Finally went turbo

[ssms5411]

Got bored and the wind died down so jacked it up and snapped some pics.

[ssms5411]

Let me know if you need any other pics, I’ll be doing stuff tomorrow.

[mdiesel]

Let me know if you need any other pics, I’ll be doing stuff tomorrow.

Thanks man, I appreciate it

[mdiesel]

got kind of a newbie to the turbo scene question. Now that my manifold will be seeing boost pressure, do i need to do anything different with the vacuum lines to the brake booster or the fuel regulator ? or do i just leave them alone ? i already plugged the pcv paths and will be running a vented catch can

[ssms5411]

No should be good, main thing is plugging the pcv and running a breather or catch can. I run all my vacuum lines just off the FPR.

[mdiesel]

so now that my engine is out of the car and disassembled, the block is in great shape. checked the cylinders with a bore gauge , all in factory spec, a clean up hone will be all i need. the crank and rods on the other hand, are done. I can get an awesome deal on ebay for a GM nos set of L32 rods and pistons. beefier rods that are powdered metal, and the pistons look like the top land is thicker than L36 aftermarket ones. I know id be dropping from 9.4 to 8.5 compression, but with my turbo that shouldnt make much difference. the lower compression should make KR less likey and allow me to run more boost if i want to.

[ssms5411]

Yeah you’ll lose some power if you were N/A with L32 pistons but just adding a couple more lbs of boost would take care of it. I thought you were looking at forged pistons? They are definitely worth the extra money. Mines lasted 21 years so far, and a couple of years ago when we pulled the heads they looked great. Of course my tuning been dialed in when running the car hard. If it was me hold out alittle longer if that’s what it takes. And the Clev.77 bearing are a great choice too.

[mdiesel]

Yeah you’ll lose some power if you were N/A with L32 pistons but just adding a couple more lbs of boost would take care of it. I thought you were looking at forged pistons? They are definitely worth the extra money. Mines lasted 21 years so far, and a couple of years ago when we pulled the heads they looked great. Of course my tuning been dialed in when running the car hard. If it was me hold out alittle longer if that’s what it takes. And the Clev.77 bearing are a great choice too.

yea, i was looking at forged for a bit, but so darn expensive... when i can get a set of GM nos L32 powdered rods and pistons for $275 i kinda wanna jump on it.

[ssms5411]

yea, i was looking at forged for a bit, but so darn expensive... when i can get a set of GM nos L32 powdered rods and pistons for $275 i kinda wanna jump on it.

Yes that’s a fantastic deal, back when I did mine the 9.5:1 Diamond forged pistons were I think $599 and the L32 rods were pretty cheap like $20 or $25 a rod or cheaper, used my dad’s discount since he worked for GM.

[mdiesel]

Yeah you’ll lose some power if you were N/A with L32 pistons but just adding a couple more lbs of boost would take care of it. I thought you were looking at forged pistons? They are definitely worth the extra money. Mines lasted 21 years so far, and a couple of years ago when we pulled the heads they looked great. Of course my tuning been dialed in when running the car hard. If it was me hold out alittle longer if that’s what it takes. And the Clev.77 bearing are a great choice too.

The loss in N/A power from dropping 1 point of compression is approximately 4%. If this was a stock L36 with 210 gross hp, that's only 8.4hp. If I were still building this as n/a with stage 2 heads, stage2 cam, ported intake, long tube headers I might make 290hp at the crank... 1 comp point drop would still only be around 11.6hp. I know the 4% per point of compression isn't absolute but it's close enough on a sub 500hp build . With the lower compression ratio I can easily run a few more pounds of boost on the same fuel and gain allot more hp than the 11.6 potential horsepower loss, pre-boost.

[Turbodude]

I have ran the amazon/ebay turbo kit for soon to be 4 years now. Only thing I have had to do with them is move the passenger side O2 forward, that is a must when running the factory O2s, and they cracked last year so had to weld them back up. Other wise they have been decent and and the turbo is in great shape still. The wastegate they come with is junk. Definitely ditch that and get a nice one. I also had to relocate the power steering res.

[ssms5411]

There was a member here who bought the kit and his turbo went out after 6 months, a lot of shaft play. The owner of the kit warranty the turbo and he got a replacement. Not bad customer service. Only part I used from the kit was the pipes I don’t like eBay turbochargers or anything else. That’s all I need is for the turbo to come apart and take out my 5k engine. I’d replace the turbo as soon as you can with a name brand.turbo.

[Turbodude]

There was a member here who bought the kit and his turbo went out after 6 months, a lot of shaft play. The owner of the kit warranty the turbo and he got a replacement. Not bad customer service. Only part I used from the kit was the pipes I don’t like eBay turbochargers or anything else. That’s all I need is for the turbo to come apart and take out my 5k engine. I’d replace the turbo as soon as you can with a name brand.turbo.

I have seen enough brand name stuff fail where it is just better to pay attention more then anything. Ebay turbos have come along way these days. My build was as cheap as was feasible. $2300 total including buying the car and tax tile license everything. Can't complain. I did swap to a l32 now I got for $250.

[ssms5411]

Another problem is the turbo itself, and it’s size they say you can use bigger turbos but that’s bull$hit , mine was maybe a half inch bigger on the compressor side and wouldn’t clear the hood, That’s only a GT35r, I emailed them before I bought the kit and they said no problem. Emailed them after the install, no response. Cost me over $1000 to remedy the problem.

[mdiesel]

Another problem is the turbo itself, and it’s size they say you can use bigger turbos but that’s bull$hit , mine was maybe a half inch bigger on the compressor side and wouldn’t clear the hood, That’s only a GT35r, I emailed them before I bought the kit and they said no problem. Emailed them after the install, no response. Cost me over $1000 to remedy the problem.

wow, that sux. What hood you running ? ive got a 3-1/2" cowl hood so hopefully i wont run into that problem.