How-To: Install a T3 Turbocharger

Those are relatively solid numbers...

I second the motion to put this as a sticky...8)

I third the motion. Damned mods never around when you ... oh.

Heh, want to try and make an adapter for a 14B? ;)

My car is taking a massive step backwards, because quite frankly, I'm sick of bumming rides.

and t28....lol..(which im really excited to get in know since it has the same compressor wheel as you but a slightly small but still large turbine wheel
You and me both!!

http://www.urdusa.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=0012&Category_Code=PERF
if you are looking for a wide band O2 meter, I would recomend this one it is cheap and easy to use.

A few weeks ago, Mr. Bob and I finished up putting a T3 turbo on my 200SX.  The turbo was from a Merkur XR4ti.  You can also take it off any other 2.3L turbo Ford, like an SVO Mustang or a Thunderbird Turbo coupe.  It has a 60 trim compressor wheel with a .60 A/R compressor housing.  It has a .63 A/R T3 turbing housing.  Here is a picture of it compared to the stock T2.



We originally planned to make our own manifold, but we could not bend the piping tight enough fit in the engine bay.  Instead we made an adapter plate to bolt to the stock manifold.  It is two metal plates.  One plate has a T25 flange for where it bolts to the manifold.  The other plate has the T3 flange.  It is held together by three sets of bolts.  One set of 4 bolts holds the two plates together.  The other two sets of bolts go to the manifold and the turbo.  After we made it, we ported it and the manifold to have a reasonably smooth flow.  Here is a picture.



Also, to clear the large T3 compressor housing, we had to make a new engine mount.  We went with a solid engine mount since it easy to make.  A lot of people think that a solid engine mount will make the car vibrate more, however I didn\'t notice any increase in vibration.  The chassis absorbs all the engine movements without me even noticing.  The other engine mount is still the liquid filled Nissan mount however and it probably absords a lot of the vibrations as well.  Here is a shot of the ghetto mount we made, we wanted to go back and make it look better, but ran out of time before the Southeast 200SX meet.



Here it is with it all basically together.



We originally planned to stick the MAF sensor and filter right on the compressor housing on the turbo so it would pull in more cold air from underneath, plus it would look cool.  We ran this setup for a couple of days and the car was running terrible.  We couldn\'t understand why it was so rich.  Then we realized that the electric fan was blowing a lot of air over the sensor which would cause the computer to compensate with a lot more fuel than the engine needed.  When we put the stock intake piping back in place, the problem was sovled.

Exhaust.  The wastegate swingvalve on the Merkur is located in the downpipe.  Since the downpipe was useless to me, I needed to buy a wastegte swingvalve assembly that was not contained in a downpipe.  I found one on eBay from a Saab.  There appears to be two different T3 patterns for this.  There is a Ford/standard pattern, and a Mercedes pattern.  Keep this in mind if you are looking for one.  With this bolted on to the turbo, we had to make a downpipe.  We could bend this in our pipe bender easy.  We made a flange, bought one tight 90 degree bend and bent another 90 degree bend.  I wish I had taken a picture of this, but I didn\'t.  

We used a 2\" ID pipe for the downpipe.  We picked this because the output from the turbo was this size, and it would be very hard to fit anything bigger between the block, transmission, and steering column. The pipe I\'m using has about a 2.5\" OD and it probably has .25\" clearence or so between each of these.  I could also put my old 2\" exhaust into the new 2\" pipe, so it is probably a hair larger than 2\".  All of this was routed through $20 Advanced Autopart special Thrush turbo muffler!  Our test runs with just an open downpipe were loud enough to give a headche after about 5 minutes.  The muffler quites the car down a whole lot.  It is not a straight through type.

The oil feed line was made using AN fittings and AN hose.  These are quite expensive, however they should hold up to anything and they can be purchased from Summit Racing.  We did not hook up the coolant lines to the turbo because I didn\'t tighten down the fittings properly and they leaked a whole lot.  Due to time constraints, we just decided to go without water cooling on the turbo.  The oil return line is the stock piece.  

Oddly enough, I never took a completed picture, but cls12vg30 or johnnyfive might have a picture from the meet.  I have the boost set to 13 psi, just like on the old turbo.  It spikes to 14, then fluctuates between 13 and 14 while driving.  If you\'re not going past 8 psi, then the turbo is pretty weak.  It doesn\'t start to realy flow until past 8, then the car takes off like a rocket.  For street use, I would really recommend the .48 exhaust housing as the .63 takes a while to get up on boost.  However, from 4,000-6,000 RPMs, the car is a monster.  With the .63 housing, boost starts to come on at about 2200RPMs.  It will build slow until about 3200RPMs, and then it will build quicker, but it doesn\'t hit the complete 14psi until like 3800 RPMs or so.  With a .48 housing, it should be just like the T2.  I believe Magnum purchased a .48 housing with his T3/T4 hybrid, so once he gets it on, he can tell us for sure.  I\'ll try to get some video up of my boost gauge and tach so you can all see where everything comes into play.

I also borrowed my buddies wideband and tuned the car\'s fuel curves with the S-AFC2.  I had to lean it out a whole lot in the mid range, and for the last 500 RPMs or so I didn\'t have to lean it out so much.  Now the car is a rough 12:1 A/F ratio.  Another interesting note, with the turbo at 14psi at 6K RPMs, the MAF sensor is reading about 95% of it\'s capacity, so if you want to make more power, then a MAF upgrade is in your future.

As for performance, the car runs pretty quick.  I had a chance to G-Tech the car tonight with two of my buddies riding along (plus about 30 lbs of tools).  I am currently having some trouble with a loose wire somewhere that is cutting my RPM signal to the ecu during the shift to second.  This causes the car to shut off for about 1 second after the shift.  Even with this and all my buddies in the car, it ran a G-Tech time of 14.39 at 103.4 mph.  Grassroots Motorsports magazine recently reviewed different G-Timers and compared them to a 1/4 strips clocks.  The G-Tech was consistently about .2 second slower than the real clock (Their SRT4 ran like a 14.7 and the G-Tech said 14.9).  Assuming the same holds true on my G-Tech, then I should be able to hit a 13.9 without any trouble once I get the wiring issue fixed and take the passengers out of the car.  Eventually I\'ll make the 4 hour drive or so to a real 1/4 mile strip and find out what it will do.  With any luck, I can beat Bart to the first 13 second CA powered 200SX on the board (but if I\'m second, that\'s cool too).  

If there is interest, we can make more of the adapter plates, downpipes, and engine mounts for anyone interested.  Pricing would be determined later if anyone actually cares.

That is awesome man!!

You guys did a great job. i have a t25 but am still contemplating weather i wanna install it or not.

This sounds very interesting. I am definately interested in knowing how much the engine mount, the flange adapter, and down pipe would cost? Also, did you use the stock o2 housing? Or, what did you do about the o2 sensor?

Those times are sweet man.What are your mods?

Nice work, does it drive ok or is it a bit of a pain with it coming on boost late?
Pretty quick on the quarter it seems.

Nice write up!  How well does that stock manifold flow?  Wonder if there\'s some porting work that could be done with the stocker and get it to flow pretty good.  I might be looking for me a junkyard turbo too...  :evillaug:

[edit]  I vote for this to be stickied!  :mrgreen:

For the O2 sensor, I bought an o2 sensor bung off of Summit racing for about $12.  Then we drilled a hole in the downpipe and welded it in place.  Now my o2 sensor can be easily reached if you jack the side of the car up a bit.

I normally drive around town in the 2K-3K rpm range, so I notice the lag.  Still, if you don\'t mind downshifting in times of need, it\'s not a problem.  On the interstate (the speed limit is 70mph here), I am at about 3500-3800 RPMs, so there is no more lag than there was with the T2.  If you like to drive with the RPMs around 3K and up, then you won\'t notice that much additional lag, otherwise, it will probably bother you.  When I was on Deal\'s Gap with the 200SX meet, I didn\'t notice the additional lag because the engine was always 3k rpm and up.  If you are a drag strip kind of guy, then you won\'t notice the lag.  With a good launch, it will start hard and on boost, just like the T2 will.

You\'ll notice the extra power the most in 3rd-5th gear.  On mine, unless I do a drag launch, I start making a lot of boost right at the end of first gear, and second gear feels like a waste of time because it\'s over so quick.  You will find that you\'re doing 100 mph in about 14 seconds, and it wouldn\'t take much longer to run out of fifth gear.  When I did the 1/4 mile run, I had to go into 5th before the finish (my tires have a smaller than stock diameter, so I run out of gears quicker than some other folks).  A taller rear end or higher redline would help out the times a bit probably (this is where that DOHC head I have stashed away will come in...).

I\'m really kind of worried about turning the boost up much since I have no idea where the rods break on this car.  Also, I imagine the fueling should be really close to it\'s limit, but with some more fuel pressure it should be fine.  My ignition timing is a bit more retarded than it was at Deal\'s Gap as well, so I\'m missing about 10HP that I had then, however there is zero knock on my gauge from 1500rpm-redline.  I\'m now at about 20 degrees BTDC, I like to be at 25-30.  With it advanced as much as I had it then, there was some knock showing, but nothing bad.

youd be the first 13sec ca powered with a t3.. i\'ll be the first with the t25 and t28....lol..(which im really excited tog et in know since it has the same sompressor wheel as you but a slightly small but still large turbine wheel

that\'s an awesome trap for only 1 bar of boost! are you running the stock injectors?

it\'ll be interesting to see how the engine will hold up. i imagine that you\'re getting to the upper limits on the stock block. there was supposed to be a guy in the uk running 250 hp on the stock setup tho.. i guess as long as you keep under 15 psi you\'d be ok.

maybe you can answer this as well. what code setting did you use for your maf on the safc? was it the ca18DET code or rb20et code?

the fuel system on his car is bone stock. The only thing he has as far fueling goes is an S-AFC. and he bought it to lean the mixture out.

I\'m doing the same thing the cheap way  :mrgreen: . So far I know the fuel system can\'t maintain a 8:1 ratio at 14 psi. I think my BOV\'s starting to leak boost cause I can\'t maintain a higher boost than that. i\'ll crush it I guess

edit: YES YES I KNOW THE T25 CAN\'T go much higher. I just got that POS back together i\'m not ripping it apart again. so... Tongue

I used the code for the CA18DET.  Supposedly the DET MAF sensor and ET MAF sensor is the same size, so that would be the one to use.  However, if you\'re not using a different MAF sensor then it doesn\'t matter what you pick.  It\'s all covered pretty well in their documentation on their website.  Do a search for \"S-AFC manual\" and you can find all the details.

Johnny is correct, stock fueling on my car, just the S-AFC to lean it out.

Looks good. I\'m going to have to get off my ass and get my manifold done now that I have my Tial wastegate. You are right my turbo is .48 turbine.

i\'m using the ca18det code as well. just that this is code 04 on the safc2 and code 07 on the safc1, so i\'m not sure if they actually changed the code between the models or if it\'s a typo... i already found a mistake in their wiring diagram!

it boggles my mind that you are leaning the stock system out! my a/f shows me leaning out at anything over 11 psi. i guess i need to get a wideband and see what\'s really going on. it\'s back to the stock injectors til then...

I used the code for the CA18DET.  Supposedly the DET MAF sensor and ET MAF sensor is the same size, so that would be the one to use.  However, if you\'re not using a different MAF sensor then it doesn\'t matter what you pick.  It\'s all covered pretty well in their documentation on their website.  Do a search for \\\"S-AFC manual\\\" and you can find all the details.

Johnny is correct, stock fueling on my car, just the S-AFC to lean it out.

Are you leaning the fuel mixture out on stock injectors or have i missed something??
I turned up the fueling up right across the rev range with my scfc2 using the stock injectors which made the car pull alot harder up to around 4500-5000 rpm.

Yes, I\'m leaning out the mixture pretty much all the way across.  I had to lean it out most in the midrange.  I didn\'t have to lean it out at 5600 or higher though.  I wouldn\'t trust the narrow band o2 sensor.  They aren\'t known for great accuracy.  Get a wideband on it and you will probably find you are running very rich.  Mine pulled quite a bit harder when I leaned it out.  

The one thing that might be different from some of your guys fuel systems and mine is that mine is wired up to have 12V all the time vs the rising voltage on the stock setup.

i agree that wideband is the way to go (anyone got one they can lend me ??) but a regular a/f gauge should be able to show you when you go below or above stoich. it\'s strange how yours, jim\'s and my results are so different..even with the same car.

the ecu cranks the fuel pump to full voltage at wot/heavy load so that shouldn\'t make a difference.

i was using 330cc injectors with my safc. at no adjustment i idled at 1350rpm but even when i cranked the fueling down to -20% i still idled 1300 rpm and it was hard to start the car. with my stock injectors i\'d idle at 800rpm and she\'d start up right away. funny thing is i\'d spike to 15 psi at 4k rpm and i\'d still go lean with the 330\'s!

crap. i\'ll probably go back to the 270 injectors until i can find a wideband...

Very odd i have mine set from +7% at 1500rpm up to +15% at full revs with a steady increase inbetween, ive tried it at lower settings but the car just runs and pull so much  harder with these settings. Im running a t25 turbo at 14psi and a 255 walbro pump.

Ill be fitting some 370cc injectors very soon so ill see you that works out.

perhaps rewiring the fuel pump provides a lot more of extra fuel than we realize.

unless your electronics are messed up, i doubt your pump is delivering more. as i said, it bumps the voltage up to 13 under load. with the stock pump you\'re limited by the internal fuel pres. reg. i\'m running an aftermarket pump with the internal fuel pres. reg at 60 psi or so.

i might try turning the fuel way down with my 330\'s before i swap them out. it\'s just a pain to swap injectors. plus i end up spending $20 on fuel injection hose each time.

there are actually some decentish priced widebands available. with 370s i\'m pretty sure you\'d need a wideband to to tune. good luck to everyone with safcs!

Is it just a wideband o2 sensor you need or would i need a new A/F meter too? I have never realy looked in to getting one I was just going to get the car running ish with the 370\'s on and then going to a rolling road and have them sort it out to run properly at 15- 16 psi.

AS for the differences with the settings maybe its down to the fact that US cars run an O2 sensor system and over here we dont?

most of them come as a kit. sensor & signal converter.

most wideband kits come with a readout/display or at least as an option. the one i\'m looking at has it as an option. it\'s a datalogger but can display in realtime on a laptop.

what you really need is a datalogger as it will give your a/f corresponding to your rpm (and even boost/egt/etc depending on the system). that way you can tell how much you need to adjust your safc fuelling to get to stoich or rich (and later test again that your setting are right).

if your rolling road shop has a wideband setup (many shops have this for their dyno) they can tune the car for you. they may need to install an o2 sensor bung into your exhaust. you should check with your shop to see how they will tune your car for you because without a wideband, you\'re limited to an egt i\'d guess and that will be pretty rough tuning.

for me, the cost of a dyno run and setup is about half or third of the cost of a wideband kit. with the kit i can take my time tuning to what i want and upgrade injectors/maf later as well so it makes sense to get a kit as opposed to a one time tune at the shop. i just wish there was someone close by to split the cost with as you can tune a whole lot of cars with one kit...

Thats a good price a session on the rolling road would cost at least that probably more. I might have to have a look at getting a wideband system plus i could always just transfer it over when i change cars.

i think this one is nicer. it\'s cheaper and it\'s a *datalogger* as well. it can tap into your rpm signal and with attachments take boost and egt for other channels. the one in your link has analog output, but no datalogging that i can see. you have to pay extra for the display on the one below, but i\'d be using a laptop anyways so i wouldn\'t need it.

[url]http://www.zeitronix.com/Products/zt2/zt2.htm[/a]

crap. where\'s the code for linking?

the aem unit is really nice and accurate. couple of friends have them