Technical Turbo Upgrade?

[Bryne]

Hi,
Could anyone give me a tip which turbo I should choose to upgrade my Mk1 Uno ('89)??
The thing is, the turbo I have isn't very good anymore so it will have to be changed anyway.

Greatful for any suggestions.

The biggest problem is that it may not be too big... then it won't fit.

 

[Chas Uno]

AlexGS, Turboned, Fro$ty and Dunc are the ones to ask! I'm sure they've all upgraded turbos at some point and will be able to point you in the right direction.

So then turbo boys, what do you recommend?

Hi,
Could anyone give me a tip which turbo I should choose to upgrade my Mk1 Uno ('89)??
The thing is, the turbo I have isn't very good anymore so it will have to be changed anyway.

Greatful for any suggestions.

The biggest problem is that it may not be too big... then it won't fit.

 

[Bryne]

Exactly boys, what do you recommend?

 

[F R O S T Y]

Depends what sort've power you want really and what you are using the car for. Like my car is used as a daily driver so i wanted something with a bit more kick but at the same time wanted to make my engine reliable so i went for a custom built T25 hybrid turbo. My turbo is capable of running 2 Bar of boost all day long and can deliver up to 230+ BHP although i am not running that much boost at the moment because i will blow my engine otherwise! LOL A T25 is similar in size to a standard turbo but produces more power as it uses different components and parts within the turbo such as a bigger compressor wheel etc. It will bolt straight on to the existing manifold as well. If you want serious power you need money and everything needs to be done properly, i.e Group N head gasket, head bolts, piston rings, intercooler etc. If you are totally mad like DUNC hehe then a T3 conversion is best for really big power such as 150mph+ whether thats safe in a uno is another matter altogether lol. A T3 conversion will require more work in order to fit onto the manifold and will be more laggy than a T25 but when the Turbo kicks in Boy will you feel it!!! And remember to make sure you have enough fueling, an FSE is a good way to set up the fueling when you upgrade the turbo or having a 5th injector setup.
I guess its a matter of what you want to use the car for and what you want to achieve mate. Anything is possible but depends how deep your pockets are

F R O $ T Y

 

[Dunc Uno Turbo]

as frosty says, best to go with a T25 due to the lag factor. if your planning on big power then a T3 would be the way forward but engine internals need to be uprated to cope with the big boost.

personally, you wont ever need anymore than a T25. i got a T25 on mine and it takes 20psi of boost no probs. get a mk2 uno turbo unit as these are garrett jobbies and are better than the ihi unit you will have on the mk1 and send it off for reconditioning and hybridising and turn it into a little T25 beasty. should keep you more than happy for a while.

cheers frosty, i am mad but im not running a T3....only a T25 but....................................if i am going to go to the next level, its full rebuild again with relocated turbo running a T34 hybrid with ALS

Dunc

 

[uno_jens.]

A t25 won´t fit straight to the manifold.. You had a mk1 right?
The boltpattern for the IHI is a bit uncommon unfortunately.

If you have the skills, make an adapterplate.

or a new manifold like this

 

[geom]

I also have a question. Is it possible to fit a small turbo kit in a 1.1 ie engine without a lot of modifications inside the engine (not changing the engine gasket or placing an intercooler) ?

 

[whatoncewas]

geom, check out this thread: https://www.fiatforum.com/showthread.php?t=14831

Was toying with the idea last night actually - Apparently it costs a lot though.

 

[geom]

I don't want 100 more HPs. 50 will be enough

 

[custard]

I also have a question. Is it possible to fit a small turbo kit in a 1.1 ie engine without a lot of modifications inside the engine (not changing the engine gasket or placing an intercooler) ?

Van aaken do a turbo conversion for the cinq 1.1 but as mentioned its very expensive.your looking at £1000 for the kit without fitting. thats a low boost kit requiring no real engine modifications though oyu will need to get the fuellling etc set up

 

[whatoncewas]

What about the Van Aken turbo kit thing for the Sei sportings? 'cos they were the same 1.1 engines, right?

 

[geom]

Hmmm, it's a lot of money

 

[whatoncewas]

*ding*
That's what all of this all boils down too.
Frosty mentioned I dump a turbo engine in my 1.1 yesterday (Ace Cafe meet), and a mate suggested that previously too. I think it would cost me about £3k to get that all done completely, and I don't want to outlay that much - I'll need the funds for uni which I start soon.

Hey, I realised what a dump valve looks like only yesterday!

 

[custard]

to be honest on a car that has a turbo in its existing range it makes no sense to turbo a lower spec model. you could either buy a turbo model(recommended)or drop the turbo into a lower model remembering the other costs such as brake,suspension upgrades.
ive recently got a VAD high boost turbo cinq and its a whole heap of fun to drive but to pay for the conversion new would have been silly money

 

[Jai]

there seem to be a few engines floating about on ebay, or maybe a rotten turbo with a good engine and do a transplant, personally having maxed out my fear factor on the M11 (yes it was stupid) i can safely say you really dont need more than 100mph in a turbo, it's just knowing that you WILL die in any accident above 70mph.

i think the smaller turbo method is the way forward, lots of around town grunt for cut and thrust

 

[Chas Uno]

If you pay out for lots of new parts and also pay someone to do the conversion for you then yes, you will be looking at a figure like £3000.

However, you can find a rusted out turbo with good mechanics from £150 to £500. As long as the mechancal bits are in good order and you have a reasonable amount of mechanical knowledge you can swap everything over into a good shell. It's not that difficult, but needs some experience and plenty of time to do it properly.

However, I kind of agree with Turboned in that doing over 100mph in a Uno on public roads is not really good for ones health! Enjoy the acceleration and stick to this side of 100mph. Besides, if you get stopped by the fuzz in excess of three figures you're looking at an instant ban, zillions of points on your licence and hassle when you renew your insurance.

I'd also suggest that maybe it would be better to swap in a Punto 1242 engine into a 1.0/ 1.1 ie for a bit more power. At least it will work and is all as Fiat intended it to be. Plus a lot cheaper than an after market turbo conversion.

*ding*
That's what all of this all boils down too.
Frosty mentioned I dump a turbo engine in my 1.1 yesterday (Ace Cafe meet), and a mate suggested that previously too. I think it would cost me about £3k to get that all done completely, and I don't want to outlay that much - I'll need the funds for uni which I start soon.

Hey, I realised what a dump valve looks like only yesterday!

 

[geom]

I asked about a Punto 1242 MPI engine and they told that it fits with no problems in my engine bay (no gearbox change). The cost will be about 500-600 Euros for the engine and 400-500 Euros for the mechanic who will fit it (he is the friend).

 

[Bryne]

Hi guys!
I've found a upgrade turbo now, in Sweden. It's a IHI RHB5 VL2 and should fit quite well. Possible to get about 180hp or something like that. I really dont need that much, and I doubt that the rest of the Uno would like it, but maybe 140-150hp.. That would be nice.

The car will not be used everyday, I just bought it because it's fun to have something to do... and perhaps **** off some Nissan 200's and BMW 325's!

I'm building a toy basically!

 

[uno_jens.]

Hi guys!
I've found a upgrade turbo now, in Sweden. It's a IHI RHB5 VL2 and should fit quite well. Possible to get about 180hp or something like that. I really dont need that much, and I doubt that the rest of the Uno would like it, but maybe 140-150hp.. That would be nice.

The car will not be used everyday, I just bought it because it's fun to have something to do... and perhaps **** off some Nissan 200's and BMW 325's!

I'm building a toy basically!

I am sorry to say this, but a vl2 compressor is good for maybe 130 hp..
VL2 is a standardcompressor.

 

[alexGS]

Bryne,

Despite the flattery from Chas I haven't actually upgraded the turbo on my Mk1... it's standard!

I think you need an IHI turbo off a Mazda Familia or perhaps the 2.8 Diahatsu Diesel turbo that I bought a year or two back. I never got around to installing it; now I've lent it to a friend to see if he gets around to making it work.

Bear in mind that a larger turbo will absolutely have a disadvantage to weigh against the increased power: more lag at low speeds. I think even Dunc would agree that there is a compromise involved with turbo engineering (and I certainly admire his turbo...) FIAT/Abarth spent a while toying with this compromise when they designed the Uno Turbo. I'm sure that the actual size of the turbo was not chosen by cost, but instead by driveability/economy/reliability issues.

What you also have to remember is that extra air requires extra fuel as well. Some people upgrade the size of the fuel injectors to increase the fuel supplied by the standard ECU, but since the ECU lacks any feedback on how much fuel is actually going in, I think this approach is pretty crude. Really, you are going to need to replace the fuelling system with something aftermarket. You could add a 5th injector, switched on by the 'safety' switch that normally activates at 0.8bar or so. But again, this seems like a crude fuelling control to me.

I've decided to keep mine standard, with the boost cranked up a bit using my simple bleed valve. I found during a hot day at the track that I was losing boost pressure, so I'm going to put more effort into cooling/water spray on the intercooler etc.

Somehow my Uno Turbo has something weird going on in that the boost gauge registers most of the time and the fuel economy is exceptionally good. I've decided that it wasn't worth changing!

It's all about cost and what you want to achieve. That's easy to say! But it's true... Driveability is important (unless you are perhaps mainly using the car on the track). Economy is nice to have. Reliability is useful sometimes, more often than you would think.

If your standard turbo is stuffed, I would be looking out for a standard one for sale after someone has 'upgraded'. Otherwise, if you are going down the bigger turbo route, be prepared to plan for an aftermarket fuel system for best results. And, how is the rest of the engine?

-Alex