Well, could it? should it, be done?

Business case: Recently divorced with two young children. 2 yrs ago, I asked friend who worked at mitsu to hook me up with a cheap car. He told me he had a "used sportback". Seriously folks, that was the 1st time I heard of one. I needed a wagon to lug stuff around and hour each way, every other weekend.

He said, "check it out, thirteen grand." If you like it, it's yours. So I got in, thinking "used" meant USED, not 50 MILES! "WOW!", I thought. "A 4 banger wagon, perfect for the kids". I slapped out the dough and I bought a Yakima roof rack for my bike and canoe. Just recently, I searched for an air filter. K&N of course. I found the RRM short ram. Now I find myself waiting for a pulley in the mail! "How far will this go?" I ask myself. I'm thinking intake manifold... exhaust and some other performance mods. Now I'm starting to consider a turbo. Silly aye? Maybe I should stop this madness?? What do you think?

I don't mind having an automatic. It's a 2004 4g69, and just turned 10,000 miles. (see my profile [garage?] for details).

Please provide your thoughts.. again, keep in mind, I only have $13k invested!

 

I wouldnt do it only because automatics rob so much torque. If you had a 800+whp and tq car I would say go for it as the auto should keep the thing spooled all the time as your foot stays on the gas. But I just dont think an auto is practical for this application.

 

theres someone thats done it already to a sportsback automatic. canadian canuck is his name. i have an auto too and i'm very close to getting the rrm kit. i got sick of wasting money on all the bolt ons that imo did very little as far performance goes. i'm gonna have this car for a while, might as well enjoy it while its still running lol

 

If the automatic transmission can handle the extra power provided by the turbo and you have money to burn i say go for it.

 

do u guys think i can get 200,000 miles out of auto turbo ra lol? how bout 150,000?

 

yeah i got 4 sp auto too
im going to turbo it,
just keep it around 6-10psi should be fine
dont do any neutral drops
and u should be fine

 

^^Agreed....as for it hitting 150k,I'm sure it can happen if well maintained and not abused....

 

Personally, I think putting a turbo in a sportback is a great idea. The transmission can handle the power, and the autos are in desperate need of extra power. As for reliability/longevity, it all depends on how you treat it. Keep an aggressive regiment of changing your fluids (follow a "severe" schedule) and keep everything else well maintained. Since you'd be boosting, there are a few things that will wear faster, but the internals should hold up if taken care of.

Also, since you're in Toledo, and that's really close to Detroit, check out www.mievo.net. You should try to make it out to one of our meets or track days. I'd love to see more Ralliarts there.

 

Otter, I didnt realize you're so close! Shoot, I'm 45 mins from Ann Arbor, but u knew that! Hey, something that's buggin me is the sound of an exhaust system. Can you tell me what ya got, and maybe I can buzz up and give it a listen?

 

You don't want to use my exhaust as your example I'm catless, so it's loud as hell. However, with the cat installed, magnaflow mufflers sound great.

 

otter just with fluids, when dealing with the tranny, should the 75w90 syncomesh/max w/whatever still be ok, or will we have to move to a higher level?grade?

 

No need to change the type of fluid you use in your tranny when you go turbo. Only need to change the weight of your motor oil.

 

thought so, ty otter
jut making sure coz i didnt wana cook the tranny, but i spose it is still only moving at the same rate as before