Putting the first production SOS TS-MAX Kit through the wringer
Guess he's too busy enjoying the boost. 
08-06-2013, 07:31 AM
#12
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 158
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
SoS 70mm test pipe
SoS wastegate solenoid valve kit
SoS 70mm test pipe
Flashpro w/ modified ECU for pulse modification
Walbro 255
ID 1000cc injectors
TR1 70R-EM sparrow dual exhaust
Guilty as charged. I'll work on it this evening.
08-06-2013, 12:58 PM
#15
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 158
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Having previously modded WRX, 3 STI's, and an APR GTI... the real world characteristic of this kit resembles the VW the most. Very fun to drive around town and it's always ready to pounce. The only difference is that the S will pull much harder all the way as opposed to the VW falling flat up top IMO.
08-06-2013, 06:32 PM
#16
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 158
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Trip:
Arizona
Picked her up @ SoS the morning of Saturday, Aug 3th around 8am. I've never seen so many NSX in one place (counted at least 7). The shop was filled with so many cool cars being worked on (cool implying S2000 and NSX). That being said, there was black one in the corner (not the NSX in this photo) that won't apply to this statement. That one really peaked our interest...
Any who, we needed to take her out for a quick run before leaving town. She started up and idle like it was stock. That's where the similarities ended. When we took her out on the streets, she seemed very eager and willing to go since full boost is always within reach even until normal driving condition. We let her loose in 2nd and the tires chirp for a brief moment. BOY IS SHE IN A HURRY NOW! Before any comprehension of what had just happened can occur, it was time to shift. No more waiting for that sweet vtec switchover point in this thing. Tires spun for a brief moment again going into 3rd and we had to let off before we land ourselves in jail.
My road trip buddy was very impressed with the behavior of not only this kit, but the way the S harnessed the power. A little background on him; he is a part owner of a performance shop himself back home, and they work on mostly high power domestics (one of their shop cars was a 600 C5Z). For him to point out how easy that power is being delivered and the way it still goes where you point her under WOT, that was quite the compliment. As he takes her around the block and the compliments didn't stop there. When he shifted to 2nd, it startled him since the throw was so short. He asked me if it came stock like that. I just gave him a nod and a grin. I have a feeling that he will be miss the S when is trip is done and over with.
We had to return our rental at the skyharbor rental facility before leaving town. Here's a quick clip of what the S sounded like on the hwy (upload pending):
Here we are taping the front end up in orange as we turned orange from this raging desert heat ourselves:
I've taken N I-17 towards Flagstaff before, and that was a pleasant drive. This time around, we took N US87 to see a different part of this state. We stopped for lunch in Payson at a bar called Buffalo Bar & Grill. Hands down some of the best fries and top sirloin burger I've had. They supposedly butcher and ground the beef the same day. Highly recommended if you're in that neck of the woods.
Halfway in the National Forest, we smelled a strong electrical burn. Not good. We pulled over and tried to locate the source but everything seemed okay. The engine was pretty hot, but that was almost expected when it had to climb those hills in 100+ degree heat. Got back in the car and noticed my phone wasn't charging. Duh! The multi port charger shorted it out. The Note 2 must have been too much for it to handle along w/ the GoPro.
Just as the AZ region members predicted, the T-Storms flared up in the afternoon and the downpour was pretty ridiculous. The lighting was getting pretty intense as well since one smacked so close I swore I felt the shock wave through the soft top. Oh, and we lost the GoPro case that was mounted on the front windshield when we turned the wipers on
New Mexico
It's not good when you see rough roads sign on the interstate over and over again. We took N US491 from Gallup because we wanted to hit the mountains before dark. What we didn't know was that we were driving right through an Indian reservation for the next 121 miles doing 25-55mph. To make it even less fun (if that's even possible that that point), they labeled 3 segments of this road as "safety corridors" where the fines doubles for 20 miles. There's NOTHING out here except trash and a horrible excuse of a paved road. Honestly, the dirt next to the road looked smoother at times. Sad to see the Indian reservation out here in this God forsaken land. And what is up with the martini drinking problem there?
Signs like this one were all over the place:
If a sober person can't stay straight on this road, I think it will take care of the drunk one on it's own. What a brilliant way to keep them off the road eh....
Quick fill up at a gas station near Farmington (last 2 fill ups averaged 32.4mpg):
Thank you NM, I have a renewed appreciation of KS now.
Colorado
By the time we arrive close to CO, we had about 2 hours left in daylight. The fuel pump was starting to throw a fit with a very audible high pitch shrilling noise after 9 hrs. The elevation made us more wary about putting too much load since it's more prone to pinging as well as the uncertainly with the fuel pump condition.
I'm sure the Rio Grande National Forest would've been a real treat during the day. But it was a living nightmare to drive thru at night. The moon wasn't out, we were getting fatigued being on the road for 12 straight hours, and we're coming up on dangerous drop offs and wildlife. We decided to drop the top to keep us awake, but the temp plummeted down to 43 degree at one point. I must admit, being the passenger on this leg of the trip had some benefits. It's been a long time since I've been able to see the Milky Way w/ naked eye. It was also surreal to see the occasional 18 wheeler flying across the sky in front of you.
Here's a clip from 1 of 2 Wolf Creek Pass tunnel. We had to let off since the tune wasn't meant for this condition:
[media]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201544302270046&l=192400867828006844 1[/media]
Finally arrived at our Colorado Springs hotel at 2:45am MST after 16hrs.
Here's Colorado in the morning. It really is the perfect place to enjoy the S:
Kansas - Too uneventful to report aside from the mileage dropping to 24mpg. We shaved close to 45 min off the anticipated arrival time.
Odd behaviors
My friend is concern that the AFR is in the 12's, but filling it w/ 93 should make this tune a little safer. Unrelated to the kit itself, there's now a rattle/grinding noise from either the clutch, trans, or exhaust under zero to partial throttle being applied in 1st thru 4rd gear. It's pretty annoying but it doesn't seem to be hurting anything. Will need to check this out in case it was related to the clutch or exhaust upgrade.
The Verdict: Again, this kit seems to be really solid from the design and construction aspect, not to mention SoS being a very reputable company within the community. Because of that, I think it will probably turn out to be as reliable as some of the proven turbo kits out there (only time will tell). Chris and the entire SoS crew knows what they are doing. To me, what differentiates a good shop from a great one comes down to the way they handle and treat their clients when things don't go as planned. This project did run into some hiccups (i.e. the wrong housing was installed, which led to having to cancel my trip the day before I was scheduled to pick her up). But thru communication, honesty, and determination, Chris and company stepped up to the plate and delivered.
Arizona
Picked her up @ SoS the morning of Saturday, Aug 3th around 8am. I've never seen so many NSX in one place (counted at least 7). The shop was filled with so many cool cars being worked on (cool implying S2000 and NSX). That being said, there was black one in the corner (not the NSX in this photo) that won't apply to this statement. That one really peaked our interest...
Any who, we needed to take her out for a quick run before leaving town. She started up and idle like it was stock. That's where the similarities ended. When we took her out on the streets, she seemed very eager and willing to go since full boost is always within reach even until normal driving condition. We let her loose in 2nd and the tires chirp for a brief moment. BOY IS SHE IN A HURRY NOW! Before any comprehension of what had just happened can occur, it was time to shift. No more waiting for that sweet vtec switchover point in this thing. Tires spun for a brief moment again going into 3rd and we had to let off before we land ourselves in jail.
My road trip buddy was very impressed with the behavior of not only this kit, but the way the S harnessed the power. A little background on him; he is a part owner of a performance shop himself back home, and they work on mostly high power domestics (one of their shop cars was a 600 C5Z). For him to point out how easy that power is being delivered and the way it still goes where you point her under WOT, that was quite the compliment. As he takes her around the block and the compliments didn't stop there. When he shifted to 2nd, it startled him since the throw was so short. He asked me if it came stock like that. I just gave him a nod and a grin. I have a feeling that he will be miss the S when is trip is done and over with.
We had to return our rental at the skyharbor rental facility before leaving town. Here's a quick clip of what the S sounded like on the hwy (upload pending):
Here we are taping the front end up in orange as we turned orange from this raging desert heat ourselves:
I've taken N I-17 towards Flagstaff before, and that was a pleasant drive. This time around, we took N US87 to see a different part of this state. We stopped for lunch in Payson at a bar called Buffalo Bar & Grill. Hands down some of the best fries and top sirloin burger I've had. They supposedly butcher and ground the beef the same day. Highly recommended if you're in that neck of the woods.
Halfway in the National Forest, we smelled a strong electrical burn. Not good. We pulled over and tried to locate the source but everything seemed okay. The engine was pretty hot, but that was almost expected when it had to climb those hills in 100+ degree heat. Got back in the car and noticed my phone wasn't charging. Duh! The multi port charger shorted it out. The Note 2 must have been too much for it to handle along w/ the GoPro.
Just as the AZ region members predicted, the T-Storms flared up in the afternoon and the downpour was pretty ridiculous. The lighting was getting pretty intense as well since one smacked so close I swore I felt the shock wave through the soft top. Oh, and we lost the GoPro case that was mounted on the front windshield when we turned the wipers on
New Mexico
It's not good when you see rough roads sign on the interstate over and over again. We took N US491 from Gallup because we wanted to hit the mountains before dark. What we didn't know was that we were driving right through an Indian reservation for the next 121 miles doing 25-55mph. To make it even less fun (if that's even possible that that point), they labeled 3 segments of this road as "safety corridors" where the fines doubles for 20 miles. There's NOTHING out here except trash and a horrible excuse of a paved road. Honestly, the dirt next to the road looked smoother at times. Sad to see the Indian reservation out here in this God forsaken land. And what is up with the martini drinking problem there?
Signs like this one were all over the place:
If a sober person can't stay straight on this road, I think it will take care of the drunk one on it's own. What a brilliant way to keep them off the road eh....
Quick fill up at a gas station near Farmington (last 2 fill ups averaged 32.4mpg):
Thank you NM, I have a renewed appreciation of KS now.
Colorado
By the time we arrive close to CO, we had about 2 hours left in daylight. The fuel pump was starting to throw a fit with a very audible high pitch shrilling noise after 9 hrs. The elevation made us more wary about putting too much load since it's more prone to pinging as well as the uncertainly with the fuel pump condition.
I'm sure the Rio Grande National Forest would've been a real treat during the day. But it was a living nightmare to drive thru at night. The moon wasn't out, we were getting fatigued being on the road for 12 straight hours, and we're coming up on dangerous drop offs and wildlife. We decided to drop the top to keep us awake, but the temp plummeted down to 43 degree at one point. I must admit, being the passenger on this leg of the trip had some benefits. It's been a long time since I've been able to see the Milky Way w/ naked eye. It was also surreal to see the occasional 18 wheeler flying across the sky in front of you.
Here's a clip from 1 of 2 Wolf Creek Pass tunnel. We had to let off since the tune wasn't meant for this condition:
[media]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201544302270046&l=192400867828006844 1[/media]
Finally arrived at our Colorado Springs hotel at 2:45am MST after 16hrs.
Here's Colorado in the morning. It really is the perfect place to enjoy the S:
Kansas - Too uneventful to report aside from the mileage dropping to 24mpg. We shaved close to 45 min off the anticipated arrival time.
Odd behaviors
My friend is concern that the AFR is in the 12's, but filling it w/ 93 should make this tune a little safer. Unrelated to the kit itself, there's now a rattle/grinding noise from either the clutch, trans, or exhaust under zero to partial throttle being applied in 1st thru 4rd gear. It's pretty annoying but it doesn't seem to be hurting anything. Will need to check this out in case it was related to the clutch or exhaust upgrade.
The Verdict: Again, this kit seems to be really solid from the design and construction aspect, not to mention SoS being a very reputable company within the community. Because of that, I think it will probably turn out to be as reliable as some of the proven turbo kits out there (only time will tell). Chris and the entire SoS crew knows what they are doing. To me, what differentiates a good shop from a great one comes down to the way they handle and treat their clients when things don't go as planned. This project did run into some hiccups (i.e. the wrong housing was installed, which led to having to cancel my trip the day before I was scheduled to pick her up). But thru communication, honesty, and determination, Chris and company stepped up to the plate and delivered.
08-06-2013, 07:07 PM
#17
The Trip:
Arizona
Picked her up @ SoS the morning of Saturday, Aug 13th around 8am. I've never seen so many NSX in one place (counted at least 7). The shop was filled with so many cool cars being worked on (cool implying S2000 and NSX). That being said, there was black one in the corner (not the NSX in this photo) that won't apply to this statement. That one really peaked our interest...
Any who, we needed to take her out for a quick run before leaving town. She started up and idle like it was stock. That's where the similarities ended. When we took her out on the streets, she seemed very eager and willing to go since full boost is always within reach even until normal driving condition. We let her loose in 2nd and the tires chirp for a brief moment. BOY IS SHE IN A HURRY NOW! Before any comprehension of what had just happened can occur, it was time to shift. No more waiting for that sweet vtec switchover point in this thing. Tires spun for a brief moment again going into 3rd and we had to let off before we land ourselves in jail.
My road trip buddy was very impressed with the behavior of not only this kit, but the way the S harnessed the power. A little background on him; he is a part owner of a performance shop himself back home, and they work on mostly high power domestics (one of their shop cars was a 600 C5Z). For him to point out how easy that power is being delivered and the way it still goes where you point her under WOT, that was quite the compliment. As he takes her around the block and the compliments didn't stop there. When he shifted to 2nd, it startled him since the throw was so short. He asked me if it came stock like that. I just gave him a nod and a grin. I have a feeling that he will be miss the S when is trip is done and over with.
We had to return our rental at the skyharbor rental facility before leaving town. Here's a quick clip of what the S sounded like on the hwy (upload pending):
Here we are taping the front end up in orange as we turned orange from this raging desert heat ourselves:
I've taken N I-17 towards Flagstaff before, and that was a pleasant drive. This time around, we took N US87 to see a different part of this state. We stopped for lunch in Payson at a bar called Buffalo Bar & Grill. Hands down some of the best fries and top sirloin burger I've had. They supposedly butcher and ground the beef the same day. Highly recommended if you're in that neck of the woods.
Halfway in the National Forest, we smelled a strong electrical burn. Not good. We pulled over and tried to locate the source but everything seemed okay. The engine was pretty hot, but that was almost expected when it had to climb those hills in 100+ degree heat. Got back in the car and noticed my phone wasn't charging. Duh! The multi port charger shorted it out. The Note 2 must have been too much for it to handle along w/ the GoPro.
Just as the AZ region members predicted, the T-Storms flared up in the afternoon and the downpour was pretty ridiculous. The lighting was getting pretty intense as well since one smacked so close I swore I felt the shock wave through the soft top. Oh, and we lost the GoPro case that was mounted on the front windshield when we turned the wipers on
New Mexico
It's not good when you see rough roads sign on the interstate over and over again. We took N US491 from Gallup because we wanted to hit the mountains before dark. What we didn't know was that we were driving right through an Indian reservation for the next 121 miles doing 25-55mph. To make it even less fun (if that's even possible that that point), they labeled 3 segments of this road as "safety corridors" where the fines doubles for 20 miles. There's NOTHING out here except trash and a horrible excuse of a paved road. Honestly, the dirt next to the road looked smoother at times. Sad to see the Indian reservation out here in this God forsaken land. And what is up with the martini drinking problem there?
Signs like this one were all over the place:
If a sober person can't stay straight on this road, I think it will take care of the drunk one on it's own. What a brilliant way to keep them off the road eh....
Quick fill up at a gas station near Farmington (last 2 fill ups averaged 32.4mpg):
Thank you NM, I have a renewed appreciation of KS now.
Colorado
By the time we arrive close to CO, we had about 2 hours left in daylight. The fuel pump was starting to throw a fit with a very audible high pitch shrilling noise after 9 hrs. The elevation made us more wary about putting too much load since it's more prone to pinging as well as the uncertainly with the fuel pump condition.
I'm sure the Rio Grande National Forest would've been a real treat during the day. But it was a living nightmare to drive thru at night. The moon wasn't out, we were getting fatigued being on the road for 12 straight hours, and we're coming up on dangerous drop offs and wildlife. We decided to drop the top to keep us awake, but the temp plummeted down to 43 degree at one point. I must admit, being the passenger on this leg of the trip had some benefits. It's been a long time since I've been able to see the Milky Way w/ naked eye. It was also surreal to see the occasional 18 wheeler flying across the sky in front of you.
Here's a clip from 1 of 2 Wolf Creek Pass tunnel. We had to let off since the tune wasn't meant for this condition:
[media]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201544302270046&l=192400867828006844 1[/media]
Finally arrived at our Colorado Springs hotel at 2:45am MST after 16hrs.
Here's Colorado in the morning. It really is the perfect place to enjoy the S:
Kansas - Too uneventful to report aside from the mileage dropping to 24mpg. We shaved close to 45 min off the anticipated arrival time.
Odd behaviors
My friend is concern that the AFR is in the 12's, but filling it w/ 93 should make this tune a little safer. Unrelated to the kit itself, there's now a rattle/grinding noise from either the clutch, trans, or exhaust under zero to partial throttle being applied in 1st thru 4rd gear. It's pretty annoying but it doesn't seem to be hurting anything. Will need to check this out in case it was related to the clutch or exhaust upgrade.
The Verdict: Again, this kit seems to be really solid from the design and construction aspect, not to mention SoS being a very reputable company within the community. Because of that, I think it will probably turn out to be as reliable as some of the proven turbo kits out there (only time will tell). Chris and the entire SoS crew knows what they are doing. To me, what differentiates a good shop from a great one comes down to the way they handle and treat their clients when things don't go as planned. This project did run into some hiccups (i.e. the wrong housing was installed, which led to having to cancel my trip the day before I was scheduled to pick her up). But thru communication, honesty, and determination, Chris and company stepped up to the plate and delivered.
Arizona
Picked her up @ SoS the morning of Saturday, Aug 13th around 8am. I've never seen so many NSX in one place (counted at least 7). The shop was filled with so many cool cars being worked on (cool implying S2000 and NSX). That being said, there was black one in the corner (not the NSX in this photo) that won't apply to this statement. That one really peaked our interest...
Any who, we needed to take her out for a quick run before leaving town. She started up and idle like it was stock. That's where the similarities ended. When we took her out on the streets, she seemed very eager and willing to go since full boost is always within reach even until normal driving condition. We let her loose in 2nd and the tires chirp for a brief moment. BOY IS SHE IN A HURRY NOW! Before any comprehension of what had just happened can occur, it was time to shift. No more waiting for that sweet vtec switchover point in this thing. Tires spun for a brief moment again going into 3rd and we had to let off before we land ourselves in jail.
My road trip buddy was very impressed with the behavior of not only this kit, but the way the S harnessed the power. A little background on him; he is a part owner of a performance shop himself back home, and they work on mostly high power domestics (one of their shop cars was a 600 C5Z). For him to point out how easy that power is being delivered and the way it still goes where you point her under WOT, that was quite the compliment. As he takes her around the block and the compliments didn't stop there. When he shifted to 2nd, it startled him since the throw was so short. He asked me if it came stock like that. I just gave him a nod and a grin. I have a feeling that he will be miss the S when is trip is done and over with.
We had to return our rental at the skyharbor rental facility before leaving town. Here's a quick clip of what the S sounded like on the hwy (upload pending):
Here we are taping the front end up in orange as we turned orange from this raging desert heat ourselves:
I've taken N I-17 towards Flagstaff before, and that was a pleasant drive. This time around, we took N US87 to see a different part of this state. We stopped for lunch in Payson at a bar called Buffalo Bar & Grill. Hands down some of the best fries and top sirloin burger I've had. They supposedly butcher and ground the beef the same day. Highly recommended if you're in that neck of the woods.
Halfway in the National Forest, we smelled a strong electrical burn. Not good. We pulled over and tried to locate the source but everything seemed okay. The engine was pretty hot, but that was almost expected when it had to climb those hills in 100+ degree heat. Got back in the car and noticed my phone wasn't charging. Duh! The multi port charger shorted it out. The Note 2 must have been too much for it to handle along w/ the GoPro.
Just as the AZ region members predicted, the T-Storms flared up in the afternoon and the downpour was pretty ridiculous. The lighting was getting pretty intense as well since one smacked so close I swore I felt the shock wave through the soft top. Oh, and we lost the GoPro case that was mounted on the front windshield when we turned the wipers on
New Mexico
It's not good when you see rough roads sign on the interstate over and over again. We took N US491 from Gallup because we wanted to hit the mountains before dark. What we didn't know was that we were driving right through an Indian reservation for the next 121 miles doing 25-55mph. To make it even less fun (if that's even possible that that point), they labeled 3 segments of this road as "safety corridors" where the fines doubles for 20 miles. There's NOTHING out here except trash and a horrible excuse of a paved road. Honestly, the dirt next to the road looked smoother at times. Sad to see the Indian reservation out here in this God forsaken land. And what is up with the martini drinking problem there?
Signs like this one were all over the place:
If a sober person can't stay straight on this road, I think it will take care of the drunk one on it's own. What a brilliant way to keep them off the road eh....
Quick fill up at a gas station near Farmington (last 2 fill ups averaged 32.4mpg):
Thank you NM, I have a renewed appreciation of KS now.
Colorado
By the time we arrive close to CO, we had about 2 hours left in daylight. The fuel pump was starting to throw a fit with a very audible high pitch shrilling noise after 9 hrs. The elevation made us more wary about putting too much load since it's more prone to pinging as well as the uncertainly with the fuel pump condition.
I'm sure the Rio Grande National Forest would've been a real treat during the day. But it was a living nightmare to drive thru at night. The moon wasn't out, we were getting fatigued being on the road for 12 straight hours, and we're coming up on dangerous drop offs and wildlife. We decided to drop the top to keep us awake, but the temp plummeted down to 43 degree at one point. I must admit, being the passenger on this leg of the trip had some benefits. It's been a long time since I've been able to see the Milky Way w/ naked eye. It was also surreal to see the occasional 18 wheeler flying across the sky in front of you.
Here's a clip from 1 of 2 Wolf Creek Pass tunnel. We had to let off since the tune wasn't meant for this condition:
[media]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201544302270046&l=192400867828006844 1[/media]
Finally arrived at our Colorado Springs hotel at 2:45am MST after 16hrs.
Here's Colorado in the morning. It really is the perfect place to enjoy the S:
Kansas - Too uneventful to report aside from the mileage dropping to 24mpg. We shaved close to 45 min off the anticipated arrival time.
Odd behaviors
My friend is concern that the AFR is in the 12's, but filling it w/ 93 should make this tune a little safer. Unrelated to the kit itself, there's now a rattle/grinding noise from either the clutch, trans, or exhaust under zero to partial throttle being applied in 1st thru 4rd gear. It's pretty annoying but it doesn't seem to be hurting anything. Will need to check this out in case it was related to the clutch or exhaust upgrade.
The Verdict: Again, this kit seems to be really solid from the design and construction aspect, not to mention SoS being a very reputable company within the community. Because of that, I think it will probably turn out to be as reliable as some of the proven turbo kits out there (only time will tell). Chris and the entire SoS crew knows what they are doing. To me, what differentiates a good shop from a great one comes down to the way they handle and treat their clients when things don't go as planned. This project did run into some hiccups (i.e. the wrong housing was installed, which led to having to cancel my trip the day before I was scheduled to pick her up). But thru communication, honesty, and determination, Chris and company stepped up to the plate and delivered.
It will be nice to see how this kit performs over time.
Isn't August 13th next week???
