Turbo to non turbo

[cobby]

In the quest for added power to my 1.4sri non turbo, rather than going down the route of induction kits, remaps and the like could I simply retrofit a turbo from a 1.4T? Instant 140bhp or am I way off?

[bruce_19]

Why off I would say.

You would need loads of new parts and to be honest you would probably spend more on converting yours than trading in what you have and buying a 1.4t.

[J1ODYA]

Ha this should be interesting... I vote way off as life isn't that easy but who knows.

Just buy a better car?!?

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[andy2174]

Way off I should imagine, unless the 1.4T is a high compression engine and lightly boosted, it will be highly unlikely you could just bolt on a turbo and away you go

[raimon]

Way off. A lot of work is involved. For a start, need the turbo, intercooler, new cooling system, necessary piping, programming and more.

[cobby]

That answers that then haha, I don't know diddly about engines and turbos etc hence the question, unfortunately I aren't in a position to be able to change cars at present but if and when I am I'll be going for a insignia elite but in the meantime I'm looking for inexpensive ways to get a little extra squirt from the 1.4 which seem a little thin on the ground from what I've read so far, in short I bought the right car but with the wrong engine

[tucpal]

for the cost of adding a turbo you may as buy a new car
you would be looking at £4000 easy and it won't be a factory set up either just an aftermarket turbo map etc
the only real mods worth doing for you are a remap
and the pedal box that will help with the feel of the car and a remap will add 10 to 15 bhp
and you would be looking at around £300 to do that

[J1ODYA]

I do recall someone trying to turbo their non turbo MGZR many years ago and they did it BUT it cost a fortune and constantly blew.

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[raimon]

I believe it's quite fun driving a slow engine and taking it to the limit, you know when you will lose traction and then regain control. You controlling the car not the car controlling you. Many people buy fast cars that's beyond their driving capabilities, better to have fun in a car within your own capability. I sure had some fun in a corsa c 1.2. Thinking of buying a small car with small engine for fun.

[Shorty S91]

its still the same m32 box isnt it?, if thats the case get yourself a 1.4t engine with all the trimmings, ecus, looms and so on. be cheaper than trying to pop a turbo in there for not a lot of gain

[tucpal]

it has a different gearbox so it would be more expensive to swap the engine than to get a turbo made for it

[GOKIWI]

While it is very possible it is very expensive , time consuming and you will also need to be a good fabricator or at least have access to one.

If you turbo a standard nasp engine you will not be able to go for more than a few psi boost as the internals will not take much more and that cost wont justify the gain.

Things you will need.

New camshaft's or least cam's ground to suit turbo type use
New pistons , lower compression
Stronger oil pump, you now have to pump oil to the turbo bearings
Secondary water pump, you will need water circulating the turbo to keep it cool after use
Inlet manifold and plenum chamber
Exhaust manifold
Exhaust system
Turbo
Intercooler
Oil cooler
Oil and Water lines
ECU 
Pipework, including oul feed and return to the turbo
Electrical harness
Brackets and misc fastners
Potentially stronger engine and gearbox mounts
Stronger clutch and flywheel
Maybe even better brakes 

My Leon for example is rated (flywheel figures) at 225BHP but to get to 300BHP cost over £2000 so that works out at £26 per 1HP gained.

[cobby]

Thanks everyone for the input, that well and truly puts an end to that idea, tbh the only thing that bugs me with my car is how it just fades when hitting any sort of climb otherwise I'm quite happy with it

[GOKIWI]

Don't worry the 1.6 is just as gutless when going up hills or trying to pull away from a bust roundabout , they are "tuned" for emissions and economy not performance. But as has been said you can tweak them to gain a little bit of power , unfortunately the cost will be high though.

[stigeye]

I have lost count of the number of threads where people are looking for more power from smaller engined cars. This is not because they were wrong to purchase the car they have, but I believe sometime people make the mistake of thinking they will be saving money in the long term by purchasing a smaller engine. In a lot of cases quite a few people become disillusioned with the lack of response from the car when power is needed and no matter how you try and get around it you still can't greatly improve the power delivery that you really want.

From a personal point of view, I would rather have power and not need it than not have it and and need it. It may cost me more in the long term but the satisfaction you get from having that power when you most need it outweighs the long term cost. In terms of fuel consumption, I have spent just as much on weekly fuel in a 1.4 as we have in a 2.0 as the larger engine isn't struggling to get us where we want it to go.

Not saying you got your car for any of the reasons I stated here, but I think a lot of people need to research their car choice and then go for a long test drive under a number of conditions to make sure they will be getting everything they need from a car.

[Rusty2009]

try driving a 2.0cdti in limp mode its so painful and embarrassing I had a 1.6 N/A astra-J leave me behind this morning.

[sheppy1]

try driving a 2.0cdti in limp mode its so painful and embarrassing I had a 1.6 N/A astra-J leave me behind this morning.

Mate... He'd have left you behind even if yours wasn't in limp mode! why does yours keep doing that anyway?

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[Rusty2009]

try driving a 2.0cdti in limp mode its so painful and embarrassing I had a 1.6 N/A astra-J leave me behind this morning.

Mate... He'd have left you behind even if yours wasn't in limp mode! why does yours keep doing that anyway?

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haha you cheeky sod.

Something about overboost sure its the waste-gate at fault the manager is on holiday till next Thursday & I want to book it in via him as he is the only one in the dealership with a brain cell between his ears, I'm not prepared to pay for parts that are covered by warranty.

I told them when they tried to charge me £70 for a software update its not a software issue (but from the people who claim "we know your car best" it was).