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Rebel Redline is going turbo.

13K views 96 replies 18 participants last post by  Landen Tucker 
#1 ·
So... I bought the ZZP Turbo Swap Kit and a 3" ZZP Catback for Black Friday.

Started tearing down the car today for the install.

I forgot just how much I despise being covered in Dexcool.

This project is likely to take me over a week, since I work nights and only have a few hours each afternoon to work on cars, work out, eat, and get ready for work.

Today I got as far as getting all the aftercooler crap out ( permanently this time ), getting the intake off, and getting the pan dropped.

Looks a lot different when you can see the ground from the top side...


 
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#7 ·
that's what it looks like on the regular ion all the time


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I always use to say wow that looks so easy to change on my old Ion2
 
#6 ·
Had to drive 30 miles ( one way ) to drop the pan off to have the drain bung welded in this morning. So of course... I slept until 3:30pm and didn't get much done today since I only had an hour to work.

I was wanting to get the entire exhaust dropped off and at least install the manifold and turbo, but I guess that'll wait until tomorrow...

Today I got:

- ZZP S3 Heat Exchanger removed
- ZZP Gen 2 CAI removed

( both will be cleaned up and listed for sale soon )

- Bumper and fender liners pulled
- Stock HE pulled and AC condensor bolted to radiator.

Pics of ZZP S3 HE vs ZZP Intercooler.



Pics of drain bung.



 
#8 ·
Got up late again today. So didn't get much done.

The rundown:

- Scraped ( and scraped, and scraped ) the old Ultra Black off the oil pan and block. Got it reinstalled, this time with Ultra Grey. Took a lot more time than I wanted, but I only wanna do it once.

- Pulled the ZZP 2.5" catback and ZZP 3" into 2.5" downpipe off the car.

Over the halfway point, so I hope to get going more quickly from here on out. I'm off work Saturday, so I'm hoping to have the car back on the ground that night.

Only bad thing is, there's supposed to be storms this weekend, so I likely won't be able to drive/tune the car until next week.
 
#9 ·
The car is now officially equipped with a turbo. :D



I forgot how spoiled I was when I installed the header with the head on the bench last time. The new log manifold is easier to deal with, but only just.

Goodbye M62, hello S256ET.



I still need to install

- Downpipe and 3" Catback
- Wastegate
- Intake Manifold
- Intercooler
- Charge Pipes and Boost Controller
 
#11 ·
I'm sick, came down with the creeping crud. But as they say, the show must go on.

Got a bunch done today.

- Downpipe and catback installed
- Manifold and TB installed
- Turbo Intake installed
- Intercooler installed
- Charge piping mocked up

I ran into an issue with the fitment of the wastegate dump tube. Gonna have to wait until at least Monday to find a solution.

All I've really got left is:

- Find a dump tube solution
- Pull the alternator and A/C compressor to get the MAF section of charge piping in place.
- Trim a coupler and clamp all the charge piping down
- Install BOV and Boost Controller
- Reinstall bumper and fender liners

Do all that, do some minor cleanup, refill fluids, flash tune, and I should be driving again.

Some pics from today. Ignore the bright yellow wiring. The loom disintegrated. I plan to re-loom it soon. It's starting to look like a turbo car.





 
#16 ·
This is a nice set-up! Dyno tune for sure will be beneficial, numbers will go up from the flash tune.
Where are you planning on taking it for a dyno tune? ZZP? Local? I live 3 hours from ZZP and am tempted to take my Supercharged 2.2L there for a proper dyno tune (did the good ol' e-mail me a file via HPTuners method haha)
Good luck with rest of build! Please post more pics when available :)
 
#17 ·
I do my own tuning, but I will get dyno numbers as soon as possible after install.

I'm pretty much done with the install, except for the dump tube and a few other small parts I need.

Gonna try and have it on the ground tomorrow.



 
#18 · (Edited)
After fighting being sick and having to get some small parts in, the car is finally on the ground and running.

So far I have only cranked and run it to test for function and leak check. Tomorrow I plan to begin part throttle tuning, and I hopefully will be able to do WOT stuff this weekend.

Initial impressions... It's quieter at idle with a larger exhaust, and seems smoother.

I'll continue to update this thread as I get more things done, including a pointers section that is Redline specific for anyone else who wants to do a swap.



I plan to rework the wastegate/fuel pressure regulator tubing soon to clean it up. I just wanted the car running again for now.

Looks a lot different, doesn't it?

 
#20 ·
Gonna have to replace my saggy Teins ( shuddap, I didn't know any better ) with the YYZ/FE5 conversion sooner rather than later. The intercooler sits rather low. And yes, that's as high as it can go.

Look for a for sale thread soon. ;)



Started in on the VE tune today. Car was way off. 20+ negative Lambda error.

Even with the tune off, the car drives good. It's more responsive than it was with the M62, and when you lean on the throttle, you can tell that it has more power.

Car is much quieter than it was with the M62. The turbo quietens everything down a good bit.

Still working on little things. Gonna have to pull the turbo intake tomorrow and adjust it. It's a very tight fit between the head and body, and it rattles when it touches.

I hope to finish my VE tuning tomorrow and move on to MAF. Then WOT by this weekend.
 
#22 ·
Is that turbo .55 or .70? Mine (.70) at 21psi hit ~385whp, 22psi was over 400.
You know, I didn't think to look. I'm sure it's the .55.

What octane gas was that at? How much timing? Any issues to watch out for? Did you have issues with hitting the 11100hz or 512 g/s limit on the MAF?
 
#24 ·
Got the car further tuned today, and I can sum it up with a single phrase.

Turbo LSJs are MEAN.

The bad news is, at a measly 5,500 rpm and 16psi, I am out of MAF. I'm going to have to find a solution, whether it be skewing the PE, bigger MAF tube, or MAF clamp.

The car is a beast compared to anything the M62 ever hoped to be.

It may seem expensive to convert to turbo, but the first time it spools hard and you hear the wastegate open, you'll know it was worth it.
 
#27 ·
I wanted to cover a few things that weren't in the instructions for the swap.

The lower charge pipe is in a very tight spot. It runs from the passenger side of the intercooler, makes a 90° turn, runs along the bottom of the radiator shroud, then makes another 90° turn up and towards the throttle body.

Here's a pic of where it fits and how tight it is.



You will have to gently bend the a/c lines coming off the compressor to make it fit. You will also have to remove the intercooler, take both lower radiator supports loose, and swing the bottom of the radiator forward to get the charge pipe in place.

You will also have to extend your MAF wires 18". You can either buy an extender or cut/solder it yourself. If you DIY, make sure you do it right, with heat shrink tubing.





On the Redlines, you will have to move an a/c line from behind the turbo. I just have mine covered with a piece of rubber line and zip-tied out of the way for now.

Also, the turbo intake tube is a very tight fit. I had to pull mine and make some "fitment dents" so that it didn't rattle. It helps here to use a pry bar on the upper motor mount to shift the engine to the driver's side.



Another tip for the belt is to pick up a cheap belt tool, and also shift the engine over to the driver's side. It's very tight in there.
 
#30 ·
ID1000's. I have plenty of injector. I'm not hitting the 512 g/s limit, the car is slapping the piss out of the 11,100hz limit.

I have a Mini-AFC on the way to dumb it down.
 
#31 ·
I supercharged my 2.2L, almost went turbo but as you aforementioned the costs were a lot steeper. Granted, the power gains are significantly better with a turbo build. I would need to upgrade my valve springs, rods, pistons and rings if I were to ever think of doing this to an L61 block though lol. Has anyone turbod an L61 with stock internals and not grenaded it?

The F23 tranmissions can take a BEATING however the 2.2L clutch blows chunks. How does your clutch and F35 feel with the turbo? Curious to see how it handles the extra torque from your setup. Very nice clean build btw, this thread is mega sticky worthy the way this information is being logged. Keep up the good work!
 
#32 ·
The F23 tranmissions can take a BEATING however the 2.2L clutch blows chunks. How does your clutch and F35 feel with the turbo? Curious to see how it handles the extra torque from your setup.
So far everything seems happy. But then I haven't really beaten on it yet. Fresh GMPP clutch, stock 113k mile F35.

I'm not hammering on the car below 3500rpm or powershifting in an attempt to help everything live.

I'm deliberately tuning the car with some boost and power left on the table in the midrange. I don't want any big boost spikes eating 3rd gear. So timing and boost is being tuned accordingly.

I come from spraying a stock 4L60E and 7.625 10-bolt LS1 car, so I know that it's best to ease into the power until everything is moving full tilt.

If I have to F40 swap, I just know that I won't be able to help myself, and will go with a built Gen3 short block and turn the boost up. :)

So I'm trying to keep it to 400whp or below.
 
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