Brent636r

Hey HMT! First post here... Gotta question, and hopefully you guys have some knowledge for me. I have a d16z6 in a 90 civic hatch, and I want to venture into the turbo world. Which is why I'm here. I have a td05-12a I believe it is... very small I know. Im not lookin for massive amounts of power. I just want to know would it be worth it? Judging by my research it will spool very quick and die off at around 5k... Will this kill my top end? Im mainly just wanting the experience and to get familiar with setting a turbo up the right way before I dive in head first. I can fab I know its not gonna mount without some mods for sure. Gotta hf mani I was gonna start with. I'll stop here. Any first hand experience with a 12a on a d16

2jzmiata

What ecu are you running? That turbo will make a great starting platform with out putting to much stress on the motor. I have a 91 wagon with a built d series I am tuning with a wideband, BRE, and an emulator. You will 100% need something to tune it with so start there. Then once you have a tuning software learn how to use it then add the turbo. I would get a wideband, and tuning. You will need a chip burner or an emulator and a chip burner the emulator saves a little time but not a ton and its $200. Unless you have a local shop that can tune it but then there is no messing with it.lol The motor will hold it to around 12 psi with good tuning . Good luck with the build.

Brent636r

I have someone local who is going to be tuning. I have done tons of research and took a couple of junk ecus and desoldering just to practice. I have already downloaded crome and was gonna do a street tune before taking it. Will my top-end power not fall off after 5k? Do you have direct experiece with a 12a? Thx for the response btw.

Brent636r

Im running a p28. I converted to obd 1.

2jzmiata

I built a crx with a d15 non vtec with SDS management with a custom made 12a turbo kit. It made 195 whp at 12 psi. It never ran out at the top end. That is a great little turbo. Just remember that is exactly what it is a little turbo. Do not expect to make huge numbers and I would not run more than 15 psi. We ran into problems with breaking transmissions because of the high TQ numbers at low rpm. It spools up real quick and makes a lot of TQ so be careful what you set your gate at.

Brent636r

Thats awesome! This turbo is off of a Mitsu Starion. Its internally gated, and I think Im gonna keep it that way for now. Not sure what its set at, I think somewhere in the 6-8 range.Did you use 450 cc injectors?

2jzmiata

That is where we got the turbo for this civic. The shop I was working at did a lot on work on conquest's and starion's so I got the first turbo for free. They are really hard to regulate down below 7 psi. I tried everything I could but the lowest I could go was 7. I was using rc 440's, and a walbro in take 255lph. It was more than enough fuel for what it needed. Ran like stock got 33 mpg out of boost and only dropped to about 23 mpg when you beat the hell out of it. Made full boost at 2800 ish rmp was a ton of fun.

Brent636r

Sounds like it! It looks like I can get a good deal on some 320cc. You think that will do the job? What are the internal wastegates that are factory set at? So many questions but thats all I can think of at the moment. Can't wait to get started! Thx again.

Brent636r

Do you recall what you did with all three vacuum fittings? Can you tee them all off together?

2jzmiata

We took out as many vacuum lines as possible then ran the majority of them to a vacuum block to keep it simple. Those injectors will be cutting it close you will be limited on hp with that injector. I would keep an eye out for a set of dsm injectors, supra tt injectors, 3rd gen rx7 injectors. Most of these can be had cheap and work great. I would suggest a 440 or bigger on almost any car. You can get a set of 550cc bosh injectors on ebay and some forums for about $150 that would be more than enough and will keep you in check for a while.