Opinion on "Turboing" an Auto (non-sport)

Brian MP5T said:
It's really not that bad. I've done a swap for Paul..
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How much would it cost?
Parts and labor?
Cause if i'm gonna do something like that, I might as well go for the lentech tranny and t-converter and forget about the problem cause there'll be none.

But after reading what happened to micah's car, the problem might be solved with just the torque converter. He said that the trans slipped and that caused the engine to rev too high, in turn causing the rods to fail. So if I prevent the slipping and dont run anything higher than 5-6psi, I "should" have no problem for a while... He he, I'd hope untill I can upgrade the tranny.

Man what am I even saying... I cant afford any of this stuff for a long time.
Unless........ I could ask for a lil extra from my student loans and save it up so that i can get all of it... Mua ha ha ha ha!! (laugh)
 
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I have an auto and it will be turbocharged very soon. A tranny cooler is definately going to be added in soon after, it's almost something you would need if you want to push the car hard every now and then.
 
GMalatrasi said:
How much would it cost?
Parts and labor?
Cause if i'm gonna do something like that, I might as well go for the lentech tranny and t-converter and forget about the problem cause there'll be none.
Click to expand...

The torque converter will not hold 1/3 of what a stock manual will hold no matter how well built it is.
 
I say if you got the time, determination and the money it can be done. I have talked to micah about this before in person and from what he told me you can boost it just stay at 5psi and baby it. Got to have a tranny cooler and synthetic fluid at the bare minimum. But like everyone, once you boost your going to want more. So if you don't want to manual swap it then you going to have to go through lentech or level 10. My warrenty is already gone and my car will be payed off in a year and a half. I plan on keeping this car for a very long time. So I figured as the car ages, just save a little here and there and as I close in at 100,000 miles build the motor, tranny and boost it. To do it right it will cost probably 10k but it is like a goal of mine and I'm very determined. So all I can say to you is, take you time, save up and do it.
 
i turbo'd my 02 auto and it runs fine...i love the extra power..it's what the car should have come with from the factory....i'm only doing 5psi, so not a big strain on both the engine and tranny...i boosted the car with 73K miles, have 86k now...no real issues except my mani is cracked...would i do it again?...maybe....i'd probably consider another car factory turbo'd auto or manual...it was a great project for me, did'nt know much about FI and EMS so i've learned a lot...i enjoy getting on the highway now and blowing by everyone!!
 

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turboing has always been a dream of mine.

Cost, reliability, and time commitment all convinced me otherwise.

I agree with Micah - sell your car and buy one that comes stock with a turbo if that's what you want.
 
bazooka joe said:
i turbo'd my 02 auto and it runs fine...i love the extra power..it's what the car should have come with from the factory....i'm only doing 5psi, so not a big strain on both the engine and tranny...i boosted the car with 73K miles, have 86k now...no real issues except my mani is cracked...would i do it again?...maybe....i'd probably consider another car factory turbo'd auto or manual...it was a great project for me, did'nt know much about FI and EMS so i've learned a lot...i enjoy getting on the highway now and blowing by everyone!!
Click to expand...

Could you go into more detail as to how you did this, what EMS are you using and what did u have to change on the car to accomplish this???

I agree with Micah - sell your car and buy one that comes stock with a turbo if that's what you want.
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That's the thing, I dont want a turbo car, I want to keep my P5 but I want it to have more power.

I say if you got the time, determination and the money it can be done. I have talked to micah about this before in person and from what he told me you can boost it just stay at 5psi and baby it. Got to have a tranny cooler and synthetic fluid at the bare minimum. But like everyone, once you boost your going to want more. So if you don't want to manual swap it then you going to have to go through lentech or level 10. My warrenty is already gone and my car will be payed off in a year and a half. I plan on keeping this car for a very long time. So I figured as the car ages, just save a little here and there and as I close in at 100,000 miles build the motor, tranny and boost it. To do it right it will cost probably 10k but it is like a goal of mine and I'm very determined. So all I can say to you is, take you time, save up and do it.
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My car is technically paid off already, I bought it used and paid in full.
I dont have all the time I would like to work on my car, I do have the determination to do something, dont know what but something it will be, and then the money problem arises again.


So if you "all" say that I shouldn't go with the turbo, what should I go with then? What else can I do to get more power? I have OBX headers and a Racing Beat axle-back waiting to go on the car but I know that those will only make the car sound better with maybe gains of 1-2whp.
 
I think the best thing would be to trade it in for a manual, your car is stock, so you won't lose any money, IMO. :)
 
GMalatrasi said:
So if you "all" say that I shouldn't go with the turbo, what should I go with then? What else can I do to get more power? I have OBX headers and a Racing Beat axle-back waiting to go on the car but I know that those will only make the car sound better with maybe gains of 1-2whp.
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From reading all the threads about turboing an auto and the headaches and all the extra money that is involved, my personal opinion is that you don't want to go with putting a turbo in it. Besides, you won't be able to use the full potential of the turbo and engine.
If you are planning to stay N/A, and stay somewhat cheap, your mods that you have are sufficient, but to gain a little more, you might want to go with the custom camshafts that twilightprotege is putting out. He had a group buy that ended a while back so you won't be able to buy from him now, but you might be able to ask him for the parameters and get the grinds done yourself at a cam grinding shop. Other than that, if you want more and more power with a N/A setup, I don't know what else you can do.
If it was totally sane to turbo my automatic P5, I would have already done it. Not only are you going to pay for the turbo, but you are going to be paying for the ECU, which I don't even know what kind you have to use(probably a MicroTech) and they are an ungodly amount of money, along with the maintenance of your tranny, it is totally not worth it. Stay fully N/A and soup it up the best way you can or trade for a manual tranny P5, or a factory turboed vehicle. You may think that you won't turn the boost above 5 psi if you do it to your auto tranny. Well, everyone wants to know what it can do at one point in time. I have also been told even at 4-5 psi, you can burn your tranny by gunning it in 1-3 gears and the only time that you should really get on it is in 4th gear. Why waste the money? Good Luck with your decision.
 
GMalatrasi said:
Thanks

...So now I'm back to where I started...
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I know it sucks don't it. If you plan to keep the car, study up on the camshafts and get those. I am sure that you wont regret it. As for me, I am getting another car that is turboed already.
Oh, and If you haven't got it already, make sure you get some type of cold air intake and if possible a high flow catted/or uncatted midpipe.
 
im running an msp setup in my auto p5 right now (possibly one of the very few auto msp5s in existence?)...the actuator is kinda fubared and running at 4 psi only, but thats good enough for me right now...the tranny is holding up really well, no issues with the engine at all...of course, i have a tranny cooler and synthetic tranny fluid in there right now but its a good and pretty reliable setup (so far)...u just gotta keep an eye on everything...as for how much my setup cost?...almost exactly $2000 minus intercooler piping and standalone engine management (im using fmu/o2 clamp setup)...as of now, im running non-intercooled temporarily...

edit: oh yeah, mine is the sport auto...
 
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