sutyak's turbo focus

[PaxtonShelby]

Great to hear you have her running strong. You deserve it after all the time and effort you have put into the build!

[Stangman701]

That's so annoying that stuff you can't even see on the PRP was causing your problems. Makes me think twice about going that route if I ever decide to buy Ford tuning software.. Glad you got it sorted out though. Looking forward to seeing what times you can get this year

[sutyak]

That's so annoying that stuff you can't even see on the PRP was causing your problems. Makes me think twice about going that route if I ever decide to buy Ford tuning software.. Glad you got it sorted out though. Looking forward to seeing what times you can get this year

Yeah, annoying is an understatement. I'm grateful to know a tuner who will help me out in times like this, but beyond frustrated with SCT for hiding such settings in the pro racer package. The fact that SCT and dealers keep vital tuning information between themselves and don't share it to pro racer package users is awful.
What happens is SCT doesn't even know all the variables necessary to tune a car. A professional tuner, through painstaking hours on a dyno will find the magical combination of settings and report back to SCT.
That information is not shared with the pro racer package community, and non-obvious settings or even non-existent settings in the pro racer package are not made available.

Apparently my ECU in particular is tricky to tune. I've run into a few occasions where a setting doesn't actually take. My tuner friend had to try 3 different tweaks to get around my fueling issue.

All that being said, I don't think tuning should involve magic tricks and secrets between dealers and tuners. I will avoid SCT in the future if possible and go with a stand-alone DIY system like megasquirt, where I will know every single data input and calculation and have a better support community. There is an SCT pro racer forum, but the majority of the questions go unanswered.

[JeffreyCole]

Yeah, annoying is an understatement. I'm grateful to know a tuner who will help me out in times like this, but beyond frustrated with SCT for hiding such settings in the pro racer package. The fact that SCT and dealers keep vital tuning information between themselves and don't share it to pro racer package users is awful.
What happens is SCT doesn't even know all the variables necessary to tune a car. A professional tuner, through painstaking hours on a dyno will find the magical combination of settings and report back to SCT.
That information is not shared with the pro racer package community, and non-obvious settings or even non-existent settings in the pro racer package are not made available.

Apparently my ECU in particular is tricky to tune. I've run into a few occasions where a setting doesn't actually take. My tuner friend had to try 3 different tweaks to get around my fueling issue.

All that being said, I don't think tuning should involve magic tricks and secrets between dealers and tuners. I will avoid SCT in the future if possible and go with a stand-alone DIY system like megasquirt, where I will know every single data input and calculation and have a better support community. There is an SCT pro racer forum, but the majority of the questions go unanswered.

Total Horseshit. If I pay for the ability to tune my own car, I expect to be able to tune it myself, and blow it up myself at the same time. You shouldn't get special privileges just because you are a "professional".

I have seen just as many people who claim to be professionals half ass tune something as I have seen "regular joes" who have the same skillset when it comes to "tuning".

[sutyak]

I decided to stick with the GT2871R for the near future and ordered an extra 3.6psi wastegate spring to put it up to 15.2psi off the wastegate. This should help keep the boost at a solid 22-23psi through redline with the boost controller instead of dropping to 18-19psi. I'm also going to remove the spring/ball gate from the wastegate to help keep the boost smooth instead of spiking. I also have a extra 7.2psi spring if I want to make 18.8psi the new minimum and push the 2871 to 25-26psi.

I did a 3rd gear 2400RPM - 7200RPM WOT pull a couple days ago and the tires broke loose at 4500 RPM (60mph, 22psi) until the boost settled to 18.5psi, then it found traction again. That's with a limited slip and 235/40-17 BFG's. The car should feel even better with that extra 3.6psi.

[somethingclever]

sounds pretty nasty Mark....glad to hear it is running strong now.

Hoping to see it at the rental in June...

[sutyak]

sounds pretty nasty Mark....glad to hear it is running strong now.

Hoping to see it at the rental in June...

I'll be there!

[sutyak]

I picked up a 5.8psi wastegate spring to go with the 11.6psi that is in there for 17.4psi off the wastegate. I decided to skip the 3.6psi spring. Assuming the boost controller can bleed off around 8psi, that will put it around 25psi. I'm also adding a 3" tapered inlet on the turbo instead of the current 2.25" with a new 3" inlet hose and air filter. I should have changed the current air filter a long time ago.
In the next couple weeks I'll tear back into it. The main seal is still leaking a bit, the traction bars need mounted, and I have a set of H&R coilovers I want to try out. June 19th I take it to the track. I also have a set of spare axles - just in case.

The 3082R is also done with new seals and I should get that back soon. Sometime this summer I'll likely fab up a quick setup with the FSWerks T3 manifold I have to see how the 3082 feels on the street. If it's not a dog I'll push forward with my build and upgrade the fuel system and then eventually a manifold from Turbo Turtle.
If I don't care for the 3082 then the 2871R will stay on indefinitely and stick with a stock fuel system.

[sutyak]

Just got the 3082 back from the shop from cleaning, seals, and inspection. At some point I HAVE TO try this thing on my car. It's just too pretty to not use it!

[phillysrt4]

Wow, just got caught up on all your tuning woes. Sorry to hear that. I was pulling the trigger on an SCT handheld and the pro racer package but you are giving me second thoughts on that.

As for the 3082 it would be fun to do the side by side comparison. I'd slap that on and see what she'll do. My gut says you'll be going back to the 2871R for the spoolup and powerband characteristics.

[sutyak]

Wow, just got caught up on all your tuning woes. Sorry to hear that. I was pulling the trigger on an SCT handheld and the pro racer package but you are giving me second thoughts on that.

As for the 3082 it would be fun to do the side by side comparison. I'd slap that on and see what she'll do. My gut says you'll be going back to the 2871R for the spoolup and powerband characteristics.

My ecu seems to be exceptionally tricky.
Yeah I have to try the big 3082R. The 5000 RPM to full spool might drive me crazy. I nearly traded it today for a 3076R but couldn't do it.
Maybe I'll turn this into a dyno queen lol. I'll definitely keep the 2871R until I get a feel for the spool time of the 3082R.

[SlowSix]

Who did you have rebuild your turbo ? I think mine needs new seals. It is a turbonetics though.

[sutyak]

Who did you have rebuild your turbo ? I think mine needs new seals. It is a turbonetics though.

http://turbolabofamerica.com
It's a smaller 2 or 3 person shop and they don't do balancing, so you'd have to trust them to appropriately mark the compressor wheel and install in the same spot to maintain balance.
The cost was $180 for cleaning, inspection, new seals, some hardware, and I think they also replaced a cage pin to tighten it up. That included return shipping. I haven't run it yet, but I'm trusting the wheel balance was maintained. Visually I'm impressed with how it came out, and the shaft is definitely tighter with no play. It took about a month.

http://gpopshop.com if you want to be 100% sure of the balance, but it costs about $200 more plus another $45 for balancing. They will also use the compressor wheel marking method unless you specifically request it to be rebalanced.

[sutyak]

So I decided to take the easy way and bought a downpipe made for a mazdaspeed 3 for my 3082R build. I bought it figuring I would need to modify it, but it will still save me a ton of fabrication time. For $138 it's well worth it to me.

[sutyak]

Feeling pretty good about my car tonight. Turbo Focus at 19psi == 2015 BMW M3.
Dead even until an undisclosed high number then he slowly inched ahead. I'll take it!

[SlowSix]

thanks for the info on the turbo stuff.
It seems like it only smokes when it is colder outside, strangely enough.

And your down pipe is so shiny....

[sutyak]

thanks for the info on the turbo stuff.
It seems like it only smokes when it is colder outside, strangely enough.

And your down pipe is so shiny....

Do you have an oil restrictor on it?
The downpipe won't be shiny after I hack and reweld it to fit.

[SlowSix]

Do you have an oil restrictor on it?
The downpipe won't be shiny after I hack and reweld it to fit.

I do have a restrictor yeah. Don't remember what size. I got it from race part solutions.

[sutyak]

Looks like I can't use the traction bars. The passenger side would run right through the hot side piping. Unless I want to add 4' of piping or have it dragging the ground I'm out of luck. Maybe I'll have a low hot side configuration just for drag days and leave the traction bars off for the street.

[sutyak]

Update time. I tore into the car again to check on a main seal leak. The seal was perfectly fine, but I didn't use enough sealant at the bottom.
While taking things apart I ran into a couple issues that pushed me to go ahead with the 3082R build. I'll be using the stock coolant expansion tank since the air filter will be on the driver's side again.
So far I have the main seal fixed, the transmission back in, and welded up the new 50MM BOV flange. I also added a 5.8psi wastegate spring to the 11.6psi spring for a base 17.4psi. With a drag day fast approaching, the priority is to get the downpipe and dump tube done. I'm trying to rush this so I'm doing more buying than fabricating this time.

Other items on my to-do list if I can get the turbo in quickly:
H&R coilovers on front. H&R race springs on back (stiffer than the coilovers).
Figure out the traction bars to work with my piping.

3082R vs 2871R




I can't believe how well this big turbo fits with the FSWerks manifold.


The 4" inlet is tight, but it'll work


New JGS 50mm BOV vs. chinese junk. The JGS is a NICE piece, and comes with 3 springs to adjust what vac it opens at. It took a month for them to make it, but it's made in the USA and cheaper than the other brands.