boostedka's Turbo 3RZ Tacoma

i dont believe the pan has to be removed. Rear main looks to be just that small bit of housing holding the seal around the rear of the crankshaft where the flywheel bolts up.

 

Exactly...it's the 6 bolts holding it to the back of the block plus 2 of the oil pan bolts holding it to the pan. The hard part is cleaning all the old gasket material off that small section of the oil pan in a tight space.

I always get nervous doing that kind of stuff that the new gasket is going to leak. I used right stuff on the pan part and Red RTV on the block side. Hopefully it'll be all good.

 

Got everything all buttoned up last Night. I had to notch out the cab metal around the shifter to access the mounting bolts now that the URD spacer lifted it up about 1.5". Drove it tonight and everything seemed all good. Clutch pedal pushes in much easier now that everything is freshly lubed. It shifts completely different now. With short shift kit and new bushing. Much smoother and significantly shorter. It clutches and shifts like my wife's integra now. Pretty fun!

 

How much boost ya running these days?

 

8psi still. No boost controller, just the WG spring. From what I've read, that's pretty close to the limit by using the stock ECU, Walboro pump and pink top injectors. Maybe could get 1-2 more psi. It seems to have plenty of power for what I've been using it for so I'll leave it as is for now. Hopefully later when I have more time to get a Map3 or FIC set up, I'll do more fine tuning get more out of it.

 

Do you have an afr gauge? I can't recommend the fic enough, at least on a 3.4. I keep bumping my boost up and it's holding together so far but with a manual controller I'm getting spiking at 1.5 psi over where it eventually settles so if you plan to run it towards the ceiling I'd recommend an electric controller as well.

I'm going to work on e85 tune over break. I'm pulling 13 degrees of timing at full boost, 10-11 psi, and my ecu is pulling about 20 so I think there's a ton of power to be made.

 

Nice! That must be making some pretty good power on a 5vz! I've been reading about both tuners and I have been leaning towards the FIC. It's just a matter of having the time to mess with the install and tuning...Maybe during the summer. Are you able to set up multiple different maps? So that you can have a pump gas, race gas, E85, etc.?

I'm currently using an AEM AFR gauge. Seems to work pretty well. I'll get mid 12's at 4-5psi and down to low 11's to high 10's at full boost. I haven't heard an audible pinging at any boost level which was something I heard regularly on my S/C 5vz I had before this truck. I'd be interested to so what you can do with the E85 setup. Cooler temps should allow for a decent amount of boost increase.

 

Yeah you can have 2 maps between a switch but realistically you can also just bring a laptop and have access to any map or the ability to tune on the fly.

Power is ok but it just makes you want more. I'm at 12.5 psi ambient so it's really only like 8 psi of boost at sea level. NM is pretty high too isn't it? You'd probably be safe to boost it up a bit more especially if you're at 10's afr. I'm still not sure what ideal afrs are, I've read 11.5 for full boost used most frequently so that's what I'm set at now but it honestly feels a little rich.

 

That's good to know about the separate maps. It'd be cool to have a high and low boost map you can just flip a switch for. Especially with an electronic boost controller you can switch boost levels in the fly.

That's interesting about the relative boost pressure. I was always understanding that boost pressure loss at altitude only applied to superchargers since Boost is determined by pulley size. Since turbo boost is ran by the wg its already relative to the atmospheric pressure. Am I not understanding that correctly?

 

You are correct about the wastegate, a 7 psi WG would have a spring that opens at 7+14.7 psi MAP. My boost gauge is set to my altitude so the boost level it's displaying is 2.4 psi less than if I were at sea level.

 

Im planning on a high boost kit from lce, im having a hard time planning where I will put an intercooler. I have a plate bumper and ill be installing a winch in a couple weeks. Don't know of any where else. Also, what would I need for tuning of the ecu...

I found URD A/FR Calibrator, URD MAF fuel & timing calibrator...along with 550cc injectors, walbro 190 LPH pump, .04" head gasket, and ARP head studs.

 

What are your power goals? Always start there. You can put an ic in front of the radiator without affecting the coolant system too much. For management I'd point you towards a fic or map ecu. I'm not sure which models you'd need wth a 4 cyl. Think there's a group buy for map3's.

$2,500 is pretty steep for an $800 turbo, manifolds and some pipes. I'd look for some used stuff for a bit before you pull the trigger on that.

To utilize that bigger turbo you'll likely need forged internals. Again, be sure of your power goals and that they are within reason or you'll end up wasting a lot of money.

 

I've seen some people put the IC behind the grill. Should get good flow. I've read of people using the URD stuff you mentioned in conjunction with each other. I never have myself, though. From what I understand is you basically use the ARF calibrator for closed loop tuning and the FTC for open loop. It sounds to me like a MAP3 or FIC would be simpler like Clay said. I've also seen other guys set up secondary injectors in the intake manifold and tune them separately from the stock injectors.

Like Clay also said, have an idea of your power goals. This will make a big difference in where you want to go with the truck and what fuel tuning will work best for you. When you start to get into double digit boost numbers close to 15psi, the concern is more about the rods going than the head gasket. With the 3rz having longer rods than the 2rz, they are typically the first point of mechanical failure. Rods going is not fun. I had a turbo 240sx back in the day that I popped the motor on the dyno. Blew two rods out the side of the block!

 

I'm hoping to get up in the 300 to 350hp range, I'm not planning to go over 13psi til I work on the inside...

 

I want to drive this truck, just to see what it feels like.

 

It's way more fun now! When it spools, it definitely throws you back in your seat. What cool is that when not in boost, it drives just like a stock vehicle with a little more torque down low and doesn't look at all like it's turbo'd. And since I still have the stock catback on it, it sounds just like a stock truck until it boosts and the wastegate opens up followed by the BOV in between shifts. It definitely turns some heads since most people don't expect that from a Tacoma. I'll see if I can make a video on day to post on here.

 

So, an intercooler will fit in front of the radio you think? And instead of headgasket and studs I should do rods?

And where's a good place to piece a turbo kit together.....

 

I'd throw cams and head work into it. Most people seem to say it's not worth it because it's only a few hp gains but the important thing to realize is any hp you make stock will scale with boost. If you can turn the 3rz from a 150 to 200 hp motor NA then at only 10 psi you're making an additional 35 hp on top of the 50 you already had.

 

You're going to need to get pretty creative with the intercooler if you are running a plate bumper and winch. Not too much space on a 1st gen. If you tilt it at an angle below the bumper that is probably the easiest piping route, but might need to build some armor around it. Could run it above the bumper right in front of the grill. That looks like the most amount of work because you'll need to cut into your top plate to get the piping under the headlights. You'll probably want to size an intercooler for about 750 cfm. Make a cardboard cutout and go from there. Word of caution with head gasket. Ideally need to deck the head with an MLS gasket. I've seen people sand the block lightly by hand and lightly coat the gasket with copper spray to take up any gaps. If you keep the motor under 350ft lbs of torque your rods will most likely be fine. Just don't ramp your turbo up like crazy. Also pull a good chunk of timing at spool up. I do recommend arp studs.


@boostedka how you liking that urd short shift?

 

Thanks, I'll see what I can form up in my head for the intercooler. I'll go ahead and get some better rods just in case.