I got around to rigging up a pressure tester. What I did was use some old hose I had laying around to make an extra long line from the valve cover port to the catch can. I then made a small hole in the hose and put a T in the hose going to my boost gauge (3rd port was plugged). So the crankcase could still vent somewhat normally (the test hose was much smaller ID than the actual hose), yet I could get a pressure reading from the system itself. Here's a pic. Notice the black hose coming from the valve cover with a T in it. Note that the black hose is so small, it actually fits inside the normal vent hose.



Okay, test results. During idle and cruise the pressure reading is between -2 and -3 in/Hg. Which is obviously a very good thing since the PCV system is under vacuum and therefore "sucking" out the gasses. Picture:



Under boost, the pressure rises as I expected. I tried putting the car under every in-boost condition and really didn't take it easy. Shifting into low gear at high speed, high gear at low speed, normal 1-2-3 gear pull, and mild acceleration. During high load or higher RPM conditions, the system steadily generates 1psi and holds firm. Even revving out to 7500 in 2nd gear I couldn't build more than 1psi. Picture:



I've never done such a thing before, so I'm not sure what's normal and what isn't. But 1psi sounds really low. I think the normal hose with larger ID would flow a little bit better which would of course lower the pressure a tiny bit. I realize the PCV nipple itself is the biggest restriction in the system, so I think I could still expect around 1psi with everything hooked up normal. But it seems to me 1psi just ensures that what little CC pressure exists is definitely flowing outward. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but this seems like a good sign.

WES_393 said:

That's definitely s good idea. It would only make sense that they could fabricate an O2 housing that would work with their own manifold.

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I just heard back from PR. They'll sell the custom vband o2 housing separately for $275. Together with the budget manifold, for $500!

The dump tube might be a problem. It will probably need to be cut and re-welded to remove the 90* elbow that comes on most flanged pipes, no big deal though...

^ That's not too bad. Still a little pricey though. I may look around and see what else I can find. Thanks for looking into that though!

I would double check with them on the budget manifold. I spoke with them about it a while back and they said due to the holsets being a very heavy turbo, it may run the risk of cracking the manifold.

Purple_Demon said:

I would double check with them on the budget manifold. I spoke with them about it a while back and they said due to the holsets being a very heavy turbo, it may run the risk of cracking the manifold.

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yeah, I'm sure there is definitely a risk. However, the budget mani has a V welded under the wastegate for support so I think the risk is less for a crack at the wastegate (as opposed to an obx or similar).

There are people who run them though, maybe they can chime in...

manifolds that work with holset hx35 hx40: 60

Slight play is to be expected on a dry turbo. Once you get some oil in it the bearings will tighten up and should eliminate shaftplay.

why don't you use a factory manifold with a wastegate welded to it if are worried about budget? Its cheap, and won't crack.

Seamus said:

why don't you use a factory manifold with a wastegate welded to it if are worried about budget? Its cheap, and won't crack.

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I personally don't like the idea of a waste gate only on the #1 runner. I have found some really cheap Turbonetics manifolds but have passed them up for that exact reason. I'd honestly rather spend the extra cash on a gated O2 housing. But thanks for the input.

I think I've decided to stick with my original idea of using the bolt-on housing. Then use a FP race mani (plan to ceramic coat) along with an open dump PR O2 housing. The cost/hassle of using the V-band outlet, plus added lag, plus Calan's wise advice, I think T3 might just be too much for me right now. I mean, 500hp on a street car is already going to be nuts. Until I retire this car to track duty, anything more might just be too much.

WES_393 said:

I think I've decided to stick with my original idea of using the bolt-on housing. Then use a FP race mani (plan to ceramic coat) along with an open dump PR O2 housing. The cost/hassle of using the V-band outlet, plus added lag, plus Calan's wise advice, I think T3 might just be too much for me right now. I mean, 500hp on a street car is already going to be nuts. Until I retire this car to track duty, anything more might just be too much.

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Wise choice. I actually decided the same thing . Just picked up an fp manifold to kick things off, so now for me, it's set in stone: hx40 8-blade, bep.55ar, pr recirc'd o2 & 38mm tial (or knockoff).

Good luck with your setup wes!

WES_393 said:

I personally don't like the idea of a waste gate only on the #1 runner. I have found some really cheap Turbonetics manifolds but have passed them up for that exact reason. I'd honestly rather spend the extra cash on a gated O2 housing. But thanks for the input.

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Whats the difference btw of the exhaust manifold or off the o2 area? Ive been try to research this myself and have had not much luck. Thanks

Rsawd95dsm said:

Whats the difference btw of the exhaust manifold or off the o2 area? Ive been try to research this myself and have had not much luck. Thanks

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You can only run a wastegate off the O2 with the bolt-on housing. It has a wastegate port just like an MHI turbo, but no actual internal wastegate. So you use a stock style O2 housing, just with an external wastegate on it.

Bolt-on housing:


Bolt-on with O2 housing wastegate:


If you run a T3 housing you can't use a DSM O2 housing configuration. Or if you weld the wastegate port shut on the bolt-on housing. So you have to run a wastegate off the manifold.

T3 housing:


T3 housing with manifold wastegate and down pipe adapter (Not Holset, but same concept)


The benefit to an O2 housing wastegate is ease of use and the ability to recirculate it. The benefit to a manifold wastegate is lower price and somewhat higher flow for better boost control. But either one would work, you just need the right wastegate for your housing.

Rsawd95dsm said:

Whats the difference btw of the exhaust manifold or off the o2 area? Ive been try to research this myself and have had not much luck. Thanks

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Going off the o2 potentially limits watergate flow. People think going off a runners and you are only bypassing from 25 percent of exhaust flow. The reality is, I've never seen any evidence showing the runner to be ineffective and I doubt the o2 housing would ever present a problem for the type of person/setup that would consider running that configuration. People have been running wage gates on the runner on some of the powerful and fastest cars in the world and it works for them. The waste hate doesn't have to bypass a lot of exhaust to slow the shaft down. Obviously the higher boost u run the less important waste gate flow becomes. My setup has changed but Ive run 8 psi and 35 psi with a tial 38 mounted on runner of a stock manifold. So it obviously works. The thing I would worrying is routing the waste gate back to the dp. If u search I posted up dyno results showing the power loss of rerouting even far downstream over 24 inches.

Seamus said:

The thing I would worrying is routing the waste gate back to the dp.

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Pros and cons: O2 dump #9

Some more good news. I finally sold my 16g setup, which should help cushion the blow of this setup. I removed the feed line adapter prior to shipping and decided to measure it. Sure enough it's -4an so that means I can use my current feed with the FP filter. Another $ saved!

Also, while removing my 16g I noticed oil spatter on the underside of my hood, right above the spark plug well area. My valve cover is cracked, but it barely leaks any oil and has never sprayed it out like that. That leads me to believe the tester I rigged up was actually a serious restriction in the PCV system. So when it's restored to it's original configuration, I should have much less pressure than I was reading.

Love this progress!

Keep up the good work.

Are you going to be DDing the car with track/strip use? What are you planning to use the 500WHP for?

GofaST4life said:

Love this progress!

Keep up the good work.

Are you going to be DDing the car with track/strip use? What are you planning to use the 500WHP for?

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Thanks. The car will be driven often on the street. We're picking up a car trailer this summer, so I might retire her to track/weekend duty only later this year. But for now she's a full blown street car.

Small bit of progress. I couldn't resist an FP manifold with the Holiday sale going on. So I picked one up along with an FP black filter and 1/2 NPT drain flange. Still waiting on the BEP .55 housing and MVS wastegate before I bolt everything into the car. Then I just need some Speed Density and some 272's and were basically golden!

Picta's:





(Ceramic coated to avoid rust)

Hey Wes! You got me wanting to go hx35/bep on one of my 2g's!! Been toy'in with the idea for a while, I think ima go thru with it soon.. great thread! Ima follow this closely.

Thanks and good luck Manny!

A bit more progress. I finally got the drain setup done. The 1/2 NPT T3 drain flange I ordered from eBay bolted right on without any issues.



Then I went to Lowes (bad move) and picked up a brass 1/2 NPT to 3/4 barb fitting. I get home and bust out my calipers, which showed my supposed "3/4" barb fitting was actually 5/8 OD and 1/2 ID. My silicone hose wouldn't even come close to gripping the fitting. On top of that, the hex head only cleared the compressor v-band by a few mm which made it impossible to install without removing the drain flange. Obviously this fitting was an epic failure.

So I go browsing through parts stores and eventually find an actual 1/2 NPT to 3/4 barb in the form of a "Heater Hose Fitting". The ID is 5/8 but will end up a little bigger since the inside desperately needs to be smoothed out. It's also considerably longer which makes fitment much better.















So for any future Holset (especially H1E) users, keep this part number close by: Dorman 56237

How come you didn't just go with -12an ss hose?

c2ypt1c said:

How come you didn't just go with -12an ss hose?

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AN fittings would have been harder to install, much more expensive, and not much better performing. I would need to somehow install a fitting on the turbo, weld a fitting to the pan, and then cut and fit SS line. In the end I would still have a 3/4" drain line, which is pretty much what I have now, just not as pretty.

WES_393 said:

Also, while removing my 16g I noticed oil spatter on the underside of my hood, right above the spark plug well area. My valve cover is cracked, but it barely leaks any oil and has never sprayed it out like that. That leads me to believe the tester I rigged up was actually a serious restriction in the PCV system. So when it's restored to it's original configuration, I should have much less pressure than I was reading.

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Check cam seals too they cause this. The t belt slings the oil up.

^ Thanks for the tip. Cam seals were replaced with the rebuild and (from what I see) are bone dry. I'll give them another glance when I switch cams. But the oil I noticed was definitely from a spark plug boot or crack in the cover. It hasn't happened before or since I rigged up the tester, so I'm convinced it was from CC pressure. I'm going to upgrade my PCV a bit before installing the turbo, but I see no signs that it's close to being overrun at this point. Never had a dipstick pop out, no oil in spark plug tubes, etc. I spent a ton of time building this engine right.

WES_393 said:

etc. I spent a ton of time building this engine right.

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Yea I can tell u do. When I first saw this thread, I wanted to comment on u building the tester. 99 percent of the time people come on here asking question or for help and either don't listen or don't want to put in the effort even for simple things like a compression test, or testing sensors etc.

Congrats to you, ## car is going to be a potent little thing.

Seamus said:

Yea I can tell u do. When I first saw this thread, I wanted to comment on u building the tester. 99 percent of the time people come on here asking question or for help and either don't listen or don't want to put in the effort even for simple things like a compression test, or testing sensors etc.

Congrats to you, ## car is going to be a potent little thing.

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It's a pet peeve of mine as well. But thanks for the compliments, I hope it goes smoothly!

Quick question though, how should I seal the threads on the drain fitting? I was thinking a layer or two of Teflon tape. Any better options?

What is the ID of the inside of that fitting? 17mm?