Alright so i have added some stuff to my prelude.. i have her running nice an smooth. An now im thinking about adding a turbo. But im not sure how to go about doing this. I dont really trust the whole ebay tubro setups an i live in an area where there are no shops that i know of that are able to help me out. I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions that would help me get this project started.

Thanks

ps. i live in MN

 

Read the FAQs at the top of the page please.

 

i just read it. but im still wondering if anyone lives near me an knows of any shops that are respected enough to do this for my car.

 

My advice would be to not pay a shop to do something that you know nothing about. Once they see you have no clue what's going on in a turbo engine, they may or may not rip you off....

 

well i have read about it. But i dont think i can do it.
so i thought maybe i could find a shop in the area or around minnesota an check it out.
im not totally clueless here..

 

Well, good luck to you. What are your goals for your setup? What engine management do you want to use?

 

i havnt decided on anything yet.. still lookin around an lookin for suggestions . i just thougt i throw the post out there to see what responces i got on the subject. i still have much readin a research to do.

 

get a SC61 setup, on an H23VTEC motor that has been sleeved, and get it tuned on a hondata s300. i just so happen to have that setup and im willing to sell it to you!

but seriously, u build ur car according to your wants/capabilities.. not to hype and the fact that u can say "i gotz turbo" read up in the Forced Induction section of honda-tech here.

 

doing a good turbo build is going to probably take as much research as the work

 

The more researching I find the less mistakes you make, BUT you do need to get your hands dirty.

Turbo's aren't as hard as people may make you think.

My advice is don't cheap out on ebay KITS. Buy individual parts from reputable dealers (people that you know have bought parts from them).

Also, KNOW your goals. Don't just start piecing a kit together and then find you don't have parts that support each other. Firstly though you should know the hp range you want to fall in. If its only 200-300 you'd probably even be safe on stock block *depending on the state of motor*. 300 might be a bit high, but with good safe tuning its not out of reach. If you want to go higher than, you need to build your motor than based on your goals.

Only real questioning is when tuning comes in.

Everything else, is just bolt on. You might need some fabricating, but if you get a proper turbo manifold with the same layout as your turbine housing, theres almost no fabrication needed. The exhaust manifold bolts up to your exhaust port (where your header is). The turbine side of the turbo, bolts up to your turbo manifold. Than from your compressor side of turbo, goes into an inter-cooler. Out of the inter-cooler to your intake throttle body with a bov and your wastegates in their respective positions. The next thing is cooling. If its oil cooled, than you need to have ports from turbo to your oil supply. If its water cooled, than its ports to your coolant supply.

Spark plugs and fuel injectors need to be swapped out likely. Not too hard. Fuel pump will probably be okay for the most part.

Lost of good info in H-T though. If your not scared to read, than doing this turbo yourself isn't that hard. For things you can't do yourself like getting your oil or coolant feed, take it to a shop. Anything you can do yourself is saving you money though. AND NEVER be afraid to get your car towed ffs. Its only maybe 100-150 dollars, so if you can get even 80% of the work yourself done, and just need a shop to do a couple of the fabrications, than that's the route to go. Get it towed and let them do that stuff you can't do.

Bottom lines though, piece your own kit together based on the knowledge from H-T. Just fyi though, in only a month or so I've learned how to at least generate a running turbo base-map in crome. From there with RTP, you can make adjustments as you go to fine tune things. You can get crome for free, so it would be a good idea to get it and atleast play with the software

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hawkze_2.3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My advice would be to not pay a shop to do something that you know nothing about. Once they see you have no clue what's going on in a turbo engine, they may or may not rip you off....</TD></TR></TABLE> &lt;&lt;Great advice as well

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mattsnooz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also, KNOW your goals. Don't just start piecing a kit together and then find you don't have parts that support each other. Firstly though you should know the hp range you want to fall in. If its only 200-300 you'd probably even be safe on stock block *depending on the state of motor*. 300 might be a bit high, but with good safe tuning its not out of reach. If you want to go higher than, you need to build your motor than based on your goals.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well said. To the OP, like said above, just remember all the components have to mesh together. I've been waiting to do mine because I want to make sure the rest of the car will be able to take it (suspension, brakes, etc...). Knowing what you have will help you out 100x when you get the parts. I'm still looking around for a decent manifold, turbo, dp combo (but thats another story). Take things you want to keep on the car into consideration also (P/S, A/C, etc...). I'm going to build a mild setup on mines, thats why I originally went with a 2.5" cat + exhaust. When I did my wire tuck + battery relocation, I also freed up as much room towards the front, etc... for charge piping and other goodies. Research and plan ahead, so when you get to doing it (or bring it to a respectable shop), you'll be more satisfied.

-l8r

 

^-- definately on the suspension part, power can only be transferred to the ground through your tires so keeping them down is crucial

 

Plan it out, know your limits with expenses, and don't do anything stupid like run it without a tune. You TOW your car to the tuner shop.

There are too many projects that end early because there are too many unconsidered expenses. A good reliable turbo will not be cheap. And there are always things that break and you will always have residual expenses later on. Turbocharging leads to the necessity of further modification, due to additional forces on the engine, drivetrain, chassis and the tires.

Know which parts you will need. Be knowledgable about your engine management and get a reputable tuner that knows it well.

If you aren't doing the wrench time, expect the cost of labor to double your turbo costs, depending on who you know.

BTW, because you live in MN, you will need to get her tuned on a seasonal basis, or do not plan on driving it when the temperature begins to drop in the fall. When the tempature drops, your engine begins to run lean. Find the tuners in your area and ask who you should go to for tuning.

If any of this is too complicated, then go buy an rdx, it comes with a turbo.


Modified by Scheizty at 3:07 PM 5/21/2008

 

There are a few places I'd go to source a turbo kit in MN.

Artistry Automotive
MAPerformance
DB Performance

 

alot of reliability occurs in the tune of the engine. so make sure you can find a good EMS and a tuner with a good rep. Don't be afraid to drive a far distance if you don't have a good tuner near you. without a good tune you will most likly do damage to the engine.

 

Saweet! thats a lot of info!
but yea i dont plan on starting this thing untill the winter.. or next winter.
i just want to give it time an make sure i know what im doing! i dont want to end up with a mess an get nothing out of it.

i also looked at getting different strusts an springs an stuff of that nature. thats actually what i was going to go get this weekend.

an as for taking my car to get tuned.. ill haul my baby anywhere on a trailer to make sure she is done RIGHT!!!

i dont plan on taking any cheap ways, no short cuts!

An i want to go around 300whp..... so its going to take work.

An i do everything to my car so im not afraid to get my hands dirty :D
like i said ..she is my baby