Purchasing a Turbo for 80 Series

Hi,
Sorry I don't have an answer to your questions, but may I suggest to become a member of LCOOL.
These guys know the in's & out's of 80's. They'll be able to give a heads up on the pros & cons of what to do & not to to.
Have a read through their forums and a lot of the information will be there.
What donk is it, Is it a 1hd or a 1hz?
After fitting the turbo, check out a mob on eBay called the Exhaust Queen. Their business name is Scotts Rods
They do a 3' mild steel for about $500.00 delivered, I've fitted one. Very easy to fit, gives better economy & torque.

Hope this helps you.

CLC50 (QLD )

I turboed my GQ 4 years ago, for the same reasons you are talking about and it has made a difference. I agree with the comment on the LC web site, those guys are the guru's.
I bought my kit from Turbo Glide Systems, Click here for their web site. I had it freighted to the Gold Coast and fitted locally.

It's a very good system, mine came with a 2 1/2" pipe, the 1/2" smaller is negligible, but my GQ goes harder than a couple of GU's owned by mates. It's a good kit!

Cheers

Brian

Hi CLC50,

This is a long reply but I don't often get to contribute something usefull so I'm making the most of it. So many have helped me on this forum so I hope this is some of use to you.

I fitted a turbo to my 80 Series in 2006. At that time my vehicle had about 150,000km on the clock. My turbo is an AXT system using a Garrett turbo and it does not have an intercooler. it was set to 8lb boost.

Two things happened as a result,
1- the fuel consumption increased from around 12L/100km to 13.5 L/100km.
2- I had significantly more power between around 1800rpm and 2100 rpm.

I towed a 17ft off road pop top caravan immediately after the fitting (and before) and noticed the increase in power within the rev range stated above but I was disappointed with the power increase, especially when towing and on hills where the vehicle would slow down considerably , admittedly not as much as prior to the turbo being fitted but none the less I expected more torque than I got.

I enquired about fitting an intercooler but was advised it would be a waste of money (wouldn't improve the power).
I also enquired about fitting a 3inch exhaust and was told I could expect 5% power increase.

I decided to shut up and live with what I had.

Since then I have fitted a 2.5 inch exhaust and a pyrometer.

At the same time I fitted the exhaust I also replaced all my injectors so I'm not sure which action created the result, probably a combination of both but anyway the results were positive.

I have a noticable increase in torque. Whereas before, my power band was between 1800 and 2100rpm, it is now down to 1600 to 2100 rpm. The cruiser pulls away in a higher gear noticably easier which is a good sign but I've yet to test it towing.
Why a 2.5" exhaust instead of 3"? The Turbo has a 2.5" outlet to the dump pipe so I could not see the point in getting a dump pipe that flares out from 2.5" to 3". If the turbo outlet had been 3" I would have fitted a 3" exhaust. I also ensured that the exhaust contained a braided section to absorb engine and road vibrations. I could not afford a stainless steel exhaust so I just went with a normal one.

Another point to note is that once you fit an after market turbo the off the shelf exhaust kits don't just bolt on. The dump pipes are all different and there is some matching and individual bending to be done.

The pyrometer: Just soothes my paranoia about the engine cooking. It is surprising how the engine temperature varies with driving habits. The big thing that was confirmed to me was that high revs don't necessarily mean higher temps. There is a balance.

WBS

Another forum to have a look at;

http://www.offroad80s.com

It will require that you register but its free.

Between LCOOL and the above site , you should find your answers.

I had a water cooled (Mitsubishi) turbo fitted to my 1HZ several years ago and it cost roughly the same figures as you quote. I didn't notice any change in my fuel consumption but maybe there was as I found I was travelling a lot quicker so it evened out.
As in one of the other replies I was a advised that the benefits of fitting a bigger exhaust or intercooler were negligible so I've been content to stay with what I've got. No regrets, it turned my 75 series from a dog into a delight to drive.

Rob.