Finally! My full Factor X FX500 Turbo Review

Paul,

WOW, fantastic write up, even if you did hijack my thread (LOL!) :biggrin: :biggrin: No, seriously, that was a great post; you are much more poetic in your writing than I am. It must be the engineer in me to be so bland and direct and the pimp in you to ... well, you know. :tongue:

I haven't run in the blue monster yet, but I heard Mikey crank it and I think I lost my hearing in my right ear. It sounds so mean!!! I like, I like.

I still think you can take me pretty easily though because I think you have at least 40 hp on me. I really think you are putting out at least 450 whp and more linearly than me, even if I have a slight torque advantage. That and your gearing will absolutely smoke me. Mikey said yours felt faster, and besides that, I'd have to find a way to navigate around all the people slowing down to gawk and drool at car if we ever did a roll on. :tongue:

Speaking of which, did you ever make it out to the Sunday roll? I couldn't, the boss wouldn't let me but I heard it was a hell of a turnout. We really need to meet up and see how our two cars compare. It's cool that our cars really run on the two opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of turbo setups, although I will probably have to concede that you have the ability to wave the bigger e-p@nis around in the air. But then again, I hear you never even posted past 4 lbs of boost. :tongue: :tongue: :tongue:

Well once again, great write up. :smile: We need to do a little Summerlin terrorizing. Very soon I'll be joining the 500 club (as soon as my boost controller comes in) so you'll have to play catchup again. :biggrin:
 
nsxsupra said:
Thanks a lot for doing the test and posting the results.:smile:. Are the tires also weight around the same? The BFG drag radials have a lot of meat.
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I didn't weigh the tires separately, but I did notice a huge weight difference between the Volk/BFGs and the SSR/S03s in total. If I had to guess I'd say somewhere around 15 lbs per wheel/tire and they were the same sizes too. The BFGs did appear to be heavier than the S03s but not by a lot. Maybe about 2-3 lbs.

nsxsupra said:
The stock gearing is actually better for the kind of power you are pushing. Dropping out of VTEC doesn't matter with that kind of power. Plus you have advantage on the roll on accelerations. You are at a point where you have more power than traction available. I have driven high power cars with short gearing, it is not fun at all.

In your case you have almost 100lb ft more while on low boost or 150+lb-ft over stock, that is more than plenty to fill the hole in 2nd gear. I wish I can have a ride in a car with that kind of powerband and experience that. My guess is that the power must feel similar to a stock NSX with I/H/E + 150shot of nitrous, just that you have unlimited amount whenever you want it.
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That's pretty much what Mikey said, so we stuck with the stock gearing and I'm glad we did. I barely notice any 2nd gear bog and I don't have to downshift nearly as much as I just mash the gas to spool the turbo up.

I didn't think about it, but I think your description of the I/H/E + 150 shot NOS is pretty good. The shot-in-the-arm burst of speed at 3K rpm that slowly peters out at the end does feel a lot like squeezing.

Well your welcome to a ride if you are ever in Vegas but, we are moving up to 500 whp in the next few weeks, so I can't wait to see what kind of torque numbers that is going to put out. I'm also trying to get my hands on some super beefy 315-335 wide tires, so make sure you plan your visit to Vegas AFTER I get all that done to get the full experience! :biggrin:
 
Vega$ NSX said:
WOW, fantastic write up, even if you did hijack my thread (LOL!) :biggrin: :biggrin: No, seriously, that was a great post; you are much more poetic in your writing than I am. It must be the engineer in me to be so bland and direct and the pimp in you to ... well, you know. :tongue:
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You're funny but thanks for the compliment. I actually don't know half the thing I was writing.......:biggrin:

Vega$ NSX said:
I haven't run in the blue monster yet, but I heard Mikey crank it and I think I lost my hearing in my right ear. It sounds so mean!!! I like, I like.
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And I'm loosing the other half of my hearing.......... Actually the shortest distance is around 18" of nothing between the turbine and tip of my Burns straight throughs. Sounds just a hair shy of F1 at high RPM.......:eek:

Vega$ NSX said:
although I will probably have to concede that you have the ability to wave the bigger e-p@nis around in the air. But then again, I hear you never even posted past 4 lbs of boost. :tongue: :tongue: :tongue:
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Ah.......you know what they say about shrinkage with age......... Henceforth the 4 lbs boost........

Vega$ NSX said:
Very soon I'll be joining the 500 club (as soon as my boost controller comes in) so you'll have to play catchup again. :biggrin:
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Can never win against you.......young man........

Best Regards
Paul
 
That obviously must have been taken after this and this. :wink:
 

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Ok, just wanted to give you all an update. I just got back from Factor X after another tune and we broke the 400 mark. Not whp, but ft-lbs of torque! :eek: After multiple pulls and in 106 F ambient temps we were still able to get about 430 whp and 406 ft-lbs of torque. And just like the previous run, the torque peaked at about 4,000 rpm, stayed pretty linear, and petered at out the end. If only we could have gotten a fan over the intercooler... I would have loved to see the results.

The torque is just nuts. I didn't think I would, but I could really feel the difference in the additonal torque. I was even able to get the tail to slide ever so slightly even in 5th gear. I think eventually I'll still try to shoot for the 500 whp mark, but for now I'm loving it just the way it is. When I get the chance, I'll try to do a tach/spedo vid to share.
 
nsxsupra said:
Simply amazing, 400rwtq is awesome on any car, on NSX it is just that much more remarkable. I would bet it will make my video seem like a snail.

The easiest way to take a speedometer acceleration video is use double sided velcro tape and mount the camera on the steering wheel. Just make sure you wipe the steering wheel with some alcohol, so the double side velcro sticks.

Only problem with this method is that the camera will be blocking your view of the tach, you might not be able to see the RPM, I had to do it by listening. In your case it is impossible to raise your neck and look over the camera, because you will be slammed into the seat.

The 0~60mph video is not risky at all, you just need a tiny bit of room and 3~4sec for you. The 0~100mph+ video is a bit risky, please be careful.
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Thanks! I've seen your vid (many times in fact) and I don't think we are that that far off at all. I'd say our tach and spedo sweeps don't seem too different; your starts faster and once my turbo has spooled it may go a bit quicker at the end. But your car screams to 90 mph. I'll be curious to do a video side by side comparison, because just based off of memory I can't tell much difference.

Thanks for the tip on the mounting. I've been wondering how to best do this (safely). Fortunately I have a very small camcorder and it something I can mount nearly anywhere. Do you have one of the handheld kinds (held like a football) or those vertical ones (held like carrying the olympic torch)? What do you do about vibration and keeping the camcorder from flopping around? I'm concerned because I have one of those vertical camcorder types and I don't think tape would hold it based on small contact patch and high center of gravity.
 
Vega$ NSX said:
Ok, just wanted to give you all an update. I just got back from Factor X after another tune and we broke the 400 mark. Not whp, but ft-lbs of torque! :eek: After multiple pulls and in 106 F ambient temps we were still able to get about 430 whp and 406 ft-lbs of torque. And just like the previous run, the torque peaked at about 4,000 rpm, stayed pretty linear, and petered at out the end. If only we could have gotten a fan over the intercooler... I would have loved to see the results.
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Okay neighbor! This old man is eating your dust...........:wink:

Lets have Mikey move us up to 10 lb low and 12 lb high. Bet you we will pull close to 500whp at the upper limit ......... Are you ready?

Best Regards
Paul
 
Esprit1 said:
Okay neighbor! This old man is eating your dust...........:wink:

Lets have Mikey move us up to 10 lb low and 12 lb high. Bet you we will pull close to 500whp at the upper limit ......... Are you ready?

Best Regards
Paul
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Well for those interested in following the saga of the two Vegas Factor X turbos, here's the latest. Right now I'm runing about 10 lbs of boost and I'm pretty happy. Here's another hot dyno. As you can see the torque is just awesome! :smile:

12272nsx_turbo_dyno_10_lbs-med.JPG


Well several days back I got to meet up with Espirit1 (aka Blue Devil) for a Vegas NSX meet. There we got to switch up cars and give each other car a spin. Wow, it is so interesting to see how two turbo cars from Factor X could feel and sound so different. His car was pulling more HP (480ish??) but I had more torque than him. His car felt more like an FI car, especially with the short gears he had and the sound was insane. He was also a heck of a lot more stable than mine; I'm not sure if that because he's widebody and got crazy fat tires or if it is something else. Meanwhile, my car felt more like a Supra or big block. Turbo kicks in sooner and the gears were a lot taller so it was much easier to drive (i.e. pick a gear and gas it). Think "turbo for dummies". It's true what they say, you definitely "feel" the torque. The car really wants to push into the back of the seat.

Anyway, we decided to make a few passes to see who's turbo set up was running faster. It also goes back to a previous question on what wins, hp or torque? While we only did a few runs and it's far from a scientific study, the Torque Monster did pull on the Blue Devil pretty good. We even switched cars with the same results. To Pauls defense, I did get more tuning time in (just goes to show the value of tuning) and I think I had a tad bit more boost. Also because of the short gears, there is a lot of shifting involved with the Blue Devil, while all you need to do is mash the gas with the Torque Monster. I got the best of the Blue Devil this time, but when it goes back in for some more tuning, high boost, and modifications (:wink:) I'm sure it will kick my ass). And none of this stuff about being on old man either Paul. I saw you drive and you make me look like an old man!! :biggrin:

One interesting thing to note that as we climbed Mt. Charleston I didn't notice much drop off in performance even though we made it up to about 6500' elevation. I can say for sure but I didn't notice anything from my butt dyno. Which is interesting because I was reading about power issues at elevation with the guys in CO running a supercharger. Does anyone know if there are inherently design aspects of the turbo vs. the supercharger at elevation that makes one system better/worse than the other? Or is it more of a tuning/EMS correlation?
 
NA and Supercharged cars(SC because they are belt driven)will suffer from the elevation worse then a turbo car. Mainly because the rotors/or wheels on a supercharger will rotate at the same rpms regardless of altitude. Whereas a turbo will just end up working a little harder to make the desired boost/pressure. There may be a little less power, but not noticable. That was my experience anyway when I lived in Wyoming for a while. That is a very basic explanation, but its the general idea..
 
Thanks for the update and comparison. This thread is got really good reads. I think I posted 10 times in this thread, I have deleted some so I am not taking all the space:smile:.

I love your power curve, super torque monster. Very quick spool. Do you by any chance know what size turbo you are running?
 
Dude, sorry to tell you, but you've got way too much money into a car that....still....isn't....fast.

JK man, love it, one of fav nsx i seen. Where's the black tint?
 
Elite said:
NA and Supercharged cars(SC because they are belt driven)will suffer from the elevation worse then a turbo car. Mainly because the rotors/or wheels on a supercharger will rotate at the same rpms regardless of altitude. Whereas a turbo will just end up working a little harder to make the desired boost/pressure. There may be a little less power, but not noticable. That was my experience anyway when I lived in Wyoming for a while. That is a very basic explanation, but its the general idea..
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Thanks for the explaination, that totally makes sense.

nsxsupra said:
Thanks for the update and comparison. This thread is got really good reads. I think I posted 10 times in this thread, I have deleted some so I am not taking all the space:smile:.

I love your power curve, super torque monster. Very quick spool. Do you by any chance know what size turbo you are running?
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Nah, I love you input. You really know your stuff and your supra dyno looks nearly the same as mine. :smile: How does the Supra feel in comparison to your NSX and which one is faster?

Sorry I dont' know what turbo I'm running. I keep forgetting to ask Mikey. Somehow our conversation wanders off to more go-fast stuff or strippers. :biggrin: All I know is that it's relatively small and it's supposed to be unique or prototype.

NSXLuvr said:
Impressive car. Congrats.

btw, what BBK are you leaning towards?
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Racing Brake. I hear nothing but good things about them, they felt great on the Factor X car and they are fantasically priced.
 
AbadR1 said:
Just curious, what is the longevity of a motor (built to handle FI) and transmission (stock 5spd) around that power?
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If I floor it at every light and speed shift it at every gear, it will be lucky if my car can last a week or two. More than likely my driver's licence will go first........

Seriously, I think this also speaks for NA NSX. But as in any modifications, the more extreme the performance increase, the shorter it will live. If you do a search on Prime, I'm sure you can find informations on how much power each parts can endure. I think OEM Rod can hold around 800hp, and the tranny can hold around 600hp, etc. On the other hand, if you abuse and neglect it, I don't think it can take 300hp on a bad day.

Unlike Bryan, mine is a daily driver and Mikey set mine up accordingly. Furthermore, I'm a much more docile driver than my younger FX500 counterpart. With proper maintainence, I'm hoping for 50k plus miles before my next major rebuild. But that is at 500+ whp level I'm shooting for.

Best Regards
Paul
 
Vega$ NSX said:
Nah, I love you input. You really know your stuff and your supra dyno looks nearly the same as mine. :smile: How does the Supra feel in comparison to your NSX and which one is faster?
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You are too modest:smile:. My Supra dyno and your is actually quite different, you have more hp and torque in both lower and higher rpm, not to mention the extra 1000+rpm to play with + The Supra is at also least 500lbs heavier. That tell me how scary fast your NSX must be. FX gave you an really awesome all around set up with room for cranking up the boost with ease.

Vega$ NSX said:
How does the Supra feel in comparison to your NSX and which one is faster?
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Its hard to compare the my NSX and Supra in acceleration performance. They are completely different cars. Lightweight MR vs Powerful FR.

My NSX feel faster on any street situation 0~80mph or less, it has NA V8 feel, lots of torque downlow (although the # suggest otherwise), telepathic throttle responds and great traction due to MR layout.

The Supra felt faster up top or any situations that doesn't require a launch while on low boost, the front heavy doesn't help traction but once rolling, it is tough to beat. The car loves 50mph~140+mph accelerations. Add some C16, switch the fuel map on the piggyback to another pre-set setting and crank up the boost, it will up the scary level significantly.
 

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