Turbo Build Article Part 5
Welcome back. I’ve got a couple of projects for you in this issue. First I will give the stage to Ian at FSR Motorsports so that he can give you some updates on my turbo build. After that I’ll go over the massive project that Logan Honma is about to begin on his supercharged 1995 Honda Civic.
Since our last installment, we have been moving forward with Q’s ride in a few different directions. Firstly, we finished tacking up his exhaust manifold including the T3 flange and main head flange. For the flanges we are using ½ inch thick mild steel. The piping itself is stainless steel schedule forty 321. The reason we are not using stainless head and turbo flanges is because despite being pretty, they actually tend to warp more than standard mild steel flanges. WE have not done the wastegate flange or runner yet because we want to first complete the entire manifold and then set it in the car to get an idea of how everything is oriented in the engine bay. We need to take into account many different things: dowpipe routing, blow off valve placement, cold and hot piping, along with the various other equipment that goes along with any turbocharged vehicle. We like to do things in a way that simplifies not only the appearance of all of the underhood equipment but the ability to work on it as well. Inevitably, something will need to be worked on, and we like to design the system to be manageable to do so. Currently, the manifold is being cleaned and prepped inside and out to be TIG welded. We have chosen to have one of our associates, Mike from AlphaTuning do the final welding on this manifold. Mike works with us on a variety of projects and his mastery of the welding technique is impressive beyond belief. Take a look at some of his work and you will see why we have hired him on to help out with some of the most critical fabrication.
http://www.alphatuning.com
Working with our tuning program has advanced us another step. As previously mentioned, we have decided to go with the Electromotive TEC3r. While there are other fancy engine management options out there, the Tec remains one of the best. It is not cheap; far from it, but few management systems can say that they power everything from 5 second alcohol dragsters to submarines to airplanes, all of which, as you can imagine absolutely depend on the functionality of their engines to perform. The Tec order to generate a crank signal, This crank signal has an accuracy that is about 500 times more precise than that of the stock Saturn crank pickup. The Tec will know exactly where the engine is in its rotating cycle within about half a degree. What does this mean for the engine? It means that the spark timing for each individual cylinder will be extremely accurate and precise. It is much less likely to have timing drift at high RPM, or interference from other signals. Another great thing about the Tec is that it can be used in both batch and sequential modes. We are going to be using sequential, and firing with 720cc injectors to begin with. We can easily up this to 1000cc or larger with the Tec’s injector interface chart. We simply input the injector size and it spits out the modification necessary to maintain the exact same fuel flow of your current tune with the larger injectors chart. We simply input the injector size and it spits out the modification necessary to maintain the exact same fuel flow of your current tune with the larger injectors. This should give us a lot more opportunity to get the hardware correct, and switch between injector sizes very easily.
The remainder of the spark system will include custom made MSD 8.5mm wires, NGK BCPR7es-11 plug, and the high output Electromotive coils. The electromotive coil system is extremely powerful and will be able to deal with the extremely high cylinder pressures that Q’s car will be experiencing. The MSD wires have always produced the least amount of resistance and noise in our experience. They will be cut specifically to length in order that there is no extra slack or wire length. This allows us to mount the coils away from heat and vibration.
Lastly, we just got word that the engine block should be ready for pickup this week. From there, it will go back to the body shop to get sized pistons and rods. The crank has already been xray’d for cracks, turned, polished, and balanced. We received the new rod and main bearings to they are ready to go as soon as Golden Eagle gets done with the block! www.fsmotorsports.com
Logan Homma has decided to take his car to the next level with an impressive grip and handling package. He already has the AEM big brake kit on all four corners to help bring his supercharged Civic to a quick stop but getting the power to the ground, especially in corners, has proven to be difficult with his current set-up.
In his quest to make this more of a well rounded car, he has purchased a set of Tein Flex coil-overs along with their EDFC to replace his lowering springs. He will replace his stock front and rear sway bars with beefier ST suspensions bars which by chance are also green and will match his Tein coil-overs. This combination should increase his handling dramatically.
Now, to get the power to the ground he has gone all out by purchasing an ACT clutch with a 6 pad race disk and an ACT light weight flywheel. To help erase the bad memories of his one wheel burnouts at the track he has also purchased an OBX limited slip differential. All of his products were purchased from Hyper Motorsports (www.HyperMotorsports.com) but will be installed by Mark DiBella at MD Automotive. (www.markdibella.com) After everything is installed he should have no problems getting the power to the ground and gripping the road.
By the time you read this, everything should be installed and properly tuned. The only suspension mods that he will plan for the future will be for new tires and an Energy Suspension HyperFlex bushing kit. I will keep you posted on his progress and also the install itself.
If you have any questions of know of a car that deserves a bit of attention please contact me. Remember that I’m looking for originality and something different but tasteful. No cookie cutterns or lemmings please. Daily driven vehicles are definitely preferred. Hit me up at q@speedsyndicate.net If you have someone in mind.
Q.
Article released by Dimi on 27.08.2008 17:35:19
