Turbo build/questions

[LoganS]

Ya that whole thing on reading for turbos for months same thing. Something may have got lost in translation. somewhere on competitiondiesel there is a whole write up on turbos and turbo math give that a read ill see if i can find the link and im sure some one over there can be asked how it translates to gas.

[Silverado2469]

Ya that whole thing on reading for turbos for months same thing. Something may have got lost in translation. somewhere on competitiondiesel there is a whole write up on turbos and turbo math give that a read ill see if i can find the link and im sure some one over there can be asked how it translates to gas.

 

Ok cool ill give it a look thanks! My dads a master mechanic and has built plenty of turbo vehicles. But I was trying to figure all the specs out myself. But it's looking like ill be taking the drive down to his house for a day of schooling for spooling. Haha. He actually has a 12 second 3500 diesel. 4 door long bed it actually pulls the left front tire when it launches. So bad ass. Haha. But I want to build my truck to beat him. Lol. Or come close. And say I did it myself. Ill read that forum. And see if I can figure it out. Thanks again.

[AKSSS]

Your off to a good start. But I say start simple. With your 5.3, first. You have headers? Put the stock manifolds back on. That was the one single best improvement I did to my sts setup. It cut my spool time in probably half. Headers flow smoother than manifolds, thus slowing exhaust down because it is less restrictive. The other part of your spool time u are forgetting is heat. Turbos don't just use exhaust velocity to spool, heat plays a major part of it.

If you are running a return fuel system, then the 255 walbro will be fine for your power levels. Why the boost controller? You are not wanting high boost levels. So keep it simple to start and use your waste gate. Springs for a waste gate are like 30 bucks. Change your boost that way until you get things dialed in and figured out.

As for your turbo. The oil supply will come off your engine block right next to your oil filter. If you have a oil cooler, you tap right into the aluminum block of the cooling lines block. If not, then if I remember correctly, you put a spacer block in that position where the tranny cooler lines would go and you tap out the block with a 4an fitting. You should be good to supply your oil with a #4 line. This line will have the same pressure as your motor now.

Next is the oil pump. Pita! I lost 3 turbos before I got the newest helix geared pump from sts. The problem with the oil system is getting the oil out of the turbo. I ended up usin a 5/8 rubber hose off the turbo to the scavenger pump then running a #8 return line from the pump to the oil cap. It would sure be a lot simpler to run a oil cooled only turbo. Unless you are living in the desert there is no need, unless you are road racing. Lol

Your charge pipes, just buy aluminum 2.5" charge pipes from like cx racing or frozen boost. They work well and you can use a chop saw to cut up your piping and just silicone join them together. Easy.

[Silverado2469]

Your off to a good start. But I say start simple. With your 5.3, first. You have headers? Put the stock manifolds back on. That was the one single best improvement I did to my sts setup. It cut my spool time in probably half. Headers flow smoother than manifolds, thus slowing exhaust down because it is less restrictive. The other part of your spool time u are forgetting is heat. Turbos don't just use exhaust velocity to spool, heat plays a major part of it.

If you are running a return fuel system, then the 255 walbro will be fine for your power levels. Why the boost controller? You are not wanting high boost levels. So keep it simple to start and use your waste gate. Springs for a waste gate are like 30 bucks. Change your boost that way until you get things dialed in and figured out.

As for your turbo. The oil supply will come off your engine block right next to your oil filter. If you have a oil cooler, you tap right into the aluminum block of the cooling lines block. If not, then if I remember correctly, you put a spacer block in that position where the tranny cooler lines would go and you tap out the block with a 4an fitting. You should be good to supply your oil with a #4 line. This line will have the same pressure as your motor now.

Next is the oil pump. Pita! I lost 3 turbos before I got the newest helix geared pump from sts. The problem with the oil system is getting the oil out of the turbo. I ended up usin a 5/8 rubber hose off the turbo to the scavenger pump then running a #8 return line from the pump to the oil cap. It would sure be a lot simpler to run a oil cooled only turbo. Unless you are living in the desert there is no need, unless you are road racing. Lol

Your charge pipes, just buy aluminum 2.5" charge pipes from like cx racing or frozen boost. They work well and you can use a chop saw to cut up your piping and just silicone join them together. Easy.

 

 

DUDE. Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for! What turbo do you think I should run. My dad said a 75mm. But I think that's to big. I was thinking more of a t70 size.

Like this one from CX. And my last question. Where did you run your charger piping. Can you post up some picks? I was looking. And idk if its going to fit where I wanted it to. I wanted it to go back up next to the passenger header, but it's going to be a VERY tight fit if it does fit. Ill try to get some pics up of that later today. And show you what I was thinking. What oil pump does STS use, I'll just buy that same pump. If it will save me on some turbo's. or what are the specs. Either or. Again. Thank you for this. It makes me feel a hell of a lot better knowing I can cut some cost on the piping, and that I'm at least headed in the right direction. I'm thinking of picking up a spare 5.3l incase I blow this one up. XD. Haha. Maybe pick up a 6.0. And if this blows do the swap.

[Silverado2469]

So I tried to edit my above post. For some reason I can't. So here's another turbo I'm looking at. What do you guys think??

 

 

 

[AKSSS]

Don't bother with anything smaller than a t4 flange.
Is your motor stock? A t70 would be ok. Just need to get a smaller hot side for it to spool. I ran a sts get-67 which is just a worked over t04e 60mm. It did ok behind my 6.0 but choked up high of the power band.

 

I don't have any pictures of my charge pipes and their routing, but they ran right along the far right side of the truck. Then they went right up along side the passenger side manifold, just like you were thinking of doing. I really suggest looking for a used sts setup that has most of the componets you are after. I sold my sts setup for like 1500 bucks.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Aksss (see edit history)

[Silverado2469]

Ok nothing smaller than a T4 flange, what's a good exhaust size to keep spool low? I have a stock 5.3l. Why wouldn't I want a t3 flange? I was under the impression that a .84 t3 flang was a .65-.70 Ar for a t4 flange? Is that correct? And what's the benefit of a t4 over a t3?

[Silverado2469]

Ok I see why t4 is what I want. I did some more research. So I'm pretty sure this is the turbo ill be running. It's a t76.

I think the .81 exhaust will spool under 3k. I read somewhere that a guy with a 4.6l ford was running a .96 exhaust. And at 30% throttle started spooling at 3200. So my 5.3l with a .81 rear mounted should spoil at 2500-2800 I'm guessing. And if its a little higher when I do my cam swap later on down the road it'll spoil sooner. Please correct me of I'm wrong. But I think I got that down. Kind of. I know there's a math equation you can do to figure it out. But the math just confused the shit out of me. Haha. After looking under the truck again. This 2.5" piping gonna be real hard to fit. I might have found a place to route it. But would 2" aluminum piping work as well? Or should I stay with 2.5" piping? The 2" would fit easier. I just don't think with my stick y pipe that the pipe will fit by it. I'm not sure yet.

 

[AKSSS]

Hmm. Just FYI. I am running a master power t76 turbo with almost those exact specs. Mp turbos were bought out by magnum turbos and their t76 is exactly the same thing. I can't remember if mine exhaust housing is .81 or .96. And the hot side has a turbo blanket on it, so I can't see what size it is. Secondly. I have a 6.0 and I don't start really building boost until about 2500. I am at 8psi by about 3600, and 12 psi by 4800 for a dead stop. I have a 3k converter also.

[Silverado2469]

Well if yours is a .96. Then a .81 would be perfect right? And just curious how much power are you making?

[AKSSS]

Well if yours is a .96. Then a .81 would be perfect right? And just curious how much power are you making?

It should be. It will still be a little slow to spool I think. I am NO turbo professional. I have learned all my info from trial and error. But once you get it spooled it will build good power!

 

I have no idea what my hp numbers are. There is no awd dynos in Alaska that my pickup will fit onto. I have a good guess, but I do'nt know if I trust the numbers. So I will just say close to 500 to the wheels, maybe more. There is a video on here somewhere of my last track time.

[Silverado2469]

Well I will be happy if it spoils by 2500-3000. I'm spinning the truck to 6000-6200. And will put a 2800 stall on. So that should be perfect for my DD. and a nice track runner. 3:73 gears. Will work well with this setup. If you could get some pics up of your charger piping I would be forever great full. I'm going to keep looking to see if I can find some ideas on routing.

[AKSSS]

Well I will be happy if it spoils by 2500-3000. I'm spinning the truck to 6000-6200. And will put a 2800 stall on. So that should be perfect for my DD. and a nice track runner. 3:73 gears. Will work well with this setup. If you could get some pics up of your charger piping I would be forever great full. I'm going to keep looking to see if I can find some ideas on routing.

I have since swapped my setup over to a front mount turbo, about 2 or 3 years ago now. I don't have pics of the charge pipe routing for the sts setup. Sorry. but if you go to the other website. performancetrucks.net and search over there, I remember is some of the old post there was a few pics of people showing the pipe routing. I can show you my pipes now, but they are all up front.

[Silverado2469]

I don't know how anyone can get a turbo and piping under these hoods lol. I was looking thinking maybe do it there. But I don't know how it would fit lol.

[AKSSS]

To build a single front mount on these body style trucks is actually really easy. There is two common builders for the hotpipes, with many others building them also. I used kbracing hot pipes. His name is kyle brown. They fit excellent and where pretty simple to install. As always, there is some headaches and bumps along the way, but it can be done pretty easily. Like I said, my hardest part was building the charge pipes and my intercooler setup. I put my intercooler in my front bumper which involved my removing my front bumper and taking a plasma cutter to the front frame horns and then boxing in the notches on the frame. This way I fit a 31x12x3 intercooler up front. That was by far the hardest part. It took a little time trying to map out my charge pipes also. I bought a universal pipe kit and cut it up. after I got it all fitted up after cutting everything. I removed everything and had a welding shop weld bevels on the edges of the charge pipes where they would be joined with the silicone couplers. That way once you clamp the hose on, they can't slip apart.