hi,newby here by the name of jim pratt.

many years ago i owned an elford turbo 12a.it ran ok but maybe needed just a bit more go.

now i know you get this kind of question every other day but what turbo should i use ,if married to a turbo 2 manifold?

i only want about 200 hp and the engine on my new 12a series1 is rebuilt.i also want it to spool up low down so i get early usable power. can any suggestions be a bit more specific than t3 or t4 as i am no turbo expert.thanks in advance

turbo 2 manifold has a weird flange, so it only uses the stock turbo

if you modify the stock TII manifold, use the stock turbo. as J9 stated, it has a wierd flange. but you can have a new flange fabbed to fit if you really want to use an aftermarket turbo.



another way to go on the cheap is a stock sr20 turbo (silvia motor) its ball bearing and small. we put one on my brothers corolla and it hits full boost quick without even flooring it. plus they have .60 AR upgrades for it too. but you would have to have a turbo manifold made.



are you staying carbed? stock carb? manifold? intercooled? 200 is pretty easy to hit safely if done correctly.

Go to Racing Beat, buy a 12A header flange and a 13B header flange. Weld 2 short pieces of schedule 40 1-3/4" mild pipe between them, at a slight upward angle, bolt the TII exhaust and turbo on. You will need 2 exhaust gaskets. The good TII one is copper and runs about 50 bucks. If you're not set up to do this, I can make you one and may even have a decent S4 turbo and and exhaust mani. PM me over at RX7Club.com or e-mail me me at: srmcduffee@hotmail.com.



You won't hit 200 hp, but you'll be very close. You should also upgrade your injectors or add another pair as secondaries and run a standalone ecu like a MegaSquirt to handle the extra fuel needed during boost and to adjust the needed timing changes. Adding a wideband is strongly recommended to make sure the AFRs are in line and for tuning the ecu.



In the long run, it would be simpler to find a complete TII engine or even an S4 NA engine and run it on low boost, i.e., 6 maybe 8 psi. I've had a couple guys wanting me to build a 12A for them, for 1200 bucks, lol, in the last couple of months, so selling our 12A shouldn't be a problem.

i think a small fast spooling turbo is a garett t-25 turbo, these are relativly small and are used on the sr20det from the 200sx and silvia. there also the turbos on the twin turbo 300zx (i have one of these cars they are a blast). this turbo spools really fast because of its size and can produce about 10psi max which should be good enough to get your lil 12a some impressive numbers. plus these turbos have been made readily available due to the growing popularity of drifting sr20det= posterchild engine for drifting. you could probably get one on a forum or ebay for around $200-$250 in excellent shape.

you may want to check the junkyards close to you. i pick up a t-25 for $35 with header on half price day.