Both were replaced when the new downpipe went on, of course.
- While the turbos were out I replaced all 4 o2 sensors, coolant, oil (Motul 5W40), coils, and plugs. The coils and plugs were redundant as they had about 8K miles on them, but I figured why not.
- Several of the clamps on assorted hoses looked to be getting tired. They were replaced.
- All plugs came out fine except CYL. 1, which had what appeared to be some oil on the thread. There wasnt any on the business end, so I would guess it came from the numerous top offs I had to do with the stock turbos pissing oil all over the place. Its worth noting in case future issues arise.
Initial Observations:
Drove the car this afternoon for the first time, running wastegate boost. Ridiculous. Honestly just a $#@! eating grin the entire ride home. No CELs, no Check Engines, no codes Its cold out so I havent been able to give it WOT, but right away I can tell you that spool isnt an issue in the least. This was my biggest concern going to a larger single turbo, and I can tell you that its just flat out not a worry at this point. We havent done any serious tuning and the turbo is spooling very quickly. I was able to do several passes on the highway in 5th and 6th without any feeling of where is the boost?. It doesnt jump at 3K revs the way a stock turbo car does, but it spools far faster than a 64mm top mount car I had previously driven. Im confident this manifold outspools any and all other singles out there.
Logs and videos will be up early next week when hopefully theres no snow on the ground. This isnt a winter car and its really not safe to drive in the ice and all that jazz. Dont expect world records and trips to the dragstrip, its not what Im interested in. Hopefully I can get down to tuning in the next couple weeks and we can all see what this thing can really do with the boost turned up.
Where itll end up:
Good question. Wherever the transmission gets pissed minus about 50WTQ. Im going to guess that I run out of fuel at 500-550WHP or so. In light of that Ill be addressing fuel this Spring so long as the 6AT continues to play nice. If I have to call it a day at 530WHP or whatever, thats fine by me. The goal isnt to build a rocket ship, its just to have fun (novel concept).
A huge thanks to Jake and Allen @ Motiv, Wei and everyone @ Sonic Tuning, and several dozen members on these forums who have inspired me to continue pushing my car. Id list you all but then Id forget one person and look like an ass. When I bought it a few years ago I was planning to have a bone stock convertible. Here it stands today as a totally different machine. Rad!
PS GO PATS.
I called him up, placed the order, paid a few days later, and here I am today. It was a simple process to order so I dont have much to say on that front. Updates were frequent and the fact that I know Jake personally probably aided in that process. My job has me on the road frequently during the fall and winter, so the wait wasnt a big deal at all.
The Kit:
Motiv 750
FP HTA 3586r .82ar
Tial MVR (re-circulated)
The Install:
I had all parts installed at Sonic Tuning. I cant begin to say enough good things about them and the work they did. The folks who worked on my car were in touch with me on a daily basis, and were always available to answer the umpteen questions I had. Anyone in my neck of the woods would be well served to give them a visit. I was able to pick up the car on time and without any hassle. The car was kept indoors and away from snow for the duration of its stay, which I appreciated. Its the little things, ya know?
Im going to note the installation closely for my and others future reference. Apologies in advance as I dont have any structure planned for these observations.
- Motor has 64xxx miles on it right now. Has always been well cared for and has always run and logged wonderfully. If the blackstone reports mean anything, its in very nice shape and should be a good candidate to run a single turbo for an extended period of time.
- Stock turbos were puking oil. Boosted fine and no rattle but tons of shaft play, they were on their last legs.
- One of the downpipe gaskets was pretty fried up, exact cause unknown. Both were replaced when the new downpipe went on, of course.
- While the turbos were out I replaced all 4 o2 sensors, coolant, oil (Motul 5W40), coils, and plugs. The coils and plugs were redundant as they had about 8K miles on them, but I figured why not.
- Several of the clamps on assorted hoses looked to be getting tired. They were replaced.
- All plugs came out fine except CYL. 1, which had what appeared to be some oil on the thread. There wasnt any on the business end, so I would guess it came from the numerous top offs I had to do with the stock turbos pissing oil all over the place. Its worth noting in case future issues arise.
Initial Observations:
Drove the car this afternoon for the first time, running wastegate boost. Ridiculous. Honestly just a $#@! eating grin the entire ride home. No CELs, no Check Engines, no codes Its cold out so I havent been able to give it WOT, but right away I can tell you that spool isnt an issue in the least. This was my biggest concern going to a larger single turbo, and I can tell you that its just flat out not a worry at this point. We havent done any serious tuning and the turbo is spooling very quickly. I was able to do several passes on the highway in 5th and 6th without any feeling of where is the boost?. It doesnt jump at 3K revs the way a stock turbo car does, but it spools far faster than a 64mm top mount car I had previously driven. Im confident this manifold outspools any and all other singles out there.
Logs and videos will be up early next week when hopefully theres no snow on the ground. This isnt a winter car and its really not safe to drive in the ice and all that jazz. Dont expect world records and trips to the dragstrip, its not what Im interested in. Hopefully I can get down to tuning in the next couple weeks and we can all see what this thing can really do with the boost turned up.
Where itll end up:
Good question. Wherever the transmission gets pissed minus about 50WTQ. Im going to guess that I run out of fuel at 500-550WHP or so. In light of that Ill be addressing fuel this Spring so long as the 6AT continues to play nice. If I have to call it a day at 530WHP or whatever, thats fine by me. The goal isnt to build a rocket ship, its just to have fun (novel concept).
A huge thanks to Jake and Allen @ Motiv, Wei and everyone @ Sonic Tuning, and several dozen members on these forums who have inspired me to continue pushing my car. Id list you all but then Id forget one person and look like an ass. When I bought it a few years ago I was planning to have a bone stock convertible. Here it stands today as a totally different machine. Rad!
PS GO PATS.