I have a 96 rs-t hrc stage 1, i had it installed, but it was not tuned, i dont even think my car is pushing 200hp yet, when the kit claims 225hp. will tuning the car put me over 200hp, what exactly is tuning? i just have the turbo and a bored out TB, will I need a 3 inch exhaust to get 200hp+? I also have a leak where the downpipe connects to the exhaust manifold. they couldnt bolt all 3 bolts on to the downpipe. sorry but i'm new to turbo charging. please help me with these qustions. also does anyone know any tuning shops in southern cali and how much can i expect to pay for the tuning??

Ok... firstly, you shouldn't pay anyone to tune your car for you, especially when the things you want to tune are parts from a Stage 1 kit. The people on this board are very able, and mostly willing to help you get what you're looking for. I'm not saying that professional tuning isn't good, but for what you wanna do, it would be a waste of money.

Simply put, the tuning you need is simply fuel tuning. However, the HRC kits kinda make this difficult. Firstly, you need to check your boost levels, which you didn't happen to mention on your post. To make 200 hp at the crank (approx. 160-170 hp at the wheels), you will need to see about 5-6 psi of boost. If your boost gauge is showing way less than these numbers, you have a bad leak somewhere and need to find it and correct it. Perhaps I'm jumping ahead here.

Also, sounds like you're running stock injectors. Fuel tuning should be pretty easy with your setup. First, take a look at your boost gauge and tell us what the highest mark you are getting. This is the simplist and most common issue to deal with. Go drive your car, and reply back with the results, then we'll help you from there.


1996 Eclipse RS / 5-Speed / Body Components by Aerogear / Coated in Magnetic Red Metallic v2 - More at http://home.insightbb.com/~mgalyan/
Mark Galyan - Greenwood, Indiana

ok, i did forget to mention my details, well, my boost at full throttle is at 5psi max, my fuel pressure idles at about 45-47psi, and one more thing is that i do have a leak where the down pipe connects to the exhaust manifold. the installer said that he could not put on the third bolt because the down pipe is curved to much and the nut wont fit, i checked it and that does seem to be the case; however i know the nut can be fitted...could this be my problem? thanks for responding:)

the exhaust leak shouldn't be hurting you too much since its after the turbo. I always found it easier to bolt up the downpipe to the turbo out of the car. Meaning after i bolted it up i hooked the turbo to the manifold. Getting that last bolt can be a real bitch.

I hear ya. I'm still in therapy to help me forget about that bolt. But yeah dude, I'm a stage oner too (just got my 1G IC yesterday!) and are you sure that you just weren't expecting too much? I was impressed with the new speed but not blown away...until I raced someone, then I was happy.

thats the thing with me, i was expecting a big increase in power from my stage 1, i probably did expect too much, but i did race the first weekend i had the turbo and i was disapointed...i raced three races:
1st race: againt an 89 civic 4 door, this guy had 4 people in his car, i had him all the way til i hit 3rd gear, and he beat me by probably half a car. I had only one person in my car.

2nd race: raced agains a 96 prelude, and i had him in the beginng but he beat me by a car.

3rd race: raced a 2000 celica gt, he had me in the begining but i beat him by half a car.

now this is why i feel im not getting the full power out of my stage 1..i'm pretty much afraid to race anyone after these races..i feel my car is not worthy! what mods can i add to my stage 1 to put my car in the 200hp besides a stage upgrade turbo??

buy and intercorler, bigger injectors and manual boost controller and turn up the boost;-)

PS: dont go pass 8 or 9psi of boost.

If you're seeing 5 psi of boost, then you should be putting about 160 hp to the ground. Thats about 50 hp more than stock, and about 195 hp at the crank. 8 psi would put you at about 200 to the wheels, 235 at the crank. As suggested, get yourself some 310cc injectors, a manual boost controller, an intercooler (you can get a nice 1st Gen side mount unit for less than 100 on dsmtrader) and tune your fuel system accordingly. You should really feel some power if you do that. As far as to what fuel pressure you should see at 8 psi of boost, I can't answer that, but I know it's been discussed in detail on the forum. Search for it, and let me know if you find anything useful.

1996 Eclipse RS / 5-Speed / Body Components by Aerogear / Coated in Magnetic Red Metallic v2 - More at http://home.insightbb.com/~mgalyan/
Mark Galyan - Greenwood, Indiana

I found a chart showing horsepower results at different boost levels. It should be noted that this is from the Star Stage 1 kit, but you can expect similiar results with the Hahn S16G.

Pounds of Boost Max Power
Stock 113.1 hp
5 lbs 161.1 hp
8 lbs 200.2 hp
10 lbs 235.0 hp

Hp as measured at the wheels.

1996 Eclipse RS / 5-Speed / Body Components by Aerogear / Coated in Magnetic Red Metallic v2 - More at http://home.insightbb.com/~mgalyan/
Mark Galyan - Greenwood, Indiana

the reason for my questions is that i really am new to boosting, and now that i have a turbo in my car, i am being called out by so many people..and i dont want to put my car to shame. do you guys think at my current hp, that i can take a 2000 accord v6 coupe? a 2000 civic si? by the way an SI has 160hp, how much of that is at the wheels??

by the way, the SI and the v6 accord are stock, except that the v6 has an cold air intake

160 "rated" hp is going to be around 125 to the wheels, give or take a few. Depends on the car, as each is different. As my previous post stated, the dyno shows our cars making about 113 to the wheels, and they come rated at 140 at the crank. When companies give horsepower ratings, they are testing the engines, not the car. It can be misleading. You should be able to take both those cars.


1996 Eclipse RS / 5-Speed / Body Components by Aerogear / Coated in Magnetic Red Metallic v2 - More at http://home.insightbb.com/~mgalyan/
Mark Galyan - Greenwood, Indiana

where in so cal are you? alot of us 2gnt hrc turbos are all over so cal maybe 5-7 of the top of my head. the person who installed your turbo kit got lazy at the end with the dp bottom bolt. your talking about where the hrc dp connects to the turbo right? the lower bolt? you must connect that 1st then the rest of the bolts. i forgot exactly. around 5-6psi of boost is sorta slow to me. at 1st it was ok, 8-9psi is great (for a while) now im at 12psi with some tuning and extra goods.. anyways.. what hrc claims is about right, but dont expect to get those 'exact' #s. if i were you i would do a check for old post and read up.. you will learn alot about turbos..
oh yah, adding the turbo kit is just the start.. hehe
shot me a email or something
Michael 99gs
HRC Stage 2 @12psi :D
Stage 3 process begins gathering parts for rebuild
2GNT Member #32

http://www.dreamwater.net/purplebeast

<<1st race: againt an 89 civic 4 door, this guy had 4 people in his car, i had him all the way til i hit 3rd gear, and he beat me by probably half a car. I had only one person in my car.

2nd race: raced agains a 96 prelude, and i had him in the beginng but he beat me by a car.

3rd race: raced a 2000 celica gt, he had me in the begining but i beat him by half a car.>>

This kinda worries me. Perhaps you're running a little rich or something. I'd think you should be able to take any of these competitors. Are you automatic? Unless these cars are running F/I or Juice I'd think you should be more than competitive, and even in that case you should still be able to hang.

Maybe it's just me, but 2nd and 3rd gears are my "put the spank down" gears. When I race, I usually launch lightly to spare my clutch a bit, so I get taken everytime off the line. My jump to second gear almost always catches me up, 2nd I pull on them and then 3rd I pull on them hard. Damn I'm bored. :rolleyes

im not an auto, im a 5 speed, but i dont know i just go beat by those cars, i had a pretty good take off but i just got beat. thats why i ask these questions cause i feel im not getting the full potential power out of my beautiful car

i live in the Inland Empire, san bernardino...i've just been called out by a 98 mustang gt...can i take him???

<<1st race: againt an 89 civic 4 door, this guy had 4 people in his car, i had him all the way til i hit 3rd gear, and he beat me by probably half a car. I had only one person in my car.

2nd race: raced agains a 96 prelude, and i had him in the beginng but he beat me by a car.

3rd race: raced a 2000 celica gt, he had me in the begining but i beat him by half a car.>>
Wouldn't reccomend going after a 98GT. The V6's are slow but if you cant beat whats above then prolong the race.
My suggestion would be to meet up with a few of the So-cal guys and get your setup tuned properly.



Nick
97RS

before you race anyone fix your problems 1st, then turn up the boost to 8-9psi with the correct fuel pressures.
cool
Michael 99gs
HRC Stage 2 @12psi :D
Stage 3 process begins gathering parts for rebuild
2GNT Member #32

http://www.dreamwater.net/purplebeast

i would like to meet some of the southern cali peoples to help me get my car tuned, im in san bernardino, where are all the other's at!! thanks for all the info guys! One more question...does anyone know if there are gas pumps in southern cali that have higher octane ratings?? i can only seem to find 91 octane, i dont think it would be safe to turn up the boost with 91 fuel.

>where in so cal are you? alot of us 2gnt hrc turbos are all
>over so cal maybe 5-7 of the top of my head. the person who
>installed your turbo kit got lazy at the end with the dp
>bottom bolt. your talking about where the hrc dp connects to
>the turbo right? the lower bolt? you must connect that 1st
>then the rest of the bolts. i forgot exactly. around 5-6psi of
>boost is sorta slow to me. at 1st it was ok, 8-9psi is great
>(for a while) now im at 12psi with some tuning and extra
>goods.. anyways.. what hrc claims is about right, but dont
>expect to get those 'exact' #s. if i were you i would do a
>check for old post and read up.. you will learn alot about
>turbos..
>oh yah, adding the turbo kit is just the start.. hehe
>shot me a email or something


Do0d! that stupid ass 3rd DP bolt is the suck! Not a problem any more for me though....DR1665 dremeled the living shit outta that nut until it fit.