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I have really enjoyed reading the hundreds(!) of posts concerning
turbo installation. After SNF '03 I was convinced that would be my
savior also. I ran home and bought a stock 13B turbo with
intercooler, and a big TO3 turbo off e-bay (Turbofever got the best of
my judgement). They are still sitting in the corner.
By replacing my intake manifold with something resembling (a
little, anyway) Tracy's, I picked up enough power to make the RV perform
as it should. (Photos available on my web site)
The extra 30-40 lbs and off-center load on the engine mount makes
me shy away from the turbo for now.
In NA mode, I now perform side-by-side with the 160 HP fixed-pitch
RVs on our field. I just returned from a 27.4-hour vacation trip
to Van's homecoming, and all over the Northwest. Returned from
Montana to Texas over the Rockies with no problem. Gross weight at
10,000 to 13,500 MSL it still trues 170 MPH. At those altitudes
fuel flow is around 8 GPH. Cruising below 10,000 MSL, I figure 10
GPH from T/O to Landing, and it is always right on. (I know,
Tracy, I should lean it to the lean side of peak, but when I do, I
sacrifice too much power!)
Still using the internal 16-guage SS home-made muffler, and it
still is quiet. The SS Spintech is waiting on the bench for when
this one blows.
TT is over 210 hours now, and no major problems (As Hagrid says, "I
shouldn't have said that....") I did see my first case of PLUG
SAG, and it did get my attention. The RPM began to decay and the
oil and coolant temps started to rise rapidly. I pulled off some
power and went way rich and it gradually returned to normal. It
wouldn't have been so attention-getting if I hadn't been climbing out
over the mountains toward Mt. Hood! These were platinum NGKs with close
to 40 hours on them. When they were pulled, the lead balls were
obvious from that expensive 100LL.
Bottom Line: If you need either of these turbos,
contact me off line. We can deal.
Bill Eslick
RV-6 N268BL |