Re: My Turbo V6 Accord
guys guys guys...
some of yall are acting pretty shamefully in this thread...
leave the kid alone. he obviously worked hard on his setup, and ebay parts or not, hes got it running and is enjoying the car. yes, there are kinks, but who doesnt have kinks when doing something completely custom, and with little to no instructions on how to do it the "right way"
to TurboAV6-
first of all, let me congratulate you on joining the turbo coupe club, let alone, the turbo av6 coupe club. not many people succeed with these builds, and to pull it off on a v6, good job indeed.
i agree, id love to see more photos, and am very interested to see numbers, although, as any tuner knows, its not about what your makin in peak HP, its all about what your making in peak pants creaming action when driving the car!!
i dont have a dyno on my car, and personally, i dont want one. yes, id love to know what my 10,000's of dollars spent has gotten me, but i know that its a joy to drive whenever i do, and thats all that matters.
as far as advice for you... ive been running my car with a turbo setup for nearly 4 years now, and let me tell ya, its gonna be a longggggg road to redemption, when you can close the hood and say, yes, the turbo setup is done, and i no longer need to worry about it. i spent more money after the build, then i actually did during it. its a costly afair, and doing it right, and getting it working is a never ending process. however, youve made a great start. if i can offer you my "semi professional" advice on this one, it would be the following:
eventually, your gonna need to get a good turbo (garrett or turbonetics) cheap turbos will go bad pretty quick, and although they are relatively simple parts to build, there is a lot of precision involved, and they can cause lots of problems very quick. for instance, if the impelar blades shattered, or you had some kind of catastrophic failure, you could run the rick of sucking up metal shrapnel into the engine... which would be terrible. also, with cheaper turbos, you run the risk of bad bearings and seals. nobody likes to clean oil out of the entire intake system... its no fun at all!!
next, your wastegate... while again, its a very very simple concept, the wastegate is sort of the insulin that is keeping your diabetic fire breathing engine from going into a diabetic coma (if you get my analogy) the wastegate is the main link keeping the turbo from spooling to oblivion, and blowing your engine, or leaning you out to the point of detonating. in my car, even when running a brand new tial 35mm wastegate, i had a springload problem, and the car overboosted to 15-20 psi on several occasions, and nearly caused a lot of problems. i highly recomend looking into a used tial/turbonetics wastegate, as it will really make the car a lot more reliable, and will stop any issues with overboosting.
next, idk much about the performance of the HKS knockoffs, but i have a real deal hks SSQV, and there is a reason that they cost so much damn money... they are incredibly well made units, and a cheap replica is not doing the setup justice. while the SSQV sounds pretty cool, its honestly not the wisest choice for a low boost setup. even ive been considering replacing it with a more modest BOV, although, i gotta say, i do enjoy it, and for right now, have it set where its still doing its job. there are many many companies that make great reliable BOV's (turbosmart/turbonetics/hks, greddy) so look into them. a used BOV is nothing to worry about, as they are often built to very high standards, and will run just fine (my HKS was used, and runs brilliantly)
last thing i really see issue with is your exhaust manifolds. i dont know exactly what custom manifolds implies, but it looks as if they are ebay bought, or just some kinda cheap option. as with the other parts, the manifolds arent something you wanna cheap out on, although, as long as they sit flush to the motor, and your not leaking exhaust fumes, i dont see much issue with them. however, judging by the level at which your downpipe sits, its kinda worrying. personally, i will bottom out a lot, and im not even that low, and my exhaust is at stock height, but, every time you do, you run the risk of not just ruining your exhaust, but breaking head studs on the motor, damaging other engine parts, or breaking mounts. bottoming out can really lead to serious problems, and i see you said you got it modified to fit better, so ill await to see some photos before goin on about it any more, as most likely another 2 inches should keep you safe for now.
other than that, your setup looks good! yes, the intercooler zip tie/plumbers tape/ clamps setup is not ideal, but seriously, anyone who says its a cheap option is kinda silly...
there are no "intercooler attachment kits" out there, and in my car, i use zipties like a crackhead uses lightbulbs. i buy them in 1000 packs, and use them for securing most everything in my car, and no, they do not melt from engine temps alone
that being said, there are still other ways to get the piping to be fixed in a position, like hose clamps, or maybe even chain?? (idk just thought of that one LOL)
but yea, nothing wrong with zip ties. just to ward of any nay sayers, i will post pictures of how my intercooler piping sits, and how my intercooler is sitting, and i doubt they wil have any more to say about it, since i havent touched any intercooler piping in 3 years, and not only have my zip ties kept it tightly fastened, and secure, but they have been so useful as far as having to take them off or replace. i see nothing wrong with zip ties. they work well, they last forever, and they are sturdy. at the end of the day, these cars are not built for racing, they are not adorned with every kind of upgrade kit available, like nissans and other more performance oriented cars. that being said, every tuner workin on a honda, especially an accord has gotta do what he/she feels best, because at the end of the day, even when getting a "kit" for modding the car, its always gonna be slightly different, and each job will be a custom one. this is why we take our hobby seriously, because for us, there is no bolt on option to make mad power, its all custom, all improvised, and all done however we can afford/design it to our best ability.
so everyone remember, until you have achieved turbo enlightenment, or even taken the first steps towards an engine modification like this one, dont talk **** about others cars and how its set up. i see no evidence of rice, or lame *** body kits, just looks like the first step in what could become a monster turbo setup. so what if he used cheap parts?? ive seen many cars with top of the line parts blow up just as quick. its all about how you maintain it, how you build it, and how you drive it, not always what you spend the most money on. there is something to be said for true quality parts that have had extensive r&d, but at the same time, there are websites with great ammounts of fame like backyard turbo for a reason... because if you know what your doing, you can make anything work to your advantage.
ok, thats it for me. good luck TurboAV6, im totally diggin the car, and the setup, and will be watching closely to see what photos you bring us, and how you develop this project further. i wish you the best of luck, and feel free to PM, IM or email me if you need any help/advice from a fellow turbo accord owner, since ive now got over 3 years under my belt with this.
to all the nay sayers... where are your turbos at??
