InjentC23

Okay for starters, I recently bought the zpi stage 0 kit from racing solutions. And from what zpi and other people on this site said about it, I thought it should be fine. No fuel management, no fmic no problem. I've been told "we are well inside the efficiency range of the turbo and at the low boost of the kit a FMIC is not required. We do use a larger MAF pipe and send you instructions on how to recalibrate the MAF. This in conjunction with the factory A/F sensor allows us to do this." We sell the emanage and the FMIC as an available option. That was what zpi's answer was. Today I decided to see what some of my local performance shops thought about the stage 0 not having a front mount intercooler or e-manage. Their reactions were not good.The first place I went to is called Fastlane. The guy there told me that it was not a good idea to put a turbo on a car without some kind of fuel management. He could install my turbo and warranty his work, but that he could not gaurantee that my engine would run fine. Okay, I thanked him for his advice and left. After hearing that, I started to have second thoughts about my purchase. I then decided to get a second opinion. So I went to the next shop, this one's called Speedline. I walked in and this time(somewhat from embarassment from the first place) I pretended I had not bought this kit, but was thinking about it. So I asked the guy there what he thought about this kit. He looked at the contents of it and said that for 3 grand this kit sucked. First off he said, the 16g turbo was crap(didn't explain why), and to not include a fmic, fuel injectors, or e-manage was a ripoff. He told me that now adays, it is just not practical to have a turbo car without a fmic, no matter what psi the boost is at. He has only heard of cars from the 80's not having one. He also stated that it is not that you must have a fmic, but that it was counter-productive to the engine. You are not cooling the excess heat going to the engine. Also that the stock injectors are not made to handle boost. I asked him about e-manage, and like the first place, he said that it was not safe. He recomended that I look into turbonetics' new kit. I thanked him for his advice and left; this time feeling even more bummed out about my choice to buy this kit. So that is why I decided to share my experience with you guys and see what you guys think about the advice I recieved from my local shops. ZPI, I tried to stand up for you guys, I told them it's at low boost, that from the reviews I have read there have been no problems with running this kit as is. But it's gonna take some really strong convincing to change my mind. Now as far as I see it, i'm stuck with a kit, that I should not install untill I buy a fmic or e-manage.

LucidBD

you know what I think....you should do more research before you buy something, instead of just being an impulse buyer and getting it because "you want a turbo".

listen to the guys @ zpi. no one knows what they do better than themselves. their kit is fine, but if you wanted the whole shabang you should have bought the Stage 1 kit.

sorry to hear about your misfortune.

ZPIracing

First we offer a FMIC and the emanage with the stage 0 if you would want this to calm your nerves or to satisfy that of the local speed shop. We are not the only company out there that sells non-intercooled kits. I can think of the largest turbo kit manufacturer and almost all of there’s it is an option.

The truth is they know nothing about Scions and they are taking a stereotypical approach to turbo charging an engine. Before the tC we where on this same band wagon, the truth is this car is different the technology is different and if it was not safe we would not sell it. We could sell it with an emanage and charge an extra 300 for it and it would not change the sales rates at all. Hell at 2700-2900 hundred what is another 300 dollars. Instead we offer these as upgrades for people to tweak the kit based on there individual needs and power desires.

We do and will continue to stand behind out quality product we will not run off once we get your order. We have created more tC-t than anyone in the country and you can be assured the experience and knowledge learned is put into every product we produce.

-Kenny

InjentC23

It's not that I wanted the fmic or emanage. I knew the kit didn't include these things. That's not the point. The point is that ZPI says that those exra things are not necessary, but they are very important for the engine. I know zpi know's what they're doing, but I'm just saying, everyone I speak to says it's not a good idea to not run a kit without "the whole shabang."

InjentC23

That was one of my concerns, because these two shops supposedly specialize in
Hondas and right off the bat,at the second shop, he recommended going with a T3/T4 turbo kit. So I'm sure they have somewhat of a bias. I know in the near future I will be getting a fmic and e-manage, but I just hope that starting off without one won't have any serious effects on my engine.

sccrsteve5

why didn't u research this beforehand? zpi is not going to set you up with a piece of crap system. the stage 0 runs well WITHOUT Emanage and fmic, but if you feel uncomfortable...upgrade it...simple...and like zpi's post says--i'd trust them because they KNOW the tC. i wouldn't put any in-town shop's turbo system on my tC until they know as much as dezod or zpi. but hey, whatever you do man, good luck. turbos are fun-keep it real.

InjentC23

I thought I did research this by having zpi answer my concerns, but I just figured I'dsee what some other shops would say. Zpi already had told me that it was safe to run this kit without the emanage and fmic, but it sucks a little, cause if this kit is too complicated for me to put in myself, one of those 2 shops are gonna be putting in my kit.Probably give me crap about it too. But I'll trust zpi. I have nothing but respect for Kenny and the whole crew for their innovation and great customer service. Thanks for your help. I'll never doubt you guys again.

ignitionr34

you can't just blame him for buying the kit... he never said he didn't do ny research, the only research about this is what zpi exactly said, our engines can handle low boot safely w/ stock ecu, and stock injectors safely and i believe them because so far they've been really good to all their customers on scionlife, and he probably knew that before he bought the kit.... just like what zpi said... the other companies don't know nything about the tc's and they prolly think its just ny other regular n.a. car. Zpi spends hours and keep up us updated about the tc's strengths, weaknesses in force induction and all motor and they test how reliable each thing is... they're not like scion speed.... they're not gonna rip anyone off because just like anyother smart company - if you get one bad customer he can just post up his experience w/ that company on the forums and everyone can see what happened

InjentC23

Thanks man,
You hit it right on the nose, I knew all those things before I bought this kit, but I guess it just kinda came as a shock for those two shops to pretty much tear apart what zpi said and tell me it was bs. But whatever, I'm pretty sure they haven't put any turbos on any tC's.

kungpaosamuraiii

Not that ZPI is a bad company or anything, but you can't expect to do your research by asking the people who is selling you a product.

In this case, however, it's perfectly fine to ask ZPI. They know the tC better than anyone else in the nation to be sure.

peteyd

Talk to ScionDad i think is s/n is he can vouch for them i have seen hnim on several fourms vouch for ZPI i blieve ther turbo setup on his daughter is the stage 0 with out either option

ignitionr34

[quote="kungpaosamuraiii"]Not that ZPI is a bad company or anything, but you can't expect to do your research by asking the people who is selling you a product.

the only real way to research on the zpi stage 0 kit is by what zpi posts up about that kit cause they built the kit obviously

InjentC23

Exactly, how am I supposed to just show up at my local shop and ask them about issues with a turbo kit for a car they've never put a turbo in?

Marshall

You don't even have the kit installed. Your not forming your own opinion, your only forming it from bias of other people.

They have no idea that the stock injectors are fairly large for this 4 cylinder. The ECU is a very complicated and advanced little beast; it can run the Super Charger. 6 PSI is not that much boost really. A FMIC won't give you that much of a gain at this level.

Please do us all a favor, Install the kit and test it before you post a flamatory thread like this... it is not fair to ZPI.

ignitionr34

dude read the whole thread.. he's just writing his experience of what the other local companies said... he still supports zpi all the way and trusts em

oh and id advise changin ur title of this thread injen, cuase people are gonna take the wrong way and keep on saying the same thing to u

unseen

i dont know how much this will quell your anxiety, or make you feel more comfortable, but...TA DAH!



i got it yesterday at my dads house, drove it home today, and plan on installing friday (lord knows i need to change my oil reaaal bad). to further comfort you, i am a newbie at this, but i plan to install myself. i think you should take a deep breath, like heads are saying, zpi isnt selling ish thats bunk.

InjentC23

obviously at this time with not very many tC's turboed not very many local tuner shops know a lot our car, so it's understandable for them to have different views and a different approach about how and what is a safe way to turbocharge our car.

InjentC23

Yeah, I'm a newbie at this too and I plan to at least try to intall this myself. Hopefull it's pretty straight forward. Are any instructions included with the kit?

Garage1217

iTrader: (5)

Even though I do not agree with zpi on the build of the kit nor the price, the kit is a nice starter kit and DOES NOT NEED A FMIC. For god sake your running 7 psi or less. If any shop claims you really need one then they have no clue what they are doing or just like the bling bling of a front mount. Also the 16g is a great little turbo. Not one I would choose myself but a great little unit, also a very very reliable little unit. It sounds to me like your local shops really have no clue about turbocharging other than what they have read in magazines. Makes me sick, we have allot of shops like that around my area also. Lots and lots of magazine readers and internet pirates that read somthing from a nobody and think it is the bible. The kit you bought is a nice little setup and will provide great results.

InjentC23

I really do think they are very close minded when it comes to turbos, I mean they freakin specialize in hondas and acuras. They don't think anything but t3/t4 turbos are good, it just sucks for myself and any other newbie that want's to go F/I and have to put up with their old way of doing things.