Info for New Turbo Regal owners.

RUQWKNF

KEEPER OF SECRETS
Staff member
Joined
May 26, 2001
Getting to know the LC2 can be a very daunting task. There are tons of wires, hoses, sensors and relays all over the place. I recommend you go here and start reading.​
It will give you the basics and really help acclimate you to the motor and the car.​
Here are some things that you need to sort out.​
1. You need a Scanmaster.
The Scanmaster is the #1 tool that will help you not only learn how to properly tune your car, but also help diagnose problems that will come up. The very first screen tells you your O2 milivolts and degrees of knock retard. These two readouts will help you keep from blowing your new car up. Which is very important. I always found it best to tune for .780 - .800 Mv and no more than 2 degrees of knock that goes away after a second or two under WOT. In a perfect world, you want zero knock under WOT. (Wide Open Throttle) Absolutely a must have.​
- What chip is in the ECM? The ECM is located in the lower kick panel on the right side of the lower passenger side footwell. Once the ECM is fished out of the plastic holder, there is a small plate that's bolted down with two screws. The large chip is your EProm. To determine which chip you have, first, disconnect the single orange wire that is located behind the battery. There is a quick disconnect electrical connector in this orange wire behind the battery. Be careful with the connector as it can be brittle and break. With the orange wire disconnected, fish the ECM out of the plastic kick panel holder, remove one screw and loosen the other so you can rotate the cover up and out of the way. Now, carefully pry the chip out of the ECM in a rocking side to side manner. There is a label that aftermarket chip makers write or print the chips specs on the bottom side of the chip. Never place the chip on carpet as static electricity can damage the chip. Give us this info and we will be able to help tell you what chip you have. This is very important, because it will help us tell you how much timing it has and if it's correct for your setup and or matched to your injectors. The bone stock chips, even the recalled ones from years ago, had to much timing in them for today's ethanol blended 93 octane fuel. So if it's a 100% stock chip, you need to either upgrade it to a Turbo Tweak chip or go through your fuel system so you won't have problems.​
- What fuel injectors does the car have?
- Does the car have an adj fuel pressure regulator or a stock non adj regulator?
- Does the car have a fuel pump hot wire kit installed?
- Does the car have an upgraded fuel pump installed?
- Has the car ever had a Spring Cleaning done?
- Does the car have the original turbo on it?
- Does the car have a 160* thermostat in it?
- Does the car have the factory air box, or a K&N cone filter attached to the MAF sensor?
- Do the valve covers have K&N breathers or just the stock breathers?
- Did the previous owner know about the importance of running ZDDPlus oil additive at each oil change? If not, you could be looking at some internal repairs very soon. Not running a zinc phosphorus oil additive in normal off the shelf oil, can and will lead to wiped cam lobes and eventual bearing failures. If it absolutely vital that you run the oil additive to protect your cam, motor and the turbo.​
- You gotta replace the timing change with a nice double roller timing chain. Especially with a high mileage car. And don't reuse the timing chain tensioner if you go with a double roller. Also replace the cam button with a Torrington roller bearing cam button. The stock nylon cam button wears a hole into the front cover with age. It is very important that you inspect the front cover for wear from the nylon cam button. It might be worn to the point that you will need to replace the front cover with a new one.​
- If the car does not have an aftermarket boost gauge and you are only relying on the factory LED lights, your boost could be off by as much as 5 psi. This can lead to detonation issues. Typically, on a properly sorted out 86-87 Turbo Buick you can run 14-17 psi of boost and 18-20* of timing under WOT with regular 93 pump gas.​
- Does the car have the stock turbo downpipe, stock catalytic converter and stock cat back exhaust, or upgraded? These are parts that are typically upgraded for horsepower and performance.​
- Has the drivers side header ever been repaired? The factory drivers side header always cracks between primary tube numbers 3 & 5 and need to be repaired or replaced if it's beyond repair.​
These are things we need to address, so that you do not incur any un-expected damage driving it.
Again, there's tons of information in the archives as well as a huge knowledge base from all the users.
Welcome aboard.​
Patrick​
 
Outstanding, Patrick.

Performance goal gameplan. Here's a few things that I've learned (most, the hard way:eek:).
Most everyone reading this site knows that these cars can haul @$$ like no other. Here's a few of my thoughts on acheiving your performance goals and having your engine/ car last a long time. Here are three main things to focus on.

*Good parts.
*Good combo of parts.
*Good tune /track time.

*Good parts: These cars make lots of torque and will eat cheap parts for lunch. There are tons of parts for "these" cars for sale in many of the magazines, mail order websites and Ebay. Resist this temptation. Many of these companys sell parts that will "fit" our cars but may not work or last very long. The vendors on this site, have a proven record, understand these cars (they own them:D ), and support what we do.

*Good combo of parts: This aint a small block chevy. Don't look for a "magic bullet" to make it come alive. It's all about picking a goal, and buying the parts to meet that goal. Turbo, converter, injectors, fuel pump, chip, octane/alky, traction, are just a few things you should consider when planning your goal(s).

Good tune: BY FAR, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE THREE THINGS. You can go one of two ways with these cars.

#1 you can mindlessly buy a bunch of crap, and hope that it makes your car a rocket ship, like it did with your last hotrod.:rolleyes: If you choose this road, you'll spend more money and end up hurting your slow-ass car.:eek:

#2 Read, read, read what this and other sites have to offer. Learn from other peoples mistakes. Making these cars go fast is about learning what not to do, as much as learning what to do. Have patience. Don't try and set the Turbo World on fire over night. Don't try and rush to have the fastest car you can. Sneak up on the horse power with the parts you have now, before you buy that new, wiz-bang turbo. When you make tuneing mistakes (you will) on a 300 HP engine, it wont do as much damage (to your wallet) as it will at a 450 HP level. You'll learn more this way too. If there is a magic bullet to these cars, I'd say that it is KNOWLEDGE. This is our biggest power, secret recipe, and we give it away for free here. These fickel little engines make lots of power, with a small CID. They need to be running correctly to live a long and happy life. They will tell you what they want, if you'll take the time to listen.

Honestly, these cars want to haul ass and it's not that hard to do. Use the search here, and ask questions. When you learn stuff from the nice people who take the time to answer your questions, pass it on to the next guy who needs that info. That's how it works. :cool:

Welcome and Happy spooling...

Mike Barnard
 
If I may... I think it would be wise for the new TR owner to also be aware of the "other things" that might not make the car go fast but are helpful to have- like being able to stop. :eek: Powermaster issues are common and there's plenty of brake experts here so I'll leave it to one of them to elaborate...

Just wanted to make sure we didn't miss the PM issue.
 
Outstanding, Patrick.

Performance goal gameplan. Here's a few things that I've learned (most, the hard way:eek:).
Most everyone reading this site knows that these cars can haul @$$ like no other. Here's a few of my thoughts on acheiving your performance goals and having your engine/ car last a long time. Here are three main things to focus on.

*Good parts.
*Good combo of parts.
*Good tune /track time.

*Good parts: These cars make lots of torque and will eat cheap parts for lunch. There are tons of parts for "these" cars for sale in many of the magazines, mail order websites and Ebay. Resist this temptation. Many of these companys sell parts that will "fit" our cars but may not work or last very long. The vendors on this site, have a proven record, understand these cars (they own them:D ), and support what we do.

*Good combo of parts: This aint a small block chevy. Don't look for a "magic bullet" to make it come alive. It's all about picking a goal, and buying the parts to meet that goal. Turbo, converter, injectors, fuel pump, chip, octane/alky, traction, are just a few things you should consider when planning your goal(s).

Good tune: BY FAR, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE THREE THINGS. You can go one of two ways with these cars.

#1 you can mindlessly buy a bunch of crap, and hope that it makes your car a rocket ship, like it did with your last hotrod.:rolleyes: If you choose this road, you'll spend more money and end up hurting your slow-ass car.:eek:

#2 Read, read, read what this and other sites have to offer. Learn from other peoples mistakes. Making these cars go fast is about learning what not to do, as much as learning what to do. Have patience. Don't try and set the Turbo World on fire over night. Don't try and rush to have the fastest car you can. Sneak up on the horse power with the parts you have now, before you buy that new, wiz-bang turbo. When you make tuneing mistakes (you will) on a 300 HP engine, it wont do as much damage (to your wallet) as it will at a 450 HP level. You'll learn more this way too. If there is a magic bullet to these cars, I'd say that it is KNOWLEDGE. This is our biggest power, secret recipe, and we give it away for free here. These fickel little engines make lots of power, with a small CID. They need to be running correctly to live a long and happy life. They will tell you what they want, if you'll take the time to listen.

Honestly, these cars want to haul ass and it's not that hard to do. Use the search here, and ask questions. When you learn stuff from the nice people who take the time to answer your questions, pass it on to the next guy who needs that info. That's how it works. :cool:

Welcome and Happy spooling...

Mike Barnard


I'm glad all of you with the expertise and know-how are willing to share it, because I'm trying to learn as much as I can!
 
As a new GN owner this is awesome info, thanks guys for taking the time to post these tidbits of wisdom!

Tad
87 GN
Sent from mobile
 
Hey people! Thanks for all the info. I have owned a GN back in the mid-90's. It was the most expensive great mistake I have ever made. A GN just recently found me, so I am getting back into the scene. I look forward to reading all of the great posts and info through this coming winter, with the dream and hope of turning it over in the spring 2014. Happy holidays and have a safe winter everybody!
 
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New Turbo-T owner. this has some great info and will def help me this winter as I get the car running in the right direction. brakes are the first issue at hand..
thanks
 
This is some very good knowledge. This is my first fuel injected hot rod ....I ran Holley carbs for years....this will be new ...but with the help of the knowledgeable guys here I feel that I can do it.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
I'm really glad i found this post, before doing anything with my 87' GN, except driving it home! Some of the best knowledge i've found on these cars, ever..Thank you for taking the time to help the newbies out! You guys rock!:D
 
Very new the the TB scene. Always loved them, but know nothing about them. Hope I can rely on you guys for advice!!
 
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