I want to get turbo in my car but don’t know if I should. I have a 91’ integra with B16a and I/H/E. Iwant to make it faster and was thinking about turboing it but don’t know what to get, brand, or if I have to build it up to handle the turbo. how much does the full cost usally run. Should I do other things first like cams or smething else. I want to go fast but I want it to be reliable and wat my car to last. Any opionons on what I should do would be appericiated. and If any one know where to get the lowest price on one etc. thanks.
Well, there are really 2 routes to go. Either piece together your own turbo kit or buy a ready to go one from either DRAG or RevHard. Both are great kits but run in the neighborhood of $3000-3500. They include pretty much everything you need to get going. A custom kit can be great since you can choose every component ie. Turbo size, exhaust manifold, wastegate, Blow Off Valve, Intercooler, Fuel management, etc. Whereas a kit your pretty much stuck with what they give you- which with the 2 kits aren’t bad. Another upside to a custom kit is, the cost can be alot less- like $1500-2500, depending on the parts you chose. There are a couple members on the board that have done the custom route. I bought the DRAG kit cause I’m lazy. The only downside to a custom kit I could see is, getting every single part your going to need to make the installation a weekend project. This can be a major thing if your car is your daily driver and you cannot afford it to be on jackstands for awhile.
As for building your engine for a reliable turbo charged life, really depends on the current condition of it. How many miles do you have on your current B16? I’m running mine on stock internals since I got the engine from the JDM market, which means it only had 30-40K miles on it. If your engine is burning an unsually high amount of oil or has lost considerable compression, you may want to consider a rebuild. Within this, there are many other routes you can take. Unless your going to build an ALL OUT MONSTER engine and hope to run 20 psi, then a moderate buildup could be fine. Again, you have to figure out where you want to be as far as Horse Power. Myself, I’m only looking to squeeze 250-280 hp/wheels on stock internals- this should require 10psi of boost, which isn’t really alot. Therefore, I’m staying with the stock internals of my B16.
Sonds like your just starting to explore the Forced Induction realm, which like I said, requires alot of homework first. There are some really informative and experienced Turbo Teggers here, and myself included are always willing to offer it out any assistance you may need. Good Luck.
ps. Don’t let the sig fool ya 
Ben@importparts.com is offering a real good deal on DRAG kits. Check it out… www.importparts.com
Integracon
Does the Drag kit allow you to use an air filter? The pics on the F-max site say that you can’t.
Also, I have my stock B18A1, with 129K. It is in perfect condition and burns no oil and I was going to replace it with a JDM B16 but 260-280hp looks awfully tempting. What would I have to replace on my old B18A1 to make it turbo ready? And would there be any tuning necessary or is it “plug and play”?
Thanks
I have an air filter on mine, but I had to fabricate it to work. I used some flexable exhaust piping from Pep Boys and used Rubber adapters (usually used on plumbing pipes from Home Depot) to fit it on the turbo and the air filter since the diameters were different. I also had to trim a little backing off my fan for clearance. It works great, don’t have to worry about any debris getting in there, at least. Oh yeah, your going to have to move the battery to the trunk, as well.
I was in the exact same situation you are, 100K+ miles on my B18, even though it was running strong. I ended up going with a lower mileage B16A and dropping the turbo on that. If I could do it over, I would use the money I used for the swap, and fortify my B18 for Turbo duties. B16/Turbo is nice and being able to rev to 8K RPM under boost is sweet, but B18/Turbo’s are just as wicked. Either way you go, you’ll be happy.
The DRAG kit is pretty much “plug n Play”, but you will still want to get some dyno time to get your A/F mixtures just right. Good Luck.
Thanks for the insight on your turbo set up.
You said that you would fortify your B18 if you did it over again. I am assuming pistons and rods. What else would you be talking about and at what cost?
What I want to do is the least expensive way to finally have some power in my Integra.
Hello guys,
did you guys put in the turbo yourself? I was planning on doing it. How hard is it to put it in? I know the basic stuff except for the oil lines thats it right what else would i need to know how to do?
Originally posted by T93SE
[B]Thanks for the insight on your turbo set up.
What I want to do is the least expensive way to finally have some power in my Integra. [/B]
Turbo would definitely do that for ya. Word of caution though, don’t go TOO INEXPENSIVE. I’m all for getting good deals, but sometimes cutting too many corners can get you into trouble.
Well, the buildup is going to depend on your Horsepower goal. You could go with some low compression Forged pistons. Aftermarket Rods or shotpeening your current rods is a good idea. All new rings/seals, and ARP bolts throughout the buildup should give you a pretty strong engine. This could run in the neighborhood of $600-1200 depending on the parts you choose. Labor is another thing. Again, you have to first determine what kind of power you hope to get.
If you have any ?'s feel free. Good Luck.
integracon,
I have to tell you that you have been a lot of help and I thank you. Since you offered, I am going to ask a few more questions, which I have never been quite clear on.
You mentioned low compression pistons if I do a turbo set up. I have read that the reason for this is to reduce the chance of detonation. But, you mentioned that you have a B16 with stock internals and are running 10 psi with 250+ horsepower. If I could get this much power I would be more than happy and easily outpower anything else where I live. So my question is that since you are running at least a 10.2:1 cr, why would I want to lower mine since it is less? Won’t that mean I would have more lag, less hp before boost, and have to run more boost to get the horsepower level that you have?
Regarding boost control and fuel management. What is the best cost effective way to control boost and fuel for the turbo motor?
And finally AC. I have seen lots of turbo 2nd gen pics, but none with AC. I have got to be able to keep it. Do you know which turbo manifold I can use?
Actually I’m curious about one more thing. What does a 250hp Integra run at the track?
Thanks
Originally posted by T93SE
You mentioned low compression pistons if I do a turbo set up. I have read that the reason for this is to reduce the chance of detonation. But, you mentioned that you have a B16 with stock internals and are running 10 psi with 250+ horsepower. If I could get this much power I would be more than happy and easily outpower anything else where I live. So my question is that since you are running at least a 10.2:1 cr, why would I want to lower mine since it is less? Won’t that mean I would have more lag, less hp before boost, and have to run more boost to get the horsepower level that you have?
Well, while lower compression pistons help reduce the chances of detonation, like you said low end responsiveness will suffer. Lower compression pistons are great if you plan on going to higher levels of boost, above 12 psi. Again, not impossible with say the stock B16 10:2:1 c/r, but the need for precise A/F mixtures at all times is necessary.
[b]
Regarding boost control and fuel management. What is the best cost effective way to control boost and fuel for the turbo motor?
[/b]
External wastegates will regulate your boost to a preset level, depending on it’s rating. Unless you plan on going higher, the need for a more expensive electronic boost controller is not necessary. TIAL offers boost control with various spring settings and are about the best on the market for the price.
My fuel control is managed by the DRAG kit’s setup- IN line fuel pump and Boost dependent Fuel Pressure Regulator(FPR) and a VAFC. Although, not an optimum setup, this provides safe A/F ratios at moderate boost levels <10psi.
[b]
And finally AC. I have seen lots of turbo 2nd gen pics, but none with AC. I have got to be able to keep it. Do you know which turbo manifold I can use?
[/b]
I still have my AC. The DRAG Gen 2 and 3 manifold allow you to keep it, it’s a tight fit, though. I would post a pic, but photopoint is down.
[b]
Actually I’m curious about one more thing. What does a 250hp Integra run at the track?
[/b]
You should hit mid/low 13’s Full interior, high 12’s with good driving and semi stripped down car and slicks. HTH
integracon
Thanks a lot for the help. I’ll probably have more questions later, but you have definitely given me a lot of direction on this.
Low 13s or high 12s, that’s a beautiful thing.
dont expect 13s or 12 unless you plan on changing your internals, and may i suggest steering away from the Drag turbo kit…you want to buy a kit spend the extra money and buy the fmax kit i garauntee you’ll thank me
Originally posted by turboteg1.8
dont expect 13s or 12 unless you plan on changing your internals, and may i suggest steering away from the Drag turbo kit…you want to buy a kit spend the extra money and buy the fmax kit i garauntee you’ll thank me
Why would you HAVE to change the internals to run 12-13’s? A good driver can hit that with 230-260/wheels. THat’s hardly an unachievable feat on stock internals.
Also, what is the difference between DRAG and the FMAX kit? I’m sure the exhaust manifold design and FMU are the only REAL diffences. The snail isn’t going to be the issue since it’s Turbonetics T3/T4, Intercooler is SPEARCO, and blow-off valve is Greddy, which are not bad choices.
If anything, I’ve heard the RevHard is the exhaust manifold of choice, although DRAG’s Gen 3 design is alot better than the previous manifold.
the qaulity and the certain things that come with the fmax kit are what sets it above all the other kits…personally i recomend building your own kit, thats what i did…in most cases it is less expensive …however in my case it wasnt, i changed absolutely everything…just remember the higher the compression the less boost you can run, thats why i recommend changing the internal lower the compression run more boost and make more power with less chance of blowing your motor
integracon and turboteg1.8
integracon mentioned the revhard turbo manifold is the best, although the drag 3 manifold is better than the old. I haven’t been able to find anyone who sells a drag gen 3 kit for the 2nd gen integra.
You were also debating between drag and fmax. The only first hand experience I have is with the fmax kit on a 98 GSR, which had the turbo burn up in the first month and fmax refused to replace it after giving him the run around for over 3 months. I hate dealing with people like that. Is drag any better in backing their products?
The other thing I was wondering was the need for additional fuel. From what I was told, fmax and drag use an additional fuel injector squirting fuel into the intake manifold and revhard uses the factory injectors. Is this correct? What are the consequences of this extra injector? It seems as if it would be hard to equally distribute the extra fuel to each cylinder with that
type of setup.
And turboteg, what exactly do you mean with quality of the fmax kit versus drag on a component by component basis? What is bad and what is good?
ARCHIVETHIS
(what? me reading on FI? hmmm…nah. :p)
I’ve been reading this thread and its really interesting. Thanks OrangeintegB16 for starting it. I have been thinking about a B16A turbo as well, but it will be awhile before I put the turbo on, so I am just wondering what you guys think about what kinda HP output I will have and the if the CR I have is adequate for 16psi.
Okay here we go
B16A1
completely rebuilding (zoom convinced me:D )
JE forged pistons 9.8:1
Eagle Rods
ARP bolts throughout
JG Edelbrock Intake Manifold
Holley Throttle Body
Ferrea Dual-rates and Tintanium retainers
Ferrea Valves
Portflow doing the proting with bronze guides
Holley or AEM adjustable fuel regulator
Holley In-tank fuel pump
AEM fuel rail
AEM cam gears
Unorthodox racing pulleys
AEM CAI
DC one-piece header
rebuilding my YS1 out of 91 LS for turbo purposes
COMPTECH flywheel or JUN
ACT or Clutchmasters clutch
HONDATA stage 2 ECU with boost
…is this a suitable rebuild to run 16psi…and is the compression ration low enough do you think? Also, I rather piece my own turbo kit together, can anyone recommend a good kit that they have pieced together or a winning combination that they know of? I preffer to use a T3/T4 unless you think a diffrent size is better? Please let me know…thanks a lot LocalePED
just out of curiosity, if i were running USDM ITR pistons on eagle rods in a b16 (10.5 at the very highest, prolly closer to 10.4 but go ahead and assume 10.5 for safety’s sake) what would be a safe level of boost for daily driving, along with what will most likely be an 80-shot (going with just nitrous for a while, then possibly adding turbo if feasible) direct port? thanky! (again, this is still the exploratory phase)
localePED
AEM CAI------ not used, piping from intercooler replaces this
DC HEADER---- not used, turbo manifold with downpipe replaces this
JG intake manifold----- save your money and get an ITR intake
I would go no higher than 9.5:1 compression. With stock block at 16 p.s.i.
and 9.8:1 you are asking for trouble. Get your block sleeved with some sort of iron sleeves.IMO
Originally posted by T93SE
[B]integracon and turboteg1.8
integracon mentioned the revhard turbo manifold is the best, although the drag 3 manifold is better than the old. I haven’t been able to find anyone who sells a drag gen 3 kit for the 2nd gen integra.
[/b]
You won’t find the DRAG gen 3 kit for our car, what you can get is the manifold Gen 3 manifold in the Gen 2 kit.
[b]
The other thing I was wondering was the need for additional fuel. From what I was told, fmax and drag use an additional fuel injector squirting fuel into the intake manifold and revhard uses the factory injectors. Is this correct? What are the consequences of this extra injector? It seems as if it would be hard to equally distribute the extra fuel to each cylinder with that
type of setup.
[/b]
DRAG doesn’t use the extra Fuel injector method, not sure about FMAX. DRAG incorporates an inline fuel pump and boost dependent FPR(Fuel Pressure Regulator) Although, basic, this setup provides safe A/F mixtures upto 10psi. As far as the effectiveness of the extra injector, not sure.
localePED
I agree with AMERICAN if your going to swap out pistons, you mine as well get lower compression ones. I’m runnin stock 10:2 because I don’t want to do a rebuild and am happy pushin 8-10 psi. However, if I had the opportunity I would go with lower compression and push more boost. If 16 psi is your goal, 9:5 is probably the highest you’d want to go for street use. 9:2 would probably be better, though