ka-t long driving??

[project_240]

i make about 2 road trips down and back from chattanooga TN to houston TX every year and it is about a 14-16 hr drive each way. just wondering...any ka-t's doing that long of a haul? what do you do differently when driving for that much, assuming you have the standard bolt-on kit such as the XS kit???

-thanks

-jake

[AceInHole]

if i really wanted to save gas i'd set boost as low as possible.... but... on my last long drive, and first long drive with the turbo (peiced together "kit") my compressor wheel nut came off and the turbo screwed itself. $80 later I'm as good as new though. Next time i'd just make sure all my hoses and stuff are secure. it turns out the wheel nut in my case might have started from a bad oil supply. keep checking your oil as much as possible too. that's all i can think of at least.

[240racer]

when cruising you aren't in boost so it's really like the turbo isn't even there, untill you have to pass. As long as you have driven a few hundred miles aroung town to make sure that everything is put together right and your hoses are tight, etc. Then you shouldn't have any problems. The only problems I have had are from hoses coming off or breaking because they were crappy. Also, make sure your car has a good heat shield setup, esp. by the MC, ifyou overheat that then you are going to have fun stopping.

[Jeff240sx]

You will theoretically get better gas mileage on the highway with a turbo, because the car isn't working as hard to suck air, as it is getting pushed in.
I drove 2 hours home every weekend for about 3 months with my KA-T. No overheating, nothing. Just watch your foot. The car will go from 70mph to 90mph in a couple seconds.
-Jeff

[d240t2]

Air isn't getting pushed in when you aren't in the gas though...you have to make enough exhaust gas to power the compressor faster than the engine ingests air.

So on a KA with a T3 or larger, you won't be in the boost at cruise, even at 100mph. Your boost controller could be set at 5psi or 50psi, you'd get the same gas mileage because you'd never see boost.

If you aren't in the gas the whole time...trying to set a new world speed record (which you may), then you won't have any problems with a well sorted turbo system. I have gotten as high as 26mpg on a drive from TX to GA, with the car loaded down (moving for summer internship)...and my roommate borrowed my car to go from GA to NC and claims 29mpg.

The only problem I have had on a long trip is with the RevHard manifold spitting bolts out...but that was only a problem when the manifold was at a real high temp (EGT's at 700C at cruise), and then I got in the boost trying to catch up to Chris May and Russ who had gotten ahead of me by going 125mph. Now, I don't have a RevHard manifold...and I have yet to lose a bolt.

Dennis