Turbocharging (WAS: Houston HiPo)

["Marc A. Levy" <malevy@xxxx>]

Turbo charging does add a nice kick, but it is also expensive. I always
pay close attention to turbocharged cars and speak with their owners
because I have (used to have, it is now disassembled in my garage) a
Island twin turbo setup.

*SOME* of the turbo cars I look at have a blow-by problem. If the
engine is running, you can pull the breather and see that a small (or
large) amount of smoke is forced out of the crank case. This is a sign
that something is broken inside. In my case, I assume it is a ring.

There are a number of turbo versions of the PRV-V6, so you could build
yourself a reliable turbo engine that start at around 250HP (and go up
from there!). Cost is a big factor here, I priced out a number of
configurations and found the project could easily exceed 10K. At that
point, it is just not worth it.  


As far as the Houston Hi-Po engine goes, I doubt they will warranty it
with any forced induction (James can clarify this). Even if you were to
ignore that possibility, it again would be costly to but the Houston
engine and then buy the turbo kit on top of that. Either way, your risk
of damage to the engine with the turbocharger will be the same if you
start with a stock or hi-po engine if no changes are made to the
pistons, rings, and liners (for starters).

When you are talking about engine upgrades that exceed half the value of
the car, you really need to consider how realistic of a upgrade it is.
There are a lot of nice sports cars out there that will go fast in the
30K price range (new and used).

Again, I know of a few of people working on upgrades and conversions..
If your in no rush, time is on your side.


-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Price [mailto:acprice1@xxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2001 5:08 AM
To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [DML] DMC Houston HiPo engine


Whoops sorry man. My VIN is 16683. I thought Houston did twin turbos...
but 
i dont really know. What are your thoughts on twin turbos? I have been 
thinking of getting it, but I am not sure how practical it is for daily 
driving. Also can the high output engine be twin turbo charged?