Results of mods on SC400

[jibbby]

Thanks Steve and WD....

WD - Yes that is damn expensive, you can say that agaiin.(more then I wanted to spend) .but with the deleted cats and headers the car really feels faster, the gains maybe a little more then 15-20hp.....The car really moves at higher rev's and it has really made my car faster from 50-100mph...With the nos running you really can't tell.....The apexi piggy back when first installed gave me 10-15hp or so and this header upgrade made atleast twice the difference in power then the piggy-back ECU made....So I don't know for sure about the quoted HP gains..

What was suppose to be a $600 bolt on mod turned into alot more...Great fitting SC400 headers (yeah right) thanks S&S....If I would have known I wouldl have went with the TEX headers and saved $500...I am just a little pissed off with the final pricing but not the results...

Track -I would have given it a go this weekend, but the car has a bog at lauch under full throttle...It chokes slightly when floored from a stop.... I have been driving the car hoping the ECU will adjust, and it is getting better but I need to tune for sure...... I am eager to time race trust me.....

 

[stevechumo]

John,

There's a current group purchase (discount) on the supercharger manifold for the Eaton, either the M90 or the M112. This time is real and many people are eager to have it. Putting it on will give you at least another 100 hp. So no more NOS is needed.

If you really want to go that route, it'll cost around $2500 for a complete kit. Sell back your NOS and you'll save even more. And while this project is big, I'm sure many of us will jump in and help you setting up your supercharger successfully, including me.

 

[UZZ30-Québec]

hummmmmmmmm supercharged.......... :drool: well, it'll have to wait this winter.

 

[jibbby]

Steve, thanks for the link and that does seem like a good deal...I am ok for now with the nos system...To spend $2500 and get less power would not make sense to me..Plus I would kinda miss that sudden burst of power that you get from using nos... Don't get me wrong I would take a supercharger setup any day of the week over my NOS system if it were for around a $1000 or so in total......

I will still give it some thought buddy...What can these Aussie made superchargers really put out when maxed? I was hoping for closer to 150whp maybe? I hear the Eaton M90's are kinda weak and some people have dumped them for something more powerful...

I love the supercharger and always will....I just remember what a difference they made on the small block Chevy's I grew up with....The Paxton superchargers were really something to see when setup and dialed in...Big superchargers on big motors are scary......Got to stick to my roots...or the root chargers....he he..

When are you going for the turbo setup Steve? It looks like SC400TT has finally finished his twin turbo setup...and RDM has had his twin sc400 that kicks for a while now.....Your turn buddy, your the turbo man..If anyone can pull it off it's you...

If I knew what you know my car would already be turbo'd....No pressure but I would love to see you run with the bunch....:drive:

 

[jibbby]

I pulled this thread up to list the cons of all my mods - (negatives to all my mods)

Dragon torque converter - Loss of topend or high RPM power...

S&S Headers - Engine light remains on, unsteady idle at times, excessive engine heat radiating from under the car...

Electric fans - Finding a reliable temp read sensor and control box is challenging...

Tomico and Eibach suspension - Steering wheel drift and reduced suspension clearance... Front spoiler scrapage and destruction...Not pleasureable when driving on bumpy or ruff roads...

Pod air filter - Gets dirty fast, throttle body gets dirty every 4 to 6 months. The pods suck in under the hood engine heat which robs you of horsepower..(especially with headers) The BFI intake seems to be the best and most cost effective intake available...

Nos (100hp shot)- killed my stock tranny after almost 3 years at 300whp...Top gear started to slip and when cold it would not get into gear immediately...A stronger rebuild was needed... My tranny did not have a cooler but was in perfect shape with upped line pressure and synthetic fluids...

Nos - Created play in the driveshaft u-joint after two years of hard running..Had to rebuild the driveshaft and balance....

Note: The engine still purs, but the drivetrain takes a beating while under the juice...ALot of torque is created with NOS and that is what causes the drivetrain destruction...I am running slightly over 400ft pounds of torque while under the juice which showed up on my last dyno.....

Straight thru mufflers - even with a set of 4 high flowing resonators insalled in combination with the high flowing main center cat the exhaust noise remains deep and loud at high rpms...Oval mufflers or oval resonators are needed to really quiet things down...The second set of circular resonators that I recently installed did not make a noticeable difference like I thought they would...Just installed them the other day...

No regrets on the mods except for maybe my intake....End of story

 

[jibbby]

SC400 transmission problems when handling 400+ ft pounds of torque....

It has come to my understanding that these transmission will have problems shifting at times when 400+ft pounds of torque is being delivered...

I for one have experienced this problem with my original tranny and now a stronger rebuilt tranny in combination with my Precision Industries Dragon Torque converter.....One other SC400 owner running a 150hp Nitrous shot is also experiencing the same ill effects... I have researched even further and found one other having the same exact problem....I believe the automatic tranny's will experience shifting delays when the 400+ft pounds of torque is being presented...Second to third gear shifting delays is what I experience at times......

Currently trying to figure out how to correct this problem....

 

[SC400TT]

SC400 transmission problems when handling 400+ ft pounds of torque....

It has come to my understanding that these transmission will have problems shifting at times when 400+ft pounds of torque is being delivered...

I for one have experienced this problem with my original tranny and now a stronger rebuilt tranny in combination with my Precision Industries Dragon Torque converter.....One other SC400 owner running a 150hp Nitrous shot is also experiencing the same ill effects... I have researched even further and found one other having the same exact problem....I believe the automatic tranny's will experience shifting delays when the 400+ft pounds of torque is being presented...Second to third gear shifting delays is what I experience at times......

Currently trying to figure out how to correct this problem....

Who built your tranny?

Ryan

 

[jibbby]

Ryan, I found a local Import Tranny Shop in East LA. California...We ordered the parts and a wise old oriental mechanic installed them for me, he probably had more then 30 years of import transmission experience under his belt...He told me with the stronger parts installed (clutch plates, etc) it could now hold as much as 500whp or more..That is yet to be determined...Went back to tell him about the on going shifting problems while riding the Nitrous and he told me that is probably an electronic problem and not structural...Tranny codes being sent or something....I Paid $1800 for the work and I can not confidently recommend this guy just yet...

I elected not to go with Boost Logic transmissions because of their unproven track record and some complaints that were stated...The shipping and down time involved with sending them in my original tranny was really the main factor in not using them...

I still am not happy with the way the transmission shifts and may eventually go manual if I cannot correct this..

Ryan, What are you doing for your transmission needs?...V160 swap, Boost Logic tranny build, R154 swap, Th400, Powerglide?

 

[jibbby]

Update - I thought I might ad this to the results of mods....

After more then four years of continued Nitrous use it is clear to me that it is wearing out the motor much faster then normal...Rings and or cylinder wall imperfections are apparent as I am now beginning to use oil... The motor had 85,000 when I first installed the nos system and at that time I didn't use one drop of oil. Now with 115,000 miles and alot of abuse later it the motor uses a little more then one quart of oil between oil changes....I have no oil leaks either... The fact that I am runnng the motor a wee bit colder then stock now for about a year may also contribute to the premature engine wear...I believe it is the nitrous more then anything...

Nitrous systems do prematurely wear out smaller motors in general, even the V8 1uz-fe's... I must now consider a engine swap, engine bore and or rebuild in the near future which is fine with me...Thought I would share this with the readers....

 

[jibbby]

Update - currently going for the M90 Eaton Supercharger setup and then the final goal will be to integrate my nitrous oxide system as well... It should be a punchy setup when complete...

This should definetely push my stock internal (1uz-fe) motor to the limit, and my already stock built up tranny too...Wish me luck fellas this is a %100 go for me and not just talk.......

 

[stevechumo]

Good luck, John! A M90 is a nice thing under the hood. With it and the NOS, it's a max limit for this motor with almost 100% more power over stock. However, the key is to tune it right. The NOS already has its fuel system, but this supercharger might need an extensive tuning to make the engine last (a lot more $$). You have an advantage with the NOS because it'll cool down the compressed heat caused by this supercharger. That's why not a lot of us are pushing the limit of this supercharger. For turbo, it's different because it can be installed with the intercooler.

I hope by the time I finish my turbo, your car isn't down for this project or maybe already done, so that you, James, and I can do some running along. We should go to the track to see the 1/4 mile.

 

[jibbby]

Thanks Steve, I would love to run against you guys even right now... Please finish your turbo SC4 it's been too long buddy....

The charger will not be a problem but the combined tuning of both systems is a bit tricky... It's doable speaking with the pro's as far as combining both, however they have warned me of the potential for blowing the motor.. It should be fun and interesting to see if I can pull this off...

 

[jibbby]

I like to drag up this thread just to help out some new comers to the forum...As it looks there is a few of late...

Recent mod Update -I recently tested out some soft wide goodyear radials on the rears as apposed to the hard wide Z-rated tires from what I had on before...WHAT A TRACTION DIFFERENCE IT MAKES!!!!... WOW...Soft rubber grips no dought.... Night and day.. The front end really pops up now at launch and I can get away with spraying the juice in first gear which I could not do before.....A little worried about the stress this new traction puts on the drive train but my SC4 is running the fastest it's ever been... Just about ready to challenge a standard new Vette and see what happens...

A few pic's as I removed them all from this thread...

 

[stevechumo]

Good news!!! Don't worry about the stress on the engine. We all aim for the power...You can alway rebuild it to be faster.

 

[jibbby]

With each mod or break I feel compelled to update this thread...A little heads up info. for those that mod their SC400's and Soarer's...

Just last week I happen to give up the ghost again...Built tranny too, toast....

When I first installed the built tranny a year ago or so I upped my nitrous output from a 100 nitrous shot to a 150 shot... I figured I could really get my SC400 moving, I figured wrong... The lack of a tranny cooler probably contributed to this transmission failure...

So now, until I find a suitable manual transmission swap I am forced to install another stock SC400 tranny and reduce my nitrous shot back to 100.... A sad day indeed......

With the 100 shot I was pushing around 500 torque and 300whp and so with the 150 shot that probably made close to 600 torque and 350whp... Combined with my traction setup it was too much for the car to handle... To much heat and stress at launch....

 

[jibbby]

A few more pics just for kicks...

 

[Thermactor]

So you ran all that power through your transmission without a transmission cooler? I wanted to get that part right.

 

[jibbby]

That's correct no cooler, but the tranny was built like a boostlogic tranny...I and the builder didn't think I needed a cooler as with me just running the SC400 on short Nitrous runs and only on occasion... I didn't mention to the builder though that I had an aggresive torque converter change, Supra tt dif, soft rubber sticky tires, lowered in the back, etc.. All that contributed I guess to the failure.......

Live and learn...

 

[Thermactor]

Well, I was always under the impression that any power beyond stock generally requires the use of a transmission cooler, or at the very least a transmission fluid temperature gauge. I couldn't think of running that kind of power through an A340 without a big fat cooler in series with the radiator core cooler, personally.

 

[jibbby]

I didn't think I needed a cooler....Well thermoactor you are smarter then I....... I will slap a cooler on my next tranny install for sure....