BA- BF XR6T -  F6  - Turbo Teritory

 

There is alot of confused about what mods to get for

our cars and some don't really know which way to go.
Well, we thought we'd share our views and findings from years of living, breathing & modifying turbo cars.
Now we know how to make fast cars, its not hard, its not rocket science, it's just knowing the

basics, and you need to know the basics or you end up spending more than you need to.

Here we have covered the basic restrictions that reduce the chance to obtain higher power on these cars.
 

1. Exhaust.

 

The stock exhaust is pretty good, well, its accually alot better than you would find

on a rex or 200sx, skyline ect so we're off to a good start here.
The main restriction is the cat, this sucker holds

back power the most, you just cant get past 280wkws.
Replace it with a 4or 5inch cat and bang, now the motor can breathe and power goes up.
Centre muffler is also a restriction.
Some say its isnt, but cut the pipes off it and see how small

the inlets and outlets are and you'll see why its a restriction.
Easy fix is to remove it, and replace with straight pipes, hot dogs or a straight through muffler...

noise will be your decider here.
Dump pipe or front pipe as it can be referred to is also a restriction.

BUT, its ok, and is fine for up to 350wkws in the right tuners hands. If your unsure, just ask for a recomended

tuner as work together with some great tuners Aust wide.
Replace it with a 4inch dump for the same power with a little less boost & timing in the tune.
So thats it for exhaust? Yes & no, but if your chasing low 300s its fine.

If your looking for mid 300s or more on 15psi or less, a full exhaust system is the way to go.

A poor flowing exhaust will hold in heat, increasing inlet and exhaust temps and reducing possible power

 

2. Fuel system.

 

 

Stock system is ok... fuel rail is big enough, pump is good for high

200s, injector are too small ( ok for mid 200s but thats all ).
So, we get bigger injectors, thats easy. Buy the biggest your tuner is happy to tune with,

this gives you future scope so you wont have to buy bigger down the track.

Pump, an easy fix is a Walbro intake. These are rated at 600hp,

and poeple are getting good tunes in the mid 300s from them.
Surge tank. Why use one?? The fuel tank has a poor pick up system, it wont

pull up fuel if its down low ( half tank on some ) and run it round a

corner on full boost and you can destroy the motor, regardless of how good the tune is or how big the pump(s) are.
And a good surge tanks needs to be a decent volume. Don't bother with the small

1lt jobs made for jap cars, they are too small, we need at least 2 lts to be safe...

a quick jab down the quarter mile might be ok with a small surge tank, but your most likely crossing the line very lean.
The stock pump works well as a primer pump for the surge tank,

and team it up with one or two larger external pumps... Bosche 044 is a common choice.
Also, the power supply to the pump is very important. If you have weak

voltage due to a big sound/video/PC system the fuel pump wont get its full voltage

and wont pump as much fuel. Alot of the time

its ok and you get away with it, but it is something to be aware of.
The bonus of running 2 external pumps is safety...

if one dies or gets weak, theres another still going.

Plus you have heaps of room for more power support.

3. Intercooler system.

 

 

Intercoolers are simple, they cool the charge air,flow air, and thats it.
If its thats simple, why so many and why so different to each other?

You need to look at intercooler choice as a whole

intake system, from air filter, to the intake ports on the head.
To help make the biggest power, this

 area needs to FLOW enough air to support the power.
And while its flowing the air, it needs to combat the

 heat of the air to avoid detonation and make power.

So what does one need? What power do you want,

and how do you want to achieve it?

We all have seen the cars with 300wkws on a stock cooler.

 Sure it can be done, but at what stakes?
You could even remove the intercooler altoghether and still run high 200s, they used to in the 80s!
But the air temps going into the motor are hot,

 very very hot. And hot air detonates very easilly.
So, whats the fix??
A bigger intercooler, easy... well sort of.
Put a bigger intercooler on and now your air

 temps are cooler and the tuner can add in some more boost o

r more timing to make power.
That was an easy fix, but now Im running 15psi to get 300 and other

guys with different Intercooler systems are getting

30-40 kws more on the same boost, same exhaust.

Wow, isnt there a heap of bollocks sourounding this area.
Intercoolers are simple, they cool the charge air, and thats it.
If its thats simple, why so many and why so different to each other?

You need to look at intercooler choice as a whole

 intake system, from air filter, to the intake ports on the head.
To help make the biggest power, this area needs to FLOW enough air to support the power.
And while its flowing the air, it needs to combat the

 heat of the air to avoid detonation and make power.

 

Whats going on here?

Did I buy the wrong intercooler? NO, the intercooler is fine,

 the rest of the system is letting you down.
So, lets look at whats happening.
The cooler is bigger than stock, so temps should be low, but they dont stay

 low for too long. One run, two runs, three runs...

gee, the cars getting slower... air temps are rising again.
This is the turbo heating up the air.

You look at the boost gauge, and it says 15psi, but whats the turbo really boosting to?

18? 20? Yes, the rest of the piping is restricting the air so the turbo needs to spool higher than 15psi

 to accually make 15psi at the inlet manifold.

 And its common to have a poorly designed, long,

 tight piping system reduce pressure by 3,4 or 5psi, thus the

 turbo will produce more heat that it needs to.

So now you can begin to see how a BIG FLOWING intercooler system

can help make good, safe, high power. It reduces the turbo's need to boost

 higher than manifold pressure, thus reducing heat, thus making

the intercoolers job more efficient and more easy.
Again, let it flow and keep it cool.

You dont have to have the biggest intercooler that will fit,

you just have to have one that works in a well suited, high flowing system.

Next time you look at an intercooler system, look at the

the path the air  must take to get to the motor.
Does it look to flow smoothly?
Are their any small diameter sections?
Does the diameter of the piping or coolers outlets change?
A changing diameter system will have poor flow, like a 2.75in

pipe that mates to a 2.25inch inlet and then out into a 3.25in throttle body...

 that wont flow the best and will restrict flow and will reduce.
potential power.
Does it run straight over the hot motor & exhast manifold?

No point having cold pipes constanly battling super

 hot air all around them, thats going to cause lag.

Imagine sitting at the lights ( or staging lanes ) and those pipes are

 getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and the air

passing through them is roasting by now causing the

 ecu to retard timing when you take off due to minor detonation being sensed.
And does it LOOK GOOD?

LET IT FLOW & KEEP IT COOL!