I am looking for users on here who have experience with using boost for road racing. Please I do not want any negative feedback that I have read from searching. Please let me know what turbocharger (BB or Journal) you are using and how do you like it. How much power. Transmission. Boost control and chassis of the car. I am trying to get an idea preferences from different setups.

 

I can tell you it's ultra cheater status in an evo When I bring my NA honda out I get picked on by vettes. To make myself feel better I bring the evo and destroy vette's. It's pretty awesome!

For an FF application I really don't see anything wrong with it as long as you have good throttle control and the setup is done right aka reliable. E85 and boost for the win!

 

i'll be doing an hpde at the end of the month at CMP. wanted to do middle of the summer to see how my temps would hold up, but work always got in the way. i think i'll be good spool wise since i have a fairly small turbo get full boost around 3200rpm. i have a ls trans, had a b16 trans but didn't like it as much as i did when i was NA. But i'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

using a Garrett journal turbo in a '90 hb

 

sounds good. please keep this thread updated.

 

92 EG - B18 w/ITR tranny

GT28RS (disco potato) 8 psi ~290whp (on dynojet)

Some cons worth mentioning and my fixes:
Heat issues - full dual core radiator - Morosso 5 qrt oil pan

Weight balance - with ram horn mani and front mount, you have an extra 50lbs hanging off the front of the car.

Heat issues - everything under your hood near the exhaust manifold will likely melt. Change all hoses out to SS AN line and heat wrap/shield all plastic and rubber.

Maintenance - As with any track car, but especially as you increase hp, you get extra vibration + heat will require extra care and double checking of all hoses, vacuum lines, seals etc.

Heat+Vibration issues - I've literally had my turbo fall off from the bolts falling out from the exhaust side. 1200$ oversight. Now ever bolt touching anything turbo or exhaust related is safety wired.

Upgrades/downtime - Tranny rebuilds, LSD, bigger brakes, bigger tires, forged pistons, engine management, injectors, etc. etc.
Not to mention safety items. Crashing at 130+ in an modern EVO vs a 20 year old tin can is going to be a major difference. So don't forget seats/belts/cage/hans, etc.

Bottom line, you pay to play. I love having double the hp and playing with vette's and destroying M3's. But I've also tripled the amount of work I do to the car. And over the last five years, I've probably missed half my track time because of 'issues'.

At TT events, there are guys with moderately tuned K swaps out pacing me. Lower hp, but their 3-400lb less then me too. Something to think about.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. I plan on doing some HPDE but not on a daily basis as the car will mainly be a weekend warrior but have fun every once in awhile. I have heard many issues that can arise. For the turbo setup i plan on doing Vband on everything pretty much and thermal coat and wrap anything that I can.

For your radiator I was told a half radiator and a shroud w/ a 13" spal would work great.

 

a good dual core half radiator and spal will work. i'm using a da dual core radiator and 2 12" fans set-up as pushers. i ran water and water wetter this summer and had no overheating issues

can barely make out the fans on the front

 

sounds good keep them coming this will be very informative for people interested in boost or not. Good to hear peoples experiences and find out what worked and what didnt work

 

2000 Integra GSR Built Head - Stock bottom end running E85

Lovefab mini me EQ manifold and GT2871 8lbs - 333whp

type R tranny w/ quaife LSD

Full boost around 3200 and insanity all the wayto 9300 redline.

Love the small efficient turbo and efficient setup. Having the power on demand makes wheel spin an issue...but it was expected. If you want boost for roadracing a small turbo and an mini me manifold are hard to beat.

 

Spool can be good but sometimes it can suck due to wheelspin. Whats your setup on your head does it make power all the way to 9300?

I plan on going with a Mini Ram as well w/ a GT3076r. Motor will be a 2.0 GSR/B16a

 

Track1646 I agree the lovefab eq mani with the smaller turbo + ethanol makes the turbo just ignite... I love my setup. Not to ***** this guys thread but do you have a dyno sheet, You can pm me if you would like.

 

How much of a difference is there between the mini ram and the lovefab minime EQ

 

its equal length hence the EQ it is also built from schedule 40 to handle the abuse.

 

Schedule 40? As far as powerband...what would be the difference between the two manifolds? Is it worth the extra money?

 

Thickness of the pipe most turbo manifolds use is schedule 10 which is a lot lighter but will be prone to cracking easier due to the high heat for extended time. How much research have you done on your own? To me it sounds like you are asking to be spoon fed and thinking because something works on one car will work on another. It also sounds as you have not driven on a track. If you have no experience the car your building will scare the living **** out of you, on that point you better have the proper brakes to slow this rocket down. This has been covered several times and I'm not sure why your not reading up as you will find out most of these setups may and may not work for you. Heat will be one of your biggest battles ie coolant temps. Melting things I have had an issue but things are wrapped and clear of any major heat. Bolts falling off I have not had really any issue either. The info is there your just not looking. The only way to figure out what works for you is to get the car on track.

 

there are a few good topics on this, but i always like them.

i would NOT go with a half-core radiator personally. i've seen a bunch of turbo cars (even pretty mild power ones) overheat with them, and we've put fullsize ones on every car, and every one is fine.

if your building the setup, go though the pains now to get the biggest radiator you can. many of the track days i do with my cars are very hot, most over 80 degrees...but with enough radiator, you can keep a car pretty cool.

just go for more cooling now though, its the time to do it. you can never have too much.

 

V-bands are awesome. A must do.
I ran a half-width Fluidyne all alumn rad for 2 laps at VIR before overheating on an 80 deg day. Half width will work fine for autocross and dd. Full width is a must have for a track car.

 

Thanks for all your responses. As I have done some Auto X but not on a full on race track. I have read some threads but they seem to always get thread jacked since no one wants to support boost on the road for various reasons.

Right I am piecing things together and want to make sure I get the right parts and do it right. I understand things will happen but this will help. I know heat will be a huge issue and so that I plan to coat and wrap everything I can.

 

its not just the heat coming off of things though, its the extra power needed LOTS more cooling than before...thats why you need the massive radiator. mrlegoman and i have lots of things wrapped/coated (i spent quite a bit of time talking to him and checking his car out this year at CMP when we were instructing for ITR expo). we still need lots and lots of cooling.haha

 

thanks guys for sharing your experiences...they are helping a lot.

 

Full width rad is a must. V-band is best for all connections. Oil cooler is a must.

And lots of money to get it all right. If you don't have a lot of money, stay normally aspirated to drive on track. Do you know how to weld and fabricate stuff? If not do you have buddies who do who work for free?

A reliable turbo set-up will likely cost you $15,000 when all is said and done (turbo/manifold/intercooler/piping/wastegate/BOV/exhaust/cooling/electronics/gauges/sensors/brakes/axles/clutch/etc.). You can just buy a nicely prepared race car for that kind of money and save yourself years of time/frustration/headaches and lost track days. Having done it all, I would not recommend it to anyone except guys who have much skill and money, or are willing to acquire both.

 

sounds like an over-estimate. my build was only $5200 and that's with all new parts and 2 engines. Unless he's trying to go straight to TT, he won't be pushing his car as hard as he wants until he's about to make the jump to HPDE 3. HPDE 1 & 2 are more so about technique and learning your car. yeah he'll have some issues come up and will want to change stuff, but a reliable set-up will not cost him $15k.

 

That would be an under-estimate for me over the years. :p

As I mentioned above, I've seen scrapped together K builds for under $10K total that I can't keep up with.
I've run both a supercharged and now my turbo charged B series. I've met a few other boosted road race/time trial guys along the way. I don't believe there is such a thing as a 'reliable' boosted setup. Which, compared to the bomb-proofness of a well build N/A motor, is why you don't see a lot of support for boosted track setups.

 

Agreed, also a fan shroud is key, and a decent fan, not the ebay type ones. Sch10 will be fine as well, I'd just suggest using mild steel and getting it coated, rather then stianless.

 

Just a Hondata S300 with a chipped ECU costs $900. A 25 row Mocal oil cooler setup with AN hoses and adapters costs $500. Dyno tuning a few sessions costs $500 or more. So $1900 so far. An equal length turbo kit with intercooler, downpipe costs $3500. Add V-bands for $500. Now at $5900. Add a Fluidyne rad/hoses for $500. Clutch and pressure plate to take the power is going to be about $500. Exhaust around $500. Now at $7400.00. Upgrade brakes with race pads front and rear, larger rotors, calipers, cooling for $1500, Now at about $8900.00. Might need some R compounds and wheels to go with that extra power too, but we can assume those are free. Stronger axles could add $800. Misc AN hose and water neck to cool turbo and welding fittings onto rad, add $300. Fluids costs $50.00 or more. Gauges for EGT, boost, oil temp cost $350. Wideband O2 gauge is $500. We are now at $10,900. No labor, no suspension mods, no breakdowns (yet) with replacement parts (I am on my 2nd turbo and 3rd turbo CHRA). Might add intake manifold, gaskets, heat shielding, and misc for another $500, so $11,400. So perhaps I exaggerated a little at $15,000, but after a few years of running, stuff will break, and it all costs money. Custom welding, adding bungs and fittings, shipping costs for all the endless UPS boxes, and not to forget might have to pay tax on some of that stuff. Might have to pay some labor to change clutch, axles, install all the other parts. Then stuff isn't exactly how you want it, so add some mods, silicon hoses, new piping, new downpipe, etc, etc.

Perhaps the guys who have been running turbos hard on track for a few years can chime in on the costs of their boosted adventures to see if it is much cheaper than mine. My buddies who bought someone else's nicely prepped race car without a turbo have had much more reliable running, and many less lost track days. Losing one track day's fees (worse if you paid for 2 days in advance) with gas, hotel, time off work, towing, broken parts is rather far from free.