This is an interesting thread. I have just read all the posts, and I see several thoughts and opinions. I am no expert, but I most certainly have quite a bit of experience in turboing the SC400, as several of you know. Now, I know my project is way off the roof, but I will tell you that John Cribb is absolutely correct in his suggestions of the many concerns you will face in any turbo project. If you want to keep your costs down and add FI, I agree with him, install a supercharger. It requires so much less plumbing and fabrication than a turbo. At 5-6 PSI, you will not really have to make any major changes to your car to get this running.
I do not know if you have looked under the SC400, but there is no room for a turbo under it. I tried that route during my journey to get my car turboed. I first looked to replace the cats and place the turbos there...No way, not even a small T3 will fit without major modification to the floor pan and transmission tunnel. I would not attempt that there.
As John Brady so correctly stated, there is very little vertical space available where the SC muffles are located, again, a poor location for even a tiny turbo.
As you stated, the only place to really place the turbo is in the wheel well area. And you would have to mod that area extensively to make it fit properly. Consider that you would also have extensive plumbing to route back and forth under your car for the exhaust and charge air tubes. Lots of plumbing, and the SC has little room. I agree with John Brady, it can be done, but it will not be optimal, IMHO. I also do not believe yhou can do it for $1,000. Maybe you will and prove me wrong, but that sounds a bit unrealistic. Perhaps if you can do all of your own fabricatrion and welding, plus use all mild steel for your plumbibg, and purchase a small junkyard used turbo, you could get close, but it certainly would not be a very optimal set up.
There are also several other things to consider:
- Once you start upping the boost, be prepared to make many necessary changes such as replacing the stock OEM organic Head gaskets, because you will blow them. So you will need MLS gaskets to replace them.
- BTW, you will probably need to perform a ring job, as your SC will start slipping more and more oil past those rings once you add FI
- It will be much easier to lift one of the heads if you do not replace the stock head bolts with ARP studs.
- Since you are in there, 12 lbs is not very boost friendly with high compression pistons, so you will probably want to change to an aftermarket, lower compression piston.
- Since your looking at 12 lbs of boost, if you beat on your engine much, you will probably need to change your rods out to beefier ones, because others have already bent the stock rods at somewhere near 12 lbs of boost.
- At that point, you willl need more fuel, and just adding a fuel pressure regulator will not be sufficient to feed the engine what it needs for both power and safety, so you will need to change out your injectors to larger ones.
- At that point, you will need engine management.
It just goes on and on and on. I am not trying to discourage you, but to let you know of a few of the issues you will have to address if you go this way. This does not even consider the amount of time you car will be down, expect it to take three times longer than you plan, or more...Finding a good fabricator that is honest, and skilled will also be a major chanllenge in most cases, It will not be chaep, or any where near $1,000 if you go down this road, especially if you decide to up the boost past 5 PSI...
Go for it, but step in with your eyes open...:scared:
Ryan
