I just upgraded from GSC S1 cams to S3 cams and I think I'm going to order a new turbo to replace my HTA 73 Green at the same time. I was on the Forced Performance website to order one and had a couple questions about the different options and what I should get.

Turbine Housing - 9.0 A/R, 9.8 A/R, or 10.5 A/R
Wastegate - Stock, 18 psi, 25 psi $100 for 18 psi or 25 psi
I bought my car used and when running wastegate pressure only my Green was running 18 psi so I guess I already have 18 psi wastegate.
Porting - $95
Turbine Housing Coating - $100

Any advice on which options to choose would be appreciated. I'll order later and take my Green off and list it for sale whenever I figure out what to get.

 

That is for when they used to offer the MHI housing. To my knowledge they only offer their new SS housing. That has a flange already on it for a Tial EWG. So you would be canceling out your IWGA. So no need to worry about 18psi or 25psi.
They offer an elbow from the hotside to meet up to where your existing DP bolts to the o2 housing. Their new hotside eliminates the o2 housing. So all you would need to worry about is chopping off the 2 bolt flange on your DP and welding a vband flange on. When you buy the turbo they sell you the Tial EWG for a pretty good price too, or at least they used to. They also include an oil feed line. So the bigger question is do you want JB or DBB. If you can afford the extra $$$ I say go DBB.
You can always sell your Green with IWGA and hotside to recover some funds.

 

While quantities last, they have greens, reds, and blacks available with the bolt-on MHI housing.

http://www.forcedperformance.net/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=FP&Product_Cod e=NTEVOJBMHI&Category_Code=SP

I wouldn't waste money on porting an Evo 8/9 turbo, go for the coating though.

 

My .02 if you want a fun street/auto x car. I'm a big fan of the bb red over the black. It spools up about 400rpm later then the stock turbo but makes 420+ on pump gas and 500whp on e85. The car drives well around town and comes right up on boost. It's like the stock turbo but doesn't fall off.
A friend has a mhi black with the same gearing and it makes 20psi by 4500 on pump gas. That makes it too laggy for autox and around town IMO.
If you get a red have it ported because on a stock engine it can have boost creep. I had to take mine off and have the wastegate entry ported.
Now if you only want to make more power or drag race then the black is a better option.

 

I don't think I would spend the money to swap to the Red over the HTA 73 Green that I have now. I have gone back and forth about switching to a Black or keeping the Green. Most of my fun with the car is driving out deserted back roads and pushing turns hard. I'll be running E85 nearly all the time.

I was just thinking the power high in the RPM range would be worth the low end loss because when I am driving the car hard I always keep the RPMs up anyways and when just cruising around I don't care to be in boost all the time.

With stock block low end torque is very limited anyways right?

 

Do you want a fast stop light to stop light car or one that is fast on the highway? If you want a balance of the two then keep the Green. I suggest to run something bigger than a Green but only if it is on a built motor.

 

I don't care so much about performance taking off from a dead stop but more accelerating out of turns and doing pulls on straight stretches. I'm not the type to drive around trying to race people at stop lights and just like doing pulls and generally driving hard when on deserted roads.

Turbo and cam choices are so difficult because they change the overall dynamic of the car so much.

 

What is your power goal?

What clutch are you going to run?

Injectors and pump?

I'm a big fan of using the smallest turbo you can to reach those goals and keep it fun around town.
I thought about the black/red decision for a while. On the dyno the black just makes more power with only 100-200 rpm loss but the response is slower on the street where most of your time is spent . The red comes right on at almost any rpm. I've got thread in the dyno area you can check out if you want.

I currently have a 4400 rpm power band. My turbo makes 20psi by 3600 and makes over 500whp until 8000rpm on the stock block without cams or anything . A black would could more hp but I'm almost out of fuel with my 1300cc injectors so it would only add lag to my situation.

Most people agree that keeping the torque under 400ft lbs and the rpm under 8000rpm that the engine will live long. A green on e85 would easily make over 400 ft lbs at under 4000 if you let it which is much harder on the engine that the same number at higher rpms. The red can also do that so you need to be mindful and have it tuned softer in that area.

Also if you are ever going to do a 2.3/2.4 then get the black. The stroker will decrease the lag on the black and would be pretty fun.

 

My power goal constantly seems to go up but I'm sure I'll reach a point where I don't want more lag just for more power.

No idea on the clutch yet. Still researching and trying to decide. Probably going to have trans built or do five speed swap and clutch at the same time.

Right now I have ID 1300s and a Buschur Double Pumper.

I was actually thinking that I would probably do a 2.3 stroker when I do build the block but that is still a little ways away. No point until I upgrade my transmission and clutch.

 

The clutch is a hard decision to make for an evo. Power limit, cost, noise,driveability and transmission wear will have to be considered.

With that injector you may be limited to 600whp on a dynojet on e85 and a small turbo running high boost. The ID1300 drives really well for a larger injector. Going with bigger injectors there is always a tradeoff somewhere. IMO

Most people go with a 5 speed swap to handle more power. A few people have run the 6 speed hard but the general consensus is the 5 speed is stronger.

 

So any input from people on my original questions of what options to choose with a Black?

 

I recommend not getting the black. your setup and mod path is not ready. when you are at 500whp on the green then consider a turbo upgrade.

 

I was running 30 psi on the Green running out of fuel pump at high 400s with the Green before.

 

Get a 10.5 housing, ported, and a 25psi actuator. Just know that you won't see the potential of the black until the motor is built. 18psi gate pressure is probably actually a 25psi gate. My red makes 20psi on gate pressure with a 25psi gate..

On a stock short block, staying safe, a red or black will make the same amount power since you are torque limited by stock block, and the red has no problem holding boost to redline..

 

Thank you. I will continue to do a little more research and possibly still stick with my Green but was just wondering what I should order if I do decide to go ahead and switch to a Black.