Precision Turbo's TE44 - Big Spool More Fuel

In lieu of a tired phrase...        read full caption In lieu of a tired phrase like "this is where the magic happens", this small apartment building garage is where the cursing, drinking, and throwing of tools happens. As a side note, it is also where uncapped dump pipes are cracked off in the wee hours of the morning--along with the cat pee stains, you can see why the management loves us.

Here are the tools needed...        read full caption Here are the tools needed to swap injectors: small snips, small pliers, large flathead screwdriver, 10mm deep socket with ratchet and extension, 1/2-inch deep socket, 15mm socket, 13mm socket, 8mm, 1/4-inch-drive socket, 1/4-inch, 1/4-inch drive socket with handle, 10mm, 1/4-inch-drive socket with 1/4-inch-drive ratchet, small flathead screwdriver, 5/8-inch end wrench, 1/2-inch end wrench, 8mm end wrench, channel locks, and a Crescent wrench. A razor blade, carb cleaner, a quart of oil, a few retaining clips, pipe tape, some vacuum and rubber hose, and some zip ties will come in handy as well.

The idle quality and mid-range...        read full caption The idle quality and mid-range performance of these Tomco 30 pound-per-hour injectors has been great for the last 60,000 miles, but we are pushing the duty cycles way too high at the track to keep 'em in any longer. The T still has the factory-installed head gaskets, and I don't plan on blowing them anytime soon.

In the 10 years and 85,000 miles that I've owned this T, the Garrett TB0348 turbo has always provided a unique spin (if you will) on the age-old hobby of street sweeping. The quick-spooling stock turbo more than held its own against a variety of street thugs, and with a good 100-octane street chip and some race fuel, few challengers out-muscled the force-fed Buick from a light.

The T's original turbo worked well up to the 100,000-mile mark, and after that a great deal on a ported factory unit was found on TurboBuick.com. This ported stocker took me to this Buick's all-time best ET to date: a 12.47 at 106 miles an hour. But at 155,000 miles, a little oil seepage and play in the bearings necessitated plans for a new hairdryer. With boost pressures set at 23 pounds with race fuel, the factory turbo had been pushed beyond its efficiency range and was blowing some serious hot air. It was time for an upgrade, so I weighed my options: since the 3.8-liter mill still retains the stock cam, heads, intercooler, and D5 converter, and would spend around 80 percent of the time on the street, I had no plans to strap a mondo turbo down and try to make it livable. No, this scenario called for a tried-and-true street turbo that could really sing at 25 pounds but wouldn't cause the stock converter fits.

Additionally, recent trips to the track uncovered a weakness in the T's fuel system: the 30-pound injectors that I had swapped at 92,000 miles were running between 110-115 percent duty cycle at the big end of the track--way beyond the 75-85 percent safe range. The Jack Cotton-installed Walbro 307 was pumping fine, and the fuel pressure regulator from Ron's Custom Auto was good. I was just out of injector.

And as you Buford mavens know, you can't pick up these forced-induction goodies at the local auto parts store. The vendor list gets pretty short when an enthusiast demands a speed part that lives at 100,000 rpm, and I was looking for a company with a reputation as solid as its components. After several conversations with the knowledgeable employees of Precision Turbo & Engine in Hebron, Indiana, I had all the more reason to order the parts that originally caught my eye: a PTE44 turbocharger with a .63 exhaust housing (part No. TE44C, $875) and a set of flow-matched 50-pound injectors (part No. DMI50, $540). As a team, these items have given street-driven Buicks reputations as powerful--and tractable--street performers, and I was ready to bolt 'em up and compare them to the ported stock turbo and near-stock injectors. PTE also suggested one of its new inventions, the Maximum-Flow Oil System, to avoid turbo failure due to contamination--see the accompanying sidebar for more info on this innovative product.

A pre-mod dyno session at SLP Performance Parts in Toms River, New Jersey got us an accurate baseline. SLP had just installed a high-tech SuperFlow AutoDyn SF-840 dyno, which produces much more accurate results from a forced-induction car with an auto tranny. The T produced a heat-soaked 283.8 ponies and 355.0 lb.-ft. of torque on pump gas, and 327.0 horsepower and 404.6 lb.-ft. on C16. I planned on another high-tech dyno testing session at SLP after the swap, as well as some passes down the Raceway Park quarter-mile strip, so I headed down to the garage and got wrenchin'.

A WORD WITH PAT
When you have tech questions and put a call into Precision Turbo & Engine, chances are you will be connected to Patrick Rubio or Joe Lubrant, PTE's tech specialists for Turbo Buicks, LT1s, LS1s, Syclones, and Typhoons. Patrick has been racing Buicks since 1987, and he currently owns an '86 T-Type that runs 9.90s. I had a few questions in mind about the new setup, and he was happy to answer them.

GMHTP: First off, why is it necessary to upgrade from the stock turbo?

P.R.: Because in a high-boost situation, it is out of its efficiency range. The stocker will only support around 360 flywheel horsepower. A popular upgrade turbo, the TE44, has a T04E compressor cover that is much larger than stock and gives a much cooler charge at the same boost level. This more efficient turbo will support 565 flywheel horsepower.

GMHTP: What materials or components are different between the 44 and the stock unit?

P.R.: Almost everything. The compressor wheel, turbine wheel, turbine housing, compressor cover, and backing plate are all different. The center section is a standard T3 center section.

GMHTP: Which turbos are good choices for street/strip TRs?

P.R.: The 32 and 34 are still available as good upgrade turbos, but are not very popular. The TE44 or TA49 is a good choice for TRs with stock converters. TE60s, PT51s, and PT52s are good choices for Buicks with upgraded converters.

GMHTP: Where did the turbo numbering system come from?

P.R.: The number series is how (PTE owner) Harry Hruska designated each turbo, starting in 1989. The designations don't correspond to the wheel size in the smaller turbos, but the TE60 has a 60mm wheel, and the 63-, 64-, and 67-series turbos have corresponding wheel sizes.

GMHTP: What features should owners look for in an upgraded turbo?

P.R.: Garrett's new GT Technology wheels will be out for Buick 3-bolt housings this summer, which should provide a tremendous jump in performance. We expect that a ball bearing option will be available in the future, but the biggest advantages are going to be found with these new wheels.

GMHTP: What maintenance should be performed before a bigger turbo goes on?

P.R.:Buicks in the 80,000-120,000-mile range should have new valve springs and a timing chain. If the timing chain isn't addressed, the nylon-toothed original will break. Those teeth will get sucked into the factory oil screen in the oil pan, restrict oil flow, and cause bearing and possibly turbo damage. Upgrade the fuel pump to a hotwired high-flow unit, buy an adjustable regulator, and match the turbo to new injectors capable of supporting it. Take a look at the rear main seal to make sure it's okay, look for cracks in the factory headers and the vacuum lines, and replace as many sensors as you can--this will save you many headaches down the road.

GMHTP: Do you have any installation tips?

P.R.: If the customer doesn't go with our oiling system, we recommend that they take the factory feed line out and clean it. Make sure the old oil return doesn't get bent or kinked during the installation--this will cause a huge oil leak. Be sure the header-to-turbo surfaces are flush, and you can use a copper gasket with a thin bead of silicone to seal any irregularities. It will also help keep the gasket in place when installing the turbo. The downpipe-to-turbo surface doesn't use a gasket, but silicone can be used here as well.

GMHTP: What is the "sweet spot" in terms of boost and timing for this turbo?

P.R.: With 93-octane pump gas and a stock intercooler: 16-17 pounds of boost, 20 degrees timing with no more than 4-5 degrees of timing retard and 780-800 O2s. With race gas and a stock intercooler: 20-24 pounds of boost, 26 degrees timing with no more than 3 degrees of timing retard and no lower than 750 O2s. If you ever see sustained knock retard of more than 3 degrees, immediately let off the gas. With a performance intercooler, you can get away with 25-26 pounds of boost due to better cooling.

GMHTP: Compare the benefits of PTE's .63 exhaust housing with the competition.

P.R.: I have personally seen gains of 2-3 tenths going from a stock-type housing to a .63 Precision housing. Precision's housings were redesigned for more efficiency and less backpressure.

GMHTP: What is the .85 exhaust housing used on?

P.R.: The .85 housing is mainly for guys who have maxed out the turbo but don't want to upgrade. You can see 2-3 tenths with the .85, but you will need at least a 2700-stall converter to keep good spool characteristics.

GMHTP: Where do you sit on stock-type versus external wastegates? Do either have an effect on turbo longevity?

P.R.: The beauty of an external wastegate setup is that you have complete control of the boost. With the factory system you have open-loop operation, which means that the factory wastegate actuator only has one port, or "bleeder valve". It doesn't give perfect control like a two-port external wastegate. The stock wastegate with a bleeder valve or ECM wastegate solenoid just bleeds off signal pressure into the atmosphere--this can cause boost creep or surging issues with ambient temperature changes. An external unit makes the bleeder-valve setup a closed-loop system. The factory setup is fine for Buicks running less than 20 pounds of boost and 475 horsepower, but once at high boost it is recommended to go with either a heavy-duty actuator or a good external setup. Neither affect turbo longevity--just be smart and come out of the turbo softly, don't yank your foot off the gas at the end of a run.

Choose it or loose it
Although the stock turbo's inefficient high-boost characteristics are seen as a detriment by the Buick crowd, those with the factory hairdryer benefit from a much higher tolerance to the various contaminants picked up by motor oil. Since the LC2's oiling system utilizes pickup screen and oil pump bypass systems, it will regularly send unfiltered oil into the oil feed line--and right to the turbo bearings. This isn't a huge concern with the stock turbo's looser tolerances, but becomes a problem when a high-performance, large-wheel turbo is bolted on. Precision Turbo & Engine counters this problem with its Maximum-Flow Oil System, a kit that relocates the oil filter to behind the passenger-side headlights and uses a larger filter said to provide a 140 percent increase in filter media over a regular PF52. The installation procedure is simple: it begins by draining the oil and unscrewing the filter. The battery and factory oil feed line are removed; a plug is included in the kit for the feed line fitting on the engine block. Holes are drilled in the headlight core support to mount the filter header and a filter adapter screws onto the filter stud. Once the feed line is connected to the turbo and the filter header, all that you need to do is hook up the lines from the filter adapter to the filter header and fill up the new filter with fresh oil. Install it onto the filter header, prime the system, replace the battery and fill your crankcase with new oil.

The folks at PTE have built thousands of turbochargers in the last decade, and they have determined that 90 percent of returned 62-series turbochargers failed due to contaminated lubrication. So, you have a choice when upgrading your turbocharger: spend $155 now to ensure that clean oil will lubricate your bearings, or cough up the dough later if your big-buck turbo says sayonara.

DRAG STRIP RESULTS
The GMHTP staff made the 90-minute trip to Raceway Park on April 1, 2003 for drag testing. Conditions were very good with 50 percent humidity, a minus 800-foot density altitude, and only a mild headwind. Unfortunately, the 40-degree temps kept the track glue a little cool for optimum traction. The T was changed over to race mode by twisting the actuator rod six full times for 23 pounds of boost and setting the MAFT+ switch for 25 degrees of timing in high gear. The dump on the Houston downpipe was uncapped, the 93-octane fuel was drained and replaced with C16, the 26x10.5x15 ET Streets were mounted, and the cable for DirectScan was attached to the laptop. After a thorough cool-down, I pulled into the waterbox, did the burnout, and pulled to the line. The spacebar was hit to start DirectScan record and I flipped the switch to active the Max-Boost Launch Module. With the pre-stage bulb lit, I pumped the brakes several times, inched forward to light the second bulb, and watched as the boost gauge slowly crept to 4 pounds. I simultaneously let of the brake and floored the throttle, and the Buick's wicked torque snapped my Simpson-wrapped head back. But a nanosecond later the ET Streets spun on the slick track, and a 1.94 60-foot was the result. I snuck a peek at the boost gauge near half-track and saw only 21 pounds. It got loose around the 1000-foot mark as well, and I eased off the gas to avoid nailing the wall. A 12.70 at 105.70 was the result.

Forty minutes later, I returned to the line after adjusting the boost rod and performing a huge burnout. RP's attentive staff had re-glued the strip, and I was hoping for a better outcome this time around. When the boost gauge said 4 I smacked the throttle, and this time the tires hooked. A 1.89 60-foot flashed on the scoreboard, and with a solid 23 pounds crammed into the LC2, I flew to a 12.48 at 109.70.

We knew that the PTE44 turbo was just getting started, and because of the 785 O2 readings and 0 knock, I could turn up the wick a bit. The boost was set for 24 pounds, and 40 minutes later I continued to do what had worked before: a big burnout and a soft launch. Another 4 pounds of launch boost brought a 1.85 60-foot, a 12.44 ET, and a 110.61 trap speed.

The O2 readings on that run were down to 770, so I bumped the base fuel pressure from 45 to 47 psi and spun the rod again to yield 25 pounds of boost. I waited almost an hour, did the burnout, staged, and left at 4 pounds. A solid 1.80 60-foot was a good start, but the rod must have run out of adjustment as the boost stayed at 24 during the run. Nevertheless, a new best ET of 12.39 was attained at 110.30 miles an hour. Moments before I was to try a run with the boost (hopefully) set to 25 pounds, the skies opened up and drenched the track--our day was over. I didn't get a shot at a seriously high-boost run, but I doubt the original stock intercooler could keep temps down at that point. And if you look at pre- versus post-mod mph results, the turbo and injectors picked us up a solid 30 horsepower at the strip--that's something we can live with.

For those wondering why the launch boost was kept at 4 pounds for these tests, the T has worn rear shocks, old ET Streets, and a flaring 155,000-mile trans. With all of these problems corrected, 11s are in its future.

Global warming, my ass. It...        read full caption Global warming, my ass. It was 11 degrees when I got down to business by unplugging the battery and removing the Schrader valve's stem to relieve the fuel system pressure. Rags were placed under the fuel pressure regulator's feed line, and I removed the aftermarket valve cover breather assembly for more room to work. A 5/8-inch end wrench was used to loosen the line.	15mm is the size for the two...        read full caption 15mm is the size for the two front coil pack lock nuts, and an extension will work best here. Be gentle on the driver's side--the nut is very close to two of the cables leading to the throttle body. A 10mm socket with extension was used to remove the rear coil pack bolt. Drop this sucker and you may never see it again, so be sure to hold the bolt with your other hand as you loosen it.	The three front wires on the...        read full caption The three front wires on the coil pack were popped off to give me a little more room, and its harness connector on the driver's side was undone with a 1/4-inch socket. While using caution to prevent damaging any nearby vacuum lines, I slowly lifted the coil pack assembly up and set it on the driver's side. A wayward vacuum line flatter than Kate Moss was found where the rear coil pack bolt had been tightened down--two cuts were made to remove the damaged area, and a piece of hose with zip ties on either end solved the problem.
With the fuel pressure regulator's...        read full caption With the fuel pressure regulator's feed line out of the way, a 10mm socket with extension removed the FPR's two bolts and I set the unit aside. I got ready to unhook the passenger-side fuel rail line by disconnecting the wastegate solenoid harness. When a Crescent wrench wouldn't squeeze into place to hold a fuel rail fitting (which had been added for a Kenne-Bell external fuel pressure gauge), I removed the #2 injector clip and harness for more room to work. I pried a little too hard on that clip with a large screwdriver; it slightly chipped the connector--but didn't break it. A word to the wise: metal always beats plastic, and replacing this harness is pricey. With the harness connector out of the way, I was able to fit the Crescent in and hold the piece so the 5/8-inch end wrench could loosen the line. Once it was out, a zip tie was used around the turbo inlet bell to hold the line away from the fuel rail.	The PCV valve and hose came...        read full caption The PCV valve and hose came out next. Thanks to a difficult location and the fact that the hose runs up between the fuel rail and the doghouse, this cursed piece of metal is never fun. Since the PCV itself is too wide to pull straight out the top, you can use pliers or a set of channel locks to remove the top connection, finagle the hose to curve under the rail, and pull it out the bottom.	An 8mm socket was used on...        read full caption An 8mm socket was used on the two vacuum block screws on the throttle body. The passenger side vacuum line bracket nut on the doghouse was unscrewed with an extended 13mm socket. Of course, years of being heat cycled means you will be working with some PITA hoses on the vacuum block. The PCV and vacuum line that bring up the rear of this block must be undone for us to access the fuel rail; both cracked while we were trying to pull them off. They were terminated with extreme prejudice, and replacements were purchased at a GM dealership. Since the rear two lines are connected separately on the block, once the bracket and vacuum line were routed away from the fuel rail the front three lines and the block were angled away without having to remove all of the rubber lines.
Injector harness time--from...        read full caption Injector harness time--from the driver's side, look behind where the coil pack mounts for this white connector. I used a pair of curved needle-nosed pliers to pull out the connector pin, a safety piece that prevents the injector connector harness from disconnecting. A long screwdriver pried the Weatherpack connector out as I held the tab up. With that connection breached, you can angle the ECM-side connector up so fuel and oil don't contaminate it.	Remove the fuel rail bolts...        read full caption Remove the fuel rail bolts next--the front ones come out with a 1/2-inch socket and extension, the rears with a 10mm socket with extension. To get the driver-side 1/2-inch bolt, you must remove the throttle linkages first. Pull the throttle cable connector off and remove the two clips holding the other lines on, then unhook the lines.	Of course, no project is complete...        read full caption Of course, no project is complete without dropping one of the Ojesus clips into the bowels of the serpentine drive system, and that's exactly what I did. Hold on to those clips, folks. The large rear throttle cable bracket nut comes off with a 1/2-inch end wrench, and an 8mm small socket will do the trick for the bracket's two small bolts.
With a large flathead screwdriver...        read full caption With a large flathead screwdriver wedged under the injector, I slowly pried at the base of each squirter while lightly pulling up on the fuel rail.	Once all six had been pried...        read full caption Once all six had been pried up, I made sure no adjacent lines were in the way before lifting the fuel rail assembly up and out.	I brought the fuel rail to...        read full caption I brought the fuel rail to a table, covered up the FPR hole, and sprayed on some cleaner to rid it of dirt. The silver and black retaining clips were removed from each injector, and once the harness connections were unhooked, I pulled each injector out of the fuel rail. Eight years had passed since the stockers had been swapped for these 30-pound units, and they took some convincing to pull out.
Here is a photo comparing...        read full caption Here is a photo comparing the 30-pound Tomcos with the 50-pound Precision injectors. The 50s are well-known as not only the largest injector a turbo Buick can use without going to low-impedance race units, but as an extremely linear and streetable injector as well.	Each vacant fuel rail hole...        read full caption Each vacant fuel rail hole was cleaned and lubricated with fresh engine oil, and fresh oil was rubbed onto the upper O-ring of the 50-pounders. Once I was sure that there was sufficient lubrication, I lined up the top of the injector with the hole, made sure the angle was correct, and gently pressed it into place. I was rewarded with a solid "pop", which signified that the injector was seated. I attached the retaining clip, cleaned and attached the electrical connection, and popped the silver electrical clip back on. This was repeated for the other five injectors.	With the fuel rail loaded...        read full caption With the fuel rail loaded with 50s, I headed over to the Buick and cleaned in and around the injector holes in the intake with a clean rag covered with carb cleaner. Once those holes were free of debris, I coated the interior of each one with motor oil. The bottom O-rings of the injectors were coated with oil, and I gently sat the fuel rail down onto the intake while positioning each injector so it lined up with the intake holes. Once all six were lined up, I firmly pressed each injector into place. I reassembled everything exactly how it came apart, made a final check of all of the connectors that would see fuel, connected the battery, and turned the key to "On". The system was now pressurized, and a quick look around the engine bay rewarded me with no fuel leaks. And now, to dispose of the wasted stock turbo...
Here are the tools for popping...        read full caption Here are the tools for popping this sucker off. From top to bottom, left to right: 1/2-inch drive breaker bar, 5/8-inch spark plug socket, 1/2-inch drive, 15mm socket, 3/8-inch drive, 15mm socket, 13mm socket, 10mm socket, flathead screwdriver, 7/8-inch end wrench, 1/2-inch end wrench, 7/16-inch end wrench, snips, Allen key, and a 3/8-inch drive ratchet with an extension. Also, penetrant spray, zip ties, high-temp gasket maker, anti-seize, and Teflon tape are necessary for this job.	Don't even think about starting...        read full caption Don't even think about starting the turbo swap without a can of PB Blaster or some other penetrant--I sprayed the three turbo-to-header nuts and the downpipe's four Allen bolts a day before picking up a wrench. The MAF harness connector was disconnected, and a 7/16-inch end wrench was employed to loosen the T-bolt clamp on the MAF pipe. I removed the four intercooler mounting bolts using a 10mm socket and then loosened the T-bolts on both ends of the up pipe and the clamp on the turbo outlet. The up pipe was turned 90 degrees to the right and the turbo-to-intercooler hose was popped off.	I removed the wastegate clip...        read full caption I removed the wastegate clip and rod from the downpipe's swing valve and used an Allen key to remove the four downpipe bolts. The wastegate solenoid vacuum lines were then removed--one came off the actuator and one came from the 90-degree fitting on the turbo. The four turbo heat shield bracket bolts take a 13mm socket. Two of them are on the block, and two are on the turbo. For the bottom one on the block, use two extensions on the ratchet and come straight in from the front. Be sure to keep the lower turbo bracket ground strap close to its mounting hole, and you might as well clean it off while you're at it. The top one on the block was easier to reach with the heat shield removed--holding this thin piece of metal was also a 13mm bolt. Finally, remove the two bolts on top of the turbo and pull the bracket up and out.
The oil feed line is another...        read full caption The oil feed line is another pleasant aspect of TR turbo swaps. The top section is fine, but the bottom one is tough to get at. We had the best luck removing the bottom connection by pulling the O2 sensor and using a 7/16-inch end wrench from above--nothing like making quarter turns for 20 minutes. A replacement line from Kirban Performance Products was set to go in, but PTE's oiling system doesn't utilize a factory-style feed line.	The three turbo-to-header...        read full caption The three turbo-to-header bolts take a 15mm socket. You can reach the top one by bending the header's heat shield back a bit to get your ratchet in there--stick a spark plug socket on the ratchet's handle for a little more torque, if you need to. If you equip yourself with a 1/2-inch-drive breaker bar with a short 1/2-inch-drive, 15mm socket and pull out the stock intercooler and shroud, you will save yourself a ton of time with the bottom two bolts. With the cooler out, you can pull on the wrench from the passenger side to remove the two bolts--and be sure not to break the plastic intercooler fan when you're down there.	A 1/2-inch end wrench removed...        read full caption A 1/2-inch end wrench removed the oil return line bolts. I lucked out with the oil return line gasket, as it was loose and didn't hinder the turbo removal as I lifted the stocker up and out.
A side-to-side comparison...        read full caption A side-to-side comparison has the PTE44 dwarfing the stock turbo. Exterior differences include a much larger housing, an integral inlet for the 44 compared to the stocker's inlet bell and different vacuum line mounting locations.	On the compressor side, the...        read full caption On the compressor side, the PTE44's wheel dwarfs the stock turbo's unit. On the turbine side the size difference is obvious as well; notable here is the more angled fin design of the PTE44 as compared to the stocker.	Prep work precluded the 44's...        read full caption Prep work precluded the 44's placement. The header was sanded smooth, as was the downpipe's mounting flange. A copper gasket was placed for the turbo-to-header mount, and a replacement gasket went on the oil return line mount. Normally, the brass oil feed fitting would be mounted to the turbo with Teflon tape, but this step was skipped since the PTE oiling system has its own fittings. The wastegate solenoid boost lines were cut where they were brittle on the ends to avoid boost problems.
The turbo's bolts and studs...        read full caption The turbo's bolts and studs were coated with copper-based anti-seize, and after the 44 was placed onto the header, it was tightened down with the breaker bar. I originally planned to make two studs for the oil return line, but no one had M8 by 1.25 studs locally, so I stuck with the stock bolts. With the new gasket adhered to the top of the return line with gasket maker, I lined everything up with the turbo and used a 1/2-inch end wrench to tighten the two bolts--this took a little patience. Once that was done, the two vacuum lines were reconnected to the actuator and new turbo's fitting. Note that the PTE44's fitting is more toward the front of the car than the stock turbo's fitting--this boost line rubs up against the oil drain fitting, so you may want to purchase longer boost lines to configure a custom routing plan.	The downpipe flange got a...        read full caption The downpipe flange got a bead of high-temp gasket maker before it was bolted back up; after that, the wastegate rod was mounted on the swing valve and secured with the venerable Ojesus clip. I then reattached the turbo bracket, making sure its ground strap was snug against the block, and reinstalled the stock intercooler, the various clamps and hoses, and the MAF connector.	The fully installed PTE44...        read full caption The fully installed PTE44 turbo, with the oiling system's oil feed line. The oiling system required another quart of oil, so I added almost seven quarts of Royal Purple's 10-30 synthetic to keep the LC2 boosting for (hopefully) years to come. All the T needed now was a recalibrated chip...
And once again, Ramchargers...        read full caption And once again, Ramchargers and Bob Bailey stepped up with a killer chip calibration for our MAF Translator Plus-equipped Buick. A BWL54B1F Extender chip was sent to control the 50 pounders--and a whole lot more. Very similar to our BYB54B3D Extender that barked orders at the 30-pounders, this version gave me high-speed data with IAC and cross-count readings on my Scanmaster 2.1. It was burned to control the 50s, and kept the same 98-octane characteristics with an adjustable base of 23 degrees of timing in low gear, 21 in high. The trick valet and anti-theft measures were still intact, as were all of the cool user adjustments: lean cruise, false knock ignore, MAF dropout eliminator, BLM lock at WOT, extra spark advance in low gear, launch assist, anti-stall, loop control, and shift light functions were loaded and ready. And if that wasn't enough, this revision "F" chip came with new features like WOT TCC lockup adjustment, spool fuel air/fuel ratio adjustment, low gear air/fuel ratio adjustment, SES shift light rpm adjustment, and low gear spark advance adjustment. The three most popular adjustments--open-loop idle, launch assist, and lean cruise--can even be changed through a scan tool without having to set computer codes (Although setting codes can still be used to enable the loop control modes). When I installed this new PROM and fired up the Buick, I was rewarded with smooth idle and part-throttle performance. The calibration is dead-on with these big squirters, and I couldn't be happier.	When I broke the new turbo...        read full caption When I broke the new turbo in for a week, I found no additional lag and a feeling of more power in street trim. I headed back to SLP Performance Parts in Toms River, New Jersey for a follow-up dyno test. Boost pressure was again set to 17 pounds and timing to 19 degrees in high gear. After a 10-minute warm-up to allow the dyno roller fluid to heat up, Chief Engineer Brian Reese hit the data record button and went WOT.	In a previous test with the...        read full caption In a previous test with the stock turbo and 30-pound injectors in place, the T averaged a heat-soaked 283.8 horsepower at 4242 rpm and 355.0 lb.-ft. of torque at 4160 rpm on Mobil 1 93-octane pump gas with the dump open. With the Precision Turbo & Engine TE44 and 50-pound injectors, the LC2 averaged 297.4 ponies at 4292 rpm and 369.8 lb.-ft. of torque at 4165 rpm--13.6 horses and 14.8 lb.-ft. more than stock. This is what could be expected from more efficient impeller and exhaust housing designs with identical timing and boost settings.
With the pump gas testing...        read full caption With the pump gas testing complete, I drained the tank and refilled it with five gallons of VP C16 leaded race fuel. With 117 motor octane and 6 grams of lead per gallon, C16 will keep detonation and knock retard at bay even at 25+ boost levels. Timing in high gear was set at 25 degrees, and the boost was set at 23 pounds. The baseline test with the old injectors and turbo averaged 327.0 horsepower at 4271 rpm and 404.6 lb.-ft. of torque at 4177 rpm with the dump open.	With the PTE44 and 50s, those...        read full caption With the PTE44 and 50s, those numbers jumped to an average of 361.8 horses at 4376 rpm and 434.0 lb.-ft. of torque at 4376 rpm, and the air/fuel readings from the wideband 02 sensor were in the 11.5-11.7 range. The PTE44 and 50s were good for 34.8 horses and 29.4 lb.-ft. of torque more in race trim--and that was just at high rpm...the Buford was burning rubber on the rollers when Reese tried for a low-rpm pull.