How to Turbo charge a KA24DE?

[Mr240dude]

Alright people I know this question has been brought up a million times, however through searching and searching online I find posts either half answered or I'm not familiar with the terms used since I'm a rookie in the turbo department. My KA has 145k, I properly maintain this engine such as oil changes every 3 months (1500 miles) new fuel filter, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap/rotor, valve cover gasket, radiator hoses, radiator flush, fuel pump fluids are all n tact etc. I never done a compression test however the engine runs smooth and purs like a kitten. How hard is it to turbo? Can I turbo my engine at 145-150k? Let me add it is an automatic, I've heard there' nothing wrong turboing an auto. I want to run at least 250-275hp nothing too crazy. Are ebayturbo kits ok to use? I'm on a buget and want to turbo in the next 6 months. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated!

[Promise Land]

Have you looked through the KA-DET section? it has a lot of the info you are looking for.

[krash]

I'm usually not a search-nazi, and I'm not trying to be a d!ck. But you can't NOT run into the answers to your questions if you searched at all.

If your engine has any issues, turbo-charging will make them worse. IF everything is running as it should, do a compression test. The compression test will tell you whether you should turbo your engine or not. There are many people that turbo the KA on stock internals, and it should be fine to do so for your power goals. DO NOT use ebay turbos. Intercoolers and piping, fine. But ebay turbos are a gamble, some work fine, and some blow. The tune is also VERY important here. Tunes are what make it or break it in most cases for the KA. So get that done right. EFI specialists and R.s. Enthalpy seem to be the most popular places to get this done.

Other things I wouldn't cheap out on:
- Injectors
- Tune
- blow off-valve
- Fuel pump

Whats your budget like? Its not going to be all that cheap to do this.

[Mr240dude]

Where can I get a compression test? And is it expensive? So intercooler and piping from ebay should be ok? Does that include hoses and lines too? The turbo is that small fan that resembles an airplane engine right? Noobish I know =D Also is this fine for an auto? I was hoping at around $1500 when the dust settles. A tune is not a tune up I'm assuming lol.

[drz1ll3st]

Where can I get a compression test? And is it expensive? So intercooler and piping from ebay should be ok? Does that include hoses and lines too? The turbo is that small fan that resembles an airplane engine right? Noobish I know =D Also is this fine for an auto? I was hoping at around $1500 when the dust settles. A tune is not a tune up I'm assuming lol.

Just from reading this, i suggest one thing. SEARCH. i learned a lot by searching before asking questions. everything that youve said above shows you dont know much about how cars work, let alone have driving experience. im not trying to be a d!ck, but you should search for answers and research.

Drive your car with care, and try not to be speed racer. That ticket and repair money can be put towardsfuture upgrades. Do yourself a favor, dont hurt yourself , others, or your car. search and learn, because almost anything you may ask about these cars, is probably somewhere online .
You can learn alot from people's builds (such as Broadfields). I've spent about two years lurking these forums before making an account, because i had been reading and researching. i did nothing to my car, because the previous owner did SOME handling mods, which were good enough, . But now my new s13 has been built from the ground up(literally) by me in my driveway, and even then i have learned a lot. To answer your question, a "tune" is when they finetune your computer to reach safe and maximum power to your engine without destroying it. Without one, it will either run like doodoo or destroy your hard work.
Just search or youtube how a turbo works, and you will get the idea. it can get veerryy confusing when it comes to turbo specs and what not, but basics is what you need now.

im sorry if i came out harsh, but im trying to help you. thats why you have a lot of views and almost no replies. people dont wanna answer to these questions.

if and when you decide to go turbo, like people have said, intercooler pipes, intercooler, couplers and what not are ok to use Ebay parts, but the TURBO unit itself, is worth buying a good brand name turbo, because cheaping out, you will end up paying twice as much! remember, theres no use in power if you cant control it! so Suspensions & brakes, THEN power!

Good Luck

[DaniMike]

The turbo looks like a snail with a fan in the middle.

you don't have to get a compression test if the engine is good but it is highly recommended just to be safe.

Injectors, Waste gate, blow off valve, fuel pump, good turbo or rebuilt&balanced ebay turbo, ebay lines and intercooler parts, and enthalpy or other chipped ECU (if you don't get it dyno-tuned you will want to be running a little more fuel just to be safe), Mass air flow sensor, oil bung the pan, 2.5" to 3" exhaust.

Will be around $2,000 if you get good deals. Don't buy cheap parts, they break.

Wideband o2 sensor is recommended to make sure you don't lean out on fuel ~$200


Decide on whether you are going T25-28 or T3/T4 turbo. T3/T4 is bigger and spools a tad slower but will get you to 250whp easily.

Any performance oriented mechanic can do a comp test for you. Cost a couple hours, however much they charge.

Don't expect to pass emissions without throwing in a bunch more $$ to get it tuned very well

[DaniMike]

At least 370cc injectors, and ARP head studs would be a good idea so the added pressure doesn't cause a head gasket leak.

Have fun! Get a VLSD so you don't continuously do a one wheel spin and go no where.

Auto transmission will be fine for under 300whp

[alms24sebring]

Somebody on here had a nice and clean AT turboed 240. But, it was sure worth twice what you're trynna spend and more. You have to do it right or you will have nothing but problems and stupid issues. First you have to know the difference between a tune up and a tune if you expect to put it on yourself. You cant just throw it on there and have a cool turboed 240. Itll turn into an unfinished project that you will end up trynna sell. Spend it on coilovers, good coilovers that is.

[alms24sebring]

Somebody on here had a nice and clean AT turboed 240. But, it was sure worth twice what you're trynna spend and more. You have to do it right or you will have nothing but problems and stupid issues. First you have to know the difference between a tune up and a tune if you expect to put it on yourself. You cant just throw it on there and have a cool turboed 240. Itll turn into an unfinished project that you will end up trynna sell. Spend it on coilovers, good coilovers that is.

[krash]

Where can I get a compression test? And is it expensive? So intercooler and piping from ebay should be ok? Does that include hoses and lines too? The turbo is that small fan that resembles an airplane engine right? Noobish I know =D Also is this fine for an auto? I was hoping at around $1500 when the dust settles. A tune is not a tune up I'm assuming lol.

From reading this I don't suggest you go KA-T. To turbo your KA you've got to know what you're doing, or you're just wasting time. I can suggest that you go about things in two ways:

1) Learn about your car first. Find out how it works, find out how to work on it, figure out the basics. Drive it around, put in some wrench time. If you don't know what a compression test is, don't turbo your KA. I'm not trying to sound mean here (its hard to not sound like an a** on the internet), but it would be a real shame for you to spend all that money just to have something get messed up. Learn about your KA, figure out how turbos work, what they need. THEN start making a plan to build your KA-T setup.

2) If you have to be turbo asap, get a shop to install an SR20DET in your car. In my area, an SR20 installed (parts plus labor) will be about $2000 - $2500. If you get a reputable shop to do the swap for you, then boom you've got a turbocharged car that you don't have to worry about (ideally).

I personally would go with option 1 if I were you so you can learn about your car and know whats going on with it. but the choice is obviously yours

[asoomal]

^ Fully agree man.

If you wanna turbo a KA, you HAVE to understand how an engine works, learn about harmonics & dampening, fuel, ignition and knock control. They are very strong motors, but if you do not know what you're doing, they're not very forgiving.

IMO, SR20 is much more suitable for those who wish to have more power but not willing to take that extra step and study each detail, such as bearing tolerances and clearances. Just slap it in and go.

[tony602]

Im a noob at this also. But from what i have been learning is never turbo a stock engine. turboing a stock engine will sometimes works, but only in small amounts and you have to know what ur doing and even at that you will get frustrated at how much ur limited.

The only way to actually turbo a car is to rebuild the motor first with strong internals, then upgrade the transmission and differential. Once your car is running properly on that you can then begin experimenting with turbos. I say this because from what i see ppl get hooked on boost and start trying bigger and badder turbos and end up forgeting their motor and transmission. I suggest slowlly rebuilding ur car and adding and tuning a turbo till the very end.

I have been looking into turbos and it's very tricky to get em just right, i wanna keep my car and not have to replace the engine every other week, so im taking my time and going turbo last. but thats just me