Turboing a N/A

[Rabbit TD]

I'm a pretty long way off from this.  I just picked up a spare motor (1.6 N/A)that I plan to rebuild and figure if I am going that far I may as well turbo it.  I probably won't even get started on the re-build for months.

How and exactly where do you plumb in a EGT line/gage?  Is the a port on the turbo for it?  And are K14 turbos readily accessable?  Are there different intake/exhaust manifold for different turbos or are they all the same?

Thanks for the info

I'd like to find out more about the K14 options myself as to what turbos fit what manifolds, I'd like to find one that fits my T3 manifold.   I've been advised on here that the K14 would be more suited to my needs as they spool up faster than the T3 ones.  That first one is just way too big of a cmpressor that I got called a stage 1 but would probably be fine with the fuel turned up but I don't need all that right now but maby later.  I'm still learning the turbo game too but so far it's a fun game but stay away from the urge to get one too big for your needs by all means.  Somebody please chime in here about K14's and which ones fit what manifolds and such please.  As far as the EGT thermocouple {sensor} you drill a hole and tap it for it's fitting in the turbo exhaust manifold directly under the turbo.  Do a search on here, there's tons of information about the EGT gauge and Spruce thermocouple which you sould use when you get to that point.  Since the manifold won't be on the car it will be a lot easier to install the fitting at that time, don't put it anywhere but under the turbo.

[SolarSteve]

Great, thanks for the info.

[8v-of-fury]

As far as the EGT thermocouple {sensor} you drill a hole and tap it for it's fitting in the turbo exhaust manifold directly under the turbo.

Whoa whoa.. lol Put the egt probe in the exhaust manifold before the turbo. or else you will be getting a fals reading that is not only slower to react it will be about 250F cooler. So when you think your safe at 1350 your really at 1600!!

[Rabbit on Roids]

yea, under the turbo, in the exhaust manifold. BEFORE THE TURBO.. i didnt know they made exhaust manifolds that went on the outlet side of the turbo. i always thought exhaust pipe went there...

basically so everyone can understand..
put your thermo couple as close to the turbo inlet as you can.
the closer to the inlet, the more accurate your temp readings will be.
putting a TC in the exhaust stream after the turbo is basically a waste of time.

[8v-of-fury]

Head, Manifold, Turbo, Down pipe... sorry to cause the confusion but if someone told me below the Turbo I would assume the down pipe.. seeing as how it is below the turbo in the path of the exhaust gases.

Rabbit on Roids there really is no need for you to be a dick about it, it was a simple mistake that anyone could have made judging by how the poster worded it. Lighten up a little man, its a forum for a reason. To Learn, make mistakes, and learn some more.

[Rabbit on Roids]

Head, Manifold, Turbo, Down pipe... sorry to cause the confusion but if someone told me below the Turbo I would assume the down pipe.. seeing as how it is below the turbo in the path of the exhaust gases.

Rabbit on Roids there really is no need for you to be a dick about it, it was a simple mistake that anyone could have made judging by how the poster worded it. Lighten up a little man, its a forum for a reason. To Learn, make mistakes, and learn some more.

dude, you guys need to learn how to take e-sarcasm. ive had more people call me (profanity removed by moderator) because i was being sarcastic on here. im not trying to rip on you guys, trust me. just poking a little innocent fun from time to time.

[jtanguay]

i'll get things back on track here by giving my opinion of turboing an N/A.   

DO IT

preferrably with a VNT turbo, but using a GT15 like Arb would be a lot simpler.  the GT15 spools up so fast that there shouldn't be any lag, and so should be able to scale any large hills you might encounter in your travels, as long as they are paved  some fuel tweaking is probably recommended too.

Arb, what exhaust manifold are you using?  are you still using the 'prothe' turbo as well? 

some people will tell you to steer clear of using cheap components, but these days its hard to justify spending so much...  prothe has a near complete turbo kit for n/a's for $450.  all thats needed is to get a flex joint for the downpipe and hook it up to your existing piece, and get the oil lines.  i would recommend drilling/tapping the block for the return rather than having to get an oil line AND a special oil pan, but thats just me.  i bet there are places where you could get custom lines made up for not too much, or find someone who has them kicking around.

[arb]

Yes, my GT15 spools immediately. I get no smoke except a cold start, and then for a moment only. I have not touched the fueling, and have not gotten a Giles pump yet with the TD top on it.

Yes, its a Prothe _new_ turbo. It works well, but look at my project page 8 and you'll see the way it was balanced... http://www.vwdiesel.net/forum/index.php?topic=15633.105


My manifold was an Audi 5 banger that was supposed to be a VW 4 banger - I cut off one jug and made an adaptor for the GT15 - I had no money then other than unemployment so I made due.

[jtanguay]

yea definitely not a pretty way of balancing the turbo... but at least it is balanced.  hopefully theres some loctite on that thread.

[Rabbit TD]

yea definitely not a pretty way of balancing the turbo... but at least it is balanced.  hopefully theres some loctite on that thread.

I've always wondered how that turbo held up, I saw his picture of that butchered nut last Winter.  That's what has always scared me about getting a turbo from the aforementioned { did I spell that word right?}, I was trying to sound inteligent, I wonder if it worked

[rabbitman]

yea definitely not a pretty way of balancing the turbo... but at least it is balanced.  hopefully theres some loctite on that thread.

I've always wondered how that turbo held up, I saw his picture of that butchered nut last Winter.  That's what has always scared me about getting a turbo from the aforementioned { did I spell that word right?}, I was trying to sound inteligent, I wonder if it worked

I saw that pic too back when it first was posted so I was worried when I bought my vnt center from him a few weeks ago, but the nut hadn't been butchered at all. The balancing looked very good but the fitment was pretty bad. Oh well it fixed my clearance issue.

[arb]

yea definitely not a pretty way of balancing the turbo... but at least it is balanced.  hopefully theres some loctite on that thread.

I've always wondered how that turbo held up, I saw his picture of that butchered nut last Winter.  That's what has always scared me about getting a turbo from the aforementioned { did I spell that word right?}, I was trying to sound inteligent, I wonder if it worked

I saw that pic too back when it first was posted so I was worried when I bought my vnt center from him a few weeks ago, but the nut hadn't been butchered at all. The balancing looked very good but the fitment was pretty bad. Oh well it fixed my clearance issue.

Well, its been my daily driver since the spring. The 3950 pound caravan has got to be a bit harder on it than the Rabbit it was designed for. Especially when I towed a pop-up camper 400 miles or so with 2 kayaks and a canoe on the camper :-)  So far, no problems with the turbo. I get about 3 psi booth with steady state 70 mph, and up to 10 psi with heavy load at speed.

[Rabbit TD]

yea definitely not a pretty way of balancing the turbo... but at least it is balanced.  hopefully theres some loctite on that thread.

I've always wondered how that turbo held up, I saw his picture of that butchered nut last Winter.  That's what has always scared me about getting a turbo from the aforementioned { did I spell that word right?}, I was trying to sound inteligent, I wonder if it worked

I saw that pic too back when it first was posted so I was worried when I bought my vnt center from him a few weeks ago, but the nut hadn't been butchered at all. The balancing looked very good but the fitment was pretty bad. Oh well it fixed my clearance issue.

Well, its been my daily driver since the spring. The 3950 pound caravan has got to be a bit harder on it than the Rabbit it was designed for. Especially when I towed a pop-up camper 400 miles or so with 2 kayaks and a canoe on the camper :-)  So far, no problems with the turbo. I get about 3 psi booth with steady state 70 mph, and up to 10 psi with heavy load at speed.

I'm glad to hear it has held up and has been working so good especially in your van.  That nut really scared me when I first saw it,, they must be a lot stronger than they look. 

[Smokey Eddy]

ilikevwdiesel, how loud over a stock exhaust is it with the 2" straight pipes? Does it ever backfire? What would you say is the power gained with the 2"?

Arb, have you checked your mpg not towing? How heavy is it?

it's a little loud but nothing like an NA would be...backfire? never
 

Same for me and i run 2.5`to dual 2.5`. quieter than a ricer that`s for sure. Except for the turbo spool... that is fairly loud.