Scottie-GNZ

That is an inaccurate statement. My car has no more wiring than any N/A with EFI and less sensors, doodads and wiring than an OEM turbo car. With 2 exceptions, the things that make my car what it is are mechanical (turbo, exhaust, I/C, fuel system, suspension) and the human touch in tuning. The exceptions are a chip that I can adjust and a datalogger. Ironically, one of my "buddies" thinks my setup is "crude" . Agreed, they did not know what they were doing. Not much different than an N/A with too much compression, cam, carb or worse, too little jetting and too much advance. Chances are a turbo engine will blow a head gasket before it burns a valve or melt a piston.

Tony, nicely done and good luck with the rest of the install. I agree with you 100% on the piggyback systems and I will never understand it when I see the $$$ that people pour into these systems because it says Greedy, HK$, APEXi, etc and it is still a hit or miss solution with the stock system still in place.

Jarrett IMO, the best approach to building a turbo engine is start with a turbo engine. The one thing you have not stated is your HP and performance goals. You can make anywhere from 200hp to 450hp with the L28ET and depending on where you fall in that range, things like a 75mm TB and hot cams are not needed. Assuming you want a lot more than stock, then the focus should be on things that will help make hp AND reduce or eliminate detonation, such as an efficient intercooler, bigger turbo, upgrading the fuel system, a free-flowing exhaust and fuel and ignition management. The 75mm TB, hot cam and 3.90 rear sounds like the NA approach to performance is being applied to a turbo and that is a mistake many folks make. Do a search and find DRAX's website for an excellent insight on how to approach a L28ET buildup.

It is only over the top from a standpoint of weight and fit. I assume those power ratings are at the flywheel, which is what matches the ET projections. A Buick turbo (stock internals) can easily match or exceed those numbers as evidenced by what I am doing, and as Dave pointed out, be about 200-250lbs lighter OVER THE FRONT WHEELS. Putting the power aside, you end up with better balance, better handling, do not overburden your brakes, do not need some crazy spring rate and get better (EXCELLENT) mileage. There are a lot of other engines that can match it but if you are shooting for the 500lb/ft torque range, anything other than a big block will require forced induction. If you really want that kind of torque in a Z, you had better be prepared to live with it. Without some kind of competition tire on the rear wheels ALL THE TIME, it can be downright dangerous on the street on dry pavement!! Watching Darius spin his tires at 60mph might look neat, but if it happens and you are not prepared for it........ Go for it, but heed the warning.

John, does this Hitel Patel (is that a person or a company?) have a website or a catalog?

That is true, Jimbo. The Buick boys in the 800-1000hp range use between a 70-90mm TB. However, they are moving a tad more air than a 350+hp L28ET . Hey, don't be wasting your time on this forum, you have important work to take care of .

Rick, that is sweet. That would definitely work for you and eliminate the need to narrow it like I did. Just look at the BS on those wheels and imagine how much room there would be with a deep BS.

Great post. John made a good point about velocity and the velocity created by a forced induction engine makes the need for a huge TB less critical. I personally think a modded L28ET is just fine with a 60mmTB. A stock GN uses a 57mm and I am using a 62mm. Many high HP GNs are still using the stock TB. I went for the modded TB not for the extra size alone but because it also has mods to help maintain the velocity such as cleaning up the bore, knife-edging the throttle blade, moving the screws out of the airflow, etc. Those mods sound minor but they are effective. When upgrading the L28ET to a larger TB, if the intake is not properly port matched, it will defeat the purpose of going to a larger TB. The bigger the TB, the more porting has to be done to make the increased bore effective.

When I did the 300ZX TB swap on my L28ET, I used a throttle cable from a mid-late 80s 200SX. The pedal end needs to be modified but it was very simple. You also need a bracket to bolt the cable up to and you can see that bracket about 4" behind the TB. I snatched it off a 300ZX and made some minor mods to bolt it up to the intake.

Chad you can use the 36# injs from the Ford 2.3L turbo engine. They were used in the Mustang SVO and the Merkur XR4Ti. With a mod to the injs, they will fit the stock intake and fuel rail. http://zdriver.com/members/scottiegnz/370inj.htm

Stony, very well done! I like the honest appraisement. There is a tendency to get hung up on the exotic and sometimes it is just not worth it.

Peace. You have arrived. Very little $tillen/Greedy/HK$ found here , just great folks who have an open mind, respect and a love for performance based on the beloved Z-car.

Re the NPR, I think he likes it . The one he has listed as the "Big I/C" is what I refer to as the medium NPR. Here is pic of the medium and "LARGE" NPRs for comparison. The Large one is what I used up to 400rwhp. As you can see, the Large is taller but also has bigger tubes for more flow. As for the Spearco, do not judge what a Spearco can do by its size. 700cfm can support 460+hp w/o a margin, so that is a pretty damned good I/C you have there. BTW, in case I did not say it, 11.6 at 5800' is FLYING!!!

Shane, I hit a brick wall with the large NPR at about the 400RWHP range. Your 11.6 @ 116 puts you in the 350rwhp range and if you plan to turn up the wick to 25-30psi, that should put you in the 400+ range. Of course I am guessing since I do not know the details of your setup. My advice is to not use the NPR. I have never seen any published flow numbers for the NPR or any OEM I/C for that matter. Ironically, a lot of folks are using OEMs that seem to be working fine but probably have major pressure drop. As a rule of thumb, you want 1.5cfm of flow for each HP before you start getting pressure drop and you probably want a 20% margin of safety when you are running that hard. That would make 400rwhp require 750cfm. What Spearco model are you running? There are very few Spearco models that flow less than that. Look at this list: http://www.spearcointercoolers.com/stdcores.htm

Sorry you were offended by my statement and it was not directed at you specifically. I have heartburn with the attitudes of most TTZ owners and to be honest, I would not take the statement back. The fact that you are on this forum, though, says you are allright by me. I still have memories of being lambasted on the 90-96 zcar.com forum by TTZs that could not stay close enough to read my license plate and by others that turned out to have faked their "super performance". All I did was ask why Z32 owners find it so hard to give any other make credit . As for comparing acceleration between a GN and a TTZ, lets not compare magazine road tests, because quite frankly I do not think there is a stock GN in existence . Today it is a big mistake to judge your competition by their magazine road test result. The main point is was trying to make, and apparent not well, is that after dishing out big $$$ to JWT or $tillen, a mid-hi-12 TTZ is quick, but that makes it equal to a GN with a chip and a couple more psi of boost and a mild L28ET hop-up. BTW, I am not a fan of the GN car itself, but think the drivetrain is awesome. Get your times posted on Andy list.

Desperately need to talk to you. Pretty Please .

It's all a matter of suspension setup and tires. Everyone is always talking about the infamous Z-car squat and how much momemtum you lose squatting instead of forward motion. Well, does not seem to be hurting me or other Zs who consistently cut 1.60s 60' times. We even have another GNZ that had dipped into the 1.49s on slicks. As for having to launch with part-throttle, no such technique here. I put 5psi boost on the tranbrake and before the car moves I am flat to the floor laying down an estimated 540 lb/ft of torque with no wheelspin. If we 1st-gen Zs can get that kind of power to the ground, so can the Z32s. Just remember, the fattest, widest street rubber cannot hold that kind of power. Lets not even get into a discussion about 1000hp TTZs because I can tell you there are at least 50 times the number of 1000+hp GNs ON THE STREET than there are TTZs. As for running mid-12s, that is Stage 0.015 for a GN. I estimate it cost less than $250 to put a GN in the mid-12s. The pride of the TT crowd is Kyle Puckett, and I am sorry, Kyle would get his tail busted by 100s of GN. Do I dislike TTZs? If it was not so heavy, that sexy body would be one of my first choices for an engine swap. I just get a little irritated when TTZs think they are quick cars.

Too many variables to pin a specific boost limit on it. Boost it until it detonates then back off. How much boost that could be depends on the turbo, tuning, octane, qaulity of exhaust, I/C, injectors, etc, etc.

I am not certain, but i believe there is little in common between the new corporate 3800 and the old Buick 231 V-6.

Who in their right mind would compare a stock Buick Turbo to a Stage15 TTZ, unless you are comparing it to mine ? What does it cost to take a stock TTZ to Stage15? Give me half of that to mod the Buick.

Lone, excellent point. One needs to look not just at diff ratio, but the overall ratio (trans * diff). You need to make sure as you move towards a lower diff ratio that you do not end up with an overall 1st gear ratio that makes that gear useless. In actually, you also have to consider tire diameter in the equation of the overall ratio and since most Zs typically tun a 24.5" tire, that makes it more critical to calculate it before making the change.

What regulator are you referring to? You should be able to replace the pump only and continue using the stock FPR. You only need to replace the FPR if it is bad or you need an adjustable one. Hi-po EFI pumps are expensive. If you are looking for a low-cost alternative, do a search as this was discussed recently. Unless you have some whiz-bang electronic boost controller, that cable is probably a boost-sensing (vacuum if you like) hose connected to a bleed-off valve for adjusting the boost. If it is, I suggest you be careful with it and make sure it does not become disconnected or opened up too wide.

Stony, the 550s should be able to support more than your estimated 410rwhp. I am running 50# injs (525cc) and when the engine is tuned correctly I am in the 80% DC range. When I am running too rich, it can go as high as mid-90s. That is with 42# static FP, 24+# boost and 24* total timing at full boost. That is getting me an estimated 440rwhp. Why don't you try a 3rd or 4th gear full boost blast and tweak the R/L knob towards lean. I would be willing to bet you would feel a little better acceleration and a drop in DC. Remember, I said TWEAK .

Rick, a BIG WARM WELCOME to you and your hybrid (current zcar.com car of the month) to our little world. Based on our weekend get together and your car, I am sure you will have a lot to contribute. BTW, do you want the disk back or should I just email the pics? Also, let me know about Gainesville this weekend if there is something on.

Tony, glad to see you were able to snag that thing. Gosh, I love that MSA dam, but please tell me why I do not see any turn signals on your car.