97 EX Question::::

[defmusik]

Reply with choice:

1. LS or GSR swap
2. Turbo
3. Pay off loan--get new car :X

It's an automatic, 72k so far, and I have about $2500 to pay off my loan.
any other info that you need just ask.

[GScivic7]

well, the GSR swap and Edelbrock kit are about the same price wise. But you'll have, supposedly according to Edelbrock, 175 whp with the turbo, and only 175 crank horsepower with the GSR. But the GSR has far more potential than you D. Also, i've read that D-series pistons are only good up to 200 whp, so if you want anymore power you'll have to do some internal work. It's completely up to you. But I'd stick with your motor, only 72K on a 97, that's pretty damn good mileage, it still has tons more life left in it if you take care of it right, even with the turbo.

[defmusik]

How much boost could I get out of a D series engine without any internals modified? And if you do recommend turbo, is there anything else that would be worth upgrading with a noticable difference in either torque or hp?

[PoisonFangs]

The shop that put a Greddy turbo kit on my friends D-series said that daily driving he should only go to 6psi and at the track no more than 9psi but he ran 10psi just to push the envelope. I would swap out the d if your thinking about turbo.

[defmusik]

Financially I probably wouldn't turbo a swap, just because that's quite a bit of money. But at 6psi, how much gain would I get? (I would be using the car for daily driving, going to college / work)

[PoisonFangs]

Well it all depends but on the dyno, as far as i can remember at 6psi he got an added 50 some hp.

[GScivic7]

That's with the Greddy kit though. The Edelbrock kit is far superior. I think the Greddy kit uses a 15G turbo where as the Edelbrock kit uses the 18G. It's a little bigger and will push more air. Also, the Edelbrock kit comes with a BOV and intercooler. The intercooler will help boost HP, and the BOV will help maintain your turbo. Both of those aren't included in the Greddy kit.

It's not PSI you should so much worry about, but HP. Bigger turbos will push more air than smaller ones at the same PSI rating. On your stock internals, I wouldn't push the D-series past 200 HP. After that I would do block work, ie forged pistons, rods, and sleeves. That should put you back in the range of $1500-2000 not including labor for the install. If I were you, I would invest in the Edelbrock kit and boost your D, I think you'd be a lot happier in the end.

[defmusik]

thanks, i really appreciate your input. how long's a turbo install usually take?

[PoisonFangs]

Originally Posted by GScivic7

That's with the Greddy kit though. The Edelbrock kit is far superior. I think the Greddy kit uses a 15G turbo where as the Edelbrock kit uses the 18G. It's a little bigger and will push more air. Also, the Edelbrock kit comes with a BOV and intercooler. The intercooler will help boost HP, and the BOV will help maintain your turbo. Both of those aren't included in the Greddy kit.

It's not PSI you should so much worry about, but HP. Bigger turbos will push more air than smaller ones at the same PSI rating. On your stock internals, I wouldn't push the D-series past 200 HP. After that I would do block work, ie forged pistons, rods, and sleeves. That should put you back in the range of $1500-2000 not including labor for the install. If I were you, I would invest in the Edelbrock kit and boost your D, I think you'd be a lot happier in the end.

I agree, it was a 15g turbo and the edlebrock is a sweet kit. you get all the components and they all work together well rather than having a bunch of different parts that dont compliment each other.

[GScivic7]

Originally Posted by defmusik

thanks, i really appreciate your input. how long's a turbo install usually take?

It really depends, a good shop should be able to install a turbo in one day, if they have all the parts they need. But you should probably give them probably about 3 days to complete it all and make sure everything is running right and smoothly.

[defmusik]

cool thanks, so running stock internals on a "default" boost shouldn't damage the engine right?

[GScivic7]

yah, aslong as it's tuned properly you should be okay with either kit.