I am in the process of moving to a free state which has lead me to start thinking about finally doing an engine build. Since 2005, my Z has had a Turbonetics single turbo system that I have upgraded with a Greddy E-manage Ultimate, custom 3” exhaust and 440CC injectors. It has served me very well and has been exceptionally reliable. I’ve never even had the turbo taken off for the maintenance/rebuild but then again, I usually drive it only a few days out of a month.

Obviously, living in Kommiefornistan has prevented me from really upgrading the car and it still utilizes stock internals.

Since I have been out of the modding game for almost 10 years, I was shocked to see the prices of certain kits. I believe even the TN kit is almost $5,000 which is laughable because it is a dinosaur and I bought it when it was $3,400. None-the-less, the idea of spending $5-$7k on a kit, then strengthened internals, install and tune is frightening.

So, I had this idea that kind of makes sense and wanted to run it past the people here: Considering I have a majority of the hardware and a piggyback that does a great job, would it be feasible to simply upgrade the internals and then just replace the current 60-1 series TN turbo housing with a more efficient/more powerful (but not necessarily bigger) turbo housing? I do understand that bigger injectors, stronger fuel pump and a fuel rail will be needed but that’s small potatoes to the task in-mind.

The goal of the car is for circuit/road course racing so a big, huge turbo for long distance highway runs or dyno pulls is not of any interest to me. A big/huge turbo may not even fit.

So what do you guys think? People have swapped different turbo housings on their current kits before, right? Does anyone foresee any kind of physical fitment issues as to where the kit will bolt onto ?

 

the cost to upgrades and the limitations of your current setup isnt worth the money to change anything. People in the past (Taurran) have spent thousands on trying to "upgrade" a turbonetics, but in the end its all worth nothing.

The piping, etc on the turbonetics kit was built for a stock motor. Its severely limits any future expansion.

If you are going to build the motor, sell the turbo kit and start with something that is suitable. (ie any of the twin kits or the BP kit if you wanna stay single). Otherwise, dont build the motor and put the money in a high yield investment.

 

What psi are you running?

 

What is your current whp/tq @ psi?

 

Excellent post that makes sense. So is it really true that the piping such as the rerouting that brings the exhaust from the passenger side to the driver side is smaller in diameter than other turbo kits or are you strictly speaking of the inlet diameters on the housing?

 

When it is warm, roughly 8.5 psi.

When it is cold (around 60 F or less), 9.5+ psi

 

372 rwhp / 360 torque at around 9 PSI on 91 octane gas.

It was done with a temp of around 80 degrees I think at GTM in Rancho Cucamonga, CA which gets pretty warm in the Spring and Summer.

 

If what you really want to do with the car is Circuit/Road course racing then your current whp/tq is more than sufficient. Hell, take it to 10psi and just make sure your AFR stays close to or just below 11.8 while WOT and you're good to go power wise.

If you really want to protect your engine especially in racing, what you really need to do is invest on COOLING.

MODs you should have done if you plan on racing on Road course.
* Pathfinder Mod
* Higher capacity Racing radiator.
* Lower Temp Thermal Stat
* Higher Pressure radiator Cap
* Oil Cooler - largest you can fit.
* Higher capacity baffled oil pan or Spacer with Baffled Oil Pan.
(between Oil Cooler and Spacer/Baffled Oil Pan you could get an extra 2 to 3 quarts of oil in your car which equals to cooler and happier car)
* Nismo Finned Differential cover.

Also... what Mods have you done Suspension and wheel wise? Did your car come with Brembos?

 

Hi Drako-

I would still like more power overall.

I am a big proponent of cooling as well but the car actually does really well and doesn't overheat. I plan to upgrade cooling when I start getting more power.

Stock suspension except for Hotchkis adjustable sways front/rear and Tein S-Techs.