Hey people, just wanted to share my project that I have been working on for a few years. Thanks to fit-freaks and the projects I have seen posted, I was inspired to build my own turbo kit. Everything was pretty much done myself, from wrenching, ECU tuning and fabrication. This car has probably been my one favorite cars to work on haha.

Currently running 13-14 psi on ethanol haven't dyno'd it yet but from my guess probably over 200 hp
Here are the parts I've used so far
Ebay gt28
​​​​​eBay turbo manifold
Grams 750cc injectorsKemso 365lph fuel pump
Air to water intercooler setup
Innovate scg-1 for boost control
Ktuner for air/fuel and ignition

 

Here is an update on the fit engine and parts list

Brian crower rods
11.5:1 CP pistons
Brian crower springs
Blox titanium retainers
ARP head studs
OEM valves
Diy intake/exhaust port, just to clean up the ports and port match both manifolds
Kinugawa exhaust manifold
Precision 39mm wastegate
ECUmasters Emu black standalone, with ethanol sensor, IAT sensor, fuel pressure sensor, oil pressure sensor, and 3 port Mac valve
Donor engine. Last it ran, it was at 100k miles

Took the head off and everything seems to be ok


Interesting to see that Honda added support for the cylinder walls

Oil pan off, look at the nice structural support for the bottom end​


Got the crankshaft and pistons out


58 + 2 missing teeth. Very important as I need this info to set the timing in the emublack standalone

Honed and checked ring gap clearances. Bore is STD 73mm
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First piston/rod done and a comparison to the stock setup. Funny how I am currently still managing 14 psi peak pressure on these tiny rods @ 148k miles daily driven.

Got the bottom end together



Next up is getting the head done!

 

This is awesome. How hard is to rebuild L15A7 engine? I was thinking doing one to learn and to upgrade internals.

 

It's actually not bad, once I got into it. I had all the service manual info on my tablet and tackled everything one at a time. I carried the block by myself to put onto the engine stand, it's a small engine lol. I'd say the hardest part is figuring out what clearance to run with, More or less tolerance, I guess time will tell on how long it will last. I managed get 0.025" on my rod bearings and 0.030" on the main bearings. CP piston ring gaps were set to their specifications and rotated to Honda's specs. Everything else is straight forward, it's nice how there's very little gaskets needed. On the bottom end there's just the main seal and a tiny oil pan gasket the rest Hondabond.

I'm just as excited to get the standalone all wired up, tuning on ktuner was a good starting point but because our platform is limited by lack of support. I had to go with something that can push the motor to it's limit 🤞


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i have started a build as well and have been working on it for 1.5 year as well.
so far i have done the standalone (speeduino 200usd lol 400 with o2 and its controller), air to air intercooler and most of its piping, ive installed a oil cooler and at transmission cooler. i will be using the stadalone in parallel with the stock ecu bc automatic transmission
all there is left to do is to put the rdx fuel pump and injectors (direct fit) as well as the td04hl-15t and the exhaust piping (the midpipe is done but the downpipe will be hard) and tapping into the oil pan for the turbo drain.
im planning on pushing 7-8 psi bc i have never turboed a car and its my daily. idk how durable they are but i will make sure i get a good tuner.

 

Hell yeah, excited to see your fit come alive! Nice to know an RDX fuel pump fits directly. Downpipe isn't too hard, it took me about 4 hours from prep to welding it all in place.

 

Just an update

Triple checked everything and installed the ARP headstuds

Installed Honda head gasket and dowl pins

Valves, valve springs, retainers, and valve lash

 

it looks shiny and expensive. i go few questions

1. trigger setup: do i put 60+2 or 58+2, aem said 60 but i saw that they did other mistakes on sensors info, idk how to configure it, cam sensor neither


2. how was ur experience with stock internals, is fast enough to gap gtis and g35? did u worry abt blowing it up?

3. should i start building a forged piston/rod engine with ported head or is it too much money?

btw i dont have lots of experience or knowledge with engines i might of written stupid shit without knowing

 

It would be 58 teeth and 2 missing teeth. So a base of 60 teeth and 2 missing. If you look at the picture I posted on the crank you can count and see for yourselfOn pump gas you will be knock limited and won't be able to squeeze every bit of HP/TQ out of the stock engine.

I'm always worried something bad will happen when I am in boost but if you have safeguards it would give you more piece of mind lol. You should be able to keep up with those cars.

The engines rods will give out if the engine outputs too much torque, especially in the 3k rpm range. I feel mine hasn't gone out only because my turbo doesn't hit full boost until 4.5 k to 5 k rpms and that I am on ethanol which is around 100 octane compared to gasoline. I tuned the engine to have a more linear power band, but I still have issues with traction from 1st gear all the way to 3rd gear.

To build a motor, it can be fun and you will learn a lot. But it's not cheap lol. Just take it slow and enjoy every new part you put onto the car and I think by then you'll know if you want to dive deeper into the money pit haha

 

low cam ignition table

Hi cam ignition table



I wanted to post my ignition tables to show what's been working for me on e85
Knocks are from deceleration, from what I have learned this is okay when off throttle

 

I found information on Halttech's website, engine sensors and also the wiring diagrams to get any standalone all wired up. Have fun!

 

hi,
sorry for not replying since
im getting an l15A7 for $200 and it reminded of your build
i was just wondering how it was getting along
is it running yet, did it meet your expectations?

 

Hi, its been a while, im rly curious on how your build is going

 

Wait you INCREASED the stock compression ratio? (I'm tracking 10.4:1 being stock on a L15A7) Good think you're on E85 lol. I didn't even know there were aftermarket rods that didn't have to be custom made for these engines. Any idea of the mass airflow at peak boost pressure and or redline?

 

What was your piston to wall clearance?

 

Welcome! Funny, both turbo Hondas I've ridden in were white :P