Finally, its turbo time...

[Wynand]

I had put my engine tuning on hold for awhile to make up my mind since I had a few options open to get some extra ponies from the 2.0 Zetec black top and do not want to be sorry later making the wrong choice. Awhile ago I decided on bike TB's over side draft carbs but that was then...

Turbo charging was always on the back of my mind and after helping my son replacing a blown turbo on his TDI Golf, I decided to go that route finally.
I looked up everything I could find on Zetec turbocharging and was surprised to discover that a std Zetec can safely be turbocharged as is without any modifications - sans bigger injectors - up to 12psi (0.74bar) and producing about 220 - 230hp on 11psi.
Over this pressure charging one needs to lower compression ratio, stronger lower end parts, cams, etc
The GT25 unit out of the box is set at 7 - 8psi and without any tinkering should see about 200hp...

The modification is simple with a Garrett GT25 turbo charger with intercooler and having made some sums, discovered it would cost basically the same as the TB route but will get a lot more bang for the buck.
Since the compression is still the same, the motor should still pulls strongly at low rpm before the turbo starts spooling up - no lag. Even the GT25 unit is known not to have lag due to its fast spooling up.
As a bonus, the torque would also be much, much more and spread from about 2000 - 5000rpm, making for lightning acceleration in any gear

Anyone done the same with a Zetec? Any comments etc welcome. Thanks