Stock Engine capabilities??

ENNESEX - I have one of Cody's system on a stock 3.2, with meth, AEM, at 10#'s of boost, producing 480whp that I have been thrashing pretty hard on with absolutely no problems.

I have upgraded with rims and tires (Advans and Direzza's) and have still had to have Cody detune the car in order to get any decent traction under eighty miles an hour. Even though I see all kinds of guys with higher HP, I have no clue how they get that HP to the street.

Hope this helps!



I would be HAPPY with 8lbs 450-460 rwhp and keep the motor together.. You must be running an aftermarket clutch?... I see you have a 3.2 in your 91 obviously a transplant how many miles on your motor?...
 
I just went trough all of this thread which is very interesting, and I have a couple questions, how does the weight of a turbo kit affects the handling of the car? Because I am pretty sure the added weight of the full turbo kit will offset the balance of the car. Turbo, intercooler, pipes, blow off valve, wastegates, and thiker manifolds too.
A turbo setup is often lighter than or near to the weight of the stock exhaust.
 
I would be HAPPY with 8lbs 450-460 rwhp and keep the motor together.. You must be running an aftermarket clutch?... I see you have a 3.2 in your 91 obviously a transplant how many miles on your motor?...[/quote

ENSSEX - I have a RPS Stage 1 street disk clutch which is much stiffer than the OEM. The 3.2 only has 3,000 miles on it. I am the original owner of my 91 and had only 25K on the 3.0. Loved the car but always thought it was under powered. Bought a 3.2 from Honda (a tech wrapped a 2004 around a telephone pole on a 1K inspection) to try and improve its performance. Long story short wanted more performance than the traditional "Comptech" modification would provide but couldn't find anyone in the Midwest who could give me 500 rwhp w/o an occasional ride in a tow truck. Engine sat in my office for four years until an employee sent me a you-tube of an NSX running 10 second quarter miles. I googled the name on the vid and found a young man here in Michigan that had installed turbos on 25+ cars! Called several of his customers, rec'd incredible reviews, gave him my mint box stock car, and I am back to driving w/ a smile. Have already tangled w/ a bunch of friends cars (Z06, C6, M3, 911 Carrera 4, and an older 911 turbo) on the street and the smile remains. I am looking forward to tracking the car this May.

I did want the ability to put everything back together in a numbers matching form and Cody has assisted this process. The 3.0 is actually better to upgrade due (I am told) to the liners used in the older motor, but I still used the 3.2 as that was what I bought it for.

As an old guy I wanted a unique car with great performance, great reliability, ability to hear the radio, and cruise to my summer home without getting my hands dirty. So far I could not be happier.

Sorry for the long post - its Sunday and raining here!

I will try to post a picture!

<o>:p></o>:p>
 
I'm using an FJO methanol system and it has a pressure sensor that confirms methanol pump pressure to the injector. In the event that the pump fails and there is a loss of pressure it sends a signal to the AEM ECU and the boost and/or timing is modified for safety. This system is automatic and doesn't require monitoring an idiot light or having fast human reactions to save the motor.

Regarding Traction... I'm running about 550 whp with small twin turbos and had traction issues too. That was originally handled by using the speed variable boost control feature in the AEM. I subsequently switched to large 295/35-18 tires on 10.5 inch wide rims and was able to have my tuner deactivate the boost control without uncontrollable wheel spin. The rear tires now "break loose" in a very controllable (good) way in first gear but no longer do I "zing" the engine to the rev limiter unintentionally.
By the way, I'm running the lower JDM gears and 4.23 ring & pinion. I recalibrated the speedo to compensate for the larger tires and am very happy with this set-up.

Stevenlee,

I have the AEM Meth System and it fail safes the same way as yours. I do have the idiot light as well and I believe it blinks creatively if low or out of fluid. I don't believe you could react humanely fast enough should the system fail under full power anyway! Maybe Devin or Cody would comment in this thread as well.

Cody performed the same "tuning" with my car as well. First gear is a bit of challenge mainly because of the temps here in Michigan as well as the road conditions. But on a dry decent surface I am finally hooking up. I don't believe I get full boost until eighty miles an hour.

I know the tire discussion belongs under a different thread but I (like you) went to 275/35-18's w/10" rims
and the Dunlop Direzzea Sport Z1 Star Spec and the largest size was the 275's. I have learned from several track guys that have had success with this tire. In Michigan I have had only one day in the 60's (unlike you likely guys in HI) and I could not believe how much better the tires hooked. If i could get to the 70's, I might be asking Cody to add some HP under 50!

Can you post some pictures of your car or direct me to where some are?

Thanks

Charlie



I posted some
 
Charlie Pm me your contact number I would like to chat further with ya if thats ok


Paul







Stevenlee,

I have the AEM Meth System and it fail safes the same way as yours. I do have the idiot light as well and I believe it blinks creatively if low or out of fluid. I don't believe you could react humanely fast enough should the system fail under full power anyway! Maybe Devin or Cody would comment in this thread as well.

Cody performed the same "tuning" with my car as well. First gear is a bit of challenge mainly because of the temps here in Michigan as well as the road conditions. But on a dry decent surface I am finally hooking up. I don't believe I get full boost until eighty miles an hour.

I know the tire discussion belongs under a different thread but I (like you) went to 275/35-18's w/10" rims
and the Dunlop Direzzea Sport Z1 Star Spec and the largest size was the 275's. I have learned from several track guys that have had success with this tire. In Michigan I have had only one day in the 60's (unlike you likely guys in HI) and I could not believe how much better the tires hooked. If i could get to the 70's, I might be asking Cody to add some HP under 50!

Can you post some pictures of your car or direct me to where some are?

Thanks

Charlie



I posted some
 
DUBRIC, I don't have any good photos of my car in its latest trim. I did take a photo an hour ago of my car in the garage for you.

I put those Dunlops on my wife's BMW and really like them. They run wider than most other brands of tires and are probably almost as wide as mine. My Bridgestone RE050 295's might have a slightly larger diameter and are flush with the top of the fender. My rear wheels are CE28N 18 x 10.5.

Here are photos of my wheels (modified and PermaStar coated), the methanol tank I built, my intercooler water tank & pump, exhaust and a couple of small turbos.

Beware... modifying your car can be a slippery slope. I've spent more on mods than I paid for the car.View attachment 54005
 

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That makes sense,
Are turbo guys using stock headers by just using Y-pipes to the turbo?
Like in this picture:http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=52560&d=1235875886
That means that I wont have to pull my engine out to fab headers, I am guessing that stock headers arent very restrictive, right?

Thanks,

-MSR
The stock 91-96 (i believe) "log"-style exhaust "manifold" is pretty restrictive and I wouldn't reccomend it. The 97+ NA2 'header' has a better 3 into 1 merge collector and is much better than the early version and can handle ~400-450whp, anything more than that would require a aftermarket header IMO.


I'm selling a stock NA2 header if interested.
 
The stock 91-96 (i believe) "log"-style exhaust "manifold" is pretty restrictive and I wouldn't reccomend it. The 97+ NA2 'header' has a better 3 into 1 merge collector and is much better than the early version and can handle ~400-450whp, anything more than that would require a aftermarket header IMO.


I'm selling a stock NA2 header if interested.

I have the stock header on my turbo setup and when compared to the dynos of similar systems with aftermarket headers the difference is a minimal decline in torque as opposed to a relatively flat torque graph on the aftermarket. My rational was that it is cheaper to turn up the boost and get that torque back than pay the extra $1500 for the headers! The thing has so much torque down low you shift before the slight decline anyways. I used to always be between 7-8000 rpm, now I rarely get there before shifting.
The stock headers on NA2 are actually quite respectable.
 
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DUBRIC, I don't have any good photos of my car in its latest trim. I did take a photo an hour ago of my car in the garage for you.

I put those Dunlops on my wife's BMW and really like them. They run wider than most other brands of tires and are probably almost as wide as mine. My Bridgestone RE050 295's might have a slightly larger diameter and are flush with the top of the fender. My rear wheels are CE28N 18 x 10.5.

Here are photos of my wheels (modified and PermaStar coated), the methanol tank I built, my intercooler water tank & pump, exhaust and a couple of small turbos.

Beware... modifying your car can be a slippery slope. I've spent more on mods than I paid for the car.View attachment 54005

StevenLee,

Well for a slippery slope the final product looks great. I almost went the CE28N's as well and they look great on your car. I have been considered doing some skiing on that slope - some brake upgrade (brembos or stoptech) and a Procar Type R hood. I am excited to track the car in the next sixty days to experience the total affect of the turbo addition.

Did you do the twin turbos your self? What is the thought of two small versus one large? I would be curious if you have a "map" to share from your programable controller?

Charlie
 
StevenLee,

Well for a slippery slope the final product looks great. I almost went the CE28N's as well and they look great on your car. I have been considered doing some skiing on that slope - some brake upgrade (brembos or stoptech) and a Procar Type R hood. I am excited to track the car in the next sixty days to experience the total affect of the turbo addition.

Did you do the twin turbos your self? What is the thought of two small versus one large? I would be curious if you have a "map" to share from your programable controller?

Charlie

Dubric, I did the twin turbos but not by myself.... I helped or had help. The benefit of the two small turbos is that they are supposed to spool up faster. The drawback is that two water cooled turbos require A LOT MORE plumbing than a single turbo and it's difficult (time consuming) to cleanly plumb everything. I have over 1,000 hours of labor invested in my mods.
For a map, I would have to ask my tuner. PM me if you're interested, perhaps he would provide it to you.
 
StevenLee,

Well for a slippery slope the final product looks great. I almost went the CE28N's as well and they look great on your car. I have been considered doing some skiing on that slope - some brake upgrade (brembos or stoptech) and a Procar Type R hood. I am excited to track the car in the next sixty days to experience the total affect of the turbo addition.

Did you do the twin turbos your self? What is the thought of two small versus one large? I would be curious if you have a "map" to share from your programable controller?

Charlie

DUBRIC,
I installed the twin turbos but not by myself. I did build most of it including the exhaust, charge pipe and turbo mounting supports, Meth injection, intercooer tank and a lot of the plumbing. I have spent well over 1,000 hours developing and installing my modifications.
The twin small turbos are supposed to provide faster spooling of the turbos at the expense of having a more complex installation (especially plumbing for the 2 water cooled turbos). I wanted the best low end possible because I really can't use the high speed HP where I live.
For the map, PM me. My tuner may be willing to release the map. He's from the Northwest and has flown out to Hawaii 4 times to tune and fine tune my (and other) system. He travels anywhere in the US to tune and even has clients in Germany who fly him there to tune their cars.
 
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DUBRIC,
I installed the twin turbos but not by myself. I did build most of it including the exhaust, charge pipe and turbo mounting supports, Meth injection, intercooer tank and a lot of the plumbing. I have spent well over 1,000 hours developing and installing my modifications.
The twin small turbos are supposed to provide faster spooling of the turbos at the expense of having a more complex installation (especially plumbing for the 2 water cooled turbos). I wanted the best low end possible because I really can't use the high speed HP where I live.
For the map, PM me. My tuner may be willing to release the map. He's from the Northwest and has flown out to Hawaii 4 times to tune and fine tune my (and other) system. He travels anywhere in the US to tune and even has clients in Germany who fly him there to tune their cars.

Stevenlee,

That plumbing has to be extensive. Does the water cooling eliminate the oil lubrication of the turbo bearings? I assume some sort of a y-pipe into the intake, one intake filter for both units, etc.! You will have to post some pictures of the final installed product as its not like you have a lot of space!

I am beginning to understand your comments on the practical application of this much hp on the street. I have no idea of my gearing (stock) but after - oh as long as 6-7 seconds of hard acceleration (two gears) I am already at the point of a serious ticket let alone a safety concern. I suspect that problem is magnified by an island. Because of some serious looks from law enforcement despite driving perfectly normal I had a friend do a couple of drive byes. Sounded like the last indy car event I attended!

Regarding the tuning I have downloaded the software but have had a wiring issue with the type of connector. For some reason it is not a USB connector and my laptop does not have that style of connector available. I have been following another thread concerning mapping and would like to learn more. I am surprised that you have a tuner come over from the mainland for yours. Not that I have ever done it but watching Cody do mine I did not see anything done I did not understand. He has located an adapter and will be educating me on the process and I am looking forward to it.

Incidentally the list of adders (that slippery slope we discussed) would not link, could you forward? I am interested in what brakes, calipers, etc. you used. I forgot to look what island you were on - share if your comfortable!

Charlie
 
Dubric,

I recommend using this

http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtSeriesID=518&txtModelID=3914

I've used this USB serial adapter when I used to do Hondata tuning with my old equipment with good results. great thread!

Prospeed - I just said to the wife - this site has been great, the people are super and the information is top shelf!

I just ordered the adapter you suggested!

Based on visiting your site is tuning an area of expertise? Is there a turbo under that greenhouse?

Charlie
 
Dubric,

No prob! That's why we are all here. Yes, Ive been tuning engine management systems for over 7 years. I specialize in Hondata, Chrome, Neptune, DFI, Speedpro and I am familiar with AEM. The basic tuning principle applies to all of the programmable engine management systems. As for a Turbo.... you never know :wink:

I really like that adapter. I found that most adapters are not compatible. The one I suggested works great. =)
 
Stevenlee,

That plumbing has to be extensive. Does the water cooling eliminate the oil lubrication of the turbo bearings? I assume some sort of a y-pipe into the intake, one intake filter for both units, etc.! You will have to post some pictures of the final installed product as its not like you have a lot of space!

I am beginning to understand your comments on the practical application of this much hp on the street. I have no idea of my gearing (stock) but after - oh as long as 6-7 seconds of hard acceleration (two gears) I am already at the point of a serious ticket let alone a safety concern. I suspect that problem is magnified by an island. Because of some serious looks from law enforcement despite driving perfectly normal I had a friend do a couple of drive byes. Sounded like the last indy car event I attended!

Regarding the tuning I have downloaded the software but have had a wiring issue with the type of connector. For some reason it is not a USB connector and my laptop does not have that style of connector available. I have been following another thread concerning mapping and would like to learn more. I am surprised that you have a tuner come over from the mainland for yours. Not that I have ever done it but watching Cody do mine I did not see anything done I did not understand. He has located an adapter and will be educating me on the process and I am looking forward to it.

Incidentally the list of adders (that slippery slope we discussed) would not link, could you forward? I am interested in what brakes, calipers, etc. you used. I forgot to look what island you were on - share if your comfortable!

Charlie

Charlie,
The water cooled turbos do not replace the oil to the turbo bearings. My turbos have roller bearings for faster spooling. The water to the turbos helps bearing life and reduces, if not prevents, coking of the tubo bearings.
I did not use a Y adapter for the intake air, I have 2 individual K & N air filters that are tucked into the rears of the fenders.
I am using later model (1997?) OEM larger rotors and calipers that are slotted with Hawk HPS pads. I didn't want the extra weight of larger brakes since they would only be for bling and I wouldn't need them for my slow street driving at legal posted speeds.
Speaking of that, I can only give it maximun throttle for about 4 seconds before I would be be going illegally fast on any road on my island...and that's beginning from a dead stop.

To give you an idea of the complexity of the plumbing of 2 water cooled turbos, here's what I have:
-2 air filters and 2 intake pipes to the 2 turbos.
-2 outlet (compressed) air pipes to feed into the air-to-water intercooler.
-1 charge air pipe to go from the intercooler outlet to the throttle body.
-1 water hose to feed designated water to the intercooler.
-1 water hose to go from the intercooler to the 2 heat exchangers in front of the radiator.
-1 water hose to return water from the heat exchangers back to the intercooler water tank and pump.
-2 water hoses to feed engine water to the turbo housings.
-2 water return hoses from the turbos.
-1 oil feed hose from the oil pressure sender location to a "Y".
-2 oil feed hoses to the 2 turbos.
-2 oil drain hoses from the turbos to an accumulator tank.
-1 hose from the turbo oil accumulator tank to the return pump.
-1 vent hose from the oil accumulator tank to the oil pan.
-1 hose from the pump to return to the oil pan.
-2 separate exhaust pipes from the headers to the 2 turbos.
-2 separate exhaust systems for the 2 turbos.
-1 blow off valve pressure actuator hose.
-2 waste gate actuator hoses
...then there's the methanol tank, pump, vent and supply hoses, filter, pressure sensor, sprayer, etc...
...I almost forgot to mention the dual O2 sensors, EGT sensor, 6 gauges including AEM serial gauge, etc, etc, etc.

To make it more challenging, the NSX has limited space and I wanted to build my system to look like it was designed and built by Honda.

After spending over 1,000 hours over 4-5 years designing and building the many mods on my car it is almost done and looks like amazingly stock like most NSX's.
 

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StevenLee,

With renewed interest (and appreciation) I had to go back to the pictures you shared earlier to understand all the work you have had to go through to achieve your objective. It is a work of art and the car looks deceivingly stock.

That was no slippery slope discussed earlier, it was a rather large cliff!

I forgot what your final hp was but find it hard to believe more guys are not equipping their NSX's with turbos. The performance you and I (and other turbo equiped NSX's) are experiencing beats just about anything on the street!

All this and it drives perfectly, still don't see many of them (for sure in Michigan and Hawaii), you can still push the cruise control, turn up the air conditioner, and tune in some tunes - not bad.

Thanks for sharing!

Charlie
 
Charlie,
My car dynoed with 528 WHP at 9.7 pounds of boost. My tuner later turned up the boost while street tuning. I now run 12 pounds and am probably producing roughly 550 WHP. I believe that the compression is around 10:1. I wanted the best low end possible because that is where I drive the most and I wanted to NSX to feel like a bigger NA engine. It is a built 3.2 liter engine.
My tuner has tuned a lot of cars and he said he really likes the moderately high compression and boost of my car because it makes it enjoyable to drive in the low and mid range as well high end.
 
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