turbo

[dougler]

so im interested in turbo. how hard of a task is this to do? my friend said he would sell me a turbo that he had for his civic that he never put on for 200$.its a talon turbo that has new bearings hes also got the manifold and a bunch of other things for it. would the manifold fit right or are they all different? depending on what he has how much more would i need?

[spiffyguido]

To my knowledge, that's a pretty good deal for a turbo head unit.

Turbo installs can be a lot of work, but with some research, you can make it happen. For starters, figure out what your goals are for the turbo, and then start collecting the parts you need to make it happen. If you're going to be running anything above low boost, you'll probably want to plan on getting an intercooler involved. You need to figure out how you'll run the oil line for the turbo, and how all the piping will fit into the car. If you have an A/C system, you may need to remove it for the extra space under the hood. Your friends manifold for his Civic won't fit on your car, but you might want to take it off his hands anyway and see if you can modify it to work. The flange will be the wrong size, but if you can get a new flange welded on and adapt the unit it would help. You'll also likely need a blow-off valve and a wastegate for the turbo. Depending on the boost, you'll also likely need to make some changes to the fuel system and the ECU as the stock ECU doesn't recognize boost levels over a few PSI. There are multiple ways to accomplish this. Some people just cheat the ECU by putting in larger injectors. Others do a hack the sensors. Figure your goals first, and go from there.

As with anything, I suggest picking up a good book to read as well. It's very important that you understand exactly what is going on in your engine under boost. You don't want to risk detonation or other problems. Don't overlook the fact that you may have to upgrade some of your engine internals as well to make this safe.

Can't wait to see you put it together.

[spiffyguido]

I thought of a book that might help you. I've read the sister book to this one by the same author about Supercharging and it was good. This should help you out:

Maximum Boost - Designing, Testing, and Installing Turbocharger Systems

[dougler]

well i got a turbo and exhaust manifold today.. it looks like the manifold will bolt up directly but there is not much room under my hood..is there any other way to see if it will fit correctly? i have injectors and an inter cooler on the way also.

[spiffyguido]

What style is the manifold? Can you post some pictures?