so i'm just delving into the world of turboed e28's and have come up with a starting point for my turbo project. feel free to tell me i'm completely wrong or chime in with might work better (mind you i am working on a tight budget and will daily this car when completed).
The shop that'll be doing the install told me that a turbo from a 2nd. generation dodge ram would be the cheapest and a fairly efficient way to start. I have a 9/83' 533 with the 008 ecu (not sure if it has the socket required) and am looking into putting the D'Sylva chip in it, and if that won't be efficient, then i'll install megasquirt. from what i've read about turbo set ups, you don't need to run an intercooler if you are running low psi, so i've decided to (for now) not run one since i'll only be looking for a max 10psi. if you think i should run an intercooler, please correct me.
As far as the differential/gearing is concerned, i'll keep my 3.46lsd because it seems to be the middle ground between the 500whp highway killers and the drag racing guys.
so far that's what i've decided as my building block and i now look to the turbo guys for help and input. thanks
new to turbos (beware, 533 noob)
The 3.46 will work for low boost. You wont have much choice but to gear it up once you start to increase the boost.
An intercooler is an option at lower boost but that doesn't mean it doesn't do any good. Might as well do it right the first time.
Turbocharging and a "tight budget" is probably a bad combination. The only way to do that is to buy a worked out kit and keep the boost down. The ongoing costs of a home made turbo system can really accumulate.
An intercooler is an option at lower boost but that doesn't mean it doesn't do any good. Might as well do it right the first time.
Turbocharging and a "tight budget" is probably a bad combination. The only way to do that is to buy a worked out kit and keep the boost down. The ongoing costs of a home made turbo system can really accumulate.
I will elaborate on a couple of Dan's points. An intercooler benefits any system and is necessary on higher boost (>8-10psi) systems. As for engine management, I think you are going to find that your unchippable ecu is going to limit its effectiveness. You could run a RRFPR for low boost and the timing will probably be ok, or run something like a MSD BTM, but after buying all that stuff, you could have put it towards MS.
As for gearing, the 3.46 will work nicely until you hit the 350ish whp mark where you will probably want something lower (<=3.25).
As for having a shop build a custom system - I wouldn't do it unless you get an explicit written estimate of the cost involved. You will likely find that it would have been cheaper to just buy a TCD kit and install it yourself. I'm not going to say a Holset HX35 turbo is a terrible choice (if a little small on the compressor side), but I think there are better options. I would also be careful as to what the shop recommends as they may or may not have your best interest in mind, only making money.
As for gearing, the 3.46 will work nicely until you hit the 350ish whp mark where you will probably want something lower (<=3.25).
As for having a shop build a custom system - I wouldn't do it unless you get an explicit written estimate of the cost involved. You will likely find that it would have been cheaper to just buy a TCD kit and install it yourself. I'm not going to say a Holset HX35 turbo is a terrible choice (if a little small on the compressor side), but I think there are better options. I would also be careful as to what the shop recommends as they may or may not have your best interest in mind, only making money.
thanks for the input. The ram turbo did seem a little small and i've been looking at some on TCD's website and might end up buying the kit from them. The intercooler, after reading your opinions on it, will be worked into the system right off the bat. On the side of potential, if i get around 350whp i'll be happy with that, so i might end up switching to a 3.25 or staying with the 3.46. One thing i'm not sure about is what i've read in a couple other threads on the subject is what a "RRFPR " is. Another option might be looking for one of the 008 ecu's from a later 84', would that swap into my car using the same harness?
yes dan you are correct the b32 is 9:1 compression.
I personally havent boosted past 7.5 psi but even at that the car is powerful beyond anything you have felt with your car. Im running a really large turbo, almost too large for what i have but its kinda nice right now, i can drive out of boost all the time on my shitty winter roads. The car still has no traction with the 3.25 open diff, but on dry roads its really nice and if racing its not a problem reving it to 4 grand and launching, puts me in to boost decently but takes a bit of getting used to, to low of rpm and the car doesnt get off quick too much and it spins, and when it spins what ever you do dont try the old let off and go trick, it just makes the car violent and hits boost again like a freight train.
heres my 2 bits if you are going to turbo, intercooling will be the cheapest part of it really, if you dont mind a bit of elbow grease, FMIC's are quite cheap and piping kits(like brad used) or making your own piping (like i did) are both cheap. The most expensive thing that you will probably buy will be your turbo and if you go with something used, you risk the chance of a rebuild or replace, especially if you got a holset from some guys truck that ran it hard and shut it off hot. If you do go with tcd kit dont try to buy another turbo else where for the tcd mani, if im not mistaken its an on center housing.
If i could give you some advice, get a plan, take your time and do it right the first time, if you have a plan to later make it better, dont make it better just take more time and gather your stuff. And read as much as you can.
I personally havent boosted past 7.5 psi but even at that the car is powerful beyond anything you have felt with your car. Im running a really large turbo, almost too large for what i have but its kinda nice right now, i can drive out of boost all the time on my shitty winter roads. The car still has no traction with the 3.25 open diff, but on dry roads its really nice and if racing its not a problem reving it to 4 grand and launching, puts me in to boost decently but takes a bit of getting used to, to low of rpm and the car doesnt get off quick too much and it spins, and when it spins what ever you do dont try the old let off and go trick, it just makes the car violent and hits boost again like a freight train.
heres my 2 bits if you are going to turbo, intercooling will be the cheapest part of it really, if you dont mind a bit of elbow grease, FMIC's are quite cheap and piping kits(like brad used) or making your own piping (like i did) are both cheap. The most expensive thing that you will probably buy will be your turbo and if you go with something used, you risk the chance of a rebuild or replace, especially if you got a holset from some guys truck that ran it hard and shut it off hot. If you do go with tcd kit dont try to buy another turbo else where for the tcd mani, if im not mistaken its an on center housing.
If i could give you some advice, get a plan, take your time and do it right the first time, if you have a plan to later make it better, dont make it better just take more time and gather your stuff. And read as much as you can.
so from what i gather, getting the megasquirt, a new turbo, adding the intercooler first off are all things that i've confirmed now that i must do. In a matter of 1/2 a day, i've learned so much more. I'll probably try to find some more pictures of intercooler mounting points, as i've read that the dinan location behind the passenger headlights isn't the most efficient. I've seen some people mount them in front of the radiator but i'm curious as to what kind of cutting they did to fit them. And if i do run the intercooler in that position, would it be alright to run an air-air intercooler? i've read while searching on this board that with the m30 it's better to run a water-air. I'd also like to know what type of hoses would be best to install as i've read that the stock rubber boots don't hold up as well as spearco hoses, are there any other types out there that you guys recommend?
Thanks again guys.
Thanks again guys.
take a look at my build page theres alot of pics on there of how i did it. me and brad both did front mounts but both of ours are different. He has a/c still and i dont he has a front spoiler and i just have the valance. The piping on mine is a tight fit right between the tow loops and the bumper mounts then i trimmed off the rain seals on the bottom of the battery tray and routed my piping through the bottom of the battery tray between the wheel well and the battery. Either way i have lots of pics up you can check them out if you need more i can take more.
Big Bronze Rim wrote:Ya, he can. I calculate it right at 8.08:1.oxen wrote:can he put a b35 head on his engine an lower his cr?
if he uses that along with a b35 3.5l engine harness an ecu you think that would help wit the tune ability. an with bigger vales an ports it would make it easier to get to the power level he is lookin to obtain? im kinda asking question to educate my self as well .
yeah obviously putting the b35 head on a factory controlled motor would not really be a good up grade but putting it on something like my motor with ms would be great, only thing i am worried about when doing this is that dropping the cr down from 9 -> 8 would hinder my ability to spool my large turbo..... but maybe the better flow would help things.... what do you guys think...
What turbo are you using?bornagain wrote:yeah obviously putting the b35 head on a factory controlled motor would not really be a good up grade but putting it on something like my motor with ms would be great, only thing i am worried about when doing this is that dropping the cr down from 9 -> 8 would hinder my ability to spool my large turbo..... but maybe the better flow would help things.... what do you guys think...
GT3571 with a 1.18 exhaust a/r. right now it starts to spool around 2700 in 3rd gear in first it takes till about 3200, final boost at 7.5lbs is at about 3500 in 3rd and about 4100 in first. its got more to go but i havent upped the boost yet. too many tuning issues to fix first and now its winter and i love the fact i can stay out of boost driving all the time.
That's actually pretty decent spool for such a large AR housing. It is a T4 isn't it? A drop in CR will typically hurt spool a bit and and I don't think in this case the additional head flow and cam (which is already similar to the b32 cam) will offset the change. However, I don't think it will be that pronounced. I went from 8.5:1 to 9:1 when I built the sr20det in my 240sx and the change in boost threshold wasn't noticeable. Out of curiosity, what gear ratio are you running? Changing from a 3.73 to a 3.25 in my car lowered boost threshold by almost 500rpm which is a significant change that even required I retune part of my VE table.
You are still having a lot of tuning issues? Jeez!bornagain wrote:GT3571 with a 1.18 exhaust a/r. right now it starts to spool around 2700 in 3rd gear in first it takes till about 3200, final boost at 7.5lbs is at about 3500 in 3rd and about 4100 in first. its got more to go but i havent upped the boost yet. too many tuning issues to fix first and now its winter and i love the fact i can stay out of boost driving all the time.
no i am not having tuning issues now its just usless to try to tune in boost now, for the fact that if i hit it the car just spins. The housing is actually an interesting one its the bolt pattern and o/d of a T04 but the openings are the size of a t03 i do have a fairly true split housing design as well. the only place the mani's merge is at the wastegate and i tried to keep the split as close to the wastegate as possible. And the angle at which the wastegate pipes come off the mani are at about 90 degrees to the pipes so it has virtually no robbing affect,
Its a 533 so as far as i know its already a 3.25 but i want the lsd cause im pretty sure only the auto's had the lsd, why i dont know but that is what my search came up with and im running the g260/6.
My head is already pretty heavily ported on the exhaust side, i took off almost 1/8" on every runner, i only did the exhaust side cause i wanted the additional efficiency with the large turbo and i polished the runners ass swell.
Its a 533 so as far as i know its already a 3.25 but i want the lsd cause im pretty sure only the auto's had the lsd, why i dont know but that is what my search came up with and im running the g260/6.
My head is already pretty heavily ported on the exhaust side, i took off almost 1/8" on every runner, i only did the exhaust side cause i wanted the additional efficiency with the large turbo and i polished the runners ass swell.