Driving Impressions, 3sgte with Gt28RS Options

[jgreening]

Well, I have had my car with the new turbo for 3 full days and I thought I would give you all my impressions so far.

First, the turbo completely changes the character of the car. With the ct-26 on the 3sgte, the car felt fast - alot faster than the 5sfe. However, even at 14psi, the car was "within spec". I think Lagos said it best when he said its the engine that should have come with the car. There is plenty of power to pass folks without downshifting. The ct-26 gives the car very nice torque down low and is fairly responsive. With the gt28rs, the car just feels angry. Stomp on the gas in any gear and the car completely wakes up and growls throwing me back in my seat like I didn't even imagine. At any place in first or second, wide open throttle spins the tires WITHOUT use of the clutch. Today I spun the tires in second gear at 6000 RPMs just by pressing on the gas. In all candor, I am afraid of the car in some ways.

Second, the difference above 5500 RPMs is stunning. With the ct-26, the power and torque drop off is so pronounced that an upshift is prematurely REQUIRED before redline. For those of you with 3sgte's, you know what I mean. With the gt28rs, the car pulls all the way to redline, peak torque happening a little later than the ct-26 but spool to 200 ft/lbs actually sooner. The power band is over 2000 rpms wider and this point cannot be understated. Despite the broader power band, the shifts are much faster - even at about 50% throttle due to how fast the tach moves. Its amazing the amount of air that gets pushed through that little T25-size turbo.

Third, and this was the biggest surprise of all, is performance downshifts. If I am cruising at 45mph in 4th gear and drop to third and punch it, the experience is absolutely breathtaking. I have heard others talk about bigger turbos feeling like you got rear ended when boost kicks in. I can say that the experience of the GT28RS is similar when downshifting. I actually moved my seat one notch closer to the steering wheel so I can keep good control of the car when this happens.

Today I turned the boost up to 17psi for a bit just for fun. The car felt so powerful that I flat out did not feel safe. I turned it back down to 14psi almost immediately just to tame the thing.

Given this experience, I can't even imagine what a 350+ hp engine in our cars would feel like. I estimate that I am somewhere in the 260 whp range at 14psi and I honestly can't imagine wanting more any time soon.

This post has been edited by jgreening: Dec 1, 2005 - 1:55 AM

[playr158]

very very nice review jay...this information and your setup are by far a great piece of documentation and great results
can you give more information on your tuning, trim sizes, boost controller settings ect.?
i know its the nitty gritty

[lagos]

wow that really sounds amazing!

[jgreening]

My tuning is nothing. I have 540cc injectors on a stock AFM and JDM ECU. The car is rediculously rich in closed loop but actually pulls AFR's in the 11's under WOT in 3rd and 4th gear. I was very happy about that. While going to a standalone or even a ROM tune from ATS would probably give me 20 extra whp and alot better milage, I don't think I will.

The turbo kit is a bolt on and can be installed by any competent person with a wrench. It is made by Carl Crawford at speed-source who is truly talented. He is placing it in production and will be taking orders. It includes a 3" ceramic coated down-pipe. He uses silver soldered hard water lines which look and perform like OEM. The manifold adapter in the production kit will be CNC machined (although mine is the prototype) and ceramic coated. The adapter has an offset center section so that the stock 3sgte heat shield can be maintained which is a real bonus IMO.

Information about the GT28RS or "disco potato" as its sometimes called can be obtained from the Garrett or ATP's website.

When my boost controller is "off", I run 14psi. I would need a different spring to run less which I might go to because the boost controller is almost useless in the current form. I would like to run this thing at 10psi for daily driving just for sanity and safety reasons. I am not sure a new spring would be effective though since the gt28rs is internally gated and, with the full 3" exhaust, I am not sure if enough exhaust gasses can be diverted through the wastegate.

This post has been edited by jgreening: Dec 1, 2005 - 1:23 AM

[Supersprynt]

Your making me reconsider the CT27 and get a bigger turbo. K thanx.

How much is this kit?

This post has been edited by Supersprynt: Dec 1, 2005 - 1:16 AM

[jgreening]

Your making me reconsider the CT27 and get a bigger turbo. K thanx.

How much is this kit?

He hasn't set pricing but I would expect it to be in the $2000-$2200 range.

[Defgeph]

Awesome Jay, the car sounds like fun.

[Batman722]

Jay that sounds insane INSAAAAANNNNEEEEE

[jgreening]

Jay that sounds insane INSAAAAANNNNEEEEE

Thats a good word for it Dustin. Needless to say, I am pleased with how things have turned out so far.

[lagos]

when you going to put it on a dyno ?

im guessing you got a wide band for it? what one did you go with ?

[Hanyo]

i want a ride! I cant imagine how much fun the celica would be. Has turbo lag increased?

[jgreening]

when you going to put it on a dyno ?

im guessing you got a wide band for it? what one did you go with ?

No, we just hooked the wideband up to it when we did testing to make sure I wasn't leaning out up top. I won't be going to the dyno soon. Probably next spring sometime.

i want a ride! I cant imagine how much fun the celica would be. Has turbo lag increased?

Not at all. According to other 3sgte results with this turbo, the dyno will proably show 200ft lbs of torque at about 100rpms EARLIER than the ct-26. Thats what makes this such a great turbo for the 3sgte.

[BBoYRuGGeD]

wow that was a great write up jay...made me feel like i was sitting right next to u...u should be a writer

and HOLY DAMN ur car must be beastin' on all the other cars on the road. lol heck my stock 3sgte still scares me (coming from a 105 hp ST lol)!!! uHmMm damn ur car must be heaven to drive eh?

bboy

[presure2]

hehhe AWESOME jay! funny how you discribe it, just as bruce did over on mr2oc.
glad your lovin the "disco potato"!!!

[lagos]

i would consider going to a dyno sooner, just to get your a/f printed out in a nice chart. sometimes you can go lean in some spots and not notice it on a gauge the same way you would on a chart. i would also love to see the a/f on a stock ecu and just bigger injectors.

anyway...make sure to take some vids for us real soon !

did you noticed the car feeling lighter and better to drive, even in normal daily driving?

[nik]

Given this experience, I can't even imagine what a 350+ hp engine in our cars would feel like. I estimate that I am somewhere in the 260 whp range at 14psi and I honestly can't imagine wanting more any time soon.

ok now i'm getting scared to drive my car but it will be fun

[soulshadow]

Im impressed with Turbos.
With all that much power one is feared by it, but at the same time there is this one thing inside you that says Imbrace it and use it at your own will!

If I went the 3sgte route which I am starting to regret. I think I would have become more satisfied with my celi.

This post has been edited by soulshadow: Dec 1, 2005 - 2:59 PM

[CheesyLobster]

makes me want to turn up my gt28... or get some better internals..

[Nigel]

Given this experience, I can't even imagine what a 350+ hp engine in our cars would feel like. I estimate that I am somewhere in the 260 whp range at 14psi and I honestly can't imagine wanting more any time soon.

Hay man stop it u making me wana buy a turbo, just imagine GT4 240bhp standred sweeett

[zipstrips]

awesome info jay. thank you