Homemade 1600 SINGLE draw through turbo combo and results

[MO Looker]

I gotta say, this is too cool

My buddy wants a carbed turbo setup for his baja eventually... I've only messed with FI tuning, but I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with a formula very similar to yours. Very inspiring!

All I can say is DO IT!

Seriously here....I tuned my 390 Holley back in March '07 and that's where it's stayed ever since.
The only time it'll "hiccup" is when the intake ices up (COLD days/nights) but the issues is not one that demands re-jetting, in my opinion.
I don't drive in the icing conditions enough to warrant fiddling with it.

Have any questions? PM or e-mail me.

[MO Looker]

Hey folks,

Well, as of late I built a new header for my set-up which made a night-and-day improvement in power and boost rise and the sound?
It's downright vicious!
The "1600 single that won't die" sounds like a 2332 now!

Today I did something I've been wanting to try for a LONG time: RACE FUEL.
I went down to the local race fuel depot and picked up 10 gallons of 110 leaded.
5 gallons of 110 and 5 gallons of 93 later, I'm on the road.

Good God......
I twisted the timing retard back from 1.5/lb. of boost to .5!
Incredible.
I KNEW it wanted more timing but I couldn't with the straight 93 I had been running.

The resulting approx. 102 octane can withstand much more than I'm throwing at it right now.

BUT.....our weather went to hell in a bucket within about 4 hours: from 72 to 30 and heavy snow!?!?!?!
Welcome to St. Louis, MO ladies and gentlemen.

The next warm spell, I plan to bump the boost back up to 18 (It was there before but made me sweat a LOT on pump fuel) and maybe even add a little more timing.
FYI-I'm at 22.5 degrees at 15 lbs. boost on the blend. On 93, I was 10 degrees total!

Come on spring!

[SiQDiZ]

So when are you going to dyno this beast? You can also use a innovate lambda sensor to fine tune your setup whilst experimenting with different fuel types. Might be more to win than you think

[buguy]

Got any pics of the new header? Love to see what everyone is building. I am going to build my own header to see if I can get it to spool quicker and am searching for ideas .

[MO Looker]

Got any pics of the new header? Love to see what everyone is building. I am going to build my own header to see if I can get it to spool quicker and am searching for ideas .

I posted pics of it in this thread about 8 posts back or so (page 3).

I cannot emphasize enough what a striking difference it made over the "header from hell" I had before.
Both in performance and sound.

[MO Looker]

Hi folks,

Here's the latest:
First, the motor is still going STRONG with no oil control issues and the plugs are showing nothing but great things going on in the chamber.

Drum roll, please.....
Race fuel is a beautiful thing.
I blended 93 premium no-lead with 110 leaded at 50/50.
That comes out to 102/103 octane.
And OOOOH, that sweet smell of race fuel. Ahhh.....

First on the agenda-more timing:
I slowly took away timing retard.
The combo was retarded to 10 degrees total at full boost: 1.25 degrees per lb. of boost-the BTM maxes out at 20 degrees total retard.
With the blend?
I am at 1/2 degree per lb.!
So it's now at 22.5 degrees!!
Truth be told, I could probably add MORE timing.
Let's just say the motor LOVED it.

Next, more boost:
I added 2 lbs., from 15 to 17.
Incredible.
NO detonation or any signs of it.
And, as before, the motor loved it with NO ill effects to report.

That being said, the 103 octane can easily support more boost.
Which I may try as soon as the weather warms up again.

Last but not least, I wrapped the header.
This is just an experiment.
I had the wrap laying around for YEARS (found a brand new roll in the dumpster at work!).
We all know that a hot exhaust is a fast-moving exhaust and take a look at my header......think the exhaust cools a bit before it hits the turbo? OH YEAH.
So my combo should be the "poster child" for header wrap power improvement. ha ha ha
Again....waiting for the weather to break to test it.

[panel]

I am at 1/2 degree per lb.!
So it's now at 22.5 degrees!!
Truth be told, I could probably add MORE timing.
Let's just say the motor LOVED it.

Next, more boost:
I added 2 lbs., from 15 to 17.

Just wondered what your AFR was at this setting?

[MO Looker]

I am at 1/2 degree per lb.!
So it's now at 22.5 degrees!!
Truth be told, I could probably add MORE timing.
Let's just say the motor LOVED it.

Next, more boost:
I added 2 lbs., from 15 to 17.

Just wondered what your AFR was at this setting?

I can't give you an exact number, the only A/F gauge I have is my trusty Auto Meter 2 1/16" old school LED meter.

It stays above the mid-point of the green zone (Rich) at hard throttle.

[Codeman]

Man I have got to make a trip up there and check that thing out. I am getting ready to get my buggy back on the road for spring. Turbo will happen this year.

[MO Looker]

Man I have got to make a trip up there and check that thing out. I am getting ready to get my buggy back on the road for spring. Turbo will happen this year.

You're more than welcome to come by and check it out!

I'm right off I-55.

[Codeman]

I'll give you a yell next time I ma headed that way.

[MO Looker]

Hey folks,

20 PSI!!

I took the buggy out yesterday (2/7).

A few notes:
Race fuel and turbos are made for each other (I'm running 93/110 blend....about 103 octane).
Header wrap WORKS!
I removed the exhaust elbow from the turbo and smoothed out the inside where the turbine discharge and wastegate merge. MUCH smoother.

So how does this all work?
Positively psycho.

How is it different from before?
First stab at the throttle from a 2nd gear roll netted TWENTY pounds of boost!
Before the header wrap and exhaust mod, I was making "only" FIFTEEN at the same wastegate setting.
That scared the stuffing out of me so I nailed it again knowing what to expect to watch the Air/Fuel gauge-it was mid-ways into the rich side so all was well there.
And I listened for any detonation. NONE.

All kidding aside, at 20 lbs. it's a real handful.

SO I pulled over into a parking lot on the highway and dialed the Grainger valve back one turn so now it's 18 lbs. of worry-free boost.

It's OH so easy to turn up the boost on this thing....must resist...must resist.....

[Wayne Sombrero]

So, you're telling me that it's possible to make 20lbs on my T25? What's the trim on that turbo you've got? Another question, I'm working on my setup right now and I was wondering if you could posssibly "turn" a turbo so that the intake and exhaust inlets/outlets turn a different way. Kind of a noob question, but what the hey.

Brad

[MO Looker]

So, you're telling me that it's possible to make 20lbs on my T25? What's the trim on that turbo you've got? Another question, I'm working on my setup right now and I was wondering if you could posssibly "turn" a turbo so that the intake and exhaust inlets/outlets turn a different way. Kind of a noob question, but what the hey.

Brad

Hi Brad,

My T25:
Bought used off of Ebay from a Mitsubishi Eclipse ('95-98, I believe) and best I can tell, it is a "45 trim".
Got it cheap due to previous owner reaching it's flow limits.

T25 boost limit?:
Sure the T25 can make 20PSI+.
BUT.....by my calculations, it falls completely out it's efficiency range at 25 and starts doing nothing but building heat and flirting with failure to to stratospheric speeds (172,000+ RPM!).

20 PSI is my limit:
I can tell you that I won't go any higher than 20PSI due to the long block limitations of my motor.
My present combo is reliable, safe and making ludicrous power (for a 1600 single! ) at 18PSI.
If I ever get the wild hair, one turn of the Grainger valve will put me right back at 20PSI.

T25 compressor map:
I have only found one compressor map for my T25.
And, by my calculations, I'm running within the 65-70% efficiency range with 18-20 PSI boost if I plug in a 120-150 HP range.
A smaller turbo would build boost quicker but I am VERY pleased with my present combo's driveability!

Can you turn the housings?
SURE!
I had to completely re-clock both the turbine and compressor housings to make mine fit-MOST custom/homemade systems need that.
The compressor was a bit of a pain, since it's retained by a HUGE snap ring that is ridiculously tight.
But the turbine was easy-loosen the screws, turn, retighten.

ANY more questions, don't hesitate to PM or e-mail me.
Glad to help out.

[Wayne Sombrero]

Wow, thanks man. You answered all my questions and then some. Thanks for your help. I almost cancelled buying this turbo header because I wasn't sure it would fit on my car. Thanks again.

Brad