Fluid MotorUnion

Happy Halloween! Which happens to be the perfect day to put this one out, because this turbo V6 Camaro turned into one of the scariest jobs we’ve had in the shop. Two other shops had already walked away from it, and after three weeks and 35 tune files, I’m starting to understand why. Every time I thought we’d found the way out, something else jumped out at us, and the last one was hiding in cylinder 3.

Part 2 is up. Before you watch, where would you have stopped?

6 days ago | [YT] | 3

Fluid MotorUnion

For years I had a trick for engines burning oil that the dealer was never gonna offer you... a piston soak, where you pour a cleaner down the spark plug holes and let it sit on the pistons overnight to free up rings that are stuck in carbon. The cleaner I always used was GM's X66P, the green stuff, and guys used to buy it by the gallon for $40, watched it climb to $200, and then it just disappeared.

Now I've got a Mercedes with a misfire that's way too new to have this problem and a Mini that's drinking oil, and I don't have the fluid anymore. So I went hunting through old safety sheets, dead part numbers, boat dealers and forum threads to find out where it went and if anything out there can replace it.
The video just dropped!!! tell me what you use for carbon cleaning, because if there's something I haven't tried, I wanna know about it.

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 13

Fluid MotorUnion

Y'all have been asking for a VQ video for a long time, so let me be straight with you. This still isn't the full VQ build. That one's coming someday, headers back, done our way.

What this is: a customer's 370Z NISMO where we only touched a small section in the middle of the car, and you can hear exactly how much that one area was holding it back. Along the way I break down the one X-pipe I almost never put on a car, why it makes things raspy, and what we use instead.

Watch it, then tell me two things in the comments. Did we kill the VQ trumpet with just a midsection? And what VQ car do you want to see us do a full system on next?

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 11

Fluid MotorUnion

Comment count update on the Kingbolen video: we're at 228 comments.

The Ediag Elite is already going to one of you. At 250 comments the S608 goes out, and at 500 the K8 Pro does. We're 23 away from the next one.

Tell us what you drive and what you'd use a scan tool for. Copy-paste comments and spam don't count, and winners get a reply from us with an email to reach out to.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 11

Fluid MotorUnion

We brought out the Kingbolen lineup expecting to torch it on an Audi RS6. That's not exactly how it went.

The new video is up now, from the $74.99 Ediag Elite all the way to the K8 Pro, plus a security gateway unlock on the RS6. Watch it through and leave a real comment, because we might be giving a few of these tools away. 👀

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 3

Fluid MotorUnion

New video's up. A turbo V6 Camaro with a kit that honestly doesn't look half bad, and finishing it was supposed to be pretty smooth. It wasn't. A screaming turbo, an exhaust hitting the chassis, a software bug, and one thing under the car I'm a little embarrassed I missed. This is one of the most revealing diags we've done, so if you've ever wondered what really happens when you turbo a car and the plan falls apart, this is it. Would you have caught it?

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Fluid MotorUnion

Three videos in and you still haven't really heard JP's supercharged V6 Charger. That changes today.

This was the most ambitious exhaust we've ever built. Long bank merges, a valve, three pipes in the center, quad canisters... all under an AWD car with no room to spare. Today we put it on the dyno and take it on the street, and you get to see what happens when an FMU build doesn't go to plan.

It might be the most revealing video we've ever made. Full video is live now. 🎸

1 month ago | [YT] | 12

Fluid MotorUnion

New video is up.

A CLS63 AMG came in on a tune that was commanding more timing than the engine could use, had no functional emissions monitors, and had a burble calibration the owner wanted turned down. Three revisions later: 549 whp (up from 529), emissions compliant with all OBD-II monitors setting and passing, and a controlled burble the owner actually likes.

This one covers everything from pre-tune inspection to the dyno results, including how we gained 20 whp by reducing timing and adding boost. If you have ever wondered whether your tune is actually doing what your tuner says it is, this video answers that question.

Link in bio or tap the notification.

1 month ago | [YT] | 4

Fluid MotorUnion

This Saturday, September 19th, come see us at Iron Gate Motor Condos CARTOBERFEST judging the car show. If you're anywhere near the Chicagoland area, come through Naperville from 11am to 3pm, right off I-88 on Ferry Road.

Iron Gate is one of those places where condo owners open their garages and you're looking at everything from vintage Porsches to modern hypercars just sitting there in climate-controlled units. It's pretty wild. On top of the car show and awards, they're doing a full Oktoberfest setup with bratwursts, Bavarian pretzels, Two Brothers and Krombacher on tap, and Die Musikmeisters playing live polka. All of it benefits Cal's Angels, a pediatric cancer foundation, so you're eating brats and looking at cool cars for a good cause.

If you watch our channel then you know our shop is right there at Iron Gate, so swing by Fluid MotorUnion while you're at it. We'll have the doors open.

Now, the other thing. We didn't make it out to LSFest this year, which means we never got to announce the scan tool giveaway winner. So we're doing it this weekend instead. We just crossed 500 comments on that video, which is cool, but we're still a long way from 1,000. You never know though, so if you haven't commented yet, go do that. https://youtu.be/2FO9W7oa5fA?si=C9w_n... Share the video with somebody who could use a free scan tool. The more comments, the better your odds stay, and we're pulling a name this weekend regardless.

Tickets are on Eventbrite (card only, no cash at the door). General parking is around $22, show car entry is about $39 if you want to bring yours out. Link and more info below.

🎟️ www.eventbrite.com/e/iron-gate-motor-condos-associ…

1 month ago | [YT] | 41

Fluid MotorUnion

We didn't make it to LS Fest. The car we were going to drive decided the fuel gauge was optional and we weren't about to find out how accurate that was somewhere in Kentucky.

So instead of that video, I spent the weekend finishing something I've been wanting to put together for a while. We charge almost $700 for pre-purchase inspections. Most people hear that number and go, that's a lot. Then I hear from the same people that they can't even find shops that offer them anymore. Both of those things are true, and both of them have the same explanation.

This one's a full PPI on a $189,500 Python Green 992 GTS with a 7-speed manual, but the video isn't really about the Porsche. It's about why the inspection costs what it costs, why shops stopped doing them, and what I think you actually need from whoever does yours.

1 month ago | [YT] | 8