Turbo charging

Well I am turbo charging my V6 4.0 sohc explorer. Only gonna run 7-10psi as i am told that is about all it can handle on a stock bottom end. I plan on building a spare v6 i have to handle more like 18-20psi but that is gonna come later. Any suggestions would be awesome as I am kinda shooting in the dark on this one since i can not seem to find anyone that has done this or any info on how to do this to the explorer. I have put turbo's on plenty of cars so thats not the issue. Its more of computer problems and stuff like that.

acidfast said:

...I am kinda shooting in the dark on this one since i can not seem to find anyone that has done this or any info on how to do this to the explorer.

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have you Searched this forum? there are a few that have done a turbo - and most have posted pics of their setup.

You may want to consider super charging. There is a series of articles in the current issues of Four Wheeler magazine about super charging a 4.0 Ranger. Explorer Express and Bama Chips both site sponsors were the suppliers. Apparently Explorer Express sells a complete kit. They increased the RWHP from like 153 to 225.

Also as I understand, there is a way to adapt a Nissan supercharger to work on our explorers. I believe that Josh has done some research on this modification, you my want to check with him.

Well the reason I dont go with supercharging is I have a shop that I can use to make all the parts. and I have 2 t3's to use. So it is just the cheaper way for me to go. I do plan on buying a stand alone management system. Just so I can fine tune it.

I'm new but the only one I've seen is this thread:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136871

It looks like a pretty sweet job and there is a lot of info in there

Been there and currently doing that! E-mail me and I will give you the pro's and con's of the whole install. Cheaper with a turbo? Probably not.. But worth the extra expense in the long run and the hp will be greater! I have a full compliment of bolt on's and also a turbo and can answer most of the questions you'll have. Check out my sig and go to putfile and dig the videos. All were only with 6# of boost. I have went faster since the videos my camera was having problems so no video on the fastest run but I do have a timeslip.

The previous post of pics about my install were prototype setups. Alot of stuff has been changed and if you want me to e-mail you my new setup like I said previously shoot me an e-mail or a pm. Look forward to hearing from you.

WOW! That's some serious spped.
James, will you ever find the time to clue the rest of us in to the new design? Seems like these questions come up a lot.....
I know there have been a number of members that get halfway, but then we never hear from them again....
Karl

Geez, what were you up against James, an 82 Citation? I've seen kids on bigwheels go that fast here in my neighborhood!

Yeah I will be happy to outline the details and send some pics of the changes. All the custom fabrication was done by me so with this being a daily driver I have to mock up the changes and do them after work or on the weekend, also working around my performance side business. The changes aren't something that can be done quickly but also can't leave the truck down days at a time,so careful mockup and planning are a must. Right now there is a slight evolution and not ready for any dyno #'s. I will tell you guys 8.73 in the 1/8th at 6psi and we aren't done. A little information about the hp we are making is that we are running out of pump and injector (current pump 190lph and 30# inj) at only 6psi of boost,so larger injectors and pump are in order before the higher boost tune and dyno #'s are finalized. I know you guys are thinking that this is taking forever and your right but this was a custom system and there has been a lot of trial and error. I am a perfectionist and if it isn't correct I will do it over and over till it is. This has been A freakin tuning nightmare for me and my excellent tuner(Doug), but none the less issues in tuning have been a major pain in the ass. Turbo's rule. So I won't give up! I will convert the pics for post and you guys can get back tomorrow or late tonight to see them. I have my daughters b'day today which I will be attending a small party. I will only hit the highlights (finished products) of the pics and if you want more detail pm me for pics and I will send you the full detail of changes. The "teaser" pics Doug posted on the original post letting you guys know of this project had many crush bends in the piping and a blow thru meter, alot has been changed concerning water, mandrel bends,painting and meter location as well as finished pics underhood.. Shoot me pm's, I would love to share my experience with others interested in the project and give my .02! I am not the fastest to respond but don't give up.I always get back. Thanks to all for the interest in my project.

chriswells78 said:

Geez, what were you up against James, an 82 Citation? I've seen kids on bigwheels go that fast here in my neighborhood!

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Those damn big wheels always give me fits at the track. Power to weight ratio is excellent. Just going on. It was a modified Tacoma '05 (bolt on's)the guy wanted to race. Saw the slicks and just thought I was putting on a "front". He was a good sport and he raced me for fun several times that night. He actually beat me once b/c I left my truck in 1 instead of putting it in D after the burnout. I staged,cut a killer light and hit the rev limiter 60'-80' out,I lifted shifted into D cruised down the track 1/4 pedal (watching the ToTo go bye bye)and run whopping 11.70 in the 1/8. Goes to show stupidy rules sometimes. But no two ways to slice it he beat me once.

I take it that Alabama dosent have emission tests. Have you had it tested, or do you think itll pass. I drive in St Louis and they have mobile test stations on exit ramps. Its suppose to test and if the passing car dosent pass, it pics yer plate and you get a ticket in the mail. I want to turbo my SSploder using that Austrailian setup in my other post.

Damn, would that would be a high 13s 1/4? Do you have a video with the actual sound or do they all have music?

I could send a video of the sound if you would like. PM me and leave a e-mail and I'll send it to you.

That's alright. Found one in your other thread, thanks.

BlusploderAWD97 said:

I take it that Alabama dosent have emission tests. Have you had it tested, or do you think itll pass. I drive in St Louis and they have mobile test stations on exit ramps. Its suppose to test and if the passing car dosent pass, it pics yer plate and you get a ticket in the mail. I want to turbo my SSploder using that Austrailian setup in my other post.

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Everything I've done to my truck is emissions legal. That was the original plan I set out with when I started the project. There are several STS kits for the Chevy's that have been CARB approved. My truck still has the original cats and none of the emissions have been disabled, so to answer your question it should pass. Currently we don't have emissions testing in Alabama but I forsee it coming in a few years, so with that said that was the whole reason that I have been pursuing this project with emissions in mind and to also prove that the removal of cats and such is ridiculous. I can't see where I would pick up anything by dumping the cats completely for a street vehicle. I am eventually going to a aftermarket cats but won't ever be completely without them or my other smog equipment. Just to support the catalytic converter thing I run a 9.67 N/A with stock cats in place,so for anyone to say the cats are restricting you I would say they are crazy.

karl_burns said:

WOW! That's some serious spped.
James, will you ever find the time to clue the rest of us in to the new design? Seems like these questions come up a lot.....
I know there have been a number of members that get halfway, but then we never hear from them again....
Karl

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Karl and the rest of Explorer Forums,

I finally have the opportunity to outline the changes as follows.
Long Post with Pics will answer any question concerning the turbo buildup.

1) MAF-was changed from blow thru to draw thru. Also am currently using A Lightning meter,filter adapter and conical filter in the draw thru arrangement

2) Intake side of Turbo- The original pics show that I have a filter directly on the turbo inlet. Well as most of you suspected I had problems with water saturating the filter. So I said ok I will use the outerwears that STS sends with the Turbo. Pure Junk! In the 37 mile commute to work and a series of hurricanes in my area it quickly became evident the outerwears would saturate and starve the engine of air about mile 30 and almost leaving me stranded. So I fabricated a heatshield and modified a '96 Mustang GT MAC cold air converted to a draw thru meter,added a Lightning style conical filter and got tuned for my new set-up. WATER PROBLEM SOLVED COMPLETELY!!

3) The compressed air tubing under the pass side of the truck- Originally it was a two piece set-up with rubber isolators. The set-up was not to my **** liking so, what to do? Make one long piece and weld the hangers to the piping(rigid mount) and bolt them to the cab using bolts already utilized from the factory. No noise, no bumping and quality looking install. Just to my liking.

4) Snow Performance Boost Cooler- The original teaser pics didn't show my boost cooler setup so now it is finished and dialed in. Location was determined to be in the engine bay passenger side and wiring was done in a professional manner. Soldering only and even the relays have the plug adapters to plug into the wiring harness. No slide spade connectors or cheesy sh-- like that,no worries about them being plugged up right. If the relay goes "south" uplug and replug a new one!

5) Dial Boost- I purchased this for several reasons, but the main one is that I can pull the switch and have higher boost-QUICKLY. Now set up and working properly.

6) Cold Side Piping in wheel well- was changed for obvious reasons the most being the change from blow thru to draw thru setup!

7) New WasteGate Spring- With my turbo it was supposed to come with a spring that yielded about 5-5.5 psi. Only with my other bolt on's to freeing up the intake and exhaust uncovered yet another problem. LOW BOOST! Only about 4-4.8 psi the higher psi on cooler less humid days. So now I have a 7 psi spring and I yield right at 6 psi. The more free flowing the engine the lower the boost. This is where the header and t/b, 3" catback exhaust really started to shine. More so than when it was N/A! I know this could be argued over and over, but these bolt on's are worth thier weight in gold in a forced induction application.


8) T Bolt Clamps- Originally the silicone connectors and cold piping were put together with worm clamps. Well now with 6 psi on tap I started randomly blowing (separating) piping from the silicone connectors. The resolution was to weld a small lip on each end of the piping and use T-Bolt Clamps. Problem Solved and now lets move onto the next improvement.

7) Idle Control Valve Tubing- What happens when you add boost and t-bolt clamps onto your cold piping @ 6psi? Your next weakest point starts blowing off. I struggled with several different variations of this only to discover a section of hard line from a 4.6L Mustang and a set of worm clamps,one on the manifold and one on the cold air ind tube, will correct the problem. Nothing was changed from the original design just tubing with a lip and worm clamps were added. So this works just as the engineers at Ford intended it to. Now I have added zip ties to many different vacuum lines to keep them retained.

8) Fuel Pump- I originally used a Focus SVT pump, which failed. So a Walbro 190lph was the replacement

9) Tuning- Oh the tuning. Well to put it bluntly this has been a thorn in mine and Doug's side. A complete pain in the ass to tune. No sooner we overcome one problem it is another! (I would hate to have dealt with someone in tuning that wasn't as experienced and understanding as Doug )! Doug has completely bent over backward to help me and there have been many long day with less than stellar results for him and I. WE WILL OVERCOME THESE SMALL OBSTICLES! This has been our main reason for the lengthy time and many changes that have followed. Doug and I have very busy schedules so if I want/need to change something we have to set up an appointment that won't conflict with his schedule and my side business.So one small change can be stretched as far as a month or so. But that is a byproduct when you have a enthusist that works full time as a service manager and has a high performance business on the side! My work week consists of 80-90 hrs/wk, And I am sure Doug's is equally as busy! I am not the only customer Doug has, so there has to be a balance. The original thoughts from the outside would be that I only changed from blow thru to draw thru. We tried several tubing sizes and meter locations and tubing configurations in the blow thru setup with out success as well as a fuel pump failure on the dyno :fire: , NOT A COMPLETE FAILURE but no matter how you look at it low pressure is low pressure. This subject has been highlighted in a previous post so I won't go into the detail.

10) Injectors/Pump- Just when I thought I had it beat. We start the final tuning and another problem rears its head. Running out of injector! So after the beginning of the year I will install 42# injectors and a 255lph Pump to solve my fuel problems. In the beginning I was torn beteen getting the bigger injectors against the advice of my tuner I went with the smaller ones. Oh well stupid hurts-the pocket book that is! So this is where we are but as you can see I have come a long way!

11) Holidays-I am glad to live in the great country USA to be able to celebrate the Christmas and New Years holidays as well as my daughters birthday, so pretty much the month of Dec is not going to get anything done. Not even any track time. Everything on the truck has been delayed till the after the beginning of the year! I will repost and let you know when the work will resume. Currently I am enjoying the setup I have a 6psi.

12) Trans-Holding up good for now but I adjust the bands every oil change and put only synthetic in the pan when I do a filter change. So I will keep my fingers crossed and ride this till the trans decides to let go. To be honest with you guys from what I read on here I would have expected it a long time ago. I never tow or race in OD, so maybe just a little TLC has gone a long way. At 130K miles the shifts are good and it seems to be in healthy operating condition. I have talked to Glacier991 and he seems to think I'll be fine as long as I give a little TLC and perform transgo kits installation. I hope!!!!!!


Oh well on to the pics. That is what you guys wanted to see anyway!