I would appreciate it if some of you could help me put together a proposal to an aftermarket company for a turbo upgrade.

First of all I need to know how many here are serious about boosting your motor, and can you afford it?

second we need to find a budget to work within for low production and affordability.

I know it's cheaper to buy an SRT, but they are getting harder to find, and if I wanted to I would only get $13,000 - $15,000 for a low mile Limited, so selling your NA car to jump into an SRT isn't exactly cheaper anymore..


Also I would appreciate recommending what companies you've had good results with in the past. We can't be too cheap either, otherwise the shops won't make any money and they'll just get fed up with us. I'm trying to find a good number that will attract their business.

We already have a company who is willing to fab up NA exhaust manifolds (CJspecial) most likely they will charge at least $1,000 for the headers, I would like to see them also fab together an exhaust for a single turbo, just to keep our price low for now.

 

Well then, that answers that, no market for a kit here. I guess it's all custom job from here on out.

 

Maxwell,
As Guns N' Roses would say, try 'a little patience.'
Looks like you only waited for replies for 2 hours and 43 minutes.

- I guess I just gave you a bump too.

 

i saw your proposal an the only thing i can say is... count me in ... i really want this to happen ... as i said it before.. united we stand, divided we fall... maybe someone would say that we are crazy... that is a lot of money for upgrading our cars... but if we gather more people we can accomplish this dream with out having to spend a lot of money... don't you think?

 

Count me in...I was actually seriously looking into the Startech or Vath upgrade. I am also looking for a well priced SRT6 Roadster.

http://www.vaeth.com/tuning_modelle_...type=crossfire

 

Maxwell,
Count me in, It would be nice to have a sleeper under the hood - check this site out I found they are looking for donor cars to fab turbos it's in Texas.

www.forcedinduction.net

Hope someone in Texas can part with the XF long enough - !

 

Well that makes three of us, We need more than 10 willing owners who can commit. I would like to get at least 15-20 people for a tuning shop to jump aboard.

If we can get CJspecial to do the Turbo manifold for $800 each, then I'm fairly positive Speed Inovations can do the tuning of the ECU. They mentioned in an email I sent a long time ago that it can be done for a custom set up. They will probably want at least $900 - $1,000 to write the software for each car.

I'm estimating the single turbo can be had for $800, for 6 Psi. While I'm not wild about using the stock intake manifold, I think it's the only way to keep cost down.

Misc. parts are going to add up quickly, like Blow off valve, and a piggyback ECU if necessary, larger injectors, new exhaust, plumbing oil and coolant lines. We will have to make some kind of oil return line into the oil filter cap, or machine a sandwich adapter, unless it's possible to drain back into the oil crank case.
This might add up to at least $2,500 - $3,000 in little parts.

Estimated total should be around $6,200 +/-$300.

 

Maxwell,
What kind of HP are you thinking this would add? Estimate?

 

This is low boost like the kleeman, and without the drag of the S/C, so it should be similar power output of the Kleeman kit, maybe less going through the Variable Intake manifold.
I'm guessing with tuning and perfecting the whole kit, you could easily see 300 hp on stock engine with and 10.5:1 compression ratio, your gonna have to use the best gas available. Build a proper intake manifold to reduce any hesitation and correct airflow, it might be capable of putting 320 hp to the ground safely.

Then again, if we're to do this ourselves we might be able to get better pricing on mass purchases, but we will have to do our homework and have every aspect of this thing planned perfectly. Otherwise the Kleenman kit might be the best way to go, other than doing an engine swap from a 5.5 v8 benz.

 

kleemann website states that they make headers for the 3.2 could these be used on ours?

 

First and foremost, you need to sort out tuning of the ecu.

Everything else is simply a matter of some elbow grease. The ecu tuning is really the only major obstacle that needs to be sorted in a safe, reliable manner.

 

Not without modifying the headers.

 

As I said previously, Speed Innovations reply to me stating that they can do a custom ECU for a boosted motor.

 

Have they done it before? Are you converting to a map sensor set up? What size injectors are needed?

I know that they've proven themselves capable with the n/a motors before, but I have seen places previously say they can do stuff like this without really getting in to it. The lack of a solid price to me suggests that this avenue hasn't been completely investigated.

 

I think they have done custom jobs before, but I don't know their record for completed systems.

I would use the srt6 injectors, since I would like to limit the Hp to around 300 hp just for reliably of the stock engine and clutch.

Actually I was scrounging around an ECU shop and they have SLK32 ecu's for about $600, but I'll ask SI and see if it can operate in the crossfire.

 

I was doing a little research on Bosch Motronic ecus used in BMW 325i, and apparently there are guys able to run those motors between 4-7 psi without having to remap the timing tables on the ecu. Turns out the motronic can handle retarding any suspected detonation between those pressure levels. This really makes things easier now. Just need to figure out a way to add more fuel which is easier than adjusting timing, either way is not difficult to adjust with a piggyback system.

I'll let you guys know what else I find out.

 

Just because it can be done, doesn't mean it should be done...

You don't want to rely on a system that retards timing because it's detecting some pre-detonation. By that time, you're already too far down the path to be safe in my eyes.

 

Yeah if a knock sensor goes bad it will toast the pistons. But running a piggyback might be cheaper than having SI do the reprogramming of the stock ecu, plus you get to do your own adjustments for different fuels later on down the road.

 

Cheaper doesn't mean better...

Especially when you're talking about turboing a high compression motor.

I understand the desire to make this as affordable as possible, but remember, the engine management is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of a successful turbo kit. If you have to cut corners, this is NOT the place to do it.

 

Yes I realize that, It takes a long time to find a relatively economically priced ecu, that has quality features. I'm not interested in a tuning-pot box either as that's just cheesy. HKS or maybe Greddy has something worth it's salt, I really want laptop control and the ability to advance timing, as this is a feature not available on some cheaper units. so, I'm still looking to see what's out there.