Originally Posted by
ste 170
ahh mate you doing a turbo conversion??. we need to talk. ive spoke to ian howell at area six and lovely man tho he is he, wanted 8k. not averse to paying more than that in the end but not in one lump sum. been scouring the net bout zetec turbos. ANY advice gratefully received. im going to use area six manifolds and cams. dont know what mapping to use. i thinking of buying a lump from ebay and building it up. didnt want to use sandwich plate head gaskets for the compression. how do you do the oil return for the turbo. i was thinking core plug??. im a toolmaker by trade and built many fast 205 and mini engines in my time so really fancy givin this a go.
The oil feed is tapped from the HP oil gallery at the back of the block, i bought a second hand T220 Focus engine which already had the oil feed and return machined into the block
which was quite handy. But there are a number of places you can tap into.
Managment wise im remapping the standard managment, a company in the states has cracked the ecu, you buy the software for £500 and you can plug your lap top in and away you go you dont have to make a single cut or mod to the existing loom, just need to sort out the MAF sensor with a larger 3" diameter pipe or get a plug in device to adjust the reading to see the extra flow.
If you want to go 300bhp+ you will need new pistons and rods, the standard ST170 stuff will be fine below 300. You really need to work out your CR and choose a turbo and injectors to suit the spec your aiming for, the fuel system needs upgrading too. Use a sandwhich plate between the thermostate if you want a water feed to your turbo, most turbo manifolds and turbos clash with the standard breather system so you have to block off the standard one with a core plug and add a couple of breathers to the back of the block. Clutch needs upgrading etc and as you say inlet manifold. Area 6 inlet manifold is the best but it is possible to get over 380bhp from a rover turbo inlet with adaptor plate which will cost you aroun £150.
I have just scratched the surface here, im doing the build myself and the parts alone will come to over £4000 but i should see a reliable 450bhp at the end of it, it wont be done this year its a long term project, maybe next year i will be back on the road.
