Pushing Mark's VR-4 w/ BM Billet 19T's - 600AWTQ and Counting!

After a long break from progress, Mark "DuTTch" and I are finally at it again this year! We have our eyes on the prize and feel more prepared now than we did a few years ago. Improvements have been made, and completely re-tuning his AEM has been going very well. Depending on how things play out, some upcoming possibilities include the NG and MOD (of course).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...pscauuvk9t.png
"Twin Turbo Tuesday - Team Green VR-4's!"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psuzpihw5g.png
Peak view w/ boost, EGT, and FPr up top

Initial tuning results: 600AWTQ VD SAE (+20 U/C)! Awesome potential
Link to old VD plot << click to view due to image limit per post

"Suspected culprits behind the dramatic drop are leaks, IAT's, and increased engine noise, so I will be revisiting my knock cal/settings. Also, I will be performing multiple, proper pressure-tests after completely reworking things underhood with a vacuum block, new silicone lines, heat control, and partial wire tuck. THEN I will push her again and harder! Eyes on the prize this year... "

As I say, "[Always] expect the unexpected." I have a few kinks to iron out underhood, but we are definitely back on track and off to a great start!

Here are a few additional pictures for those that do not know the DuTTch Crunch:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...pswasx76pw.png
"Mark's crazy VR-4 gettin' her drink on today with Propel Fuels' Pump-E85; 600whp here we come!"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psidvevrfg.png
"New 265mm Toyo R1R's wrapped around the Saleens and over the Stoptech BBK!"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps1ei2pvw8.png
"The '99 is just a little jealous lol."

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps41qx1mx3.png
"Dat a$$!"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psaa09ktj8.png
An "in progress" picture as I tidy up

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...pslvv97u1t.png
"Cusco OCC w/ KV and pulled to vacuum

(This was supposedly removed from a GT-R lol)"

A few preview clips for the meantime being:
Preview: Cold Start with FIC1600's and AEM EMS S2 on Pump-E85 <<

Preview: Third Gear Test with Billet 19T's @22psi <<

More updates to come! =]

-ALan

//edit//

April 21 update:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bboyalan

I was able to put in some work today, so here are a few updates:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psuovjkn4r.png
"Vacuum block is in play! I still have much to do underhood hehe."

The same BC setting resulted in a few more lbs:
Link to old VD plot << click to view
"Making progress at 524AWHP//615AWTQ VD SAE (+25//30 U/C). IAT's are still ridiculous, so that will be my next focus. If underhood heat control does not yield enough, then we may consider upgrading to an ETS IC core. Next culprit would then be the turbos."

Preview: Billet 19T's @31psi on Pump-E85 and AEM EMS S2 <<

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April 28 update:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bboyalan

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps1ysdo1sa.png

"More progress! 538AWHP//602AWTQ VD SAE (+21//23 U/C) @28psi! The curve has improved noticeably after swapping-in the Panda's old coilpack that tested slightly better - primaries anyway.

AEM adjustments were made now that I am revving her out more along with minor things underhood (wrap, shields, etc.) I still have more testing/diag to get out of the way. More to come!"

---

April 28 update continued:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bboyalan

*whew* warm day in the 80's today. Fortunately, I had some shade from our tree after yard work haha.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psx7wnwsrr.png
"Multiple 35psi pressure-tests ("BLT") on HOT motor."

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...pscyfapkju.png
"I guess we literally "blew the welds on the intake" LOL!!!! FFS"

https://scontent-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...ec&oe=55C770F8
"I also re-confirmed that the timing sync was straight just to be safe."

//edit//

https://scontent-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...b8&oe=55CA8B0E
"I figured that this would be brought up, so I tried again without the bolt/hole soaked."

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May 5th update:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bboyalan

I will be getting the ball rolling again today, so hopefully some updates will be available this week. In the meantime, here is a video of the progress this year; I included coverage of the plenum leak (near end) for those that are especially curious about that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyeIkNW_CxQ

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keywords: TurboBob, turbo, bob, TB, BoostMore, Boost, More, BM, dyno, HP, power, billet, 19T, HL, AEM, E85

Awesome work, but r1r have to be possibly the WORST selection of performance tire for that car and local. R1R are great for COLD conditions and LIGHT cars, terrible when they get hot.

hehe like most things, tires fall into a subjective category. Initially, the R888's were an option, but this car sees its fair share of street driving. They are doing well so far, and the ultimate test would be ALL of the racing events at this year's NG, if possible. If not, then we plan for after MOD.

Needless to say, they are way better than his 8yo BFG KDW v2's lol. The tread was literally peeling off of them after a few laps at a prior NG (I think).

Woot! In for updates!!

I've seen Mark's car look incredible but not come anywhere close to the expectations for years. It has been awesome seeing her come alive since he moved out to Cali.

-John

Very cool! I love Marks car

Quote:

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Originally Posted by J-Groove

Woot! In for updates!!

I've seen Mark's car look incredible but not come anywhere close to the expectations for years. It has been awesome seeing her come alive since he moved out to Cali.

-John

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Agreed! Hehe there is actually a funny story that I joke about with Mark and others from time to time. When I was a big N/A owning noob freshman in college, I bought Magnecore wires from Mark via 3Si lol. Fast forward 8-9 years, and we are here =P never would have guessed in a million years...

Another funny story is that during his FIRST SoCal3S meet in San Diego, we all sat down with him and explicitly advised him NOT to go to FSR hahaha (not so biased as ex-customers were present). The rest is history!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by green-lantern

Very cool! I love Marks car

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Yeah! His car is quite different lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bboyalan

Yeah! He is quite different lol

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Fixed!

Love him though...........no pants

LOL! Love it

-sent from my Galaxy S4

You guys really need to make NG.

This year's NG is definitely in the cards still. Mark is currently in the Netherlands, so we would need to decide by the time he returns stateside. My updates here will also show our status in being "ready" for it. Even though I am still in search for a new company, it is very tough to pass up the opportunity to make the long trip and race his car too! That and meeting other great owners from out-of-state just like the Texas Gathering and Upper Midwest Gathering.

Meth injection? EGT's is pretty low.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by R/T93

Meth injection? EGT's is pretty low.

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No, she is currently on 83-84% ethanol from the pump per Zeitronix ECA w/ GM FF sensor. I am playing it safer this time and will get more aggressive again.

In 2012, she saw a maximum of 950*C:

https://scontent-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...95&oe=559E7B1A

Cool. Makes me jealous, no E-85 where I live. I've seen 1040C on 92 and 9b's

Haha nah, do not be! It has its pros and cons for sure; pump/race+meth is still a proven route if a viable option . Ideally, I would like to keep it under a grand when pushed the hardest. Tuning aside, his [exhaust] setup is pretty solid with a coated front GCTech manifold, DNP rear o2 housing, Stillen DP, and Tanabe Hyper Medallion Touring CBE.

Joining the hype...on this forum as well! lol

I was able to put in some work today, so here are a few updates:

https://scontent-3.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...0b&oe=55D18D65
"Vacuum block is in play! I still have much to do underhood hehe."

The same BC setting resulted in a few more lbs:
https://scontent-3.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...e3&oe=55DAC778
"Making progress at 524AWHP//615AWTQ VD SAE (+25//30 U/C). IAT's are still ridiculous, so that will be my next focus. If underhood heat control does not yield enough, then we may consider upgrading to an ETS IC core. Next culprit would then be the turbos."

Preview: Billet 19T's @31psi on Pump-E85 and AEM EMS S2 <<

Lots o tq!

What's it look like ran out to 7k? Looks like hp/tq is dropping really fast. Big boost leak somewhere which could cause the high IATs along with hp drop?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by familyMAN

Lots o tq!

What's it look like ran out to 7k? Looks like hp/tq is dropping really fast. Big boost leak somewhere which could cause the high IATs along with hp drop?

---

Yeah, she is a torque monster right now and pulls well as-is. The current FB discussion with "mjannusch", Chris/NP, Tim of BM, and Jamison suspect that it is a wall in turbine flow. Tim confirmed for me/us that it is a standard MHI "HL" with no clip (not a 9-blade either).

I am still continuing with my current plans as 30+ over ambient and soaking afterward is not the beezneez lol.

-sent from my Galaxy S4

Link to discussion? Unless its private

Just throwing things out there, but I am not a huge fan of that coupler arrangement near the throttle body and I really don't like the tiny air filters. Its not scientific, but they look worse than the stock bubble. Maybe do a pull without the filters? If the turbos are seeing vacuum in their inlets its only going to drive AITs higher.

Alan, here are a few old 19t dyno charts of mine from a few years ago...take them with a grain of salt. I didn't have a map sensor back then but most of these pulls were in the 20-22psi range. Stock intercoolers, EVO MAF and HL wheels...though I ported the hell out of my hotsides as you will see. Stock timing map(maybe 1-2 degrees added in some runs...I don't remember exactly) also on e85...Not sure if they're helpful or not but just some additional data you could possibly compare against? :)

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps4723152c.jpg

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...psa98c27e0.jpg

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...psd3504881.jpg

571 pull was an outlier...
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps77775ead.jpg

Traced the timing map according to the datalogs...can't believe I used to run the stock map..!!
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps60e14b9b.png

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps5f388150.jpg

I also had wrx compressor housings but you also have bigger housings with the BM billets..
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps2b905b57.jpg

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...psd4667baf.jpg

Thanks for sharing Nomie. I will keep them in mind along with my other personal (cast+billet) 19T tuning results.

From my FB discussion:

Quote:

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Previously, the same boost setting yielded another 2-3lbs after installing the Vibrant vacuum block+lines and simultaneously addressing a noticeable leak. Today, I pressure-tested up to 32lbs and discovered a handful of small leaks (using soapy solution) at the plenum (ports and toward nose of motor); they all add up as small as they are.

While I have it off, I will also finish reworking the engine bay for heat control and tidiness - two rear shields were done yesterday. I already made my tuning adjustments to get more aggressive again, so we will just need to cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Interestingly, SoCal is supposed to get slight showers today. Talk about symbolism for "rebirth" ;) would be nice to hit 600+ just in time for Mark's birthday weekend hehe.

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Another update:

Quote:

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I applied my fixes underhood and AEM tweaks earlier today. She is holding better up top with 28-29psi instead (1-2 gain), but the overall improvement is still not quite right. My next steps will be compression and cylinder leakdown tests to gain some insight. I am curious if exhaust reversion is an issue and/or cam timing as we already discussed.

---

https://scontent-3.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...49&oe=55E3B847

"More progress! 538AWHP//602AWTQ VD SAE (+21//23 U/C) @28psi! The curve has improved noticeably after swapping-in the Panda's old coilpack that tested slightly better - primaries anyway.

AEM adjustments were made now that I am revving her out more along with minor things underhood (wrap, shields, etc.) I still have more testing/diag to get out of the way. More to come!"

*whew* warm day in the 80's today. Fortunately, I had some shade from our tree after yard work haha.

https://scontent-3.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...09&oe=55D6E9AA
"Multiple 35psi pressure-tests ("BLT") on HOT motor."

https://scontent-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...bf&oe=559C227A
"I guess we literally "blew the welds on the intake" LOL!!!! FFS"

https://scontent-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...ec&oe=55C770F8
"I also re-confirmed that the timing sync was straight just to be safe."

//edit//

https://scontent-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...b8&oe=55CA8B0E
"I figured that this would be brought up, so I tried again without the bolt/hole soaked."

You can see where the lack of weld is. That SUCKS!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by futurevr4man

You can see where the lack of weld is. That SUCKS!

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:stupid:

Man, that sucks. :(

-John

As crappy as it is, I am just glad that I caught it. We may be reverting back to OEM TB+upper plenum for the meantime to complete this tuning phase and progress.

This was my response to Matt on the other board:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mjannusch

Might have to weld around on the inside to seal it. No fun.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bboyalan

Yeah, if I had to guess, then that would be it. IDK if the leak continues around the runner toward the back. I have it documented in video for whenever I compile and upload the progress.

Seller/Stock image:
http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/9/0/9...4_o.jpg?nc=763

Sadly, the 70mm TB also showed a small leak on the TPS side; it supposedly received the "fix" that was advertised on here. Other than that, everything else was solid including both KV's.

https://scontent-3.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...3b&oe=55CA0AF3

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Interesting. I have one of those PNT Plenums also. Looks like I"ll have to pressure test mine before I install it for peace of mind.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by oohnoo

Interesting. I have one of those PNT Plenums also. Looks like I"ll have to pressure test mine before I install it for peace of mind.

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Bob! Do you actually still have yours? I thought you sold it years ago lol. I mentioned you somewhere (FB?) about being one of the few/only people with the TB+PNT plenum combo, but I honestly thought you had sold 'em before putting to use.

I did suggest to Mark that he send his to you for inspection+repair, if necessary and possible =P I will eventually remove it again so that I can take a closer look at the inside.

Yes still got it and never used it yet. Was thinking of selling it at one time but decided to keep it and try it out. My car is getting revamped and I'm now working on getting it back up and running. I'll use the oem plenum at first to get all the bugs out but then I'll switch to this one. I mean how can I not, it's a work of art. :) But really have to decide which TB to use.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bboyalan

Bob! Do you actually still have yours? I thought you sold it years ago lol. I mentioned you somewhere (FB?) about being one of the few/only people with the TB+PNT plenum combo, but I honestly thought you had sold 'em before putting to use.

I did suggest to Mark that he send his to you for inspection+repair, if necessary and possible =P I will eventually remove it again so that I can take a closer look at the inside.

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ETS 3.5" IC street core is enroute! In addition to the new OEM coilpack, I will be reverting to the OEM TB and plenum, installing new NGK 4554's, and hoping for the best!

-sent from my Galaxy S4

I will be getting the ball rolling again today, so hopefully some updates will be available this week. In the meantime, here is a video of the progress this year; I included coverage of the plenum leak (near end) for those that are especially curious about that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyeIkNW_CxQ

My mistake! The new IC core is made-to-order and should be here next week! I am still planning to do a fair back-to-back first, and then I will swap out the CX for ETS.

Just before SD was hit with a little rain, we installed some birthday goodies:

https://scontent-3.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...8d&oe=55C2E02A
"Harness bar installation! Yee!"

https://scontent-3.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...04&oe=55CB84C6
"JDM TyTe, y0! Jan's birthday gift for Mark is now installed =]

Next up will be a tan racing seat(s) w/ Wedge bracket(s)!"

https://scontent-3.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...84&oe=55D7FA0A
"What a view!

A half cage will be installed one day!"

https://scontent-4.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...c0&oe=560541B8
"Here is the inside of the affected runner. Obviously, I cannot comment on how bad it actually is or can become with heat, pressure, and flow. I found it using my phone's light on the outside."

Duct Tape, and some gum. Good to go!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CoopKill

Duct Tape, and some gum. Good to go!

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haha naaaah. This will work better, and it is green!

https://sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=JN.dFhQ...g&pid=15.1&P=0

Also!

https://scontent-4.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...be&oe=55C3CC10
The cap must have said, "PEACE! I AM OUT!" At least I found another major point through which the horsepower has been escaping lol.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bboyalan

The cap must have said, "PEACE! I AM OUT!" At least I found another major point through which the horsepower has been escaping lol.

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It's probably imbedded in the fender. lol

I had to add those little spring clamps to every vacuum hose and cap.

After much work and further tidying underhood, the verdict is a slightly better powerband but no real gain otherwise - bah! My gut tells me that it is the turbo(s) especially with a few observations that I have made. Both have a degree of radial (side-side) shaft play, but that is to be expected with journals as opposed to BB. What was alarming was the axial (in-out) shaft play that both exhibited. Everyone has their take, but I feel that ANY of the latter is bad news.

Furthermore, a handful of owners in NorCal have been having issues of their own, so it is easy to be apprehensive. The cherry on top is slight smoke from the rear underhood post-run(s) heh.

My next steps will probably be the compression and leak-down tests that I have been putting off. I will still be installing the ETS 3.5" IC core, but that is NOT going to make up the missing 100WHP that I/we are looking for even with 40 over ambient currently. It is a bummer with two major events fast approaching, and the tune+logs are exactly where I want them.

//edit//

RE the nipples: I used thicker-walled caps with US-made "micro" SS clamps and hairspray for extra adhesion.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bboyalan

I was barely able to comfortably tighten the front w/o removing a bunch of other sh*t lol.

https://scontent-4.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...08&oe=55FA0F0C
"...too lazy to create a folder for Mark in my Photobucket hahaha. Snug as hell wit dat hairsprayz m0d too lmao"

https://scontent-4.22773.fna.fbcdn.n...07&oe=55C85C0A
"I changed out the brittle rear too"

Yeah, yeah, no big deal, BUT all of the small details count!

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