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stonebreaker said:
The closest I've come to turbocharging is adding nitrous to my impala. Are there any good books out there that can help me get started on the right path?
Maximum Boost, by Corky Bell.
Turbochargers by Hugh MacInnes... the later is the one that I bought as I mentioned on another thread. It was written in the eighties, but all the principles are the same ..It is very good and covers a lot applications....It was my turbo Bible.
 
Time for me to sound like a broken record. If you really want a turbo-charged Solstice then please, please buy the factory GXP version instead. The motor in the GXP will have a low enough compression ratio and intercooler installed for about the same price as an aftermarket unit. You will get your 250 hp number and then some, plus a factory warranty to boot.

If 250+ hp is not enough, then you can swap the turbo and intercooler for a larger unit to increase the boost upwards pass 300 hp. If you want 350+ hp you will need to replace the rods, crank work, and new valve springs too. This is the better way to go with a lower compression engine design to be turbo-charged as opposed to a high compression engine with a cam tuned for NA.
 
Delnari said:
Time for me to sound like a broken record. If you really want a turbo-charged Solstice then please, please buy the factory GXP version instead. The motor in the GXP will have a low enough compression ratio and intercooler installed for about the same price as an aftermarket unit. You will get your 250 hp number and then some, plus a factory warranty to boot.

If 250+ hp is not enough, then you can swap the turbo and intercooler for a larger unit to increase the boost upwards pass 300 hp. If you want 350+ hp you will need to replace the rods, crank work, and new valve springs too. This is the better way to go with a lower compression engine design to be turbo-charged as opposed to a high compression engine with a cam tuned for NA.
Absolutely! Plus there may be some driveline and brake upgrades in the gxp version.!
I dont think it is a waste to talk about turbo kits , though, because you never know if the turbo version will ever be released! Yeah , I have seen the underhood pics of the prototype Turbo Sol too.
The factory option is better all the way around, but will we ever see it at the dealership??
 
The LSx engines run about the same compression as the solstice engine. You could probably get a rough idea of the amount of boost you'll be able to run by looking at them. There will be some minor difference because of combustion chamber shape and stuff like that, but it shouldn't be too different.
 
Delnari said:
Time for me to sound like a broken record. If you really want a turbo-charged Solstice then please, please buy the factory GXP version instead. The motor in the GXP will have a low enough compression ratio and intercooler installed for about the same price as an aftermarket unit. You will get your 250 hp number and then some, plus a factory warranty to boot.

If 250+ hp is not enough, then you can swap the turbo and intercooler for a larger unit to increase the boost upwards pass 300 hp. If you want 350+ hp you will need to replace the rods, crank work, and new valve springs too. This is the better way to go with a lower compression engine design to be turbo-charged as opposed to a high compression engine with a cam tuned for NA.
Thank you.

Stonebreaker: good point about the LS-series. One could even expect that at least some of the same designers worked on both engine families.
 
Speaking of boost levels, how much does intake charge temp affect how much boost you can run?
 
10:1 compression??? Are they kidding? My T/A has 10.1:1. I wouldn't imagine an ecotec having that kind of compression. Maybe I don't know the details... This is stock?
 
Magnezium said:
10:1 compression??? Are they kidding? My T/A has 10.1:1. I wouldn't imagine an ecotec having that kind of compression. Maybe I don't know the details... This is stock?
While the FI version will most likely have a lower compression ratio, the NA version of the 2.4 vvt is listed at 10.6:1.
 
The new MX-5 Miata is even worse. 10.8:1 CR to get 170HP and 140 ft-lbs out of their 2.0L engine. That engine probably also 'requires' 91+ octane I bet, and just doesn't 'recommend' the usage of it.
 
On the V8's, modern combustion chamber design provides enough tumble & swirl, and has enough squish area, to prevent detonation. I'm not sure how a 4v combustion chamber would be shaped to provide enough squish, but I imagine they've figured something out!
 
stonebreaker said:
Speaking of boost levels, how much does intake charge temp affect how much boost you can run?
A great deal!
All I can be is anecdotal.
On my engine which is a 1.8 liter with a CR of 10:1 , I can run up to 12 psi on 91 octane with a 3"x9"x19" air to air bar and plate inter cooler.
Guys with no intercooler can run up 5 or 6 psi on my same motor.
The funny thing is, is that as the air gets cooler, it also gets denser. 5psi of not intercooled air is not the same volume as 5 psi with IC, given the same turbo on the same motor.
Getting the intake temps as cool as possible makes the efficiency go way up.
I think that when it was 90degrees out side, my intake temps are at 120 degrees , but with out the IC, they would be 180+, or something like that.Maybe even more.
Bradyb mention Meth/water injection. It not only cools the air, but raises the octane. It is the best way to cool the air w/o an intercooler.

I am set up to run water/alcy injection on my car even though i am intercooled. I have run up to 1 bar on my car with it. (14.7psi).

The cooler the air means that when you go to tune, you can pull less timing , therefor making more power. My current set up keeps the stock timing curves, I pull none out. On really hot days, my knock sensor will pull it out if I push it hard. (which i dont really do).
A lot of guys with my motor say that you should run 8psi and no more than 10 psi on 91 octane. Yet I run a richer A/f mixture and have a bigger IC than they do. Cooler air temps cant be over estimated IMO.


Elevation also affects boost and air density on my car. I live at 3k elevation. When I go to the beach, I can feel the power increase at the same level.
 
OK, so what would happen, say, if you removed the AC cooling coil from under the dash and connected it after the intercooler? Do you think it would make more hp than the AC costs to run?
 
stonebreaker said:
OK, so what would happen, say, if you removed the AC cooling coil from under the dash and connected it after the intercooler? Do you think it would make more hp than the AC costs to run?
Padgett (founding member) brought that up quite some time ago.... I think it might be a kool thing to try...
 
stonebreaker said:
OK, so what would happen, say, if you removed the AC cooling coil from under the dash and connected it after the intercooler? Do you think it would make more hp than the AC costs to run?
You know, I think the Ford Lightnings had something like this for the drag races. Since they ran an intercooled Supercharger setup, they had some cooling coils fed to the intercooler (I don't know the setup, maybe you can actually look at one if you have a lightning around), and it charges up every couple minutes. It was like unlimited nitrous, almost as effective actually, in that it just gave a really quick freezing shot to the intercooler, then had to build compression for the next burst.
 
I can see it now - newest performance mod: ditch the dinky stock AC compressor for one from a full-size caddy!
 
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