Long story short: I finally fixed my GSR after 7 months of it sitting. As I was building it, I had intentions to do a mild NA build, so the head currently has Supertech 75 lb valve springs and matching steel retainers. I also picked up some other goodies like an old AEBS intake manifold, Professional Products 68mm throttle body, and a CT Engineering Icebox. However, I found out recently that the cams I wanted to get (Buddy Club Spec III+) were discontinued, and although I was willing to either search for a used set or get something else like Skunk2 Tuner 1s, the same day I was able to get a new old stock Turbonetics T3 log manifold, and now I intend to turbo my GSR.

I've been trying to research and learn more about turbos since I first got into cars (you can view my lame attempts to learn and get thoughts from others in my previous posts) but I kind of limited myself to a certain style of turbo build and with this car I want to do something more simple, reliable, and more daily driveable. I've been reading into old forum posts about the Turbonetics T3 Super 60, T3/T04B and T3/T04E and they all have varying degrees of success with different A/R/wheel/trim combinations. Honestly though, that stuff kind of just goes over my head and a lot if it is pretty vague in terms of how turbo sizing options affect real world performance. So I just wanted to get some input and advice on how those turbos would be when it comes to reaching my goals, and how I should go about sizing them and knowing what certain options and specifications mean. This turbo would be going on a GSR head with Supertech valvetrain, stock GSR block with ARP headstuds and OEM Honda head gasket. When it comes to my power/power band goal, I would be perfectly happy with 250whp at a maximum of like 7-8 psi. Ideally I would want something that quickly spools up and pulls all the way to the stock 8100 redline without choking up, but at the same time I drive on the highway a lot and I wouldn't want to constantly be in full boost whenever I would have to do that. Any and all advice/criticism is appreciated. Thanks!

 

I'd keep the GSR cams for now.
You are looking at some dough to boost the car, you realize?
Injectors, fuel pump, wastegate, engine management (like Hondata), probably a wideband 02 sensor. guess you wont need boost control for 250, you can run off the gate.

 

Yeah, I'm aware of the high cost of properly piecing together a reliable turbo setup. It's going to be something I'll piece together over time as I come across more good deals on parts. I've already got a list with everything I intend on buying, including a Walbro 255lph, one of those Blox Adjustable FPR caps (Aeromotive is too expensive and overkill for me), RC injectors (440cc or most likely something higher) etc. l also intend on sticking with stock cams too because it's simple, don't have to dial out overlap, and plenty of people have gotten great results with them. As for the wastegate, I'm looking at the Turbonetics Evolution with either a 7 or 9 psi spring since I'm not looking for much power anyways.

 

I ran a garrett t3/t4 “.57” trim with a .63 exhaust. It was a cheaper, older journal bearing, that would work well for what your after. I think I had the TA3405. It worked well enough for me.

 

For your power goals, a small turbo would do. Don't worry about boosting on the highway - even with a small turbo, being is boost is more about how much throttle input you are giving. At highway speeds going up a hill you can still keep it at 1-2 psi or less by giving only small throttle input. Faster spool / more torque sooner in the RPM range = fun on the street. Turbo choice really depends on your budget. You could get a really efficient small frame turbo with modern aero on the wheels that will spool really fast and make good power, but it will be more expensive than something like a standard T3/T4 with 20 year old wheel technology. Nothing wrong with choosing the latter though if budget demands it - it will still make power.

 

Ah, that's good to know. I didn't want to add any further stress to the engine during highway use. I am definitely leaning towards a small turbo for instant spool and usable low end power, but would a smaller T3/T4 be restrictive in the high end for a B18C1? My plan is to buy a Treadstone kit and just use the turbo from that, which is a T3/T04B V trim with .48 A/R and Stage 2 wheel. Their website claims that turbo is "good for 350hp," but a lot of forums I've read say that turbo tends to choke up in the upper rpms for the GSR, but those people were shooting for like 300-350. I don't want to get that turbo and have good low end for the street but end up having the power level out at like 7,000 rpm.

 

I can't speak for that specific turbo, and I've never owned a B18C engine. But, if you're not looking to push the turbo up to what it's rated for, I would think you should be OK. The turbo shouldn't be choking the engine up as long as you're running an appropriately sized wastegate and you don't have a manifold that creeps. If the turbo is rated for 350 hp but you're only going for 250 hp, you'll be running less boost pressure, meaning all that extra exhaust flow at the top end of RPMs that would be spooling the turbo up to make more power will instead be going out the wastegate.

 

I rana t3t4 for many years (20 year to be exact) on my b18c1 motor. Can also ran a 11.60 @119Mph. Great turbo for a responsive daily. Just don’t but the cheapest turbo for a daily

 

If that is the case, that works out for me for sure! The Turbonetics manifold I got has the wastegate placement on 2 out of the 4 runners, which isn't ideal but it's better than being on only 1 runner. As for the wastegate, it would ideally be the Turbonetics Evolution with either a 7 psi or 9 psi spring. To me that doesn't seem likely to cause any boost creep.