beepy

It being Friday, it is my favorite time to work on projects. I am not stressed out about finishing my homework yet ('till Sunday), and if I break something I have time to fix it.

So today I decided to finally get around to installing my T3.



First, I yanked out all of the DSM TD05 stuff. Here strewn about you see the turbo, my old hand-made manifold, and my old downpipe.



Then I installed my SSAutoChrome manifold, which I have modified to work in the inverted configuration and with my Kia Mi-Tech flange. Before I used a modified Honda D-series flange, so now I know I won't have exhaust leaks at the head!



Here is the test fit of the Mercedes .42 A/R T3. In this configuration, it fits, with about an inch to spare from the bottom of the hood. I also had to ditch the large Mercedes wastegate actuator, and installed the wastegate actuator from the TD05 onto it. I'll cross my fingers that I don't make too much boost. I think my next mod may be to install an external wastegate. The SSAC manifold has a spot for it.



Since I used aeronautical fittings before, modifying the feed line for the T3 was as easy as buying a brake line hose and a couple fittings.



Then came the major test fitting and welding. I made the inlet pipe and downpipe out of 2.5" mandrel bends.



Close-up of the inlet pipe. The MAF sensor is there at the end attached to the filter. The large nipple I attached is for my BOV, which I am making recirculating because I have been advised to do so with the MAF sensor. The little nipple is vent for PCV.



Another shot of the downpipe, with 2 O2 sensor bosses. One for the stock O2 and the other for the wideband. The downpipe extends to where my torque damper and upper IC pipe were, so I am ditching the torque damper for now, and the new IC pipe will go UNDER the turbo. The T3's outlet is pointing down and forward, so it is easier for me to make a short pipe from the outlet to the IC inlet than to follow the routing I had previously. Also it is less intake volume.



....And connected to the exhaust.


That is the work I did tonight. Tomorrow I must complete the following tasks:

1) Connect the oil drain hose
2) Weld the BOV into the IC pipe near the TB
3) Build the missing IC pipe
4) Attach the second coolant line

And the bitch should be spoolin' again. Hopefully faster now.

Bailhatch

nice work I'm a big fan of the junkyard T3s. great potential with many of them. Do you have provisions for supporting the turbo?

beepy

Yes, there are a series of bolt holes on the Kia block that I will use to attach a beefy-*** bracket. I will finish that tomorrow, too.

Bailhatch

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beepy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yes, there are a series of bolt holes on the Kia block that I will use to attach a beefy-*** bracket. I will finish that tomorrow, too.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You can't beat beefy-***!

m R g S r

Hmm. . is this thing fast?

beepy

Nope, still slow. But much faster than it was stock.

StolenTeg

nice, mad prop of fabbing everything yourself.

beepy

With the TD05 I was running with no management and 19# injectors. With the T3 I have the S-AFCII and 30# injectors to install. I have oil seperators in the PCV lines to control the oil. Also running an MSD DIS-2 ignition for the spark retard. Running 5° of retard worked just fine and the car ran flawlessly, though I don't know how it will react to the larger turbo.

beepy

Okay, it's done! Here's the finished product:



Initial impressions:

Firstly, it is always a gamble when using a non-rebuilt junkyard turbo. I got the good flip of the coin this time, though, and got a turbo that spools great and doesn't leak oil.

The car initially ran poorly. I had to make a trip down to the auto parts store to get a 1" hose for my recirculating BOV. Once I got that hose installed, though, it ran like a champ.

Now the turbo is a complete sleeper. With the TD05, the boost was a kick in the pants. Once it started spooling it hit full boost almost immediately, and it was like, first no power then tons of power. The T3 is much different. It takes longer to reach full boost, but it starts making boost as soon as I open the throttle. That, combined with the fact that the BOV is now silent, makes the Rio feel like an OEM turbo car. It just has more power throughout the powerband. No kick in the pants per se, but in 1st gear I hit redline so quickly it scared me.

There are still bugs, of course. I have a ticking sound that I haven't been able to track down, and some rattles from metal-on-metal. This doesn't surpirse me, because if I took a picture of the mess of lines and pipes underneath the manifold you would laugh.

I have the exhaust fairly well heat-shielded, but I am going to add insulation to the charge pipes as well. They seemed to get pretty hot. Besides that, I just have to track down the clicks, ticks and rattles and fix them.

RIPracing

wow that looks good i like that setup alot good luck

beepy

Thanks. I hope it works out in the long run. I am keeping the old manifold and turbo just in case... But so far it has been great. I wish I would have made the BOV recirculating before. The car just runs smoother and no longer rich at idle!

(Now I understand why it was rich at idle. The DSM BOV is open at idle, and that was really throwing off my MAF sensor readings. Now the air that goes into the throttle MUST come through the MAF; it has no choice.)

Now the Rio is my only car, since as of today I sold my 1979 Camaro. I hope the new owner has more luck with that accursed car than I did.

Ri5e

wantboost

iTrader: (2)

it's looking good. just dont go out and blow it up after all that hard work (knock on wood) how many pounds have you run on that motor

beepy

I'll try not to blow it up. It's lasted this long with an untuned turbo, and now it just seems to be running better.

I tracked down the rattling and ticking. The ticking was my torque damper, which I unbolted from the radiator support but left hanging on the engine. Stupid me. The rattling was my O2 sensor hitting my charge pipe. Now I fixed both of those problems, and added some more insulation since the charge pipes were getting too damned hot.



And here is a picture of the clusterfuck underneath my manifold:



The downpipe, lower charge pipe (now a small u-bend), and oil drain are down there within inches of each other. I left the lower charge pipe uninsulated since there is good airflow through this part of the engine compartment.

And I still haven't made the support bracket.... I know I should, but it will be more complicated than I anticipated.

TurboJesse

nice creativity...somethign that usually lack on this site

beepy

Thanks!

After figuring out the rattles (there was another rattle because one of my exhaust hangers was hitting the crossmember), I opened her up, and it felt a lot faster with the same amount of boost that I made witht the TD05. BTW, the TD05 wastegate actuator works just fine on the T3. I made .5bar of boost steadily after 4500 RPM.

My only complaint, is that there is a lot more "tinny" noise in the exhaust now. My only guess is that since the turbine has twice the area of the old turbo, it lets those annoying high-pitched tones through.

So I guess I need to install a resonator now.

wantboost

iTrader: (2)

one of my friends wants to make her rio faster, i directed her to this page, could you maybe e-mail me a pricelist of parts, so i could maybe turn around and do someting similar for her?utt dyno say it terms of power?

also, what does the butt dyno say in terms of power?

beepy

Certainly. A "kit" version of this turbo is certainly plausible now that we know where to source a manifold. As with any new turbo kit, the manifold is the hard part. Besides the manifold, the majority of the work in making this turbo was piping, and anyone with a MIG can do it. So here is a general rundown of the costs:

SSAC D-series Honda manifold: $150.00

Custom waterjet-cut SUS304 flange: $50
(I can give you my CAD file for the flange I designed, and you can get it waterjet, laser or flame cut at any modern machine shop)

Then cut off the Honda flange, and weld on the Kia flange upside-down to make the manifold "inverted".

T3 turbo: You know the price! I recommend you use an external wastegate because the internal wastegate is a close fit.

DSM BOV or another recirculating BOV. I paid $40 on Ebay.

Your choice of fuel management. Of course Uberdata won't work. I chose the hack, but eManage would also work. FMU won't. Any Bosch fuel injector will work. I used 19# injectors from the 5.0 Mustang and 30# injectors from a Turbo Saab with the hack. I don't know the limitations of the stock fuel pump or lines, nor would I have a suggestion for a replacement.

Piping:

2" 180° mandrel bends - $11.95 each from Summit. I used 3 for the charge pipes.
2.5" 180° mandrel U-bend (5" radius) -$16.95 on summit. I used 4, for the exhaust, inlet pipe, and part of the downpipe.
2.5" 180° mandrel J-bend (3.5" radius) -$16.95 on Summit. I used one for the downpipe.

Silicone couplers:

2 - 90° 2" couplers (charge pipes to intercooler and turbo)
3" to 2.5" coupler (Inlet pipe to MAF)
2.5" to 2" coupler (Charge pipe to throttle body)
2.5" to 2.5" coupler (Inlet pipe to turbo inlet)


Other exhaust stuff:

2.5" CatCo OBDII-compliant cat - ~$65 on Summit.
2.5" flex pipe: $15 on Ebay
2 O2 sensor bungs. $5 on Ebay!
2.5" straight pipe. $37 for 10 feet from Napa. Enough to do 2 exhausts.
1/4" round stock to make exhaust hangers - $5
4 catalytic convertor flanges - $20 on Ebay!

You can choose a muffler and resonator combo. I use a 40-series Flowmaster but I am going to add a Purple Horny to reduce resonance.

Random stuff I needed:

Duct insulation from Home Depot- $12
2 Oil/Air seperators from Home Depot - $13 each.
1/4", 3/8", 3/4", and 1" hoses from Auto Parts stores. The 1" hose was a radiator hose for a Geo.

Hacksaw blades, a couple pounds of MIG wire, etc.

And of course, the various fittings for oil feed and drain. You can use your Honda stuff, I did.

You can do it for less than a grand including the wideband and SAFCII if you do all the fabrication yourself.

I've invested about $1500, but much of that was R&D, failed attempts, etc.

Labor involved:

1) Remove the stock exhaust, exhaust manifold, engine cover, intake, MAF sensor, and engine cover brackets.

2) Move the battery box back about 4".

3) Extend the FO2S harness and the MAF harness. The FO2S will go to the downpipe on the passenger side of the engine bay, while the MAF sensor will be relocated from the throttle body to in front of the battery tray where the filter will be.

4) Mount the turbo and manifold.

5) Weld, cut, weld, cut, weld, cut. My pics should give you an idea of what worked for me. I made the exhaust, inlet pipe (The pipe that connects the MAF and air filter to the turbo), and charge pipes.

6) Install your choice of fuel management.

7) Do the rest of the stuff you would do on any turbo. Regap the spark plugs (Use the same NGK-R plugs popular on turbo Hondas), run oil and coolant lines, attach a nipple on the oil pan for the drain, etc.

I also installed a MSD DIS-2 ignition to better control the ignition, installed Civic plug wires (after shortening them), and retarded my exhaust cam 8.6° (one tooth) to reduce the overlap.

Upgraded clutches are available from SPEC. There are currently no LSDs or upgraded axles. Again, I have yet to see an upgraded fuel pump. Maybe the Walbro would work? I don't know. But all the above is good for 8 PSI with tuning.

Oh, BTW, the way I made this turbo system is NOT AC or P/S friendly!

SOHC_MShue

man that setup is nice. Must have taken some creativity . How many people have you heard of doing something like this with a RIO? Is it fairly common or are you the only one?

beepy

I have the only Turbo Rio that I know of. That's why I still call it The Turbo Rio.

There are a couple Turbo Shumas in Puerto Rico, there was a turbo Sportage a while back that burnt to the ground, and of course the Turbo Sephia that Spark Racing did.

But watch out, there will be more! The Kia aftermarket is just getting started, and many of the new Kia cars have inherited an aftermarket since they are getting Hyundai engines now.

Kias are not bad cars. Well, the early Sephias were P'sOS, and they gave Kia a bad name, but besides an aftermarket, there is nothing that a base-model Civic has that my base-model Rio doesn't have.

beepy

Updates:

Haven't changed much.

I finally removed the ghetto wastegate actuator and installed a "universal" T3 WA, after modifying the bracket to fit. Pics... later.

Solved the tinny noise in the exhaust. It was actually a leak near my muffler.

And... The major problem I have had is part-throttle boosting. Upon some sage advice from J. Davis, I built a box to force the ECU into open-loop while in boost. Seems to work.

fjt

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beepy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have the only Turbo Rio that I know of. That's why I still call it The Turbo Rio.

There are a couple Turbo Shumas in Puerto Rico, there was a turbo Sportage a while back that burnt to the ground, and of course the Turbo Sephia that Spark Racing did.

But watch out, there will be more! The Kia aftermarket is just getting started, and many of the new Kia cars have inherited an aftermarket since they are getting Hyundai engines now.

Kias are not bad cars. Well, the early Sephias were P'sOS, and they gave Kia a bad name, but besides an aftermarket, there is nothing that a base-model Civic has that my base-model Rio doesn't have.</TD></TR></TABLE>
We have some turbo Kias here in P.R.... Atleast i know of 2 that are in the low14 high 13 sec range @+/- 104mph..I also heard of a turbo Rio in here.. And there a quite some Mirages that are turboed, some of them in the 11 and 12's with a Sohc motor

raene

GJ dude I love it!

Blanket Jackson

Nice to see something different on thise site. I was proud of by build-up and headswap on my SOHC Eclipse, but I got no props fro ****. Take it while you can!! GOOD JOB!!!

beepy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fjt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
We have some turbo Kias here in P.R.... </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, I said that.

Puerto Rico has done some good things for the Kia tuner world. The guy I know the best from PR is a guy who uses the screen name Dondabro, who was the first Turbo Shuma I had seen, before we discovered a few more in PR.

Have yet to see a PR turbo Rio, though. I would love to hear from them if they exist, to compare notes.