3.8 with 2 tc turbos

[sliding 2.9 89]

im asking this for my girlfriend. would it be good to use the ones out of a 88 tc? should i might as well get 2 t3 turbos instead?

 

[Davis]

Yes, I think 2 IHIs would work decently on a 3.8.

 

[88gt]

i would think that would be sufficient. but if your gonna go thru the hassle of two turbos of the same size, why not just buy one larger one that can provide all he boost you could want for that motor? less plumbing, less hassle, more room to run intake plumbing, and you will still be able to get to the sparkplugs! thats always a perk!

 

[sliding 2.9 89]

is the pluming on a tt set up that big of a pain in the ass?

 

[88gt]

well, the idea of a tt setup is that the exhaust plumbs a smaller turbo that makes immediate boost. that turbo feeds into the motor, makeing it rev faster spooling a large turbo up. the two turbos work together to create low end power and high end power. NOw this setup can be done with two turbos of the same size, but i believe the compressor wheel sizes have to be different to work properly. and the way i see it, one large turbo is a lot less work and money, and way easier to set up. instead of fussin with two turbos to dial in and make work right together, there is only one. less variables to mess with. Also on another note, everything i have ever seen with twin turbos has either been a tiny tiny jap car that can use all the help it gets, or a car that is so powerful that it cant be street driven. NOw, being that you are using a 3.8, that will move a lot of volume. If you get 1 decent sized turbo, put in a fully forged rotating assembly and get a good tuning system, you can proably run 20lbs of boost. Street driven and street friendly boost. that s more than enough. power, anything more than that and you will be looking at a different rear, trans, and at that piont you might as well forget about drving it on the street.


BUt, how much power are you or your gf looking for? whats the goal?

 

[rurouni20xx]

hell wouldnt it be easier to swap in a 4.2? its a stroker 3.8 and bolts right in i assume were talking about mustangs here since i havent seen a ranger w/ a 3.8 (that would be cool tho...) they both have the small block ford tranny pattern you may even can squeeze a 5.0 or 5.7 in if you want a lot more power since you have a rwd tranny that will bolt up just have to change engine mounts etc.

 

[RangerSVT]

88gt, the idea you are talking about is compound turboing, a small turbo feeding a larger turbo...the idea of using two small turbos is to reduce turbo lag, and basically you are splitting the motor in half, with each small turbo feeding a small amount of displacement, 1.9L in this case. A bunch of the 4X4 RBV's are starting to tt the 4.0L (I'm in the works of twin IHI's from a T-bird TC on my 4.0L), turns out that the IHI's work real well on the 4.0L for low to mid range torque, with boost coming on around 1800 (just off idle) and lasting til around 3 to 3500, perfect for a 4X4 RBV...best of all, there are guys on here running 20+psi on stock internals and just higher rated injectors and a tuner...IMO, twin turboing the 3.8L with two same size turbos is better than one turbo equal the size as the two small turbos, being that the one turbo has a turbine of large volume to start turning, vs a smaller turbine to turn...I understand the single turbo setup is simpler and easier to install, but I feel the little extra work of twins is definitely worth it...
SVT

 

[red93terror]

haha i forgot i wrote that on the 2jz page man.

 

[88gt]

SVT, you got it man. i dont always think of the other side of the coin. i thought i was missing something when i posted earlier today, but you got it covered!

 

[RangerSVT]

I don't look like someone who has four turbos laying around the garage waiting for a turbo install...I've been collecting turbos and info for years...I've been doing a lot of research to see which way my needs are going to go, turbo, supercharge or both, while I support both turbo ideas, especially FORD's direction of the compounded 6.4L twin turbo desiel and the new 2010 twin turbo SHO (365 hp), I feel the twin turbos the same size side by side method will be the direction I will take. I'm looking at tt'ing my 4.0L ranger a couple of weeks before I quad turbo my 5.0L ranger, again, the main reason for quads is small impeller, near zero lag time and also, low low rpm boost for wheelin but still enough to bring the rpm's up a little when needed...I would say it would be easier to swap a Lightning motor in than a quad turbo 5.0L, but its cheaper to go the 4t route for me, as I already have a 5.0L with a strong bottom end, and 3 of the 4 turbos...In the end it all depends on your application on which way you go as well as your driving habits...
SVT

 

[sliding 2.9 89]

350 to 450 is a good goal that im making her stick to, its a 98 mustang, she wants to keep up with me and my friends when we all go race each other. im trying to find a 88 thunder chicken with a 5.0 for my new drag car. back to the point...... so 2 smaller turbos would be worth the hassle in stead of one decent sized one?

 

[RangerSVT]

Absolutely, I would definitely invest in a set of copper head gaskets and a head stud kit, as you are close to the years that those 3.8's had problems blowing the head gaskets, but other than that your good to go, you should be able to handle 12-15psi boost on that motor, providing you use an IC, and larger injectors without having to upgrade your internals. The wastegate on the IHI's are factory set at 12psi, some seeing 15psi spikes, I think you'll be okay
SVT

 

[88gt]

+1^^

 

[pearldrumbum]

SVT, if you're thinking of doing a quad turbo, why dont you do two compound set ups? If you had 4 turbo's the same size, they would all be powered by 1.25 liters each. While smaller turbos do spool faster, i dont know of many turbos (available in the jy at least) that came off 1.25 liter cars. It seems like those two cylinders might have a hard time getting it to spool at all.

I think twins on the 5.0 will still get you what you want. maybe use an earlier tc turbo on each bank, they will be slightly undersized (being pushed by 2.5 liters, when they were originally pushed by 2.3) but that will definately spool quick.

4 turbos on a 5.0 would be counterproductive (assuming theyre all the same size and fed by 2 cylinders each)

 

[RangerSVT]

You are right, but I plan on stroking the 302 to 358 ci, making it 5.9L and while 3 turbos would be ideal, I'm not sure I could equally feed 3 turbos from a V8, V6 yeah...While it would bring the total ratio to roughly 1.5L per turbo, I don't think it will be too negative of a turnout, if it turns out to be too much turbo, I'll see if I can't locate 2 T3 turbos (early T-bird TC) and just run twins...thats still in the planning stages though, as far as doing compound turbos, I've never been a big fan of those types of setups...I just don't feel they would be an effective setup for a low rpm motor, but I could be wrong
SVT