Yuriy_AV’s 2000 Saturn S-Series

Old Turbo SetupPage 1: Overview Page 2: MegaSquirt install Page 3: NEW Turbo Setup Page 4: OLD Turbo Setup The old turbo setup was pretty cool. It consisted of a custom made log manifold, a Garrett a/r .42 turbo and a matching downpipe. 2.25" intercooler piping, same fuel management. At 9 psi it made 187 whp and 178 wtq. It was definitely fun, but it was slower than the current setup, that's for sure. I used my old 3rd gen stock engine with over 200,000 original miles on it! It lasted for a damn long time too.

2000 Saturn SL2 Turbo    Page 1: Overview Page 2: MegaSquirt install Page 3: NEW Turbo SetupPage 4: OLD Turbo Setup Even newer pics:

MegaSquirt installPage 1: Overview Page 2: MegaSquirt install Page 3: NEW Turbo Setu Page 4: OLD Turbo SetupGot my MegaSquirt PCB 3.0 running MSnS-E 029y4. Got this as a kit from DIY Autotune. Good stuff. Took about a day to put together and another day to install, but it's well worth it! Car feels like a stock boosted production car now, I don't have to worry about anything, just enjoy the drive :)MegaSquirt is currently controlling both fuel and spark, water injection in the works.

ModificationsEngine:- Crower Rods- JE Pistons, stock bore, 8.5:1 CR- FSR turbo cams- 2000 crank and girdle- Balanced to 9k RPM- ARP head studs- Huge P&P head- .060 valve spring shims (getting rid of these in favor of stiffer 98 springs)- High temp valve seals- Port & Polished intake manifold- GSI throttle body- CoolingMist Methanol Injection system- T3/T4 Chinese turbo .63 a/r, 62 trim- Modified cast iron 1G DSM manifold- Chinese 38mm external wastegate (10 psi spring)- Black 2.5" powdercoated intercooler piping- Golden Eagle vacuum block- Chinese BOV (RFL knock-off)- CX Racing intercooler- Golden Eagle vacuum block- 2.5" exhaust all the way, Cherrybomb, Magnaflow muffler, no cat.- OBX needle-valve MBC- Vacuum solenoid enables switching from 10 to ~17 psi instantly- OBDI spark conversion- ACT 6-puk unsprung cllutch- RSX-S all aluminum radiator- 225 lph Walbro fuel pump- 750cc Siemens injectors- Megasquirt-I PCB3.0, fuel and spark control- Launch control, flatshift (anti-lag)- Glowshift mech boost gauge- Glowshift electric EGT gauge- Glowshift electric oil pressure gauge- AEM UEGO Wideband O2- Timex digital oil temp gaugeSuspension:- Aerospeed coilovers- Ling-Long tires (lol)- 17" IKON rims- Drilled/Slotted rotors- Ceramic NAPA pads- SDA dogbones- Ground Pounder TAM- GP lower trans mount- AMR Engineering STBInterior:- Vue cluster- Matching white-face gauges- Full red LED conversion- Black leather seats all around- Black interior swap- RedlineGoods leather armrest, ebrake and shift bootsExterior:- 20% tint all around- Small chin spoiler/splitter- Painted skirts- Rims, lowered- Magnaflow muffler with stainless steel tip- Black 2nd gen headlights with 8000k HID'sAudio:- Clarion 230 Watt RMS deck- Infinity component speakers- Pioneer 800 Watt RMS monoblock amp- Pioneer 12" woofer in a bandpass enclosure- XM Radio receiver- Fat ebay capacitor That's about it. I'm sure I forgot something, and some of this might have changed.The new turbo setup is definitely quicker judging by a complete lack of traction in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and most of 4th gear. The goal here is around 300 whp while being street-legal, with full interior and stereo. With FSR cams it should be knocking on 350 whp. If I can hook up with my new Falken's (probably not), that's a high 11 to mid 12 second Saturn in the 1/4 mile. Still nice to beat up on some Corvettes on the freeway on the way to work though.

Turbo cams were made by FSR Motorsport Creations. You can visit them at http://qksltwo.com/The only way to go if you have a turbo saturn, but they make other non-turbo customs stuff as well, not just for saturns. Very reputable company, affordable pricing and friendly, responsive customer service.

As you can see from the older pictures below, I upgraded to a cast iron DSM manifold. Why? Because my old one cracked after the motor mount went and the turbo poked a hole in the radiator, spilling coolant on the red hot manifold, thereby cracking it :( But this new manifold is much sturdier and flows no worse!OLDER PICS below...

The idea behind this project was to create a quick, fun to drive, decent looking and comfortable daily driver. I thought long and hard and decided that it would be much cheaper to turbo my current car than buy a new car. The car gets anywhere from 20 to 28 miles per gallon, and it runs on regular 92 octane pump gas. Does not burn any oil and gets me from point A to point B quickly and (somewhat) reliably.

A few words about the parts I used: a lot of people in the Saturn tuning community shun using China-built parts. Many people heard horror stories about the turbos and wastegates and just about everything else failing because of poor quality of the parts. I tend to disagree. I did a lot of research before deciding to go with a cheaper Chinese turbo and other said parts. From what I was able to gather, most of the failures came from improper installation and user error . Things like blowing turbo seals because they didn't use an oil feed restrictor, or turbo's exploding because of balance issues, or the bearings failing because people do stupid things to their turbos. Yes, some parts legitimately had design flaws, but for every Chinese turbo failure story I could find a genuine Turbonetics or Garrett failure story. A turbo is a turbo boys and girls. It's not rocket science. Chinese have been great at reverse-engineering quality parts, and many times over comparsions have been done by taking the parts apart and comparing the knock-offs to the real thing, then discovering they are nearly identical inside. With that said, my cheap turbo parts work just great. I have spooled this turbo past 20 psi and it did not explode (and luckily neither did the new engine!) And the new setup, minus the engine, cost me less than a grand. The moral of the story here is, yes you CAN do this for cheap. 15 psi from a Chinese turbo is still 15 psi.UPDATE: yes, it's been over a year with a Chinese turbo. Still spooling. Still no shaft play. Still no leaking seals. Same goes for the Chinese wastegate, Chinese blow-off valve, Chinese intercooler and piping. Chinese tires though, don't get those.UPDATE 2: Yes, year and a half now, the Chinese turbo is still going. At this point I'm sure this proved to everyone that a Chinese turbo can work. It still has no shaft play either. The brand is EMUSA in case anyone is wondering. Cost me $210 shipped back in the day. My friend got the same turbo from eBay a few months ago and it happily spooling with his Ford PGT-ZE.

ModificationsEngine:- Crower Rods- JE Pistons, stock bore, 8.5:1 CR- FSR turbo cams- 2000 crank and girdle- Balanced to 9k RPM- ARP head studs- Huge P&P head- .060 valve spring shims (getting rid of these in favor of stiffer 98 springs)- High temp valve seals- Port & Polished intake manifold- GSI throttle body- CoolingMist Methanol Injection system- T3/T4 Chinese turbo .63 a/r, 62 trim- Modified cast iron 1G DSM manifold- Chinese 38mm external wastegate (10 psi spring)- Black 2.5" powdercoated intercooler piping- Golden Eagle vacuum block- Chinese BOV (RFL knock-off)- CX Racing intercooler- Golden Eagle vacuum block- 2.5" exhaust all the way, Cherrybomb, Magnaflow muffler, no cat.- OBX needle-valve MBC- Vacuum solenoid enables switching from 10 to ~17 psi instantly- OBDI spark conversion- ACT 6-puk unsprung cllutch- RSX-S all aluminum radiator- 225 lph Walbro fuel pump- 750cc Siemens injectors- Megasquirt-I PCB3.0, fuel and spark control- Launch control, flatshift (anti-lag)- Glowshift mech boost gauge- Glowshift electric EGT gauge- Glowshift electric oil pressure gauge- AEM UEGO Wideband O2- Timex digital oil temp gaugeSuspension:- Aerospeed coilovers- Ling-Long tires (lol)- 17" IKON rims- Drilled/Slotted rotors- Ceramic NAPA pads- SDA dogbones- Ground Pounder TAM- GP lower trans mount- AMR Engineering STBInterior:- Vue cluster- Matching white-face gauges- Full red LED conversion- Black leather seats all around- Black interior swap- RedlineGoods leather armrest, ebrake and shift bootsExterior:- 20% tint all around- Small chin spoiler/splitter- Painted skirts- Rims, lowered- Magnaflow muffler with stainless steel tip- Black 2nd gen headlights with 8000k HID'sAudio:- Clarion 230 Watt RMS deck- Infinity component speakers- Pioneer 800 Watt RMS monoblock amp- Pioneer 12" woofer in a bandpass enclosure- XM Radio receiver- Fat ebay capacitor That's about it. I'm sure I forgot something, and some of this might have changed.The new turbo setup is definitely quicker judging by a complete lack of traction in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and most of 4th gear. The goal here is around 300 whp while being street-legal, with full interior and stereo. With FSR cams it should be knocking on 350 whp. If I can hook up with my new Falken's (probably not), that's a high 11 to mid 12 second Saturn in the 1/4 mile. Still nice to beat up on some Corvettes on the freeway on the way to work though.