Patrick’s Build

Dude... that brown top looks the business.  

Is it Haartz cloth?

How's progress on turboing the new spyder? Are you keeping the engine stock? 

Posted by: pwnzor

Dude... that brown top looks the business.  

Is it Haartz cloth?

 

That's the original 18 year old soft top! 😳 It's showing its age and need to be replaced. Maybe this winter after my move is done I'll replace it. I may go tan again.. otherwise my old Mrs had I replaced it with a black soft top

Posted by: joluthgo_2

How's progress on turboing the new spyder? Are you keeping the engine stock? 

Engine will be stock. I'm going low boost between 5-7 psi. I want driveability more than anything. I'll be fine with 190-200whp, but the torque is what I'm after more than anything. That's why i honestly haven't gone with a 2zz swap yet. 

I still need a few parts for the car, for now I'm just driving it as much as I can since I haven't been able to for the last few(4) years.

Posted by: Patrick Lipp

Engine will be stock. I'm going low boost between 5-7 psi. I want driveability more than anything. I'll be fine with 190-200whp, but the torque is what I'm after more than anything.

Yeah I drove a 2zz swap for the first time the other day and I could definitely see the need for torque over peak whp. The ~190-200 that the 2zz was making was fun but not as impressive as I had expected, so I could definitely see a turbo being more optimal

..

Posted by: NottaMiata

I may have asked this elsewhere, and you already have the kit, so its just for academic sake, because the interwebz give me the basic differences, but no explanation why i dont see anyone go for SC over turbo. Never mind twin-charging, for now.

If you want torque at lower RPM, why a turbo and not a supercharger? Yes, turbo is more efficient, I know, but isnt there some drawback to it, like the higher rpm spool-up (and the inherent lag)? My understanding is that SC is a much more linear affair. Also, SC is not that much less efficient. I also keep reading that SC is more reliable and easier to install. What am I missing?

You have the gist of it but there are some real world differences.  An SC is more or less like driving a larger version of the engine where as the turbo is more elastic, however the turbo  can produce a great deal of grunt at lower RPMs which people like as it can push someone back into their seat.   A turbo kit is a lot easier to install as it can be done in a weekend without much effort and it is easy to maintain and diagnose.  A turbo can actually give you better gas millage when off boost and in some cases it can be better than stock.  

 Because our cars have the exhaust side in the rear it makes the Turbo and all of its connections easy to maintain and there is plenty of support to make it the way you want.  With the supercharger depending on which limited  style you go with you can have heat issues and other supercharger related problems.    

Both have their advantages but on the whole the best option for this car is a good compromise between the two which  is a smaller quick spooling turbo and conservative tune to keep it reliable. 

I'll add onto this and add on that the space is a real issue with this car. The cold side doesn't have much space and most of the successful SC installs over the years involved either cutting the firewall or taking a hammer to it to make enough space. This was with either a ROTREX or screw style kit. Over the years I've seen a number of successful SC builds, but again they all came at a cost to to the firewall in one shape or form. If I were to go that route, It would be as plug and play as possible by using a TRD blower off of a matrix or Celica.. Greddy made one as well, but they're hard to find. 

The hot side of our engine has tons of space, and ultimately the kit I have utilizes this space extremely well. With a small t28 turbo, even while Journal bearing, it should spool pretty early and give me the power I desire while maintaining reliability. 

Posted by: Patrick Lipp

The hot side of our engine has tons of space, and ultimately the kit I have utilizes this space extremely well. With a small t28 turbo, even while Journal bearing, it should spool pretty early and give me the power I desire while maintaining reliability. 

After reading "Maximum Boost: Designing, Testing and Installing Turbocharger Systems"  by Corky Bell, I started seeking out efficiency maps for various off the shelf TCs, this being essential to performance and heat reduction. The Subaru line of IHI turbos fit the bill very well, have modern twin scroll designs and can be had from those folks pretty cheap. Check out the RHF55 from the 2.0l legacy GT. Goog: "IHI turbo maps"

GLWB

It's been a while since I started getting the parts for my Turbo build.. I've put it off over the years, first because of moving out of the Parents place, then buying a house, then getting married, then having kid 1 and then kid 2 and now moving three states south. I think those are valid reasons?

I'm finally at a place to start this damn thing and figured i'd start a proper build thread to drum up some proper interest. I'm not sure when i'll start installing parts, but it's probably going to be soon as the required parts list is getting less and less. I'll outline this in a few posts with a parts list, my plan of action, and potential setbacks I run into. 

I've said it before, i'll say it again. This is a low boost build on stock internals. I'm not in search for crazy power(For now), rather a fun and reliable build that I can use as a base, potentially for a future build. My plan is to keep is as simple as possible. I'm not cutting corners... I think the 8 years of waiting should prove that(patience here people). I'm only shooting for around 5psi. While the stock TS waste gate is set for around 7psi(i think), I will probably be replacing it here shortly. Charge cooling will be handled by meth injection, although I will be building it without any charge cooling first(This will only be the case during the build)... I am also setting it up so that I can add an A2W cooler at a later point.

Parts List is as followed

TopSecret Turbo kit base
Turbo - Greddy Trust T517z

BOV - HKS SSQV

Injectors - Denso 630cc

Wastegate - Stock TS kit (Soon to change to a TurboSmart)

Exhaust - 

• Header - TS Kit header
• DP - TS Kit DP
• Midpipe - CHE
• Muffler - Dual out through bumper(Two Step special from SC)

Engine Management - PFC

• FC Commander
• Boost control kit (Still under consideration) - Also for monitoring
• Computer Interface - FC-Hako
• Tuning - CoPilot/FC Edit

Gauges

• WB02 - Innovate MTX-L
• Boost - Innovate MTX-D
• Oil Pressure/Temp - Innovate MTX-D

Piping - Generic black aluminum beaded

Oil Pan - OBX

Boost block - Generic Aluminum

Oil block

The engine config is about as stock as you can get. Stock exhaust, stock intake, the Manifold has the plastic divider removed(The only modification), Stock injectors, etc... The only current power adding modification is the PFC and weight removal.

Phase One - These are more or less the "Supporting" mods for the rest of the kit. Once these are installed I can get the base tune set and everything running well. The last time I had the injectors installed, It took a few days of Auto-Tune to get the AFR's correct. The settings I put in for input lag and flow rates took care of most of the fuel issues, but I still want(ed) to get everything right. 

• 630CC Denso Fuel Injectors
• 2.5" Intake & Cone filter(Includes 2.5" MAF pipe)
• Che Midpipe
• Exhaust(Two Step Dual out Muffler)
• Innovate MTX-L WB02

Phase Two - This is the actual turbo install. It would effectively replace the stock header with the TS turbo kit, which is a direct bolt on replacement for it. If you aren't familiar with the TS kit, it replaces the stock Header, and can bolt directly to the stock mid-pipe with no modifications if desired. 

• Turbo manifold - TopSecret
• Turbo - T517z
• Down pipe - TopSecret
• Boost Block
• Boost controller (PFC Boost Kit)
• Oil Pressure Gauge (MTX-D)
• Boost Gauge (MTX-D)
• Oil Block
• Oil Pan (OBX)

Tuning - AutoTune via CoPilot followed by Dyno at some point soon after.

Phase Three - This is the wildcard and could change drastically with any issues I discover

• Charge Cooling
  • Meth injection or A2W

You should do meth injection regardless of if you do the a2w.   It makes a HUGE difference.

I'm looking forward to reading your build thread.  Although I am not a mechanic, I love reading and looking at the pictures of what other people are able to do and then watch in awe!

@lordtakuban Any recommendations on a reliable kit without breaking the bank? I'd like to stay under $300, the cheaper the better...