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So I understand that turbos have oil lines and waterlines. I've seen turbo radiators, but is this always necessary, or can they be routed through the regular radiator? And where exactly do the oil lines go - somehow routed through the engine oil system, or do they have their own system?
Thanks.
1> Turbo oil lines use a feed and drain system. You can find -AN fittings that will come off your block for a "feed" line and drain lines are "gravity" powered most often and will run into your oil pan. Drilling and tapping required. Here is where I buy my lines: http://jgsturbo.com/index2.html
2> Not all turbos are water/oil cooled.. some are just oil cooled... more on this later. Turbo water lines most often are "teed" off your coolant lines. There is a benefit and a drawback to this approach. The benefit is that you will drop oil temps, the drawback is that you will raise coolant temps. You can run turbo water lines on your "regular (OEM)" radiator as long as you are monitoring temps. Depending on what kind of heat you are generating I would recommend a replacement radiator. For a cheap alternative to the Koyos of the world I HIGHLY recommend a Godspeed radiator (also called "haste" on ebay). They are cheap and we did a group buy of about 40 of them.. only one had a small crack which they quickly replaced.
Now all that being said, you do not HAVE to water cool an oil/water turbo, its just better for longevity purposes under heavy boost. You can get by with just oil cooling, but I would not recommend it for long periods of time.
Last edited by Newbsauce; Mar 17, 2008 at 08:13 AM.
no, you cant run through the stock rad. Its called "Intercooler" it cools the air coming off the turbo, Cold air = more power. Some cars dont have an intercooler from the factory like my xr4ti but it helps alot if you add one. and it would be dumb to turbo a car and not put an intercooler on.
You are way off base. For starters you are talking about cooling charge temperatures, and not oil or water temperatures. Second, you can easily turbo a car without an intercooler and not be "dumb". Most VERY low boost applications do not require an intercooler, other applications can support high numbers using a water or meth injection like the Devil's Own WI kit.
Last edited by Newbsauce; Mar 17, 2008 at 06:33 AM.
coolant lines are generally installed in the stock cooling system. oil lines are also installed in the stock oil system. if you are boosting a car that was originally n/a, it would be a good idea to get an oil cooler. odds are you wont get a turbo kit that is aldo water cooled but in the event you do, tap into the cooling system after the head and going to the radiator, it will prove to be the most efficient.