Garret turbo upgrade - 3 stages
Discussion
I mentioned three stage improvements to the SE turbo in a previous thread. However, what I said about it came from a conversation with one of their reps…it did not come directly from Garrett or their web site. I located one of their “Performance Houses” from a catalog that I downloaded from a Garrett web site. This is the site that contains the Garrett catalog and a list of their U.S. Distributors and “Performance Houses”.
www.turbobygarrett.com/turbobygarrett/jsp/index.jsp
I called one of their “Performance Houses”, T.E.C. Turbocharger Engineering, located in Golden Colorado. They were the ones that mentioned this three stage concept. This three stage concept may belong solely to TEC, and it may not belong at all to Garrett. Apparently there are many turbine/compressor combinations that are possible using Garrett components. I get the impression that these three stages are proven packages that TEC will sell…that they know will work well, and will produce three corresponding levels of boost improvement on Lotus and other similar cars.
I haven’t followed up on this because I’ve been quite busy at work lately. I will get back to it when I get a break in the action. And I will post something when I learn more.
Cheers…Walt ’91 SE.
www.turbobygarrett.com/turbobygarrett/jsp/index.jsp
I called one of their “Performance Houses”, T.E.C. Turbocharger Engineering, located in Golden Colorado. They were the ones that mentioned this three stage concept. This three stage concept may belong solely to TEC, and it may not belong at all to Garrett. Apparently there are many turbine/compressor combinations that are possible using Garrett components. I get the impression that these three stages are proven packages that TEC will sell…that they know will work well, and will produce three corresponding levels of boost improvement on Lotus and other similar cars.
I haven’t followed up on this because I’ve been quite busy at work lately. I will get back to it when I get a break in the action. And I will post something when I learn more.
Cheers…Walt ’91 SE.
I was told that the turbo that comes in the SE is a very good turbo because it is bushed, and it is both water cooled and oiled. The tech that I spoke with at TEC said that these turbos can be rebuilt over and over and over again. Whereas the GT series turbo is pretty much a one time deal. If you burn it up or frag it…it’s scrap, supposedly because of the type of bearings used in it’s construction. I was told that they are ball bearings, and if you look closely at the GT images in their brochure, you’ll see that they are not oiled.
If it is HP you want, I don’t think that you need to go the GT series. The tech that I spoke with mentioned that Garrett makes a 55mm version of our turbo housing (which is 48mm from the factory) that is capable of some outrageous HP. I can’t remember the exact numbers, but it seems to me that they were up there in the range of 600+. The cost of this housing is $360 (USD).
In any case, I am convinced that there are a number of potent “bolt on” options from Garrett, GT and otherwise, and I will probably go with one of them someday…IF I can find a safe way around the way the ECU modulates boost. One method that I plan to look into is to place a small resistor in the MAP sensor circuit to trick the ECU into thinking that there is less boost than there really is. Someone else mentioned this concept in a previous thread. I thought I’d read up on the MAP sensor function to see if there is a real potential here. I guess that it hinges on whether the MAP sensor voltage goes up or down as boost goes up. If map sensor voltage goes up with boost, then this method may have some potential. Any other ideas, conventional or otherwise, are welcome.
Cheers…Walt ’91 SE
If it is HP you want, I don’t think that you need to go the GT series. The tech that I spoke with mentioned that Garrett makes a 55mm version of our turbo housing (which is 48mm from the factory) that is capable of some outrageous HP. I can’t remember the exact numbers, but it seems to me that they were up there in the range of 600+. The cost of this housing is $360 (USD).
In any case, I am convinced that there are a number of potent “bolt on” options from Garrett, GT and otherwise, and I will probably go with one of them someday…IF I can find a safe way around the way the ECU modulates boost. One method that I plan to look into is to place a small resistor in the MAP sensor circuit to trick the ECU into thinking that there is less boost than there really is. Someone else mentioned this concept in a previous thread. I thought I’d read up on the MAP sensor function to see if there is a real potential here. I guess that it hinges on whether the MAP sensor voltage goes up or down as boost goes up. If map sensor voltage goes up with boost, then this method may have some potential. Any other ideas, conventional or otherwise, are welcome.
Cheers…Walt ’91 SE
Doors, drop me a email & I can get you the info on the GT turbo's
Their GT line starts with a 290 HP GT-25 & their top model is the GT 40/45 which is quite large. I have a GT-30 which will hopefully be installed in the next 2 weeks along with a Autronic ECU & a few other goodies. However like my name states, it's not going on a Esprit at least not yet
) The GT-30 I have is a 520 HP version for my 2.0L turbo car which I am building for street use & roadcoarse duty.
The GT series IS oil cooled & depending on which turbo is chosen, a external wastegate is required. You really need to determine what kind of HP numbers you are looking after & if the numbers are large enough (T3/4 turbo or larger) a GT series turbo is a excellent choice. Due to their design, turbo lag is greatly reduced vs a typical ball bearing turbo or conventional unit & turbo life is also improved. This type of turbo can reduce turbo lag by 500-1000 rpm's vs normal turbo. Not very important with small turbo but when large turbo's are used it becomes very important. But yes, they are expensive
SPG900@mail.saabnet.com is my adress
Their GT line starts with a 290 HP GT-25 & their top model is the GT 40/45 which is quite large. I have a GT-30 which will hopefully be installed in the next 2 weeks along with a Autronic ECU & a few other goodies. However like my name states, it's not going on a Esprit at least not yet
) The GT-30 I have is a 520 HP version for my 2.0L turbo car which I am building for street use & roadcoarse duty. The GT series IS oil cooled & depending on which turbo is chosen, a external wastegate is required. You really need to determine what kind of HP numbers you are looking after & if the numbers are large enough (T3/4 turbo or larger) a GT series turbo is a excellent choice. Due to their design, turbo lag is greatly reduced vs a typical ball bearing turbo or conventional unit & turbo life is also improved. This type of turbo can reduce turbo lag by 500-1000 rpm's vs normal turbo. Not very important with small turbo but when large turbo's are used it becomes very important. But yes, they are expensive
SPG900@mail.saabnet.com is my adress
wcdeane said:
In any case, I am convinced that there are a number of potent “bolt on” options from Garrett, GT and otherwise, and I will probably go with one of them someday…IF I can find a safe way around the way the ECU modulates boost. One method that I plan to look into is to place a small resistor in the MAP sensor circuit to trick the ECU into thinking that there is less boost than there really is. Someone else mentioned this concept in a previous thread. I thought I’d read up on the MAP sensor function to see if there is a real potential here. I guess that it hinges on whether the MAP sensor voltage goes up or down as boost goes up. If map sensor voltage goes up with boost, then this method may have some potential. Any other ideas, conventional or otherwise, are welcome.
The easiest and best is to have your car's ECU reprogrammed to either the S4s or another aftermarket code. I'd check out www.lotusespritworld.com which has a review of chip upgrades available.
Otherwise use a mechanical or electronic boost controller which can be set to the boost level you require.
I would not touch the MAP sensor.
michael
1995 S4
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