Kraken T25 1.6 turbo kit & budget build
 

Hello all, been a lurker for a few months now after picking up my miata this passed summer. My buddy has been into miata's for a few years so I've caught the bug from him. Anyways I bought it with the intentions of bolting a turbo on within a year or so. I always had the intentions of keeping it a pretty moderate build aiming for around 150-180rwhp with the intentions of turning it up to 200-220 or so in another year or so when i get time to swap in a 1.8 diff and bigger EV14 injectors. My initial budget was $3000 to get the car up and running on a very basic and mild setup. I'm not looking to break any records or anything crazy, just looking to make my miata much more fun on my daily commute and some spirited driving.

I forgot to mention that the car is already running an MS2 that is being tuned by @18PSI for the tan top injectors.

For the turbo i decided to keep it simple and go with a s13 sr20 turbo that i picked up for $200 off the forums here. Has some shaft play and will likely need to be replaced in the future, however for the cost I couldn't argue since it came off a running and boosting miata. I will likely upgrade to a s14 2560 in the future. $200

The intercooler is simply a 1.6 CX racing intercooler kit. Nothing special here but it works and fits easily. Was just looking for a bolt on solution ~$350

My temporary solution for injectors due to funds was simply 1.8 tan tops. I will likely run 7psi and keep it there until i upgrade these to FF or something similar in the future. $100

As for the clutch i'll be running 949 sport 4 puck sprung clutch with an ebay lightened flywheel that I picked up off a Miata facebook group brand new never used for a bit of a discount than new. Wanted to go with a Fidanze flywheel however I was really trying to stay within the 3k budget i set myself. $385+500 install. $100 for the slave and master and rear main done at the same time.

So after a bit of research and some good luck on timing, Kraken released a full kit hot side kit for a price that is hard to beat. This was right up my alley as it included the manifold, downpipe, full 3" exhaust, oil and water fittings and lines and the quality of the work looked quite nice. . I haven't had the time to fully unbox everything however I will be going into more detail on the entire install of this kit for others to see. They post a plethora of pictures on their facebook and are very good at communicating through out the entire process. The parts took longer to come than initially expected however Michael of Kraken kept me in the loop the entire time they were building the parts and once everything was completed and shipped it came in literally 2 days.. From England to NY in 2 days VIA DHL. $1100

Here's some quick snaps I took of the package when it came. I will be doing a more proper unboxing video on my Youtube channel and will be videoing the build process for my youtube as well. I'll share anything to do with it in this thread as well as i've always wanted to tackle a project like this.





Oh and a pic of my Miata. 1990 currently Plastidipped due to the Maaco paint job going dull.

My kit, but for a 1.8, should arrive today or tomorrow depending on how Cincinnati's Customs treat me. Are you using any specific drill bit to widen the turbo flange to fit the exhaust manifold? I think the turbo is m8x1.25 while the exhaust manifold stud's are m10x1.25

Kraken did give me the option of m8 or m10, however i went m10. I forgot i would have had to drill open the turbo bits however that wouldn't of been a large concern for me as my father owns a business with a machine shop attached. However I just checked my turbo and it seems the previous owner already drilled open the holes for m10 and I simply got lucky. If drilling them out scares you I would just bring it to a local machine shop and they'll have it done in no time. The things i'd do for a drill press.. Or a lathe.

Is there any particular reason you guys went for the M10's? Just for more bite so the turbo was more likely to stay put due to the additional clamping force with the motor moving around and the regular miata vibrations?

Never realized photobucket has become a corporate money grabbing nightmare, swapped out the pictures so they actually work now. sorry about that!

You are right about the clamping force, however i mostly wanted m10 so when i do upgrade/remove the turbo, the studs are less likely to snap and break and cause a headache.

Oh, I didn't get the option for m8x1.25 not that I mind.

Looking forward to finishing the tune on this with b00st :likecat:

Yeah, I was going back and forth between that. Still unsure what I'm going to end up doing.

Looking forward to the OP's build!

I saw that he mentioned it on their FB and I messaged asking about it out of curiosity. Standard is m10 for good reason however.

You and me both! If only i could figure out this stupid Kia VTPS wiring.

Me too! I'm hoping to have the clutch installed next week and then i'll begin the tear down process. I don't have many days off so it will likely take at least a week working on it for a couple hours each day.

Awesome! Good luck. Fitting everything in when you're busy can be rough. I'm actually nervous about finishing things in the timeline that I'm hoping for to be totally honest.
I think I might just go for the M10 as well. I can drill out the turbo flange. I'm sure the turbo can be used with M8 in the future with a washer so there's little downside to doing this!

I started breaking down the car today since I had most of the day off... May throw off the clutch install a bit but my mechanic seems a bit busy so it works for now. I'll have to baby it on the stock clutch as it already likes to slip sometimes when it gets a bit hot.

I always thought it was funny when everyone said the worst part of the install is getting the front bumper off.. I know now that they are not kidding. Whatever insane person decided that philips head screws were right to use in the amount and positions that they did needs to be beaten bloody.

Anyway after the hours spent removing the front bumper, My friend and I managed to get the CX intercooler mounted up and the cold side ran quite easily. The Cx racing kit definitely a pain in the ass to figure out with no instructions, however we managed to get it securely enough in place after playing around with it. Since my car has AC it was a bit more difficult to get it sitting decently however with some bending of the provided brackets it wasn't too bad. The quality is about what i expected but will be fine for my application. I'm still debating on how to run my hotside intercooler piping. I'm leaning towards going through the fender as it's just simpler with AC and no coolant reroute on my car.

I then moved on to tackling the exhaust. I provided a picture of the small amount of tools i needed to get the entire exhaust off.. I forgot the penetrating oil which was soaked on every bolt before i even started the front bumper removal. Everything came off pretty easily considering it looks like it hasn't been removed since the car was made.

Once i got the entire exhaust off including the headers i simply slapped on the Kraken turbo manifold and loosely held the turbo up to it while i figured out which way I'm going to clock it. The kraken manifold+the s13 SR turbo can't have the compressor outlet facing down like i originally planned so for now it's clocked towards the fender.

Next time i get a good chunk of time to work on the car I'm planning on tapping the intercooler piping for the GM IAT sensor, hanging the 3" kraken Exhaust and actually torquing down the turbo manifold. Perhaps i'll commit to going through the fender with the IC piping but i'm still trying to weigh my options. I think i'm sh!t out of luck with any other options besides getting a coolant reroute which I don't care to do right now(i understand the benefits).

Got another chunk of work done. Not as much as I wanted to but after buggering some threads and needed to run around to find some thread chasers I managed to install the studs into the manifold, get the manifold installed and torqued down, the turbo installed and torqued down, and the IAT sensor installed and the cold side of the IC piping tightened up.

PRO TIP for the Kraken manifold. Get ALL the nuts on the manifold hand tight before you snug any up even remotely. It's a very tight fit for the center bolts, you'll see what i mean. be VERY careful when getting the ones ones to the let and right of the bottom center stud, if they catch the manifold at all you WILL bugger up some threads by accident without even realizing.

PRO TIP 2, When installed the turbo keep the compressor housing off otherwise you will NOT be able to get to the turbo nuts. Ask me how i found this out!

Other than that, Everything provided in the Kraken kit is very high quality and so far the fit and finish is fantastic. I've hung the exhaust underneath but everything is loose right now until i get the downpipe on and all that.

Hoping to finish this up by this weekend if i get the chance, I'm currently waiting on some more intercooler piping since i've decided against going through my fender for the hot side.

For the record, I've never installed anything to this capacity on a car before but have been wrenching my entire life on dirtbikes, motorcycles, and doing coil overs and other basic car things. It's a learning process so everything takes me longer than someone who has done it before but it is entirely possible if you research and are prepared for headaches.

Sorry for the lack of updates, been busy with work. I have the car finished up and running, all of the kraken parts really fit nicely and i can't find anything to complain about. You do NEED to put the DP on the turbo at least loosely before putting the turbo on the manifold. Otherwise it will hit the shelf and be generally impossible to fit on.

Anyway, i've been fighting some boost leaks and what i feel is slow spool. The car will build 2-3lbs until around 5000RPM which is when it finally hits 7psi. I can't find any dyno charts or anything on 1.6 as far 've looked around so someone please chime in on this.

At 7psi, the tan top injector are running out of fuel on my car. Stock fuel pump as far as i'm aware and the duty cycle is hitting 117% if i push it. I've been babying the car and waiting for my Flow Force 640cc's to come in. 18PSI will work his magic on the tune and it should drive better than every. I should have gone for EV14 bigger injectors to start, LEARN FROM ME!

I'm also still running the stock clutch as i'm awaiting my mechanic to free up some time to fit me in. Hopefully next week it will get taken care of and in a week or so of my normal commute should have the clutch broken in. The stock clutch will definitely slip if i bang gears too hard or if i put a lot of load in 4th or 5th gear- no surprise i could get it to slip on the stock 1.6 haha.

No pictures this round but i will get some more once i finalize my intercooler piping routing, right now it's pretty ugly just to get the car up and running. Need a welder to make a wastegate bracket to make things fit how i would like.

I'm also still looking for a solution for the stock heater core return line. Right now i just have a license plate jammed between the rubber line and the downpipe to keep the line from burning. I have a Hawley Performance coolant reroute that will get put on in the spring as I cannot take anymore bloody knuckles until it's at least warm out in my garage.

How are the coolant and oil lines that came in the kraken kit? Did you get fittings from him too?

The coolant lines are regular hoses, nothing special. The oil line feels really well made but they are m12x1.5 fittings and not the normal -4an. He provides all the oil and water lines though so this isn't an issue for most people.

Despite being rubber hoses they're pretty great quality compared to anything you would get at a general auto parts store. Nice thick rubber that is very difficult to get over the thermostat nipples. The oil drain was similarly quality rubber. All was more thani needed by a couple inches, which let me route it somewhat nicely. I'll grab some more detailed pics of the setup soon.

I put the new FF640 injectors in today. can't wait to see what it's like without fuel cut. Also borrowed my buddies MBC so i can see if the lazy wastegate can be tricked to see if that's the issue. Still waiting on that borrowed welder.

If you are thinking about getting Kraken's kit, I do highly reccomend it based off of fitment and how the welds look. I'm no welding expert but they are visually apealing so that must mean for something.

Grabbed a quick pic while i was trying to figure out some better IC piping routing. Can't do much unfortunately as i can't get enough clearance in any other direction with this turbo. If only the compressor housing outlet was in the opposite direction. Oh well it works for now! The Manual boost controller fixed the lazy wastegate spring and it finally hit 7PSI around 3500 or so instead of 5k+rpm.

Definitely not the nicest engine bay, but i'm working on getting new heater core hoses so i can finally bend the return hard line so i can remove that license plate.. er the custom heat shield i made!

7psi at 3500 on a sr20 turbo is very late, I hit double that on a 2560 s14 by 3500rpm.

something's not right

You forget he's on a 1.6

where is the air filter?

Yeah on a short nose 1.6 as stated above. Seems to be about normal for what i've seen dyno wise online. May eventually upgrade to a GT25R but for now the journal bearing has me happy.

BTW 18PSI, my stock clutch is slipped pretty bad so i've been waiting on that to get installed before getting some logs and auto tuning. I drop the car off on friday hoping to have it back next week. Will get back to you soon!

I'm still trying to decide if i want to send the IC piping through the fender to clean up the engine bay a bunch. I really would like to just slap the air filter on the front of the turbo and call it a day instead of the crazy routing i have now.

The air filter wasn't attached in the picture. I'm using a UNI dual foam air filter from that just slaps on the end of the intake tube that sits underneath the hot side IC piping off the turbo. It sits above the coil over basically.

Great stuff. I'm looking to order a kit soon for my MSM. How was the downpipe fitment? any pics? and did you have to hammer any of the lip (behind the turbo by the brake booster) to fit the downpipe or did the forward placement help with this. Thank you.

Subbing to this thread bc i have the same kit.
Im assuming you got the banjo bolts for the water in/out, did you put copper washers or any sealant on them at all?

Have been super busy with work and haven't been able to do much to do the car. Have been driving it and auto tuning it and it's driving very nicely. I turned it up to 10lbs and it feels great. I still need to install my coolant reroute and bend the hard water line thats hitting the DP but my license plate fix is still working funny enough.

The DP fitment is quite good. There's a few MM of room between the rear shelf and the DP without any cutting. You do need to at least slide the DP onto the turbo before bolting the turbo to the manifold otherwise it won't fit on with everything blocking its way. I'll try to grab some pictures later.

Yeah, i got the full kit. I used some copper washers I picked up from autozone and they work great, no leaks.

Here are some pics like you asked.

Oh that must be an early kit before he had the cast turbine outlet. Much more room with the new setups.

Yeah I hopped on the waiting line before anything was really released besides a few test releases. Doesnt matter to me really the fitment is still good enough as is. I don't plan on doing much else to the car really besides maybe having the turbo rebuilt/replacing it when the time comes. It's a fun daily that will probably become a beater thrash car at some point. It's not clean enough for me to want to build the chassis properly, and that is why it was a budget oriented fun daily 1.6.

Oh not knockin it at all, i just didnt know there were setups that werent cast. It works! Its fun! Hit full boost for me :)

Oh she hits boost nicely all right! still dialing in the tune a bit but the cars a blast at 10psi out of this baby little turbo.

It started breaking up yesterday after having no issues since the new plugs. I was autotuning at the time but the AFR's were right around 11.8-12 in full boost. So i checked the plugs again and regapped them to see if it clears up.

I'll see if i cant get my buddy to get a video of some pulls i'll be making.. In mexico for datalogs that is!

Now that the weather is finally warming up I'm hoping to tackle the coolant reroute and some minor things before taking it to some autocross this spring and summer.

My main head ache right now is that the car aligns like doody and it won't hold the alignment. I have new alignment bolts on the shelf but haven't had the down time to swap them out.

Another small update. Have been fine tuning the car and going over it with a fine tooth comb now that the weather is pleasant again. I've installed a hawley performance coolant reroute with 180 deg thermostat, found a few wires with sh!tty connections(you were right vlad!), threw in a 190HP fuel pump(was around 80% duty cycle with this turbo and injectors at 10PSI) and am in the process of installing a hard dog roll bar.

trying to get it ready for autox this sunday!

Post some sweet vids of your autocross!

Sorry for the complete and utter lack of updates. Have been dialing in a number of things on the car over the passed few months and just recently finished up putting on a larger turbo along with the timing belt/waterpump and deleting the AC. The turbo i was using prior was a well used one that had a well worn wastegate actuator spring and waay too much wastegate shaft end play. The thing rattled like crazy despite still making good boost so it needed to go. Wanted to go for a BB 2560 but cant spare the cash with all my money being tied up in a house right now so i went for a larger t25 from twistedtuning in vegas. It's basically the same turbo core with a bigger compressor wheel and a larger exhaust housing. Laggier, but more head room and more of the sort of power delivery i was looking for anyway.

Still trying to dial things in so i'm only running around 6psi right now but it already feels faster than 10psi on the smaller turbo.

Go any spool data for old and new?

I'm on the "on ramp" for a Kraken 1.6 and have been eyeballing a brand new 2554 but was considering 2560 first but was advised that the larger would not give as good driving experience with the wee 1.6 airflow.
I'd be interested in seeing the spool difference.

I'm still working on improving the spool. Have been playing with wastegate actuator springs as well as my MBC but i've gotten as much as 5-6lbs at 4k rpm in 4th/5th gear but I have been logging and will get you some updated logs and post them up!

I could see this turbo being difficult to work with in an autox environment since it is definitely a bit laggy(4.5k- rev limiter kind of power), but for a street car its REALLY fun!

Hey, sorry i haven't forgot but i've been trying to make a WG actuator bracket that works and have been trying to dial in the boost. I now have it set around 6-7psi but probably will turn it up a bit.

I need to emphasize that the main problem with my old turbo setup was that the wastegate actuator was an original sr20 one welded to a bracket that worked perfect in the position i happened to need it clocked in from the previous owner. It was convenient so i used it and it must have had 200k miles on it(turbo also burned oil) and the spring was ridiculously lazy, even with a MBC.

The new turbo actually spools a couple hundred RPM sooner it seems now that i'm getting it dialed in a bit more. 1.6 is hilariously disappointing but its a fun daily with this turbo as it gets much better gas mileage and has much more scoot when its actually in boost.


Vlad if you happen to check the log if you pop in here, LMK if anything looks wonky please! Have been so busy havent been able to get many logs.

It's great to see a post of the exact same setup I'm going to be running except for my 420cc RX8 injectors and a DIYPNP. I'm hoping to find someone who can tune decently in the panhandle Florida area.

Yes, 37/64 drill bit, 3/8 NPT tap. Just followed the FM turbo install manual. Did mine this last week, and turned out great!

Subbed to this, I've been following a few Kraken builds and the quality just seems top-notch.

Funny enough i discovered an issue with the turbo i had been using. I spoke too soon and the spool on the turbo went to Sh1t overnight. Basically, the sleeve that holds the wastegate arm came loose and the wastegate no longer over the port entirely so it can't build boost until 5500RPM. So i decided to finally rebuild my SR20 t25 and throw that back on in the mean time since I didn't feel like screwing around with that.

It's pretty fun at 12-13 pounds since it spools so fast in comparison to the other turbo i was running. Probably will keep it this way for a while as it's a lot more lively overall.

My buddies taking his 1.8 build to the dyno soon so i'm tempted to bring mine in on some dyno time to see what it's making.

I'm still diagnosing a sporadically slipping clutch. I'm guessing oil is getting in there somehow as it's not consistent but it will slip once in a while randomly and then grab just fine immediately afterwards. the 949 clutch shouldn't be slipping at my power levels.

hey irollgen4s, what did you do for the heater core hoses? i have the kraken kit with an ISR t25 and the Vband from the elbow to the downpipe touches and is slowly melting the hose away. no serious damage yet but the surface of the hose is starting to get smooth and shiny and I don't want to blow that thing randomly one day.

Go read the FM turbo kit install manual. It helps a lot. But onenof their instructions is to take the hard pipe that runs under the manifold and bend the end of it as far up and back as you can. I have almost an inch and a half clearance now doing that on the car with everything installed. With the engine out in the future I can likely get even more.

^ exactly what he said. I shoved a 3/8th extension inside the hardline and slowly worked it over until it was out of immediate burn range. Has been fine for the passed few thousand miles with an 1.5-2 inch gap or so. I do suggest some sort of heat shield for the brake situation right next to the turbo and DP just to make sure you stop when you want to.

I've been terrible at updates or getting any footage, i've been super busy with work and i've recently bought a house that is mid renovation and have been dealing with that in my free time. The car is my daily and has been completely fine, i nut and bolt check the manifold nuts and the DP bolts every so often but they're usually only a tad loose at the worst. I'm running 195KPA currently on the SR t25 and it's been fun! still diagnosing oil leaks.. I feel like they never stop on this engine.

I've replaced every seal on the engine sub the oil pan and it still looks like its leaking pretty badly from the intake cam seal. Oh well i've just attributed to cranking the boost up and swapping in another 1.6 or maybe even a 1.8 if i find another daily sometime soon.

Might not hurt to get some silicone tubing (with same ID as the hose's OD) and split it down the middle, and clamp it over your hoses.

Small update. Bought a nice boring reliable daily so the miata has become a toy. Since becoming a toy it has experienced a new style of driving that it never has before and it has been bulletproof. Lots of rev limiter and tire spin and fun happy times. I'm running the sr t25 around 14PSI and its a blast.

Now for the real fun, I bought a spare 92 long nose 1.6 that i was initially planning on just robbing the head, but after disassembly the 200K head, block and bearing actually look AMAZING compared to my 111k short nose 1.6(that has been boosted possible most of it life based off supercharger stickers under the hood).

So the new plan has already gone into effect, I'm doing a rods only build just to give myself a small amount more of head room, stock pistons, re ring the pistons, refresh the head(maybe throw some 264's in it?) and re gasket the entire thing. Initially i'm going to run it on that bigger ebay turbo that i have sitting on my shelf but ideally i want to grab a 2560 to give myself just that bit more over my t25 right now as the t28/ebay turbo is pretty laggy with the .86 hot side.

Shout out to all the 1.8 guys that will be yelling at me! Sorry for liking 1.6's and their mediocrity!

I am going the same rout on my build. I have what looks like a low miles short nose short block in amazing shape but with a bent #3 rod (bet it was boosted). I have picked up 2 long blocks, a short block, and a whole running 91 automatic for a total of $175. $240 set of Maxpeeding rods ("taking leaps into your engine!") And a couple hundred in gaskets and such and I should be set.

What turbo do you plan on running when all is said and done? I'm really leaning towards getting myself a proper 2560 since i really love the quick spool on my t25 but obviously it is tapped out at 14psi; but i think a 2560 will ultimately limit me. I'm unsure of how laggy a 2871 will be even with a .64 exhaust housing. the .86 hotside on my "t28" ebay turbo hits hard but the transient response really leaves a lot to be desired.

A limiting factor of mine that I realized after the fact is the FF640's, but i never really plan on running e85 and am aiming for around 250 wheel realistically to preserve my 5 speed.

Have been slowly ordering parts to get things off the ground but will be a while before everything is done. I'm working on getting the short block assembled and then i'll be sending the head off to the machine shop to be refreshed.

I have the TD04 manifold, so I am using a totally different set of turbos. The 2560 is probably right for you. I am currently running a TD04L-13T off a 2006 WRX (got one with only 20k miles on it). Long term, I plan to do the 19T upgrade which should flow enough air to make around 280 to the wheels. The 13T is going to tap out around 220-230.

I see that makes sense. I debated going with a TD04 setup but ultimately decided against it after weighing out options.

I bolted on the "bigger" ebay 2560 turbo. I fixed the wastegate issue with a couple tacks and it actually isn't very laggy at all. The power really hits around 4k RPM but i see a couple pounds of boost below that and the power delivery is very linear. I have it running 15PSi right now and the engine has been fine... Besides the fact that its blowing oil from every seal on the block at this point LOL.

I finally got some time to start putting together the spare 1.6 engine i bought. After teardown I learned it was recently rebuild,(ring gap was .15 top .014 second ring) and all of the bearings look fantastic with good cross hatching. It was also .020 over with new OEM pistons(for lack of better words). So i decided it's getting a set of ebay rods, a dingleberry hone and fresh rod bearings and have been working on finishing that up. I got the head completely refreshed at a machine shop and will be using ARP head studs.

I ended up setting the new rings to .018 top and .020 on the bottom after a lot of reading and speculation. I figured this was more than good enough for ~300whp without being to extreme. Please let me know if anyone feels otherwise so i can tear it apart again LOL.

I have 1.8L diy kit with kraken t2 manifold to downpipe kit，isr sr20 replacement turbo，cxr intercooler piping，fab9 tuning st2 intercooler，flowforce 650cc injector，mspnp2.

I'm guessing you aren't from Kentucky.

Have been chipping away at the engine build. Head is on and torqued and so are the new rod bolts and I have the intake manifold fitted loosely and am waiting on the oil pan from the engine in my car otherwise its nearly ready. got a 1.8 water pump by accident so have been waiting on that and a few gaskets. Hoping to get most of it done this weekend and perhaps start taking apart the car to rob some pieces off the other engine.

Everything is up and running on the "new" rods engine. Around ~250 miles on the engine and all seems well. Have been running it around 9psi for break in but havent been running it too hard. No significant amount of metal or anything concerning so far but really waiting for the clutch to get some more miles before i push it very hard. The main reason i decided to swap and rebuild was because the old engine was leaking oil from everywhere and it ate up the 5,000 mile old 949 clutch with it slipping constantly.

The ebay turbo appears to spool more quickly on the new engine. I'm still running stock pistons and the head has been skimmed and fully refreshed so i assume around 9.5:1 or so for the compression ratio. Like i said i haven't pushed it hard yet but will get logs once i do.

The tune required a lot more fuel compared to my old engine as well, i'm guessing the old head had some leak down or something along those lines as this one feels peppier everywhere.

UPDATE:

1.6 went boom. Not surprisingly considering it ate a compressor wheel and ran for a couple thousand miles after with a noticeable increase in oil consumption. down to 80PSI on cyl 1 and enough blow by to set the damn car on fire.

The good news, i FINALLY went 1.8. Swapped in a 96 60K miles 1.8 that i didn't bother opening up. Went for another Kraken manifold(had it to me in 2 days from Bulgaria!) that fits decently well with my current downpipe and exhaust setup. needed some massaging on the steering shaft but nothing major.

I also had a tuner go over the car. He found that the Map sensor in my MS2PNP was bad, which i've sinced had fixed and I just had him retune it yesterday. I'm still running the Shitty 949/supermiata 1.6 clutch that won't hold ANYTHING over 200Ft/lbs so i'm running a 7psi actuator right now. It makes 196hp/175tq at the wheels on the 7 pounds at about 18 degrees of timing. at 10 pounds it makes 215hp/200tq at the wheels but the clutch gives up the ghost in the midrange at peak torque.

the 1.8 overall feels better in literally every way. I HIGHLY recommended going 1.8 first instead of wasting time to turbocharge the 1.6. I now entirely understand the entire forums hate of the 1.6 and will continue to push that myself. That being said after having my butt dyno calibrated for 200hp, i believe i was making around 250wheel on my 1.6 when running the ebay 2560 with the ,86 exhaust housing. It ripped hard as hell but was far too laggy for anything other than roll racing.

Still working on getting a FM or ACT clutch in the car so i can run it around 220 wheel until i have the funds to build my block and throw on a 99 head in the spring if its in the card. I'm just happy to have my play car back.

We need pics of the 1.8 swap!

I don't have any at the moment but will have to get some! I have a video of the final 7psi pull and potentially a 10psi pull from last time on the rollers.

My main issue at the moment is that my Aem x series is reading quite a bit different than the Dyno wideband. at WOT my wideband is reading about a flat 11, versus the dyno wideband reading a steady 12.2.. for this reason the entire VE table is on the rich side to make sure it's safe. I'm going to replace the entire unit to eliminate the chance of the gauge or sensor being bad as I'm really sick of having issues at this point. it was a brand new gauge and sensor when i first went MS2 but i believe some downpipe rattles on the steering shaft may have porked the wideband sensor.