Someone suggested that I consider Mark's twin turbo kit for my 350 build. I've been reading about it and have some interest, but haven't found any dyno numbers. Maybe I'm not using the search feature to the fullest, I dunno. I typed in "turbo" for the SBB section, and no dyno info came up, although there were lots of guesses and a few numbers BEFORE the turbo's were added. Not interested in what someone else's SBC makes with a turbo, or in what it theoretically should make, I only want hard numbers, preferably with an image of the sheet(s) attached so I can see the power curve. From the threads I found, it looks like several of the kits have been sold, so surely SOMEONE took theirs to a dyno facility? 1/4 mile speeds/times would also be nice if available, including info on track altitude and temp at time of the run. -Joe 69 California GS
sean and I are both in the works, and i'm sure theres others but may not be on the board. it'll probalby be too late but i'll be getting my turbos on this winter/spring and dynos of stock 73 2bbl converted to 4bbl and then annother session everything the same minus blowthrough carb and twin turbos. looking at beginning of april for dyno.
That was me.. No numbers yet.. In theory. 8 psi will up your HP by at least 50%... This is the route I'm taking.. If you are in no big hurry, you can wait to see how badly I F'k it up.. I WILL make this work..
definatly useful info hey fox den, should I bother installing a fuel pressure gauge if I have a a/f(wideband) gauge?
Mark, I bet taking yourself a little (or long) trip to a chassis dyno and a 1/4 mile strip would pay for itself pretty quick with some good hard numbers and printable dyno charts for advertising purposes. I bet there's other people out there like me who are (or shortly will be) right at that point of trying to decide what to do with their car. What to do, what to do.... -Joe 69 California GS
I get that a lot. Thing is, if someone needs to see my car's results to decide if turbos work, they probably aren't ready anyway. The other thing is that my car is not going to be typical of what others will likely run. The huge majority of folks that inquire about turbo kits are after some fun with their otherwise good driver. What good a comparison is a lightweight, tubbed, low geared, high stall rig like mine going to offer? These days, it comes down to paying bills, or getting to the track. The car has no transmission anyway. I apologize if I sound short, I've just heard so many people claim that they are serious about turbos, then just talk themselves out of it. Turbos aren't anything new or mysterious. They work. They work AWESOME on the already high torque Buicks. That's about all I can offer for now.
Mark I feel your pain. i have ahd to do something like that witha couple of buddys of mine and just beating them with my buick all day long and they knew what was in mine and they would have ore and still couldnt beat me. long story short they both have buicks and have had so much fun with them. just wait someone will get there set up done and show everyone what they can do. Doug
like i said i'll have some dynos and track times with stock intake engine and thehn with sp intake, and then again with turbos and stock intake and again with turbos with s/p intake by spring hopefully my choice of becomming an amsoil dealer,zdpp ,along with rivstar detailing products it'll have speed things up a bit
Im with Mark on this one.... It comes down to a tight budget nowadays. Buicks have proven themselves, and Turbo's have proven themselves. If youre on the fence about how much power a turbo will make on a buick, read Turbo455's post about his ZSX Skymaro. Try to compare the types of figures were getting to a similar BBC and you'll notice the boost levels are higher on the chevs to get the same figures you get from the buick.
We will post track times. don't know if we will dyno or not. Our plans are to build a SBB with a single big turbo. But plans change. Whatever we do, you can follow Tyler's race car post and he will put up all the details.
I have water in the crancase. Looks like I screwed something up and now I will have to unscrew lots of things to figure out what is screwed up and then screw it all back together and hope it's not still screwed up..:TU: Good thing I haven't tried to run it yet..
carmantx, I know dyno runs don't win drag races. Usually that line is used against posers who won't run their car but will brag up the dyno sheet. My question doesn't have anything to do with posing - hard numbers and a dyno chart to match eliminate any "he said/she said", "it's really fast, dude", "just spend the money, you won't regret it", etc. For example, where in the RPM range does the real power start? How peaky is the curve? How well-matched are the turbos to the engine? What's the intake air temperature at full boost? I'm not trying to accuse anybody of lying to me, I just want more hard info on a SBB combo with a turbo, that's all. And I'll keep waiting, it's cool. Just was wanting to know if I'd missed the numbers because I wasn't searching right. -Joe 69 California GS
Joe, I agree with you completely. I think there would be a lot more interest in the turbo set up if someone would post some dyno numbers or track times to show what the possibilities are. We dyno'd our 464 engine out of the car, but that's probably the only dyno numbers we will do unless we start selling items and would show the performance gain. That is not likely. We have been dissappointed in the SBB info, and we may be heading back to the BBB with turbo for the race car. Who knows, we change our mind all the time. Maybe a smaller turbo on our red car for a driver.
I do not have track proof of my Turbo combo YET however I can tell you this is a well thought out and engineered kit that Burton Machine is offering. The turbos are a perfect compliment to an engine like the the Buick 350 which has a relatively small bore compared other engine of the same displacement. Filling the small bores is WAY easier under pressure. By pressurizing the intake charge the engine wakes up, this is the same reason why the Buick 350 likes high compression over 12:1 when NA. The 350 love nitrous, loves supercharger so why not turbos? This approach to making street friendly power is using a mild engine with a power-band of 2500-5500, adding the turbos that are correctly sized for the combo will only take further advantage of the bottom end toque and mid range power these engines make stock. Would you rather add a HUGE cam, HUGE compression and get 550 HP NA or run a mild engine that idles like a stocker and still makes killer power? Even a stock 350 with a small shot of nitrous runs mid 12s so wait and see what we can do with BUILT 350s and turbos. I will be over 450 HP NA. Just look at what was done at over 20 psi of boost via supercharger, the Turbos will get us to this level as well if we do it right:
The problem is that these questions will have different answers from different builds. Gears, converter car weight, head work cam, compression, timing etc will all play a role in when the turbos come in. Same for the curve. The turbos are matched to the engine for a given power range and rpm potential. A different combo would need a custom sized turbo, which I have already said I would do for custom combos. The intake temp is going to be different as well. Different engines will require different amount of air to achieve the same boost which will affect the temp. The more the turbo needs to work to pressurize the charge to full boost, the hotter the air will be. The basic log kits are designed for rapid spooling, and 450-500hp on a mild 350 build. They will support MUCH more power with additional supporting modifications. As far as street driving goes, anything under about 1/3 throttle the turbos are quiet and don't produce any significant boost. Over that, and they start to whistle and will come on with 3-5psi quickly. At about 1/2 throttle they come on much quicker. At full throttle, they will hit full boost about as fast as you can watch the gauge. That is in my car with the 8psi system. Most street cars will lose traction VERY easily at around 5psi, so it takes some getting used to.
I know that sounds like a fun problem to have, and I appreciate the cheers. I really hope that people understand that I'm not being funny, or just trying to talk up the turbo setups though. The torque production is a major change. The other thing is that it comes in differently than a NA motor. You can be accellerating along at part throttle, click the shifter up a gear and if the engine lugs, it can build boost and overpower the tires unexpectedly. Again, it is a fun thing being able to boil the tires from cruising speeds, but caution is key. Small street tires have no chance.
