The most often asked question in Turbo Buick land...
"I want to get into the low 11's-high 10's with upgrading the Turbo, injectors, and Chip, but I want to get parts that will just bolt on. Is this possible?"
Over the years, this has been a very hotly debated topic amoungst the Turbo Buick community. We've gone from a TA-49, TE-44, TE-60, TE-61, 60-1. PT51, 52, 53, 54, and the daddy of them all, the mighty PT6776. And you will find that the real answer takes a lot of homework and decisions about your ultimate goals.
Things like:
Am I driving this car daily?
Can I live with a high stall converter?
Is this a weekend only car?
Do I want to scare the locals whenever I pop the hood? (Turbos physical size)
Will I be happy with 10.99 or do I want to eventually go 10 flat?
What boost level am I comfortable running?
Will I run alky injection?
You get the picture. You need to put down around 545-565 hp to the rear wheels (565 rwhp is getting close to 680 flywheel hp at 20% drivetrain loss) in order to consistantly run 11.00s - 10.80s in a 3650# Buick. And that's with serious launches and excellent 60ft times. 1.58 - 1.50 range.
Personally, if I had to choose a turbo for what you have now, with minimal changes made to your combo, there are two that I'd be seriously looking at and here's why.
PT6162RS (GT6162 from Full Throttle)
Rated to support around 640 flywheel hp, Boosted technology and ball bearing. You would only need to change out your injectors and chip to 60# Mototrons and a Turbo Tweak chip and you should be able to max out that combo. 30psi is what I would be slowly tuning for with that combo. With nothing done to the upper half of your motor, your gonna need to cram as much boost as it will take. And it should spool up just fine with your current converter. You will have to alter/modify your current MAF pipe setup with this turbo. And an aftermarket front mount or stock location intercooler is a must when shooting for these ETs.
PT6765RH (GT6765 from Full Throttle)
Rated to support around 755 flywheel hp, boosted technology and ball bearing. I would recommend ported iron heads, matching intake and aftermarket headers to really maximize this turbos potential. But you are running the risk of hurting the motor once you get into the 650 flywheel hp range on a stock high mileage motor, not too mention lifting the heads and blowing a head gasket. You will need to alter/modify your current MAF pipe with this turbo. It would also need 60# Mototron injectors and a Turbo Tweak chip. But with your combo, I would change the converter to a 3200 stall, as well as an aftermarket front mount or stock location intercooler.
From reading your goals, honestly, the GT6162RS looks to be the best readily available choice for your goals. The verdict is still out on the Borg Warner hybrids for me to make a judgement call. I like to stick with what I know, and that's Garrett/PTE/Turbonetics based turbos. FWIW, the turbos that PTE, Full Throttle Speed and Jack Cotton sell that are for Turbo Buicks are direct bolt ons. Depending on if they are watercooled or regular oil cooled will determine if you need water cooling lines for the cartridge. Make sure to ask when inquiring about the different models.
Hope this helps and welcome aboard.
Patrick
Going to the track next week. And go figure, my car loves the 2800 stall instead of the 3200 I had. I guess those BB turbos dont want that much converter.
