Bunch of turbo questions

[zoombyu]

Well guys I'm thinking about a turbo for the APEX this summer and have quite a few questions.

First of all I would go with one of Impulse's kits. Thinking 10-15lbs of boost. With that said here we go.

Which turbo kit would be right for me from Impulse?
How hard is it to install a head shim?
Could a regular home mechanice like me do it?
Should I do pistons and rods?
Where would I get these?
Would compression would I need to run pump 91 at 1400ft or what would I need to turn the boost down to?
Would I have to do cam timing?
How hard is that and again can I do it?
Can I set an Impulse turbo up one time and will adjust settings if I go from 1400ft to 5000ft or 10000ft?

Thats all I can think of for now, but I'm sure I will have many more questions.

 

[roughrider99]

1. the normal impulse kit would be for you.
2.headshim depends on mechanical abilites, when putting the motor back together the head and cam journals, require special torque procedures, if these are done wrong u can wreck the head. Prolly best off to take it to a professional mechanic unless you are one yourself. engine specs should all be checked while the engine is apart.
3. leave your rods/pistons stock if your only running 10-15lbs
4. boost should be turned down for low elevations, gotta run good fuel if ya wanna keep the power at low elevations.
4. cam timing is easy, just need a dremel and grind 60 thousanths away on the 11 O'Clock postion of the bolt hole on the cam gear.
5. for the most part one time setup but you may have to fiddle with settings and fuel adjustments etc. if you have minimal experience with installing turbos your gonna run into bugs and issues from the install as you go.

hope this helps
spenser

 

[zoombyu]

Thanks for the answers, any input is always appreciated. I've never done any turbo setups but am quite mechanically inclined. I have rebuilt a 2 stroke motor but have never had a 4 stroke apart.

 

[relentless rider]

A Buddy and i did the cam timming and head shim in my t apex full gasket on each side with .063 shim,with no special tools.Just take your time.
I would leave your motor stock,you dont need rods and so on for the boost that your looking to run,stock motor should be fine up to 18 lbs,Ive ran 18 with know problems time and time agian just need to run good fuel.
Impulse is the best hands down,ive got to run 18 on my BD kit to keep up with buddys impulse at 14
Its good to put these sleds together your self,so when your out in the back country you know whats going on if a problem comes up. good luck

 

[Sleds R Fun]

If you can do a 2 smoke, you can do a 4 stroke.

 

[jsandgren10]

The head shim is pretty straight forward, just take your time. And with the impulse kit its easier to install Turbo and header to the head when its off the sled, just don't flip the head over so no shims get out of place.

The most work is disassembling the sled enough to pull the head. Also you have to modify the tunnel to cut that hump out and put a new plate in its place. That is quite a bit of work.

I wouldn't hesistate to do it again.

 

[FriscoProx]

The big stuff is pretty straight forward. For me the little stuff was a PIA, like getting to the cam tensioner without the engine pulled, the header bolts on the bottom center\right are tough to get to even with the recommended swivel, stripped one of the Philips head screws on the the fuel rail and some other little stuff like that.

It'd recommend picking up an after market tunnel cooler kit and not even screwing with the radiator, its a tight fit to say the least and I think it creates a heat sink more than cools anything. Someone on here makes a dash vent that works great for the intercooler too. Buy a couple boxes of after market nylon body snaps from your local auto parts place to have handy, get a couple small boxes of the full banded fuel hose clamps, have plenty of zip ties and all the tools and chemicals\lubs (anti seize, loctite, copper gasket...).

You may want to pick up a steering relocating kit, stock bars are really close to the boost intake, at least on the 08 it was. I'd recommend getting a clutch kit too. I went with Outlaw's supertips\shockwave kit and followed their recs for HP and elevation and its been perfect.

Before taking the sled apart, grab a note book (or write on the back of Paul's directions), plastic zip lock baggies and a sharpie and number the sequence and the bags with part group. If you don't already do this it will save a bunch time and keep from loosing parts. Pictures help too.

 

[njk4o5]

does the head shim and cam timing need to be changed on every single turbo kit for sure?

 

[mattymac]

does the head shim and cam timing need to be changed on every single turbo kit for sure?

no, only reason is to drop compression which in turn allows you to run higher boost levels with less octane.

doing a head shim on a motor with overhead cams will essentially throw off your valve timing, slotting cam gears or doing cam timing after a head shim is installed is mainly getting your valve train back into spec. Although each turbo manufacturer has their own specs since a NA and a turbo motor can benefit from having diffrent cam timing specs such as advance/retard/and overlap which is a benifit also from dual overhead cams (intake and exh)