Turbo 1.9 Engine Or 2.0 8v Conversion?

[grantley1988 1]

First things first, I would like to say thanks to fellow forum members. You are very knowledgeable chaps! I have spent the past 2 evenings reading through 28 pages of topics on 2.0 8v turbo conversions, with the occasional turbo technics conversion popping up and I have learnt a bunch from just this but this has got me thinking…..

 

I have not had much experience working on cars and the main point in me buying the 205 was to be able to tinker and improve things, as well as my knowledge on being able to work on cars.

 

My current engine in the 205 is a fully rebuilt engine, including bottom end with headwork and a piper cam. A few friends who have owned 205’s say that I have a very good strong engine. I have never been in another 205 so could not comment on this. This has kind of swayed me from the 406 conversion towards turbo charging my engine.

 

So I am asking for your advice on what route you think I should take?

Points being my lack of knowledge but willing to learn, so which route would be easiest?

 

I Would like to turbo my current engine as I have lots of receipts for the rebuild and then I do not have to go along the lines of buying an engine of ebay that is not in the car but being told it was a good runner!!!

 

Sorry for the long post but I hope you can help..

 

This is the list of the parts which I have written down through the searching I have done.

 

Brake servo from a base model for clearance issues.

Rover t16 injectors (correct?)

Emerald ecu

T25 turbo and 406 exhaust manifold

2wd cossie intercooler

Boost pipes

 

What else would I need to collect?

 

I would like to see 200-220bhp with the same amount of torque, is this feasible from what I have and what parts I have listed.

 

A few questions

 

Which gearbox, clutch and flywheel would you guys recommend?

 

Will I need to upgrade to a bigger fuel pump and regulator?

 

The uprated cam in the car I have no info on? I assume I will have to change this as the characteristics of the cam will not suit the turbo. So what cam should I go for?

 

As said before sorry for the long read but after reading up so much there is lots of info floating around with lots of contradictions!

 

I hope you can help!

[richsmells 2]

Check your insurance first

 

If you haven't already, look at Tom Fenton's build to see the level of work involved as he basically turbocharged a standard 1.6 XUJ5A engine with good results, and discusses many of your questions.

 

Having read it through, i'd have to say 16v is the simplest route if you're not mechanically minded.

Edited May 25, 2010 by richsmells

[whizzer71 0]

I'd say 2.0ltr Turbo all the way, you can get good results just make sure the donor engine is good one and the turbo is good wind the boost up and youll happily see around 180 or so Bhp and similar kind of torque in ft lbs

Our last conversion belongs to a guy in Wiltshire so not too far from you Im sure he wouldnt mind arranging a meet so you could take a look and get some kind of idea what to expect from a 2.0ltr unit,I can contact him for you if you wish.

 

Edited May 25, 2010 by whizzer71

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

And I would think like you and apply a turbo to a known quantity, which it sounds like your engine is with all the receipts etc. You can run usable power with a decent ECU. Life has moved on a lot from having to drop the compression and spacer plates.

 

I presume you have a 1.9, so the box will be ok and pretty well suited. Unless you are a nutter like Tom, a short box (1.6) may be a bit frantic. Diesel boxes may be a bit too long.

 

It doesn't have to be Emerald as there are lots of others out there. I would say to maybe not use a Weber Alpha as they are more of a specialist set up and not plump for the diy Megasquirt. Find your nearest rolling road and have a word with them to see what they are used to as they will be the ones mapping your car.

 

For the turbo, I would not take the 406 exhaust manifold as first choice for 3 reasons: They need a special wobbly downpipe making to go onto the standard exhaust, they only take a Peugeot / Citroen T25 turbo which are expensive new and usually knackered secondhand and finally others apparently flow better. A Turbo Technics manifold or even a DP engineering one will be best. Try and avoid home made one off custom things as they tend to not be as engineered as the professionally made ones.

 

If you can get a custom intercooler then that will be best. A cossie one will not be ideal for your conversion a the pipe will have to bend round 180 degrees to go into the throttle body. They are used on 2.0T engines as they have a short inlet. Consider how you will get your boost pipes to feed the inlet, TT go under the car, up through the intercooler and in. Others come round the top in and out of the top of an intercooler (such as R5 GT Turbo or Fiat Punto GT). You will have to drop the rad to get the boost pipes over, so you may need to loose the fanc cowling and attach a new slim fan to the front.

 

Not sure of the injectors but they can be set by the ECU. I have heard of Saab ones, Rover ones and this that and the other colour Cosworth ones. Have a search for "Turbo Injectors" on here as there are web sites with flow rates. That is the only real difference.

 

Your target figures look feasible with a decent ECU and the right mapping. Consider how you want your power delivered as torque is king as opposed to BHP for drivability. This will determine your turbo choice too. GT28RS's seemed to be the flavour a few years back. Be very careful buying second hand turbos and be prepared for a rebuild of the seals etc.

 

Clutch wise, there are paddle clutches but they are a bit harsh for a road car. With not too stupid boost, a good quality standard or even bigger Mi Clutch would do. I would run it with your standard clutch and see if it causes you an issue before taking the box off, assuming your clutch is newish.

 

Pump and regulator should be ok unless you are trying to shift serious amounts of fuel. later 205's came with a 3 bar fuel pressure reg, whereas earlier ones had 2.5 bar. I know TT didn't swap them on their conversion.

 

I don't think the brake servo issue is a mandatory unless you are running pipes in a special way.

 

I would consider losing the primitive distributor in favour of a coil pack to complement the ECU as it will control your spark much better (infact I think this may be mandatory with an aftermarket ECU)

 

Finally on cams there is a bit about some longer duration cams being preferred for better power delivery. Again start with the cam you have, rolling road it and see how the power and torque curve is and see if this works for you before swapping about.

 

 

For project managing the whole lot, don't get drawn into trying to make the perfect engine, take it in steps and then upgrade the weak spots. Decide if you want a fast road, drag or track car as they all need different bits.

 

I hope this helps. As has been said, Toms post is pretty comprehensive but he is from an engineering background so don't let it all scare you! All the above is just my opinion from my experience with a turbo'd CTI. However I did have quite a bit of help!