Turbo question

[Steve Wood]

Way loose, imo, for your current turbo  I would definitely lock it up after it shifts into third.

[Shimy87]

 Maybe time for bigger turbo

[Steve Wood]

except that you have  a stock IC and stock heads so you have two bottle necks preventing it from doing any good.  I would look for a deal on an IC

Other than that, locking the converter and turning some of those rpms into mph looks like the best possible alternative

[reality]

A stock intercooler is good for 115 mph untouched screen in. However, maybe a pressure drop test might be good info to have.

[reality]

 Could a larger exhaust housing help that converter. assuming a 63 now.
Also maybe some tractor fluid would tighten up that converter. but I agree 3100 at 0 boost cold is way too loose.

[Steve Wood]

http://www.vortexbuicks-etc.com/bob_dick.htm

See stock IC pressure drop

[xracerx13]

that was some good reading Steve.
Would you happen to have any articles, information, or maybe a page pic of the painted black BGC 23 solid core from their old catalog? not the one with stock cores welded together and not the one that is not painted with the lowered angled inlet neck that has a radiator looking outlet tank.

Hers a pic.

[Steve Wood]

Nope, never had any of the BGC stuff

[xracerx13]

the BGC 23 length and height is bigger than the CAS V4 but they share the same thickness of 2.75". I sold all my catalogs years ago like a fool and now I cant find any info.
It was worth a try asking you Steve. Maybe someone else on here might have something.

this is all I could find on TB.com. I don't know which of the 2 new core IC's they made this refers to....

"A new state of the art intercooler core called a stagger core is used. It has cooling fins inside the tubes that move the air in and out for better heat transfer. Although it is 6" longer than stock, it is almost undetectable when installed. This high tech core uses a new technology called fuse bonding which helps transfer heat more efficiently. Core has twelve fins per inch (stock is eight) and contains 23 tubes versus 17 when putting two stock units together. Also shroud is adjustable for max flow."

[reality]

I was thinking more along the lines of testing for leaks in the core first,  then if you need an intercooler,  go to the theory.

[Shimy87]

I will get a slic, on the converter, in some of my reading I saw some places will re-stall a converter....w ould that "tighten" it up to match my turbo better? Sorry. This stuff is way above my pay grade. If it would help what should I ask them to do? Thank you!!!

[Steve Wood]

First, you need to decide what your goals are.

If you want to break into the elevens, simply wire up a switch to lock your converter and flip it in third gear-I would say flip it at 80 mph.  This is very easy and very cheap.  Some of Eric's chips will allow you to do it in the chip settings, but the 5.7 does not have the feature.

If you want to approach 11.5, first buy a bigger slic.  With luck, you will find someone selling one.  Ask Grumpy if they have one sitting in the corner

If you want to get closer to 11.0, buy a bigger turbo.

Now to answer your question about restalling the converter, yes, it can be done but before doing that, I would lock it up and see how it performs-does it get you where you want to be?  If you want to go closer to 11.0 with a bigger turbo, it may need to be tightened less than if you want to go 11.5...  does that make sense?  My real question is if a CK converter is worth more money or should you go to someone more Buick specialized?

[Shimy87]

I think for now I will get a slic and contact CK  about locking converter...I though he said before that's not a good idea. Question. For the limited racing I do...a couple times a year....how can I tell if locking it is causing trouble?

[Steve Wood]

I'm sure he knows his product.  I would not lock it.

[reality]

If you are getting a converter anyway, get 1 you ''can'' lock.


Pressurize your stock intercooler to 25 psi using a regulator and see if it holds pressure and for how long?

A new 1 is good but I'd want to know how good the old 1 was if it was me.