Turbo Newb. pls help

[civiceater]

Ok. I'm a noob in terms of Turbo tuning. I'm not in N/A. I want to go turbo on my KA, but I don't know where to start. Can some one post up where I can learn about turbo's, trims, compressor size, types (like them hybrids I see, t3/t4 or t304 or something) and stuff like that? Also like what would I need to start off. My research about the whole thing is very minimal. All I know is this. I need an exhaust manifold, turbo,test pipe,intake pipe/filter,new exhaust piping and for the FMIC, it's basically them pipings and the core itself. Now I just want say around 200-250whp out of it. I don't need the most power I can get. I also don't know anything about engine management besides SAFC which I have no idea to work with either. All I know about it is it can change how lean or rich you run. Also does any one here run a manually controlled engine management? meaning no electronics whatsoever? Cuz I live in cali and I want to have the turbo but when smog comes in I want to get the stock parts in so I pass and go back to turbo aftewards without having to dyno tune anything. Thanks for the help guys.

EDIT: Also I was looking into ECU's from JWT. What is the difference between the FED and CAL? And the turbo ECU's, are they a type of Engine management?

[Structure240sx]

you have a lot of questions. many that have been asked before. and too many for someone to answer all in one post without wanting to smack you. please jsut start reading through this forum. you already took the first step by coming to nico. i used to be jsut like you 2 years ago. i turboed my car last year, and im still learing as i go

[TheOne]

use http://www.hotstuffworks.com to learn about a turbo and its components.as for the rest......someone might help.

[civiceater]

use http://www.hotstuffworks.com to learn about a turbo and its components.as for the rest......someone might help.

LOL, I just read it. The thing is I guess it just tells me how a turbo works. Well I know how it works.

Ok. Lets restart. How do you pick a turbo for the KA?

[nizmo240sx_22]

LOL, I just read it. The thing is I guess it just tells me how a turbo works. Well I know how it works.

Ok. Lets restart. How do you pick a turbo for the KA?

http://www.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=59168

This all depends on your hp goals, budget, and how you want it to spool. Many are using t3's from z31's , t3 super 60, or t3/t04e 50 trim turbos. Compressor maps are hard to understand but "maximum boost" explains everything very well. It's a must for any custom setup and will be the best 20 bucks you'll ever spend.

[civiceater]

Right now I'm reading on turbocalculator.com where they show you how to read them maps.

My goal is just at 200-250whp with the smallest boost necessary. I want it instant though, but not drastic. I know I can get a small turbo and spool fast but destroy it or something like that at the top end. Or is there a turbo that will spool fast, but will accomodate top end as well? I actually took a crash course in a high school (where they still have a shop, one of the last ones...) And they showed us how a rotary motor works. Then it's turbo came up. The turbo II. I can't remember the details but, it said that on low rpm the turbo works off a smaller exhaust inlet for the turbine side so it has more pressure coming out thus keeping the turbo spooled and when you hit higher rpm another gate open for the rest of the exhaust to spool the whole thing. Is that right? Can we use that?

[Drift Machine]

All I can say is thank you for actually taking the time to learn how to read a compressor map.

If 200-250whp is your goal then you are probably only going to have run about 7 ~ 9 psi. Look through here to get a better idea.... http://nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=38554

[gabossie]

Like nizmo240sx said, look into a book called Maximum Boost by Corky Bell, it's everything you'll need and then some.

[civiceater]

I still researching on the turbo. However, before I overload myself here. What about manifolds? I know I have to think about clearance here. Which one do you guys recommend. I keep reading SSA, revhard, or jgs or something. Top mount would be good, this is another factor for my turbo picking. I'm not sure what the names like how the turbo is mounted or something. What are the names?

[slipnfall]

Hi - I'm curious to know how you are coming on your project. Have you settled on a turbo yet for your goals outlined? I similarly am only looking to make ~230RWhp. It seems the T3/T4 0.50 trim 0.63AR(that was off the top of my head... don't hold me to it) is the choice of many KA-T builders. However I can't help but notice that many boast it's 'good to ~300+HP'. How can a turbo capable of that ammount of power be efficient(I use that term loosely) for lower power? I was told to stay away from T25's b/c they just end up turning into a huge heat source. Is there a middle ground? I guess my thinking is this: I don't have internal to reliably support those high-HP numbers. If I put a turbo in there that *can*, it's going to be that much more tempting to push things...and easier to break them...

-Slip

[SeVa-S13]

The T3's from pre-88 Z31 300ZX's are a good choice for newbies probably. They're relatively cheap, and are very capable of 250hp.

[slipnfall]

SeVa: do you think rebuilding a 16 year old turbo is very reliable(I'm sure it'd be cost effective tho)? I am looking something a little newer for this reason. Can you suggest one for use w/a rev.hard DE mani(S13 no ABS). <10lbs

Thx!

[RatedR]

Hey Civiceater, I'm from antioch too. Hehehe, good to see that other people around here are doing research instead of just running 'em.