A whole bunch of questions!!!!

[Outlaw]

Just got an 87 GN. I'm used to running small and big block chevys so this turbo thing is new to me. I've got a 96 vette running in the high 11's but it does so with instant throttle response, coil- overs set up for road racing and Michelin street tires. I also spin it up over 7000 rpms .Needless to say I love that car but I want my GN to somewhat keep up with it a little. Now I'm not looking to make this a 10 second car by any means. I know these things are monsters on the drag strip if set up properly. I'm taking the autocross/road race approach on this car since that is what I'm interested in. I've seen a couple of cars built by Heith Elmer (name may be spelled wrong) and I really like the approach he has taken with his regals. Motor wise I am unskilled in the art of turbos'. The motor was rebuilt about 40K ago. It was taken a little over stock but not much. The turbo, injectors, IC, air filter intake, maf and all the pipeing are all stock. I want this thing as streetable as I can keep it but would also like some hp improvements. I've educated myself on all of the bracing required to make this thing handle better. I'll be adding bigger BAER brakes up front and maybe a rear disc conversion later, boxed control arms, stiffer springs and so on. I need help with the motor please. Where should I start? What parts would be my best choices? Should I upgrade to a front mount IC or just a better stock location one? Keep the turbo I have or get a bigger one? Injectors? I want to change out the injectors due to their age but which ones are best for my application? What about chips? Is there an air intake filter system you would recommend higher than another brand? I'll have a bunch more questions in the future and I would appreciate all the help I can get.

 

[KEVINS]

Oh boy.. this is going to be a can of worms..
One thing that I think you may need to know is that these can be VERY fast cars for VERY little money but they are going to need race fuel. The turbo heats up the air so much that it lowers performance compared to N/A cars if using street gas. If you want to run them FAST on street gas then you almost need to overbuild it and run smaller boost levels. OR you can also run alchy injection (Great kits on the market for these cars!) and run very low 11's on 93 octane!

*It depends on your definition of FAST..

But anyway, I am going to guess that you still want to run street gas and FAST will be 12.5ish or slower..??

-First thing you NEED to do is get an aftermarket fuel pump. The stock pump won't feed my lawn mower.

-Replace air filter canister with a K&N filter. These just attach to the end of the MAF. The stock one is the most restrictive thing ever created by man-Red Armstrong

-Get new Injectors. minimum of 36lb/hr.

-Once you get the injectors you will need a chip programed for them. Many to choose from...

-A 3" down pipe and a free flowing exhaust will help free up the exhaust and help spool the turbo faster.

-The best thing is to keep the pressureized air cool as possible. An aftermarket intercooler will help a bunch. A V4 from CAS is a stock location unit that works as well as a front mount. A front mount can make the car run hotter since it sits in front of the radiator.

-You will NEED a Scan tool of some sorts: DirectScan, Turbo Link, Scanmaster are the most popular. These will monitor the amount of knock retard (KR) along with O2 voltage. Too much KR and you may end up driving over the crank in one of these cars.. PLUS if you have any questions about tuning, the VERY first thing people ask is "what kind of readings are you getting"..

Now here is where it gets tricky. Because you are running street gas you will be limiited to around 15-17psi of boost (maybe 18 if you are a good tuner and have good gas) and most aftermarket turbos are made to run more than 20psi. There is a turbo that You may want to look into. It's a TE32. This is a bit bigger than a stock turbo and probably more efficient and may work at street boost levels. This is a guess on my part though.

I hope this helps..
Good Luck.
KS