Brillo

for obvious reasons, most of the enthusiasts on this board are looking to the 2.0T for its obvious tuning potential. I imagine there will be alot of various aftermarket solutions for the car that are everything from mild power increases to crazy 400whp upgrades.

As someone who has been tuning and tweaking cars for a while in the rotary community, i think its important to point out that most people should be aiming for higher average power numbers rather than arbitrary 350, 400 450+ hp goals. Why? because average power wins races, is much more satisfying to drive and in most non drag situations will be faster than the guy with the highest peak power.

Don't believe me? Ask BMW how there cars always seem to be faster when on the average they are lower in peak hp. BMW engines, top to bottom, focus on broad average power bands.

This is not to say that you can't aim for some crazy power numbers, but I'd rather pay for a 280hp upgrade with a fat power band than a 330hp peaky engine.

This tuning strategy is not only less stressful on the car, but should be easily doable with the stock hardware.

Just some food for thought.

 

Sebas007

I totally agree on this one and I've already said somewhere in this forum. It is the base of tuning IMO.

Burner

Which is why the 3.8 is better IMO. The stock hardware looks like it will respond well to simple bolt on parts. All while retaining a nice power curve. This makes the 3.8 the obvious choice for tuning potential...to me

ImAuthenticFTW

wow off topic by 3rd post, this thread is about tuning input on the 2.0T from someone who has been tuning cars...... but i agree with the OP, id rather have a car with a nice power band rather than a dyno queen with a high peak number

__________________
Current Car: 2007 NHBP Civic Si 4-door, i/h/e and 75shot of spray
part out has begun, car has been assigned to DD duty

Coming soon: 240SX with a XXXXDET motor

theironmonk

If that's what your looking for just get the 3.8.

However if your looking at factory turbo then go with a twinscroll turbo as they give better more meaty powerbands vs a single with better top end. A custom manifold and an EvoX turbo would do just fine.

Brillo

the 3.8 out of the box is a nice engine, with good solid power across a wide range. I like the idea of smaller turbo engine for economy and power as I think that gas prices are likely to go back up in the not to distant future. just personal preference IMO.

Burner

That a sensible reason. Your approach to turbo tuning is also the sensible approach and I look forward to seeing how your project unfolds!

NJgencoupe010

sry i know this might be a dumb question but ill admit im still learning a lot about turbos... but lets say i have the 2.0 and i wanted to upgrade the turbo and im following the idea in the OP... what kind of upgrade (turbo) would you use to gain the "avg numbers" that you are talking about... maybe i just need someone to explain this to me a little more haha sry...

Mothball

NJ, never worry about asking a "dumb" question. The vast majority of stupidity comes in people giving the wrong answers to intelligent questions...like yours. So here's my shot at stupidity:

Wait until a few people start posting graphs of their dyno runs. Look at the torque curve. You could do a whole AUC (area under the curve) analysis but for the sake of keeping it simple look for torque curves that arch or progress upward more linearly. If you see a curve that looks more like the loop of a "J" that is evidence that the turbo is laggy. You'd have that ssssss (wait for it) ssssssBANG! Turbos that make power like that are usually oversized for the application and are only good for drags or dyno queens. NOT saying that's a bad thing if that's what you're into but DO NOT expect it to be responsive on the street.

NJgencoupe010

thanks man... that cleared it up ... i just wanted more power for the streets... so thanks moth for explaining it more...

Optimus Prime

Blah blah blah, here we go again another V6 vs Turbo 4 thread. The original poster was making a point about ignoring peak power and looking at the curve instead. So where did the "that means get a V6!" fanfare come from?! We get it V6 enthusiasts, when you drive you car, you shift so that you start the next gear at 1000 rpms because the curve is so much smoother from the bottom end than a 4 cylinder. I guess when I'll have to be stuck with keeping my car above 4000rpms when i am trying to accelerate quickly.

Brillo

its not a stupid question. I don't think you'll need to upgrade the physical turbo if your looking just for a moderate performance (50-70bhp) upgrade.

In a nutshell, turbo engines are usually detuned for reliability, emissions, and marketing reasons. There is no question that the stock engine and associated hardware can push a lot more than 225bhp. I'm guessing Hyundai choose to detune the turbo as it would be kinda hard to market the 3.8 if the turbo car was bumping right against it in terms of performance. Its not different that intel or AMD under or overclocking there processors to fit certain price points. Its the same hardware, its performance is just set to a certain price parameter.

Does this mean the stock car can do 300+ bhp with just a reflash? I doubt it, but 270-280bhp is certainly attainable with a nice fat power band from just a flash.

Hyundai is having to walk an interesting line, marketing the 3.8 at the G37 crowd while aiming the turbo at the 370z, EVO, and WRX crowd. Nissan gets to do it with two cars, but Hyundai is choosing to do it with one. In addition, there are some world markets that might not get the 3.8 due to taxes on displacement, so Hyundai likely built headroom in the engine for performance increases just as VW/Audi does with their turbo engines.

Hyundai's strategy in no way makes the 3.8 a bad engine, its all a function of appeal to different tastes.

NJgencoupe010

yeaaa i see what ur sayinn brillo....

Sebas007

NJgencoupe010 what I suggest you is to build your own turbo knowledge. I build mine by reading and understanding every tech sections on Garrett turbo tech sections
From basics to expert section. Then I was able to read the turbo plot by building my own Excel sheet turbo calculator. I posted somewhere into genesisforums.org. There is the link to my file. Read the disclaimer...I'm not a trubo pro...I don't work into turbos everyday. Thanks to let me know what you think of it.
Turbocharger Basics and Tutorials - Page 2

There is the link for Garrett website.
TurboByGarrett.com - Turbo Tech101

I suggest anyone interested to know by him or herself to read those sections.

N2OInferno

I think if I'm going turbo, I'm just gonna go for a bunch of power. Not excessive, but 400ish.. Dunno. I don't want to turn it into a i4 vs v6 thread, but if I just wanted a smooth powerband and 300 hp, it just makes more sense to get the v6. Then you don't have to mod it, and if it breaks, you still have your warranty.

ImAuthenticFTW

whats that "W" word you speak of.....warranty??? thats gonna be gone quick lol, they never really last long on my cars

__________________
Current Car: 2007 NHBP Civic Si 4-door, i/h/e and 75shot of spray
part out has begun, car has been assigned to DD duty

Coming soon: 240SX with a XXXXDET motor

NJgencoupe010

hahah sooo tru....:biggthumpup:

Optimus Prime

Don't discount you warranty so fast. Lexus still warrantied everything on my IS except engine, so say if the radio crapped out, they'd still fix it under warranty.

N2OInferno

Right. There are still companies that won't completely shaft you because you changed one thing. A lot of the time it comes down to the dealership and who's running things, but I've had some good experiences with cars that were obviously modded.

theironmonk

Optimus you should chill out, yeah some people would suggest a V6 for some looking for a good torque curve and nothing much more then 300whp. We good site going please don't start with the short temper, no one here wants another newtiburon. Omfg repost you looser from three years ago in the Michigan thread.... Who wants to read that in every thread.

Alot of people here barely know there ass from there elbow when it comes to turbos and the rest read info from howstuffworks and wiki only a few people here actually know past this.