A80Girl

Does the rated horsepower at a certain amount of boost of a kit have any merit? And how do I select a kit?

This is the tricky part. Many companies will promote a kit that claims to make a certain amount of horsepower. This can be true if, and only if, the conditions required to achieve that power are defined and accurate.

For Example:

-What octane gas was the car using? Is the gas available commercially?
-What was the air intake temperature?
-Is this kit setup for the same boost pressure advertised?
-Are there any other factors put in the equation (such as parts) that were used on the marketing car and are not included with the kit?
-What was the fuel pressure set at?
-What electronics/engine management software was being used at the time? What sort of tune was on it?


When considering a kit, here are some things to look for:

-Does it provide a correct AFR under all operational conditions?
-Does it provide a margin of safety over detonation (such as a knock sensor)?
-What efforts are extended towards quality control?
-Is there a warranty? If so, what are the conditions? Is it reasonable?
-Are proper instructions included or offered?
-Will consulting be provided after the sale? How reliable is customer service? Are they knowledgable?
-Are you able to do it yourself or does it have to be professionally installed?

These factors and more need to be considered when looking at a kit. Most of the time the variables for the marketing car are slightly tweaked to receive higher numbers. In other words, they tend to cheat, so be careful.

I personally prefer piecing out my own kit, however that takes time, patience, skill, and perfectionism that many people do not have. Its all up to the buyer, of course.



How do I go about with the maintenance of my turbo and the engine?

If you drive like a maniac all the time, you will obviously need to be more on top of your maintenance, otherwise expect your motor and/or turbo to blow soon.

Generally, it is recommended that you change you oil every 2000 miles. DO NOT skimp out on the quality of your oil, as this can adversely affect the life of you turbo and engine. If you use a poor quality oil, you’ll most likely develop what is known as “coking” in the oil feed line, which clogs it, thus causing either pressure build up or block oil from entering/exiting the turbo and ultimately the turbo will blow. “Coke” is basically charred oil residue that clogs in the oil feed line, or even the gravity line.

Being on top of the condition of your spark plugs is very important as well. For those running higher boost, you want the gap to be lower, while if your running lower boost you want to widen the gap. The importance of gapping is directly related to boost pressure because if the gap is too wide for the psi your running, it could blow out the spark causing rich combustion, therefor major power loss. The tell-tale sign of the gap being too wide in ratio to the boost is if once a significant amount of pressure above atmospheric is achieved (psi) when the throttle is pressed, the car will hesitate and/or break up.

Make sure you check your plugs every time you change your oil and based on your findings, decide whether you need to change them.

Another way to make sure your turbo is in good shape is to check for shaft play every once in a while. DO NOT check for shaft play while the car is on or after you ran it hard. The shaft is VERY hot, even if it is the "cold" side. I have witnessed idiots first hand sticking their fingers into a hot turbo. Not smart.

Also, it is suggested to turn your boost down a couple of psi in cold whether to reduce the risk of spiking, which could ultimately cause you to lean out. The reason for this is because air is denser in cold weather.



How can I tell if my turbo(s) is blown?

The easiest ways to tell would be:

A) If the exhaust is emanating blueish white smoke.

B) If there is shaft play

C) If the turbo has seized up entirely

Methods of checking for shaft play:

Move the shaft from side to side lightly.

Move the shaft in and out lightly.

Rotate the shaft lightly.

If you experience, any, or all of these movements, then it is blown.

The most common culprit of side to side and in and out movement is thrust washer failure, which is directly related to over-boost. Most of the time this is a very easy rebuild, however this may not be the case all the time. Over-boost can also snap the shaft entirely in half, and in the most severe cases, disintegrate the wheels. So please be conscious of what boost pressure you are running.

The most common culprit for all over shaft movement is a blown seal (there are several). This could be caused by too much or not enough oil pressure in the turbo. You can also tell a blown seal if there is blueish white smoke emanating from the exhaust, which is burnt oil. Once again, this is a relatively simple fix.

Now be aware that a VERY MINIMAL bit of shaft play is normal since the cartridge needs clearance from the housings in order to spin. However, mathematically speaking, the clearance may only be a couple thousandths of an inch.



What should I do if my turbo blows? What sort of precautions should be taken?

Believe it or not alot of things can go wrong when you blow the turbo(s).

- If the boost spiked (most common during cold weather), check your boost controller to see if it is hooked up properly.

- Depending which blow off valve(s) you are using, check the diaphragm(s) for damage. There have been many instances where the blow off valve caused turbos to blow because the diaphragm(s) had been damaged, not allowing pressure to be released from the system.

- Check your oil pressure to see if it is too high.

- Check your intercooler for oil. If there is oil, empty it out immediately. Most people do not even think of that, but it is important.

- Check your wastegate to see if it is hooked up properly. Many times people do not place the lines in the right places or T the lines which causes less pressure to leak from the wastegate promoting over-boost.

- Check your gravity line. If it is too big, then oil may be draining out of the turbo too fast. If it is too small, then oil may be backing up, building pressure. Another thing to make sure is that the gravity line does not have any kinks or bends in it; It should be a straight line down to the oil pan.


SELECTING THE TURBO

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