Question: Turbo Automatic?

[astrock42]

I drive an 07 3 HB. It's a 5 speed automatic. I wanna get it turbocharged, but I know modifications to the transmission need to be made. I'm hoping someone could tell me what I would need to do in order to turbo my 3. Anybody know what modifications need to be done and where I could get them done? I know a lot of people say it's not a good idea, but I'm optimistic.

[astraelraen]

You've probably been told this already, but for the same amount of money you could probably sell your 3 and buy a MS3 for less.

[astrock42]

You've probably been told this already, but for the same amount of money you could probably sell your 3 and buy a MS3 for less.

My 3 is presently a lease. IDK if that's a bad idea, or if my payments will be the same or what. Would it be wise to terminate the lease and trade it in? Would payments be higher?

[VermZ06]

Are you legally allowed to modify a leased car to the extent of adding a turbo???

[FrancoNemo]

My 3 is presently a lease. IDK if that's a bad idea, or if my payments will be the same or what. Would it be wise to terminate the lease and trade it in? Would payments be higher?

if u trade it in ur goin to be upside down (term used by dealers meaning u owe more for the 3 than wat they will give u for it!) soo ur payments will be way higher. Plus being a lease ur not supposed to mod it. mine is a lease but i plan on buyin the lease out as soon as i have some money.
i recommend u eirther do the same or put the extra money as down and trade in the M3 for the MS3

[astrock42]

if u trade it in ur goin to be upside down (term used by dealers meaning u owe more for the 3 than wat they will give u for it!) soo ur payments will be way higher. Plus being a lease ur not supposed to mod it. mine is a lease but i plan on buyin the lease out as soon as i have some money.
i recommend u eirther do the same or put the extra money as down and trade in the M3 for the MS3

Thanks for the heads up. Already got the CAI and Rims, but that's all reversable. Thanks, you probably saved me some grief.

[Joe90usa]

The nice thing about leases is that when they end, assuming you have not done anything outside of your lease agreement (like mileage overage or abuse of the car), you walk away owing nothing. The terms of your lease should also mention what you can and can't do to your car for modification, and the allowable stuff is extremely minimal.

[andre0121]

dont give a shit and turbo that bitch!!!!....once u go turbo u never go back

[knowledge007]

lmao...do not touch a leased car.

[andre0121]

lol i know i keed i keed...thatd be hilarious tho huh pull up at the end of ur lease with a turbo in there blow off noises goin off

[astrock42]

hell yes. That'd be a blast, I may do it actually. Just turbo that hoe a little while before the lease is up. Smoke the tires in front of the office.

[knowledge007]

Second and last warning... DO NOT TOUCH A LEASED VEHICLE!

[astrock42]

Second and last warning... DO NOT TOUCH A LEASED VEHICLE!

Trust me I got the message. I won't do anything. Last thing I need is to have less money.

[ehidle]

I drive an 07 3 HB. It's a 5 speed automatic. I wanna get it turbocharged, but I know modifications to the transmission need to be made. I'm hoping someone could tell me what I would need to do in order to turbo my 3. Anybody know what modifications need to be done and where I could get them done? I know a lot of people say it's not a good idea, but I'm optimistic.

You are asking for trouble. If you wanted a turbo, you should have just bought a turbo. You are going to ultimately destroy your vehicle if you attempt to do this. The stock engines are not designed to handle positive pressure in the combustion cycle. The compression ratio is too high and as a result the rings and bearings will not be able to handle the additional load. Also, the transmission is not designed to handle that much additional power transfer.

The turbo engines have a lower compression ratio to account for the increased pressure in the combustion chamber. They also have much stronger bearings on the cranks and cams, larger fuel injectors, completely different air ingestion and exhaust designs, lower manufacturing tolerance on the cylinders themselves, along with the compression and oil rings, and the list goes on and on and on.

I think you'd be crazy, if not stupid, to add an aftermarket turbo to a stock car that you want to continue operating for any length of time. The cost of doing so properly is far greater than simply paying the extra money at time of purchase for the turbo version of the car that was actually designed to operate with forced induction.

[cmedrive]

That's not exactly accurate. There have been many people who have turbo charged their stock motor and haven't had any issues. A lot of problems people have with turbo charging a stock motor is 1. Improper tuning and/or 2. 'Let's turn the boost up and see what this baby can do' syndrome.
6-8lbs of boost, somewhere in the neighborhood of 200whp, has been done several times to a stock 2.3l with no ill effects. I think tuning really plays the most important part here.
However, it is always best to prepare for the worst and build the motor properly with forged internals, lower compression...etc.
And, of course, I wouldn't do it with a leased vehicle but it sounds like astrock got the message on that so I won't harp on it.

[ehidle]

That's not exactly accurate. There have been many people who have turbo charged their stock motor and haven't had any issues. A lot of problems people have with turbo charging a stock motor is 1. Improper tuning and/or 2. 'Let's turn the boost up and see what this baby can do' syndrome.
6-8lbs of boost, somewhere in the neighborhood of 200whp, has been done several times to a stock 2.3l with no ill effects. I think tuning really plays the most important part here.
However, it is always best to prepare for the worst and build the motor properly with forged internals, lower compression...etc.
And, of course, I wouldn't do it with a leased vehicle but it sounds like astrock got the message on that so I won't harp on it.

I am speaking more to the eventual catastrophic failure of the motor due to detonation. If you do not lower the compression, you will have detonation at very small amounts of boost, perhaps even just a couple of psi, especially since the stock CR is already over 10.

One of these days when I have a couple of hours to waste, I'll do the math :) Maybe it will handle 6-8, but that's an awful lot of boost.

[cmedrive]

I'll let you do the math, and I'll stay N/A until I have money to waste on proving one of us wrong, lol.

[ehidle]

I'll let you do the math, and I'll stay N/A until I have money to waste on proving one of us wrong, lol.

Hahaha that's a deal :)

I hope, for your sake, you prove me wrong!

[mikeski]

there are pleanty of people who turbo their n/a applications and are fine. I think anything more than 5-6 psi is pushing it without forged internals. the MSP is a stock p5 motor with a turbo, it runs so rich and the ecu is crap which is why some people detonate and blow their engine even at stock boost. with proper ems and fuel management, you could safely boost a stock motor for 5-6 lbs.

[astrock42]

Your motor won't get worn out if it is properly modified to handle the new conditions created by adding a turbo.

[D_Roc7822]

On one hand I wanna tell you to do it.. just for the experience and knowledge that you will gather from the install and the overall experience of it. But then on the other hand.. my common sense side says to just sell the 3 and buy a MS3 and save yourself all the hassle and trouble of it. Plus it will be much more reliable that way (with warranty and all).

[aps11090]

Hey all. I boosted my NA about 8k ago... I'm running a manual tranny though which is far more forgiving... to the OP. Since you have already added a CAI and the dealer will probably notice it, you should just plan on buying out your lease. Being an automatic though, boosting is very tricky. You can do it, and you can comfortably run 6psi without issue, as long as you make sure to stay in gear while hitting boost... what I mean is simply don't stomp on the throttle at 40, watch the car downshift and tear apart second and third gear... If you want to go boost, it is going to be expensive, but on an auto it tends to be far more expensive...

If this is your daily driver, I would suggest against it... If you can work on it in the garage over the winter or something though, and at least build your tranny. The motor can handle 8.5 psi without being worried of throwing a rod or something given you are tuned properly... Just need to be careful of our plastic transmissions that is all lol.

Have you looked into the cost of doing this? Just FYI without building the motor/tranny you're looking at 3,800 - 4,600 after all is said and done... You'll need to swap your tranny fluid, oil, get gauges, fuel management, mani, dp, piping, filters, wideband.... it goes on and on.

Just my 2 cents :)

[SmoothVanilla]

yea dude dont turbo a lease car lol. but as far vas the whole "just buy a speed 3" some ppl dont understand that you probably bought the sedan because you like the look of the sedan lmao. I agree the speed 3 is a sweet machine, but IMO its fuckin' ugly, all hatchbacks are.
so THATS why ppl dont "just go buy a speed 3"

[rooster1]

^not to mention Insurance.... and the Pricetag.. which makes it cost more to own. yay my 1st post! lol..

[rayarnold]

Or how about the "I just paid 20K+ for this car" reasoning?