RB's or single turbo with 120k+ miles? Am I crazy?

[Charrigan]

I've had my 07 for over a year. I drive a ton of highway miles 30k or so per year. I don't abuse the car. Ill do a pull or 2 on highway entrance ramps. Zero launches etc. i will be updating and replacing every fuel system component (injectors, hpfp, and steveaz stg2 pump, vargas single barrel upgrade) as well as replacing the coilpacks soon.
The age and mileage on my turbos are unknown and judging from the maintenance records they are original. It consumes 1/8-1/4 quart of oil every oil change which I do ever 5-6k miles. Trans seems to be holding and has zero slip with FBO.

Am I nuts for wanting to do a low boost single turbo or RB's on my 122k mile n54? Are there any other over 100k mile upgraded turbo n54s out there?

My goals are low 500's on e85 but I want to limit low end and mid range torque to somewhat save the trans. I also am leaning towards a single turbo to keep egt's in check. I have no idea what egt's RB's run but in my past modded cars egt's were hundreds of degrees lower with a larger turbo.

My car is paid off and it's been super reliable. The only issue i had was my w/p went out ar 102k miles. But thats my fault for not changing sooner and pushing the limits. The thought of seeking out another 335 in the condition my car is with lower miles seems like a pain and wasting money.


Thoughts?

[NJrep335i]

Not crazy at all... I also have an 07 that I've had for 4+ years now, 126,000 miles and good maintenance. Right now I have 2 Tial wastegates, weld el's, flanges and other item's. Just waiting on my 2 turbo's to arrive and a slowdown in my work schedule to start the build.

These motors are plenty strong and I think some other high mileage cars are running RB's, Vargas & FFTEC kits. So go for it but, ensure you continue your logging and maintenance. You may also want to look into replacing piston, rods and misc components later on though.

[Sticky]

Not crazy but you obviously have some mileage on the motor. RB's will be fine but if you want bigger power obviously the single. The risk goes up with the amount of torque.

[MDORPHN]

Not crazy, but I'd get an oil analysis done (I use Blackstone) and do both a compression and leakdown test first to make sure the motor is healthy enough for a major boost.

Neil

[135pats]

If the motor is healthy (sounds like it is but as noted do an oil run and compression test) there's absolutely nothing wrong with going single. In many ways it'll present less stress to the motor than aggressively tuned stock frames, assuming your goal is "only" low 500s. You can reduce the violence of the torque curve with a single as well.

I say carry on and go for it OP. The motor will eat that type of WHP without breaking a sweat, that's been established.

[CannonFodder]

Do a big single so the torque comes on later to preserve the engine. Bigger the turbo less boost you have to run to make the same power.

[idspeedskater]

Not crazy. My single went in with ~98K miles on the clock and it's been doing just fine at ~120k. Enjoy!!

[bobS]

As long as your planning on keeping the car for a while i'd say go with a single turbo.

It also may be a good time to sell off the mods and move on. Once you go single, your resale value will take a dump unless you can find a buyer that is into it. Even then, most people won't want to buy a 120k mile car with a single turbo kit on it.

[rdeterman]

Not crazy. My single went in with ~98K miles on the clock and it's been doing just fine at ~120k. Enjoy!!

22k miles with a single/AWD/6MT? Why haven't you posted more? Have you taken the car to the track? any videos?

[Sigma 3]

22k miles with a single/AWD/6MT? Why haven't you posted more? Have you taken the car to the track? any videos?

I dont know about the track, but I know he has driven the car from cali to northern idaho and back. So for the op that should give you an idea for the kind of driving you said you do.

[idspeedskater]

I haven't been to the track as it's my daily driver and I just haven't made the time to get out on the weekend. I'm now thinking about Vargas' shotgun fueling solve so I can run e85 and see how it does. I miss the easy proximity of tracks back in ID. I am heading up there again in a couple weeks, so maybe this time it will fit in between backpacking and lake time.

I think the last video I had up was when I buzzed a sheriff doing a 60-120 run... luckily he had just parked and wasn't poaching yet.

I dont know about the track, but I know he has driven the car from cali to northern idaho and back. So for the op that should give you an idea for the kind of driving you said you do.

[Roy Cormier]

I've put about 30K hard miles on my single kit so far and the car has somewhere around 127K miles on it. Hasn't blown up yet!

[Torgus]

I've put about 30K hard miles on my single kit so far and the car has somewhere around 127K miles on it. Hasn't blown up yet!

Do you have a dyno you can share? I don't think I ever saw it.

[Tony@VargasTurboTech]

It all depends on what you want, you want a super fun stop light to stop light street car with slap you in the face torque from just off idle? Go with a hybrid stock frame set up. If you like highway pulls, or a very strong push you into the seat top end, a Single kit or our Stage 3 when its releases fits the bill. It really boils down to how you enjoy the car most. Budget also comes into play as well, a stock frame set up is quite a bit cheaper then going single. If you already plan on getting the Single Barrel kit, and you decide to go stock frames, the Stage 2 / Shotgun bundle will save you some money, and currently holds the top spot for N54 stock frame WHP. Hope that helps you some.

[rdeterman]

The single or Stage 3's will be a better bang for your buck IMO. And probably easier on your motor less boost for same or more whp. Id prefer a small single over an hybrid stock frame twin setup any day.

[Roy Cormier]

Do you have a dyno you can share? I don't think I ever saw it.

I haven't dyno'd it. But a friend of mine has a dyno, so maybe I'll see what it puts down one of these days.

[Charrigan]

Thanks everyone for their input. Looking deeper into what I'm looking to gain out of the car I am going to rule out a single kit. Ill never push it to the limits of what it's nearly capable. After all this is my DD and want to keep it reliable the way it has been.


I honestly would be happy with high 400hp range. I know you can push stockers on e85 nearly to that point but I would rather have a little head room for a little more power if I get the itch for more. I also don't like pushing engine components to their limits like running max boost out of stock turbos to hit mid 400whp levels.

@VargasTurboTech since your the only one I know of mentioning egt's you may have more insight on this. Is there a significant difference in get temps comparing stg1 with billet wheels vs stg2 turbos at a similar psi? I know running e85 will help quite a bit. I'm all about heat control and keeping temps in sane areas. I have no idea what egt's the n54 even pushes.

[rdeterman]

stage 1 with billet wheels will not get you anywhere near high 400hp levels with headroom.. The stage 2's will be pushing it

[Tony@VargasTurboTech]

Stage 1's with billet wheels will easily get you in the 400WHP with some headroom up to around 460-470WHP pushing them on pump and meth or E85, and an aggressive tune. Stage 2's on the same fuels and aggressive tune, will net you over 500WHP. So if 400WHP is your goal either one can easily and reliably get you there. As far as EGT's here are some logs a I did last night showing EGT's, Back Pressure, and shaft speed. Keep in mind this is with an over top aggressive tune, that will honestly kill most stock frames very quickly we are doing some testing at these levels to see just how long things will last, and with some different wheel combos to compare shaft speeds etc. As you can see EGT never gets to 1500 F even at peak BP these are great EGT's, part of this could be the use of E85, as we have seen upper 1600's on race gas alone. The cooling effects of E85 are very real. I have also attached the log from that pull below if interested. This was done at 85F ambient and pulling straight up hill as this is the only place I can run close to my house right now as they closed my test track down with speed bumps, we still have zero timing corrections / throttle closures, with 15.4 degrees of timing, and HPFP is rock solid with the Shotgun in place.



http://www.datazap.me/u/vtt-shotgun-...20&zoom=36-189