DEFINITELY have them slap 1 bar wastegate actuator's on there. If your turbos have over 10k miles on them, you may want them to do a rebuild. Generally, when they receive your turbo, they'll do a tear down and let you know if they honestly think they need it.
A clipped turbine wheel increases flow at the cost of efficiency. It will shift the powerband a bit to the right; a bit (we're talking very little) more lag traded for a bit more top end. It may actually be a good idea with a 16g because it is already so INCREDIBLY lagless but runs out of puff at around 6200 that a little bump to the right couldn't hurt. I didn't go that road because I didn't need a rebuild and so all the work was on the cold side. I didn'ts see the need to dissasemble the hot side just to clip the wheel.
Porting and polishing will also increase flow. You can also enquire about insulating housing coatings (though I've never been 100% sold on their effectiveness).

I would tell Mike what your goals are and ask him what he suggests. He's very honest and incredibly knowledgable. His family has been building turbos for 3 generations. My tuner was also a good resource for discussing what tweaks were worthwhile.

Speaking of tuners, have you run this by proto? It's good to get your tuner on board before you show up with hardware. Some aren't cool with that (thankfully, mine will tune anything you bring him). Although I know proto has K16/16g tune (my buddy in town has it).

If you go with something exotic that no one else is running, you may want to get it custom tuned (as Markski rightly notes). For something really new I'd want REAL TIME dyno or road tuning so that the tuner is monitoring your engine real time. If you're doing a Data log-e-mail-retune style tune, alot can go wrong on the "datalog" run as our forum member Rick Eager just found out. You wouldn't know if your AFRs spike to 16 and you run out of injector at 3k rpm, but someone staring at a laptop on a dyno would and can let off before damage is done.

Good luck.

 

So what does proto recommend?

 

Mark ,are you letting the cat out of the bag ? LOL

 

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing. I will call them (again) and talk to them.


I spoke to Todd pretty extensively about what my needs are and after asking him many questions, I decided the K16 hybrid is right for me. The K24/18 is definitely an awesome package and a step up but I don't need all that power. I asked Todd what he'd recommend for a street car with a focus more of less lag and more low end power and he recommend the K16 hybrids. I'd definitely give him an email if you have any questions

Edwin

 

Another question... do I need to get a boost controller on a set-up of 16gs if I'm not going to run race fuel? I'm going to just stick with pump gas.

Edwin

 

You certainly don't NEED to get one. The question is, do you want to get one?
With any boost controller setup, you swap built-in ECU protections for the ability to control boost on the fly. A boost controller ONLY has protection against overboost. The ECU has the ability to protect against knocking, lean conditions, misfires, etc.
You need to make your own call on that one.
I don't run one, I don't think many do with K16 based hybrids, but the choice is yours.

 

Thanks for your input and help through all this. Do you have a contact out at Blouch that I can talk to in regards to helping get this thing rolling?

Edwin

 

I deal with Mike at Blouch.

You know, Proto orders their turbos from Blouch, so why don't you just go through them? I'm sure a guy who orders several turbo kits a month from them has their ear better than someone they've never spoken to.

I went direct because I hadn't yet made up my mind on what tuner to use, but if I had to do it over again, I'd just have EPL order them for me. They pass the turbo along at almost no mark-up in their kits. One less headache.

 

Update: I just called and talked to Mike and this is what he said for the K16 hybrid upgrade.

Compressor Upgrade and 1 bar WG upgrade - between $500-600 per turbo

I asked him about porting and polishing and the clipped turbine and his response was he didn't think it needs the porting/polishing and he does not recommend clipping the turbine on the K16s (which was news to me b/c I thought it was a good thing?)

Edwin

 

Boost controller for K 16's???? Why are you going through all this trouble for a turbo that will never give you much in the performance department?

Just do the ecu and exhaust and call it a day. If you are going to the trouble to upgrade your turbos get something with more power potential. Trust me, you WILL want more power, and much sooner than you can imagine.

 

Sean,

I'm not sure if I "needed" the boost controller which is why I asked and I'm still learning. Like I had mentioned before, I have absolutely no interest getting the best 60-130 times nor seeing how fast I can go in the mile or 1/4 mile. I want a set-up that minimizes lag, that has more power on the low-end and don't have to worry about burning through my clutch. I rarely drive past 100 mph so the K24/18 set-up isn't for me, although I know it's a superior package. However, I wouldn't say that low 500's to the wheel isn't much in the performance department.

Edwin

 

About that whole "not have to worry about burning through my clutch" thing...

I'm making 540 torque at the wheels on my setup and the stock clutch didn't last through dyno tuning. I'm not saying your clutch will go immediately, but I'd put aside a clutch fund.

 

Edwin,

Just remember, you are going to have labor to take the turbos out, wait to have them rebuilt (car will be down). Along the way you are sure to have lots of little added expenses (which is ALWAYS) the case plus shipping. Then, of course, you have to re-tune.

I agree that the 24/18 is not for you, however you are not going to get a lot more out of the K16's by rebuilding them. You would get twice as much hp gains out of the hybrid GT 28's w/ all the other advantages you are looking for.

Of course the GT 28's are a 4K plus turbo, but you see them all the time in the 4sale section for 2K or less. If you got pair you would produce much more power (w/ absolutely zero lag) and you would not have the down time of the rebuild.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I have been around and know that once you start modding you will want more.

 

And as Seal noted, you will eventually need to upgrade the clutch...I recommend the Sachs which will also handle the Garrets.

 

I just wanted a little bit more power so I bought a chip.. Then I needed more.. So I got exhaust.. Then I needed more so I bought a pair of turbos... Then I needed injectors, fuel pump, intake tubes, etc.. Now I want even more!!!!

I remember telling Sean, Paul, Joe, etc that the most I may EVER do is a chip.. Boy was I wrong LOL!