Do turbocharged cars require premium gas?
Generally, yes. They will likely be equipped with a knock sensor, which will allow the engine to run on lower octane fuel, but it will make less power, will get less mileage, and will shorten the lifespan of the sensor.A higher octane rating means a fuel has a higher resistance to pre-ignition. Pre-ignition is common on engines with high compression when using lower rated fuel. Turbochargers force air into engines. When air is forced into an engine, it doesn't change the engine’s STATIC compression ratio, but it does change it's DYNAMIC compression ratio.For instance, a turbo engine running 9.0:1 static compression and 7 psi of boost will have a dynamic compression above 13:1.Pre-ignition causes a rapid pressure front to be created on the crown of the piston, and particularly the ringlands, while the piston is still traveling towards top dead center. This creates a pinging noise, and a downward force on an upward traveling piston. As you can imagine, this is bad. In fact, it's so bad, it can destroy an engine in seconds.Have a great day!
What is the max psi that i can SAFELY turn the turbo to on my cx7 up to.?
It varies from car to car. I don't have any experience with the Mazdas, but I wouldn't boost higher than 10-11psi on a stock engine. That's just an estimate. You could be safe with 15, or you could blow it at 8. Check these guys out: http://mazdaforum.com/ The registration is free, and you can ask on their forum. They should be able to help you out.
Can regular unleaded fuel be used in a supercharged engine without causing harm?
I looking at buying a 2000 buick regal that has a supercharged engine. It is in mint condition and is priced good. The only drawback that I can see is that it is supposed to take premium fuel only. My dad, who has a buick park avenue with the same kind of engine has only run regular unleaded in his and has had no major problems yet (he has only had it a few months). What do you think? Do I have to use the premium in it and end up spending more on gas, or chance it and use the regular? I know it is recommended for a good reason, but what would happen if I used the reg. fuel? i dont want to screw up the engine...
Is it possible to install a turbo into a non turbo engine?
It is possible, and people do it all the time, with widely varying results.The easy way is generally to just replace the exhaust manifold (or manifolds, on V- engines) with one that will hold a turbo (or two) and then fabricate the minimum amount of intake and exhaust plumbing to get the engine running again.However this won’t give much additional power, and side-effects include broken engines. For better results you’ll want to do a bunch more. In no particular order:You’ll want to retune the engine control unit (ECU) to adjust the air-fuel mixture (AFR) and the ignition timing.You’ll want a way to control the amount of boost you get from the turbocharger. You might get 6–10psi from the turbocharger by default, but with a boost controller you can bring that up much higher. (Preferably, your boost controller includes a throttle position sensor. You can get by without one, but you’ll run into part-throttle-full-boost behavior, which is kind of annoying.)You’ll want an intercooler, because the air coming out of a turbocharger’s compressor gets hot, and hot air is less dense and more prone to detonation, so cooling gets more air into the combustion chamber and allows better ignition timing. But this requires finding a place for the intercooler (a place with lots of cool airflow) and running intake tubing from the air filter to the intercooler and from the intercooler to the intake manifold.You’ll want pistons that give you lower compression ratio. Naturally aspirated cars are often in the neighborhood of 9:1 or higher (possibly much higher), turbocharged engines are generally happier with 8:5:1 or perhaps lower.You’ll want pistons that can withstand the heat and pressure of your newfound horsepower. Cast pistons are typical on production cars (even production cars with turbochargers) but forged pistons are significantly stronger.You might also want connecting rods that can take more power.You’ll almost certainly want a clutch that can hold more power. The clutch that worked fine with your stock naturally-aspirated motor will start slipping when subjected to the torque from your new force-induction setup.You might end up wanting a stronger transmission and a stronger differential.If the car in question was available from the factory with a turbocharger, or with a larger naturally-aspirated motor, you’re almost certainly better off switching to the stronger car model before adding a turbocharger.
How many lbs max of boost can I run on a stock 300zx TT, without fear of detonation?
I previously owned a black 92 300ZX TT. It was my favorite car by far and I would spend as much time as possible reading forums and modifying the car. I also own a performance shop where we specialize in turbo cars and design & manufacture our own boost controllers. The official answer to your question is 14.5 psi I would recommend that you install a POP charger/ K&N filter when you do increase your boost. It is also recommended that you install an ecu upgrade that remaps the air and fuel distribution. I know you were asking about a stock setup, but you really need to have those two mods before you can safely raise the boost. It's best to raise the boost after these have been installed. The engine, like the rest of the car is overbuilt in stock form, making it an excellent candidate for extracting extreme power levels out of it. It is almost like Nissan designed it to be one of the best sports cars ever produced and then de-tuned it for sale to the public. The engine is an engineering marvel, featuring four valve aluminum heads with plenty of detonation-fighting quench area, a combustion chamber with a 46 degree included valve angle and two overhead-cams-per-cylinder bank. The rigid iron block features stout construction with a fully girdle-supported main cap system, which makes for a super-stiff and strong bottom end. The crank and rods are forged steel from the factory. The pistons are oil cooled by sprayers located in the block, fed by a standard high-volume oil pump. The engine's specs read like a racing engine build sheet right from the factory. I hope this tells you what you need to know, or at least gives you a start. If you need anything else, let me know. You have an awesome car by the way. I just upgraded to a G35 and I really miss the boost.