Full Blown Stage 2 Turbo Review
06-16-2017, 05:58 PM
#1
Full Blown Stage 2 Turbo Review
Hello all.
I recently upgraded my turbo setup from the Greddy kit to the newer FullBlown stage 2 kit and wanted to share some feedback on it. There wasn't really that much information on it from other users, so I hope this helps those that might be looking at this kit when comparing it to the other options out there like I was recently. First off, I'd just like to say that I am very happy with this kit and the power it is making for me, but there are some issues with it that I'll mention as well.
It was nice to be coming off of the Greddy kit, because I had something to compare it to. I also had the Comptech supercharger on my old S, so its nice to be able to see the differences on that as well. Both turbo setups were tuned on the Hondata Flashpro with their 4port EBCS where the Comptech kit just used the fmu and was never dyno tuned. The Greddy kit was making 280whp and 264wtq at 11psi for me. I loved how fast it spooled and how it sounded, and everything was very "bolt-on" as far as the install went. I really didn't have to modify or change anything. The downside for me was how power just dropped off up top. We had to raise vtec to 6500rpm, and my tuner said that he usually isn't even able to have vtec on at all with these kits. The supercharger was the exact opposite; it felt stock down low but great on the high end once vtec kicked. It also didn't make near the heat that the turbos do, and at the time that S was my daily, so it made sense at the time to go that route. I wouldn't recommend doing a daily driver turbo, but thats just me. I know ppl who do, so to each their own.
The turbo that I am using with my new setup is a GTX3076R (gen 2) that just came out. It was a $500 upgrade from the Precision 5858 journal bearing that came with the kit, so I think thats a very good value on the upgrade price. I also opted to have the manifold, downpipe, and dump tube heat coated for $300, which was a good idea, because it does make some heat! The kit comes with some heat wrap for the downpipe and a turbo blanket, and I also wrapped ac lines and whatnot that are near the turbo area. The car feels really good after tuning. The turbo is fully spooled by 4700 rpm and we set vtec to 5500. The Greddy kit felt pretty good, but this is seriously on another level. It comes on a little slower than the Greddy kit did, but once it hits, it pulls like a freaking rocket! It also sounds like a jet engine taking off. It's making 420whp and 290wtq at 13psi. We got it up to 438/310 at 14psi but brought it down a bit just to be safe.
PROS:
1.Qualty of the parts: Everything is very well built and feels solid. Nothing feels or looks cheap. I also love how much better the kit makes the engine bay look than the Greddy kit did (which wasn't bad). Everything was also packed well, and nothing came in damaged. There were a couple small nicks on the intercooler piping, but nothing visible once installed.
2. Performance: Great results and tuner said that with some additional fuel upgrades (double pumps, 1700cc injectors, return line) we could easily take it to 600whp. I can't even imagine what that would feel like. lol
3. Customer service: LJ and Justin over there have been really great answering questions and taking care of small mis-ship issues for me. There were a few things that shipped incorrectly, and they were very quick to get it corrected. I was also always able to either get someone on the phone or receive an email back quickly, even on the wkend. Good customer service goes a long way!
CONS:
1. No install manual included or available: Luckily I had previously installed/uninstalled my Greddy kit, so I had an idea of what needed to go where, but I can see someone being totally lost if they've never done one before.
2. Not direct bolt-on: There were a few things that I had to modify/change on my install than what was included.
-I had to create a port on the intercooler piping for the additional air temp sensor on the 06+ models.
-With my Koyo radiator there was no way that the intercooler piping would clear the OEM fans (Greddy cleared fine though), so I bought the Mishimoto fan shroud. It was still tight, and the radiator is right up against the frame, but it works. I don't know if a stock radiator would clear or not.
-The downpipe is just an open pipe on the exhaust side, so you will have to figure out how to mate it to your exhaust. I had my tuner weld on some additional 3" pipe and a flange to mate to my testpipe.
-The location of the O2 bung is pretty high up on the downpipes, so I had to extend the O2 sensor for it to reach with some wire and splices.
-I had to change the fitting setup on the return line because there was no way it would clear the front frame/brace without cutting a big chunk out of it, which I didn't want to do. I scrapped the -AN fitting on the top side of the line for a 5/8" barb style, and it clears okay now. I also added some DEI fire shield around the line, because it is very close to manifold piping and the dump tube.
3. Location of the intercooler: The intercooler is a beefy and really awesome piece, but it sits really far back. I think they test-fit this on their race car without ac, because I had to bend the crap out of the lines (nearly kinked), and the canister in front of the radiator is jammed in between the radiator and intercooler. I actually modified the hanging brackets so that it would sit about 1/2" closer to the front.
I'd also note that they said I was the first 06+ S that they'd sold this kit too, and I was the first to pick this turbo as it just came out, so a lot of what I ran into they just hadn't seen before. It's possible that some of these issues might be corrected in the future. Overall, I really do like this kit and how it performs. I did like the Greddy kit too and how easy everything just bolted up and fit, but this is definitely a step up in performance. Anyways, I hope that this is helpful, and please hit me up if there are any questions or if I missed something. Below are some pics for you guys.
I recently upgraded my turbo setup from the Greddy kit to the newer FullBlown stage 2 kit and wanted to share some feedback on it. There wasn't really that much information on it from other users, so I hope this helps those that might be looking at this kit when comparing it to the other options out there like I was recently. First off, I'd just like to say that I am very happy with this kit and the power it is making for me, but there are some issues with it that I'll mention as well.
It was nice to be coming off of the Greddy kit, because I had something to compare it to. I also had the Comptech supercharger on my old S, so its nice to be able to see the differences on that as well. Both turbo setups were tuned on the Hondata Flashpro with their 4port EBCS where the Comptech kit just used the fmu and was never dyno tuned. The Greddy kit was making 280whp and 264wtq at 11psi for me. I loved how fast it spooled and how it sounded, and everything was very "bolt-on" as far as the install went. I really didn't have to modify or change anything. The downside for me was how power just dropped off up top. We had to raise vtec to 6500rpm, and my tuner said that he usually isn't even able to have vtec on at all with these kits. The supercharger was the exact opposite; it felt stock down low but great on the high end once vtec kicked. It also didn't make near the heat that the turbos do, and at the time that S was my daily, so it made sense at the time to go that route. I wouldn't recommend doing a daily driver turbo, but thats just me. I know ppl who do, so to each their own.
The turbo that I am using with my new setup is a GTX3076R (gen 2) that just came out. It was a $500 upgrade from the Precision 5858 journal bearing that came with the kit, so I think thats a very good value on the upgrade price. I also opted to have the manifold, downpipe, and dump tube heat coated for $300, which was a good idea, because it does make some heat! The kit comes with some heat wrap for the downpipe and a turbo blanket, and I also wrapped ac lines and whatnot that are near the turbo area. The car feels really good after tuning. The turbo is fully spooled by 4700 rpm and we set vtec to 5500. The Greddy kit felt pretty good, but this is seriously on another level. It comes on a little slower than the Greddy kit did, but once it hits, it pulls like a freaking rocket! It also sounds like a jet engine taking off. It's making 420whp and 290wtq at 13psi. We got it up to 438/310 at 14psi but brought it down a bit just to be safe.
PROS:
1.Qualty of the parts: Everything is very well built and feels solid. Nothing feels or looks cheap. I also love how much better the kit makes the engine bay look than the Greddy kit did (which wasn't bad). Everything was also packed well, and nothing came in damaged. There were a couple small nicks on the intercooler piping, but nothing visible once installed.
2. Performance: Great results and tuner said that with some additional fuel upgrades (double pumps, 1700cc injectors, return line) we could easily take it to 600whp. I can't even imagine what that would feel like. lol
3. Customer service: LJ and Justin over there have been really great answering questions and taking care of small mis-ship issues for me. There were a few things that shipped incorrectly, and they were very quick to get it corrected. I was also always able to either get someone on the phone or receive an email back quickly, even on the wkend. Good customer service goes a long way!
CONS:
1. No install manual included or available: Luckily I had previously installed/uninstalled my Greddy kit, so I had an idea of what needed to go where, but I can see someone being totally lost if they've never done one before.
2. Not direct bolt-on: There were a few things that I had to modify/change on my install than what was included.
-I had to create a port on the intercooler piping for the additional air temp sensor on the 06+ models.
-With my Koyo radiator there was no way that the intercooler piping would clear the OEM fans (Greddy cleared fine though), so I bought the Mishimoto fan shroud. It was still tight, and the radiator is right up against the frame, but it works. I don't know if a stock radiator would clear or not.
-The downpipe is just an open pipe on the exhaust side, so you will have to figure out how to mate it to your exhaust. I had my tuner weld on some additional 3" pipe and a flange to mate to my testpipe.
-The location of the O2 bung is pretty high up on the downpipes, so I had to extend the O2 sensor for it to reach with some wire and splices.
-I had to change the fitting setup on the return line because there was no way it would clear the front frame/brace without cutting a big chunk out of it, which I didn't want to do. I scrapped the -AN fitting on the top side of the line for a 5/8" barb style, and it clears okay now. I also added some DEI fire shield around the line, because it is very close to manifold piping and the dump tube.
3. Location of the intercooler: The intercooler is a beefy and really awesome piece, but it sits really far back. I think they test-fit this on their race car without ac, because I had to bend the crap out of the lines (nearly kinked), and the canister in front of the radiator is jammed in between the radiator and intercooler. I actually modified the hanging brackets so that it would sit about 1/2" closer to the front.
I'd also note that they said I was the first 06+ S that they'd sold this kit too, and I was the first to pick this turbo as it just came out, so a lot of what I ran into they just hadn't seen before. It's possible that some of these issues might be corrected in the future. Overall, I really do like this kit and how it performs. I did like the Greddy kit too and how easy everything just bolted up and fit, but this is definitely a step up in performance. Anyways, I hope that this is helpful, and please hit me up if there are any questions or if I missed something. Below are some pics for you guys.
Last edited by ikidomari; 06-16-2017 at 06:03 PM.
06-16-2017, 06:08 PM
#2
Looks good man and nice writeup.
06-16-2017, 06:13 PM
#4
Lol reading through that felt like I just re lived the last ...maybe 3 months.
spot on review lol
nice to see another fbm stage 2 out their!
careful on that return. I tried skating by without modifying cross member and the exhaust seal started leaking third day on. Corrected and all went good, just watch for low load smoke out the back. Im guessing the return is on the engine side of the cross member for you.
spot on review lol
nice to see another fbm stage 2 out their!
careful on that return. I tried skating by without modifying cross member and the exhaust seal started leaking third day on. Corrected and all went good, just watch for low load smoke out the back. Im guessing the return is on the engine side of the cross member for you.
Last edited by MorngWoodStewie; 06-16-2017 at 06:34 PM.
06-16-2017, 08:02 PM
#5
Yeah, the return is on the engine side of the cross member. I did bend the lip of it down just to make sure nothing was rubbing, just didn't want to cut a big chunk of it out. Mostly I was having issues with the fitting making contact, but the barb style seems to be working. Also, the turbo is clocked exactly where it has to be for the water lines to work as they're supposed to. There was a little bit of smoke from the top of the turbo blanket, but the feed fitting wasn't tightened all the way down. I tightened it down and let it run a good while without smoke so should be good.
Also I forgot to add, I kept losing manifold nuts on the Greddy setup so on the new one I was done with it, so I got some copper oblong manifold nuts. They're supposed to hold up to the heat better and not back out. So far so good.
Also I forgot to add, I kept losing manifold nuts on the Greddy setup so on the new one I was done with it, so I got some copper oblong manifold nuts. They're supposed to hold up to the heat better and not back out. So far so good.
Last edited by ikidomari; 06-16-2017 at 08:04 PM.
06-16-2017, 10:48 PM
#6
Cool, good. I had problems with SOS TS max Mani (nuts) but not this one. But I went with nordlock washers on Mani and flange this time.
honestly I think fbm gets away with the whole "bolt on" because precision. Once you go Garrett with water cooled, it's a bit more complicating with trying to host both needs (water and oil)
honestly I think fbm gets away with the whole "bolt on" because precision. Once you go Garrett with water cooled, it's a bit more complicating with trying to host both needs (water and oil)
06-16-2017, 10:52 PM
#7
If ur just coated u probably won't have to worry as much or "as long" if it happens but cover that Mani when u change oil filters.
I honestly wish I had more info (reviews) on this specific kit when I started lol.
I honestly wish I had more info (reviews) on this specific kit when I started lol.
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06-17-2017, 05:09 AM
#8
Old school full blown sidewinder kit owner here and laughing that the cons are still the same. Def an adventure installing but once it is omg awesome. Glad your enjoying. Only one comment about your dyno. I had similar looking one also until I tweaked the boost control and had it come on harder and sooner. Combine that with lowering vtec to 4k and you will have a substantial and beefy power band
06-17-2017, 06:14 AM
#9
Hell, drop the VTEC to 3600 rpm.