TURBOTRISTAN, who’s based in Melbourne and has been in the car scene for 26 years now and his video is quite insightful. In this video, he discusses various upgrades for his K24-powered Holden Commodore VL including turbo manifold, Maxpeedingrods GGT3037 turbo and the rear muffler. He also discusses future modifications for this car. Now, let’s piece together the puzzle!
The first thing to do is to unbox the sidewinder turbo manifold, the most common kind we see on a K-series engine in Civic. He go ahead to put on some new titanium exhaust manifold studs. Fasteners like these are no less important then engines in a car, make sure to tighten them!
Now, let’s bring our star on stage – Maxpeedingrods GGT3037 turbo! Our friend has used plenty of our turbos before, and he summed up Maxpeedingrods turbo in one word: reliable. When he was installing it, he really had to break a sweat! Yes, it’s heavy, and of course it is! With a Silicon-Molybdenum turbine housing that laughs in the face of 850℃ heat, a K419 alloy steel turbine wheel unshaken by 1000℃, and a ZL104 aluminum compressor housing that’s greatly tough. And let’s not forget the billet compressor wheel – forged from machined billet aluminum. I believe its substantiality can explain its weight, don’t you think? With this turbo, you can boost your car up to 500hp. And it can be both water and oil cooled and our friend chose to run oil cooling for future test.
The next thing to do is installation which involves connecting the turbo to the manifold and then connecting it to the engine. To put the giant and heavy part in the engine bay, he still had to clock the turbo and center cartridge and work on the drain line. To maintain a consistent theme for the engine components, he also plans to grind back some of the casting marks on the turbo or even take them off, and paint the intake manifold and turbo black. Then, he showed off the new rear muffler he bought, all set to install it at the back of the car. This little fella is here to hush up the noise from the tailpipe, maybe the only noise-cancelling buddy on his ride. Who knows, he might add another one in the middle, but that’s still up in the air!
As for the future plans for this car, he hopes that this engine can achieve a power output of 400-450 horsepower, and perhaps even push it up to 500hp. He is considering keeping the rods and pistons stock due to budget constraints but acknowledges a strong desire to upgrade the valve springs, retainers, and the K20 oil pump. He mentions installing billet drive pulleys to reduce rotating mass. He mentions that the sidewinder manifold is chosen to address wastegate issues and improve exhaust flow. He also plans to replace the water filler neck with a K-tuned filler for more clearance and adjust the turbo’s orientation for better intercooler pipe routing.
We are excited as the K-swap project takes shape. Looking forward to future modifications, and we believe that Maxpeedingrods GGT3037 turbo is going to shine like a star on this ride!
