Thinking of a twin turbo settup

[Guest HALLOWEEN Z]

It seems to me the only really expensive part of doing a turbo sbc is the manifolds. Would there be any major problems with just bolting to small turbos to my block huggers? I've looked at turbos on ebay but there are so many cheap ones I don't know what to look for. I've read the stickys at the top and I understand turbo basics but I was wanting to get your guys opinion before I spend money. I'm shootin for at least 400hp, and I'll be doing a blow through carb settup.

[Tim240z]

It seems to me the only really expensive part of doing a turbo sbc is the manifolds.

 

Don't agree with that. Turbos, exhaust, plumbing, oil lines, beefed up suspension, brakes, rear end assembly, etc etc etc. If you sit down and actually add everything up the headers will likely be the cheapest part.

 

Would there be any major problems with just bolting to small turbos to my block huggers?

 

Most block huggers don't work well (turbo placement) upside down' date=' and you will likely not be able to mount the turbos underneath. Plus, the tubing is too light of a gauge, and will not last long.

 

I've looked at turbos on ebay but there are so many cheap ones I don't know what to look for.

 

Cheap is what it is. If you are going to go through the effort, do it right, or you will never get it right

 

I've read the stickys at the top and I understand turbo basics but I was wanting to get your guys opinion before I spend money. I'm shootin for at least 400hp' date=' and I'll be doing a blow through carb settup.[/quote']

 

400HP from a SBC is dead easy NA.....go that route and you will have a much better setup......cheaping out on a turbo setup is setting yourself up for disappointment.

[Cody 82 ZXT]

I gotta first off that I am what I call "Pro Turbo". Having said that if your goal is only 400hp and your going with a SBC then I would do what Tim says and just build it up N/A. Now of you had a bunch of parts laying around and all you needed was a few things then I would say do and shoot for atleast 500hp and make sure your insurence is paid up.

[Phyxius]

Cheap is what it is. If you are going to go through the effort' date=' do it right, or you will never get it right

 

cheaping out on a turbo setup is setting yourself up for disappointment.[/quote']

 

 

I agree with this statement. The extra complexities of turbocharging are only worth it if you are willing to do it right the first time. Starting from scratch would be much harder than what I did (upgrading a motor that was already turbo'd). And that experience was a pain in the ***. Just the few mods that I had to make to make everything fit right. It takes some creativity and ingenuity for sure. As far as sizing the turbos goes, download and use the turbocalc.zip from here: http://www.turbofast.com.au/freesoftware.html.

It is a very useful tool. Take some time to do a little research into how to read compressor maps and do some hand calculations about what you would need. Then compare to what this program recommends. I'd suggest telling it you want more boost than you really do so that it will spit out turbos with some room to upgrade later. Also, in my mind, it would be cheaper to do a single larger turbo than twins. Although, twins are really cool.

 

As far as ebay turbos go, I would stay away from anything associated with Master Power, XS Power or SSAutoChrome. Also, make sure that you know what you are getting, and that the seller knows what he's selling. Personally, I'd only buy Garrett or Turbonetics products...in that order.

 

I don't know much about blow-through carb setups, but I would assume that they are somewhat tricky to tune. There is a really good book at most Books-A-Million about turbos in the auto section. I think that it goes into turbo'd carb setups. Could be worth your money.

 

Besides money and know how, you have to have lots of time. When doing a project from scratch like this, expect to spend no less than a month getting it done. And that's only if you have time to work on it during the weeks, and not just the weekends. This is assuming that you have to have many things fabricated, and that you run into all the small stuff that you have to make 100 seperate trips to the hardware store/auto store for.

 

Don't forget about compression ratio. Trying to turbo a 10:1 motor may turn out ugly and/or expensive. I'd shoot for 8-8.5:1 for a good, streetable off-boost motor.

 

With all that said, I think even a 400hp turbo'd goal is reasonable. You will have built the setup that will be able to produce much more power than that once you upgrade the internals if you haven't already. (As I understand it, 400hp is about the limit on most sbc's stock internals?)

[Clifton]

As far as ebay turbos go' date=' I would stay away from anything associated with Master Power, XS Power or SSAutoChrome. Also, make sure that you know what you are getting, and that the seller knows what he's selling. Personally, I'd only buy Garrett or Turbonetics products...in that order.

[/quote']

 

I haven't heard anything bad about Master Power. They are in I think Brazil and are Garrett copies. Not from Taiwan like the other 2. I would agree on the Garrett based turbos or other well known brands though. Every one has parts for them.