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Lol well if it helps the REV9/Godspeed kit is like 700 so you did save quite a bit of coin.
This made me laugh out loud.
I was thinking "don't they make black intercooler paint?"
not to add salt to a wound
Haha well honestly my black intercooler is "painted" out the factory. I accidentally tipped it over on the asphalt and it chipped the paint bit. Showed the aluminum underneath. Im going to see if I can keep my bumper bar. The issue is getting that far side pipe to come to the passenger side, from there I have LOTS of space to work with as my battery is relocated, and I have a BUNCH of elbows and inter cooler piping. I just hope my turbo drain line the one footer I bought is the right length to reach the pan.
My biggest concern is to fix my gauges once and for all, get some hardware to mount the turbo, and consult with my exhuast fabber to see how were going to go about it. Thinking of 2.5 all the way, with V clamp set up. and Just going straight pipe with a cat. Why run a cat? Because if I sell the vehicle to someone in Nashville they can pass emissions.
ERF I'd like to see the power it makes through a Cat. I considered the same but then reconsidered the O2 non-fouler idea that allows my other more finicky cars to pass.
ERF I'd like to see the power it makes through a Cat. I considered the same but then reconsidered the O2 non-fouler idea that allows my other more finicky cars to pass.
So since EM2s have two O2 sensors, and I go the cat-less route straight piped, I'd need to add 2 non-fouler sensors?
If anyone wants to know what grade of hardware to use for turbos either Grade 8 will work or grade B7. I did some reading on Fastenal's website.
1) Getting the turbo mounted to the manifold
2)RDX injectors and 10psi spring just in case
3)Fixing my gauge wiring
4)Figuring out exhaust fab
5)Tuning appointment
In reply to the first question, you only need the non-foulers on the post-cat sensor (since it would see different data without the cat in place), so one sensor in total but that one sensor requires 2 non-foulers stacked together so you do need 2 non-foulers in total.
The first sensor doesn't need the non-fouler since it's used to seeing straight exhaust from the engine already and you're not changing anything there.
That said, the front sensor will be seeing a richer AFR than it's used to seeing (because bewst) so the computer would try to lean you out. If the car is getting tuned, they'll take care of this. If you were using an FIC, you'd use the o2 sensor skewing feature to modify the sensor output while in boost to keep the computer happy.
In reply to the first question, you only need the non-foulers on the post-cat sensor (since it would see different data without the cat in place), so one sensor in total but that one sensor requires 2 non-foulers stacked together so you do need 2 non-foulers in total.
The first sensor doesn't need the non-fouler since it's used to seeing straight exhaust from the engine already and you're not changing anything there.
That said, the front sensor will be seeing a richer AFR than it's used to seeing (because bewst) so the computer would try to lean you out. If the car is getting tuned, they'll take care of this. If you were using an FIC, you'd use the o2 sensor skewing feature to modify the sensor output while in boost to keep the computer happy.
-Fixed oil pan leak
-Installed oil catch can
-Removed cruise control box
-RDX 410cc injectors came in, have the top hats, wire harness
-Bought all hardware for the turbo, downpipe, dumptube
Questions: Will a 2.5" exhaust system be big enough for my power goals 170hp? My exhaust fabricator advises a 3" setup. But I already have the down pipe and it is 2.5".
Can I run open dump tube through a hood exit? Is it legal? Will rain, snow, hail be big issues?
Are those steel flex pipes durable to use for routing my wastegate downwards? This is my cheap alternative. I can use a steel ziptie and route that tube to the ground direction, and wont pay extra to weld a dumptube into my downpipe. Yes it will be loud when it opens, but I like it.
What is left to do you may ask?
- Remove crash bar,
- Re-install my inter-cooler without crash bar
- Save money
-Install
-Tune
I would think that 2.5" would be just fine. Besides, we don't have much room for anything much bigger...
Personally, i would run the dump tube downwards for street/daily use.
i have mine open facing downwards.
Go get a cheap azz welder from harbor freight and weld that sucker yourself.
After you do a crappy job of welding, go get the liquid muffler weld stuff from the auto parts store and cover the bead to help with leaks...
I know how to tig weld. I dont have a welder though. I know someone who does who is a close friend and wont hesitate to allow me to use his tig setup. Maybe I will weld my own exhaust.
Dude, do it. 2.5" would be just fine for a stock internals (i.e. ~8psi or less) build
I will. Im routing my downpipe from the passenger side. Which is quite the opposite of what most EM2 owners do. The driver side has AC/PS/little space.
The passenger side has a motor mount, hopefully the manifold sits low enough so the bottom mount turbo is low enough that the downpipe flange sits below the motor mount in front of the motor. That way I can EASILY go about exhaust piping. If I can clear that, I can take care of the rest! Furthermore, I want to try to push 10psi on my stock motor!
Hitting 10psi all day long on my stock A1...with 265,000miles
YOU GOT THIS!!!!
Thank you man! I am happy for you and your stable setup.
Just bought a NXS manual boost controller. I asked my tuner if I could run 410cc injectors and drive to tuning appointment. Things are looking good so far.
+1 (or 2?) on welding it up yourself. Ish is too easy and you can practice a few beads on something else before burning holes in your exhaust pipe. lol
+1 (or 2?) on welding it up yourself. Ish is too easy and you can practice a few beads on something else before burning holes in your exhaust pipe. lol
A friend of mine who I thought had a TIG doesn't. Most definitely Im going to my local exhaust fabricator who has done amazing work on previous projects and stainless steel.
I got the manifold mounted to the turbo. I got the return flange put on. I want to test fit the mani to the car to see if my ebay dp clears the subframe
The Autometer gauges I currently have on the car require soldering for the most SECURE form of connection. And it is a great idea to run heat tolerant sheathing. I re-did my gauge wiring last weekend, and all my gauges are now working proper. The issue I had was the crimp style butt ends had become dislodged, giving bad readings, even though I had a solid ground.
If anyone purchases automotive gauges in the future, keep in mind that soldering the joints together with 24awg wire, and then adding heat shrink on the joint, and then running wire sheathing over it is the best practice. Now I have solid connections with no heat issues to worry about.
You can purchase heat proof sheathing off eBay. I bought 25ft for about 20bucks. And it resists up-to 300 F.
Problem: My oil temp gauge and water temp gauge show partial digit for the last digit.
So I dis-assembled the gauge (out of warranty anyways). The LED display comes from a company called Kouhi electronics. My dad who used to repair electronics told me sometimes the LED displays can go bad. So I looked up the part on Kouhis website. They are based in Hong Kong. I will try to order a replacement set for my oil temp gauge and water temp gauge. I have to remove the bad LED display and solder in the new ones. And hopefully that will resolve the issue. This is a low priority issue as I can still decipher what the temps are, I just dont like the look. I want it to work proper.
My valve cover is off the car, I have to take it to the machine fab shop to get some aluminum bungs tigged on there so I can hook up my oil catch can lines.
My oil catch can project last week did not fare too well. The JB weld I used to secure the bungs got hot and fell off.
Now I have to fix that as well. After that, its mounting the manifold, seeing if I can route the downpipe, and making decisions from there. Oh and also checking to see if the hood will close with the wastegate and dumptube there.
Not that I want to degrade the "show quality" of your build, if that's what you're aiming for, but it's super easy and viable to drill and tap a pipe thread in the cover and use NPT hose barb fittings with a touch of black silicone on the threads for valve cover breathing ports. Tons of people do this, even with thin covers.
I failed to show some proper visual aids for the NPT fitting idea. Again, you may be going for that trick tig welded look but if not, this stuff is super cheap and easy. Vortech Supercharger installation instructions even recommend this for oil pan drains (meaning thousands of people have done this).
here's a picture of an oil pan with the hole punched into it.
Here's the Pipe Tap going in.
finished product
Alternatively, you can just buy a sealing bulkhead fitting, drill the hole, and install it. like 10 bucks on ebay or less.
Last edited by 5.0Thunder; 10-24-2017 at 09:45 AM.
I failed to show some proper visual aids for the NPT fitting idea. Again, you may be going for that trick tig welded look but if not, this stuff is super cheap and easy. Vortech Supercharger installation instructions even recommend this for oil pan drains (meaning thousands of people have done this).
here's a picture of an oil pan with the hole punched into it.
Here's the Pipe Tap going in.
finished product
Alternatively, you can just buy a sealing bulkhead fitting, drill the hole, and install it. like 10 bucks on ebay or less.
Thank you for providing me the advice. I made a mistake, so Im going to order bulkhead fittings, because it would save me welding costs, wait time on the list to get it welded, and be way quicker. Thank you THUNDER!
For anyone out there going through a similar ordeal, just get bulkhead fittings. Or if you want it to look pretty, have it tigged.
My ordeal: I did not know the proper name of the fitting I wanted. Instead, I purchased AN to NPT fittings and ordered NPT lock-rings.
Issues 1) NPT lock-ring did not arrive on the day I had done the job and drilled holes
Issues 2) The sickout from the NPT fitting was large to where mounting it you would have to REALLY be careful where you drill so you dont interfere with the valve train.
I have had to travel back and forth every weekend to Nashville for the past three weeks. My EM2 is there at the moment, Im borrowing my moms car. I need to put the valve cover back on and then I can drive it again. I plan to go back this weekend and get her back!
Last edited by sdaidoji; 10-25-2017 at 04:38 PM.
Reason: edited to remove the pictures on the quote.
You probably already have them, but you are running spark plugs with a colder heat range right?
I do not I was reading up on pianoman55's project. He had spark issues and had to gap his to 0.030. I was thinking yesterday what if I run into a similar issue.
"For a 1 heat range colder spark plug I would recommend NGK BKR7EIX-11 stock no. 6988. These will be gapped at the recommended the stock 0.044” out of the box."
Hope it helps anyone out there. For every 75-100hp you need one step colder plugs to keep the combustion chamber temperatures within safe range!
yeah usually these 6-10psi builds are fine with 1 heat range colder on most engines. I run stock heat range on my e85 turbo stuff without issue. Depending on the strength of your ignition system, you'll probably need to tighten the gap down to .030 as Piano55man did. It doesn't really affect how it runs at idle or cruise so its no big deal to close the gap a little.
yeah usually these 6-10psi builds are fine with 1 heat range colder on most engines. I run stock heat range on my e85 turbo stuff without issue. Depending on the strength of your ignition system, you'll probably need to tighten the gap down to .030 as Piano55man did. It doesn't really affect how it runs at idle or cruise so its no big deal to close the gap a little.
Cool. I spoke with my tuner he said it should not be an issue to install them drive them to the tune. They come gapped at .044 I think I will go ahead and gap to .030 once I get them
"For a 1 heat range colder spark plug I would recommend NGK BKR7EIX-11 stock no. 6988. These will be gapped at the recommended the stock 0.044” out of the box."
Hope it helps anyone out there. For every 75-100hp you need one step colder plugs to keep the combustion chamber temperatures within safe range!
technically, it relates to the compression (not the mechanical, rather the combined mechanical/forced induction compression)
09-29-2017
I was reading up on pianoman55's project. He had spark issues and had to gap his to 0.030. I was thinking yesterday what if I run into a similar issue. 
