Hit a nerve? Ha, nonsense! I’ve openly discussed how much money and difficulties I’ve had in going forced induction. It doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, if I was so embarrassed at all then
why in the world would I specifically create a thread discussing how many times I’ve blown up my engine? I'll tell you why. The point of it is purely for educational purposes so that people can learn from the collective experiences from multiple people.
Which is incidentally why I take so much issue with your posts. You are spreading such horrible mis-information, I felt it would be proper to clarify for the forum and the OP some of the egregious statements you are making. There are so many errors and horrible logic in your statements I almost don’t even know where to begin.
First off, a turbo does one thing and ONLY one thing. It converts exhaust gas pressures to spin ½ of a turbo impeller. On the other side, another impeller connected by a shaft takes ambient air and forces it into the intake of an engine. So the only function a turbo does is increase the amount of air an engine intakes by compressing it. The measure of how good a turbo kit is has to do strictly with how efficiently it converts the exhaust gases into intake boost pressure. A turbo kit has nothing to do with how well an engine is going to hold up to the additional pressure or forces it creates.
Secondly, the function of a tune is to maximize the power generated by manipulating the air/fuel ration at the time of combustion. The closer the air/fuel ratio you can get to the stoichiometric condition of 14.7 the greater the combustion process and the more power you will generate. At a 14.7 air/fuel ratio you will get a perfect stoichiometric reaction, which means instantaneous detonation (aka explosion). At detonation, the forces are so great any engine would fail regardless of what power level it was running at. 200 HP, 300 HP, 400 HP, 500 HP, 600 HP, 1000 HP. All engines, even naturally aspirated ones, would fail regardless if the tune was allowed to reach air/fuel ratios of 14.7 or greater. That’s why as a safety factor, most air fuel ratios are typically in the 11’s. The only way a tune has the ability to damage an engine is if it creates detonations by reaching stoichiometric combustion in the cylinders.
Thirdly, engines fail when there are excessive forces inside the cylinder and piston. So there are two things that could cause an engine to fail. First if the tune was poor and allowed the air fuel ratio to get to stoichiometric conditions and allow detonation (which is an explosion), the spontaneous combustion forces would be so great, it would cause damage in the engine. However, even if the tune was absolutely perfect to avoid stoichiometric detonation, the engine could still fail because the combustion forces are still greater than what the engine can handle. The piston heads, seals, rods and cylinder walls do not have the strength to handle such forces.
Case in point, when I damaged my engine at around 425 hp (intentionally) I was testing the limits of what my stock engine could handle. The tune was perfect as there was no signs of any detonation. The engine failed because the piston head and seals broke due to the additional forces being generated. That is because the stock piston head could not hold the force required to sustain the combustion forces the additional air and fuel generated. This is the case with anybody who has engine damage with boost without detonation due to a bad tune. When we rebuilt the engine with reinforced sleeves, forged pistons and rods, with the exact same tune, the car ran flawlessly. Exact same turbo, exact same tune, just strong internal components.
FACTS:
1) A turbo kit has nothing to do with how well an engine is going to hold up to the additional pressure or forces it creates.
2) The only way a bad tune can blow up an engine is if it creates a detonation due to stoichiometric combustion.
3) An engine can STILL FAIL even with a good tune and detonation because the increased forces due to forced induction.
4) The type of turbo kit, brand or forced induction system has absolutely nothing to do with how well the stock internals of an NSX engine will last.
1) Good Tune + Engine can handle Power + Turbo Kit = Power
2) Good Tune + Engine can handle Power + Better Turbo Kit = More Power
3) Better Tune + Engine can handle Power + Turbo Kit = More Power
4) Good Tune + Engine CAN’T Handle Power + Turbo Kit = Damaged Engine
5) Good Tune + Engine CAN’T Handle Power + Better Turbo Kit = Damaged Engine
6) Better Tune + Engine CAN’T Handle Power + Turbo Kit = Damaged Engine
7) Bad Tune + Engine can handle Power + Turbo Kit = Damaged Engine
8) Bad Tune + Engine can handle Power + Better Turbo Kit = Damaged Engine
9) Good Tune + Engine can handle Power + Bad Turbo Kit = Little Power gains.
Do you have any clue what you are saying? You can blow your engine with a bad tune at
any power level. A bad tune causes detonation. Detonation is what kills engines.
However,
detonation isn't the only thing that causes ruined engines. Excessive forces can ruin engines, even with a perfect tune. Go to 1,000 HP with a perfect tune and see if your engine holds up with stock internals.
The point is that each engine is built uniquely and some are able to handle more power than others. You may have been able to get to 600 WHP on your stock engine, but that is rare and definitely not the norm. A vast majority of people have blown up their engines at less than 500 HP, even with a perfect tune, because their particular engine wasn't able to hold the forces. To say
any stock NSX engine can handle 600 WHP is simply irresponsible, because statistically this is not the norm.
Because this is completely relevant to the OP's question and on topic. I'm simply correcting inaccurate statements made by you so the OP and others are not misled.
Well, the Factor X Turbo Kit (which is what I have) holds the record for the fastest car around ButtonWillow raceway.
SO WHAT? What does that mean? Absolutely nothing! The actual turbo kit is one of about a thousand other factors that makes that car fast. You think the HP kit is responsible for your drag times or the Factor X kit is responsible for the record track time at ButtonWillow?
How about the driver? The tires? The condition of the track? The weight reduction on the car?
What a ridiculous statement.
I'm not even going to being describe and breakdown how ridiculous this statement is. Do you have any idea how boost pressure is calculated? And do you realize that both the cross sectional area of the intake and the cylinder volume at the time of combustion is a fixed number? So you do realize that at a given fixed volume there is a direct relationship between volumetric flow rate (CFM) and pressure (PSI)? Hint: Dynamic Pressure (PSI) = 1/2 Density * (CFM/AREA)^2. At this point do you realize how ridiculous your statement is or should I go further? I'm a mechanical engineer in an industry where I live and breathe "CFM" on a daily basis. You are out of your league and don't know what you are talking about.
