Jumbo's Silver FX - 2nd custom build

She's getting a pre-delivery workout. Back up and running and as my tuner said, "she boogies".

All of the mechanicals are sorted and she's already capable of daily driving. Really all we are doing is cosmetics and details... Like the catch cans. Still a little tweaking to go, but the cans have been modified to replace the power steering and coolant overflow reservoirs.

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sitting on BCs, stock 20s with 20mm spacers and pilot sport tires.

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I assume it would already be taken care of for you, but is there any break in period to consider for a build like this?
 
I assume it would already be taken care of for you, but is there any break in period to consider for a build like this?

Usually yes, but in this particular case, no. This entire engine and transmission was a transplant from big red and did not receive any damage in the wreck (confirmed by a battery of testing and inspection). The built motor actually has about 5000 miles on it, the first 500 of which were the break-in miles using a break-in oil before changing over to Shell Rotella T6 permanently. I did the break-in driving, essentially daily driving to work without hitting boost till I reached 500. Took it back to the shop for an oil change because they wanted to send out a sample to blackstone for testing, plus pull the spark plugs to take a look, check the drain plug magnets, and do a couple more Dyno runs to make sure nothing has changed and I think they even stuck a boroscope camera down the plug holes to look at the cylinder walls and the top ring.

Since every bit of piping on both the hot and hold sides of the turbo is new, the base map we started with was big red's. Only a few hours were needed to adjust the maps for Silver's particular setup. Right off the Dyno, silver could have hit the drag strip.
 
Got some bad news but not going to let it stop me. The built transmission let go on the dyno late last week. The trans was actually built by a different shop that is no longer in business but it turns out it just couldn't take the abuse anymore. The clutch plates were worn down and there was a lot of metal dust on the magnets. It showed evidence of living in "constant strain". At the time all I really did was replace the internals with a level 10 rebuild kit, do a shift kit, an oil cooler and modified the torque converter for a higher stall.

This go around we are doing the exact same things, except adding a Valve body upgrade as well as a different internals package that includes more clutch discs than both stock and the Level 10 rebuild kit. Hopefully this will be marginally longer lasting than the last build - there were probably only about 15000 miles on the built trans when it blew - only about 5000 of those were turbocharged miles. None of that inspires a great deal of confidence but I've always trusted this shop and if they suggest the path I'm going it is because anything else would be an order of magnitude more expensive.

The good news is that the whole thing should be completed and back on the dyno next week for no impact to my delivery... except for the cost of the parts/labor for the trans of course. I'm not going to let it bother me - it's a fresh trans for a fresh build.
 
Jup i kinda expected that brad cause i had the same specs as you had and blew @ less then 2K miles. Your lucky it didn't damage the engine as i did on mine. I had the valve body upgrade but think it is a neccasaty (or how do you write that) to have these additional internal plates. Good luck buddy and sorry to hear this. I don't understand why any other F/I guys out there we know never had this issues. Does the GT35R have to much lower torque in stead of superchargers or twin turbo setups.
 
Ray I'm not exactly sure but I do think it is a combination of the motor torque and the weight of the FX - it's taking more abuse than the 350Z platform just because of weight alone.

Hopefully the addition of the Valve body upgrade and the extra clutch plates (plus a different builder) will be all we need. If it goes again... then I suppose I'll consider a replacement transmission like the ones we heard can hold 600whp from GTM I think? I really don't want to convert to a five speed just because that's not what the FX is to me.

As for expense... oh well. Gotta pay to play. If something like this was a deal breaker for the build, I never would have made it through the first one! I'm pretty sure the shop is having a different core transmission built with a core swap on delivery. They are even modifying another torque converter. Shop tells me it should be back in the car next week, so next week is when I know that I will or will not be buying my one-way plane ticket to Houston for New Years.
 
I know what you mean brad with an M/T not working for ya. It's different and less "relaxed" as an auto. But i didn't want the risk and there were no build tranny builders here in europe with the experiance for performance so core charge or shipping would an additional extra cost for me. Believe or not but the cheapest way for me was to go manual. I believe your new setup would work but suggest to stay at your current 500Hp powerlevel as i do not believe that 600 range can be hold. There was a guy here in holland with a G35 and twin turbo setup. He blew several setups from the US when ending up M/T
 
Core swapped the transmission and had another one built in Houston. Valve body upgrade, shift kit, cooler, torque converter mod (higher stall) and upgraded internals. It's assembled, installed back into the FX and has already completed a check on the dyno resulting in a couple small tweaks to the tuning. Shake down will be this Friday at Royal Purple Speedway for a timeslip on the dragstrip. If all goes well and there are no surprises this weekend, I've got the green light to pick her up. Since I'm traveling from California, I may have to wait a couple weekends to get a decent airline price. Maybe one of the last two weekends of this month? Not sure - but soon!
 
It's happening... the FX went to the drag strip on Friday. The shop sent me the first time slip which I immediately posted in the 1/4 time thread. They also sent me this before they went to the drag strip.

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I've got my plane ticket - leaving this Thursday to pick up the car. Driving back to California immediately so I'm leaving early Friday morning. I should be back home during the day Sunday unless I surprise myself and put in longer drive times. Comfort level should be high so maybe with some tunes and the turbo the miles will just slip by.
 

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