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I ordered a $500 shipped 87/96 cartridge from Borg. (You can get a china CHRA for $240)
Dropped my billet apex wheel and comp housing on it and sent it into Jose at forced inductions. He assembled/balanced it with the billet wheel and hogged my T4 housing out to fit the 87/96 wheel. Was pretty reasonable... Don't remember exact price, was under $400.
I think my billet compressor wheel has started to feather the ends of the blades. VERY odd sound on decal, kind of reminds me of using scissors to curl ribbon.
My compressor inlet is oil soaked on the outside around the anti-surge ring, and my exhaust decides to randomly smoke from time to time.
The only cheap direct replacement I can find is the VS 7783, which is a cast wheel and a smaller turbine than I'm running, so I will be giving up power. I've considered letting the car sit all winter instead of driving it like I normally do, and save up for the S476 ETR-HO with either an 87 or 92mm turbine in T4.
I've gotten boost by gear working on the stock PCM for $100. I've also managed to get boost by time working but it's not on a ramp, more or less different stages activated by a timed relay.
Joe can you share how you getting this to work? Maybe which output(s) your using from the PCM? I saw in one of your other posts talking about trying to get boost per gear working. I am curious on how you managed to get it tied to the PCM.
I plan on doing a write-up when I get a chance.
Having it give wastegate only pressure in first gear and overdrive is very simple. Separate boost pressures between 2nd and 3rd isn't too bad, but at some point you end up getting cluttered.
Sounds good Joe. I was mainly curious as to which input(s) / output(s) you were connecting to the PCM. I have a decent understanding of how to get the different pressures to the wastegate, but not sure of the easiest way to get them to switch.
I'll explain how it works in full detail as soon as I get the turbo sorted out. I've already recorded a video showing how it is done, but I'm still waiting to actually get a video of it in action. I didn't get the chance to record one before I ended up with excessive shaft play.
As of right now, I'm eyeballing the On3 Billet 88mm turbo. I still haven't heard a word back from Apex. I'm doing a SBC/TH350/10-bolt swap in a 1940 Chevy in a few weeks, and that money will be used to pay for the On3. I figure even with the undivided T4, 83mm turbine compared to my current setup, it should spool similar thanks to the slightly smaller A/R and ball bearing center. The housings are pretty restrictive but we will see how it compared to the Billet S475.
Lol!! I just finished reading the 20 pages!! Damn i love these stories.... Prolly 'cause its the representation of my life, but i love it when we get the whole story and the builder reaches his goals and we get to see the results of that progression over a period of time.
Really nice project and love that you held on and got trough it!! Its now paying off and you get to enjoy it and be proud of your work!
Seriously, its awesome.
On my side, Im right smack in the middle of doing about the same! I've had a '68 as a first ever car at 16 yrs old, and have been dooing First gen Camaro's ever since after that car until lastly, (now 44 lol!!) when i was flipping Camaro project's like pancakes, did i realize i prolly wasn't having enough interest in the Camaro's to keep them or finish them, so i was selling to the guy that liked it most... thats when i started thinking about my Nova, and it became clear that i needed to do this, something different that meant something!! So i grabbed this '70 thats been parked since '91 if i recall correctly, and just went to town and havent stopped or lost interest yet!! So it seems to be working!!!
Of course, seeing and reading great and cool projects like yours, is fuel for mine!! ...so thanks for posting all the details and pictures, i know its time consuming but these threads are such nice tools!! Like for me, with my build thread and also as i say most of the time; "just having people show interest, comment or ask about my project, is often just enough to get me off the couch and into the shop!!
Joe, that is some excellent work there! Too bad about that frame, it looks like a decent piece.
I have wondered for a long time why a company like that couldn't just weld some C5/C6 brackets for the upper and lowers and have a fairly cheap DIY frame? Sell them both complete and bare.
On a failing turbo lol.
I'm pretty sure at 26 PSI I would make 800 ft lbs around 4000-4200 RPM.
I know its typically all in the tune, but 26psi!!! Holy hell, at what point do ya begin to worry about lifting a head on 4bolt heads? That set up has already proven itself beyond most peoples expectations id imagine. Pretty cool sofar
Apex has offered to replace my turbo for nothing but the cost of shipping.
I absolutely cannot complain. This turbo might not be the biggest thing but it spools extremely fast and makes tons of power and torque. I was considering half a dozen other turbos that were all very expensive so this is an extremely pleasant surprise.
I still plan on trying to hit 850/850 HP/TQ on pump gas at the wheels through an 80e with this turbo. I should have explained before that its on a Dyno Dynamics dyno, which is commonly referred to as the 'heartbreaker' because of its underwhelming numbers compared to a Dynojet.
Also, I've been looking at a subframe made by Speedway for the Novas.
After the big reveal on my current project, I'll probably focus my attention back to the Nova and get this Checkered Racing subframe pulled out. It was 17 degrees out this morning and I still drove the Nova to work, so I'm not in any hurry to start tearing it apart.
Thats awesome! They were always good to me as well. Sent me free oil fittings for the oddball supply and what not. I'd think about upgrading to the race cover as hard as you are pushing it. Prob pick up quite a bit! He also quoted me $225 for the 80mm wheel upgrade...
Yeah they are very helpful. Once I get it sent into them I'll discuss upgrades.
$225 for an 80mm wheel, did that include changes to the compressor housing?
I would definitely consider that. Even with a 1.10 A/R T4, I would still benefit from a larger compressor because of my relatively small engine and camshaft.
I haven't been able to make a decent track pass because of this front subframe. After doing some measuring, the instant center is off on my car, which is what forces it to make a hard right when the tires spin. I can't make a pass in the right lane for fear of hitting the wall.
It was an additional $200 to machine an existing comp housing. Though if you spend the $350 (or whatever it was , I forget) on the “race housing” I don’t believe there Is a machining charge. They say if you are pushing the turbo wide open, the race comp housing is worth an additional 50hp or so of air flow.
Based on my few boost spikes, this turbo tops out around 32 PSI on my setup.
It stops making much power above 26 PSI, as HP/PSI starts to drop pretty hard, so I'm probably right there on the edge of maxing out the billet 74mm compressor.
I'll call them and see what we can do. I could have a new turbo sent with larger compressor and race cover for far less than replacing with a different turbo.
Billet S480 inbound. If I top it out again, I'll have to go with CNC heads to increase the amount of power I can make within the confines of a 3 bar MAP and HPT.
Also converting my regulator back to boost reference since I hover around 100% IDC @ 66 PSI static on my Deka 80s. I've decided to ditch the mechanical pressure gauge and I've put a transducer in its slot to log fuel pressure in HPT. I've also picked up a probe to log backpressure right at the turbo. Thankfully, the stock ECU's have enough empty 5v/signal pins that you can log tons of extra crap without the Pro version lol.
Since the car is primarily a street car, I'll probably find out what it makes and leave it. It would be nice to run an ~8.90 in the quarter before I move onto the next project.
With that being said, the next LS swap project is nearing completion. The reveal should come in March once it is 100% complete, painted, and being driven. For those that follow this car, you get the first sneak peak of the next:
11-29-2016, 01:50 PM
