Hello + some questions

Hello everyone,
My name is Patrick, I have been browsing on this site ever since I purchased my 99 RS nearly 8 months but have only recently joined. The car I bought was formerly Garrett Sturzl's RS-T (RallyNavvie, on this board I think) which I bought from a dealership in Bloomington (I live now in Ames, Iowa).

The car has been running pretty well since I have owned it and the turbo setup seems to be reliable. Also though, I have not really pushed it to the limits or abused it as it is my everyday transportation. I am thinking to replace the intake. Garrett had mentioned that I could get some sort of MAF replacement with much less vacuum hose plumbing because the blow off valve could now be vented to the atmosphere? Here are some pictures of the engine and current intake set up.









I hope these pictures upload...is there an easy way to post them?? So any recommendations on an intake replacement?? Will I need a new BOV setup?

Thanks,
Patrick

 

Guess the photos did not work..how do I insert them? THanks

 

You have to click on Manage Attachmenst which is in the Additional Options section, then upload the pics from there

 

Here are the pictures. I haves

 

Since the setup was probably tuned around the stock itake, I'd have to advise against changing it, aside of removing the snorkel, and a K&N drop in. Anything else could affect airflow across the MAF sensor and thus causing the system to go rich or lean. MAF sensors tend to be touchy to such changes. With a boosted N/A EJ25, I'd be as careful as possible.


My $.02

 

It's tuned conservative enough that the intake shouldn't effect too much, but it will tend to rich more often that way.

You're still planning on taking it in to the dyno to get it tuned, right? If so you should still get this down as close as you can before putting it on the dyno because you'll want it optimized for that new setup.

And welcome!!

 

Oh man and you totally need to get rid of that DIY boost controller. I forgot that thing was still hanging there.

 

Yes, once I get the intake worked out, hopefully some guages installed, and the head gaskets and clutch replaced I plan to have the car dynotuned by the end of the summer at RS motors.

A couple more questions:

1.What clutch setup is in there? What would you (Garrett) or others recommend. I basically just want something durable that has a little more performance than stock (as far as heat dissipation and grip).

2. At what point does the turbocharger need to be rebuilt? How do I know?

3. Can I put an STi head gasket kit on a 99? If so what is the part number and where should I look to buy them?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

-Patrick

 

Ames? All of my favorite restaurants are in Ames! Little Tapei rocks! And B-Bops! Go Cyclones!!!

Sorry for the off topic... But I love Ames. :roll:

 

That ACT Street clutch that's in there has lasted this long, I'd just put another one of those in. Remember that clutch has been in since mile 5000 on that car.

I don't think that turbo will need rebuilding for quite a while. If you take it off look for signs of crud buildup (coking) and see if the turbines still spin freely. I'm willing to bet the thing still looks new. The only thing that concerns me is the coolant it's slowly burning, that's probably not very good for the turbo. But I never had to add a drop of oil between changes so it certainly is still strong there.

The gasket kit for the 99 is a lot tougher than the one that was originally put in there. You'd have to talk to Brett or any of the others that work in parts or service for the specifics. The STi one won't work for several reasons, such as the STi being DOHC.

Hopefully the others will add some thoughts and offer some help. At least I thought that's what they were here for

 

Thanks for the info Garrett! I was wondering about the turbo rebuild/condition because the exhaust side of it looks heavily corroded from the outside and there is some strange noise around 5K rpm (with what I thought was the turbo but not sure 100%). The turbo does seem to be functionioning properly though and spooling up smoothly.

Speaking of corrosion, much of the turbo piping; from the engine exhaust header flange to the turbo (this is the up-pipe?) and from the turbo to the external exhaust (down-pipe?) and external wastegate loop is badly corroded (rusted through in some places). I think that the car has the Minnam turbo kit on there right?, is there somewhere where I can buy these sections only or were they custom made? I plan to put some exhaust repair tape on there until I can find the pieces or have them made :S.

 

I'm not sure about exhaust pieces for that kit. I always wondered why Mike put a stainless turbo-back exhaust on it but didn't do anything with the rest of the exhaust pieces to prevent that.

The noise you're hearing over 5k is probably a very slight ticking sound coming from the exhaust? It's too quiet to be engine knock. A mechanic friend of mine came to the conclusion that it's the sound of the cylinder firing so late since the timing is so far pulled at those revs (just to be safe).