Turbo Options

[jasonphoto01]

I've been looking at a few different turbo options from various manufacturers. This would be my first machine with a turbo, and since I’ve got a serious need for speed, I’m trying to educate myself on what’s available and what to consider. I’ve noticed differences like larger vs. smaller turbos, placement near the muffler vs. between the motor and cab, and other variations. Can anyone share some insights into the pros and cons of these options or what I should be looking for? How does the turbo affect the life or maintenance of the motor? I’d appreciate the schooling!

 

[JTBarlow]

So far, Force Turbos and Aftermarket Assassins have turbo kits ready and available. Both hang the turbo off the back, and if you have the XP they can interfere with the bed dumping. With the ADV that’s not a problem. My brother had the Force Turbos setup on his General, and it worked great, despite not having a charge air cooler. Their Xpedition turbo kits do have a charge air cooler though.
There is someone on here that posted some of their setup with the Force Turbos that you can search for.

Pro EFI and Evo Performance are both working on turbo kits that mount directly onto a custom manifold, with Evo’s being in front of the engine and Pro EFI’s turbo being to the side of the engine. In my opinion, a turbo directly off the manifold is better overall.
I don’t know if Pro EFI has theirs in production yet and the last update I’ve seen from Evo said the first kits would start shipping mid December. Evo does already have a fairly large waitlist, so no idea how long it’ll take to get one.

With the Prostar II being a high compression engine, it’s not really designed to handle boost, so you can expect the possibility of maintenance and engine life issues. As far as I’m aware, all these kits only run 6-7 psi boost so I don’t think they’ll make the engine temperamental, but adding a turbo will push it beyond what it was engineered for.

All that said, my brother is on the waitlist for the Evo Turbo kit. Theirs looks the closest to what a factory turbo Xpedition would look like.

 

[Ryan]

I just watched the EVO video on FB. Looks awesome but the intercooler placement worries me a bit. It's shown right in front of the rear tire. A place mud loves to be. It makes me think, how good is an intercooler if it can't breath. I went back and looked at the AA turbo which hangs off the back. They have this quoted on the page; "We do NOT use an intercooler. The intercooler restriction vs. gain was a complete wash at the boost pressure you can run on this high compression motor. Through many data logs in different conditions, we found no reason to complicate things and run an intercooler."

 

[JTBarlow]

I just watched the EVO video on FB. Looks awesome but the intercooler placement worries me a bit. It's shown right in front of the rear tire. A place mud loves to be. It makes me think, how good is an intercooler if it can't breath. I went back and looked at the AA turbo which hangs off the back. They have this quoted on the page; "We do NOT use an intercooler. The intercooler restriction vs. gain was a complete wash at the boost pressure you can run on this high compression motor. Through many data logs in different conditions, we found no reason to complicate things and run an intercooler."

it’s definitely a valid concern, but on my Brother’s Xpedition, the HCR suspension puts the tires pretty much outside the body and very little mud actually gets into that area.

I’d also be curious about the others testing areas. EVO has been testing around Glamis and areas where ambient temperatures are typically higher, and an intercooler can definitely help, even at the lower boost pressure. I’d go out on a limb and assume that the majority of people who turbo their Xpeditions will be dune and desert riders.