hey guys,

i was thinking of turbo charging my 1400, what all is involved? is it worth my while?, i first want to do some research before i go ahead and do anything.

what size turbo do you run? and what sort compression ratio would you run? Any help and info will be a great help many thanks

nicholas

Ouch, oooh ahh, my fingers are all burned. I don't think i want to touch this subject, ..... again.

if you're keeping it relatively mild, use a 25/68 cam pushing on better pushrods, bigger valves and a trick efi setup with something like 550cc injectors.

build the bottom end pretty much std with polished and linished (maybe even cryo-treated) rods and crank, with hyper-eutectic pistons and the tradtional overbore. use good rings and bearings.

use a TD04 turbo off the post 97 WRX as they have an undersized exhaust housing, perfect for about a 1.5L.

as for ignition, use the E15 elec dizzy, or better yet, programmable management with ignition control.

i would choose a delco to run this, however, a microtech will work fine if you pay someone to hook it all up instead.

you'll need a celica box to take all the grunt though, and then you're looking at a new diff.

good luck

You can do it anyway you want, from basic cheap (no intercooler and used turbo) to the full-on setup (including aforementioned cryo-treated parts).

The current hot setup seems to be "twin turbo" setup.


Is it worth it? Depends on what you want. It won't make your vehicle more dependable, but is one of the least expensive ways to make huge hp improvement. A turbo dollar-for-dollar will generally make more HP than a standard engine hot-up.

Nicholas, start by reading our Turbo article.

Has anybody ever fitted a nitrous system to a A series engine?
I read somewhere it is cheaper than a turbo conversion.

well of course it's cheaper than a turbo conversion, but you can't hose down that WRX from the local lights now, can you? hooking up NOS on the street is a big no-no, and will not only see you with a yellow sticker, you could also be liable for one of those nice, fat fines the EPA are so reknowned for giving out - like $10,000 worth.

if you do NOS an A series, you'll need to rebuild it anyways to take the extra stress it puts on the engine. if you're going to rebuild it, then put a turbo on it. if it's STILL not fast enough, then add NOS and wind the boost down a shade when you do.

in all seriousness, turbo'd A series are great engines. not as much torque as an L series, but the extra rev-ability and ease of extracting power with boost more than makes up for it.

I've written a description of my turbo system and how i set it up, should give you an idea of what you are in for, the page isn't finished but most of the details are in there:

project a15tt

Firstly in Australia yes it is a defect to fit nitrous to a street registered car, but who knows in South Africa?
Secondly I would like to hear why the EPA would have a concern with it enough to fine you? Maybe its because your adding all that extra oxygen to your fuel to make it burn better, with this reducing emissions. ( yeah I think that could be it)
Thirdly what makes you think a Nitrous engine has to be built better that a Turbo engine?

In South Africa we are not as strict as in Aus.
We do not have emmisions test and stuff.
How would they know if I have a nitrous system on or not.
Here is some cars that are driving around with tyres that look like slicks without them doing anything.

Is it really required to overhaul your engine for nitrous? I have heard alot of people just putting on with a motor that have more than 100 000km on the clock and a standard motor.
I was just curious about a nitrous system as I read about it in a performance magazine here in SA. They say it is reliable IF used right and also 1/3 the price of a turbo setup.

With a turbo setup you will always know that once you start revving the power will always be there, as for NOS flick a switch and you have go... but NOS has a limited amount you are holding and than you need to pay to full it again.
E15t setup, any chance one of these could bolt onto an a-series?