Guest bastaad525 Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 I still have a lot to learn regarding the turbo itself, so forgive me if this question makes no sense or sounds stupid. I know the most common upgrade for Turbo Z's is the T3/04 setup, and one of the easier things about that upgrade is that the exhaust flange bolts to the manifold perfectly. However, I'm more curious about the INTAKE side. Every pic I see of a T3/04 has a much larger intake opening to the compressor, obviously necessitating a whole new intake pipe setup to fit. Are there any turbo upgrade options for someone who wants to retain everything else stock, including the J-pipe and the rubber boot from the AFM to the turbo inlet? Maybe it's the lazy mans way out, but I would love if I could somehow upgrade to a turbo that would fit with stock everything like this, and therefore be able to get the same power or even a little more, with less boost, and less worry about heat, but w/o having to custom fab anything. And with the cooler air of the more efficient turbo, the necessity of an I/C would be slightly lessened... heheh not the best logic I know, but I do always find myself wondering how far and in which ways I could safely go for more power w/o having to do all the custom piping PITA that installing the I/C entails. So... are there options here? I'm not looking for big power gains or better spoolup, just a more efficient turbo. Are there hybrids that will fit the stock pipe and AFM boot? Are there mods I can do, like different wheels, that can retain a fully stock T3 housing? What kind of $$$ would be necessary for something like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 If you want complete bolt-on compatibility, the GN compressor machined to fit the stock T3 compressor is the only way I know of. I know a local guy who did that, but truly, it's not that much of an upgrade over stock. I bought my turbo from Jim Cook Racing, and it was a bolt on in nearly every sense. The only mods I had to do on a stock system was modify the turbo intake, as it was about 3/8" bigger diameter - I just trimmed the stock piece up, and reclamped it. The J-pipe still fit the outlet, but I had to cut about 1/2" off J-pipe end to the turbo outlet so it would fit the mount (the compressor is bigger in diameter than stock by that much). Then I had to re-drill the mounting for the stock wastegate actuator as the bolt pattern on the TO4 housing was different. I didn't think the mods were that big a deal for what I got. The turbo acts like stock with stock boost, but is much more efficient at elevated boost levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 so you're still using a stock AFM to turbo boot? What exactly do you mean by "trimmed the stock piece up"? I was considering stuff like this too, ways of modifying the turbo end of that boot to fit a larger diameter opening, but not having to replace the whole thing. I have no qualms with cutting the j-pipe a little shorter to fit I thought the outlet was a larger diameter too... so that it's not, is good news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo2001 Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 Mine is 60-1 T04B with Nissan T3 turbine housing mate with stage III. I didn't have to mod anything except I got me a solid charge pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 just get the intercooler, whats wrong with an intercooler? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted November 1, 2003 Share Posted November 1, 2003 Nothings wrong with it, I already have one I know I know... I REALLY want to get it installed, trust me!! I have to get it modified first, it's a Buick GN I/C, the inlet and outlet need to be modified if I want to make it an easy and good fit in the Z, then I have to get all the piping made... It's not gonna be cheap. For the price, there are other mods I could do, and an upgraded turbo could be one of those, and I thought maybe that would be a better investment for the time being. I'm really split between four high price mods right now, that I have to choose from when I get some money, I can most likely only do one. It's either install my I/C, install a mandrel 3" exhaust, install programmable fuel control, or install a more efficient turbo. I am still most likely going to do the I/C first... I'm just exploring my options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 525 - Just an idea - sell the GN IC and find the medium size NPR IC like i did - $150, and you "shouldn't" have to spend the extra cash to get it modified at all. I got it to squeeze around the stock radiator. Picked up some mandral bent 2" & 2.5" aluminized pipe from JC Whitney - $30, welded it, got a few couplers from Turbonetics - $30 - (or you can probably use truck radiator hose like i've heard others doing if you want to save more) and bolt it in. I'm not sure what the GN IC is worth but, it's just an option that i thought you may want to explore. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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