For the last two weeks I've been battling mother nature here in New Jersey but hopefully I can get her out this weekend for some data logging and have the tune finished up. The setup looks great and sounds great and I've even gotten a little taste of boost while checking the replacement wastegate that was sent after the original proved to be faulty.
[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 11-08-2012).]
For the last two weeks I've been battling mother nature here in New Jersey but hopefully I can get her out this weekend for some data logging and have the tune finished up. The setup looks great and sounds great and I've even gotten a little taste of boost while checking the replacement wastegate that was sent after the original proved to be faulty.
I hope you fared well against Sandy. Yes, please keep us posted.
I took a ride over to see Dennis LaGrua today, we went for a quick ride before he made some minor adjustments to the tuned chip he originally had programmed for me, and it feels perfect. Car feels as smooth as it was before the turbo was installed, the idle is smooth again and the throttle response is also nice. I'm sure Dennis will want to fine tune a bit but I think it's perfect the way it is. Keeping the boost safely under 6lbs I feel the power and I like it, the turbo sounds sick almost like a jet engine from inside the car and it has a nice steady pull when accelerating. I would definitely reccomend Rick at boosted exhaust, he is a man of his word and did everything he said he would however the kit did need some adjustments, I think the issues I've encountered with his kit will be fixed on future kits. I would highly reccomend NOT using the rubber oil lines that come standerd with this kit, either upgrade with Rick or buy your own but DON'T use the rubber lines, I learned the hard way and it almost cost me my Fiero. "The bottom line" if you can install it yourself and don't need the bells and whistles you can add a nice boost for under $1200 complete. I on the other hand was only able to do so much on my own and needed to spend a few bucks to have exhaust bungs and pipes welded also paid to have the oil pan bung welded in place, add in the wideband and boost gauge, braided oil lines along with a few other things I'm in around $2500 give or take a few bucks. Its been an experience for sure but well worth it, I've learned a lot over thhe last few weeks and in the end I think my Fiero now has that little extra kick in the ass I was looking for. Thanks to Dennis LaGrua and Ryan (Convictedredneck) for all the tips and everyone else who has posted in this thread and helped along the way, I could have never almost burned my Fiero into a pile of melted plastic without you LOL.... "Project complete"
I saw Jerrys turbo installation today and it looks neat. It appears that the kit uses decent quality parts and they work. IMO, the seller of the kits has put together a competitively priced kit that many 3.4L swap owners can justify purchasing. In view of Jerrys experience , as the kit is refined, subsequent turbo installs on 2.8/3.2/3/4L P/R engines will undoubtedy be easier. As for the chip program; the baseline used was what I had done on my turbo 3.4L program about 10 years back., adjusting for the 17 lb injectors and slightly higher compression. The GM C3/OBD1 ECM programming format is not as user friendly as OBDII but we hopefully got Jerry close to where he needs to be.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Thanks to boostedexhaust for offering a kit for the Fiero. Its too bad he didn't market it better when he first introduced himself and was laughed off the forum, seems like a decent setup. Good to hear he does right by his customers too
I think one of his biggest pitfalls was claiming that no tuning was required for his kit. That really made it difficult to take the guy seriously.
OP, glad to see you got it up and going. I'm curious to see what numbers it makes.
Must agree that this seller of this Fiero turbo kit was hard to take seriously as he didn't do all of his homework beforehand. The reports on him though is that he is honest, reputable and willing to work with you. The major flaws in the kit were the fit and the oil lines to the turbo that broke loose. Jerry adjusted the fit, replaced the lines with steel braided hose and they are now holding. Just goes to show that you can be a good fabricator and plumb a turbo on just about anything but the fine points and the tuning are critical areas.. Offering a kit for a universal install is just about impossible as many guys modify their engines and each tuning job represents a separate challenge in itself. That is why tuners end up getting the tail end of a job like this. In the case of this economical eBay kit, despite the Chinese components (which can sometimes be questionable), it appears to be well made and worth the $1050 that it is being sold for. IMO, a possible 40% horsepower increase for that money is a good buy.As for "project complete" I wish that I could say that about my Fieros-LOL.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
that sounds awsome!! I would love to know what the hp increase is.. any plans to get larger injectors and up the boost down the road? al
Thanks, it sounds even better in person. Dennis feels it needs another tune to tweak it, after that I will have it dyno'd. As far as more boost, I don't think my injectors are the issue I think the engine is. I don't believe it can handle much more then its getting
Yea you don't want to blow up the motor and i'm sure the boost you have is waking the motor up enough. my stock 2.8 is a blast to drive (when it was on the road) but a few more horses would be great. Looking forward to seeing yours in person one day.
Wish I had the luck you did. I bout the same kit around Apr 12 from the same guy and it was a mistake for me. He shipped the parts in one large box, without wrapping anything. When it got to me it was dented everywhere and scratched. He said he would send me new pipes, but here I am almost a year later. Regardless, I still tried to work with it. I recently found though that this "kit" didn't even fit for my 4spd, would of worked great for an automatic. The turbo flange sits right behind the shift linkage making it impossible to work. Maybe he's fixed the design since? Since, I've cut it in pieces trying to fabricate my own manifold. Glad it worked out for you, but I won't ever do buisness with him again.
My eBay turbo update. It's been about 10 months since I purchased the turbo kit and although it had issues it did work, and it made a difference in power but it wasn't perfect. It lacked the power it should have been producing, it had way to much lag and the turbo wasn't balanced properly and caused a minor vibration. For most normal people it would have been fine but I'm far from normal, a perfectionist with a little OCD, long story short... Every piece of the eBay kit is now in the garbage, I purchased a Precision 58mm billet Turbo and wastegate and had it installed on new improved header pipe and 3" V band stainless exhaust all custom made by AMS Autowerks here in NJ. Along with the meth kit it's now dialed up to 10psi and the boost is immediate, it feels smooth and strong and sounds even better then before. In short, you get what you pay for.
What?? So all the crap Denis said above is not true? No explaining needed.
"... it appears to be well made and worth the $1050 that it is being sold for. IMO, a possible 40% horsepower increase for that money is a good buy..."
What?? So all the crap Dennis said above is not true? No explaining needed.
"... it appears to be well made and worth the $1050 that it is being sold for. IMO, a possible 40% horsepower increase for that money is a good buy..."
I believe that Jerry said it best. You get what you pay for BUT.... we've got darkhorizon on this forum who began running 10 second 1/4 miles with an eBay turbo and IIRC it was low cost and Chinese made. He may have upgraded since but maybe he will read this and comment. Obviously a Garrett or Turbonetics turbo should be better but most 60* V6 owners don't want to spend the money.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
I would say Dennis hit the nail on the head with that statement, and I would still recommend this kit for anyone on a budget. At $1000 for what's included I don't think it's a bad deal, I paid more then that for my new turbo alone. That kit provided a nice increase in horsepower and was still working when removed. It would be fair to argue that the money now spent on the new setup wasn't worth the gains over the eBay kit.
Congrats man.. Car sounds good, i hope you really enjoy it. I did a 3.4 last year with a fresh crate engine and added a turbo too it as well.. My turbo kit was an older one though, i guess you cant get them anymore, its a Garrett. All my work was done by the Fiero Factory.. Mines set at 9lbs, and it really really kicks when you punch it. Have fun and be careful, once you get the feeling of that boost, its hard to keep from putting your foot down every time you go out, lol..
[This message has been edited by Jonesy (edited 06-01-2013).]
I did a 3.4 last year with a fresh crate engine and added a turbo too it as well.. My turbo kit was an older one though, i guess you cant get them anymore, its a Garrett. All my work was done by the Fiero Factory..
I followed your thread very closely, from the day his parents picked it up till its debut at the Christmas party.... Car looks great, I need to stay off this damn forum lol.
[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 06-01-2013).]
I believe that Jerry said it best. You get what you pay for BUT.... we've got darkhorizon on this forum who began running 10 second 1/4 miles with an eBay turbo and IIRC it was low cost and Chinese made. He may have upgraded since but maybe he will read this and comment. Obviously a Garrett or Turbonetics turbo should be better but most 60* V6 owners don't want to spend the money.
Unfortunately I run a very low quality "brand name" turbo that smokes all the time. My Honda has a Ebay turbo that works seems to prove to be more reliable most of the time. I am a bit hard on turbos though.
If you are trying to say that spending alot more money on a newly designed turbo that spools better.. then that seems like a dumb comparison, as of course new expensive turbos are going to spool a bit better. The real confusion here is the fact you went with a 58mm turbo, which will still spool slower than even the dumpiest 48 trim ebay turbo and make the same power.
I figured its worth keeping this one outta the archives with some updated pictures. I switched over to the 7730 ECM and DIS, also added a A2W intercooler upping the boost to 10psi,
I still need to replace the eBay blow off valve
Also added A pillar gauges and meth light
[This message has been edited by JCircs (edited 02-07-2014).]
I figured its worth keeping this one outta the archives with some updated pictures. I switched over to the 7730 ECM and DIS, also added a A2W intercooler upping the boost to 10psi,
I still need to replace the eBay blow off valve
Also added A pillar gauges and meth light
Great looking setup. My guess is that 3.4L setup gets you into the high 12's /low 13's. Ron " Lead Foot" Meyers from Coropolis, PA w a modified turbo 3.1L engine in his burgundy 87GT, hit 12.0 in the 1/4 mile back in 1995. Ron proved running 12's can be done w the 60* V6 engine but I believe that the feat hasn't been duplicated since. .
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Great looking setup. My guess is that 3.4L setup gets you into the high 12's /low 13's. Ron " Lead Foot" Meyers from Coropolis, PA w a modified turbo 3.1L engine in his burgundy 87GT, hit 12.0 in the 1/4 mile back in 1995. Ron proved running 12's can be done w the 60* V6 engine but I believe that the feat hasn't been duplicated since. .
Thanks for the compliments Dennis. I guess in a few weeks I'll find out, the track opens on the 28th of February and I plan on being there if weather permits.
No explaining needed.
