[Blasirl]

I have a metal valve cover waiting to be installed. Getting a second pcv outlet welded on soon, have an issue that arose which requires a fix from my fabricator and going to get some extra stuff done whilst its' in the shop.

Some videos if anybody hasn't seen them yet

You need to turn the bunker into a Skunkworks lab!

 

[F18D4T]

You need to turn the bunker into a Skunkworks lab!

Wow I was so young in that video! I had a crack at clearing it out but never decided to do anything with it as when it rains it fills with water and water proofing it would be beyond my skills.

 

[F18D4T]

Update on the car:

Drove over a faulty expansion joint which flicked up and ripped my exhaust back broke the dump pipe and put a hole in my oil pan...

I like to see the positive side of things so this gave me a chance to put my oil drain plug in a better spot on the new pan, and the car park owners’ Insurance should be covering the damage.

While looking for some other parts I needed at the wreckers I grabbed some bigger brakes and the watts link suspension from a 1.6 they had there! Can’t wait to get it installed it should only need slight modification to bolt up

 

[F18D4T]

Got it in, only required 2 holes to be drilled and some longer M12 bolts. Can’t wait to see if there’s much difference just need to get my exhaust remade :/

 

[F18D4T]

Little update:

The rear suspension upgrade was a huge success, cornering and really givin' it to the car in bends and sharp turns the car feels unbelievably more planted. The body roll in the rear was previously horrid and that is all but gone. Highly recommend this upgrade as you'll get larger brakes too and it is a really easy and cheap mod with great performance gains.

At the end of the week I'm finally getting my exhaust redone and getting some sensor flanges welded into my ic piping. The car doesn't open the throttle more than 65% without a TIAP so I'm adding one and a BARO sensor. I had to pin them into the ECU, I simply found a wiring diagram from the 1.4 with the same ECU and not so simply unwrapped the entire loom. I also used this opportunity to remove things the car no longer has like the variable intake plug. The loom is wrapped more neatly now so the engine bay looks cleaner

The final change I have made is colder spark plugs. I was still using the stock IR 6 heat range plugs and was getting weird hesitation in low load situations. I upgraded to ones designed for the 1.4 which are NGK IR 7 heat range plugs and all the issues have gone away.

 

[Blasirl]

Little update:

The rear suspension upgrade was a huge success, cornering and really givin' it to the car in bends and sharp turns the car feels unbelievably more planted. The body roll in the rear was previously horrid and that is all but gone. Highly recommend this upgrade as you'll get larger brakes too and it is a really easy and cheap mod with great performance gains.

At the end of the week I'm finally getting my exhaust redone and getting some sensor flanges welded into my ic piping. The car doesn't open the throttle more than 65% without a TIAP so I'm adding one and a BARO sensor. I had to pin them into the ECU, I simply found a wiring diagram from the 1.4 with the same ECU and not so simply unwrapped the entire loom. I also used this opportunity to remove things the car no longer has like the variable intake plug. The loom is wrapped more neatly now so the engine bay looks cleaner
View attachment 293213
View attachment 293214

The final change I have made is colder spark plugs. I was still using the stock IR 6 heat range plugs and was getting weird hesitation in low load situations. I upgraded to ones designed for the 1.4 which are NGK IR 7 heat range plugs and all the issues have gone away.
View attachment 293215

I must have missed something. Did you install a Z-Link rear or what?

 

[F18D4T]

I must have missed something. Did you install a Z-Link rear or what?

Sure did!

 

[F18D4T]

Thought I'd post an update, hopefully the info further down can help at least 1 person! Finally got the car repaired and to a point where it drives perfectly now with my added TIAP and BARO sensors. Its' got a full 3" exhaust this time with a high flow cat. The only thing letting me down is the stock fuel pump... It is dropping pressure badly on e85, tuning around it is easy but its' not consistent so I'm looking into dropping in an AEM 340LPH pump which I have sitting around. @Crewz do you know if the stock FPR in the tub will handle such a high flow pump, I know you have a similar sized one but not sure if you've tested it yet...

For anybody looking to turbo your 1.8 Cruze with a torque based ECM EG: E78 you absolutely need to install an additional TIAP and BARO sensor. Without it your throttle will only open WOT to ~60%, your low throttle will command too much throttle causing high boost and really low spark to compensate and tuning VE will be impossible to get right as your BARO which is calculated will be completely wrong. The BARO just needs to hang somewhere in the engine bay, and the TIAP needs to be post turbo/pre throttle body. To do this you need to pin the ECU as follows:
TIAP:
X1 Pin #25: 5V REF
X1 Pin #11: Pressure Signal
X1 Pin#39: Low Ref/GND
X2 Pin #46: IAT 3 Signal
BARO:
X1 Pin #37: Low Ref/GND
X1 Pin #23: 5V REF
X1 Pin #09: Pressure Signal

Then in your tune (I use HPTuners) you need to switch the sensor config in Engine>Airflow>General>Sensor Config. This will enable the TIAP and BARO sensors and you need to adjust AAP1 for the TIAP sensor offset and AAP2 for the BARO offset which depends on which sensors you chose.

And you need to change the induction type under Engine>Torque Management>SC/TC General> Type fitted. This will use the TIAP for throttle calculations instead of BARO.

Your throttle will now operate correctly, your fueling will be able to be tuned accurately and the car will be so much nicer to drive!

 

[Mr_Pat]

Nice. I was wondering if fuel pump would become an issue for you guys going from NA to boosted ,,

 

[F18D4T]

Got the new AEM 340LPH pump installed with an AFPR. My fuel pump assembly is a bit different to the ones I have seen on YouTube, with the venturi jet being separate to the fuel pump in the fuel filter. I decided to ditch the venturi for now which means I have to be careful with low fuel. I was going to keep the venturi but broke one of the hose connectors and just wanted the car to be running again. I installed a return bung in the fuel hat and ran the FPR near the charcoal canister (not boost referenced as of yet). Car runs great now that fuel pressure doesn't fall on its face WOT

OEM style fuel pump:

How I installed the pump:

How/where the AFPR is mounted:

 

[F18D4T]

Finally working on the car again! Have installed a paddle shifter steering wheel, which suits my large hands better than the skinny stock one. Have got my ac working with custom lines I made and installed a stock air box from a 1.6 to get some nice cold air as my IATs sucked when stationary/slow moving.

 

[F18D4T]

Turned up the boost to 14psi let’s see how the stock block takes it… running fine after a few hard pulls but watch this space for a blown engine update lol

 

[JLL]

Turned up the boost to 14psi let’s see how the stock block takes it… running fine after a few hard pulls but watch this space for a blown engine update lol

What compression ratio are you running?

14 psi seems low.

 

[F18D4T]

What compression ratio are you running?

14 psi seems low.

Unopened 1.8L 10.5 CR. I actually think it's pretty up there for a NA motor haha

 

[JLL]

Unopened 1.8L 10.5 CR. I actually think it's pretty up there for a NA motor haha

Ah. Then 14 psi is actually considerable.

Brave move on stock internals. I turbocharged an early GM 3800 L36 on stock internals when I was younger 20 years ago. It held up for 3 years! But that engine was built like a tank.

 

[Blasirl]

Finally working on the car again! Have installed a paddle shifter steering wheel, which suits my large hands better than the skinny stock one. Have got my ac working with custom lines I made and installed a stock air box from a 1.6 to get some nice cold air as my IATs sucked when stationary/slow moving. View attachment 295299
View attachment 295301
View attachment 295300

What vehicle is the steering wheel out of?

 

[F18D4T]

What vehicle is the steering wheel out of?

Holden SSV Redline Commodore

 

[DGM_Insignia]

Hi mate, I am doing a similar build on an Insignia 1.8 (so same engine). I am good with all the mechanical bits, but I was hoping you can give me a bit more info in regards to the electronics. What did you use and what it took to make it right for the boost. Am I right to think , that with this HP tuners kit, all I need is to plug it in, calibrate the fuel maps and the ignition and it would be job done? If I can somewhat use the original ECU I would definitely prefer that. Also what car have you selected as I can't find 1.8 petrol Cruze or Insignia? Thank you in advance. I will post in Matt's thread as well. I love what you guys are doing, thank you for the information, as what you 2 did is pretty much what inspired me to do this build.

 

[F18D4T]

Hi mate, I am doing a similar build on an Insignia 1.8 (so same engine). I am good with all the mechanical bits, but I was hoping you can give me a bit more info in regards to the electronics. What did you use and what it took to make it right for the boost. Am I right to think , that with this HP tuners kit, all I need is to plug it in, calibrate the fuel maps and the ignition and it would be job done? If I can somewhat use the original ECU I would definitely prefer that. Also what car have you selected as I can't find 1.8 petrol Cruze or Insignia? Thank you in advance. I will post in Matt's thread as well. I love what you guys are doing, thank you for the information, as what you 2 did is pretty much what inspired me to do this build.

Hey and welcome! I use the stock ECU which is an E78. I needed to add some sensors (in an above post) to get it to run right. The same ECU is used to control the turbocharged models so there were no problems there. You will definitely need a wideband to tune the car and its a little more involved than tweaking fuel and spark with this ECU as it's torque command based. Probably best off to see what ECU is in your car and see if it's compatible with HpTuners.

 

[DGM_Insignia]

Hey and welcome! I use the stock ECU which is an E78. I needed to add some sensors (in an above post) to get it to run right. The same ECU is used to control the turbocharged models so there were no problems there. You will definitely need a wideband to tune the car and its a little more involved than tweaking fuel and spark with this ECU as it's torque command based. Probably best off to see what ECU is in your car and see if it's compatible with HpTuners.

Thank you very much for responding. I think mine is E83 , I will double check though.