My "Nothing Crazy" Project (Picture Dump Page 14)

TheNubkins

New member
abraxxa":3i0z7twt said:
Wow, looks great!!!
Which gauge is this?

http://www.autometer.com/cat_gaugedetai ... h&gid=2842

There's the link for the gauge. I wanted a gauge that would match the colours of the stock gauge cluster(black faced with white/yellow numbers), and was simple to install. I ran the boost/vacuum source through the wheel well with the help of a friend as it was very annoying to work with that 6ft length of coiled hard-plastic tube. It kept wanting to tangle up and having someone else feed it from one side as I pulled from the other worked out nicely.

Check out DarthRipley's gauge install.
http://alltrac.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php ... c&start=60

It's the cleanest look in my opinion which is why I copied it. I should have done more sanding and been a bit more picky with the appearance of mine, but I was getting anxious to get it installed and set my boost controller. When I have more time I may remove the trim piece and make it look a little better, but I'm in no rush at this point. On a sad note my water cooler SB-46 turbo kit from KO Racing still has not shipped. It's been almost 4 months since I've paid for it. :cry:
 

etantshi

Moderator
Not bad on the gauge. It appears that it would be kind of a pain to glance at it every now and again when making turns as the 'humongous stock air bag wheel' would jump up in the way.
 

TheNubkins

New member
etantshi":lu3yh8c6 said:
Not bad on the gauge. It appears that it would be kind of a pain to glance at it every now and again when making turns as the 'humongous stock air bag wheel' would jump up in the way.

That's the main problem. It's only visible when the steering wheel is not turned. It's not a huge concern of mine as I mostly want the boost gauge for "tuning" when I get to that point. Once I had my boost level set to where I wanted it I stopped paying a huge amount of attention to it, and gave more attention to the turn I was about to enter at too fast a speed. :evil:
 

TheNubkins

New member
The BayArea TMIC arrived today...again. This time the inlet and outlet pipes matched up beautifully. The stock intercooler was swapped with the BayArea one in minutes and I was off to test it. No leaks, steady boost at 13psi which is where I have my boost controller current set to, and the only rubbing issue with the hood is the blowoff valve body and this only occurs with engine movement. I'm not too concerned about this as it's very trivial and has only caused a small cosmetic blemish on the SSQV.

Originally when I had this intercooler fitted I lacked a boost controller and boost gauge. The car had a 3inch Motoria exhaust system from the downpipe back(stock downpipe still in use) and that was it as far as engine modifications go. From what I can tell the use of the intercooler alone increased my boost levels around 2psi as using it made the turbo and blowoff valve a lot louder This was a nice gain in my opinion. Now that I have installed a boost controller set to 13psi and reinstalled the BayArea TMIC I've noticed a slightly smaller increase down low with moderate throttle compared to the intercooler installed at stock boost levels. This is probably because I've capped my boost at 13psi. At WOT it's noticeable the intercooler flows a lot better, the engine doesn't sound as restrained either. Power delivery appears to be smoother and it has a bit more grunt, although not as noticeable as a jump when using this intercooler with stock boost settings. I'm pretty sure at 13psi I'm not coming anywhere close to the flow limits of this intercooler so it should be safe to say the performance benefits aren't completely being tapped into.

My overall opinion on the BayArea TMIC:
Now that Chris has "re-worked" the intercooler the way he meant to make it the first time around I feel it's a good value for a high flowing top mount. The welds are nothing to laugh at, the fitment overall I'd give a 90% in regards to a direct bolt on(still recommend using new silicone couplers/connectors instead of the stock ones, and you will have to remove the rubber air guide from the underside of the hood scoop), the power increase over the stock intercooler at stock boost levels is a nice surprise and at increased boost levels the higher flowing nature of this intercooler is a great upgrade.

Below are two more pictures. One is of the Fuel Cut Defender install location, and the other is how the reworked intercooler fits up. Notice the location of the manual boost controller(to the right of the intercooler above the SSQV and next to the AFM). Close enough to the turbo, yet in a location that is out of the way and easy to get at for boost pressure changes.

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This will probably be one of the last updates for this project as she's nearing completion. I'm STILL waiting for Kris at KO Racing to ship my SB46 Turbo kit(it's almost been 4 months!! :shoots: ) In the future I MAY decide to run around 18psi and obviously this will require more money and more modifications so I'll have to see how things go. Until I make up my mind on how far I want to take this project I'll consider it finished after the SB46 install.
 

pg

New member
Consider that the stock rad fan doesn't fit with the SB kit, at least it didn't when i was installing mine. So unless my car is a freak, you may want to grab a slimmer fan.

I'm curious if you will have a chance to dyno your car once the SB is in? And how much psi do you think you will run?
 

TheNubkins

New member
pg":27c1c4rl said:
Consider that the stock rad fan doesn't fit with the SB kit, at least it didn't when i was installing mine. So unless my car is a freak, you may want to grab a slimmer fan.

I'm curious if you will have a chance to dyno your car once the SB is in? And how much psi do you think you will run?

Thanks for the heads up with the fan. Which fan did you end up going with, and what's your opinion on it?

At this point I will probably only run at 14-15psi max. I do plan on getting it dynoed shortly after I get the turbo kit in just to see where I stand for power levels and to see how rich/lean I am which will determine what boost level I safely set the car to for daily driving. I don't plan on running higher boost levels until I do more upgrades, and those upgrades are going to have to wait at least a year. My wife and I just had our second child(a boy) and are planning on selling our house and getting a larger one in the next year so things will be quite busy, and any available cash flow that would normally go to the car will be used in other areas.
 

pg

New member
Yeah I'm still using a stock rad for now. Ive never seen how the rc fan compares to the usdm trac so I can't really comment there.

I ended up getting a Trimline high performance fan...it was the best thing in stock at that point in time but the stock fan is HUGE compared to it.
Other than that i don't know how much better it is...I still gotta put some ofmy car back together!

Here is how it looks in there:
 

pg

New member
Lordco carries these. "Trimline" is the brand.
I personaly never heard of it but my mechanic suggested it.

Another thing Nub.... did you get water cooling lines with your SB kit? Because some stuff needs modifying for it to fit onto the waterneck...i think thats what that piece is called
 

TheNubkins

New member
pg":1urquf8s said:
Lordco carries these. "Trimline" is the brand.
I personaly never heard of it but my mechanic suggested it.

Another thing Nub.... did you get water cooling lines with your SB kit? Because some stuff needs modifying for it to fit onto the waterneck...i think thats what that piece is called

I ordered the water cooling option so it should. My kit STILL has not shipped. I'm less than impressed considering you and a few other people have ordered kits around the same time as mine and all have your kits...except for me.
 

pg

New member
When did you order yours?

Also when i was installing water lines, the line that goes to the block is fine but I had to modify the metal coolant pipe that is originaly attached to the ct26, to provide a connection for the other line.

Maybe there is an easier way though.
 

TheNubkins

New member
pg":3kb7r1hr said:
When did you order yours?

Also when i was installing water lines, the line that goes to the block is fine but I had to modify the metal coolant pipe that is originaly attached to the ct26, to provide a connection for the other line.

Maybe there is an easier way though.

I paid on March 2nd, 2008. So 4 months and 2 days ago. Hopefully when I finally get this kit it goes in a little smoother than yours did. I don't like having to modify things that are supposed to be a direct bolt on. Have you gotten in touch with Kris at KO about the clearance issue with the stock rad fan and your water line issue?
 

pg

New member
I never got a response to my email, but me and my (mechanic) friend couldn't see any other way of attaching that water line.
It's a simple mod, just some cutting..
 

TheNubkins

New member
Finally it has arrived! After many months of waiting, the KO Racing Street Brawler turbo kit showed up at my door. I was surprised at the size of everything after I unpacked the box and sifted through all the Styrofoam peanuts. I had only seen pictures of the Tial external wastegate and assumed it was small. The thing is honkin. Anyhow I quickly assembled everything just to see how nicely it all fit together. Things seem to be good and now I just have to wait for some time to get it installed in the car. I'm hoping the turbo clears the stock rad fan. All that's left for this project is the install and then I'll do a dyno run to see roughly how I stand. If I'm happy with how the car feels then this will be the last performance mod for her...but if not then next summer will be full of money-spending yet again.

Here are some pics after removing it from the box. I will have to remove the center section of the stock Toyota gasket but other than that she's ready to go in.

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