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Turbocharging by ninja on minimum wage

43K views 94 replies 13 participants last post by  Cal Thorsen 
#1 ·
Hi There. Long time listener, first time caller.

A short story before we begin - I bought this ZX12 purely to turbocharge. I've done a turbo conversion to my car, and after reading some threads on here about budget turbo setups, I figured, how hard could it be? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So I got the bike cheap cause it was a streetfighter conversion - meaning it had been crashed at one point. $3400 AUD. Its got a PC3 which saves me $500 to begin with. Good score I think.

But then I lost my job. So the build got put on hold. Then I scored an apprenticeship, but its part time. So I'm veeeeeeerrrry short on funds. But when you gotta go you gotta go.... fast that is. And I gotta go fast. So I said fuck food and shelter who needs that? And I've decided to start on the build.

Here's the bike.



So I've only just started the build but heres what Ive done so far.
I contacted forum member and all round good guy Scott Davis a few months ago about turbo ZX12s and ended up grabbing an exhaust flange off him. I then got some 1 1/4 sch40 steam pipe and tacked up a manifold.




Im gonna get my buddy with a tig welder to weld it up completely. But before that I gotta get a T2 flange for my turbo! But thats next payday. Baby steps.

Ive also made an excel spreadsheet of estimated costs if anyone would like to know what I'll be PLANNING to spend. Keyword: planning. Anyone whos ever had a turbo car/bike knows its a fuckin nickel and diming money pit. But that's a problem future me can deal with.




Plan and reasoning behind the build:

I was able to score a GT2871R for cheap. Which is quite a large turbo for this application. But my thinking goes - a larger turbo at say 7psi will not heat up the charge air as much as a smaller turbo at 7psi. Add the fact that I'll be running it on E85 and in my head I should be able to get away without running an intercooler and sticking to stock internals. I'd be happy with >200hp and a 9 second pass. I'm not shooting for the moon here. Hopefully I can get it done on 7psi.

The plan is to do most of the tuning myself on the road, and at the strip. With a PC3 ignition module to control spark. Otherwise known as alpha-n tuning. Which is a terrible idea, because when the bike is accelerating under different loads, the turbo will spool at different times, but since this ECU system has no boost reference, it only calculates injector pulse width based on throttle and RPM, it WILL be overfueled or underfueled in some gears. Obviously being underfueled is less desirable, the plan is to tune the bike in a high gear, and in the lower gears, part of the rev range will be running a bit rich. I am doing this because its the cheapest way to do it.

Anyway that's all I've got for now. Fell free to tell me how stupid I am.

Stay tuned for next week when I finish the manifold!

Peace
 
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#3 ·
a 2871 isnt that big, its a great choice for a street bike as its a high performance small frame turbo, its actually the smallest turbo we use in any kit we make.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Some update/progress pics to let y'all know I'm still going with it.

I changed the design and sussed out placement of the turbo. Placing it here allows

1. the radiator to stay where it is.
2. The oil filter to stay where it is
3. The oil cooler to remain installed
4. The compressor side to face right which looks cool when I park it. (Its the little things)

However I have to remove the hose tail on the radiator that connects the hose coming from the oil cooler. It is now routed to the front of the radiator. Pics of that on the way. Sorry for bad pics. I dont have a shed I work on the grass until the sun goes down and I dont have any light. XD XD









A few thoughts:
The steam pipe is 1 and 1/4 inch schedule 40 stainless steel. I hope it is not too restrictive of a size but I would not be able to have done it any bigger.

The manifold is a log manifold design with small pipe diameter. In theory this is bad but I made it to be compact, sit high, and fit nicely behind the radiator. Hopefully I wont need a scavenge pump but it looks like I might after all.

I've decided to go with the Multi-Function hub for PC3 with boost input. This combined with the ignition control module and base PC3 should make it possible to get a decent tune. And its not too pricey. After some thought, using alpha-n tuning for a boosted motor is a little crap, even by my standards.

More pipe is in the mail! Should finish fabbing mani next week. Then to hand it to my buddy to tig weld it all up. Then comes oil routing and intake.
 
#5 ·
I use 1.25 shed 10 stainless. O.D. - 1.65 (42mm) I.D. - 1.45 (37mm) your thicker wall stuff is a little smaller on the id, but should be ok for a low boost application. the t joints are quite restrictive vs a manifold that flows into a collector. it will work, just wont have as much power per pound of boost as what it could be. car guys do it on hondas etc all the time.
 
#6 · (Edited)
ps i like to press spigots into those flanges like this. they are sized for the 1.25 shed 10 and it fits the exh gaskets very well
 

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#7 ·
Interesting, Scott. After some measuring and thinkin' I was going to use 1.5 sch40 and machine the OD down to the exact size of the gaskets. I thought 1.25 would be to small because when I test fitted it it was rather loose. I'll have to check again. Thanks for your input! Super useful info as usual.
 
#9 ·
yes you have to admire the drive to get it accomplished.
my first turbo system was 1.5 in shed 10. super tight in the head and the id was was too big(shed 40 is likely better for id). ive used 1.25 shed 10 ever since. even my 500+hp dyno runs were 1.25 so it flows lots :)
 
#10 · (Edited)
I've been doing some more work on the manifold. It's almost done! this has taken much longer than planned but its coming along nicely.

Pictures speak louder than words:


Here it is as of right now. Tig welded by my buddy. Just needs the spigots (correct term?) welded on.




Welded both sides. Ill go over this area with a die grinder later on to get it all smoothly ported.


This little section was a pain in the ass and took almost all day due to my lack of tools but turned out okay after I took it to my buddy's place and it was shaped with a torch and hammer and welded.




I had these machined out of 1.5 sch40 pipe. They are about half a mm smaller in diameter than the gaskets and 20mm long. My father has a lathe so no cost there:grin2:


This is how they will sit.


Turbo in frame for reference


I like the K.I.S.S concept and I am trying to keep most of the work done in a 'backyard mechanic' style, with very little fancy equipment used. To prove a point; that you dont need money or equipment to do crazy sh*t to your vehicle. I kinda broke my own rules with the tig welding, oxy torch and especially the use of a lathe. But I think it would still be easy enough to get the same results using an $80 stick welder and settling for a slightly smaller sized pipe for the spigots. So no fancy tools NEEDED so far.

Next is charge piping. I'll be using steel exhaust pipe because I cant weld aluminium and dont want to use a million silicone joints.
 
#11 ·
Hi YoWattup seems like you are having fun with your build, after all the welding do you need to have the face plate machined or some wet and dry on glass to make sure it is nice and flat before you bolt her together, looking good and enjoying the pics keep posting, from another QLDer Craig
 
#12 ·
Thanks dastardly. The flange itself does not need to be flat but the spigots that will be welded on do. The plan is exactly as you describe - some emery tape on a flat surface of some sort and a buttload of elbow grease. I've just tacked on the spigots today and will be getting them welded hopefully tomorrow. Expect more pics in the next 36 hours.

Sorry my replies are slow - I only get on my computer on the weekends.
 
#14 ·
you will love welding with stainless electrodes they just flow so nice they make amateur welders look like pros. Add a few more tacks before welding or the spigots will move, and wear safety glasses when you chip off the slag the slag off the stainless weld just pings off not good for the eyes, not telling you how to suck eggs just trying to add a little helpful advise from an old welder. I have been teaching my son to weld over the last year but it has been difficult as I can no longer hold the electrode holder as my Multiple Sclerosis is fuc**ng with me, he went to tafe doing a school based corse the teacher said wow you picked welding up quick you ever welded before, my son said nah so I had a word to the teacher he said I knew he had help good luck with your project can't wait for that dyno chart Craig
 
#15 ·
Looks like you're doing a fine job with what you've got to work with. Backyard ingenuity is the backbone of the modern world.


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#16 ·
Checking in again! Sorry for the long wait between posts. Doing charge piping now. Made from a single straight piece of 2 inch mild steel exhaust pipe. Will post more pics when fully welded and painted.

Hope these pics work. I think they are sideways for some reason.
 

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#17 ·
nice onion slices. i do that to make tight radius bends sometimes.
 
#18 ·
I only just realised theres a typo in the title of this thread. Its supposed to be "Turbocharging MY ninja on minimum wage". Oh well.

Here's my progress in chronological order since last time:

Here's how I flattened the spigot faces. This took a long time and a lot of elbow grease but it worked. 40grit emery tape. Also welded them studs into the T2 flange there.


Not pictured I also cut up some bolts and replaced the manifold studs that were in the head. The old ones were about 5mm too short.

Next I got this oil cooler coolant return hose mounted on the front. It used to be on the rear of the radiator but it was in the way of the turbo. Since it was aluminium I could not do this myself so I had it sent away. So far the only thing I've NEEDED someone else to do. It was free for me but it wouldnt cost any more than $50 for labor.


The radiator ended up hitting the turbo so it will have to sit about 10mm further forward than stock. I'm a little annoyed at that. The mud guard was hitting The radiator but I have trimmed the mudguard and all is well. Didn't get a pic of that for some reason.

I finally took the throttle bodies off which wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but was still a bit of a pain. I was super-duper stoked when I saw this:


Why am I happy about that? That right there is what I would call a "capped" style injector. It means there is a plate welded over the tip of the injector which reduces the flow. Remove that plate and you've got a higher flowing injector with factory fit. Here's a better pic:


I had some other unknown injectors lying around and I decided to decap them. Here's what it looks like after decapping, before and after:


Basically you gently grind away the plate until it peels off, uncovering the bare pintle beneath. You dont want to touch the pintle with your grinder.


This technique is popular in the Subaru and Chevy LS worlds. Here's an example of an injector you could not do this to, this is out of my car:


So I will do that to the ZX12 injectors and of course get them flow tested.

Lastly, after trimming the rear of the mudguard, I got to work trimming the front because I always hated how ugly the 02 ZX12 guard looked. There's just too much meat. Grinder time.

Before:


After, sanded and ready for primer:


And mounted:


I think it looks a lot better than the Goldwing style it was before.

Next big thing is oil feed and return. I've ordered some fittings from ebay and while I wait for them I might paint the manifold, turbine housing and intake piping. Black for stealth. Gotta figure out a fuel pressure regulator too.

If any turbo/nitrous guys are reading this I have a few questions: What are you doing with the PCV system? Just routing it from the valve cover through a filter and to atmosphere? Secondly, what's the word on fuel pumps? Whats everybody running? Is it just a standard car-sized in tank pump? Will a Walbro 255 work?

Peace.
 
#20 ·
I only just realised theres a typo in the title of this thread. Its supposed to be "Turbocharging MY ninja on minimum wage". Oh well.



Here's my progress in chronological order since last time:



Here's how I flattened the spigot faces. This took a long time and a lot of elbow grease but it worked. 40grit emery tape. Also welded them studs into the T2 flange there.





Not pictured I also cut up some bolts and replaced the manifold studs that were in the head. The old ones were about 5mm too short.



Next I got this oil cooler coolant return hose mounted on the front. It used to be on the rear of the radiator but it was in the way of the turbo. Since it was aluminium I could not do this myself so I had it sent away. So far the only thing I've NEEDED someone else to do. It was free for me but it wouldnt cost any more than $50 for labor.





The radiator ended up hitting the turbo so it will have to sit about 10mm further forward than stock. I'm a little annoyed at that. The mud guard was hitting The radiator but I have trimmed the mudguard and all is well. Didn't get a pic of that for some reason.



I finally took the throttle bodies off which wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but was still a bit of a pain. I was super-duper stoked when I saw this:





Why am I happy about that? That right there is what I would call a "capped" style injector. It means there is a plate welded over the tip of the injector which reduces the flow. Remove that plate and you've got a higher flowing injector with factory fit. Here's a better pic:





I had some other unknown injectors lying around and I decided to decap them. Here's what it looks like after decapping, before and after:





Basically you gently grind away the plate until it peels off, uncovering the bare pintle beneath. You dont want to touch the pintle with your grinder.





This technique is popular in the Subaru and Chevy LS worlds. Here's an example of an injector you could not do this to, this is out of my car:





So I will do that to the ZX12 injectors and of course get them flow tested.



Lastly, after trimming the rear of the mudguard, I got to work trimming the front because I always hated how ugly the 02 ZX12 guard looked. There's just too much meat. Grinder time.



Before:





After, sanded and ready for primer:





And mounted:





I think it looks a lot better than the Goldwing style it was before.



Next big thing is oil feed and return. I've ordered some fittings from ebay and while I wait for them I might paint the manifold, turbine housing and intake piping. Black for stealth. Gotta figure out a fuel pressure regulator too.



If any turbo/nitrous guys are reading this I have a few questions: What are you doing with the PCV system? Just routing it from the valve cover through a filter and to atmosphere? Secondly, what's the word on fuel pumps? Whats everybody running? Is it just a standard car-sized in tank pump? Will a Walbro 255 work?



Peace.






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#19 ·
Hi YoWattup, can't you use the keen air pump to give you a positive vacuum for PCV, I read somewhere others have done this not sure what is involved in this procedure. Also sooner then later you are going to need to get creative with your fuel filter as in your case the pressure filter is part of the pump housing and can't be changed/replaced do a search on here and add a v6 commodore FI filter under the tank it fits neat and easy and cheap to change , if you need to do any mods to your pump use good submersible pressure hose, ask me why you ned sub hose and I will tell you a story about sitting on the side of the road middle of summer taking the tank off a 12 because some dick didn't use the correct hose, in the first picture this is your pump filter housing the filter is in that black plastic housing, 2nd and 3rd are commodore FI pressure filter Craig
 

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#22 ·




These are pictures of my Walbro set up. Everything is in the tank and I used the stock electrical connectors.


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#24 · (Edited)
These are pictures of my Walbro set up. Everything is in the tank and I used the stock electrical connectors.
Cool. What model Walbro is it?

On with the update.

Finished the mudguard. Looks much better.



Drilled and tapped in the banjo bolt for the wastegate. Routed it around the turbo which I think hides the tube well.



WARNING! The following images may offend some people. Viewer discretion is advised.

The first part of the exhaust is done. 3 inch mild steel baby. It will be going into two 2 inch mufflers because its a street bike. In order to conform the 5 bolt flange to the 3 inch pipe I had to get a piece of 3.5 pipe and beat and cut the shit out of it lol. It's since been welded and all the holes and cuts filled.



Damn thats ugly, lol.

The silicon was not sealing to the airbox intakes at the the top and bottom of the oval parts. Solution: Hammer. Now it's more round than square-oval and it should seal. Needless to say I don't treat my vehicles like precious little flowers. I have an end goal and I need to get it done. Im not one of those old guys that's been "working" on his 69 Mustang 30 years. I want a goddamn turbo bike and I want it asap. However I'd still like to know how others have gotten their silicone to seal here.



Made my own oil drain flange for the turbo since all the ones I found were not to my liking. It looks ugly but for this setup it will work better than anything I couldve bought.


And I'll be using this old 7/8" handlebar as the drain. The idea behind such a large diameter drain is the the sheer volume of such a large pipe will act as a oil reservoir which are somewhat common on turbo bike builds. The idea behind an oil reservoir is that it lets excess oil produced under high rpm (that the drain wouldn't have the flow to return) pool up a little before it gets back to the sump. Hope that makes sense. Due to the positioning of the turbo and the sump return location, the angle of the oil drain is not ideal. It's more horizontal than vertical, so it'll need all the help it can get unless I run a scavenge pump which I dont want to do.


And an updated spreadsheet. Getting there.


I'll sign off with my favorite adage: If it looks stupid but it works, it aint stupid.
 
#23 ·
That is a different set up for pump to the 2002 onwards the later has the pressure regulator as part of the pump housing where the earlier models the regulator is on the injector rail, it seems like they went backwards with the later models, that white clip on the top R hand side is holding the regulator. I think You can still incorporate a hi volume pump into the later housing but not positive, you can still do something similar to what you did just need a tee piece in that hose and add the reg to the tee, hope everyone is totally confused now Craig
 

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#25 ·
My fuel pump is a Walbro GSS342. I used aircraft sealant in place of silicone on all parts of my airbox that needed sealed. It works way better. But I'm an aircraft mechanic and have access to it.


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#26 ·
dont use those wide clamps. the thinner ones work better
 
#27 ·
For the silicone? Im using 2x thin ones per coupling. Maybe I should just use one. Using some sikaflex sounds like a good idea too.

Also, I'd like to leave the current K&N air filters in the bike. Is there a particular way to seal them? Or just go nuts with some sikaflex?
 
#28 ·
Hi YoWwttup it looks like you favour the hammer in your tool box nothing wrong with that a little gentle tap here and there never hurt anyone, and one of my favourite sayings "if it can be fixed by a hammer the problem is electrical" it looks like you are developing new skills along with your build, it won't be long now the whether should start to warm and you will have a new weapon to welcome the sun and I'm enjoying your build looking good and Im learning a few things along the way Craig
 
#29 ·
"if it cant be fixed by a hammer the problem is electrical"
Hahahahaha. I've not heard that one. I like it.

I've had a closer look at the air filters and decided to leave them be - they have a pretty good seal on them and I think they would hold my goal of 7psi. If not - Sikaflex

A few small updates:


I took a look at the throttle body bolts in my side-quest to seal the airbox. These thingymajiggers are what the throttle bodies fasten onto and are underneath the airbox/frame on the outside. I welded these nuts so they are airtight around the base. I will put rubber washers between these and the airbox on the outside. Finally I will use thread sealant and IF nothing fails it will be airtight.


There are also these little rubber whatchmacallits that hold the thingymajiggers on, that go through the airbox. These should seal on their own as they will compress and the seal will get stronger the more pressure is applied from inside the airbox. No need to touch them hopefully. Finally, the big-ass hole from the PCV return was plugged with a spare M18 O2 sensor bung I had and some sikaflex. Sealed from the inside. Again - more psi will make for a stronger seal here.

Dump pipe painted. See, its not so bad now?


A few pics of the setup as of today. Black rules!






You can see here what I was talking about earlier regarding leaving the oil filter+cooler alone. Messing with cars and bikes I learnt early on: If you dont f*ck with it, it'll stay together.


And here's what I did to seal the other stock intake for the airbox. No BOV here. BOV's are just another thing to fail. A hammer was used on this side to reshape too.


Oh yeah, and some fuel system stuff. Since mine is an '02 model, it doesnt have the fuel return hose. But after inspecting the fuel rail I saw that used the same casting for this model, they just didnt machine the threads/hole for the return fitting. So I after some drilling and tapping, the standard feed fitting fits right on. This will allow me to fit an aftermarket boost referenced fuel pressure regulator.




Left is feed, right is new return.


I got a spare set of injectors so if i cocked up decapping them, I had spares. Fortunately they were supper easy to decap and I didnt screw any up!


You wouldnt know they werent stock with the rubber caps on. BTW does anyone know what these caps do?


I will get the modified injectors as well as the stock ones flow tested to see how much more they flow and how the spray pattern compares.

Thats all for now.
 
#30 ·
She's really starting to take shape and looking good. I do recommend you direct the exhaust away from the side of the oil pan for a couple reasons. The first one is always safety related. If you pop the motor or the seals go out on the turbo you're dumping oil straight out the exhaust on to the front of the rear tire. That never ends well. The other reason is heat. You're dumping that exhaust out right next your oil pan and although I really don't think you have to worry about melting aluminum, the aluminum transfers heat exceptionally well so you will be doing a heat transfer to the oil in the oil pan.


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#32 ·
I do recommend you direct the exhaust away from the side of the oil pan for a couple reasons.
Thanks for the words 2fat. I thought I mentioned this but maybe not lol! The exhaust is not finished - Ill be running it into 2x mufflers on the right hand side. The only reason I painted it now is so it doesnt rust in the meantime.

Why run mufflers and why 2 of them you ask? Because its going to be a fully legal street bike and I need to get it engineered, so it needs to be quiet. And Im using two mufflers because 1 doesnt flow enough.
 
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