Did you end up turning it up since the last we talked? If you could tell me the miles that'd be great you said 4k in Jan/Feb I believe

Damn sorry to hear that I remember reading your houston we have a problem thread which has made me hesitant to get those vs a reliable borgwarner turbo. I know the Z57 has a ball bearing and I haven't heard of any failures so maybe that design is truly more reliable than the Z54s.

 

Yeah, definitely not going to get another in house from them. I was tempted to get a Z57, but I still don't know after these two.

I may rebuild it with a supercore, but I haven't decided where to go with it yet. Need to wait for my bonus in July before I have spare cash, so I have time to plan it out.

 

Yeah I don't blame you! Hearing your 2nd fail ends the thought of the Z54. The z57 I haven't heard of any failing on the forums or FB groups but yeah I think I will be considering the EFR series or possibly the S257 unless I just send the Z57. I was only looking to add a bit more power than my K04 since its the original turbo.

 

That's a biiiggg turbo. Anyone know someone that has ran an S257? I can't imagine that thing spools in any sort of timely manner. I know the older S259's were laggy as all hell.

I think I remember S252 guys being in the 3500 to 4000 rpm range for full boost. Tuning obviously plays a large roll.

 

Yeah I just watched a video to understand the compressor maps of turbos and it seems that I wouldn't be really utilizing it much at the power range I am looking for. So it looks like an EFR will be my best option for performance and reliability

 

I went Z54 since they just got the Z57 back in stock recently and I didn't want to miss the season lol. I wanted to go Z57 but decided that I am going with a tubular manifold set up later so the Z54 will get me by for now. I have 2 ECUs so I'll have a 93 pump tune for mini road trips and the other will be my E47 tune.

I am just waiting to send ZZP my ECU so they can send my gaskets needed for install then I'll give you a honest review.


ZZP Z54 BNIB

 

That's for my HHR SS and damn am I glad to see some action on this forum again! 😎👌

 

there is 2 cars I know of running a 257 in my area. Ones tomj77 (haven’t seen his car since he went full out with the build. Not sure what it’s spool characteristics are like on an lnf.
then there is my best bud Bluelightning. He on an lsj though. Def a bit laggy. But that’s coming from a 252 which was more responsive but would fall off at like 6k
the 257 takes it right to 8k at 30psi. Pulls very hard. Can’t have it all. An efr would be a better option for those running an lnf and wanting to make over 400whp.
im happy with my z54. I’m at the limits of traction in second gear with the boost ramped and turnt down a touch. I like having some bottom end. 6758 is definitely better all around but you gotta $$$ to play.
I just wanted something with a bit more potential and my stock turbo died.

I do miss super low end torque in traffic but it’s not exactly laggy. But at least 70-100 more whp and pulls right to 6500rpm (probably higher if head work was done) it’s a great balance.
Next car won’t be a turbo 4banger that’s for sure!

 

Sounds good will be following !
Me too i've been on and off but I am back for good

How many KMs on the Z54? When did you purchase it? Good to hear you've enjoyed it

 

I’m not exactly sure on km. Somewhere between 15-20k km
installed late summer two years ago.
hasn’t given me any issues or concerns *knock on wood

 

nice man. Any chance you have any vids of it spooling?

 

I’ll try to remember to take one next time I drive it. Maybe later this week.

 

There's a few videos on youtube and stuff with Z54 but none that i've seen with a Z57

 

Does he still have that S252 lying around? What RPM did it start coming alive?

I've been contemplating swapping to one... I want something more responsive down low.

I'd love to move to a GT2871RS... but that would require changing my downpipe setup, and I'm not sure I want to do that much work.

 

So I went back and redid my math. First Z54 lasted ~13k mi and the second about 14k mi

 

Gotcha so approx the same. Did the 2nd one go the same way? What is your next one gonna be?

 

Yeah, bearings went and shaft play is rediculous now. Fortunately this didn't send as much shavings through after looking into it.

I'm contemplating doing a supercore if I can, otherwise most likely an actual EFR.

 

Well Im new here and i wanted to try and get as much Info as I can . i just bought the z57 and i was looking to get like 400 - 420hp out of my Bolt with stock motor is this achievable or do i need to change the valve springs or would i be fine ? i have full bolt ons and plan on setting up a dyno tune after installed

 

Does the Z54 come with the ZFR housing?

Valve springs would be beneficial for going to 7k for redline to avoid valve float

 

no he doesn’t sold it a few years ago. Not sure exactly where it spoiled exactly. Wasn’t nearly as laggy as the 257. However def more responsive than 259 with more power capability.

 

It won’t be a problem at all if you have good fuel. E47/ e85 or meth injection
Going higher than 400whp will be getting close to maxing out your stock fuel system. There is fixes for that (meth being one of them)
the motor itself is fairly safe to mid 4’s some hit 500 with a good
tune and good fuel.
valve springs and zzp fuel cam can get you there (may has well go stage 2 cams if you go that route)

 

I didn’t bother trying to video it as it’s hard to get the tac and boost in one shot. But I did some testing on the way to work. Basically from 1800rpm in vacuum. Rolling (not stomping on) it hits 5psi by about 2900rpm and that’s when you start to feel it. Shoots right up from there. Makes okay torque from about 2k (no ko4 thoigh hah)
its ramped smooth a little bit at my request to my tuner. I’m sure it could be made to spool slightly faster.

 

My PT5557 starts to pick up around 3200 rpm, but I don't think it hits full boost for another 500 rpm or so. I need to look at old logs from a few years back. I feel like it actually hit full boost sooner on 93 compared to now on E85.

 

E burns allot cooler. May be spoiling a bit slower because of that. But I’m sure you can make up for that and then some with added timing

 

That was my thought too - the alleged cooler burn. I do have a DEI Titanium turbo blanket and fully wrapped exhaust from turbo to tail pipe and my EGT's aren't really low though. My browsing of the internet seemed to indicate that E "should" spool faster since you have more of it, the O2 that's in it, and some other BS - but I'm not sure I trust/believe any of it, because most of what I've seen has been random people on forums.

I run a decent amount of timing on spool up (starts out in the 40's and tapers down to mid-20's); I'm sure it could be improved - I mostly just concentrated on AFR during my tuning phase.