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Okay I just bought this Turbo Lebaron Convertable off one of my buddies and I was just wondring a few things because I dont know anything about like stock tubro cars, so here it is:
Should I have an intercooler installed?
Is it possible to get a blowoff valve on a stock turbo car?
Are stock turbo cars the same as buying a turbocharger for a car?
Should my gauges have a turbo gauge or is that just aftermarket stuff?
Well hope someone can help, thanks.
Mike
[QUOTE=LebaronTurbo]Should I have an intercooler installed?[/QUOTE]
If the car comes stock with turbo and no intercooler then there's no need for one, your car is going to be fine. Although putting one would look nice and give some hp.
[QUOTE]Is it possible to get a blowoff valve on a stock turbo car?[/QUOTE]
Yes
[QUOTE]Should my gauges have a turbo gauge or is that just aftermarket stuff?[/QUOTE]
Some stock turbo cars come with the turbo gauges already.
I think most Subaru Turbo models come with turbo gauges.
[QUOTE=LebaronTurbo]Are stock turbo cars the same as buying a turbocharger for a car?Mike[/QUOTE]
Yes buying a turbocharger for a car is the same as stock turbo cars, but in reality you are better off with a stock turbo car, rather than installing on because the engineers have optimized the turbo and the engine to match, as a result your vechile would stay in better shape and the risk of damaging the parts is much lower, but installing a turbocharger on a non turbo charged car can have its advantages IF done right, you could get optimum performance and figures (usually stock turbo charged cars are not taken to the limit, you can take a non stock to the limit but you are risking the damage of parts).
Personally i would not place anything like a turbo-charger, or a super-sharger, on a relativily new car, but i would mess around with an old cheap car if i had the money!!!!
Remember if you install a turbocharger on a non turbocharged car, its not as easy as fitting it in, there are a few main parts that heve to be changed, altered and tuned.
Hope the info helped ;)
1. You don't need an intercooler unless you plan to increase the turbo's boost pressure.
2. You could probably get a blowoff valve but its not necessary unless you are going to increase boost pressure.
3. Stock turbos are pretty much the same as aftermarket ones. Stock turbos usually run less boost (boost is how a turbo makes power) so that they run more reliably and with less turbo lag.
4. A lot of older turbo cars don't have a boost gauge and you don't need one if you are keeping your turbo stock. Turbo gauges on stock cars are more for looks but on modified cars they are helpful.
Mike, I've got a 1989 Lebaron Turbo Convertable that I've been tweeking for a couple of years, maybe I can help.
>Should I have an intercooler installed?
I did. Over the entire production years of the Lebarons and all the other Chrysler/Dodge turbo cars there were a few options for an intercooled car. You could go out an have an aftermarket intercooler installed, but I wouldn't unless you're going high on the boost. You didn't say what year your Lebaron was, but I'm assuming you have an 87 or later which used the smaller Mitsubishi turbo. This turbocharger won't make enough boost to need an aftermarket intercooler, the factory one does fine. The MAP sensor on your car won't let you go over 14 lbs of boost without significant modifications anyway so I'm assuming you aren't. I purchased a used intake system, complete with radiator, air boxes and hoses off eBay for $300.
If you buy a factory intercooler, make sure you get the radiator and the lower intercooler hose. The radiator is narrower so as to make room for the intercooler, but it is dual core unit to make up for its smaller size. The lower intercooler hose is made of unobtainium.
>Is it possible to get a blowoff valve on a stock turbo car?
You probably already have a blowoff valve on it. Its a small diaphram valve inside the air box. Check your lower turbo pipe looking for a 3/4 inch Tee outlet in the middle of it. It should be running to the bottom of your air box. That's the blowoff hose. My convertable has an automatic transmission so a blowoff valve isn't really required (the biggest boost pressure spike hits when you're shifting gears). The stock intercooled intake doesn't have a blowoff valve included. I have an aftermarket one, but I haven't installed it yet.
>Are stock turbo cars the same as buying a turbocharger for a car?
No. The turbo block pistons have a lower compression ratio than the normally aspirated (N/A) engine. Stock C/R on the turbo engine is about 8:1. Turbo engines from the early 80's were about 8.5:1. My engine is balanced with forged pistons and runs 8.5:1. The N/A engine is over 9:1. The lower C/R allows the engine to handle more boost without danger of detonation (pinging). I run up to 14lbs, but NEVER buy anything other than high-octane fuel ($2.09/gal this morning in Utah).
There even differences between the factory turbo engines. The cars with the factory intercooler also had a billet crank, while mine (and yours) has a cast crank. Some have cross-drilled heads and blocks to increase cooling. The computers are different as are the wiring harnesses. When you can (like you can with Chrysler) start with as much factory stuff as you can and upgrade from there.
>Should my gauges have a turbo gauge or is that just aftermarket stuff?
This was an option for your car. The center console gauge that shows door open, fuel, trunk open lights on your car could be replaced with a combination guage that shows boost/vacuum and the vehicle information. I found one at a junk yard and paid about $10 for it. I just had to run a vacuum line from the back of the guage up to the intake manifold, but wiring was the same. There are several factory boost guages, I think only the guage from another Lebaron will fit yours.
More importantly, if you plan on messing with your boost pressure, get yourself an air/fuel mixture guage. You need to make sure you have enough fuel to keep up with the increased air. There's a link for one from DawesDevices.com on my web site.
I've started to document what I've done to the car hoping that other people can get more ideas. I've put the document on my web page at
[url]http://www.calkins.ws/cars.html[/url]
You can find many other helpful web sites by following the links on my site. Sorry, I've broken the home page on my site and I've been too busy to fix it lately, so only the the link above and those below it work right now.
Good luck on your car. I've sure had fun with mine.
Gordon