I am taking out an engine of my friends ford merkur. He has the turbo coupe engine in it though. He is giving my the ihi turbo and wastegate. I want to know what all i need to fo to run this turbo and at what psi. I put a set of stage one crower cams in that were designed for a na car. They were made to produce a lot of power in the high rpm. I did a lot of head work recently, i had my valves resurfaced and some replaced, my head was milled down .010, i have a victor x intake manifold. What is the stock compression ratio of a 1990 acura integra b18a1?? Any answers to any of these question would be very helpful and appreciated, thank you.
as for the bare essentials, you’ll need a manifold, downpipe, oil feed and return lines, charge piping, silicone hoses, clamps, vacuum lines, an FMU, and a missing link. i repeat, this is the absolute bare essentials. i would also suggest getting an intercooler and a blow off valve. you might also want to look into upgrading your clutch as well. can’t really say what psi you could boost at because different turbos produce different air flow rates at certain PSI’s. the stock compression ratio of a b18a is 9.2:1.
Thanks that was very helpful. My turbo though will be a stock turbo coupe IHI turbo. I was thinking of running 5 psi. I do want to get an intercooler and a blow off valve and wont put it on unless i have them. ive heard the ls engines were good for putting a turbo on, but I dont know why. If anyone has any parts that i need i would like to buy them used for cheap rather than brand new. Especially the turbo manifold and downpipe and any other piping. Thanks for the help.
Check out homemadeturbo.com
There are a lot of good (cheap) sponsors in that forum for manifolds and such.
What are you doing for engine management? Do you have a 90-91 or a 92-93?
I recommend TurboEdit (90-91) or Uberdata (92-93) for you since it is pretty easy to grasp and learn and its free!
I’m dumb…just re-read your 1st post.
If you need help with any TurboEdit stuff…im on AIM every so often (xenocron1)
or check out
I have a 1990 acura integra ls b18a1 5 speed manual, for anyone who needs any more information on my car. My AIM name is hestman15, im usually on. Thanks for your help and if anyone has any pictures of progress they made or a during the job pictures go ahead and sens them. I will make a list of everythying i do and the order i do it with a set of pictures. I will post them so people can actually see what is going on. Not just the before and after. I was also wondering if i should get a better head gasket. What is the best one to get? Would i have to modify my head for a real thick head gasket? I know they make a triple layer copper, steel, copper, and its really think. I was told you would need to mill down your head as well. Mine was already milled down .010 or ten thousandths. Should i not mill it to lower my compression? Thanks again -Heston
I was also wondering if i should get a better head gasket. What is the best one to get?
Stock OEM headgasket will work great.
I was told you would need to mill down your head as well. Mine was already milled down .010 or ten thousandths. Should i not mill it to lower my compression?
Don’t mill the head anymore. Stock b18a’s compression is perfect for boost.
But What would blow first if i run too much boost? Wouldnt it be my head gasket?
Just dont run too much boost :think:
How many miles are on your motor? I have a '92 b18a with 158,000 miles which has a t3/t4 running 8psi on the street/10psi at the track. After 10,000 miles, I haven’t had any problems whatsoever. I think the main thing is your engine management. I have Uberdata with a wideband o2 sensor tuned to 12:1 afr under full boost. Timing is retarded about .65 degrees per pound of boost as well. I wouldn’t recommend running the same boost levels on an fmu setup, although I’m sure it’s been done. Since you have a 90, I’d march right over to the TurboEdit crowd and start barking up their tree. You won’t be disappointed. As mentioned earlier, it’s free!
My motor isnt the original so i dont know how many miles are on it. I do not burn any oil though no matter how hard i am on it. i was planning on running just 8psi all the thime. I am having trouble finding a goot exaust turbo manifold though. I do not have air conditioning. Stock radiator. The turbo im gonna run has a built in waste gate, so i don,t need a manifold with an external wastegate. Can anyone help me?? Thanks
do a compression test to find out where u stand and then if you ened help gathering parts contact me and i’ll help yah out.
hey this seem to be an interesting thread…
making a cheap and workin turbo !!
keep this up 2 date and take a few pix, that interests me
Sdfh
Well right now my integra isnt getting any spark, i hooked up my crane six ignition and it ran fine for days then all the sudden it quit getting spark. I dont know why, everything is hooked up the right way. Im gonna take it off and put on the stock one. Im not going to turbo my integra anymore bc im buying a ford merkur xr4ti tomorrow. it wlready has a turbo 
and its rear wheel drive, leather seats and other shit. Im selling my integra for 2 grand and buying the merkur for 2 grand as well. Im gonna miss my integra. But if i was going to still turbo my integra it would only cost me 600 bucks total i found all of my parts i need on ebay. Thanks for the help!!
quick ending… sad end !
ford…
