This is part of the review.. I'll only post the part relevant to the turbo
The Melbourne turbocharging junkies known as
AVO (Advanced Vehicle Operations) were
called in to take a squiz under the bonnet and
come up with a turbocharger solution to Eric's
needs. It turns out that the 1G-series engine
found in the IS200 does have one quality
attribute - it leaves heaps of underbonnet space
for a turbocharger!
The project took the blokes at AVO a few
months from start to its
fully-ADR-and-emissions-compliant current
guise. Pop the hood today and you'll notice the
custom fabricated stainless exhaust manifold,
which locates an out-of-place looking turbo - it's
a Garrett roller-bearing job that AVO rates at
320 horsepower. Given the engine internals had
to remain standard, turbo boost pressure is kept
quite low - 8 psi - which makes the intercooler's
job a bit easier. The front-mount AVO
bar-and-plate job is capable of dealing with a lot
more boost - something for later down the track,
maybe...
The engine management details are being closely
guarded by AVO at the moment since it's a
work-in-progress product. We can tell you,
however, it's an AVO/Link joint device that lets
the standard computer run the engine at low
loads, but switches to the programmable Link
system to take over at high loads. Hmmm,
sounds interesting! Extra fuel flow is provided to
the standard IS200 injectors by a high-spec
Japanese-sourced aftermarket pump.
On the exhaust side, the Garrett turbo
incorporates an internal wastegate whose gasses
merge with ex-turbine gasses in a 3-inch stainless
pipe. AVO supplied a super-clean cat converter,
which - at the time of photography - passed
gasses onto a HKS Hyper rear section. Eric has
now ripped this off to fit a Trust Power Extreme
system - this should prove just a little bit quieter.
Well, compared to standard - when it had only a
measured 80kW at the back tyres - the car's
taken on a completely new personality. Eric's
trusty Rev/Speed Meter confirms it - 6.6-second
0 - 100s are the stuff (current) WRXs and Gen 3
Commodores are made of! Eric says the car is
now much, much more enjoyable to pedal quick,
but - just to be safe - he is considering rebuilding
the engine with forged pistons and quality
aftermarket rods. Maybe then we'll see a bit
more boost and, of course, still more power.