I'm am going to use this thread to document my SSAutochrome install. Please don't lock Marty, I really see no reason. All of you can see first hand(including myself) if they really are crap or not when properly installed, tuned, etc. I will post pics and videos of the install and some runs when it is finished.

I would like to start by saying I have the full SS kit, including downpipe and BOV. I have been in contact with SS the entire time when dealing with any issues. The first was a downpipe issue. We had to flip the turbo around so the exhaust housing switched sides, which conflicted with the downpipe and so the downpipe ended up coming off and going toward the front of the car. SS accepted a return and offered a full refund(including shipping) for the downpipe. Took only 2 days to complete the return. +1 for customer service. I have had the manifold checked by a few people that have been around cars for a while and it checked out okay. Also the turbo has been hanging from it for two months and have had no problems with the weight of the turbo. All very nonconclusive at this point, the real test obviously is after the install and break in period to see how well the turbo spoils, and if it leaks or has any other problems. We did hook up the BOV(RFL) to my buddy's Turbo 01 celica and it sounded SAWEET!!! [8D] Will add some pics shortly and update as we finish the install over the next 4 weeks. Any questions please ask! Until next post.....

I'll leave it.

On a side note this thread is not for people to bash this, let the man do it and report back. No need in any kind of "Your getting ripped" kind of crap. Keep it clean and wait for info from the kind person willing to report everything to us ;)

I totally respect what you're doing man, setting the story straight. But, I must ask one question.. Why, after spending all the time and money getting your motor beefed up, did you decide to run risks with SSAC?

To be honest, I bought it 3rd party, and the whole SS thing wasn't in full swing yet so I didn't really know what everyone thought of them. I've had the kit since last august when the motor was pulled. If the turbo fails, I'll move on and buy a quality t3/t4 from somewhere else. I already told SS that if the kit works out GREAT, they'll get some good PR from me, and the opposite if it fails.

This is going to be interesting.

Cool man, I was just curious. After all the good stuff that went into your build, I'd hate to see any of it compromised by the weak turbo. I am VERY interested to see this though, definitely keep us posted

Keep a close eye on everything. I hope it works out for ya.

any news on the ssauto kit?

No, last sunday I pulled the civic out of storage and cleaned it. Kappa is in seattle so I am awaiting his return from spring break. It will be a few weeks before the built motor and turbo kit goes in. Will post pics/videos of the install as it happens. Thanks for the interest.

Levi

good luck man and i hope it works out good.

the best things in life you have to wait for lol..... gonna totaly be worth it

i actually have an ssac full turbo kit that i put on my d16z6 about a month ago. So far it seems to be running great no leaks or breaking of anything. I've been running 15 psi so if something was going to break i think it would have. So far i give ssac a thumbs up. Everything fit perfectly so i didn't have to return anything.

what is all done to your z6 man^^^?

ORIGINAL: 97civicturbo

the turbo has been hanging from it for two months and have had no problems with the weight of the turbo.


I dont think its just the weight of the turbo, its the weight and the insane heat the manifolds see from the turbo. I hope it works out for ya. Best of luck. Hey do you live near kappa or something?> Hes helping you with the install?

Yeah, we live in the same city right now (I'm going to school here) but I just got back from spring break, so I'm not going to be able to work on it with him again until next weekend. I think he did quite a bit of work today anyway though.

You guys met here? Or knew eachother beforehand?

Met here.

cool.

A little update for everone. The engine is going in next sunday and as long as there are no problems I plan to have it up and running by mid next week. The 3" downpipe came in and will require a reweld to get the flange at the perfect tilt. The cool thing is SS is paying for ALL costs associated with any modifications we have to do after the engine install to get the turbo kit perfectly installed. They're also sending an extra downpipe to be fitted/altered for free and are going to change their design so their downpipe will fit better for all civic owners in the future. Thought that was pretty cool of them. So far so good. Will post again soon.

Levi

Nice, man. Glad to hear they're covering those extra costs. Can't wait to see it all together.

ORIGINAL: 97civicturbo

A little update for everone. The engine is going in next sunday and as long as there are no problems I plan to have it up and running by mid next week. The 3" downpipe came in and will require a reweld to get the flange at the perfect tilt. The cool thing is SS is paying for ALL costs associated with any modifications we have to do after the engine install to get the turbo kit perfectly installed. They're also sending an extra downpipe to be fitted/altered for free and are going to change their design so their downpipe will fit better for all civic owners in the future. Thought that was pretty cool of them. So far so good. Will post again soon.

Levi



Do they that this forum and about your thread? Tell them about it... it could do alot for them if this works out.

Yeah they do know about it. They are going to throw in a bigger IC and an alluminum radiator as well. It's a pretty sweet deal so far, hopefully all goes perfect and maybe I can get a full sponsorship. I'm pretty stoked right now!

Show them where this is. It could get them good publicity if they pull through.

ORIGINAL: Kappa22

Nice, man. Glad to hear they're covering those extra costs. Can't wait to see it all together.
You mean you can't wait to help put it all together [8D]

Another update, I am getting a newly designed manifold from SS, they sent it out today. They also said they were coming out with a ball bearing turbo, not sure If I get to try that or not though so I guess we'll see. For all who care I had a really bad day yesterday, my nissan 200 had a rod bearing break or something cuz there is a rod bouncing around like a pinball, so bye bye daily driver VERY frustrating. I'll talk at you guys soon.

SS is letting me keep the newly designed manifold, supposed to be thicker and better quality than its predecessor. 2 days till install, I will have a whore of photos for all.

I am sorry to hear about your DD

thx Cutt, oh well out with the old, in with the new. I'm going to be getting an 02 WRX so it will turn out all right.

your civic = your DD?????

hehe no, wrx for the DD

Motor in but no tranny, we lost a bolt for the pressure plate so we could go no further. Pretty dissapointing.


http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/97civicturbo/DVC00180.jpg

Everyone say hi to kappa

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/97civicturbo/DVC00178.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/97civicturbo/DVC00181.jpg

Actually the bolt was never there in the first place...:D





Hi Kappa.:D

Is that tubular equal length manifold on the left the new one cause if it is it looks really good compared to the older ones. I actually have an older one.

Yeah that is the new one, it is pretty sweet, however the holes dont' line up, they sent it to me to see if it fit. It didnt' quite fit [:@] Just so everyone is clear, I didn't buy this manifold, they sent it for fitment purposes only, so it wasn't a big deal that it didn't fit. They are getting the bugs worked out as we speak.

Yeah, it appears to be a B-series flange...

That sucks.

im digging the polyurathane motor inserts ya got in there, iver got the same ones and they work pretty good. You gonna repaint that old valve cover? lol

If all went well on this build i would consider SSAUTO in the future. So far they seem to be really coming through. Good luck with the whole thing.

So question guys, when I drive to the muffler shop tomorrow or wednesday to get my downpipe worked on how should I drive the car? I read that in the first 20 miles there is a specific way to drive it to break it in and seat the rings. What I heard was this; Take 1st gear to 3k then shift, take 2nd to 3k then shift, take 3rd to like 5k, then take 4th gear to max rpm, and during this process listen for any abnormal sounds and if I hear any or feel anything wrong to shut it down immediately. Anyone know how accurate that is? Keep in mind this will be the engine with open downpipe and NO TURBO. Also my gasoline has been in the tank for 10 months and I assume it will be bad, do I need to ciphon it all out?

that doesnt sound good to do on a freshly rebuilt motor. I would call up a Honda dealership and ask a technition the best way to break in a honda. Its gonna be very loud with a open exhaust i know my was really loud when i was going to get my downpipe made..

Actually you're going to want to get on it pretty quick after you get it running (did you get the tranny in and stuff?) I'd let it idle for about 10 minutes at first, just to get everything nice and oily. Then take it out and be gentle the first few times through the gears, and DON'T CRUISE in any gear. Keep the engine moving around. After 10 or 15 miles, I'd start getting on it a little, and be sure you hit it pretty hard before 100 miles, just to make sure the rings are seated for that kind of driving.

The bolt will be in tomorrow so I will be bolting the tranny on tomorrow afternoon, get the new race radiator in, and double check everything. Then dump some oil in it and hook up the battery and hopefully it starts, I'm just worried about the old gasoline, I'll probablyjust try to cyphon it all out and put a fresh few gallons in it. I guess I'll just drive around a bit shifting alot and after ten or so miles I'll jump on it to seat those rings. Any other suggestions?

Let the engine warm up then run it through 3rd or so normaly and then ring the piss out of it in 2 gears from a stop preferably 2nd and 3rd gears. I dont buy into this easy break in method bs.

It's true that you have to whip it some really early, but on completely new internals, you need to give it a little time to just wear off the little imperfections normally as opposed to possibly scarring your cylinders.

so like 20 miles????

I think 10 or 15 will be fine.

Hell ya'll live in Idaho correct?

Yeah, I "live" here, but only because it happens to be the state I go to school in. I actually live near Seattle.

Hell if you guys are in Idaho it will take 20 miles to get anywhere lol. I lived there in 00/01 and let me tell ya that has to be the single most BFE state I have ever seen and I have seen them all. I know that some states have places that are in BFE but like 95 to 98% of Idaho is in the middle of no-where. It's is ok out there I guess, I was not welcomed at the time I moved there both by the bible thumping mormans(sp?) or the cops. I drove a 84 Cadillac Sedan Deville with a bangin ass system ridin on 13 inch 100 spoke knock off players and I got tagged as a drug dealer and cops were on me like stink on ****. I did not understand, I didn't even do drugs when I moved out there, hell the reason I did move out there was to get away from my drug induced life and sober up. Oh well, my mom and her family is still out there and I was planning on coming out late this year.

Well, I'm in Moscow, which is right on the WA-ID border, so I'm not deep into Mormonland. Plus, since it's a college town, everyone is pretty level-headed and the redneck quota is really low.

where abouts? we are up north, and btw kappa you don't have to feel embarassed to "live" up here hahahaha.

Haha. No, I'm not embarassed, but I don't really live here except for school. Hell, I like Moscow a lot, but I always look forward to going home.

yeah whatever, they'll let anyone be a moderator on this site these days. muwahaha j/k.

Oh, that's it.

I know where your car is.

hehe yeah, but as my gf points out, how you gonna get there?! [8D] low blow I know.

hey nate you should skip the next few days of school and roll down to lewiston with me, its gonna be fun man. [8D]

I lived in the southeast in Idaho Falls/Rexburg area.

yeah that's an armpit down there, I lived in pocatello which is only like 20miles from there for a year and I hated it.

today is the day man, i hope everything works out good for you!!!!!!!!!

FMIC (http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=7982449&imageID=616804518&Mytoken=10AB944E-D2DA-12BE-013C8013D40D47AB17844783)

DOWNPIPE (http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=7982449&imageID=616808965&Mytoken=10AB944E-D2DA-12BE-013C8013D40D47AB17844783)

TURBO AND STUFF (http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=7982449&imageID=616807232&Mytoken=10AB944E-D2DA-12BE-013C8013D40D47AB17844783)

Running?

oh the suspense!!

blah LEVI said he needed to get some other stuff and it will be another week.........the suspense is killing me too

Unfortunately no, need a dumptube, another 3"-2.5" reducer, and a pipe for the bov, it will be wednesday. Everything else is done.

looking good bet you cant wait to get her running

im excited to see some vids

ORIGINAL: riceburner700

looking good bet you cant wait to get her running
you have no idea

anything new?

Wow i didnt know u guys live in idaho
I live in idaho too.

its a crazy small world we live in^^^

Update: Last night car wouldn't start, My dumbass apparently forgot to plug something in on the ecu, my gf's dad started it today on his lunch break, said it sounded GOOD, and he likes muscle cars so it must have. Apparently there was a little gas coming from my aem rail, so I'm going down to Lewiston in a few minutes to get it figured out and hopefully drive her home. Will update when I get back late tonight.

w00t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

about time levi

Hey, Chances are your fuel rail is leaking near the injectors. The top O rings were bad on mine when I installed my skunk2 manifold. Dont go to the dealer or pep boys because they only sell an o ring set........(all O rings on the injector) and its like 10$ per injector. Napa didnt have the size I needed, So i hit up home depot and got a box of like 20 for $2.50

Home Depot for auto parts? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?

i know thats crazy^^^

Cmon fellas....were talkin about O rings..........the depot PWNS you for misc stuff.

What does 97turbo and Levi have to do with the mix? Is Levi helping him?

i think 97turbo's name is levi

Indeed it is.

oh, I thought yall were refferring to Levi as in Calebs brother

lol sorry for the confusion everyone....i was referring to 97civicturbo

What's up everyone, so we got the gas leak worked out as far as I know, the hole where you can plug in a gauge was leaking somehow even though it had a stopper in it. There was a little oil coming from the driver side tranny where the axle plugs in, has anyone ever heard of those tranny seals needing replaced???? I've done axles more than a few times and have never had this problem before. Also the wastegate was venting when it was at idle, its supposed to be closed until boost pressure for the spring is reached correct?? Also has anyone ever heard of needing two springs in the wastegate??? Today I'm going to do another valve adjustment and try to fix the oil leak and hopefully take her for a drive around the block, we'll see how far I get. I'll update with anything new tonight.

sweet man, i hope that you get everything worked out today and get her on the road

nice.... shes almost done, can you taste the finish line....?

Kinda, I've got a lot to do before I'll feel good about really getting on her and seeing what she can do.

I am lazy and dont want to read the first post so enlighten me.......you are using a SSAUTO T3/T4 correct?

CORRECT .50 trim with 3" downpipe

A little update, not much. There is an oil leak looking to come from the crank seal, everything else seems fine when it starts. We will be replacing it next weekend, and hopefully that is all for leaks!!! Will report more as it comes.

awesome. if you get everything fixed up i'll nominate you for ROTM next month.

lol, thanks, but I won in feb so I can't run again.

oh. oh ok. lol i can never remember who wins when.

do you have any updated pics?

not since the ones on page 2.

how much boost are you planning on running when everything is all said and tuned and broken in?

mmmmmmmmm............was thinking probably 12 for street 18 for strip. Then after I get lsd later, probably 22 for the strip. I figured at 12psi I should be able to push out about 270 to the wheels after the dyno tune. All depends on how it grips, I'll probably push as much as I can until traction becomes too much of an issue.

what kind of axles will you be running?

sounds like shes gonna be a screamer.

UPDATE. sorry guys, work as been killing me and haven't had much time to work on the car. Replaced the crank seal last thursday and now there is NO oil leak yippie!!!!! Took her for a drive thursday night to make sure no oil leaks came up after a mild drive, just took her up to about 3800 rpms. It was nice to drive it, but it is running like ****. I think I have the vaccuum lines all f'd up becuase it idles really ****ty and sometimes dies altogether unless I give it gas. Anyone know where the A/f ratio should be at idle? Now all that is left is to figure out what is causing the really rough idle, get the vaccuum lines figured out and hook up all the electronics and gauges so I can tune it.

usualy you want your idle at about 14.7 or so i hear....

Well car is running decent. I drove her quite a bit the last 3 days. Man does the BOV sound sweet. Still running a little rough but I can't tune it because the power on my wideband broke, so I have to wait until its resoldered onto the board. I can't believe a 400 dollar part broke that easy. Pretty frustrating. I didn't take the rpm's too high, just about 5 but felt decent boost levels, starts boosting about 3500 and really starts to take off at 5k which is why i didn't push it passed there. So far I haven't had any oil leaks from the turbo but I am having some cooling issues, someone told me there might be some air in the radiator so I'm going to try and get that figured out. I'll try to get some engine shots up in the next few days.

While you were filling the cooling system, did you open the bleeder near the thermosat housing until water came out of it?

no, damnit kappa you always have the answers for me.

I do what I can...:D

Did that fix your problem?

I haven't done it yet, I'm gonna go do that now.

any updates

Okay so I installed my DSM 450cc Injectors along with the resistor box. The car turns on and idles(rich) but idles pretty good, but when I get on full throttle it starts making backfiring noises and the power cuts out. Could I have wired them wrong??? I wired them like this. INJECTOR DIAGRAM (http://www.tiora.net/~liam/pix/car/misc/howtodsminjector.JPG) I used the second one on that page. Note: The upper cut lines I grouped together and then hooked the group to the resistor box wire. could that be what is causing the crazyness at full throttle? What was wierd is my af ratio's didn't really change that much even when it was cutting out. Any hints to point me in the right direction would be cool. Thanks guys.

got any updated pics at all?

Is it still going ok? Other than that. You must show us some pics.

how rich? the backfiring sound could be caused by unburnt gas collecting in the downpipe/exhaust and igniting.

Timing?

Couldn't be timing because it was perfect before I installed the DSM's. As for how rich, I'm running 9:1 at idle which is very rich, but once I start accelerating it jumps to 11 which is pretty much where I want it. The wierd thing is, if I'm accelerating normally it is fine, but at WOT it starts acting crazy. Feels like it is holding back and sputters ever other second. Question just thought of this, could it be that my stock fuel pump can't keep up and is getting maxed out?! I'm running probably around 8psi and I remember now that when boost hits is when it starts sputtering and such..............

its entirely possible with those injectors.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/97civicturbo/9823db4f.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/97civicturbo/9e55210a.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/97civicturbo/f5f22ec8.jpg

I'm going to go throw my walbro in and see what happens. BE back in a BIT

did you try running any colder plugs, i know that my car "DOES NOT" like plugs that are older than like 2 months it starts to sputter and run really badly, but when i pop some bran new ones in it runns like a champ until they go bad in like 2 months..just and idea


looks really good though,:D

*drools* pretty.....

this seems like there's been a pretty good amount of problems with this install so far... it looks great and everything, but everytime i check back, i see something else thats gone wrong. i dunno, hopefully it'll turn out to be a good kit, because im looking into getting a kit as well, and this SS auto looks pretty good to me, keep it up!

hehe that's because this is my first turbo install and I'm pretty much doing it all myself [8D] None of the "PARTS" have failed yet, most of the problems have been install related.

Atleast you admit to it and not blame it on other things

OK MATE FOR YOUR A/F RATIO

You are aimong for around 15-16 at idle and cruise , the reason it s bk firing is b cause its far too rich on my first build on a ford zetec turbo
i ran 15.7@idle and 12.5@ at wot running 10 psi of boost

if you are tuning with wideband a/f gauge look for around 15 as a starting point ,this should be good enough to get u up to initial spool up then start puting in loads more fuel
to be safe when the turbo spools up look to be around 11.2-5 then slowly start leaning it of to the point of slight det , you can buy det cans or make them OR TAKE IT TO A TUNER LOL

also cosiderations of your timing is also very crutial max advance before the turbo kicks in the retard it when the boost comes in to a point of det then retard further 3 degrees

running rich is good for safe but to a limit all it dose is slows down the burn SLOWER BURN= LESS POWER

my advice the way i have been tought to set up my turbo setup

hope this helps

so what happened next? did the turbo came through?

um...come?





(hehehehehehehe)

hey newbe here, i was just wondering what the start up proceedure was with the turbo? any special things needing to be done on the first start up? i just went turbo and was wondering i have not started it yet, maybe in a week just doin final items.

disable the ignition(wont start up) and crank the car 5 different times so oil gets inside the turbo before it starts spinning..

is the turbo supposed to spin prior to first start because it don't and it is new never ran before??

no the turbo shouldnt spin prior to the car running, but once you start the car it should start spinning

anything new yet i am really enjoying this write up, it is very helpfull

another thing is if the car is off and you cant spin the compressor blades freeely by hand then yes there is something wrong with the turbo

another thing is if the car is off and you cant spin the compressor blades freeely by hand then yes there is something wrong with the turbo

well the turbo has never even been ran and i haven't started the car yet, they don't turn at this moment, i am assuming that it is because it has never been ran yet am i correct???

The wheel should turn if you spin it with your finger.

And another thing you can do, is just hold the compressor wheel with your finger once the car is started, just be carefull. Then after a few seconds the oil will be flowing and you can let go.

I did that with my truck that had a lot more exhaust flow and a much larger turbo, trust me, it's safe.

The wheel should turn if you spin it with your finger.

even if it has never been installed or ran? sorry but i am concerned about this now, i was told it has to be installed and primed before anything will move in it.

Are you suppose to do that everytime on start up or just for the first time when installed?

just the first initial start up because there is no oil in the turbo and you have to prime it. so after the first run you can start it whenever you want to...because there is oil still in it from when you shut the car off

car is running EXTREMELY RICH. So rich it barely idles, I ordered a fpr and once i get it installed Ill write some more. I might be taking over another store so crap has been crazy lately plus im going to vegas next week!!! Also just bought a new DD so my money has been a little more tied up than I like. Anyways Ill write back with some updates soon, thanks everyone for their input.

What? No more updates?

soon............

yeah i was wondering the same thing..

so....how did this all turn out?

i just read all 10 pages of this. good stuff. I may have to let them sponsor me to get some rep. on the east coast, lol. Keep it up

dude any updates? Maybe you should try smaller injectors. I run 310 cc and I run alittle rich. I have a ss autochrome mani and wastegate that I got in a trade with a bunch of crap. The holes for the bolts to the head are way bigger than they should be. Good luck with your build man