how would you fab a turbo kit?
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
how would you fab a turbo kit? could someone please explain to me how you would make your own turbo setup?
i dont fully understand what is all involved in it. where all the plumbung goes.
i know this is a really newbie question. i pretty much understand how a turbo works, its just i have never had hands on experiance with them.
any diagrams that are out there or anything that might make things more clear.
i am thinking of attempting to try and make one.....willing to try anything......mostly to learn how to do it, but driving it afterwards would be a plus.
i cant justify spending $5,000 on some metal tubing and a turbo. i know its a big power gain, but it seems wrong to me.
so im just lookign to underatand more than anything else.
thanks
i dont fully understand what is all involved in it. where all the plumbung goes.
i know this is a really newbie question. i pretty much understand how a turbo works, its just i have never had hands on experiance with them.
any diagrams that are out there or anything that might make things more clear.
i am thinking of attempting to try and make one.....willing to try anything......mostly to learn how to do it, but driving it afterwards would be a plus.
i cant justify spending $5,000 on some metal tubing and a turbo. i know its a big power gain, but it seems wrong to me.
so im just lookign to underatand more than anything else.
thanks
Step #1 look at some pics of the QMP setup available online, to get a good idea of how the piping works.
Step #2, read Maximum boosy by corky bell, its not gospel, but it has a lot of good information that you should be aware of.
Step #3, do lots of searching on this board.
Look at MyTurboTa's post, for a good homebuilt setup.
Ryan
Step #2, read Maximum boosy by corky bell, its not gospel, but it has a lot of good information that you should be aware of.
Step #3, do lots of searching on this board.
Look at MyTurboTa's post, for a good homebuilt setup.
Ryan
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
thanks for the reply.
is it really very hard to do yourself? or am i just fooling myself thinking i might be able to do it with the small amount of knowledge i have right now?
what about tuning? is tuning just a matter of getting the air/fuel mixture where it is suppose to be and setting the timing? or is ther way more to it?
just a turbo virgin trying to get my feet wet.
is it really very hard to do yourself? or am i just fooling myself thinking i might be able to do it with the small amount of knowledge i have right now?
what about tuning? is tuning just a matter of getting the air/fuel mixture where it is suppose to be and setting the timing? or is ther way more to it?
just a turbo virgin trying to get my feet wet.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 697
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by Stert
thanks for the reply.
is it really very hard to do yourself? or am i just fooling myself thinking i might be able to do it with the small amount of knowledge i have right now?
what about tuning? is tuning just a matter of getting the air/fuel mixture where it is suppose to be and setting the timing? or is ther way more to it?
just a turbo virgin trying to get my feet wet.
is it really very hard to do yourself? or am i just fooling myself thinking i might be able to do it with the small amount of knowledge i have right now?
what about tuning? is tuning just a matter of getting the air/fuel mixture where it is suppose to be and setting the timing? or is ther way more to it?
just a turbo virgin trying to get my feet wet.
Can you weld? I have a bunch of people helping me, one of whom will be doing the welding. It would behoove you I think to get some buddies to help you, particularly ones with some automotive knowledge.
Also, bear in mind that doing a turbo setup can be costly, to say the least. I went in to this initially thinking the cost would be relatively small for the gains. Where I'd rather do this than spend 6K on a supe, it is still costly and frustrating both in my own experience and from what I've heard and read about others'.
Lastly, I'll reitterate: pictures are priceles when it comes to fabbing up your own kit. Or better yet, find someone to show you their car in person. Here's some links to the sites I used for pics and/or ideas/instructions:
http://community.webshots.com/album/142404831wrWnJz
http://www.harlan-engineering.com/main.html
http://www.classicgm.com/images/incon-diagrams/
http://home.comcast.net/~deezuns/
http://www.turbotechnologyinc.com/ls1_instructions.htm
http://www.forcefedfab.com/images/PI...a/turbota.html
Hope this helps and good luck!
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 697
Likes: 0
Also, about tuning:
SEARCH SEARCH SEARCH these forums to get a bear minimum education in tuning. Also, there are a few forums dedicated to tuning:
http://www.ls1tuning.com/iboard/
http://www.hptuners.com/forum/YaBB.pl
SEARCH SEARCH SEARCH these forums to get a bear minimum education in tuning. Also, there are a few forums dedicated to tuning:
http://www.ls1tuning.com/iboard/
http://www.hptuners.com/forum/YaBB.pl
seems like you have alot more learning to do before attempting such a feat.
first off you need to understand on how they work. next you need the right equipment, like a welder, some use a mig, but tig is alot better. you need to size your componets right to your goals and requirements.
tunnings a whole nother game, you need to set your fuel, spark with your air. it can be very indepth.
take alook on the top of this forum there is a turbo FAQ that might help.
when your all said and dont your cost fo putting one together might end up costing around $5k.
another option is to get the sts, cheap but efective, not the best out there but it can get you some good gains and its easy to install.
first off you need to understand on how they work. next you need the right equipment, like a welder, some use a mig, but tig is alot better. you need to size your componets right to your goals and requirements.
tunnings a whole nother game, you need to set your fuel, spark with your air. it can be very indepth.
take alook on the top of this forum there is a turbo FAQ that might help.
when your all said and dont your cost fo putting one together might end up costing around $5k.
another option is to get the sts, cheap but efective, not the best out there but it can get you some good gains and its easy to install.
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 10,341
Likes: 1
A couple of big Q you need to answer are:
1) What are your power goals both RWHP/RWTQ
2) What size and config of engine do you plan on putting the turbo on? rpm range and max engine speed?
3) pump gas or race gas
4) Are you planning on racing the car or is it purely a street car?
5) air to air intercooling, air to water, alky injection or a combo of all three?
From a simplicity standpoint a single would probably be easiest and cheapest to do while still making good power.
I really like what W2W did with the 6L manifolds mounted backwards. That alone will save a TON of time.
You could mount the battery in the trunk use the space created to mount the turbo, use custom piping from the dual 6L manifolds into that single turbo, gravity feed oil back to the pan (high pressure feed to the turbo from the port above the oil filter)
Use a big air to air. That OBX unit seems to work well.
Then just plumb up the wastegates etc.
There is so much involved with a power adder car getting the rest of the car ready to take the extra power as well. Fuel system, rear end, clutch, DS, suspension etc etc
It's an ambitious project
1) What are your power goals both RWHP/RWTQ
2) What size and config of engine do you plan on putting the turbo on? rpm range and max engine speed?
3) pump gas or race gas
4) Are you planning on racing the car or is it purely a street car?
5) air to air intercooling, air to water, alky injection or a combo of all three?
From a simplicity standpoint a single would probably be easiest and cheapest to do while still making good power.
I really like what W2W did with the 6L manifolds mounted backwards. That alone will save a TON of time.
You could mount the battery in the trunk use the space created to mount the turbo, use custom piping from the dual 6L manifolds into that single turbo, gravity feed oil back to the pan (high pressure feed to the turbo from the port above the oil filter)
Use a big air to air. That OBX unit seems to work well.
Then just plumb up the wastegates etc.
There is so much involved with a power adder car getting the rest of the car ready to take the extra power as well. Fuel system, rear end, clutch, DS, suspension etc etc
It's an ambitious project
Trending Topics
some pics when i built my headers and other stuff
http://harlan-engineering.com/projectBFT/
Old pictures though, nearly a year ago
http://harlan-engineering.com/projectBFT/
Old pictures though, nearly a year ago
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
thanks for the help.....and the reality check.
i seem to always get ahead of myself. i want to start the second project before i have even started the first one.
im doing an ls1/6-speed swap into a first gen camaro this winter. its my first car and my first big project with it, so it will be fun and i shoudl learn a lot.
after that if i decide to turbo the motor i think i would buy a kit just so i dont have to mess around with fabricating and everything when i only know the basics of how the system works. and if it ends up at around the same price anyways it would probably be better for my first time around anyways.
but one thing i DO want to keep looking into is the tuning side of all of this. even without the turbos. that is something i would like to learn more about.
is there a tuning FAQ that i could check out, because i dont understand a lot of the posts that i read because i dont know all the "lingo".
but thanks for all the help guys
i seem to always get ahead of myself. i want to start the second project before i have even started the first one.
im doing an ls1/6-speed swap into a first gen camaro this winter. its my first car and my first big project with it, so it will be fun and i shoudl learn a lot.
after that if i decide to turbo the motor i think i would buy a kit just so i dont have to mess around with fabricating and everything when i only know the basics of how the system works. and if it ends up at around the same price anyways it would probably be better for my first time around anyways.
but one thing i DO want to keep looking into is the tuning side of all of this. even without the turbos. that is something i would like to learn more about.
is there a tuning FAQ that i could check out, because i dont understand a lot of the posts that i read because i dont know all the "lingo".
but thanks for all the help guys