yep another turbo thread

[98'Noob]

Ok so i know this topic has probably been touched on several times but i have yet to find alot of info that can help me. I have a 98 ls and have decided to start saving for a turbo kit, im still unsure if i want to buy parts for a kit as i go or just save and buy a whole kit all together. I dont want an all out race car and i cant afford a rebuild so need to keep it on stock internals. so far from what i gather aside from the usual turbo, manafold, fmic, ect you also need some sort of ecu control or stand alone, upgraded fuel system ie.. injectors, preasure regulator fuel rail? what else. i want to have all the parts a few hundred to hit a dyno and have it tuned but i need to be able to budget what all this will cost. so basically what im asking is:

What parts are needed for a complete kit running safely at 8-14psi?

What recomendations can you all offer on turbo types, ar ratios, brands etc?

What amount of boost should i go for to keep my engine alive but still have some fun with the car?

and i guess is a hondata type stand alone needed or are there other ways to turbo tune safely?

any help in this matter would be great and maybe we can get a bunch of info into one thread on an ls turbo swap rather then pieced all over the forums/web. also if you have a link where this is already at that would work.

thanks, Kris

oh and my teg is 5spd not auto

[98'Noob]

oh and if your gonna post with a "search engine FTW" or dude you are dumb and ask bad questions dont bother its wasteing your time and mine, i continue to do a search for the info i need but figured id start asking questions early since these threads can take a while to build alot of info.

[xLAD23DERx]

First off, I'd highly recommend rebuilding the engine with more serious internals to be able to handle the added strain of a turbo... how many miles does your car have?

Without an internal build-up to handle the turbo, you may be asking for trouble later on down the road.

Here are some sites (also you should call around to performance shops in your area to get their perspective as well).

INLINEFOUR.COM - Mon.~Sat. 9:30am~6:30pm PST - 11400 Knott Street, Garden Grove, CA 92841

JDM Exchange USA

Honda-Tech.com: Acura Integra: ****INTEGRA FORUM FAQ****

Welcome to Team Integra! - Team Integra

[TEGadactyl]

8-14psi is a very tall order on stock bits. My main concern would be how much boost do you want to run before upgrading to ductile iron or reinforced sleeves (honda plants are open deck with water jackets). It's really up to how comfy you are, but if you stay closer to 8-10psi you can get away with just some beefed up rods/pots (and maybe even stockers w/ an exceptional tune and some bravery). You may want to consider starting off with 5-7psi on a turbo that can be turned up (GT28 etc etc) so that the car can grow with your budget. You are going to have to do the fuel management in one shot anyway and that is expensive and time consuming enough! My advice is price out the fuel stuff and turbo stuff and dial it in at 5-7psi. If thats not enough then price out the 10-13 psi stage and some internals, or if you find yourself with extra cash and downtime go up to the fully built block at that point! good luck!

[coldfire]

Originally Posted by TEGadactyl

8-14psi is a very tall order on stock bits. My main concern would be how much boost do you want to run before upgrading to ductile iron or reinforced sleeves (honda plants are open deck with water jackets). It's really up to how comfy you are, but if you stay closer to 8-10psi you can get away with just some beefed up rods/pots (and maybe even stockers w/ an exceptional tune and some bravery). You may want to consider starting off with 5-7psi on a turbo that can be turned up (GT28 etc etc) so that the car can grow with your budget. You are going to have to do the fuel management in one shot anyway and that is expensive and time consuming enough! My advice is price out the fuel stuff and turbo stuff and dial it in at 5-7psi. If thats not enough then price out the 10-13 psi stage and some internals, or if you find yourself with extra cash and downtime go up to the fully built block at that point! good luck!

All this is very good advice. A stock LS engine won't generally take more than 7psi stock and thats not considering what kind of condition/age the engine is in. I generally support using Hondata for all your tuning needs. Its something you can adjust yourself, and a lot of tuners support it. On top of that its not too expensive. I have heard of people using Chrome and Uberdata for their tuning needs but I don't know the specification of those applications so I can't say if they will meet your needs or not. If your looking for just a little boost on a budget then I would stay away from kits necessarily. With a little creative thought and unique sourcing one can find the parts needed for a turbo setup quite easily. Check out the guys over at homemadeturbo.com They know their stuff and know where to get the turbos and parts that fit on a budget. For example, instead of purchasing a new GT28 or whatever you could source a stock turbo off an older volvo or DSM and use that efficiently until you have the money to crack open the block. Also stock turbos from the subaru WRXs are fairly easy to come by as everyone wants to upgrade to the STI turbo.

[food2000]

Once again, people are using solely on psi to dictate how much power an ls can handle before internal upgrades.

Lets say b18c1, all variables and parts are the same except the turbo:
7psi on 57 tri = roughly 270whp
7psi on t-28 = 240

Those are hard numbers from two turbo tegs with similar set-ups but different turbos and few hardware.

D's aren't as hot on a fat girl but apply the same pair to a thinner girl and you'll have a different thing.

Homemadeturbo.com is a great site fo info and especially parts.

[coldfire]

Originally Posted by food2000

Once again, people are using solely on psi to dictate how much power an ls can handle before internal upgrades.

Lets say b18c1, all variables and parts are the same except the turbo:
7psi on 57 tri = roughly 270whp
7psi on t-28 = 240

Those are hard numbers from two turbo tegs with similar set-ups but different turbos and few hardware.

D's aren't as hot on a fat girl but apply the same pair to a thinner girl and you'll have a different thing.

Homemadeturbo.com is a great site fo info and especially parts.

This is true as well. But I don't know how much power a 7psi GT28 makes as opposed to a 7psi TD04. Turbos aren't my area of expertise. Ask me about a NA motor and I can tell you a lot more.

[98'Noob]

thanks for the info and links. My engine just broke 100k and i havnt been able to get out to my parents place to test compression. what kind of work goes into an engine rebuild. i have done swaps and such with my buddy but aside from changing heads we never messed with internals. I know i cant afford the down time on my car so if i was to do an engine rebuild i would have to find a blown gsr motor or somthing and build as i go. i was hopeing to keep this project in the 2k range but with a rebuild thats starting to sound like a 4-5k range. would it be a good idea to get a decnent turbo that can put out 15psi and just boost this engine at 5 or so while i rebuild an gsr on the side then put the turbo on it? i figure i would probably take me a year or 2 to be able to fully rebuild a gsr motor but i have no idea if my engine will last that long on 5psi. well as you said i shouldn't go off psi so 200-220 hp range is what i was hopeing for if that helps. can a ls block even hold that hp on stock internals?

[rewsintegra]

there are people who put down way over 200whp on stock internals. so 200-250 is a good goal for your internals.

you are going to save alot of money if you piece together your kit. keep an eye out on craigslist and t-i for some good deals.

i am pretty sure the stock fuel system is fine for 200hp. but i would get a hondata s200 or 300. they have great basemaps and are easily tuned.

if you are around 200-250hp you will love it. its quick enough and pretty reliable. and if you ever want more you can rebuild your motor for more boost

[TEGadactyl]

Originally Posted by food2000

Once again, people are using solely on psi to dictate how much power an ls can handle before internal upgrades.

Lets say b18c1, all variables and parts are the same except the turbo:
7psi on 57 tri = roughly 270whp
7psi on t-28 = 240

Those are hard numbers from two turbo tegs with similar set-ups but different turbos and few hardware.

D's aren't as hot on a fat girl but apply the same pair to a thinner girl and you'll have a different thing.

Homemadeturbo.com is a great site fo info and especially parts.

True true, this is a good point, to clarify I was talking about 7psi on a gt28 - which depending on a number of things (even if you did hold the turbo constant) could translate into a differing range of abuse for the engine. Basically, don't run willy nilly into a boosted setup b/c you saw some guy on youtube who was running xxlbs or xxxhp on a stock engine. Make sure you start with something reasonable (even 200whp will be a blast) and dial it up keeping an eye on exhaust temps and a/f's etc etc. You cant go wrong! Happy planning!