A penny for your educated thoughts?

[stefan]

Hi guys, I've been on here for a while, playing with the idea of using a pair of KKK K03 turbos to boost my e32.
So, I've been doing lots of searching, and am now abandoning the parallel twin turbo.
Unfortunately for me, I just can't get my head around learning to read a compressor map... so I was hoping to get your help, in the form of some thoughts and answers regarding my question(-s).

My goal is, for starters, around 325-350whp on an entirely stock engine, upgrade and up the boost as time passes by.
The engine (and car) will be upgraded along the way to be able to take more boost.
I'll use the car daily (to commute, not to tear up the streets) and occasionally give it hell, but I don't really mind fixing the car up once in a few weeks, especially the first few weeks I'll keep my toolbox and a can of oil in the trunk...
I don't mind a bit of boost threshold; I don't need (nor want) the power while commuting and it's a nice trade-off; have a bit of gas mileage when commuting, and more power up the rev range.

My thoughts for the usual 'big' single parts;
- flipping the stock manifolds over, and build an adapter (split pulse, mild steel, and I guess I'm down to two 38mm wastegates if I want it to stay split puls/twinscroll?)
- china intercooler set with 'medium' size ic (should flow enough air for at least up to 450-ish horse) and 2.5" piping to match the turbine outlet
- one or two Bosch recirc valves I still have from an Audi S4 (I'll have to check how much they flow)
- megasquirt plug n pray ecu,
- 550cc/min injectors
- walbro 255lph fuel pump
I will have to figure oil lines out, see if there's a kit or I have to have something made to order, would a -6AN feed and -10AN return suffice?

Now the turbo itself; a china (there, I said it again!) gt3582, these are the specs I pulled from a random ebay listing (the cheap journal bearing ones are all the same basically);

Intake :4 inch
Outlet: 2.5 inch
Compressor trim: .70 ar
Compressor Wheel diameter: 66.36 /81.87
Turbine wheel diameter : 64.50 /73.60
Exhaust trim: .82 ar
Twin scroll turbine housing

Will the specs of this turbo suit my goals, or maybe be a little off, or maybe even really really far off?

By the way, I'm familiar with the reduced efficiency, quality and reliability of china made knock-off parts... I'm on a budget, so that's why I'm going with ebay crap to start out with, I know that makes me a false cheapskate, believe me, I'd do it right the first time if I could, but I don't feel like saving for 5 years or getting a loan.
I've been there before, but back then, my hood had a square with an H in it, not the black, blue and white I have today (ehmm... black, carbon fibre and white to be more precise)
I can't source a used Garret, Holset, Schwitzer, you name it, locally; there is just no market for it here as there is in the US.
And 99 out of a 100 US based sellers will NOT ship abroad; even if they would, shipping would be about as expensive as the item itself, making buying a new one in stead of used more sensible, so that'll have to wait.

[T_C_D]

I ship all over the world via USPS which is a bargain compared UPS or DHL or FEDEX.

[Mark 88/M5 Houston]

If I were to build a turbo car; all the major components would be purchased from TCD. Todd provides high quality components and outstanding customer support.

You can keep the penny and apply it to you turbo project.

[GI jonas]

Keep in mind there is no user here on this board that will speak to you unless you drop at least $37k on your build.As one of the people who has done just that and still have not driven the car yet I say go for it as sometimes I wish I did.Worst case scenario....well...everything blows up and kills all nearby children but whatever.Some people actually succeed with crappy parts,which makes the glory that much sweeter!!

[Jeremy]

Keep in mind there is no user here on this board that will speak to you unless you drop at least $37k on your build.

I had less than that, total, including incidentals and vehicle acquisition in TWO builds. Both ran and drove very well before being sold.

You don't need to spend a ton of money to make smart decisions. That said, it can't be done with an extremely limited budget, either. There's a lot of room between smart and thrifty and the big budget stuff in the realm of "stuff that works well".

[winfred]

i have a tenth of that in my e30 (built motor, megasquirt, supercharger, air/water charge cooler, m-coupe suspension/brakes, recaro seats.......)

Keep in mind there is no user here on this board that will speak to you unless you drop at least $37k on your build.

I had less than that, total, including incidentals and vehicle acquisition in TWO builds. Both ran and drove very well before being sold.

You don't need to spend a ton of money to make smart decisions. That said, it can't be done with an extremely limited budget, either. There's a lot of room between smart and thrifty and the big budget stuff in the realm of "stuff that works well".

[Shadow]

I think it's a joke.
37,000 you can buy a new car that's much faster.

[stefan]

That's too bad, but I guess that defines the car scene these days... if you run replica wheels, you get a flume on your windows every once in a while, or a key scratch along the doors.
Used to be a community manager at a Dutch large car-related club/forum, until I grew sick and tired of all the b/s people say and do to each other for no reason, I even bought a Volvo to leave that all behind.

To be clear about the 'I'm on a budget' remark, I used to have a Civic once; put a XS Power turbokit on it... all I did was replacing the oil line kit (didn't trust the XS-P stuff) with something from a decent manufacturer, cut the flange between the runners to relieve stress (and had a reinforcing bar welded in between the turbo and head flange), and had a custom 3" downpipe made as I only got a 2" one in the kit.
Sold the lightweight pulleys and cam gears, didn't trust them.
Ran it hard every day I used the car, produced about 300-310 at the crank at 10psi; only thing that failed on me in about a year was the wastegate (and because of me failing to notice the boost creep, I killed the engine :p )
In short, I spent about two grand on the setup, including some more stuff (like a quality air filter, a few gauges, a vacuum manifold, turbo blanket, heat wrap, injectors, clutch kit, shaved flywheel, and a good tune), and it was reliable.
So I think for about 2500, I should be able to boost my e32, that's what 'on a budget' means

[AlpinaE24]

Try to find a quality used turbo, don't bother with the china shit. You seem to have a pretty good idea what you need, i think it is definitely possible for under 3k. I turboed my VW with junk yard parts for under $300

[stefan]

I have a pair of used K03's from an Audi S4, but no one wants to trade them for a big single hehe, any takers here?

Anyway, if someone Stateside would like to help me out by letting me send him a turbo, and send it to me, that would be great
It wouldn't be any time soon though, still figuring some stuff out, and am in the process of preparing the car for power by giving it some fresh parts.

By the way, Todd, thanks for your remark about shipping abroad, but for me, even though your products look real good, a large part of the fun is looking for parts from different sources, and gathering parts over time... not buying a kit (or one item at the time, lol).

[Jeremy]

So I think for about 2500, I should be able to boost my e32, that's what 'on a budget' means

I think you'll be hard pressed at that kind of budget, but it might be doable. At least you've been down this road before so you have some knowledge of what you're up against.

It'll be interesting to see what you come up with.

[Golosok]

Did you try to look on trucks junk yards? You should be able to find good turbo from big diesel trucks, like Volvo semis.
I'm talking like Holset HX52 or Switzer turbos. Should be cheap and better then chinese.

[marc79euro645]

sound to me like a 745 swap would be the easiest. I bought my first non running 81 745 for $400,then sold the bumpers & driveshaft for $500. I found my current 84 m106 in a wrecking yard for $500.
or
Tcd ftw
good luck
marc

[mooseheadm5]

Can you weld?

[turbodan]

Keep in mind there is no user here on this board that will speak to you unless you drop at least $37k on your build.As one of the people who has done just that and still have not driven the car yet I say go for it as sometimes I wish I did.Worst case scenario....well...everything blows up and kills all nearby children but whatever.Some people actually succeed with crappy parts,which makes the glory that much sweeter!!

wat

[stefan]

There are not a lot of 745i's here, and if you find one, it's most likely a running one in good condition (so a couple of grand worth).
And aren't those manifolds, like all cast manifolds, very likely to crack?
If I had a mock up head, I would probably make a log style manifold out of mild steel weld L's and T's.

Can you weld?

Short answer; no.
Long answer a friend of mine has an arc welder, a friend of my dads has a tig welder, and there are some small shops that do custom work.
I can make things the way I want it to be, but have to tape them together and/or mark the parts and rely on others to finish up the welding.
My old man teaches precision engineering, and has contacts at shops that do bigger stuff; for example, one of them made me a pair of stainless steel exhaust flanges for my motorcycle.

[T_C_D]

And aren't those manifolds, like all cast manifolds, very likely to crack?

Cast iron is the most reliable material for manifolds.

[stefan]

Allright Todd, I saw you give a lifetime warranty on your manifolds, that should tell me something
You only offer them with a flange for a two bolt 38mm wastegate, is that a big enough wastegate to keep away from boost creep/spikes?

[T_C_D]

Allright Todd, I saw you give a lifetime warranty on your manifolds, that should tell me something
You only offer them with a flange for a two bolt 38mm wastegate, is that a big enough wastegate to keep away from boost creep/spikes?

Yes. Boost control is perfectly controlled with a quality 38mm WG.

[GI jonas]

wat

What?

[stefan]

Yes. Boost control is perfectly controlled with a quality 38mm WG.

Wow, I would have guessed I'd need a bigger one, say, 45-46mm, nice.
Will keep my eyes open for a used one, pref. a top mount version