Turbo project critique
 

The time has come for yet another virgin rx-8 to be sacrificed to the turbo gods so now that the project is in full swing with almost all the parts here or ordered I thought I would get some feedback. I must have read every turbo thread on this forum, some multiple times but I do not claim to be anything more than a speed-seeking lurker with a turbo obsession and some cash to spend :)

My first kid is on the way (due August) so we got my wife a Forester XT for her DD and I convinced her what better time than now to go turbo so she is on board 100% as long as I don’t blow up her beloved first car (too soon :fingersx:)!

The car is a bone-stock black 2004 6 speed with just under 50k miles that my wife bought brand new and babied (probably too much…) . It has been meticulously serviced at Fairfax Mazda at all the scheduled intervals with OEM replacements.

As far as issues go the car flooded twice: once due to ECU issues and needed a reflash and once about a month ago (right after I started on the project) due to a bad ignition coils, recently replaced with new plugs and BHR ignition upgrade. It has never been run with premix and only pushed to redline every so often so there may be possible carbon build up.

Compression test from Mazda:
Rotor #1: 8.4, 8.4, 8.6
Rotor #2: 9.1, 9.3, 8.9

So without further ado, the parts:

Pksan123’s Turbo Kit:
Used Greddy piping
Synapse BOV
New MM GT3071R turbo
New couplers and t-bolts
BHR radiator - INSTALLED
Greddy oil pan
Mishimoto radiator hose - INSTALLED
MM upgraded P2 730cc injectors
AEM Uego tru boost and wideband O2 gauges

Supporting mods:
Cobb AccessPort - INSTALLED with stock map
Mazmart RE-Medy waterpump and thermostat - INSTALLED
AEM Water-methanol injection (50/50) using BHR throttle body spacer
Rx7Store high flow cat - INSTALLED
AEM cold air intake - INSTALLED
Walbro 255 lr/hr fuel pump
4 oem injectors sent to be serviced by KG Parts
BHR ignition - INSTALLED
New spark plugs with BUR9EQP (NGK-5255) leads
HKS turbo timer - INSTALLED
Center-dash triple gauge pod
Odyssey PC925MJT battery relocated to the trunk inside a Taylor aluminum box
2.5 gallon Snow Performance water/methanol tank in battery location (going to try to fit this into where the battery was, mounted traversely)
eBay oil catch can
Good-Win Racing slotted break rotors with curved vanes and Hawk HPS break pads - INSTALLED
SPA dual oil temp and pressure gauge
Evans NPG-R coolant - INSTALLED
CXRacing Intercooler 22"x8"x3.5"
SwainTech White Lightning coating on manifold
SwainTech BBE coating on intercooler
1/4" thick downpipe to transmission brace

I will be doing very little of the work myself, just the battery relocation and the turbo timer install. The rest of the real install and dyno tuning will be done by KDR Performance. The plan is to dyno tune for a low boost (7psi) and high boost (12psi) profile.

The only limitation would be the stock clutch which would go sooner or later at 50k miles so it’s not big deal and I’ll use it sparingly until it starts slipping and I can replace it with a proper one :)

What I was really going for is a turbo install without cutting any corners, primarily addressing cooling where I could. Comments, concerns, and flames are all welcome!

Update (6/22):
Parts are all here except my SPA oil temp and pressure gauge and the gauge pod :D:

I also installed the turbo timer, injectors are coming out next to be cleaned and upgraded then the battery goes in.

Timeframe for the install may be slipping back to late August since it took longer to get everything than I expected (parts still have to go out to be ceramic coated) and I don't want to push it too close to the due date for the baby...

Update (8/12)
Just got the car back from getting all the cooling upgrades installed. Updated all the other misc things installed along the way and added the CXRacing intercooler.

have you already received the GT3071 turbo from MM or did you just go out and buy a 3071?

the rest of the list is looking pretty solid.
good luck with the build and keep us updated.

Is the goal just a turbo'd street car or will you be going to the track?


as for the 3rd gauge: oil temp or pressure wouldn't be a bad idea but then again, fuel pressure would be nice as well.

The pksan123 turbo kit mentioned is in this thread:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...light=pksan123

I have not received it yet but should within the next two weeks or so.

Sorry also forgot to put the most important part up there... the purpose! The car will start as a weekend warrior but will have aspirations for the track down the road (thinking about Summit Point more than autocross). Reading about MM's overheating issues on the track makes me nervous though...

What I REALLY want to do is drift... yes I know, the rice courses through my veins, but I can't help it.

Nothing wrong with the list - the hard part is putting it all together and getting the desired result ...

I've never blown an engine on track.

I've had two overheat and one suffer a bearing failure.

My apologies, no affront intended! I will update my comment to reflect reality.

None taken.
I just wanted to point out that there are plenty of things that can go wrong and not all of them are tuning.

MM - do you still have that big ass intercooler blocking airflow to the rad ?

Brettus: you haven't seen his new IC setup?!
I won't spoil it, I'll let Jeff post pics.

Cool plan but i doubt that the catalyzer will last more than a few miles.

No - seen what Gregs did though - looked like a good idea .

Good luck on your install! It took me two days, a Friday night and Saturday. All I had was two jackstands and a floorjack...and beer. It really wasn't too bad.

Just make sure the compression fitting on your oil feed is tightened down like the mother lord holy jesus. That was my problem.

I finally got the car back from Mazda and it runs smoooooooth with the BHR ignition :ylsuper:

I had Mazda clean the engine to get rid of carbon buildups (they called it Air Fuel Induction). I also got my compression test results:
Rotor #1: 8.4, 8.4, 8.6
Rotor #2: 9.1, 9.3, 8.9

I'm on my way to doing this myself, so I'll be watching and learning. Just go my compression tested too. I'll offer any help I can along the way.

Update: Pictures added to first post

how did you manage to get the turbo out of MM when others have waited years for theirs ?

I see you went with the SPA dual guage oil pressure and temp. Very nice choice. However I dont see what you are going to use to monitor ECT with?

I purchased the MM turbo kit from pksan123 (link).

ECT? I'm not sure what that is.

If you mean EGT, it's true I don't have a gauge since I ran out of places to put them, maybe I could mount it blocking the stock oil pressure....

With the ability to monitor AFR through the AEM wideband o2, water temp through the AccessPORT, and oil temp I thought I'd have a reasonable view into what was going on with the engine temperature-wise. That being said, I do plan to do plenty of mountain driving and will be running WM so EGT is something I'd LIKE to see, but at some point I think I will have too many gauges to monitor while driving especially if they do not provide logging capability.

Interested to see this all pull together i have a very similar setup already and want to see how others fair with it. Also will Dave be doing your tuning at KDR via cobb?

MM if you see this somehow before tonight where is the MAF sensor on your intercooler piping.........

I'm just going to throw a thumbs up at KDR. Dave runs a solid shop.

Yes, the tune will be done using the Cobb AP.

When I made contact with KDR about a month and a half ago about the prospect of them doing the install and tune it was Dave who responded to my emails. KDR will do the work but I can't speak on their part as to who in the shop will be doing what. I am going with them since they come highly recommended by the community and I want to do this once and do it right :)