Drivetrain *the sprintex owners thread*
#26
10-12-2011, 11:39 PM
Ok finished up today, all went pretty good, no leaks, no extra bolts (that I'm not supposed to have), cooling system is working good as ever. :knockonwood:
Drove the car to work tonight, the only issue at all is a squeeling belt when I open it up real hard (this doesn't really suprise me, with all the work with the axle boot and a slight coolant splash issue, I'm sure I got something on it.) So I took it sort of easy, even with that I can tell that there is def. more mid-range power, which is something I've been lacking.
I'm going to change the belt and drive back & forth for the next few days, my round trip for work is 70+ miles each day so the S/C should be good & sealed up by then (it needs a couple of hundred miles to seal up & break in to get it's full boost) but considering I can tell a difference even now, (prob. only making 10 to 11lbs. right now) this looks REALLY promising.
I'm working Sat. Night so I'll post up a full report on my impressions with the kit, the install and the performance or issues then. If you're thinking about doing this please read it I'll throw in some tips to make it go easier for you.
Drove the car to work tonight, the only issue at all is a squeeling belt when I open it up real hard (this doesn't really suprise me, with all the work with the axle boot and a slight coolant splash issue, I'm sure I got something on it.) So I took it sort of easy, even with that I can tell that there is def. more mid-range power, which is something I've been lacking.
I'm going to change the belt and drive back & forth for the next few days, my round trip for work is 70+ miles each day so the S/C should be good & sealed up by then (it needs a couple of hundred miles to seal up & break in to get it's full boost) but considering I can tell a difference even now, (prob. only making 10 to 11lbs. right now) this looks REALLY promising.
I'm working Sat. Night so I'll post up a full report on my impressions with the kit, the install and the performance or issues then. If you're thinking about doing this please read it I'll throw in some tips to make it go easier for you.
#29
10-14-2011, 01:02 AM
Swapped belts, the slip is gone, now just waiting for the S/C to seal, did my first hard pull and shift tonight on the way to work, can absolutely tell that all the boost isn't there yet. Even so, wheel spin in first and solid wheel spin into second, no namby pamby little tire chirp, and yes I'm running the factory LSD. 
#30
10-14-2011, 08:48 AM
2nd Gear
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#33
10-15-2011, 06:05 AM
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...lembord01.jpg/
Cant get it fixed in here as an image, keeps showing a red cross
Dotted lines show 70 mm pulley with uncompleted tune
Solid line is 64 mm pulley with complete tune
Cant get it fixed in here as an image, keeps showing a red cross
Dotted lines show 70 mm pulley with uncompleted tune
Solid line is 64 mm pulley with complete tune
#34
10-15-2011, 06:49 AM
I know Daves car was a major difference for him because of all the parts that he changed, but for me, just doing the S/C change has absolutely made a difference in the low and mid range power. At this point I'm tweaking my tune but it's pretty close, so I should be able to get mine on the dyno soon. Just from the butt dyno I can tell you that there's a major improvement in my power band, it feels like my S/C is sealing up or there already.(no boost gauge right now and won't get my first datalog till later today to get an actual figure), but even with the 70mm pulley the car pulls HARD, and from a lot lower in the rpm's and I know I'm def. looking at having traction issues in first gear. Before my real power didn't kick in 'till about 5200, now it starts in the area of 3750 or so and pulls hard untill redline. Before if I would stand on it at about 5000 or so in first gear the tires would break loose, eventually catch and then I would get a slight amount of spin going into 2nd, now I open it up about 3500 or so in first the tires just SPIN, they never really catch at all and then a solid long spin in second and a solid chirp with slight spin in third. I'm going to actually have to start "driving" the car now.
Last edited by BlwnAway; 10-15-2011 at 07:19 AM.
#36
10-15-2011, 08:56 AM
That is a pretty interesting graph. It is very similar to mine which I find surprising. I thought it would look a lot different than the stock blower. Since I have 108K on the stock engine, I didn't want to raise the RPM limit so it is a bit more conservative than many, but still the curve is very similar.
I don't want to hijack the thread, but I really am surprised it is so similar with such a nice flat torque curve.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...0-post164.html
I don't want to hijack the thread, but I really am surprised it is so similar with such a nice flat torque curve.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...0-post164.html
#38
10-16-2011, 05:11 AM
Ok, so I've lived with this thing for a couple of days now and I love it, but , before I get into that let's go through the technical stuff first.
The Kit:
As a D.I.Y. it's pretty good, the instructions are pretty complete and the fitment is pretty good, but you do have to remember your basic mechanic skills and sometimes think for yourself but honestly any decent backyard mechanic should be able to do this in a weekend or even a long day with a good set of tools, the only tool I found absolutely ness. that most people don't have is a good low-mid range torque wrench, most of us have 1/2 drive's but they just don't go low enough for some of the spec.'s, also a good set of ratchet wrench's will speed up the process but they're not a must. (unless of course you need an excuse to buy some). Honestly now that I've done it, I think I could do it again in only one day. (don't forget I had limited time per day and other things to do, not to mentiin problems with those repairs.)
Back to the kit, the two problems that I found, that would hold you up are simply that bolt that I had to replace simply because it was too long. (only by 5mm and I still think it was just that it threaded deeper than the original and still might have worked had I cleaned the threads up with a tap) and the need for a slightly longer heater hose. Yhe only other issue I had at all was that some of the bolts were practically impossible to get to with a torque wrench (even my 1/4" drive one) and you just had to use the "tight is tight" school of thought, plus, even though it didn't call for it, I locktite'd everything. (I figured why not, plus I own a Harley, I buy that sh*t by the drum.
) There are a few other even more minor little hint's & tips, so if anyone does decide to do this just PM me.
The Project:
As I said earlier on the W/P gears on my M45 went out, and yes I probably spent $3800.00 or more to do this, BUT, $600.00 of that was in extra's (Intake Porting and tools) and I figure to replace my M45, W/P, tensioner and S/C pulley ( 15% to make compairable boost) it would have cost me $1600.00 or so. So all in all I figure it cost me an extra $1600.00 to do the Sprintex and honestly with all my other mods I figured what else was there short of spending big bucks to re-do the motor and go tutbo only in order to get more power. (or of course a bottle, but you never know, that might come anyway..shhhhh....).
My Impressions:
Personally I love it, the car has a much stronger mid-range while still imoroving on the higher rpm's also (butt dyno) the sound is more pronounced and a little higher pitched than the M45, from outside the car you can really tell it's there when coming off a stop light or under an overpass, it sounds cool. And yes I can pretty much break the tires loose at-will in 1st gear (no clutch, shame on you for even thinking that. ) I really can't wait to get it on the dyno to see what it's really doing. Ih and yes I'm tweaking my tune, but, it's not needed with the 70mm pulley, what I'm doing is actually a continuation of what I was doing before the M45 went, not FOR the Sprintex, being able to tweak it for the Sprintex is just a bonus at this point. I hope to get it to the dyno this week sometime, and of course I'll post the results.
In a nut shell, I like it, I'm glad I did it, and it wasn't very hard, as far as being worth it as far as dollars-vs-performance, if numbers is all that matter, I'll know soon, but as far as dollars-vs-enjoyment I'm quite happy.
I tried doing a sound clip with my phone, but there's just too much background noise so you'll just have to settle tor this, best I could do on short notice?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB6hFujzDt0
The Kit:
As a D.I.Y. it's pretty good, the instructions are pretty complete and the fitment is pretty good, but you do have to remember your basic mechanic skills and sometimes think for yourself but honestly any decent backyard mechanic should be able to do this in a weekend or even a long day with a good set of tools, the only tool I found absolutely ness. that most people don't have is a good low-mid range torque wrench, most of us have 1/2 drive's but they just don't go low enough for some of the spec.'s, also a good set of ratchet wrench's will speed up the process but they're not a must. (unless of course you need an excuse to buy some). Honestly now that I've done it, I think I could do it again in only one day. (don't forget I had limited time per day and other things to do, not to mentiin problems with those repairs.)
Back to the kit, the two problems that I found, that would hold you up are simply that bolt that I had to replace simply because it was too long. (only by 5mm and I still think it was just that it threaded deeper than the original and still might have worked had I cleaned the threads up with a tap) and the need for a slightly longer heater hose. Yhe only other issue I had at all was that some of the bolts were practically impossible to get to with a torque wrench (even my 1/4" drive one) and you just had to use the "tight is tight" school of thought, plus, even though it didn't call for it, I locktite'd everything. (I figured why not, plus I own a Harley, I buy that sh*t by the drum.
) There are a few other even more minor little hint's & tips, so if anyone does decide to do this just PM me.The Project:
As I said earlier on the W/P gears on my M45 went out, and yes I probably spent $3800.00 or more to do this, BUT, $600.00 of that was in extra's (Intake Porting and tools) and I figure to replace my M45, W/P, tensioner and S/C pulley ( 15% to make compairable boost) it would have cost me $1600.00 or so. So all in all I figure it cost me an extra $1600.00 to do the Sprintex and honestly with all my other mods I figured what else was there short of spending big bucks to re-do the motor and go tutbo only in order to get more power. (or of course a bottle, but you never know, that might come anyway..shhhhh....).
My Impressions:
Personally I love it, the car has a much stronger mid-range while still imoroving on the higher rpm's also (butt dyno) the sound is more pronounced and a little higher pitched than the M45, from outside the car you can really tell it's there when coming off a stop light or under an overpass, it sounds cool. And yes I can pretty much break the tires loose at-will in 1st gear (no clutch, shame on you for even thinking that.
) I really can't wait to get it on the dyno to see what it's really doing. Ih and yes I'm tweaking my tune, but, it's not needed with the 70mm pulley, what I'm doing is actually a continuation of what I was doing before the M45 went, not FOR the Sprintex, being able to tweak it for the Sprintex is just a bonus at this point. I hope to get it to the dyno this week sometime, and of course I'll post the results.In a nut shell, I like it, I'm glad I did it, and it wasn't very hard, as far as being worth it as far as dollars-vs-performance, if numbers is all that matter, I'll know soon, but as far as dollars-vs-enjoyment I'm quite happy.
I tried doing a sound clip with my phone, but there's just too much background noise so you'll just have to settle tor this, best I could do on short notice?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB6hFujzDt0
#39
10-16-2011, 08:22 AM
4th Gear
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#41
10-22-2011, 01:54 AM
Update:
Looked at the logs and noticed that the car was dropping boost in the higher rpm's, and was slightly leaner than normal, so I went to do the VGS mod that is recomended with the smaller pulleys ( I had already pre-run a "T" off the fuel regulator and a line over near the BPV while I had the car apart) found that one of my vacuum caps had come off, it was causing both conditions, I went ahead and did the mod anyway.
Now I'm peaking boost at 17psi and holding in the mid 16's, yes still with the 70mm pulley don't know why for sure but I'm not complaining. this thing is actually a little scary, I litterally had to feather the pedal on a hard shift into 2nd to get it to bite. Should be able to get it in the dyno hopefully by Wed.
This thing is awsome....IMHO.
Looked at the logs and noticed that the car was dropping boost in the higher rpm's, and was slightly leaner than normal, so I went to do the VGS mod that is recomended with the smaller pulleys ( I had already pre-run a "T" off the fuel regulator and a line over near the BPV while I had the car apart) found that one of my vacuum caps had come off, it was causing both conditions, I went ahead and did the mod anyway.
Now I'm peaking boost at 17psi and holding in the mid 16's, yes still with the 70mm pulley don't know why for sure but I'm not complaining.
this thing is actually a little scary, I litterally had to feather the pedal on a hard shift into 2nd to get it to bite. Should be able to get it in the dyno hopefully by Wed.This thing is awsome....IMHO.
Last edited by BlwnAway; 10-22-2011 at 03:54 AM.
#43
10-23-2011, 07:23 AM
#45
11-11-2011, 01:49 AM
Sorry, I forgot to update this forum on progress:
Right now I'm having a tuning issue that is a Pre-Sprintex issue, we believe it is a certain part, which we were trying to tune around when my M45 shot craps. (I will not name the part until I am certain that it is the problem) I've finally given up on trying to "tune around" it and should be replacing it some time next week. As far as the dyno is concerned I was going to try and get a pull before the part change to try and get a more accurate comparison between the m45 & the Sprintex, but honestly because of my issues it would be a total waste of time & money. (the car still runs really strong, just as I posted earlier, but right now my AFR's are in the low 10's and even the high 9's, and the part change will create the need to re-tune no matter what, so why go through the time & trouble of tuning with the bad part).
Also if the part is the cause of my woe's it won't have that much of an overall effect on my performance, so the numbers then should be close enough to still give me a basic comparison.
As far as the Sprintex goes everything is great, car runs stronger and I just get in it and drive it! (still cool to hear the louder whine when driving and the w/p running after I turn it off.) Oh as far as everyday normal driving the extra torque in the mid-range is loads of fun out on the highway when it comes to passing or getting around in traffic, just put your foot on it and it goes, no down shifting ness., not to mention breaking the tires loose at will in most of first gear with no clutching needed, just put my foot down.
To answet the last question from the other thread regarding tuning.
Sef.
If you use the Sprintex with the supplied 70mm pulley NO tuning is needed, no matter what your mods, as long as the S/C is the only thing you change whatever tune you were running with the M45 will work fine with the Sprintex, but yes you should be able to get a little more from it with a new tune, just like any other major part swap. (hell I ran my stock JCW tune for 3 mos. after we did my BVH swap simply because it took that long to catch up with a tune party, did I need it, no, did it help, hell yea.)
Oh, to date 2100 miles, no issues.
Right now I'm having a tuning issue that is a Pre-Sprintex issue, we believe it is a certain part, which we were trying to tune around when my M45 shot craps. (I will not name the part until I am certain that it is the problem) I've finally given up on trying to "tune around" it and should be replacing it some time next week. As far as the dyno is concerned I was going to try and get a pull before the part change to try and get a more accurate comparison between the m45 & the Sprintex, but honestly because of my issues it would be a total waste of time & money. (the car still runs really strong, just as I posted earlier, but right now my AFR's are in the low 10's and even the high 9's, and the part change will create the need to re-tune no matter what, so why go through the time & trouble of tuning with the bad part).
Also if the part is the cause of my woe's it won't have that much of an overall effect on my performance, so the numbers then should be close enough to still give me a basic comparison.
As far as the Sprintex goes everything is great, car runs stronger and I just get in it and drive it! (still cool to hear the louder whine when driving and the w/p running after I turn it off.) Oh as far as everyday normal driving the extra torque in the mid-range is loads of fun out on the highway when it comes to passing or getting around in traffic, just put your foot on it and it goes, no down shifting ness., not to mention breaking the tires loose at will in most of first gear with no clutching needed, just put my foot down.
To answet the last question from the other thread regarding tuning.
Sef.
If you use the Sprintex with the supplied 70mm pulley NO tuning is needed, no matter what your mods, as long as the S/C is the only thing you change whatever tune you were running with the M45 will work fine with the Sprintex, but yes you should be able to get a little more from it with a new tune, just like any other major part swap. (hell I ran my stock JCW tune for 3 mos. after we did my BVH swap simply because it took that long to catch up with a tune party, did I need it, no, did it help, hell yea.)
Oh, to date 2100 miles, no issues.
Last edited by BlwnAway; 11-11-2011 at 10:15 AM.
#46
11-11-2011, 12:08 PM
#48
11-11-2011, 06:29 PM
Sorry, I forgot to update this forum on progress:
Right now I'm having a tuning issue that is a Pre-Sprintex issue, we believe it is a certain part, which we were trying to tune around when my M45 shot craps. (I will not name the part until I am certain that it is the problem) I've finally given up on trying to "tune around" it and should be replacing it some time next week. As far as the dyno is concerned I was going to try and get a pull before the part change to try and get a more accurate comparison between the m45 & the Sprintex, but honestly because of my issues it would be a total waste of time & money. (the car still runs really strong, just as I posted earlier, but right now my AFR's are in the low 10's and even the high 9's, and the part change will create the need to re-tune no matter what, so why go through the time & trouble of tuning with the bad part).
Also if the part is the cause of my woe's it won't have that much of an overall effect on my performance, so the numbers then should be close enough to still give me a basic comparison.
As far as the Sprintex goes everything is great, car runs stronger and I just get in it and drive it! (still cool to hear the louder whine when driving and the w/p running after I turn it off.) Oh as far as everyday normal driving the extra torque in the mid-range is loads of fun out on the highway when it comes to passing or getting around in traffic, just put your foot on it and it goes, no down shifting ness., not to mention breaking the tires loose at will in most of first gear with no clutching needed, just put my foot down.
To answet the last question from the other thread regarding tuning.
Sef.
If you use the Sprintex with the supplied 70mm pulley NO tuning is needed, no matter what your mods, as long as the S/C is the only thing you change whatever tune you were running with the M45 will work fine with the Sprintex, but yes you should be able to get a little more from it with a new tune, just like any other major part swap. (hell I ran my stock JCW tune for 3 mos. after we did my BVH swap simply because it took that long to catch up with a tune party, did I need it, no, did it help, hell yea.)
Oh, to date 2100 miles, no issues.
Right now I'm having a tuning issue that is a Pre-Sprintex issue, we believe it is a certain part, which we were trying to tune around when my M45 shot craps. (I will not name the part until I am certain that it is the problem) I've finally given up on trying to "tune around" it and should be replacing it some time next week. As far as the dyno is concerned I was going to try and get a pull before the part change to try and get a more accurate comparison between the m45 & the Sprintex, but honestly because of my issues it would be a total waste of time & money. (the car still runs really strong, just as I posted earlier, but right now my AFR's are in the low 10's and even the high 9's, and the part change will create the need to re-tune no matter what, so why go through the time & trouble of tuning with the bad part).
Also if the part is the cause of my woe's it won't have that much of an overall effect on my performance, so the numbers then should be close enough to still give me a basic comparison.
As far as the Sprintex goes everything is great, car runs stronger and I just get in it and drive it! (still cool to hear the louder whine when driving and the w/p running after I turn it off.) Oh as far as everyday normal driving the extra torque in the mid-range is loads of fun out on the highway when it comes to passing or getting around in traffic, just put your foot on it and it goes, no down shifting ness., not to mention breaking the tires loose at will in most of first gear with no clutching needed, just put my foot down.
To answet the last question from the other thread regarding tuning.
Sef.
If you use the Sprintex with the supplied 70mm pulley NO tuning is needed, no matter what your mods, as long as the S/C is the only thing you change whatever tune you were running with the M45 will work fine with the Sprintex, but yes you should be able to get a little more from it with a new tune, just like any other major part swap. (hell I ran my stock JCW tune for 3 mos. after we did my BVH swap simply because it took that long to catch up with a tune party, did I need it, no, did it help, hell yea.)
Oh, to date 2100 miles, no issues.
#50
11-11-2011, 07:05 PM