Well, it's official. Ordered the Turbonetics setup today. They're supposed to ship Mid-Dec. so I'm thinking realisticly I'll have it some time in Jan.

Now, I'm entering uncharted territory as far as my experience goes here folks. I was hoping you boosted boys and girls would throw a little love the newbie's way and answer some probably stupid questions.

This is going to be a daily driver. Turbonetics is claiming 330 and I'd still like to cross the 300hp barrier so long as it can be done SAFELY. What I'm wondering is if there are any parts on the engine I should seriously look at upgrading to keep the thing from blowing up on me. Here's a little quickie about what all is included in the kit...damn, it looks nice doesn't it.

http://www.turbokits.com/tC_turbo_kits.html

 

I saw it in person at SEMA, yea its NICE . The quality is top notch.

 

So far everyone says the pistons are the weak part so forged pistons. Valves would be good too. thats the basic there is like a whole list of possibilites but that arent a necessity at least as far as I understood but yeah forged pistons are a must.

 

Btw how do you guys that want above 300whp tend to put that to that ground with fwd car traction becomes a big problem with fwd high hp as I understand. I mean ones you get to 300whp your problem shouldnt be that you need more hp but traction.

 

very true. All power and no traction sucks.

 

ZPI has a Head Package...

 

ummm the tC has forged pistons stock.

 

Your gonna want a better clutch. if your going 300+ hp upgrade the clutch

 

As a famous tire company's slogan goes....


"Power is nothing without control"


Clutch / Tires / Brakes
and save money for broken axles whenever you run slicks.

 

Ok, maybe I wasn't very clear about my question. Tires, clutch, etc, are gimmies. I know there are head packages and such out there. What I'm asking is whether or not there are any internals that need upgrading.

Such as the pistons. Normally that's a good suggestion. However I believe that PT is right. Thanks for the suggestion though.

While I appreciate everyone's contributions I'd prefer someone with experience boosting these suckers to site some specific problems/suggestions on what to improve. ie. "When we put anything over 7 lbs boost we were having problems with the valvetrain. You should get blah blah blah." Make sense?

Again, thanks for your help folks but I'd rather this get a little more technical than tires and clutch. cool?

 

Even forged pistons break. Especially if they are not made to handle high pressure applications, such as what you see with a F/I setup.

I would reccomend planning on some pistons if you want to run 10psi or more on a daily basis. They will break, eventually. I have seen no problems with the stock valve train and I rev my car to 7K rpms. It doesn't really make more power revving it higher, but I do it more for function then anything. There are 1mm oversized valves out but the springs and retainers are still in development so they aren't really a great buy until you can get the whole package. Cams are not out yet but a variety of profiles will be availible VERY soon.

Charles

 

Thanks man. That's exactly what I was looking for. Any specific pistons you'd recommend?

 

Race engineering and ZPI both sell CP pistons. They are the exact same so you can take your pick from the two but they only come in a low compression 8.5:1 and a high compression 11:1. Problem being is that if you have any turbo lag it will be increased with the lower compression pistons and you will lose a LOT of off boost power. Obviously the 11:1 pistons are a little much for a boosted application unless you plan on running very low boost and doing more then just pistons.

I am running diamond pistons in my car and im offering them at a 9.1:1 and a stock 9.6:1 ratio. This will keep the off boost power and the car will have stock characteristics. These will come with steel top and secondary rings and will all be thicker then the standard size toyota rings. They are of course forged and will come with a high temp coating on the tops and the side skirts can be milled upon request for a lower rotational weight. wrist pins and spiro locks will be included and they will work with the stock rods. I reccomend having them cryo treated and/or shot peened while you have them out.

As far as I know those are the only three options at this time unless you go with something completely custom.

Charles

 

So, to ask the obvious question, the 9.6:1 set will keep the same compression ratio while simply beefing up the punishment the pistons can withstand and, of course, making the engine a little safer to run with the turbo. That about sum it up?

How much are the diamonds running?

 

Basically, yes. The pistons are forged, the rings lands are placed lower on the piston and the rings are thicker. These pistons will outlast the stock sleeves for sure.

PM me for pricing but I will say they are cheaper then the other pistons availible and they are coated on top for no additional charge.

Charles

 

Yea ^^ i think your right.....lol

But they claim anywhere from 75-100 hp so its not really 300hp unless you up boost.

Also no one knows yet, but all boost is safe boost if you INSTAL conrrectly. BIG part.

And is it just me...i want a bigger fmic

 

Im confused.