| Turbonetics Bolt-On Turbocharger Kit - Honda Civic
Bolt-on turbo kits have come a long way since our first experience with them over a decade ago. Back then there was no such thing as a true bolt-on turbo kit, it was more like here are all the pieces now YOU make it work. Having been marred by past experiences with a bolt-on turbo system we were expecting the same when it came time to install one on our Project Civic. We viewed it as us against the turbo kit.
The kit we choose is a Turbonetics turbo system that came with all the necessary components to turbocharge the Civic. Turbonetics prides itself on developing turbo systems that are a true bolt-on that do not require hacking or fabricating in order to install them. The system also retains all factory hardware like air conditioning, power steering, factory cooling fans, etc.
After reading the installation manual thoroughly the night before, we headed off to XS Engineering to install the system. We would have performed the install at home but the drain tube needed to be welded into the oil pan and we were skeptical that this was the only fabrication needed to install the kit.
The instructions say the kit could be installed in about eight to 12 hours. When relayed to the XS mechanics they laughed and said, "Hope someone is going to pick you up." At this point we were even more skeptical since the Civic was the only way we could get home. We hoped for the best and proceeded.
Immediately noticeable about the kit is the immaculate packaging. Instead of being bombarded by a box of loose nuts and bolts, the components are packaged in individual, sealed plastic bags. The separate packages made finding the fasteners for each step much easier and cut installation time substantially.
Once the stock exhaust manifold was removed the new manifold, turbocharger and wastegate were installed as a single unit. The centerpiece of the system is a Turbonetics T4/T3 hybrid ceramic ball-bearing turbocharger, custom sized for the Civic. Mounted on top of the manifold is a newly-released Turbonetics' Evolution wastegate assembly.
The fine people at Turbonetics also took the time to reroute the wastegate discharge back into the downpipe. More impressive is that the downpipe bolts up directly to the factory catalytic converter using the factory doughnut, no cutting or welding required. Another plus for the Turbonetics' system is the ceramic-coated turbo manifold, downpipe, and discharge tube.
To install the front-mount Spearco intercooler start by removing the front bumper and trim the front opening as needed to accommodate the intercooler. The intercooler mounts to existing holes on the front core support so no drilling is required.
The intercooler system only comes with three pieces of power-coated I/C piping so figuring out which one goes where is not a problem. The supplied silicone hoses are clamped down by heavy duty T-bolt clamps.
Once all the hardware was installed it was time to move on to the electrical portion of the turbo system. Unlike systems that rely on a fuel pump and a boost-dependent regulator for fuel tuning the Turbonetics' system utilizes a separate injector controller with two high-flow injectors mounted in the I/C piping.
Using a 3-bar MAP sensor, the fuel enrichment does not activate until boost is generated. The fuel controller is pre-programmed to maintain a consistent air/fuel ratio under all boost conditions. Turbonetics also paid attention to the ignition system, providing an MSD boost retard ignition box.
Once the turbo system was in place and the oil filled to the brim with the supplied Turbonetics TS-1 synthetic motor oil the Civic was fired to life. It only took nine hours from the first turn of the wrench. And that included a one-hour lunch break.
With the Civic ready to rumble it was off to the dyno. Prior to the turbocharger, the Civic baselined at 94.9 horsepower and 83.0 lb-ft of torque on the Dynojet chassis dyno. With an AEM UEGO air/fuel meter hooked up the Civic spun the rollers to the tune of 185.9 horsepower and 165.8 lb-ft of torque. The air/fuel ratio was between 11.5:1 to 11.4:1 and the boost peaked exactly at eight psi.
Turbonetics rates their 1.6-liter single-cam kit at 200 hp at the flywheel with the preset boost level. From our testing our Civic was right in line with that figure. The great thing about the kit is that there is plenty of room to grow with the turbocharger having plenty of airflow left in it for more power.
Who knows, since we already doubled up the horsepower maybe we should go for triple. Stay tuned as we push the Civic for even more power.
Air And Fuel Upgrades
It is a simple fact that to make more power you need more fuel. It's not rocket science. There are two components that are crucial in generating horsepower: air and fuel.
The addition of a turbocharger can easily generate enough airflow to make two-, three- even four-times the power output of the factory ratings. With that type of power production it is important to keep the power plant properly fueled at all times.
Along with the installation of the turbo system we elected to install a high-flow fuel rail, regulator and filter from AEM. Keeping the entire system primed and ready for the thirsty injectors is a 255-lph Walboro fuel pump. The Civic's stock fuel system was not designed for the volume or pressure needs to supply larger than stock injectors or in our case additional injectors.
Although the Turbonetics turbo system comes with all the necessary hardware and electronics for the factory preset boost levels we plan on pushing the kit for more power, hence the upgraded fuel system.
We also kept tabs on the air/fuel ratio with an AEM UEGO air/fuel monitor. AEM's gauge type UEGO controller utilizes a wide-band Bosch 02 sensor that is accurate to 0.1 AFR. The digital readout is displayed on a 52mm gauge with both digital LED and sweeping LED needle display. The gauge also offers a 0-5 volt analog output for use with data loggers and any engine management system.
Transmission Upgrades
With more power underneath the hood, we wanted to take precautionary procedures to ensure maximum power is delivered to the ground. We made a call to Advanced Clutch Technology for their heavy-duty pressure plate with full-face street disc. The ACT heavy-duty pressure plate has an increased clamping load of 20 to 50 percent over stock. By combining the heavy-duty pressure plate with a street-disc clutch drivability is not sacrificed.
ACT also recommended one of their SFI-approved lightened flywheels. ACT offers two types: a ProLite version and StreetLite version. The ProLite is designed for road racing applications where very quick throttle response is needed. The StreetLite version is designed for street and drag racing vehicles. The ProLite version is lighter than the StreetLite but since our Civic is going to be a daily driver we opted for the heavier StreetLite unit.
Both flywheels are made for forged chrome moly steel that is CNC machined to ACT specifications. They are also heat treated for increased strength and durability.