twokexlv6coupe
07-25-2007, 12:36 AM
Let me just say this first and foremost: If you are too lazy to read this article and dont feel like doing any research about turbo'ing your car, then you throw a turbo on... Karma will come back to haunt you :wink:
oh yea and.... I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING YOU DO TO YOUR CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unfortunatly, going turbo isn't just a bolt-on and go affair. That is how people blow their motors. It requires A LOT of research, patience, and yes, even some down-time of your car.
This will be a brief walk-thru introduction of the in's and out's of turbocharging.
To get an idea, go to http://turbokits.com/prelude_turbo_kits.html to see the majority of what is needed in a turbo kit. These kits can be a bit pricey, and sometimes wont come with absolutely everything to run the car RELIABLY, or sometimes will come with extra stuff that you dont need. IF you have alotta money (i know not alot of us do :rolleyes: :tongue: ) you can simply buy the entire kit, pay someone to install it, and your good to go. But I feel you dont learn nearly as much going this route, and if something goes wrong on the car, you dont know what it is or could possibly be.
ON THE OTHER HANDDD you could piece together your own kit which not only is mostly always cheaper, but you can get EXACTLY what you want. Sure it takes longer to get everything together, but is worth it in the end IMO :wink: You get to learn exactly what your buying and how it works.
What you'll need:
Turbocharger:
There are hundreds of types and sizes of turbo's. 14b's, 16g's, t3's, t4's, t3/t4 hybrids, gt35's, blowzilla's, etc etc. The bigger the turbo, the more power you can make, but will take longer to spool up. Contrary, smaller turbos will spool faster, but can't make as much power. A VERY popular type of turbo for mostly all Honda's are T3/T4 hybrids which are good from anywhere from 200-500hp. The most popular brands of turbos are Garrett, Turbonetics, and Precision.
There are also PLENTY of cheap knock-off/replica turbos floating around ebay made in China (no offense) which have been known to create EXTREMELYYY heated arguements over on H-T, but thats another story. The success rate with these turbos is right around 50%. 1/2 the people swear by them for years on end, while others crap out on them on the first start up.
Manifold:
Many types of designs: log, tubular, ramhorn, top mount, mini-me, sidewinder... Log mani's are cheap, and good to around 300hp because they don't flow as well as ramhorns or topmounts, which are much costlier.
Some manifold companies to look at:
Hermsfab
Spoolin Performance
South Florida Performance
JGS Tools
plus many many more, just search around for a bit. Some will only have one flange for the turbo, while others will also have a flange for an external wastegate. If your turbo doesn't have an internal wastegate, you need a manifold that has an external wastegate flange.
The other thing you have to worry about when picking manifolds is A/C and/or P/S compatible. Mostly all ramhorn and top mount mani's ARE NOT AC OR PS COMPATIBLE!!!! just something to keep in mind :tongue:
Wastegate:
This is what regulates the boost. Once the engine is pushing a certain pressure (determined by you) of exhaust gas, a diaphram opens and expels the excess air out the wastegate. There are either internal (which are attached directly to the turbo) or external (mount to the manifold). Popular EXTERNAL brands are Tial, Greddy, Deltagate, etc. You can get these everywhere. There are some knockoff wastegates, but if you feel like gambling the life on your engine over a $150 wastegate... your loss.
Blow off valve:
sssssssssss PPSSSSSHHHHHH This expels the excess air in the piping when you let off the throttle. MANY choices here. Tial, HKS, Greddy, Turbo XS, even some ebay knockoffs work. You can hear sound clips all over the net to determine which sound you like the best.
Intercooler:
Cools the air coming from the turbo into the engine. Cooler air = denser air = able to cram more air AND fuel into the cylinders, creating MOREE POWER!! These aren't necessary, but not only do they look ballin :cool: , they help protect your engine by keeping the IAT's (intake air temperatures) down, and they make more power. There are traditional front mount intercoolers, or side mounts which were used in DSM's, volvo's, mitsubishis, etc. Ebay intercoolers are fine for low boost applications, but once you start pushing some serious power, Precision, Johnny Racecar, and Spearco's are known for flowing better and cooling better.
Intercooler Piping:
Goes from the turbo to the IC inlet, then from the IC outlet to the throttle body, with the BOV mounted anywhere you please between the outlet and TB.
Injectors:
If your throwing more air into the cylinders, you need to also throw more fuel in which is where bigger injectors come into play. There are injectors ranging from 280cc to like.... 1200cc. The size will be determined by how much power you are looking to make.
Downpipe/Dumptube:
Expels the used exhaust gases from the turbo out the exhaust. Sometimes if you order a custom manifold, the maker can make a downpipe specifically for your car, since every manifold places the turbo at a different position, all of them needing different downpipes.
The dumptube is only needed with an external wastegate, and it expels the air from out of the WG. you can either reroute the dumptube into the downpipe which is much quieter, but if its not done right could disturb the airflow of the gases in the downpipe, loosing some power. OR you could have an open dumptube which creates more power, but is louder.
Fuel Pump:
You need to pump more fuel into the injectors, dont ya?? Your only choice is an intank walbro 255lph pump.
Oil Lines:
Need to keep that turbo lubricated dont ya?? we all love lub!!!! The easiest way to route the feed line is off the stock oil pressure sensor on the back of the block, up to a Tee fitting where the pressure sensor goes, the feed line to the turbo, and an oil pressure sender if you have an oil pressure gauge.
The return line simply attaches to the bottom of the turbo, down to a fitting welded onto the oil pan.
By far the EASIEST solution for oil lines is to go to stealthmodeperformance.com and get their oil line kit. Direct plug and play.
ENGINE MANAGEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By FARR the most important aspect of your turbo setup. The cheapest and by far least reliable solution is to get a Fuel Management Unit (FMU) which rises the pressure of the fuel for every pound of boost. VERY unreliable... just dont get it!!
Your other option is to get a chipped ECU, either from www.phearable.net, www.xenocron.com, or other places. This new ECU should hopefully come with a basemap which SHOULD allow you to drive your car VERY CAREFULLY to a competent tuner who will tune your car SO IT DOESN'T BLOW UP!!!
Lastly, there is a complete standalone engine management systems like AEM EMS, Hondata s300, Uberdata, etc, which are the most expensive, but are superior tuning
I cannot emphasis enough how important it is to get your car tuned.
MAP sensors:
aka, Manifold Absolute Pressure Sensor. The stock one is good for about 11-12 psi, but anything above that will require a 2 or 3 bar MAP sensor. Popular choices are GM and Motorola sensors.
Turbo Intake:
If you have absolutely NO room to run a filter at all, you could use some window screening with a t-bolt clamp securing it to the turbo. You surely wouldn't wanna suck that thing in :tongue:. Depending on how wide the screening is, you might wanna double up on it.
If you can run a filter, AEM/K&N dry filters have been known to make the most power, with no filter making less power, window screening even less, and those fluffy/foamy filters making the least amount of power, by far.
Fuel Rail:
The sure do look bling-bling, but the stockies are good for around ~600hp.
Gauges:
Boost, oil pressure, oil temp, EGT, narrow/wideband o2 sensor, fuel pressure, water temp.
you dont need all of these. the most common ones are boost, oil press, egt, and an o2/AFR gauge
Misc:
vaccum lines, gaskets, bolts, flanges, silicon connectors and clamps
By no means is this everything you need to know. There are thousands of thousands of other sites so you can learn and research more about this entire endeavor of yours. Some of the sites that helped me the most about learning all this are:
www.honda-tech.com
www.superhonda.com
www.homemadeturbo.com
www.cb7tuner.com
www.pgmfi.org
www.phearable.net
www.howstuffworks.com
to name a few
I'M TIRED OF WRITING!!!!!
if anyone else wants to add some stuff or something that i missed, feel free to throw it in :wink:
oh yea and.... I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING YOU DO TO YOUR CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unfortunatly, going turbo isn't just a bolt-on and go affair. That is how people blow their motors. It requires A LOT of research, patience, and yes, even some down-time of your car.
This will be a brief walk-thru introduction of the in's and out's of turbocharging.
To get an idea, go to http://turbokits.com/prelude_turbo_kits.html to see the majority of what is needed in a turbo kit. These kits can be a bit pricey, and sometimes wont come with absolutely everything to run the car RELIABLY, or sometimes will come with extra stuff that you dont need. IF you have alotta money (i know not alot of us do :rolleyes: :tongue: ) you can simply buy the entire kit, pay someone to install it, and your good to go. But I feel you dont learn nearly as much going this route, and if something goes wrong on the car, you dont know what it is or could possibly be.
ON THE OTHER HANDDD you could piece together your own kit which not only is mostly always cheaper, but you can get EXACTLY what you want. Sure it takes longer to get everything together, but is worth it in the end IMO :wink: You get to learn exactly what your buying and how it works.
What you'll need:
Turbocharger:
There are hundreds of types and sizes of turbo's. 14b's, 16g's, t3's, t4's, t3/t4 hybrids, gt35's, blowzilla's, etc etc. The bigger the turbo, the more power you can make, but will take longer to spool up. Contrary, smaller turbos will spool faster, but can't make as much power. A VERY popular type of turbo for mostly all Honda's are T3/T4 hybrids which are good from anywhere from 200-500hp. The most popular brands of turbos are Garrett, Turbonetics, and Precision.
There are also PLENTY of cheap knock-off/replica turbos floating around ebay made in China (no offense) which have been known to create EXTREMELYYY heated arguements over on H-T, but thats another story. The success rate with these turbos is right around 50%. 1/2 the people swear by them for years on end, while others crap out on them on the first start up.
Manifold:
Many types of designs: log, tubular, ramhorn, top mount, mini-me, sidewinder... Log mani's are cheap, and good to around 300hp because they don't flow as well as ramhorns or topmounts, which are much costlier.
Some manifold companies to look at:
Hermsfab
Spoolin Performance
South Florida Performance
JGS Tools
plus many many more, just search around for a bit. Some will only have one flange for the turbo, while others will also have a flange for an external wastegate. If your turbo doesn't have an internal wastegate, you need a manifold that has an external wastegate flange.
The other thing you have to worry about when picking manifolds is A/C and/or P/S compatible. Mostly all ramhorn and top mount mani's ARE NOT AC OR PS COMPATIBLE!!!! just something to keep in mind :tongue:
Wastegate:
This is what regulates the boost. Once the engine is pushing a certain pressure (determined by you) of exhaust gas, a diaphram opens and expels the excess air out the wastegate. There are either internal (which are attached directly to the turbo) or external (mount to the manifold). Popular EXTERNAL brands are Tial, Greddy, Deltagate, etc. You can get these everywhere. There are some knockoff wastegates, but if you feel like gambling the life on your engine over a $150 wastegate... your loss.
Blow off valve:
sssssssssss PPSSSSSHHHHHH This expels the excess air in the piping when you let off the throttle. MANY choices here. Tial, HKS, Greddy, Turbo XS, even some ebay knockoffs work. You can hear sound clips all over the net to determine which sound you like the best.
Intercooler:
Cools the air coming from the turbo into the engine. Cooler air = denser air = able to cram more air AND fuel into the cylinders, creating MOREE POWER!! These aren't necessary, but not only do they look ballin :cool: , they help protect your engine by keeping the IAT's (intake air temperatures) down, and they make more power. There are traditional front mount intercoolers, or side mounts which were used in DSM's, volvo's, mitsubishis, etc. Ebay intercoolers are fine for low boost applications, but once you start pushing some serious power, Precision, Johnny Racecar, and Spearco's are known for flowing better and cooling better.
Intercooler Piping:
Goes from the turbo to the IC inlet, then from the IC outlet to the throttle body, with the BOV mounted anywhere you please between the outlet and TB.
Injectors:
If your throwing more air into the cylinders, you need to also throw more fuel in which is where bigger injectors come into play. There are injectors ranging from 280cc to like.... 1200cc. The size will be determined by how much power you are looking to make.
Downpipe/Dumptube:
Expels the used exhaust gases from the turbo out the exhaust. Sometimes if you order a custom manifold, the maker can make a downpipe specifically for your car, since every manifold places the turbo at a different position, all of them needing different downpipes.
The dumptube is only needed with an external wastegate, and it expels the air from out of the WG. you can either reroute the dumptube into the downpipe which is much quieter, but if its not done right could disturb the airflow of the gases in the downpipe, loosing some power. OR you could have an open dumptube which creates more power, but is louder.
Fuel Pump:
You need to pump more fuel into the injectors, dont ya?? Your only choice is an intank walbro 255lph pump.
Oil Lines:
Need to keep that turbo lubricated dont ya?? we all love lub!!!! The easiest way to route the feed line is off the stock oil pressure sensor on the back of the block, up to a Tee fitting where the pressure sensor goes, the feed line to the turbo, and an oil pressure sender if you have an oil pressure gauge.
The return line simply attaches to the bottom of the turbo, down to a fitting welded onto the oil pan.
By far the EASIEST solution for oil lines is to go to stealthmodeperformance.com and get their oil line kit. Direct plug and play.
ENGINE MANAGEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By FARR the most important aspect of your turbo setup. The cheapest and by far least reliable solution is to get a Fuel Management Unit (FMU) which rises the pressure of the fuel for every pound of boost. VERY unreliable... just dont get it!!
Your other option is to get a chipped ECU, either from www.phearable.net, www.xenocron.com, or other places. This new ECU should hopefully come with a basemap which SHOULD allow you to drive your car VERY CAREFULLY to a competent tuner who will tune your car SO IT DOESN'T BLOW UP!!!
Lastly, there is a complete standalone engine management systems like AEM EMS, Hondata s300, Uberdata, etc, which are the most expensive, but are superior tuning
I cannot emphasis enough how important it is to get your car tuned.
MAP sensors:
aka, Manifold Absolute Pressure Sensor. The stock one is good for about 11-12 psi, but anything above that will require a 2 or 3 bar MAP sensor. Popular choices are GM and Motorola sensors.
Turbo Intake:
If you have absolutely NO room to run a filter at all, you could use some window screening with a t-bolt clamp securing it to the turbo. You surely wouldn't wanna suck that thing in :tongue:. Depending on how wide the screening is, you might wanna double up on it.
If you can run a filter, AEM/K&N dry filters have been known to make the most power, with no filter making less power, window screening even less, and those fluffy/foamy filters making the least amount of power, by far.
Fuel Rail:
The sure do look bling-bling, but the stockies are good for around ~600hp.
Gauges:
Boost, oil pressure, oil temp, EGT, narrow/wideband o2 sensor, fuel pressure, water temp.
you dont need all of these. the most common ones are boost, oil press, egt, and an o2/AFR gauge
Misc:
vaccum lines, gaskets, bolts, flanges, silicon connectors and clamps
By no means is this everything you need to know. There are thousands of thousands of other sites so you can learn and research more about this entire endeavor of yours. Some of the sites that helped me the most about learning all this are:
www.honda-tech.com
www.superhonda.com
www.homemadeturbo.com
www.cb7tuner.com
www.pgmfi.org
www.phearable.net
www.howstuffworks.com
to name a few
I'M TIRED OF WRITING!!!!!
if anyone else wants to add some stuff or something that i missed, feel free to throw it in :wink: