Its been a while since I have posted up aout my progress on my Evo 8 as I have been super busy with work and travel and wrenching away on my car when ever I have a chance

I just finished putting it all back together last week before I left for a tuning trip in Texas and El Salvador. I came back this week and have been putting a few easy break in miles on the new Buschur Race motor and testing the new turbo set up on the dyno. After an easy break in it was time to re-tq the head, change the oil and thrash the heck out of the new set up.

Those who have followed my progress will recall that after I was invited to attend the PINKS ALL OUT TV show in late July I decided to change the set up on my Evo to make it more easy to drive consistantly and smoothly

Previously, I have been working with the Gt42r for the past two years and making some crazy power - reaching a peak of 1060 whp through a Buschur Exhuast and a Buschur Race FMIC. I have learned through a lot of trial and error that driving a GT42 on a 2.0 L 4 banger means that you are operating in a very high RPM area of the power band. In order to stay ON boost you must shift it at a very high rpm otherwise you get a significant lag between shifts. This means a lot of stress on rods and engine internals and a lack of long term reliaility. Also, it is very difficult to execute fast shifts on a synchro box when you are shifting at super high rpms.

Way back in the day - 4 years ago I was the first to run 9's on a Gt35 and I remembered how much fun it was to have a super consistant, easy to drive and reliable race car. Bask in those days I won a lot of races, often against faster cars which where not reliable or consistant. I remembered that reliability and consistancy are the key for winning races.

My plan was to go back to what I had before, only better with what I have learned over the past 4 years added to the mix.

My turbo selection is the Gt37 dual ball bearing - a/k/a T67 P trim with the larger .75 A/R "H" front cover and custom Precision Turbo 65 mm turbine wheel. This turbo is a lot faster responding than the Gt42 and capable of mid 700 whp which by my calculations should get my 3200 lbs (with driver) NHRA 9 second certified Evo 8 into the mid 9 second range. Hopefully, in a significantly more consistant and reliable fashion.

Although, the Gt37 is giving up over 200 whp on the Gt42, my theory is that the faster response time between shifts and the more broad power band will result in a car which is nearly as fast at a lower boost level and with greater reliability.

Two days ago my dyno tuning sesion brought an easy 740 whp at 41 psi of boost with ease. The tune up is super conservative and basic. It took me a total of 4 dyno pulls to dial in the car from the previous Gt42 tune up. I will take a few passes down the track and use the data logs to fine tune the tune up and squeeze out the max power at the track.

The big suprize to me was when I drove the car how much more fun it was to drive than with the previous Gt42 set up. Its funny how when you are driving it the difference between 700 and 900 plus whp does not "feel" that different on the road. Although the car does not pull as hard on the top end of the power band at 9,000 rpms and above it does respond a lot quicker between shifts and having the power band more accessable when driving on the road makes the car a lot more enjoyable to drive on the road.

Simply put, I had a blast driving my car around the past two days and I cant keep the smile off my face when I step on the loud pedal and feel the car starting to loose traction when the TQ hits down low.

Hopefully, next up I will find time for some test and tune at the track to see if my theories stand up on the big black dyno.

I wanted to say thanks to David Buschur and Buschur Racing for making some amazing engines and parts.

With the new turbo set up my air intake temps are rising less than 5 degrees over ambient on a 1st through 3rd gear pull on the highway. The Buschur Race FMIC continues to be one of the best air to air fmic's I have ever tested.

Al

 

Uh, wheres the vid?

 

I am going to make the video of this new set up in operation when i get to the track which will be very soon. Evo M has asked that I refrain from posting any videos of my driving my Evo on the road and I intend to honor the request.

 

Woot, I think that was a good idea, Al. I hope you can enjoy it and get back to finishing races on a regular basis. I know you were having fun back when it was high 9s/low 10s with repeatability.

 

Thanks man.

I owe the inspiration to this to all the customer's of David Buschur at the race back in May who were all running 9's or close to it on street driven cars. Those guys looked like they were having so much fun it was contageous.

Lately, I have been having a blast in my pump gas GT35 STI that runs 30 psi and 540 TQ at under 5,000 rpms with alcohol injection. The STI is so much fun to drive around on the street it puts a huge smile on my face every time I hear the dump tube open and the car squats and takes off like a cat.

Of course the main objective of the new set up was to make a good showing on PINKS ALL OUT. After driving it around on the road for the past two days, I am seriously considering to put the headlights back in the car and what ever else is needed so I can just drive it around every day. Its simply way too much fun to drive a car like that on the road.

Al

 

Nice story to read and glad you are enjoying the cars!

I'm curious though, you mentioned 5 degrees over ambient? So let's say it's 80F outside, you are saying the max intake temps you see are 85F?

 

Are we gonna get some pics Al!?!?!

 

how high do you rev now with this turbo before you shift?

 

When I was testing it was 90 ambient and at the top of 3rd it was just touching 95

I have been paying close attention lately as I have seen other fmic's from other companies on customers cars which are the same size but without the same core which did not perform as well

Al

 

I am shifting at 8900 with a flat foot shift

Before in 1st and 2nd I was shifting at 10,200

The car is a lot more fun to drive now and easier to shift

Al

 

That is nutz. Are you using meth or water injection?

 

Al I remember you suggesting to me a while back not to go 42R when I was thinking about doing that...guess you weren't kidding about the fun factor missing.

I did decide to at least ring out the HTA 35R before I even consider going bigger.

 

Nothing but race gas

 

Watching David Buschur at work for the last few years has shown me the importance to refine and maximize the set up

Being able to see the BAD BISH II in action for the last few months has shown me just what a HTA 35 can do with the right parts combination

I am happy that the PINKS ALL OUT show forced me to head in a more reliable and consistant direction with my car as I am having a lot more fun with it now than with the giant turbo

Of course, for myself, it was imporant to actually make the 1,000 whp plus power and see what that was all about. Its a learning process and invaluable experience.

It is hard to argue with the pump gas results that Buschur is making these days - the power and more imporantly reliability have been impressive.

Al

 

I can understand the drive to want to crack 1000awhp, well you've done the 1000+awhp thing now so you can get back to having fun