Finally added an intercooler!

[Spooling supercrazy]

Hope this info isnt forbidden here but might be of help to some.This conversion did take some work to do but came out great . I wish I could have used less piping but it works great . Feel free to post pics of any pics of your own set up. The total cost was about $ 250.
I used a intercooler from an evo $50, ebay 2.25 piping $100, more hoses $50 and getting the flange welded to the pipe for the intake $50. I also upgraded turbo to a turbonetics.

 

[Boost231]

Nice...

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[cwmccray]

How does it run? What was your base line? How does it run with intercooler? What are your long term goals?

 

[Spooling supercrazy]

The car runs great! I didn't notice a really big increase of power though.I'm sure that later after adding a fuel pump, injectors and a chip, it should come to life. I haven't ran it at the track . My goal is to get to 400 ft lb of torque for now. There was very little lag but not enough to go back to hot air. I did notice that turbo response without the intercooler was more instantaneous. I almost stuck the intercooler between the engine and radiator like the 86/87 gns to shorten the piping but I'm glad I did a front mount where the intercooler can benefit from actual cold air cooling it. After careful thought, It really is pointless having a fan blowing hot air from the radiator to the intercooler. You just won't get full benefits of putting it under the hood where there can be extreme heat. Here's a few more pics.

 

[cwmccray]

How much boost are you running? Before the intercooler, what were you mods? What are the specs on this turbo? Have you tried the stock turbo to see if there is still lag? The turbonetics might need a higher stall? Do a search on WFO, and COOL84. They successful used the SPEARCO setup which is similar to your setup. The search feature will be your best friend. As far as piping, if properly tuned, piping is not a issue. The SPEARCO intercooler flows 1080 cfm and the SPEARCO intercooler was rated to 780hp. MiAde2d has pushed a SPEARCO intercooler to 10.98. Search forum for MiAde2d.

I advise you to search forum religiously. If you want to MAXIMIZE the setup, tuning is key. The basics of setting TPS, no vacuum leaks still apply.

 

[Spooling supercrazy]

Did not try to use the old turbo as the impeller had bent fins. That was a good excuse to upgrade. During the rebuild i ordered a new backing plate with a carbon seal to work with the old draw system. The impeller is 3" and exhaust is 2.25". With the a/r being 63. It spools very quick. Right now its set at 13 psi. The engine is rebuilt
stock bore.blue printed and balanced. King bearings, comp cam , comp lifters, comp timing set, forged speed pro pistons. Ls1 radiator and electric fan set up. I highly recommend the fan set up on any hot air. It is well worth getting. I really need to get a fuel pump, injectors ,chip and 3" down pipe soon.

 

[Wahoo]

What's that elbow with the bracket welding on it for?

 

[Spooling supercrazy]

What's that elbow with the bracket welding on it for?

Had to fab a bracket/elbow and weld it to the pipe or else it would blow off. Then it bolts securely to the intake manifold by means of the existing 2 bolt holes that had originally a small bracket that holds the original turbo in place by means of small 1/2" nut. The turbo has the stud for this nut. In this conversion that small bracket is discarded.

 

[cwmccray]

What's that elbow with the bracket welding on it for?

To intercool a car this replaces the cone inside of the turbo. The Turbo is reclocked to point at the radiator to go into the intercooler. This elbow brings in the air charge from the intercooler back into the engine.

 

[cwmccray]

Are you using a adjustable fuel regulator? You could safely boost 15-16lbs. Get a scanmaster or powerlogger and learn what you car likes. Are you using the stock Hot Air Ecm and chip? Get a chip from TT (Turbo Tweak). Tell Eric the mods you have and what you are going to do, he will set you up. You may consider the 86-87 ECM. Hot wire the fuel pump.

 

[85tr]

With a pump , injectors , and a tt chip 15-16 psi should be easy , I ran that with a slic and just a pump and reg . I would look for more with a front mount. I've been running 18 psi for a while but I am monitoring with a powerlogger.

 

[Spooling supercrazy]

I still got the stock ECM and stock regulator in it with a chip from summit racing that came in the car when I bought it. Tried to look up some info on that chip but couldn't find any specs on it. Not very familiar with what a power logger is but have an idea what a scan master is. The setting on the waste gate was at 15-16 psi before upgrading the turbo without the intercooler at that time and it seemed to run just fine the first run but on the second I could tell that power dropped prob cuz of the heat. I wonder if 20 psi is possible with just a chip, without upgrading the pump and injectors?

 

[Boost231]

Time to get a hold of Eric and get a new chip. 20psi on a stock pump and injectors can probably be done but that's not something I would try without a lot of data loging. You would need to monitor fuel pressure and inj duty cycle to safely do it

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[85tr]

I was running 100 oct fuel and had an old t link setup also had a 340 pump. I dont think I would try much boost with a stock pump , good working stock injectors I think can do just fine .

 

[cwmccray]

I still got the stock ECM and stock regulator in it with a chip from summit racing that came in the car when I bought it. Tried to look up some info on that chip but couldn't find any specs on it. Not very familiar with what a power logger is but have an idea what a scan master is. The setting on the waste gate was at 15-16 psi before upgrading the turbo without the intercooler at that time and it seemed to run just fine the first run but on the second I could tell that power dropped prob cuz of the heat. I wonder if 20 psi is possible with just a chip, without upgrading the pump and injectors?

I see two possible issues with your current setup. First is stock ECM with a Summit chip. Post picture if possible. This would probably be a HYPERTECH or either a ADS (both pieces of SHIT). Second issue is EVO intercooler. I am not sure if it is efficient enough. If my mind serves me right, the waste gate was set for 15-16 pound before the turbo upgrade, now you are getting 13 pounds. 2-3 lbs pressure drop is not good.

Two things to remember, tuning you car is key and that stock 84-85 ECM and chip (shitty chips included) do not react well to change. Remember, a GOOD intercooler is worth almost 1 second on a hot air. POPULAR HOT RODDING did a series called POOR MAN's GNX. They used a Kenne Bell Big Boy intercooler on a 84 T Type. The Hot side temp (290-300 degrees) went through the intercooler and came out 129 degree with less than a .5 lbs of pressure drop. Had more piping than you have.

Evil Bay has some more efficient intercoolers than the EVO. Here are some in the 170.00 range.. Girl not included

 

[cwmccray]

From a previous reply to a post from JERRYL, I agree on his idea of what a intercooler is worth:
Depending on the IC, about 40-70 HP. Electric fan is worth 10-40 HP. Worst case scenario, about +5 MPH in the 1/4.

 

[Spooling supercrazy]

The EVO intercooler was something i picked up basically on trade. I had it for about 3 months before I finally used it. I questioned its quality but after installing it and using it for a while I would have to say that it seems to be a great intercooler. It looks like it was made for the car. It's sized just right for the proper power band with basically no lag. After a good run, i can touch the piping coming out of the turbo and compare to the temp coming out of the intercooler by also touching the piping and its at least dropped temps in half. the pipes actually cool and the other side is hot.As for the waste gate. I had to modify , cut and weld up the bracket to work. I also had to cut/shorten the rod and readjust it. I just happen to run out of threads, so I'm gonna have to go to harbor freight and get a tap soon.once threaded further, I can adjust further to 15lbs.i decided to disconnect the piping to the intercooler as a test and rout the piping directly to the intake and try the "hot air" The results were NO psi drop that I could see on the boost gauge when using the intercooler.Power was decreased but more instantaneous, but not alot . I then put everything back together satisfied with the set up. I will later upgrade the intercooler if its found to be inefficient after getting a new chip at 20 psi. Here's a pic of the existing chip.

 

[cwmccray]

This is the HYPERTECH chip. It is not good, get a TURBOTWEAK. With the current setup, a manual boost controller would help. A RCJ boost controller would help reduce lag and allow to control boost manually.

 

[Jerryl]

From a previous reply to a post from JERRYL, I agree on his idea of what a intercooler is worth:
Depending on the IC, about 40-70 HP. Electric fan is worth 10-40 HP. Worst case scenario, about +5 MPH in the 1/4.

Don't believe everything you read. Lol

 

[cwmccray]

JERRYL, my friend, you have been in the GAME a while , I value your opinions