For those who have been keeping up with what i've done with the car over the year, then you know it hasn't been a fun trip.
Installing the drag 2 kit was a pain, but knowing that it didn't make the power i wanted was worse.
The 2nd installment of the epic turbo was the hondata system. This proved to be a worthwhile purchase, but the power was still not there. I had made only 214hp with a near perfect air ratio.
here is the dyno of the hondata tuned vs what drag supplied with me.
Not too great, but still a very nice increase in power. This is when i first experienced TIRE SPIN in first gear. Amazing yes.
Now jump forward a few months. I have been doing a lot of research on turbos, getting to know them like my own two feet. I figured that my turbo specs were all wrong for our cars. So i sent my turbo to get it rebuilt to some yummy specs. It was changed to a .63 A/R turbine, with a stage 3 to4B 50 trim (from a to4E). This was done at www.majesticturbo.com very nice ppl.
Let me tell you about why i changed turbos. I had thought that the turbine side was too small. I had thought that i had a .48 a/r. which is very very tiny and would explain the linear growth that you see from the dyno above. This was NOT the case. I had a .63 a/r in there! wowez me when i found out (majestic already had my turbo ). But theres more. What was in there before was the to4B super V wheel. This wheel is very big and laggy, and makes power past 10psi. Past 10psi is where most of us can't afford to run. So i went ahead and switched it to a to4e 50 trim. This wheel is very nice. capable of 350-450 hp, it is not so big, and makes good TOP END POWER from what majestic told me.
Now i bet you're dying to see what i got. well here it is. 9 months of being turbo'd and i finally got to where i want (90% satisfied).
This compares NA form w/ mods (type s cams, bolt ons) to the end result of todays work.
Very nice numbers. But you might be wondering what the dip is at 6k rpm? Well, my avc-r boost controller was acting very funny. At 6k rpm it let off 1psi of boost! bastard machine, i say. So, when it lost that 1psi, the whole system suffered and had to regain that 1psi (as you see it climbing up afterwards). sucks i know, but its a simple mechanical fix. in theory, if i get my controller working correctly so that it doesn't lose that 1psi, it should continue on strong.
Here is a plot comparing what drags fuel management gave me, what hondata gave me, and finally what the new turbo got me.
Interesting yes.
Some more interesting things
This is what the new turbo did just bolted on. first run of the day, and what we ended up with when we left.
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Now you may be wondering, if i get this turbo, can i expect these gains?
Yes and No.
If you have a stand alone ecu, you can get these gains and potentially more if you get the turbo trim that i have gotten.
Could my old turbo do what this one did?
not at the same boost level. It's too large and laggy and inefficient at 7psi.
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Thanks for your time. It drives pretty nice now, muoy fun. and i feel that its the most i can get on stock internals. .54 bar is what i'm pushing so about 7-8psi.
Originally posted by Joon525 I so wish I had the time and patience to go through what you just went through.
So true joon.
The turbo was the biggest headache of my life. It was not instant gratification like my rims (). It was a lot of hard work and many trips to home depot. A lot of money was spent, but this is always the case with things you love to do. Learn from your mistakes, or should i say, learn from my mistakes. You can have a turbo built up and running 240hp+ on a lude now, or atleast, we know its possible. I was so skeptical once i had dyno'd the car, and even after i dyno'd with the hondata. With the recent news of 98lude's car not runing right, i was even more worried. But tough it out and things will always turn out the way you want.
God damn pure lude. You've put a serious amount of time, effort, and money into your car. I hope you acheived what you ultimately wanted. Congradulations..
Geez, now I have no idea what a/r my turbine housing is. Didn't your housing have a 20357 stamped on it. I confirmed, looking up the turbonetics part number that the housing 20357 was .48 a/r, standard trim. How did you find out yours was different?
It shouldn't be too long now before I put my engine back in and start to tune. I'm frozen for a couple weeks, since the Wife and I just had a baby, it sucks up an amazing amount of time.
__________________ DirtyLude
Mark Higgins
Toronto Prelude Club www.hondaprelude.to
Originally posted by DirtyLude Geez, now I have no idea what a/r my turbine housing is. Didn't your housing have a 20357 stamped on it. I confirmed, looking up the turbonetics part number that the housing 20357 was .48 a/r, standard trim. How did you find out yours was different?
It shouldn't be too long now before I put my engine back in and start to tune. I'm frozen for a couple weeks, since the Wife and I just had a baby, it sucks up an amazing amount of time.
Ok this is what i found out.
the housing stamp is not an indicator of the a/r. Majestic told me that all the housins are basically the same, so they only use one cast. I actually saw it on my receipt and called them about it.
What trim are you getting? the 54 to4E trim is WEAKER than the 50trim for some strange reason. But the 57 and up should be able to flow more than the 50.
The 50 spools up a little quicker, sucks in more air, and sounds wayy more agressive now. The blow off valve goes off more at normal cruising. hehe.
I don't know what trim and a/r I have, so I don't know what I'm getting. I'm going to dyno with this one and see what I get. If it's a larger trim like your original, then that's alright since I'll be putting down 15psi at first, anyway. I'll dyno with this one and see how it react at that level of boost. If it's not working out I'll decide what I want later.
Originally posted by DirtyLude Geez, now I have no idea what a/r my turbine housing is. Didn't your housing have a 20357 stamped on it. I confirmed, looking up the turbonetics part number that the housing 20357 was .48 a/r, standard trim. How did you find out yours was different?
It shouldn't be too long now before I put my engine back in and start to tune. I'm frozen for a couple weeks, since the Wife and I just had a baby, it sucks up an amazing amount of time.
I second what purelude said. I got back my exhaust housing, and looked at the number on the outside. It says, 20357. Then, I looked inside the housing and saw a crudely casted ".63" on the inside. I guess we always have to look within to know for sure
hey Tim!
Cool sh@t man. I know we're all a little curious about 2 things. 1: What do you think she'll run the 1/4 in? and 2: how much $ do you think you've put into this project to get it to where it is? Thanks for showin us the way!
Tim, congrats! Those numbers are very You need to gimme a ride in the car soon! I think we're going to Sac Raceway in a month or so, when it cools down. You should come to.
SAM
Originally posted by celexa hey Tim!
Cool sh@t man. I know we're all a little curious about 2 things. 1: What do you think she'll run the 1/4 in? and 2: how much $ do you think you've put into this project to get it to where it is? Thanks for showin us the way!
How much have i spent? on just the turbo....
3000 for the kit
400 boost controller
200 gauges
300 clutch
350 rebuild
1500 hondata + ecu + injectors + harness + dyno
4 hours of dyno ~ $500
so many hours of headaches - priceless.
Originally posted by celexa hey Tim!
Cool sh@t man. I know we're all a little curious about 2 things. 1: What do you think she'll run the 1/4 in? and 2: how much $ do you think you've put into this project to get it to where it is? Thanks for showin us the way!
Isn't it sad when you think back how easy it would have been if you knew then all that you know now. I would have saved alot of money.
__________________ DirtyLude
Mark Higgins
Toronto Prelude Club www.hondaprelude.to
wow, incredible, i doubted the lude would push those numbers. if you're ever in kansas city, drop a line, i would love to see that car and watch it beat the crap out of mustangs. anyways, when i saw the dyno only this smiley can produce the effect . Congrats on the turbo, hope everything is clear sailing from here on out
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2008 Legacy Spec-B
Cusco STi
Got b00st?
Wow- nice going there Tim. I think I have that same turbo in my car(a T3T04e with a .50 trim). Strange, but I think mine dips right at 6K too(I thought it was just me). Also what MPG are you getting on average? I used to get 26 overall NA, and now 17-21 with turbo. I finally got my Datalogger working, but it says that I am only making like 1.30 bar at full boost, and I see my boost gauge reading 6 psi at full boost, so I am finding it hard to interpret my readings. Also, where can I get a 3" DP that will fit my turbo(and will fit on our cars!?) Thanks!
I am just getting going on my custom 3" exhaust. Got the RT 3" cat and 3" muffler ordered, next is piping, but I really want a 3" DP now too to complete the job before I put her away for winter. Any help would be great.
Also, my AOL IM name is Spockoslude If you have it, click me on your list so we can chat more often about psi headaches and such. Talk to you soon I hope(BTW, great numbers man- that's more like it(and actually what I expect to make myself too with my kit at present).
__________________
Live long and prosper, and god save the lude!
Spocko_1701a@yahoo.com > email me
My vouch thread> http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=919921
Man that dyno looks real good!! Lots of HP!!! Must be fast!!
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---).( --- I love prosciutto.. italian ham.. uncooked
--( v ) -- Name: Manoj (Mark) requested by Oreo
-- \|/ ---
Originally posted by Spocko I finally got my Datalogger working, but it says that I am only making like 1.30 bar at full boost, and I see my boost gauge reading 6 psi at full boost, so I am finding it hard to interpret my readings. Also, where can I get a 3" DP that will fit my turbo(and will fit on our cars!?) Thanks!
1.3 bar is about 19psi. Something is wrong there.
3" downpipe will need to be custom made by an exhaust shop. A local shop ( www.brullenexhaust.com ) will be making up one for me. I've done a little modification to the lower engine brace to make sure everything fits.
__________________ DirtyLude
Mark Higgins
Toronto Prelude Club www.hondaprelude.to
). But theres more. What was in there before was the to4B super V wheel. This wheel is very big and laggy, and makes power past 10psi. Past 10psi is where most of us can't afford to run. So i went ahead and switched it to a to4e 50 trim. This wheel is very nice. capable of 350-450 hp, it is not so big, and makes good TOP END POWER from what majestic told me. 
). It was a lot of hard work and many trips to home depot. A lot of money was spent, but this is always the case with things you love to do. Learn from your mistakes, or should i say, learn from my mistakes. You can have a turbo built up and running 240hp+ on a lude now, or atleast, we know its possible. I was so skeptical once i had dyno'd the car, and even after i dyno'd with the hondata. With the recent news of 98lude's car not runing right, i was even more worried. But tough it out and things will always turn out the way you want. 
and 2: how much $ do you think you've put into this project to get it to where it is? Thanks for showin us the way!
