Doing Forced Induction Safely

From Nissan 350Z & 370Z Wiki

This page will attempt to outline proper methods and requirements to safely boost the VQ35DE on stock internals.

Contents 1 Requirements For Safety 2 Gauges 2.1 Air-Fuel Gauge (A/F) 2.2 Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) 2.3 Boost Gauge 3 Fuel 3.1 Injectors 3.2 Pump 3.3 Return Fuel System 3.4 Fuel Management Unit (FMU) 4 Controls 4.1 Engine Management 4.2 Boost Controller 4.3 Monitoring 5 Insurance 5.1 Blow off valve 5.2 Colder Spark Plugs 5.3 Oil Pan 5.4 Oil Cooler 5.5 Intake Plenum 6 Power Limits 7 What are the kits missing? 8 Suggested order of purchase

Requirements For Safety

Gauges

Air-Fuel Gauge (A/F)

See: Air-Fuel Gauges

Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT)

See: Exhaust Gas Temperature Gauges

Boost Gauge

See: Boost Gauges

Fuel

Injectors

See: Fuel Injectors

Pump

See: Fuel Pumps

Return Fuel System

See: Return Fuel Systems

Fuel Management Unit (FMU)

See: Fuel Management Units and Engine Management Units

Controls

Engine Management

See: Engine Management Units

Perhaps the most important factor in boosting your engine is engine management (EMU). This section covers this engine management functions and what needs to be adjusted to safely run boost.

Boost Controller

See: Boost Controllers

A boost controller should be used with a turbo kit on the 350Z. A boost controller's function is to set and maintain the desired boost pressure level. Without a boost controller, a turbo can overboost causing a lean condition and ultimately engine failure.

Monitoring

It is important to monitor engine vitals. Knowing early that something is not quite right could mean the difference between a completely blown motor or just some minor damage. This section covers what you need to monitor and how.

Insurance

Blow off valve

See: Blow Off Valves

When you let off the throttle, the pressure inside the intake / intercooler system needs to go somewhere. Adding a blow off valve will release the pressure on the turbos, engine, and intake system. It will also allow the pressure to build up gradually after shifting rather than a sudden burst of pressure into the engine cylinders.

Colder Spark Plugs

See: Spark Plugs

Oil Pan

Oil is critical to keep the engine lubricated and cool. It can't hurt things to have a larger oil pan (or oil pan spacer) that allows the use of more oil (usually an additional quart). Additionally, some of the turbo or supercharger kits tap into the oil pan and share the oil with the engine. Having more oil to share is definitely a plus.

Oil Cooler

See: Aftermarket Oil Coolers

Just as having more oil is beneficial, so is keeping the oil cool. An addon oil cooler will add some additional insurance to your forced induction setup. All of the turbocharger kits and some of the supercharger kits tap into the engine's oil pan and share the oil. Turbos get extremely hot and can drastically increase the temperature of the engine oil which in turn can cause increased oil consumption and decay.

Fitment of an oil cooler can be difficult since many of the full size front mount intercoolers take up all the space in the 350Z bumper grille. However, with some creativity it is possible to fit an oil cooler in the 350Z grille area even with the limited space. If you are serious about getting the best possible cooling for your Z, then a custom front bumper is in order. Many of the aftermarket bumper solutions feature additional grille openings that can be used to funnel air into the oil cooler.

Intake Plenum

Power Limits

Engine failure can also be attributed to over stressing the internals. The stock internals were not designed to handle excessive power increases. 400whp is a good round number that many people shoot for. It has been proven that the stock internals will handle more than that, but failures have also occurred below that value (perhaps for other reasons). As you increase the power output, the risk of engine failure also increases.

What are the kits missing?

This section covers the suggested upgrades with each turbo or supercharger kit in order to run it safely.

APS Single Turbocharger

APS Twin Turbocharger

APS Twin Turbocharger Tuner Kit

500cc or larger injectors

CJM Fuel-Return Kit

Walbaro Fuel Pump

Proper Engine Management (TurboXS UTEC, HKS F-CON IS, HKS F-Con VPro)

ATI Procharger

Timing control

Blow off valve

Fuel Injectors

Proper Engine Management (TurboXS UTEC, HKS F-CON IS, HKS F-Con VPro)

GReddy Twin Turbocharger

Timing control

HKS Supercharger

JWT Twin Turbocharger

Power Enterprise Twin Turbocharger

SFR Twin Turbocharger

Stillen Supercharger

Turbonetics Single Turbocharger

Ultimate Racing Twin Turbocharger

Vortech Supercharger

Suggested order of purchase