I have really been slacking. Sorry guys!
Here's the major update from where we left off with stock turbos!
Car is insanely quick... A lot of this is owed to the CES kit paired with this heavenly Garrett GTX3076R, t4 divided 1.06. The response and power is amazing. Yes, it is laggier than stock turbos, and I'm pretty sure a hair dryer is too, but the delivery, consistency, heat and topend power make it a winner on the track, and the street.
Keep in mind, this is not an all out power car... It's tempting to put down big numbers, but I have to control myself and stay focused on the goal at hand: reliability and ease of use. I've maxed out the stock HPFP on E40 and 17.5psi, where the car made an effortless 522whp at 6200rpm and then the rail pressure tanked. Ken at Wedge Performance has been tuning this car for the last 2 years, and he's one of the best people I've dealt with, ever. So, for your tuning needs, look no further. We are currently running logs on an E30 tune, and I'm lowering the boost down to 15psi. This should put us around 500whp and keep the fuel pressure happy.
If I really want more power, I'm going to give the Spool Performance Helix a try, but 500whp is more than enough for me for now.
The CES kit is lovely, and going into it, myself and John (owner of CES) knew I'd be pushing the kit harder than anyone else. I did end up having some heat related / clearance issues, but this was also due to me running a smaller turbo than the kit was designed for, which placed the hotside intercooler coupler much closer to the manifold than desired. To solve this, I had my fab buddy weld an aluminum extension straight onto the compressor housing, and now there is only one connection between the turbo and the intercooler. Track proof!
With the addition of the CES kit, the aero and MCS 2ways, I've shaved 5.5 seconds off my PB at Buttonwillow. There is still a lot of time on the table with a cleaner lap, and I'm on 200tw Nexen SUR4G's. The goal is to run a 1:51.xx on these tires, so I'll keep pushing for that. Next outing is on 2/9.
Here are some pics of the kit before install.
Here's the dyno. Can't miss the HPFP crash there... It'll look better next time for sure. Keep in mind, this is with conservative timing and zero gain on the boost controller. Literally just added duty cycle, as I'm trying to keep torque lower, and adding gain/spool would only work against me on the track. That's a solid 450lb-ft at 3800rpm.
Unfortunately on my PB lap, the GoPro decided it didn't want to record sound, so I had to overlay sound from a slower lap. It syncs up sometimes, but it gets the job done. My tires were shot and you can see I pushed my braking point way too far on the last corner, which was the different of a 1:52 vs the 53.1! Oh well, still learning.
Here are some photos during install, and of the modifications made for the intercooler piping.
More on that VTT billet valve cover and dual catch can setup soon! ^
