l28 na to turbo

[carlos12245]

i have a 1980 280zx with the n47 head and n42 block, was wondering what do i need doe to boost it beside lowering the compression and or swaping the motor ,im new to the forum thanks

[luseboy]

I was looking into boosting my NA P79/F54 motor and this is what I learned from many hours of reading:

 

-Don't bother lowering the compression, just run it as is and have great off-boost response or get a turbo block

-Make sure you figure out a way to keep the timing from getting too advanced, most people use a turbo dizzy or lock their NA dizzy out.  I had planned on using EDIS with megajolt which offers complete control of ignition timing

-You should be able to safely run up to about 10psi if you are very careful with your ignition timing, the L motors are prone to detonation and this is what kills them

-Don't run water/alcohol injection as your head will eat away

-Find a turbo oil pan or put an oil drain into your existing pan

-Get a boost referenced fuel regulator and a fuel pump that can support the fuel pressure you need at max boost

 

Surely some people here have real experience with this and perhaps they've come up with different answers than I have through actual experimentation.  I personally decided to steer towards an engine swap instead as it would end up costing a similar amount to do as what I had planned to do.  There's a lot of info out there on this stuff, so read up. 

[carlos12245]

thanks alot man

[FricFrac]

You can run the stock compression on your NA.  You will want to run a stand alone EFI system if you are running anything beyond a stock turbo setup.  You can run EDIS as your ignition system but its an old outdated system and since you will want to run a stand alone EFI you will already have complete control over the spark from a stand alone system so there is no need for EDIS.  I would also recommend running methanol with the L series especially with a higher compression turbo build.  It will allow you to run significantly advanced from a non methanol injected system which will allow you to get more power out of your build.  The L series is prone to detonation an bringing the charge temperature down is an excellent way to combat this. Methanol isn't going to eat your head if you mix it with water and don't let it sit in the combustion chamber.  If you are storing the engine run some fogging oil through it before storage.

 

Its a bit of a toss up between sourcing an RPM sensor (optical dizzy and matching oil pump spindle), turbo manifold and turbo vs getting a turbo engine to swap.  If you are going for performance you will want to upgrade the turbo, injectors, intercooler, exhaust and ECU so the advantages of getting a turbo swap engine with all the bits and pieces starts to diminish.  The P90 head is a nice head to run but if you are looking for cheap (relative term) HP I'd just build what you already have and get the optimal supporting pieces for your engine to increase the efficiency of your build and thus the power and reliability.

[Tony D]

"Surely some people here have real experience with this and perhaps they've come up with different answers than I have through actual experimentation. ... There's a lot of info out there on this stuff, so read up."

 

There might even be an FAQ on it in the Powertrain Forum, under L-Series...

 

Someone owes me $20...