EDIT: I forgot to include what my goal HP would be for this kit. From the many inline pro stage 1 kits on this forum, I know that the log manifold isn't the most efficient. I would like to get at least 375 WHP on pump gas, but hope that I can also join the 400 HP club one day.

Wow! so many turbo builds lately. After reading those builds, I'm almost a little intimidated but I'm not nearly shooting for super high HP I think I should finally post my turbo build thread. I want to first of all say thanks to the forum for providing a ton of information to help me along the way. I've been using mainly Scott and Kevin and others' turbo build for reference and assistance, so thanks guys for pioneering the way.

I was going back and forth trying to decide if I wanted to go SC vs. turbo and eventually went with turbo. I was on this forum for a while reading and trying to understand the whole idea of turbo charging the S and any car in general. I wanted to get a turbo kit that made decent power for the street but nothing too high because I wanted the S to be reliable and did not want to get into upgrading the differential or transmission or anything too far out of my mechanical skills.

So a couple of months ago, I picked up a used Inline Pro stage 1 turbo kit from a local and have been collecting and piecing together this kit. It was supposed to be a spring build, then a summe build, and now it's becoming a fall/winter build. All the little and extra things had to be bought: EMS, fuel pump, fuel injectors, oil feed/return lines, gaskets, various bolts/studs are just a few to name. I chose this kit at the time because I did not want to have to relocate the battery or fuse box or the A/C lines.



So to name a couple of things I would be installing is as follows:

-Inline Pro stage 1 turbo kit with all the hardware
-Inline Pro manifold
-Inline Pro blow off valve
-Inline Pro charge pipes
-Inline Pro downpipe
-Precision 600 HP intercooler
-Turbo Smart 38mm wastegate
-Precision Turbo ball bearing 6077
-ID 1000cc fuel injectors
-AEM EMS Series 2
-AEM UEGO gauge and wideband
-AEM TruBoost gauge with solenoid
-Prosport oil gauge
-GM 3 bar MAP sensor
-Full Blown 340 fuel pump
-ARP manifold studs
-NGK 2668 spark plugs
-JEGS fuel gauge
-Asura HFC (I can't stand the smell of my non-catted car when I had the test pipe while NA)






Anywho, to get the build started, my plan was to install parts in stages to make sure that I done it correctly and that the car still runs. The first thing I did about 2 months ago was tap the girdle for the future oil return line from the turbo. It was a bold step to take. I had to remove the oil pan and then drill & tap the girdle. It wasn't easy trying to get a really big drill bit in there and I was a bit scared knowing that I only had one shot to do it right and risk having a huge hole in my girdle, but I was determined. I had to use a right angle drill which I rented from a local Home Depot. After I tapped the girdle and installed the fitting (-10 AN to 1/2 in NPT), I capped it off for the time being. It hasn't leaked since the install.








On the 4th of July weekend, I installed the JEGS fuel gauge. I took off the fuel rail and drilled and tapped the fuel rail. That was kind of scary as I knew I could not make any mistakes or risk destroying or having a leaking fuel rail, which would not be a good thing.










Taking advantage of the the 4th of July weekend, I also installed the FB fuel pump. I used the forum for reference and it was pretty straight forward, just hard to crawl back in the trunk to get to the fuel tank.







Just a couple weeks ago in August, I installed the relocating oil filter kit. I wanted to make sure that the lines were routed correctly and that I would still be able to drive the car in the meantime. The stock oil cooler bolt required a 30mm socket and it was on pretty tight. Once that was removed, again I used Scott's thread to assist me. I had to cut the Canton remote oil filter bolt down a bit in order to make it fit the new oil filter adapter bolt bought from Honda.






The next thing I installed were the double pillar pods and the gauges to get them ready. I have all the power lines wired up and ready to tap the ground wire once everything else is in place. The S is really tight place to work in. I had such a hard time pulling all the wires through the firewall but somehow managed.


So finally this past labor day weekend, I determined that I couldn't install anything else and still be able to drive the car. It was time to install the turbo kit. Up on 4 jack stands the S goes. The first thing I replaced were the stock spark plugs with the NGK 2668s. They were all pre-gapped at around 0.030 out of the box but I checked the gap with a gapper just to make sure. The old spark plugs looked a normal brown color after 6 years and about 31K miles. After the new spark plugs were installed, I did a quick start-up just to make sure they were installed correctly.



Onto the turbo kit. I removed the header and it was such a tight squeeze to get it out (what isn't tight on the S, right?). After removing the header, the next things I removed were the manifold studs. I found out prior how to take them out by using two bolts screwed and locked together and unscrewing the manifold studs out. The ARP studs were awesome, as they can be screwed in with allen screws, so in they went into the engine block. I used a dab of ARP fastener lube for each stud. I then did a test fit of the manifold and tried to bolt the turbo onto the manifold with some ARP screws but I did not plan correctly for it. There is no room for me to bolt the turbo onto the manifold without using studs and bolts. That kinda stalled my progress and since it was labor day weekend, all the stores were closed. I went ahead and placed an order for the manifold bolts and hope to get them in a few days.





The next thing I had to do was remove the bumper to get the AEM V2 intake out. That look like a million bolts to remove since I also have a lip bolted onto the bumper. Once I removed the intake, I wanted to mount the intercooler pipes to have it lined up to the intercooler so that I would know where to bolt the intercooler onto the frame rail. I had to learn firsthand that I could not install the intercooler pipes on the driver's side without removing the air pump. I removed the air pump and was then finally able to put the intercooler pipe in. The intercooler did not come with the mounting brackets so I had to buy some L-brackets and fabricate my own. Now I finally saw what people are talking about when they said the intercooler doesn't line up with the opening up the bumper. I was a little disappointed but I don't know how to notch the frame rail so that I can mount the intercooler higher to close up the gap in the bumper opening. Also, since the AC condenser (or whatever that metallic container in front of the radiator) is in the way, I could only mount the intercooler as far back as possible but still not far enough to keep the grill on the bumper; that had to be removed.








Since I already had the bumper removed, I went ahead and changed my headlight bulbs to 8K bulbs. The manual does not mention anything about removing the headlights but there seemed to be no way around it. Even with my small hands, I was not able to take out the bulbs without unbolting the headlights first.


Also since I had the car on jack stands, I went ahead and replaced the stock front sway bar with the Eibach sway bar. Removing the stock sway bar was easy; putting on the new sway bar was a bit harder. I had to reuse the stock clamp on top of the provided bushings and the bolts were not lining up for me. It took some time but I managed to get it on.






to be continued....

 

very well written build thread. I will stay tuned to see your numbers and how it all turns out.

great job so far!

 

Thanks BrockB! YOU have an awesome build!

 

Good work!

 

Wow great build I hope everything works out

 

Great writeup! I'm looking forward to your results.

 

thanks guys...you guys have awesome builds. After reading your builds, it inspired me to go FI.

I forgot to include what my goal HP would be for this kit. From the many inline pro kits on this forum, I know that the log manifold isn't the most efficient. I would like to get at least 375 WHP but hope that I can also join the 400 HP club one day.

Today the mail was delivered and I didn't get the turbo to manifold studs I was hoping to receive. I had some ARP screws I thought that I could use in the mean time but one of them would does not have enough clearance and a stud is the only way.



I went ahead and did a test fit of the bumper with the intercooler mounted and as you can see, I've mounted the intercooler as high as I possibly can and it still has about a 1-2" gap in the bumper grill space. It's not that noticeable when you're standing and looking at it; you can only notice it in you get down to the bumper level. How did you guys mount your intercooler and what's this thing about notchng the frame rails in order to mount the intercooler higher?

 

Nice job with the writeup man. Good to see someone taking there time and doing it right. As for your intercooler I would suggest cutting out the inside part of the frame rail. Then flip your L brackets over where the intercooler bolt will actually be inside the frame rail. Should raise it up about an inch. Which, from your pics, should just about close the gap. Really doesn't look bad the way it is though, barely noticeable. Don't worry about the log mani either, I just finished my build with a pfab log, and at 13psi it feels like a rocket. I'm sure lots of the monster builds on here would put it to shame, but for the street its just right. Besides, if you need more power,theres always E85. Good luck, keep up the good work.

 

why the fullblown dual pump set up?

 

Thanks. If i'm not too lazy, I will try it out. But I stll can't completely picture it in my mind yet.


It's only one FB pump. I was comparing it to the stock fuel pump. Duel pumps would be overkill for me at this time