[ILLEGAL] 1995 VR4 6a12 Single Turbo.

[ILLEGAL]

First off thanks for viewing my build up of my 7G vr4.

video link of my first atempt of the single turbo V6 is here...

im still in the prosess of the second atempt of this conversion more on that later, lets get into the nitty gritty.

first of ill let you know how this came about..... I tried to get out of the "boy racer" scene around 2006-2007 by selling all my mitsubishi's and getting a BMW. it was the E32 1988 750iL model. so i was okay with my cruising tank.. untill.. my little brother bought a 88 vr4 with a T3/T4 in it with a few other mods. yep the boost bug bit, and it bit me hard,



flicked the BMW for soo cheap you wouldnt believe it! "THE PLAN" is to buy a good car (read Mitsubishi) so i could participate in Drag racing and the 4&ROTARY NATIONALS and be running mid-low 12's for under 8K.. i knew of a 7G vr4 in CHCH running 12s, with factory turbos his record (New Zealand quickest 6A12 powered Galant) is here on you tube.... (the video title has been modified for reasons that will become clear soon)...Sooo.. with my little pocket of green folding stuff i managed to purchase a 1995 E84A Galant VR4 with 160,000kms, for only NZ$2000.00 this came with a cat back 3" Fijitsubo and 17" advanti wheels, a clean inside and tidy outside. 2.0L turbo (twin) and 4WD. so i had my platform. and a few goals, i wanted a 12, and to beat this 6A12 Galant record!



the very first thing i done was add a bit more boost. upto 15psi it was then! then a oil change.. well i done it twice in the same day, just to flush it out good. and removed that spoiler!



the next mod i done (the day after buying it) was a intercooler. it was purchased from SCARLES measuring 600x300x75mm with 3" in/out pipes, this fitted okay with only little cutting of the factory bumper and a few straps made to hold it. also during that week i fitted a SCARLES SSQV blow off valve to the factory pipe using a adaptor. and in this state i ran my first 1/4 mile. factory with only the cat-back 3", intercooler and 15psi, i managed a 13.83. so now i have some sort of base run under my belt, its time to go forward with my project.

something i noticed was the temp wasnt being controlled as well as i hoped venturing into the hot zone abit further than i liked, so into the mix i added a 45mm aluminium radiator from SCARLES. this was a bolt in job with the only change from factory being the radiator fans and one of the top mounts being moved over to the next set of bolt holes, it was like Mr Mitzy knew i was going to get this radiator and made the bolt mounts there for me.



so after a few more events and abit more learning BUT without limmiter launching, i managed to get my PB down to a respectable 13.60 with not much in terms of mods. remember that when this car was new, there was no 10sce club! if you could cut a 13 you were quick!.... but its now its late 2008, and a 13.6x just wasnt going to do it! so onto the next step in development...


... shopping list:

*1 x TD05HR from a mates proven evo4 powered mirage (the turbo poped his motor so it work enuf for me).
*1 x rear turbo manifold to bolt onto the front head. (required to make joiner pipe shorter).
*1 x Apexi old school AFC (the 5 rotary nob version).
*6 x 390cc injectors from a Lancer GSR, (cleaned and flow tested).
*Walbro 255L fuel pump. (intank and hot wired)
*new shiny 2.5" intercooler pipes.
*new 2.5" silicon joiner pipes.
*EXEDY HD clutch kit (yep @180,000kms it was slipping)


the installation was a long process carried out in my garage with help from a mate to do some welding.. these are a few random shots..

last look at the twin setup..



empty/striped engine bay...


shot of the front head with a rear manifold off it...


mocking up the cooler pipes...


oldx1 versus TD05HR...


new clutch kit...


GSR 390cc (left) Vs factory 275cc (right)...


apexi AFC...


TD05HR on its own...


factory AFM pipe mod'd (rangi fix)...


new manifold getting made up...




after its made wrap it up...


then put all in together as one piece again... (note the Legnum brace)



so that took all of winter 2009 to be completed. taking apart stuff, buying stuff and making stuff.. but i thought it was a step in the right direction.. so NSDW (night speed drag wars, summer) was cumming up and i was ready.. i wanted to get my first 12sec pass... but... it was not to be. managed to chop a whole 0.5 out of my time, its a huge chunk of time off, but something wasnt correct, after asking a few people what a metalic rattle sound was comming from the turbo? it was diagnosed as the wastegate not closing 100%.. i took the turbo out to find the gate open quite abit.. so back to SCARLES to get a new external gate, 50mm should be the go for this situation?LOL... plumbed it in, and straight away it was good. boost came on solid as i expected, and a loud roar once on full boost.



next event was the big1.. 4&ROTARY nationals, in Auckland. this was going to be the day.. the day i got my first 12sec pass!! (i hope so any way)

the video of that event is here for you to watch...

so it was a bad start to the day with no practice runs (not good for DYO racing) and wet weather all morning, i thought i might have spun up toooo much with it just finished raining, and better boost thanks to the fixed wastegate. but i bogged down and the forester got a whole 4-5 car lenghts in front of me before i started to make any boost! so a 14.03for the first pass, at least there was no way i was going to "breakout" and i was lucky to get a win flying past him at only 1/4 track!

but thats wasnt the 12sec run i needed to make me happy.

i managed to work my way through the field running low 13's... i made it all the way through to the semi finals and was expecting a bye run considering the other 2 competitors had byes earlier that day.. it wasn't to be.. i lucked out and was running next to a built s14 with a large turbo and M/T drag radials to match! She (yep a female) had been running 12.7 consistent all day and i knew i had to be right on the money when it came to my dial-in so seeing as i hadnt run a 12 all day but got a 13.00, i thought i would be safe dailing a 12.95.. it seem with the extra urge to beat the faster car i "broke out" running a 12.94!... .94! yep .01 too fast for me to get thru too the 4&R nats DYO final but i got my first 12!! either way i was buzzing!! it was a great day but....

upon inspection of my wastegate installation, i found a few pin hole sized holes all over my welding job. so i touched this up as best as i could with the limited space and it felt like a further improvement on what i thought was good.. following the Nationals, NSDW round2 was held.. and on this night it was nice and cool, and had been a hot summers day so the track was perfectly preped by the sun all day. my car was leak free, so i thought.. never mind it was running good enuf! most of the night i was running 12.8 i got a few 12.9's but never got back to the 13's! it was mint.. lost a race, just! in the DYO racing so was out of points racing for the night. there was grudge racing at the end of the night so i stayed around for that,. the car got a good cool down before the grudge run and it finallly came time to hit the strip again, i found myself sitting next to the "Green Brothers" white RX-323.. he done a burn out while i crept onto the staging lights. i usally stage shallow so i can blast off on the last yellow. i knew he was going to win but i didnt want it to be easy for him.. after both staging lights were up i hit the limmiter, yellow yellow and poped the clutch out on the last yellow, never saw the red light so i continued, he was in spitting distance all the way to the end and i knew he was a 11sec car so i knew i was quick on that pass..... how quick??? ...comming down the return lane with the window open and helmet off i could hear the voice's of my mates and brother.. hmm whats the noise about i thought to my self.. ??? nah i couldnt have?? did i?? i got my slip BUT didnt look.. i continued into the pits where i was meet from the boys who ran down with massive smiles on there faces arms in the air (few fist pumps, LOL).. i could hear one of them say "you done it!" i was like "what?".. "you got the record" NAH!! didnt believe them so i had to look at the slip... OMG! i ran a record breaking 12.607 to claim New Zealands quickest 6A12 powered Galant. the previous record was ran 5-6 years earlier in CHCH by the well known AKO a.k.a MARKY who ran a 12.64 in a standard turbo'd 7G. it had been standing for 5-6 years! felt sorry for [VR4GZM] who busted his bottom end that night. but was a good one for me.





so that was my biggest night in drag racing too date. down in CHCH the next day a few others tried to get it but only managing 13's, so todate, i still claim New Zealands quickest 6A12 powered Galant. but im not finished there.....



the beginnings of PART TWO:

so the way the turbo was mounted made it hard to service the turbo and wastegate, it also made it impossible to completely seal the wastegates mounting plate, so it was still leaking, just (but it was leaking)... so in my head the only option to fix the problem area was to remount the turbo over the gear box where it will be accessible and the wastegate can be plumbed into apart of the joiner pipe where it can be welded up properly!

seeing i was going to remount the turbo right in your face as you open the bonnet, i thought i would for a turbo with physical presents. after shopping around for awhile (from March-August) i decided i wanted a turbo bigger than T3/T4 but smaller than a GT40.. so a GT35 fitted the bill nicely. but... i had a budget of under $700 so it had to be fake a.k.a China turbo.. i stumbled across a brand named TRS (turbo research) who made turbos (CNR Racing) who are planning to have a shop/stall at the USA SEMA show this November. they also sponser the international drift series in Asia (same event Fanga Dan has his Commy running in) so it has abit of money behind it. found out there is a guy on trademe with a few of these turbos for sale, got in touch with him a purchased one.. TD06 25G.. it has a nice big A/R.70 compressor housing which is all i was after! i just want the look.. if it go's pop i can put better internals there! heres a few pix..


and next too the TD05HR (Evo4)...


afew other upgrades/mods i have gathered over this winter are:

*MAPECU2 (installed still running KVF learn mode)
*Cooling Mist Water/meth injection system full kit (running with 380cc injector)
*LC-1 wideband o2 sensor with digital display/gauge.



so this is where im at now...


i have my steam pipe and new TD06 3 bolt flanges ready for fab, the car is at the engineers, and while im at it we will be making a new intake/plenum to mount the throttle body on the other side of the engine bay to free up enuf room to get the turbo above the gearbox. cant wait to update this thread! wont be long i hope! was planning on getting to the first round of NSDW on the 5th of Nov?? but im not sure if thats going to happen (1week to go??) so im aiming to be at the 4&ROTA Nats'11.

thanks agian for checking out my build i will be updating this once the cars is running again. with pix and vids (as i do).

look forward to becoming a paid member and meeting some of you

[pbaron]

What a good read, well done dude.

[Fully]

WD Richard that was a good read =)

[MarkSanne]

Great read & results! Keep it going and keep posting updates

[Oblivion]

Interesting to read and congratulations on that record

[ILLEGAL]

okay so today i went to check up on progress of my car and they were almost finished with the plenum.

note: the "plans" AKA. internet pic's of other builds in the back ground of some of the photo's.

they managed to route out the square edges on each intake inside the plenum... yeh no trumpets but more of a port job.. and instead of welding around the out side of the join between the new box section and the oem intake, they welded on the inside of each runner, then grinded/routed it back... it is alot boxier than Nicks but it will do the trick for now.. surely wont be hard to sell if i want a better flowing item?

..plenum ported intakes lookin thru T/B

..plenum angled view

..plenum side view #1

..plenum side view #2

..plenum end tank view


also had to remove the solid part of the power steering that was in the way of where the throttle body will now sit.. going to try this hose with hose clamps first before getting hydralink to make a real P/S hose up for me. the hose is transmisson hose so should hold up.. not sure if the clamps will though?
..power steering hose

so with abit of luck this should be back on the come the end of monday.. to do on the plenum is a few tig welds around the outside of the join between the new box and oem intake, just for added strength.. and also a block with the brake vacuume hose tail and 5 little tails for the ecu map sensor, boost guage, fuel regulator, BOV and water injection hobbs switch. i might get 6 on there just as a spare for now.. wastegate will be controlled by the "P" tail on the throttle body it has +psi but no vac so should work? just glad to see it move forward.

i also purchased 2x 3" U-bends today for the exhaust off the back of the turbo.. i hope a 3" fits back there. im sure its nothing a hammer cant fix though?

[Gly]

nice bit of progress there,

will be interesting to see how that turbo performs,

[ILLEGAL]

.. i hope it spins..

[maori_by_nature]

personally i like this video of your car... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVqac...eature=related

[ILLEGAL]

not far off RE-START now.. plenum is finished but can do with a sand and polish once i get around to it. the steam pipe manifolds are finished apart from the wastegate pipes. i will heat wrap everything again once i find the time to. so heres the updated photo's of the car today.... sorry about the photo quality, this was the first time using this camera and didnt realise i had to stand still for a hour while it takes a photo :!:


here we have the new gaskets i made to replace the damaged items i had.. i used ACL gasket paper for the job, and im happy how they turned out. may need to trim them still once i get to fit them on the car.



starting on new plenum gaskets



half finished plenum gaskets



finished plenum gaskets



and here are a few random shots of the engine bay, first off the throttle body with the ISC removed and blocked off. it sits nice and square to the motor which looks real nice in person.. also have 5 small nipples on the rear of the plenum and a large nipple for the brake, and a 6th little nipple on the front for the BOV.



throttle body without ISC

plenum with nipples



and here is photo's of the turbo on the steam pipe manifolds.. note i need to spin the turbo which isnt a major at all with these turbos as they have true 360 rotation like a circ clip type turbo, and the wastegate plumbing isnt there either.



close up of TD06 25G on manifold

TD06 25G on manifold



now we (engineer and I) think we know why it kept cracking the last joiner pipes/manifold. its because only the manifolds were supporting the turbo, wastegate and exhaust on its own with no braces!! (my badd!) yep i over looked that little detail and cost me a little bit, but i wouldnt be where i am today if i never made that mistake. not wanting to have the same issues with this setup ive included flanges in the manifold (like Nicks) for abot of give when heat is applied,and a brace from the gearbox upto a bolt on the turbo flange at the turbos exhaust housing.. so this should hold up the turbo and exhaust so no bendy/cracky problems pop up?

so not far at all.. these were photos taken at 11am this morning so im guessing the wastegate is done and its just the 3" exhaust to be made and joined to the 3" under the car. oh yeh, then my part.. putting it back together again new heat wrap and gaskets , hoses and intercooler pipes.. and the biggest pain in the butt the AFM!!! grrr!

[ILLEGAL]

engine bay photo's with turbo on the manifold :-o plus it fits under the bonnet!!!

wide view of the TD06 25G on its manifold, just starting to fit the 50mm wastegate.

wide view of the TD06 25G head on view.

[BEG4ME]

So far this build has been fuk1n awesome man. Just one little thing. You may want more than one brace on that turbo aye (It's huge! Haha). Maybe from the engine valley to the top to tie it in. Kinda got the same problem you had with pipe cracks when i slapped a turbo on my mini chopper. Keep up the good work man.

[ILLEGAL]

thanks mate ill look into that tomorrow (aswell as load that payment for bumper) and suggest it to the engineer, although i did mention it previously to him, but he's happy that just supporting the turbo from bouncing up and down will be enough, as that was the only movement it could have done. if we place a brace from the valley it will only stop movement left to right? which is covered by the manifolds themselfs? Also the steam pipe is alot thicker than the mild pipe the cracked from the weight of the previous TD05hr and to be honest, i think the new turbo is the same weight if not lighter because the TD05hr housing is bulkier than the TD06 (i havent weight them) but i will bring the issue back up with him.

sorry, forgot to mention the brace is 5mm thick

[Siamblue]

Brilliant read mate, After the small turbos what is the next weakest link in the line of these cars? obviously these engines are almost bullet proof, just i am a novice on these cars as all my knowledge is in Volvos, my next car is going to be a Leggy


Gary

[LudviG]

Love this project. Keep up the good work!

[elnevio]

Brilliant read mate, After the small turbos what is the next weakest link in the line of these cars? obviously these engines are almost bullet proof, just i am a novice on these cars as all my knowledge is in Volvos, my next car is going to be a Leggy


Gary

Gary, Illegal's car is a 7G (seventh generation) Galant with a 6A12T engine, whereas most VR-4s on here are 8G ones with the 6A13TT. While some principals are pretty much the same, they are completely different cars, as the 8G was a new car from the ground up. There was no estate version of the 7G, sadly. Anyway, lower suspension arms are a known problem area, although many were replaced under recall, but a failure usually means wheel getting pushed up into the wing! Otherwise, shoddy maintenance and low-quality fluids will be detrimental to the VR-4's health and longevity prospects! Apologies for the , Richard.

[ILLEGAL]

elnevio: not a problem mate, thanks.

i must add to that, the factory rear diff housing (not the internals) would be another week point just because it has been desgined wrong, with its mounting points snapping off quite easily. as well as the factory connecting rods in the block, they look similar to a lancer GSR rod but keep in mind there are 6 of them. we have seen afew pop out from abuse by standard turbos running 13psi!!

performance wise the next hold up on these cars is the intake cam, which stops us making much more power over 240KW ATW.

just for infomations sake, my car and engine (original) has done 265,000Kms todate and the last 100,000Kms i have put on myself. from the first week of me owning it it has never ran lower that 15psi and prior to this new turbo install was running 20psi thru the TD05hr... now when i bought it i changed the oil twice in 1 day so i knew all the black stuff had been flushed out.. from then on its been replaced every 5,000Kms with filter. so i do believe servicing is the key to any car keeping its cool

[bradc]

Actually Nev the suspension is 95% the same between the 7G and 8G. Obviously the engine changed which way it sits in the engine bay and both exterior and interior were fully updated, but there are a few common things between them.

[ILLEGAL]

we found abit of space at the joiner pipe, so we ended up taking the dump for the wastegate off there. still going to run the gate's pipe forward, so the gate will still sit infront of the gearbox. but this is easier to make this and wrap in heat wrap. we will be using 5x10mm steel straps from the main pipe to the wastegate pipe for strength, so the wastegate dont just fall off!! Still going to use the same 50mm item i had in the last setup and will be venting to atmosphere. baaAAAAARRP! but it will have a two bolt flange on the open end so i can block it off for WOF time.

pipe for wastegate.. top view

pipe for wastegate.. view from where the gate will sit/ infront of the g/box.


Also while we were talking about braces for the wastegate.. i brought back up the issue of extra bracing on the turbo.. from the valley on the head/block. we both eye-balled it for a few minutes and said..."NAH" ... it should be much better now that there is a brace from the gearbox upto the turbo.. like i said, it was really just the weight of the turbo that bent the mild steel manifold before, because there was no brace on it at all.. the manifolds were holding the turbo on their own. and after a year gave up trying to hold it up, BENT and cracked. but a great observation on your part mate. more ideas floating around the better i say.

[VR4WGN]

awsum updates but ithink we shud get this moved to pictures i think or performance mods so its easier to track