| UPDATED!!! New setup completed and rocking. 11/06 |
|---|
got this car.. and since then some of you have watched me build it up into what it is today.
Something to brag about? Not really. There are faster, better looking, cheaper, and more
reliable cars out there. But I wouldn't trade this car for anything.
So here's the new setup, pretty much re-did the car from top to bottom. I have to say, I
have never driven a car as rewarding as this one. The new setup is lighter, stronger, more
tunable, more solid, more reliable, and faster than ever before.
I would like to thank all my friends and family for their endless help and support in putting
this car together. Every part of this car is something that we built: no company sponser
stuff here. Just a lot of hard work and the willingness to dive into new areas that we know
nothing about. There is no rule book for putting these cars together, so we try all kinds of
stuff and never worry about being wrong or looking back. Most of all, we don't care what
anyone else thinks. Ahh, freedom.
to match the combustion chamber, while adding strength to the ring lands and stock
valve relief area. Compression is 8.5:1. Standard crower rods swing off a 2002 crank in
a 2001 block. I put the bottom end together with the very tightest clearances allowable.
A 99+ lower girdle ties the mains in with the bottom of the block. Careful work on the
crank, block, oil pickup, and oil pump ensure maximum oil flow. I had a custom sized
Copper head gasket with an oil restrictor made to fit between the o-ringed block and
resurfaced head. The head is a JG Turbo head, soon to be replaced with a custom ported
ordeal. The valvetrain is completely stock. The biggest change to the top end are a set
of my own custom cams. We have tested for the last year several different designs to
come up with these. The rev limiter is set at 8450rpm.
the cooling systems. An oil cooler also resides in the front bumper. The intercooler is a
3.5” thick core, and the radiator is 2 5/8” thick. The placement of the intercooler inlet and
outlet allow for the shortest possible piping. The 3” cold piping leads to a 3” throttle
body. I spent the last year developing a custom intake manifold for maximum power. This
one off unit uses very short runners and each manifold is tuned for equal flow and a
maximum flow capacity roughly 3.15 times that of a stock manifold. It also drastically
reduces weight off the back of the engine, and opens up the engine compartment quite a
bit. A custom equal length turbo manifold by Alpha Tuning locates a custom Innovative
Turbo and a 38mm Tial wastegate. A 3” downpipe and magnaflow muffler allow exhaust
gasses to exit. A Turbosmart Blow off valve releases excess boost pressure between
shifts.
lightweight flywheel and an ACT 6 puck clutch. Shift speeds are 36mph out of first, 68mph
out of second, 108mph out of third, and fourth will bury that speedo past 135mph. ABS
axles drive factory 01 SC2 Alloy wheels wrapped with Falken Azenis 205/50/15 tires.
The car handles incredibly with Carrera coilovers all the way around with uprated springs
and stiffer dampeners. The ride height is adjustable and currently sits about 3.8 inches
lower than factory. A manual steering rack was fitted to further reduce weight.
power delivery, thanks to the qksl2 intake manifold, qksl2 cams, Alpha Tuning turbo
manifold, and Innovative turbo is just incredible. The engine has gobs of n/a torque down
low for a four cylinder… feeling at least 15% stronger than a factory vehicle from 1000rpm
on up. Throttle response is stupid quick. Boost builds in the midrange and just rips on
top. It will smack into the rev limiter with serious authority and no sign of power dropping
off. The target boost is about 18psi on 91 octane for a street tune, and with just 12psi, we
were seeing north of 285whp. The Tec II stand alone has been the biggest upgrade,
costing less than a good set of tires but offering as much performance as I can tune into it.
Look for some higher boost numbers soon…
UPDATE: 388whp
For Videos, please check out the MEDIA section of the website!
-Custom QKSL2 spec CP Pistons 8.5:1
-Crower Rods
-2002 Micropolished Crank
-Balanced and Blueprinted
-2001 Block
-1999+ Main Girdle
-Clevite Mains (180* thrust)
-JG Turbo Head
-Rebuilt Hydrolic Lifters
-Factory Valvetrain
-QKSL2 Full Race Cams
-QKSL2 Full Race Intake Manifold
-QKSL2 Full Race 3" Throttle Body
-Alpha Tuning Turbo Manifold
-Custom Innovative Turbo
-TiAl 38mm Wastegate
-3" Downpipe, Flexpipe, Magnaflow RACE Muffler
-Turbosmart BOV
- 2" Hot/3" Cold Intercooler piping
-QKSL2 Full Race Radiator/Intercooler Setup
-Custom Oil Cooler
-Electromotive Tec II Stand Alone
-Factory Saturn Sensors
-Some sort of nerd ass laptop which sucks my balls
-780cc injectors
-Custom Fuel Rail
-Walboro 255lph High Pressure fuel pump
-Autometer Boost, Oil Pressure, Coolant Temp, EGT Gauges
-AEM Wideband Gauge
-Carrera SS Coilovers
-ABS Axles 4 wheel disks
-Manual Steering
-Falken Azenis 205/50/15
-Factory SC2 Alloys
-Apex AVC-R Alloys
-ACT 6 Puck Clutch
-Fidanza flywheel
-MP2 Trans w/ welded diff pin
-Other Stuff I probably forgot.
Welcome to the heart and soul of my website. This is my car, with all the blood, sweat,
and tears that I've ever dedicated to a project. Starting out as a lowly 1993 SL2
Automatic, I have worked over the last 6 years to transform it into what it is today. And
what is that? Read on...
importantly, I need to give credit to my family; who never agreed, but always supported my cause,
my good friends who dirtied their hands on my irrational project, and everyone else who've helped
me along the way. You know, it's funny to look back when I started this. I didn't even know what I
was getting into, or what I was doing. When I started, I thought basic hand tools consisted of a
hammer and screwdriver. I did a transmission swap before knowing how to drive a stick. But
through all the trouble, all the mistakes, and all the fun I've had with this car, I wouldn't have done
it any other way. So thanks, everyone.
immediately, the exhaust settles down in to a low burble, and the transmission easily slides into
gear. A bit of chatter as the ACT 6 puck engages opens up the car down the road. Boost comes up
in the mid 2000 rpm range, pulls smoothly through the midrange, but really hits hard up top. The
motor is flexible and strong, and has been very reliable thus far. I run 12-18 psi of boost, but will
run more when I get this new engine management. It's a car I drive everyday... to the store, to
get my hair cut, to school, and the like. It's a little extreme, but I like it. When I'm old and almost
dead, I'll get something dull. For now, live it up!
controlled by 17mm struts with custom valving and high rate springs are fully ride height
adjustable. Disk brakes all the way around, along with Titanium metal pads, factory 15" 02 SC2
alloys, and Falken Azenis tires round out the chassis modifications. 1.25" H and R re-stud
spacers help push the rear tires out where they belong. Plans include front and rear strut bars, a
lower cradle brace, a bigger rear sway bar, and some track wheels/tires.
and JE pistons/rings. The manifold is a custom one-off equal length SS header. Currently, an XS
Engineering T3/T04E Stage III/50 provides the boost. 2.25/2.5" intercooler piping carries air
through the front mount intercooler, to the ported throttle body and intake manifold. Exhaust exits
through a Magnaflow RACE series muffler/Hi flow catalytic converter (proudly), and dumps out the
side before the right rear wheel. Engine management consists of an MS unit stand alone fuel
management system, built and developed by the Turbosaturns.net group. This runs 720cc
primaries, and dual 480cc extra injectors. Spark is provided by an MSD DIS-2, MSD wires, and NGK
plugs. Power is put down through an ACT 6 puck clutch, MP2 tranny, ABS axles, and Falken Tires.
The car is currently tuned to 305 wheel HP.
