What do i do for turbo charging a mini me?

[SiTurbo]

I have aquired an 89 si hatchback. I just took the engine out of the car. It is a d16a6 engine. I went to the junk yard and bought a y8 SOHC vtec head. So the question is what should i do with turboing this minime si vtec head. I read that this y8 head swap raises the compression to high 10s.

Should i get forged turbo pistons and connecting rods?

What psi can i boost to and still use pump gas, + daily driver?

If I get turbo pistons and lower the compression but don't use a turbo right away and drive it n/a could it damage the engine?

You guys seem to be a good resource, I'm new to the idea of turbo charging so lets see what you would reccomend.

-thanx Jordan

 

[jamesA]

I'm not a Honda god, but I do know that engines, no matter who makes them will react the same way to boost.

Forged internals never hurt, and because boost is addictive you will have less chance of putting a rod through the block with that upgrade.

I'm nto sure what PSI you can still run on pump gas, I know on my Escort 1.8 I can put upwards of 14 psi (with some serious engine management computers helping) on my stock internals as they came from the factory with forged rods/pistons/crankshaft.

Getting some forged internals and running N/A won't hurt your engine, it'll just have less power because of the lower comp ratio.

My advice is buy and read cover to cover the book "Maximum Boost" by Corky Bell. It's an EXCELLENT source of turbo information and it will teach you how to read different graphs and charts needed to understand how and why boost works.

The parts I'm getting for my car are as follows:

MSD ignition
RX7 Injectors and Pump (you can probably find some JDM products for your car)
Intercooler
GTX exhaust manifold (GTX= turbo version of my engine)
Upgraded to 2.25" exhaust with a Magnaflow muffler (depending on if you rebuild first and want to go for more boost, you might want to upgrade to 2.5" exhaust)
the turbo obviously
oil lines to tap into your pan.
BOV
Wastegage
Boost controller
Boost gauge
A/F ratio gauge
Temp gauge

Even after all the money you might spend here...it'll only take it one time to destroy itself by running lean.

 

[SiTurbo]

SO do i really need forged rods if i get forged pistons? I have heard that stock internals in honda d series don't like more than 6 psi of boost. But what if i run it with forged turbo pistions and forged connecting rods. When is too much boost to much for a stock y8 head, or too much for daily driving, or too much for pump gas?

 

[posol]

Originally posted by SiTurbo@Aug 24 2003, 01:23 AM
I read that this y8 head swap raises the compression to high 10s.

you read wrong. on a 1.5, yes, it bumps it a lot do to the pistons in the 1.5 block. on a 1.6, its not as drastic. you gain about .3 in the comression zone.

psi depends on the turbo. psi doesn't break motors, horsepower does. psi is the amount of air PRESSURE, as meaasured at the map sensor, that is NOT going into the motor. VOLUME is what gives the car power, and thus can lead to damage.

5 psi on a t25 = say, 300 cfm of air
5 psi on a t88 = say, 750 cfm of air

5 psi is not 5 psi.

If I were you, i wouldn't built it up. For sake of cost. rods run 350-500 bucks, pistons are 4-500.... its $1000 bucks. That's like 5 d16a short blocks when/if you break something or crack a sleeve. BUT, you will have down time while you swap it out again.

don't lower your compression. its really un-necessary. but if you do, it wont hurt the engine to run lower comp. it will just be slow.