2005 - The Year of the Spool!

[Big Bad James]

Hey guys,

After being somewhat of a lurker on these forums, I've finally decided to become an active poster, and do a major mod to the car... namely a turbocharger.

Here's what I've got for parts thus far:

Polished housing 87 Grand National Turbocharger
30x5.5x3 bar/plate intercooler
Ractive Boost/Vac Mechanical gauge

I still need to pick up an FMU (finding an 8:1 FMU on eBay is damn-near impossible), and an inline fuel pump.

A few questions:

Does everyone recommend the addition of an MSD DIS-4 box with the turbo?
Are there any suggestions any of the turbo veterans (I'm looking at Tiago and Shane here) have for someone doing this sort of project? (Read as: Precautions for not blowing **** up.) Any special tuning procedures that should be performed? (I know HPTuners is nice, but I can't afford to drop $400+ on tuning software right now.)

I intend on keeping stock internals (meaning stock CR), and max PSI for the moment will be 10 PSI.

What can I expect?

[Shane]

I dont think u need the MSD but it wouldnt hurt..I have my HP Tunerfor a 97 which you have for sale for $400 shipped.....the program is badass.

Your HP is based on how well the turbo is...im not familar with the GN turbo so I wouldnt know...id guess 275-305 rwhp?

Stock fuel I was using a 6:1 FMU with a MSD inline fuel pump and the A/F ratio was good.

Get a converter and some tires and u should see 12's.

[Arctc Wolf]

The MSD is nice to make sure everything is burned. It actually makes the engine run smoother. I have an MSD-DIS-4 and MSD coil packs. Lower rpms feel a lot better now and make the car pick up better throughout the rpm range. I also have the HP tuners PCM suite, and it picked me up solid gains as well, especially around the shifts w/ the removal of a lot of the torque managment(only auto equipped cars have this).

Stock GN turbo should be able to handle up to about 325 hp w/o heating up the air too much. after that, you might wanna look into a bigger turbo. I'll agree w/ shane that once you get the setup running, u should see 12's.

[T-Punk]

you could also look into adjustable FMU's like the cartech. Also an in tank pump is a better option but inline is better than stock.

[Turbo V6 Camaro]

do you have any flow charts on the turbo ? you want to make sure the EFF% is in range with out motors........

i would say your better off with a intank pump and bigger injectors then a FMU....
36#hour should be fine with only 10psi...

I have the MSD and i love it.... after you install it gasmilage is better and it just helps the motor run better at any given RPM.

[Wicked 3800 V6]

You could buy my kit and get a bunch of piping. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[T-Punk]

the bigger injectors really arent much help unless you have the hp programmer or you are running so much fuel through them that the stockers would lock up.

[Turbo V6 Camaro]

Originally posted by T-Punk:
the bigger injectors really arent much help unless you have the hp programmer or you are running so much fuel through them that the stockers would lock up.

whoops i miss read i thouhg he was getting HP tuners, i see now hes not lol

[Big Bad James]

I have the MSD coils, Taylor 8 MM wires, and NGK TR55-iX plugs. I assume I'll have to go to TR6 copper plugs, correct? I have been looking at getting the DIS-4 since... beginning of the season actually, but it never really came to life.

Shane, thank you for the input on the FMU, I always thought 8:1 was the ratio to shoot for. Should I get the 6:1 (remember that I'm not using HP Tuners) or should I stick with the 8:1 ratio?

As far as the GN turbo heating up the air too much, if that does become a problem, I can always upgrade the compressor/turbine to a TA-49. Or a friend of mine has a TE-44 on his Turbo-T Regal that he swears by, so I'll look into that too. His makes boost at 2200 RPM and goes strong right up to the higher RPMs. I understand the engines themselves are different, but spooling times should be similar.

Fuel, I'll just go with a Walbro 255LPH in-tank pump, the stocker should be replaced anyway.

One last thing, torque management, I didn't think the 97 A4 cars HAD torque management...?

[Teufel Hunden]

Instead of a fixed ratio FMU, get an adjustable one. I'd spend alittle extra cash on that way before i tried to figure out what fixed ratio i'd like to be stuck with.

About the plugs, TR6s are the way to go.

DIS-4s are cool, but definitely not a requirement.

[Turbo V6 Camaro]

Originally posted by Teufel Hunden:
DIS-4s are cool, but definitely not a requirement.

yeah it not needed but they are nice to have for the features they have

[97rs4life]

yea 97s don't have torque management. You don't have to worry about that

[kahouna23]

Depending on how Santa Clause treats me this holiday...I might end up getting 42# injectors to replace my CarTech adjustable FMU......so, if you're interested I'll sell it to ya for a good price. (If I get the injectors for X-mas that is.) ;)

are ya interested? Just lookin' out to help a fellow enthusiast. [img]graemlins/rock.gif[/img]

[Big Bad James]

Originally posted by kahouna23:
Depending on how Santa Clause treats me this holiday...I might end up getting 42# injectors to replace my CarTech adjustable FMU......so, if you're interested I'll sell it to ya for a good price. (If I get the injectors for X-mas that is.) ;)

are ya interested? Just lookin' out to help a fellow enthusiast. [img]graemlins/rock.gif[/img]

Definitely! It's better than having to get a Fixed-Ratio Vortech off eBay.

[kahouna23]

Alright bro...around the first of the year, hit me up on an email or something and I'll let you know what the deal is. I'm thinking that even if I don't get the injectors for a gift, I'll end up getting them anyways. Which is good for you if you want the FMU. ;)

my email is kahouna23@yahoo.com