What boost are you running?

You can also have a 3in turbo back exhaust fabbed up if you wanted to.

Mario



Post Edited (Jun 21, 10:14am)

 

I'm running stock boost right now.

 

Mess with boost, get an IC, bump up the fuel pressure, or get bigger injectors, maybe get a standalone system.

You don't need a custom intake and headers to get to ~350-400hp.

Most of all, SEARCH.
Mario

 

my 81 zxt has been steadily upgraded over the years: big exhaust w/o cat, cold air intake, boost controller w/ boost set to 12 psi, lightened flywheel, light crank pulley, ps pulley & w-pump pulley, elect. rad fans, racing light weight seats, 200+ lbs. off the curb weight , oversized 24"X28" intercooler, 7th fuel injector, temp. insulated air intake & fuel delivery lines, no choking emission junks, cross-drilled & lightened rotors, low profile/lighter/min. diam tires. Passes emissions every year. BTW: listing a zxt manual boost controller kit on ebay next month.

 

most rescent mod: 60mm TB and 3/4" BOV.

 

Get an intercooler and turn the boost up to 10 psi. Should be good for 50 more hp.

 

what's a good car to steel an intercooler off of?

 

I'm running about 15 psi through a Starion / Conquest unit. It's about as small as you want to go. The better ones are typically diesel truck units. NPR for example. Is it hot where you live?

 

I live in Silverdale, Washington. We have more cool weather than warm weather. We get maybe a month of 70+ weather a year after that its always in the 40's and 50's.

what's a NPR?



Post Edited (Jun 21, 1:41pm)

 

NPR is an Intercooler from an Izuzu NPR diesal truck.

Very popular intercooler and fits very nicely in Z's.

Comes in 3 sizes, small, medium and large.

But for more performance get an intercooler, turn up the boost to 10psi, and get a good boost guage to watch the boost...

3" downpipe and exhuast and you'll be set.

that might get ya to 215hp... then go MegaSquirt n Spark!

 

Do this FIRST, before you do anything else to the car. Get a 3" system on the car, and a good free flowing muffler.
Then redo all of the EFI (ECCS) harness, frounds, clean all of the component contacts. Make sure EVERYTHING Nissan built into the car is WORKING as designed.
Then see where you are at, I had a good time in my car when I restored it, it ran very well and it had power once you got to about 3K rpm's
Then once you figure out what you want, build it ONE TIME!
I wanted 450hp and built 350hp first, then on to 450hp and pushed that system to 500hp. Now I'm building to run no less then 600hp. But the time, effort, money and design work inbetween what I am doing now is significant.
If you have never been in a car that produces 400hp, or 500hp, or 600hp, then fine someone that has a car that does that and ride in it, decide how much you want and go for it, from the get go.
True I have gotten some really good data on my various setups, but NO ONE helped me pay for all that stuff, and I'm telling you it gets expensive when you start buying things like injectors for 100.00 each and you have gone through two sets, three turbo chargers, two exhaust systems, two revs of fuel management systems, two different fuel pumps, and I wont EVEN get into the rest of the drive train.
You want the data, it's out there, but decide REALISTICALLY what you want FIRST and then build your car.

 

Hi guys, speaking of intercoolers. I decided to upgrade from this tiny intercooler a friend of mine gave me, i don't know what make and model it came from. I'm putting in an intercooler from an 88 or 89 supra turbo. What kind of boost do you think i can run on it?

-Troy

 

What jeffp said. Plan well, ask questions, use the site's search function, and save up for quality parts instead of compromising.

Your intercooled car will do well where you live. I am in Wisconsin where summer rarely gets above 90 and there are many nice cool months to boost along in.

 

I ran around 10psi with no problems on my 81zxturbo and I live in South Louisiana. I did have ALL electrical connections for EFI either soldered or completely redone. I also did the swap for the 300zx turbo computer and mass airflow sensor. It ran smoother and would only detonate when pushing it very hard on hot days. Next time around I will use an NPR intercooler and up the boost to about 15psi to account for the slight pressure drop of the intercooler which won't be much if you make sure the tubing is all rigid except for the tubing joints. My brother has had the car for a few months now with no problems. He's in the nice Texas heat.

 

If the car is in good running order, or you have done what Jeff recomends. Your good to boost your car to 10-11psi safe. You should have no problems at that boost level and you will feel a difference. On a stock turbo you should be able to run a 3" catback exahaust with a blow threw muffler. A turbo back system would not hurt, and Jeff I belive has gone threw all the R&D for a quality unit. Do eliminate the factory air cleaner assembly in the front of the car and use a large K&N cone filter. After 11 psi (between 13-18) you are going to want a large intercooler and fuel enrichment. You are also most likely to blow a factory headgasket. If you car has ever had the cylinder head removed and gasket replaced with a Felpro or other quality gasket you should be fine. If not, be prepaired to do this type of job. Intercooler wise on a stock size turbo a Supra or Starion is just big enough. If you do a turbo upgrade or plan on doing so go dirctly to A NPR or custome intercooler core. In general, a Garrett or Spearco core that is 12x12x3 will flow enough to support 500hp. But that is not the case for all intercooler cores. So use it as a guide line not a rule. Another place I would start with is the fuel pump. There is no such thing as too much in this case. You can start with a $100.00 upgrade that will support about 400hp or spend just under $300.00 for a pump that will support over 600. Either way get rid of the 20+ year unit that is made to support 180hp. Most important don't get too ahead of yourself. If you don't have 5-$8,000 don't look at turbo headers, cams etc. Boost the car 11psi with a air filter, exhaust and a boost controller. A Z the runs 14's is a blast. If you need help with any parts or advice I sell all performance and repalcement parts, and specialize on products for Z cars. Good luck and god bless.

Alex C
AIM:boostmyride