Quote Originally Posted by xPhantomSolx
Personally, I would invest the money in an auto to manual swap, then worry about the turbo *cough*I have everything you need except the trans*cough*.

But if you insist on keeping it auto, I think you need a transmission cooler or something like that... it's been a while since I've discussed it.

The disadvantage of boosting an auto trans car is that you have to wait for the turbo to spool. Generally, turbos make their maximum power in the higher rpm range... auto transmissions are geared and programmed to shift in the middle of the rpm range.. therefore you would, theoretically, NOT be making full boost and optimal power on a shift. I'm sure a shop could reprogram your ecu to shift higher, but the problem you run into is that you just don't have the control over the shifting that you really want. With a manual trans, YOU decide when to shift. When you are just daily driving around, you shift at lower rpms, but when you are competing/racing, you rev it on up. If you get the auto trans reprogrammed to shift higher, you'll be driving around town at 5000 rpms because your transmission doesn't "know" to shift. Get it?

If you insist on staying auto and not buying all this KA24DE manual stuff from me (clutch lines, master cylinder, pedals, gauge cluster, middle console, etc), and you REALLY want boost, I would look at a supercharger instead of a turbo.

Advantages of a soopercharger- It works with the air ENTERING the motor.. that's where it makes boost. Consequently, you make power as soon as you hit the gas. You don't push the high boost numbers of a turbo, and most superchargers feel pretty good around 8-12psi. You don't get the crazy high hp numbers (450+) of a turbo, but you get decent gains, and in the quarter, you hang with turbo cars because you have power right off the bat.. you don't have to wait for a turbo to spool. The reason most domestics are commonly supercharged is because, generally, domestics redline around 4500 - 5000rpm. Usually a turbo is just starting to spool around there. Imports generally are capable of winding the rpms up to 7500+ safely, which gives a turbo plenty of time to spool. Domestics generally supercharge to overcome the fact that they don't wind that high. Auto transmission cars do not go that high, either. Therefore, supercharger is your best bet for a really noticeable power gain, and you also don't have to worry about as much wear and tear on the motor, since you have lower boost pressure being pushed through the motor.

Cons of supercharging - It's expensive to get a good supercharger setup. Worth it, but expensive. Check out Vortech, Eaton, and Jackson Racing... they're generally the best. The other main con is that I don't even know if a KA24DE supercharger is made... hmmm... If they don't make one, contact the company and ask about a sponsorship! That's how I got my pretty blingy billet aluminum motor mounts for free.
great info thanks