Author Archives: tunehouse

Titus came to Tunehouse as he heard just maybe we would be able to work out a way to get some additional power out of his Nissan 370Z. Being a pretty fussy guy he was a bit nervous the first time he came to the shop but it wasn’t long before he knew he was in the right place. Maybe it was watching Jim clean everything he used to an immaculate finish as he made Titus the strong latte on the company espresso machine, or maybe he could see in the way the workshop was presented – Either way, he trusted Tunehouse to do what we do best!

In the online blogosphere of Nissan 370z owners it’s pretty common knowledge that Nissan was pretty spot on with these cars and short of opening the engine you need to really careful with what you do otherwise you can quickly go backwards. Knowing only too well how to go about things Titus took our word we knew which direction to take.

Akrapovic – Known for designing and building probably the best exhaust systems money can buy was quickly short listed based on previous experience and was on order. The Titanium Evolutions system requires factory training for fitment due the sealing procedure required but was on and settling in no time on a Saturday at Tunehouse workshop. Titus was happy to wait around and couldn’t help get a few photo’s while his pride and joy was in pieces.

Knowing air in and air out is the name of the game, Titus fitted up his own custom intake system and was quickly back on the phone to inquire about moving forward with the tuning solution Jim said he knew would be perfect.

Unichip is a name many people probably haven’t heard for a while in the Australian market but there is some great news for those who know how to use it – It’s back! The new generation of Unichip product is back and better than ever with some fantastic features and the ability to work in with an endless number of factory ECU’s makes it a great option for the right project.

 Wired into the 370z and loaded on the dyno the Akrapovic Evolution System sounded the goods but there was more to be had. Tunehouse Team Boss Jim Ghelis did his thing and tested / did his thing and tested and a few hours later came from the dyno grinning. You really need to know how to work with a Unichip to get the results from it and more to the point, Jim most certainly does.

See one of the power runs for yourself:

 Titus even went out of his way to put how happy he was into words!

 Dear Jim and Team Tunehouse,
 
Please allow me to take this opportunity to express my gratitude on your hardwork and expertise for my 370z recently!
Ever since I had my Akrapovic exhaust installed a while ago by you I knew I had chosen the best team in Sydney. 
Not just one person but the entire team and place ooze meticulousness and professionalism. Your passion towards car tuning is what attracting me to return and striving for performance continuously.
Because of that you had my full confidence in tuning my 370z and the car speaks for your work itself! 
The sound! The power gain! The torque! It was an unbelievably repeatable 18-25kw gain at the wheels! You have taken my car to a whole new level indeed!
I cant help smiling through each gear and thanking you for you and your team’s amazing work especially Tony.
Please keep up the great work so people who are passionate about cars can be looked after by you.
 
All the best to the current 86 project! Looking forward to its transformation in your hands!
 
Titus

What do you do with your daily driver when you did your apprenticeship at One of Australia’s Leading Performance Workshops who also happens to be the HKS Service Centre for Sydney?

Tony has been with Tunehouse for almost ten years now and although he’s now a fully fledged mechanic, he was that apprentice. To answer the question? He turned his locally built S15 200sx into a HKS fed 400KW + animal.

Tony found this low km bright yellow S15 an inspiration sitting at the car yard and scooped it up back in 2005. Although it hasn’t changed appearance too much since taking delivery, everything interesting under the skin certainly has. The factory SR20DET was modified relatively quickly with bolt-ons including the usual exhaust, inter cooler and ECU however the plan to go big was always there so when it came  time to ripping the motor out, there wasn’t much left behind.

With a call to HKS placed and the parts to make it sing on order, the engine was out and disassembled. The Head was placed in the hands of HKS themselves for a stage 3 CNC Head Upgrade. While they were at it with the head upgrade was matched to the new custom inlet manifold which was (you guessed it) CNC Matched to the cylinder head for maximum flow. With a  few back room conversation having taken place there is a special mix of Step 2 / Step 3 HKS Cams installed before the Head was send back, ready for assembly.

While this was all happening however the block was hardly lying around waiting for a tidy up. Instead it was fitted with a HKS 2.2L Crank and associated Connecting Rods and Pistons. Now with the HKS inspired increase in capacity it was all starting to take shape and there was no point skimping on the rest of the auxiliary bolt-ons. As such Tony found himself fitting a HKS T04Z turbo and suitable exhaust manifold to go with a custom exhaust system that runs from the turbo all the way back the rear bumper bar.

The ability of this combo was starting to stack up pretty quickly so soon the fuel system was in for a similar treatment. A custom Fuel Rail feeds a diet of 98 pump fuel to 1000cc injectors and kept in check by a motorsport adjustable fuel pressure regulator for good measure. With the Factory Air Flow Meter long gone a HKS FCON V-Pro Standalone ECU was wired in to make sure everything was adjustable. There’s a massive fuel surge tank in the boot being fed by an upgraded in-tank pump which is then pressurized up to the fuel rail by dual Motorsport 600HP Inline Fuel Pumps.

The Custom intercooler pipe work was put together in-house as was the front mount intercooler except to say some special Tunehouse tricks we’re used to ensure everything used was going to support to expected top end mumbo this combination is capable of. With the engine back in the car, started and back on the dyno Tunehouse Team Boss Jim Ghelis ran gave the FCON V-Pro some basic settings to let tony run the new combo in and with 14psi on board the 2.2L ran up 360KW at the rear wheels. Numbers like this are already impressive, but you need to keep in mind this setup has been built with 23-24 psi in mind for a final tune on pump fuel and as much as 35 psi on quality race fuel. Stay tuned…

Check-out one of the Power Runs for yourself in this video:

Out and enjoying 360KW at the wheel on a run in tune Tony already saw some opportunities in the standard driveline. While the factory 6 speed stays in place for now (he’s expecting to have to upgrade to the RB25 bigger brother 5 speed pretty quickly) he did take the opportunity to make a change to a 4.36:1 rear diff ratio and shim up a factory LSD a little tighter than factory in order to help get the power on earlier as well as to the ground a little better. While turning corners on the street is a little clunky, it’s sure is fun when it does hook up.

The Suspension has also been in for a street driven once over and is graced by some Tein Super Street Coilovers and host of suspension bushes upgraded to help tame all the power now on hand. With some custom in house modified strut tops dialed into custom wheel alignment specs the car certainly likes to go round corners too!

 Call Tunehouse now on (02) 9557 4000 for your HKS query. As the sole Sydney HKS outlet, Tunehouse has also been rewarded as Australia’s Most Professional Workshop so you can be sure of great service as well as great products! You can always email direct info@tunehouse.com.au or as we generally suggest, simply drop by and check out the workshop for yourself!

KW Suspensions VAG On Road Promotion!

Have you got an Audi or VW and been looking for an excuse to order your Suspension Upgrade?

 This is your chance! From now until September 28^th 2012 there is truly exciting pricing available on selected popular model KW Inox Variant 1, Inox Variant 2 and Inox DDC Coilovers. We’re under strict instructions to NOT publish pricing so you’ll have to call and ask for your make and model!

 There is also an added special for DDC kits – Orders yours while stocks last and received the KW Wifi module valued at $449 absolutely free!

 This is a one-time special not likely to ever be repeated and Tunehouse are excited to be offering it on behalf of KW Suspensions – Remember, this applies to limited models, only until September 28^th and there are ofcourse some Terms and Conditions, but we’ll help you with that. Call now – (02) 9557 4000 or email info@tunehouse.com.au for your special pricing!