I have a chance to buy this car for a decent price.
13B Engine (Full Rebuild), Ported, 3mm Apex Seals, Power FC with Commander and MAP, 850/1600cc Injector Kit (primary/secondary), T88 Greddy Single Turbo Kit, Greddy Boost Controller, Boost Gauge, CC3 Intercooler, Turbo Heat Shield (OMP), CC3 Intercooler, Aluminum Radiator (Fluidyne), 3 ¾" Greddy Exhaust, RPS Clutch Package, 18" Wheels and Tires, Power Stop Brake Kit, 5 Way Adjustable Struts and Springs, Front and Rear Stab Bars. New: V-Band Connectors (exhaust), Plug Wires, Plugs and Coil, Engine Wiring Harness / Coil Harness, Coolant Temp Sensor, HKS Blow Off Valve

He doesn't have a dyno sheet but this seems to be a 500+ hp setup which is maybe 100hp more than I need. If I just set the max boost down to 15psi the single will give me a weak low end right?
Will a T78 swap in with no changes? These are a Mitsubishi turbo correct? Can I just buy a smaller Mitsu fan or were the Greddy units specially modified to fit?
Any thoughts?

 

If you buy a dif sized turbo it will need a retune because they will flow differently. Just turn the boost down.

 

The car is only running 10psi right now because of the break in so it hasn't had its first tune. It would seems timely to swap in the smaller turbo before the first tune but it isn't really practical unless I can do a simple turbo swap and use all of the other hardware as is. If there is more to change then just the head unit then the car isn't such a good deal.
If the T88 still performs fairly well at 15 psi in terms of lag then a change isn't even necessary but the big singles I have run across in Supras were poor street cars when you weren't racing them.
thanks for the response!

 

for a street car id just grab a gt35r, get it tuned and call it a day. You might have to make slight modifications to the downpipe or other small changes but I dont know exactly what snags you will encounter. A Turbo expert like Zero R from a-spec tuning or any of the big shops might help you out and hook you up with a good sized turbo for your needs.

I for one wouldnt want a T78 or 88 unless its a drag only car or highway weekend warrior

edit: wow strong join date

 

I could always be wrong but: It should be a T4 manifold so a 35R or 40R would fit, but if it's the kit I'm thinking of it likely has a 4" down pipe so you would need to change that. Other than that... not much to it.

 

also as its what your asking about the lag wont change on that turbo no matter what PSI your running it still needs to build boost and if its designed for 20 and you set it at 10 psi. Spool will be exactly the same just faster to full pressure becasue its less. you want faster spool get a different turbo. if your good with spool now just keep what ya got.

z

 

you're going to get power hungry like most people. and then you will wish you had kept the T88.

 

Is it a T88 34D or a T88H?

 

Most likely the 34d since its a kit. Just change the wastegate spring to a lower PSI unit or just turn down the boost. 10psi-15psi is more then enough on the street with a t88-34d on 93 pump gas. Claiming 500whp is most likely on race gas and over 20psi. I'd be more concerned with engine compression and turbo shaft play when buying a single turbo car...

 

i have a T78, and limiting myself to 10lbs would just be painful. Doing that to a T88 would be even worse as you'd have even more lag.

 

i just made 477whp t88-34d bridgeport just shy of 1bar letting off at 6500rpm 91 pump gas. this is more then anyone needs on the street.

 

I wouldn't buy a car untuned. You would be surprised how many rebuild engines are junk, and how the real problems won't show up until real power is applied( tuning).

 

I have a Procharged C5 Vette so I am used to the power. With the light weight of the FD and no plans to track it, any more power than what you have at 1 bar would be kind of a waste for me. That is why I was thinking sizing down to a turbo size that was more optimized for sub 500hp. I was thinking meth injection anyway so 16psi from a T88 or 20+psi from a T78 or smaller is all the same to me and the better boost at low rpm would make it a better driver.

And to 1Revvin7 I definitely wouldn't buy the car untuned even if I had to pay for the tune myself.

 

There are alot of t88 FDs around here and lag really isn't a big deal for the street. If you really like the car and can't find a better car for the price just sell the t88 kit and buy a GT35R or something similar with a quicker spool and make a stable 3-400whp range once tuned by someone who knows what they are doing...

 

I am not afraid of the lag, but with the faster spool a 475hp car with the smaller turbo would outperform the big one on street tires so bigger = slower until the boost is cranked up beyond the ability of street tires to hook up. If I pay $2500.00 to downgrade the turbo I may as well find another car. Thing is I am in Canada and this thing is right on my doorstep.

I guess you would get something back from the colder air charge though right? In terms of making more power per psi of boost on a bigger turbo? If the T88 turns out to be nearly as tractable as a T78 then really optimized power is not that big of a deal. I know it won't have the low end of my LS1 or even my old Stealth TT but I remember a Supra guy having to brake stand to merge his big single a/t car into traffic and that is what spooks me. It was like having an n/a V8 with way too much cam for street use.

I am thinking I may just have to nut up and leave it as is, and then decide how much the lag conflicts with my driving style. I just don't want to buy a car that is too biased for the drag strip. Are there any guys that don't take these big singles to the track or is it kind of understood that is the point?

 

Usualy when people put nice sized single turbos on rotarys its for reaching the 500whp + goal and looking for higher eficiency at higher booster levels mainly for drag racing. I enjoy the T88 and so do alot of others who drive their FDs on the street with T88s. GT42 on the other hand are abit too big to have any real fun on the street. You could easily get $2k for your T88 kit if its in good shape and just put that $ into a smaller turbo kit like the one I mentioned for a zippy rocket street car if that is what you are mainly after.

Good luck on your decision..

 

Thanks for the input Jay. I checked it out. Nice condition for the mileage and the work was done by the best shop in the area. I think I can live with the T88 but I will keep looking for an a/c car. I believe there are T88s running around with a/c but the compressor for this one is long gone and I have no idea if that is all it needs to work.
Everything else around here is RHD or has twins on it so it may be a while. That's okay, it is snowing here this week.