Really wanted to go with an air to water but can't find an intercooler small enough. Everything is sized for "normal" engines. The ports & core are massively oversized for what is needed. Smallest I've found is 2 1/4" connections and I need more like 1 1/2". That would leave me making a custom core which I don't really have the time for.
The turbo conversion has begun! Using an RHB31 turbo. 1 1/2" up pipe to 2" exhaust. There was no room for a muffler so i'm using a magnaflow cat to quiet things down. Turbo is mounted up high to make the oil drain much easier and give me room for some kind of exhaust piping. I found an air to water intercooler from a Honda jet ski that is small enough to fit in the engine bay. Turbo is mounted(turbo outlet isn't clocked properly yet)- Hot side is all done minus an exhaust hanger- Here are some shots of the intercooler and the front heat heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is actually an RX-7 oil cooler. I'm using a VW auxillary coolant pump to circulate the water.
It's wild how much space the bulky stock exhaust takes up. This looks like a huge undertaking, I'm interested to see how much top end gain there will be once the turbo kicks in.
Looks awesome! You probably gonna killing a little horse power with that cat. Anything after turbos impedes exhaust flow adding back pressure. Turbos themselves act as mufflers so it was likely not neccessary unless you are going for completely stealth. Lessons learned from my 900 hp TT Camaro.
theres not gonna be anything stealthy about this mini.... from the cooler out front to the turbo... im with you he might as well just run an open pipe out the back.
I do have neighbors and I'm fine with killing a few HP for it to be quiet. I don't think I'll lose any power. The turbo outlet is only 30mm. 2" exhaust is huge for this thing and the cat is meant for a MUCH larger engine.
You will lose some how much is the question. I've done dyno runs back to back with full exhaust vs cut outs after the turbo. The turbos were more responsive and power was increased with cutouts open. But then again I'm talking about mid mounted turbos and full car length 3" exhaust. I really wouldnt expect much sound other than turbo noises on your setup. When I had turbos +mufflers on my cammed 6.2L it was stock quiet. Either way..awesome build you got going!
Been a few weeks without an update, weather is a bit toasty so drive way truck work is not a lot of fun. My other project car gets to live in the garage with the AC. Front mount air/water intercooler heat exchanger is in. Using an RX-7 oil cooler for this duty. Sort of guessed on what might fit and it turned out to be perfect. I did have to trim a bunch of the grill away for clearance.
Ran it on the dyno today. Power isn't exactly where I wanted it but it's up. Maxed out @ 67hp at 12psi. The stock ECU is what is holding it back now. It wants A LOT more timing. The more timing I added the more power it made. I've got the distributor maxed out for advance right now. Also there is an ECU boost cut somewhere north of 13psi. The unfortunate news is I have to move the truck along to a new owner so I won't be doing the ECU. We inherited a 1984 Corvette recently from my wife's father. My driveway and garage are over flowing now(Mazda6 Wagon, Mazda3 sedan, Lotus 7 replica, Sambar & 84 Vette). The Corvette has sentimental value so it wins out over the truck. So here are some videos. First is on the dyno and second is accelerating from a stop to about 50mph.
You're keeping the Mazdas over the Sambar? Boo. In all seriousness, if I lived closer to you I'd probably offer to buy it.
