JDL turbo kit owners thread

[spicyricecake]

Is there a comprehensive "you need this to get this running + should have this for reliability" on this kit?

I hear the upgraded kit also does not need fabbing, but can't seem to find the info on it.

I'm looking to get 300 whp with the base turbo UEL kit. Just trying to price out my budget for it so I can start saving!

[Amputechture]

Finally got her running right. I am embarrassed to admit this but I was not aware that there were two top air ports on the wastegate. I mistook the lower of the two top ports (one that is sitting somewhat on the side) as one of the actual lower air ports. This was causing my WG to completely shut once it reached 7.25 PSI.

In better news, have that settled along with blown off EVAP hoses. On my second revision from Zach and it's pulling great. The low speed drivability is something else...I am impressed.

[Amputechture]

Originally Posted by spicyricecake

Is there a comprehensive "you need this to get this running + should have this for reliability" on this kit?

I hear the upgraded kit also does not need fabbing, but can't seem to find the info on it.

I'm looking to get 300 whp with the base turbo UEL kit. Just trying to price out my budget for it so I can start saving!

There are trade-offs and compromises that may not seem like a big deal to you, but maybe to others. What is absolutely necessary is a MAP sensor as the kit does not come with one. Budget for Ecuteck, but that is a given. Other considerations and things that come to mind are;

-Fan Shroud: If you do not opt for one you will need to ziptie the SPAL fans to the radiator. This means that the fans will not be pulling air from the entire surface area of the radiator. Also keep in mind that the OEM fan harness is not compatible with the SPAL units.

-Crash Beam: I don't know about everyone else, but it took me a long fucking time to notch my beam and it was very tiring. I was exhausted afterwards and it took almost 4 hours. If you have a really nice cutting saw and a good air compressor I could see it being easier, but I did not. Not to mention the structural integrity of the car is greatly compromised afterwards. If I could go back in time I would opt for the no cut version. I have heard people say that the placement of the MAF sensor on the charge piping of the no cut version is better.

-Recirculating WG versus Dump Tube: I have the dump tube version, and it is loud. It seriously sounds like Chewbacca butt fucking a jack hammer. The recirculating option is only $150 if I remember correctly, again something I certainly would have opted for in hindsight.

[Amputechture]

Originally Posted by Shit Luck

yes and no.... it helped. I also had a Crawford aos that was causing issues.

Same here. I just took mine off as it was causing a big ass vacuum leak.

[spicyricecake]

Originally Posted by Amputechture

There are trade-offs and compromises that may not seem like a big deal to you, but maybe to others. What is absolutely necessary is a MAP sensor as the kit does not come with one. Budget for Ecuteck, but that is a given. Other considerations and things that come to mind are;

-Fan Shroud: If you do not opt for one you will need to ziptie the SPAL fans to the radiator. This means that the fans will not be pulling air from the entire surface area of the radiator. Also keep in mind that the OEM fan harness is not compatible with the SPAL units.

-Crash Beam: I don't know about everyone else, but it took me a long fucking time to notch my beam and it was very tiring. I was exhausted afterwards and it took almost 4 hours. If you have a really nice cutting saw and a good air compressor I could see it being easier, but I did not. Not to mention the structural integrity of the car is greatly compromised afterwards. If I could go back in time I would opt for the no cut version. I have heard people say that the placement of the MAF sensor on the charge piping of the no cut version is better.

-Recirculating WG versus Dump Tube: I have the dump tube version, and it is loud. It seriously sounds like Chewbacca butt fucking a jack hammer. The recirculating option is only $150 if I remember correctly, again something I certainly would have opted for in hindsight.

Thanks for the tip!

Do you not suggest having an oil cooler or catch can?

I wish there was just a list of supporting mods that are absolutely necessary, and those that are strongly recommended
Each kit seem to require different parts and that makes it hard to judge what all I need

[Amputechture]

Originally Posted by spicyricecake

Thanks for the tip!

Do you not suggest having an oil cooler or catch can?

I wish there was just a list of supporting mods that are absolutely necessary, and those that are strongly recommended
Each kit seem to require different parts and that makes it hard to judge what all I need

Again it's relative to the application of the car and what is important to you. Me personally, I am running one of the liquid cooled Forrester XT joints
Pros: Very affordable, in the neighborhood of $220
Warms oil up quicker, MUCH quicker
It is cooling the oil even when you are at a dead stop (stop and go traffic)
One less heat exchanger mounted up front
Does not tax the oil pump or affect oil pressure in any way


Cons: Not as effective as radiator style coolers in terms of keeping max temps down.


Overall, I think that oil coolers for street driven turbo cars are not "necessary". Some people may throw tomatoes at me, but do your own research and you'll see that modern synthetic oils are perfectly fine at the temps that yours will be at with this setup.




I was running a Crawford Air/Oil Separator but recently removed it because it may have been causing a vacuum leak and allowing boost to leak into the crankcase. I am thinking about seeking out a VTA catch can, people catch a lot of blow by on these cars and the expense is not that much. My system was recirculating so I couldn't really tell how much oil it was catching but the vast majority of guys on here that know what they are doing run catch cans or an AOS of some sort. But at the same time 300 to 400 bucks for a catch can is a huge fucking rip-off. Granted the aftermarket for this car is very pricey....and that is the going rate for a quality system on this platform...five years ago I would have told you to go fuck yourself if you tried to sell me a $400.00 catch can for my old Mr2. But I plan to drive this car until the wheels fall off, so keeping the valves clean is a necessary evil for me.


Another very worthwhile and not bank breaking measure to take is a turbo blanket.

[spicyricecake]

Originally Posted by Amputechture

Again it's relative to the application of the car and what is important to you. Me personally, I am running one of the liquid cooled Forrester XT joints
Pros: Very affordable, in the neighborhood of $220
Warms oil up quicker, MUCH quicker
It is cooling the oil even when you are at a dead stop (stop and go traffic)
One less heat exchanger mounted up front
Does not tax the oil pump or affect oil pressure in any way


Cons: Not as effective as radiator style coolers in terms of keeping max temps down.


Overall, I think that oil coolers for street driven turbo cars are not "necessary". Some people may throw tomatoes at me, but do your own research and you'll see that modern synthetic oils are perfectly fine at the temps that yours will be at with this setup.




I was running a Crawford Air/Oil Separator but recently removed it because it may have been causing a vacuum leak and allowing boost to leak into the crankcase. I am thinking about seeking out a VTA catch can, people catch a lot of blow by on these cars and the expense is not that much. My system was recirculating so I couldn't really tell how much oil it was catching but the vast majority of guys on here that know what they are doing run catch cans or an AOS of some sort. But at the same time 300 to 400 bucks for a catch can is a huge fucking rip-off. Granted the aftermarket for this car is very pricey....and that is the going rate for a quality system on this platform...five years ago I would have told you to go fuck yourself if you tried to sell me a $400.00 catch can for my old Mr2. But I plan to drive this car until the wheels fall off, so keeping the valves clean is a necessary evil for me.


Another very worthwhile and not bank breaking measure to take is a turbo blanket.

Great advice man, I appreciate it.

Do you mind sharing the list of things you got with the JDL kit? or is there a build thread of yours?

[Amputechture]

Originally Posted by spicyricecake

Great advice man, I appreciate it.

Do you mind sharing the list of things you got with the JDL kit? or is there a build thread of yours?

Don't mention it, I love sharing my experience and impulsive financial decisions with anyone that will listen!


I don't have a build thread but I might make one if I have time. This is everything about my setup as it pertains to the kit:
Base Turbo/EL Manifold/Dumptube/Cut the Crash Beam Version: I pretty much got the bare bones/rental car version of the kit.
Using a 7.25/Yellow Spring in the Wastegate and currently am using a 12 PSI spring in the BOV. I would advise just to use the 8 PSI spring that will come preassembled with the kit. I had my wastegate setup wrong and it took me 3 weeks to figure it out. In the process of doing that I switched out the BOV spring, I don't care for the sound and will be switching back. Also I t'd off of the brake booster line, make sure you get a T that will allow you to cut it down in size as the booster hose is 1/2 on one side and goes down to 3/8 further down. Infamous Performance EBCS-I have 4 Maps. 7 PSI and 10 PSI with and without RaceRom features. Highly recommend an ebcs...flexibility with boost levels and while not dramatic it does quicken spool time. I picked up a fan shroud used here on the classifieds...makes for a cleaner installation and obviously provides cooling benefits. I used butt connectors and electrical tape to splice the factory fan harness to the SPAL fans. Prepare for this or reach out for help if you need it during install. OEM STI PCV Valve, I saw a lot of the SBD kit guys are using these. If you take the hose with the pcv valve inserted and blow against it you would think there is nothing in the hose. This helps with boost leakage and it will only run you 12 bucks or so. DEI Turbo Blanket and some generic exhaust wrap I picked up on Amazon. I have the downpipe, manifold, and overpipe wrapped. If you can afford to put ceramic coating in your budget I would definitely consider that...or maybe even try and convince JDL to thermal coat just the hot side of the turbo for a cheaper price. Exhaust wrap works and it works well, although some argue that it will make your piping susceptible to wearing down quicker and collecting moisture....I've wrapped manifolds before with no issues. If you go this route make sure to get stainless steel zip ties and one of those little tools that tightens them and cuts them with a clean pinch...I didn't do this and my downpipe looks pretty bad I'm going to eventually re-wrap her. I initially purchased a wideband, boost and oil pressure gauge but my tuner convinced me that wideband is not necessary. The 02 sensors can be rescaled to read the same range as a wideband so it is just another expense and thing to worry about. I am going to just run the boost gauge in the a/c vent. Liquid oil cooler and AOS I covered earlier. Tsudo overpipe and Berk HFC FP, I had them on before the kit so I can't really tell you what difference you could expect there. At idle my car is now quieter than with Openflash Headers, and the OP/FP. Zach from DT is tuning my car, he is very responsive and helpful as he can be on the other side of the country. I wanted someone local to me (somewhat to you also) to tune the car initially but that did not pan out. I was very skeptical about e-tuning as it is new territory to me, but I have to say I am blown away at how well the car feels and drives. Low-speed drivability was of the utmost importance to me and Zach's tune seriously feels like it's from factory. Also, very very important that you secure the EVAP hoses that are under the intake manifold. There is a sticky thread created by "Spartarus" on this. Get a throttle body gasket just in case your original one looks bad when you go to do this. If you need to know anything else in particular, I'll do my best to answer or help you find out.

[Amputechture]

Also forgot to mention the oil pan. JDL offers an optional OEM oil pan with the return line fitting pre-welded. Otherwise your option is to take your existing oil pan off, bring it a welder (assuming you cannot do it yourself) and all of that. The logistics of it all was too much for me, and I think $150 for a pan is very reasonable. You can probably fetch a fair price for your old OEM pan here on the classifieds afterwards.

[djwishbone]

Originally Posted by Amputechture

-Recirculating WG versus Dump Tube: I have the dump tube version, and it is loud. It seriously sounds like Chewbacca butt fucking a jack hammer.

Best quote on this entire forum, it's sig worthy.

Anyone have more pictures of the intake options? The biggest thing holding me back from this kit (or any top mount turbo kit) is the huge hot sucking air this thing must do as slower speeds. I live in the desert nearing 120F+ ambient in the summer.

[Amputechture]

Originally Posted by djwishbone

Best quote on this entire forum, it's sig worthy.

Anyone have more pictures of the intake options? The biggest thing holding me back from this kit (or any top mount turbo kit) is the huge hot sucking air this thing must do as slower speeds. I live in the desert nearing 120F+ ambient in the summer.

I wasn't even aware there were different intake options. I don't live in quite the climate you do, but to give you an idea I am in Florida and the highest intake air temperature I have captured in logs is 59C/138 F with ambient temp close to 100.

[JDLAutoDesign]

The IAT's you're seeing are your charge air temps measured in the MAF pipe, not the turbo inlet pipe.

We do have a "Cold" air inlet pipe that locates the filter down low in the front bumper but for most smaller turbo setups the gains are marginal.

[Amputechture]

Originally Posted by JDLAutoDesign

The IAT's you're seeing are your charge air temps measured in the MAF pipe, not the turbo inlet pipe.

We do have a "Cold" air inlet pipe that locates the filter down low in the front bumper but for most smaller turbo setups the gains are marginal.

I understand, I was just conveying the point that iat is not an issue for me in somewhat of a similar atmosphere/climate (I live in the land of swamp people and retired Jews and you gents are from where they filmed that Kevin Bacon movie where centipedes come from out of the ground). All thanks to a proper intercooler setup of course!

Say I wanted to opt for a recirculating WG. This would involve just changing out the downpipe correct? If so, could you PM me a quote please?

[djwishbone]

Originally Posted by JDLAutoDesign

The IAT's you're seeing are your charge air temps measured in the MAF pipe, not the turbo inlet pipe.

We do have a "Cold" air inlet pipe that locates the filter down low in the front bumper but for most smaller turbo setups the gains are marginal.

Are we talking about dyno gains or gains seen on the street under heat soak conditions? I'm not trying to belabor this point, but sucking in hot engine air right by an area heated by the exhaust manifold itself, seems like a strange idea to me. Perhaps it does not matter?

Is the top position the best spot to mount the turbo? It seems popular but others have placed it in different areas. I can see how they all have their benefits and detriments, but I'm curious why you guys chose that area?