Researching rear mount turbo setup...

[Ian]

Me and a GN buddy of mine, who is REAL good with cars, were discussing the new rear-mount turbo kit for the LT1. He said he loved the idea, and the engineering that went into it, and we talked more about it, and it was brought up that we should probably do it to my car.

Now, this would not be until next summer. I have money to save, planning to do, and parts to be made. The only major things that will need to be done is the piping to the TB, an IC, the turbo, and some fuel stuff.

Has anyone come across this rear-mount kit in person? Downsides to it as opposed to an engine bay kit? Positives of it?

Right now im planning and gathering information, but one way or another my car will have a custom turbo kit on it next summer.

[OneQuickV6]

We have had about 5 with the rear-mount kits come in to dyno and/or tune. One was an LS1 F-body, the rest trucks. Completely stock motor, this kit (I think it was a methanol upgrade when needed). It did like 550ish rwhp and gobs of torque with the cooling effects of the spray they were using. We have also seen the 5.3L trucks do this much and more with the boost turned up a bit, still stock motors.

They are nice kits, and a fun new design. If I had the money laying around, I'd already have one for sure! We are a dealer for the STS rear-mount turbo's, and could get somebody one for a very good price as well, if someone wanted to do a write-up on what it takes to get the LT1 kit on our V6's.

[Wicked 3800 V6]

It's probably much simpler to put the 8's rear-mount on the 6, than to put the 8's engine-mount on the 6. As in, our cars are all the same from the cat back, so the eight kit should almost bolt right up. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Teufel Hunden]

The problem with that kit is there is no intercooler. That means you MUST have methanol injection if you want to run any more boost than the stock setting.

[Tyler]

it seems like a good idea.. i was actually thinking of it for my car for a while. i like the fact that an intercooler wont be needed which can save some money and headaches..

[AllTheGoodNamesAreGone]

I wouldent worry about the intercooler..

you could add one with that setup.. or throw in a small watter/alcy injection setup.. or. a water to air..I considered doing a kit like that.. but.. went wit hte supergharger instead.. my car is too low to play with stuff like that or FFF..

[OneQuickV6]

And you can run more boost without methanol, just turn it up. The methanol just adds the cooling effect so it's a bit safer, but if your motor will handle it, you can throw as much as you like at it without the upgrade.

[Ian]

Guys, thanks for the responses, i do plan on running an intercooler, probably where everyone else puts it right under the radiator. If that works well, i may end up cutting the front fog light piece and stick it in there, but i really dont like cutting apart my car too much.

OneQuickV6, do you have pictures or specs on this kit you are talking about?

I plan on using a stock GN turbo to start off with, and getting the plumbing made, but if a kit exists, it is def. something i would look at.

again, id only start at about 7psi, maybe up to 10. I dont want to get TOO involved in fuel stuff and what not, i want this to be a budget-friendly build anyone can do. Ill probably use a boost-a-pump, but still have to research the quality and effeciency of that also.

[Tyler]

The lt1 kit from STS is somewhat expensive IMO.. I dont think plumbing would be all THAT hard.. looks fairly strait forward.

Im curious as to what the specs are on the turbo that they use for the LT1. would it be too big of a turbo for the v6?

[OneQuickV6]

http://www.ststurbo.com/ is their website. And with this kit, nobody will ever tell you it's not high quality, or that the welds aren't clean, etc. It is VERY nice.

[Tyler]

yah, i visit that site all the time checking for updates.


im just curious as to what the specs are ont he turbo they use for the lt1 kit

[Ian]

Matt, is there any way to get in contact with STS to do sort of a prototype kit thing? I dont know if they work with the V6 community at all, or seen what FFF and similar people have been doing to the cars, but it might be something they would want to get into.

I have the know-how, a camera, and time.

I like the rear mount the more and more i read up on it. Even if its not with STS, this seems to be the route that i want to go.

[OneQuickV6]

Perhaps, I will try to remember to call them this week sometime and chat with them about the V6 oppurtunity.

[Tyler]

WOOHOOO!!!!!


im excited.. in fact i called up my friend who does exhaust work and we are gonna try and mingle together an idea


i've always wanted to try the rearmount since it was introduced to the market.. now that it has been backed up with substantial gains its all go for me too.

[Teufel Hunden]

I am not a believer in the STS system at all. I have read opinions from people who have seen the kit first hand, and all agreed the quality was less that stellar. As far as downsides..... A turbo works with exhaust gas... the hotter any given gas is, the more energy it has. With that turbo so far away, that exhaust gas loses alot of heat from the manifold to the turbo, which means less energy to spin the turbo. There's a reason every major auto manufacturer who deals in turbos puts the turbo as close as possible to the manifolds. That loss of energy increases boost threshold, and increases lag. think how much piping the turbo has to fill before the motor sees any positive pressure. If you've seen the dynos for those cars, the threshold and lag is definately worse than a standard underhood turbo setup. it is this pressure loss, and lag, that makes it hard to run an intercooler with such a setup. at that point your pressure loss would be even worse, and you'd have to have an even bigger turbo on there to push air through all of that. Now in comes the methanol. Personally, I dont want to have to run methanol just to be able to run more than 5psi boost. just a hassle IMO.... the IATs without methanol are not motor-friendly on the STS kit :eek: BTW, not all the STS dyno numbers you see, that sound incredibly impressive, were done on stock motors.. a fact that was never really mentioned by STS. lastly, I would be worried about turbo longevity... being so exposed to the road surface, I would be concerned with the turbo getting wet, and fatigueing. not to mention getting hit with road salt, and all the other crap the underside of the car gets exposed to back there.....

the positives: it does work, it's cheap, and unique.

All in all, a very limited system with very limited potential, doesnt perform as good as a traditional setup in any way.... truely the powerdyne of turbos :D