[Guest]

Could my stock 97 SE-R AUTOMATIC transmission handle the power of some boost? My goal is 200-250hp. Laugh all you want at the auto- but I think that with the auto's ability to hold boost better between shifts my car should prove interesting. And yes I've been checking the mailing list archives... this seems pretty uncharted. Please help.

 

[Ben]

The perfect person to ask would be Lew Shadoff as he has a Hotshot turbo kit on his 97 SE-R. His website is here:

http://brazosport.cc.tx.us/~lshadoff/turbo/

and his email addy is
[email protected]

Dunno if he has it yet, but he was getting a transmission from Level10 made. He should be able to answer your question. Don't believe he has been to this site.

 

[Guest]

I know that there is a G20turbo or 2 running around w/ the auto. The Stock auto tranny is supposed to handle up to 200HP. With an aftermarket tranny cooler you should be good be able to go a little over 200 w/o any problems. I'd say 250 would be pushing it.

 

[Bowlcut]

A fellow automatic man. Well my breathern it is a tough question to answer. The thing is that no one has really boosted into high horse numbers with the automatic. cause well its usualy considered less of a machine. but lew is trying it. hes been pushing like about half a bar ~7 psi, for quite sometime now. I would guess hes running close to 190-200 hp. I talked with him quiet abit at the convention. Hes been running that for like 6 months now or something and its doing great hasnt affected his mileage or anything. Says it will turn the wheels over a little bit going into 2nd. the thing is the stock tranny has a tendancy to chunck up the clutch material at high horsepower levels. considering a shift takes .5 second or more thats a lot of slippage and lots of torque for it to handle. The coolling lines get cloged and the tranny overheats. getting a harder faster shift with like the level 10 tranny will be needed for anyting over 200hp or thats been the assumption lately. While everyone points out that dragsters alot of time uses autotrannys cause they are stronger thee sr20 auto tranny is plenty strong its just not valved for the right type of shift to keep the clutches in good shape. I would recomend talking with lew and looking at his site. Lionel Stackhouse is working on his det drop in on his automatic also so hes another one. But running a small boost turbo to get like 190 hp wouldnt be bad and well plenty fast.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies. Yeah, I sent Lewis an email yesterday but haven't heard back yet. He documented his Hotshot install VERY well on his website, however I just found PLANS about the Level 10 in the List Archives- no reports on how it went. And it was expensive from what I remember. The auto G20 turbos I've read about seemed to hold up just fine with light boost- is the 200sx going to be the same?

 

[Ben]

If it were me I'd just get the best auto tranny cooler I could get and just run with it if it were a T25 turbo setup like mine. ~200hp I wouldn't worry that much. 250 I would be scared. Just talking out of my ass here though- I really have no idea , but if Lew has been ok I'd say go for it.

 

[Guest]

7lbs boost sounds fine to me. I don't race, but would love more oomph to move my heavy stereo and slow tranny. Particularly at lower rpms. I have no current engine mods- I've been saving up money so I can make a real difference rather than a few bolt-ons. Ok, so I put aside 2k for 17" Konigs but decided that would just make my car slower...

 

[Ben]

$2k can easily do it. Get all the stuff you need from the SE-R.net classifieds for less than that I think. We could turbo our cars together heh

 

[Guest]

Ben, that's exactly what I'm going for, a T25 setup like yours (except less ghetto). Mike J hasn't responded, but I remember him talking about potentially fitting a starion IC as a front mount, saying that it was bigger than the Nissan and a better fit. Then grabbing a T25 from one of the guys upgrading to a bigger turbo. Honestly, I feel I should just find a good turbo shop and give them 2k and ask them to get me the most reliable T25 setup possible- cause I'll also need a JWT ECU, exhaust, piping, injectors, etc. and I don't know how to install anything myself. I could put together 3k right now if I had to. Advice welcome, "will work for boost"

 

[Guest]

haha, already scoped the classifieds. a pretty new t25 there for $200. bluebird 370 injectors $200. Starion IC $150. JWT ECU $550 new. need a bbdet manifold and some piping and exhaust. what else? damn, i hate to void the extended warranty like this, it was expensive!

 

[Guest]

I'm cool with doing any work with you Ben- turbo or otherwise, you're smart and research your stuff. I DO NOT WANNA **** UP MY CAR, and it seems that you are just as careful as I am. Though I don't want anything "ghetto"- for example if there is any question that a used injector will gum up and [email protected] my engine I'd rather pay extra money.

Now on the "otherwise" front, my gc/agx/stb should be shipping the end of the week. You and Ben Missele should both be getting an email from me about that...

 

[Ben]

The new JWT ECU for $550 will save you a little money. If it is already programmed for 9.5:1 compression and turbo then it will work. Otherwise you'll have to pay $100 to get it reprogrammed which makes $650 which is only $50 short of buying a $100 ECU from a junkyard, getting it JWT modified for $500, then special programming for $100 to make $700.

You have to take the fuel rail out to put the injectors in anyways so you can test them there and see if they squirt fine. "Gummed up injectors" will not screw up your engine, just make one cylinder not fire and make it run bad for the moment.

You should be able to cancel your extended warranty and get something out of it. Several people have said they've gotten cash back, but not all of it. When I called and asked about mine the person I talked to thought they just take a payment or two off the end of your loan. I will have to talk to them again soon about that- if they give me cash back then there's my JWT ECU!

 

[Bowlcut]

Well from what Ive read the tranny is the same for all the automatics "I THINK" dont take this for the truth. Check the tranny code on the door jamb. But if it has the vlsd it should be the same tranny.
The tranny cooler is just like any other automatic and in the raditor. But heat isnt the main consern its the ammount of slippage and all that torque chewing up the clutches. The level 10 is always a plan for any automatic owner it seems. Damn good tranny, what they do is take a stock tranny and rework it. You can have them find you one in a junk yard and rework it so you dont have to pull yours and ship it to them. This takes forever cause finding a tranny takes forever Lew knows about this. But either way its goign to be a while just a matter if you have your car on its wheels or not. Costs, quite a bit dont remember exact numbers think Lew might be able to tell you more.

With 7 psi of boost i wouldnt think you would run much chance of damage. the jwt bolt on system that is due out soon runs 7 psi and makes like 190 whp. I would almost think about this system but its kinda expensive but its really drivable. they say its perfect for daily driving. I could stand it i think. Know its not as cost effective as a piece together system but its jwt so its garentted to work and work good

 

[NoVTECSER]

Uhhh, Ben, you CAN NOT remove the fuel rail and check the injectors. The fuel pressure will cause the injectors to fly off and get gas all over you. I had the injectors for my sister's CRX cleaned at an diesel repair shop for $11 each. they flow test tehm then sonic clean them. If you bring the injectors with you, I can drop them by, have them cleaned and send them back to you.

 

[Ben]

Ben Moses told me he tested his by having his fuel rail off and putting towels on top of the engine and cranking it. ???

 

[Guest]

I've done some further reading. Sounds like a poor idea to try 200+ hp on the stock auto. I started added up the cost of a Level 10 upgrade and stopped as soon as I reached a grand. I'm waiting for Lewis to tell me more, but it seems stupid to me to spend over a grand prepping for a turbo that costs less than 2k! The Level 10 holds up to 300hp btw. I hate to give up now, but spending the 2k on some Konigs, a bigger alternator (stereo), and the AD22VF sounds like a better idea to me now. Then I'll just start saving up for an FMAX/JWT turbo and a Level 10 tranny.

 

[Ben]

Or screw the auto and get a use LSD 5-speed for $400.

 

[lionel]

hi every one

i think the auto can handel the det or a turbo kit pretty.good so far i have had no problems nock on wood,i have romp on the car a couple of times and i can tell u this the damn thing pulls pretty hard i have 17inch rims on the car and they bit some when it shift in to second gear but i am also only runing 7 psi wich is stock.i would say put in a tranny cooler and some better tranny fluid i am still working on tuning once i get that did i will move to the tranny i plan on doing the cooler and redline tranny fluid

i will keep u posted on how the car is doing if u like

lionel

 

[Bubba Zinetti]

I'm VERY conservative.

I would send an auto to Level 10 for anything more than a 50hp increase (and did).

I would send a manual to be cryoed for the same hp increase (probably will - when the JWT turbo kit is ready for the NX).

I think you could easily get by without being so conservative. I'm just telling you what I would do.

By the way... Level 10 guarantees their rebuilt trans to three times the power of stock.

 

[adio0102]

swap that tranny out.auto trasnmissions arent he best or the strongest and they ahve alot of turbo lag lol.