Turboing a 305?

My friend has a 89 rs with a 305 in it and instead of switching engines which is expensive. we can get turbo parts,downpipes,and intercoolers for very cheap. I have no experience working with bigger engines so i was wondering if it is even worth doing and how to do it? any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Turbos are a good way to make power. Depending on how many miles are on your engine though it may not handle a turbo for very long because it could be worn a weak.

well its got 88 thousand miles and he has replaced many parts, now i'm just trying to help him gain soem power, but like i said i dont know how to work with engines like this so i need help.

never turboed anything in my short life. So I won't be of much help. But you did peak my interest when you said cheap. Can I buy cheap turbo parts from you? Sounds like you got the hookup.

you'll have to tell me what you want but im sure i can hook you up.

so does anyone on here know how to go through the process of turboing the 89 rs?

talk to Hypsi87, he's a forced induction god

Well. I don't know if it's worth putting a turbo on that engine. I know I'm a newbie, but I used to own a 91 RS with a 305 TBI engine. To my recollection, it puts out 170 horsepower. Don't get me wrong, but I think the throttle body injection in that car will hold you back. Now turboing the 305 TPI engine in the z28, now that's a different story.

The 305 is not a very good platform to build up. I was under the impression that a turbo cost is high, but I really have no experience with this. Either way, I think your best bet would to be an engine swap to get more power.

A 4-bolt main 350 is probably the cheapest, most reliable engine to build, and it can be done for cheaper then what you think (we sold a 355 race engine, with 13.5:1 pistons, steel rods/crank, .630 lift roller cam, cast iron heads w/2.08 in. intake, 1.60 in. exhaust valves for $2500 a few months ago-it would cost a little more to build that engine, but not by too much).

My point is $3500-4000 will build you a pretty stout 355 (of course you have to do the work yourself).

ok thanks a lot

i have a mildly modded 305 tpi that would take most stock l98's with ease but thats neither here nor there...personally im looking at making my own 'electric supercharger'. before you laugh at the idea lets take a logical approach to this project...assume you can put together a simple electric fan hooked up to an intake that takes a k&n cone filter, and assume that somewhere such a fan exists that can overcome the wot suction by maybe 3-600cfm over (and yes, i mean WITH STABLE PRESSURE, not a static open air fan that would hang in space), thats usable, cheap horsepower without downpipes, expensive turbines, intercoolers etc. it can also be done without using huge power supplies, even if it was run off a secondary battery or batteries on its own it could work. that seems to be the only problem with these setups is getting the power to it but hey ever hear of thomas knight? it can be done, it will be done, and ill let you all know how it turns out :-D

i have a mildly modded 305 tpi that would take most stock l98's with ease but thats neither here nor there...personally im looking at making my own 'electric supercharger'. before you laugh at the idea lets take a logical approach to this project...assume you can put together a simple electric fan hooked up to an intake that takes a k&n cone filter, and assume that somewhere such a fan exists that can overcome the wot suction by maybe 3-600cfm over (and yes, i mean WITH STABLE PRESSURE, not a static open air fan that would hang in space), thats usable, cheap horsepower without downpipes, expensive turbines, intercoolers etc. it can also be done without using huge power supplies, even if it was run off a secondary battery or batteries on its own it could work. that seems to be the only problem with these setups is getting the power to it but hey ever hear of thomas knight? it can be done, it will be done, and ill let you all know how it turns out :-D

Too bad a simple fan cannot create 'pounds' of pressure. :screwy:

get real bro, a simple fan, obviously you already have something in mind. an electric fan could be as simple as a computer fan or as complicated as a 20,000 cfm exhaust blower, fabrication is the key of course its not gonna be something i pick up at lowes or my local pc store lol. i guess the answer to who that guy is would be no for you hmm? somebody needs to do their homework.

in other words, an electric fan most certainly can create psi, just not while its hanging in space. if youre going to argue with me here then argue this sentence: electricity CAN be used to create a forced induction system that produces measureable boost without traditional forced induction methods. that means an electric fan or some variation. ill even give you one up and argue that you can go upwards of 15psi, its been documented kid do some searching before you open your mouth. as far as the power supply, hey, i dont care if id hafta have a heavy duty SDS sitting in my trunk, if i could save thousands over what it would cost to have someone install a traditional super or turbo charger, create a unique custom system that really works, and actually produces decent power, i would do it in a heartbeat.

15 psi? are you living in a dream world? I have done my 'homework' that you keep refering to. All the electric superchargers out on the market today produce only about 1-2 pounds of boost. Spending $300-$3,000 on a few pounds is just IMO, dumb.

Turbochargers are just better... Sorry to break the news.

It's nothing new. It has been done before, so go do your homework before you start to think it has been 'your idea' in the first place. :lol: :loser:

Go 'fabricate' the thing and let us know how it goes.

you won't get the power output of a "traditional super/turbocharger" Also yea so what if they have been documented to go upward to 15 PSI but at what airflow? Hell you can easly produce 15 PSI at 50 CFM or even a 100 CFM but, what about 300 CFM or more? Remember, boost is the measurement of air you do not use. that and the ammount of eletrical power it would take to do that, it's mathmaticly inefficient.

how about a leaf blower :lol:

I've actually thought of the leaf blower thing, back when I was 13-14 years old, it made sense at that time...lol. But something else that crossed my mind some years ago. Since cold air is denser than hot, and therefore produces more power, wouldn't it stand to reason if you somehow figured out how to re-route the air from your air conditioner into your intake, you would see a signigicant improvement in performance. I read in a magazine you would typically get about 1 horse for every 2-5 degrees the intake temp is lowered. Hence your engine runs better on cold nights, than it does on hot days. The only real problem I see with this is the air compressor robs you of a little power when you turn it on, but there are workarounds for that. I'm not seriously contemplating doing this, but it would be cheap and relatively easy. Just some food for thought.

Guess what powers the air conditioner? :lol2:

how about putting a couple gel packs inside your air cleaner. the kind you put in your freezer incase you twist your ankle? :lol:

Since cold air is denser than hot, and therefore produces more power, wouldn't it stand to reason if you somehow figured out how to re-route the air from your air conditioner into your intake, you would see a signigicant improvement in performance. .

I seen that in a cheap porno one time!! this chic that built and raced rice rockets designed an R12 Freeon cooled air intake she called it the "coldpack" lol.. And then she had sex a lot.. sex and nudity aside, it was actually a pretty good show! lol Anyone else seen it??

My friend has a 89 rs with a 305 in it and instead of switching engines which is expensive. we can get turbo parts,downpipes,and intercoolers for very cheap. I have no experience working with bigger engines so i was wondering if it is even worth doing and how to do it? any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.


Its not so much the cost of the parts that detoures people from turboing these engines.. Its the HUGE amount of time it takes and custom fabricating.. But it might be worth doing.. I'll bet a 305 could spool up a big turbo pretty fast.. I've got a big turbo on my v6 and it'l hit 10psi by about 3000rpm which aint bad for nearly stock..

But just to give you a runthrough, You'l need an exhaust manifold that'l hold the turbo and run the exhaust gas through it..(mount the turbo at the y-pipe??) Then you'l need the air intake to go from the filter to the turbo, then piped to the intercooler and then into your throttlebody.. You'l need to run oil lines from your engine to the turbo , and you'l need to run coolant lines to the turbo.. It sounds simpler than it really is.. If you can get turbo parts and acc. cheap.. See if you can get a whole Turbo kit for the 305 for cheap too

i never said it was my idea, in fact i referred you to someone who made somethin much better than the eRam which must be what youre thinking of. he used more than one there bro, and if you would've even looked at it yet you could see his results. double rotors and three motors, see some test results here: http://www.boosthead.com/installation_docs/doc37.htm - thats at a lower psi, read around on the theory behind these things and you will find that it is 'possible' to produce that kind of power. i never said it was my idea though, and you just took a dump on what was supposed to be an informative discussion.

'About 10 years ago I developed a program to determine the horsepower requirements for electric compressors. It was a very difficult program and it took me a long time to get the parameters correct. I found that flowing 780cfm at 15 psi required 80 to 100 hp. I went smaller on engine size and lowered boost requirements until I reached 450cfm at 8 psi, which required 18 to 22 hp, so I looked for a 20-hp dc motor. All I found were 50-plus-pound motors, which were too large to use in my intended application. Three years ago I realized if I used multiple motors, I could get to the 20-hp mark. '

theres the answer to your question mr moderator. 300+ cfm? umm, yeah? and you can even do it two ways. i knew this was going to turn into somethin about the power, that is the real problem isnt it ;-) maybe thats why he used 'multiple motors'...and if youre telling me you couldnt even modify that into somethin better well, of course you can. if you want my oppinion its going in the right direction and its a damn good idea for how much it costs to put together.

do you honestly realize what kind of current draw a 20 HP motor would have on a 12v automotive system? more than what most cars can produce.

Well since this topic has gotten pretty dumb, how about this. Stick a gas powered air compressor in the hatch, turn it all the way up and stick the hose in a rubber cap and put it over the throttle bodies. LOL yeah right.

who ever said use a 12v system, read back in my posts i talked about a heavy sds if you had to. see, youre all just looking for an arguement, again. goddamn why cant people just take things for what they are, this was supposed to be a *discussion*, anyone whos ever made or sold an electric supercharger uses a separate power supply than their stock battery and alternator. LOL

throttle bodieS, yeah...ill stick the hose in a rubber cap and put it over the throttle bodieS. lol

hey, my apologies for gettin personal here. im just really surprised, out of all the stupid things ive suggested that you guys think this is a bad idea. i mean were talkin about the extremes, a much smaller setup could be used to make 10-30hp and a couple foot lbs of torque, and considering the cost of parts id think anyone with a brain would consider that a pretty cheap easy mod.

Hey i have a 92 camaro with a 305 tbi and iff you guys decide on a cheap way to produce a decent amount of boost with out the high cost of a supercharger system then share the knowledge. I would sure like to get in on that

its not a bad idea, i just think its in its infancy. im sure for the time you would spend fabricating somethin like that that would really work you could buy cheap parts for a real one and that would work so much better. im not a fan of the ones out there really, im more a fan of the theory behind it. ive already begun looking into different 'nacel' type fans to use. the problem is i would like to take as much work out of my hands as possible, so theres the problem. finding a small fan that runs off of a high horsepower motor isnt easy. thats why that knight guy did it himself and now look what happened, just like mr edelbrock he put the time into it and now hes selling his electric supercharger system for over a thousand bucks, it works, but its still a thousand bucks. doing what he did yourself is gonna involve a LOT of trial and error. you dont want such a contraption running all the time anyways, and so between finding the right power delivery, fabricating the system, and hooking up the right kind of switch this could be a big hassle to do from scratch. one thing you cant look past though is the guarantee, i like the eram twin system over any of em, and theres a guarantee. so what do ya really have to lose. one thing nobody can deny is that there will be better version out, maybe not now, but we havent seen the last of this idea. im sure someday there will be electric supers that can come pretty close to traditional ones, its just a matter of time.