aftermarket turbo kits

[cougar21300]

This is a repost, but it probably really should have been placed in this sub forum anyway. Having graduated from a normally aspirated L5030 to a turbod L5240, I know now that the turbo engines enjoy a HUGE increase in mid range torque. Also, last year I installed a well thought through turbo kit on my '91 Miata and it went from fun but anemic to BIG fun and fast! I've contacted the company that built my Miata kit and talked to them about perhaps working one up for some of the more popular tractors and was told that they actually have been considering this already, but is ther a company already offering one?? Here's the original post;
Anyone know of a company offering complete low boost bolt on kits for tractors similar to the kits available for the RTVs? Specifically I am searching for one to go on a customer's Kubota L4330hst. Thanks!
Peter

 

[yelbike]

Why would you want to put a turbo on a tractor? Just buy a bigger tractor with more hp.

 

[RoyJackson]

Why would you want to put a turbo on a tractor? Just buy a bigger tractor with more hp.

If I'm reading cougar21300's post right...the turbo is to be installed on a customer's tractor. Buying bigger may not be an option...

 

[Jerry/MT]

This is a repost, but it probably really should have been placed in this sub forum anyway. Having graduated from a normally aspirated L5030 to a turbod L5240, I know now that the turbo engines enjoy a HUGE increase in mid range torque. Also, last year I installed a well thought through turbo kit on my '91 Miata and it went from fun but anemic to BIG fun and fast! I've contacted the company that built my Miata kit and talked to them about perhaps working one up for some of the more popular tractors and was told that they actually have been considering this already, but is ther a company already offering one?? Here's the original post;
Anyone know of a company offering complete low boost bolt on kits for tractors similar to the kits available for the RTVs? Specifically I am searching for one to go on a customer's Kubota L4330hst. Thanks!
Peter

I'm not trying to rain on your parade but installing an aftermarket turbo on an engine not designed for the increased loads and temperature associated with turochaged engines can adversly affect the longevity and relaibility of the engine. If the horsepower and torque increases are large then the drive line that has to transmit that increased power and torque can be adversly effected also. In some case, the engine will be offered in a normally aspirated (NA) form with the capability of being turbocharged with no changes in other engine components. In other cases, the turboed engines get diferent pistons, bigger cooling oil jets, drive line strengthening , etc relative to the NA form. The only people that can advise you on this are the folks who design and build the units and they usually "ain't talking".
In my opinion, it's better to move up to a more powerful tractor unit than to try to put an aftermarket turbo on a NA engine. Likewise with "turning up the pump". However, it your $'s and your risk so it's your call.

That's my opinion for whatever it's worth.

 

[cougar21300]

Jerry, a good point. The key is to find a well designed kit with a just a modest level of boost, if these parameters are adhered to a turbo is an extremely efficient, economical, and reliable power adder, especially on a diesel. My customers L4330 is a fairly low hour machine and actually has the same running gear and loader as the L5030s sold at that time (except for the 6/8 bolt rim difference). The type of turbo I seek for him would be focused toward increasing the midrange torque, not the ultimate full rpm full load hp. This is exactly how my L5240HST+ is tuned in comparison to my former L5030 and believe me the power difference between those two tractors is enormous, much more than 2 hp would imply. At my normal 16-1700 rpm loader work cruise, the L5240 will easily climb my 15% 1/2 mile logging road in third range. With the L5030 it wasn't even a consideration and the whole climb would need to be done in second. In truth it is only partly the turbo, being able to spit the third range of the HST plus must also be taken into account.
And why not just sell the customer a new bigger machine? certainly that would be better for me (commission), but not neccesarily for my customer. I'm sure that a simple low boost turbo kit would cost less than 4K, while bumping my customer from his perfectly good L4330 with only 800 hours, to a new L5240 would cost him closer to 20.

 

[Agent Blue]

I was considering a turbo on my 1100 RTV if I added tracks. The problem is it runs so good now I hate to mess with a great piece of engineering. It is tempting though. One never has enough horse power.

 

[204saskman]

I know that adding a turbo to some engines isnt right, but there is nothing wrong with it. I know my SL4 engine that is in my montana has an offering on it for a turbo from factory for light plant operations and other uses. Would i be scared to add one? No, but i would make it onlt probly run a few pounds of boost(max 4-5psi). I am also contemplating adding one to my montana as i would like a bit more power for when i am plowing and a turbo would definatly pick up the slack of were i am lacking.

 

[tglass]

And from what I understood from J.D. the difference between my 3320 and a 3520 was the turbo. Engine was exact. I couldn't see the extra expence when I didn't neet it. If I do in the future it will be added without a doubt. One of the reasons I bought that engine/tractor was a turbo could be added without any engine problems.

 

[D7E]

Had many retro fitted turbo's over the years .Ford 7840, Ford 6610,Ford 8210, Ford 7810, Fiat 110/90, MF 6160, JD 3050 , IH 1056 XL . No real trouble with any of them ..most were getting about 20% more power .
When the 7840 was done first we took it from 100hp to 160hp just for a while !

 

[dlanda]

Is anyone familiar with adding a turbo to a Mahindra 3-cylinder diesel? Would like to get a few more horses from the 26 stock.

 

[90cummins]

I have a Ford 1720 which for me is perfect in all respects except HP.
I installed a turbo last year after quite a few years of thinking of a bigger tractor & wanting more HP but reality set in as not being affordable.
So a new bigger tractor was not going to happen for me.
I happened to find a turbo at a swap meet which looked to be the right size so I bought it.
It now has the extra power I致e always wanted without the added size & weight of a bigger tractor.
It has considerably more hp to muscle thru tough sections when mowing or snow-blowing and will generate 10 psi boost but I limit it to 4~5 psi for continuous operation.
There are photos of my turbo installation in the review section under Ford 1720.
This tractor has a 1.5 liter (90 ci) engine that originally put out 27 hp gross!
I知 quite sure it isn稚 being stressed even if it痴 now generating 40 hp.
Now it better fits my needs.
Could it fail possibly; but if it breaks I値l fix it!

yelbike
You ask;
Why would you want to put a turbo on a tractor? Just buy a bigger tractor with more hp.

I値l ask why not? Perhaps money is an issue or perhaps the tractor is perfect except for hp.
The 1990 Dodge Diesel pickup originally generated 160hp. Just changing the turbo and increasing the fuel rate they can reliably generate over 600hp.

 

[rsewill]

Of course, with a turbo you also get greater economy.

 

[crazyal]

I'm guessing most factory engines are built much stronger than they need to be and adding a few pounds of boost wouldn't hurt them. If you are at the Kubota dealer or if you have the parts manual you could look at the 4740, 5040, 5240, and 5740 to see what differences there are. I believe they all have the same size displacement. It could be nothing more than the amount of boost. They may have the same pistons and turbos (or maybe a larger turbo for each model).

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have a Ford 1720 which for me is perfect in all respects except HP.
I installed a turbo last year after quite a few years of thinking of a bigger tractor & wanting more HP but reality set in as not being affordable.
So a new bigger tractor was not going to happen for me.
I happened to find a turbo at a swap meet which looked to be the right size so I bought it.
It now has the extra power I致e always wanted without the added size & weight of a bigger tractor.
It has considerably more hp to muscle thru tough sections when mowing or snow-blowing and will generate 10 psi boost but I limit it to 4~5 psi for continuous operation.
There are photos of my turbo installation in the review section under Ford 1720.
This tractor has a 1.5 liter (90 ci) engine that originally put out 27 hp gross!
I知 quite sure it isn稚 being stressed even if it痴 now generating 40 hp.
Now it better fits my needs.
Could it fail possibly; but if it breaks I値l fix it!

yelbike
You ask;
Why would you want to put a turbo on a tractor? Just buy a bigger tractor with more hp.

I値l ask why not? Perhaps money is an issue or perhaps the tractor is perfect except for hp.
The 1990 Dodge Diesel pickup originally generated 160hp. Just changing the turbo and increasing the fuel rate they can reliably generate over 600hp.

How do you know what it's putting out? Did you dyno it? that's the only way to really know.

And an engine that put out 160 Hp didn't go to 600 hp with just a blower and more fuel. There was a lot more engine component change involved than just those two components. And the driveline had to be beefed up considerably. If you believe just a blower change and overfueling made 440 hp increase, then you probably think a Chevy NASCAR engine comes off the Chevy assembly line and goes straight to the race!

I don't want to belabor the point I was trying to make in my initial post on this topic but remember, an increase in torque at the engine ouput shaft is multiplied many times throught the reduction gearing of the the drive line. That so called "little" increase in engine torque is multiplied by the overall driveline gear ratio and gets to be a larger torque increase with every reduction in driveline speed. Sure there are load margins in the design but there is always a weakest link somewhere. And you do't know what th design margins are. Statements like " the engine is made stronge than it needs to be " or this is a tractor, it's can take it" etc are just wishful thinking. Is it going to break in a few hours? Probably not. But, redoing the driveline is more expensive than rebuilding an engine and you'll be taking life out of that as well as the engine.

As I said before, your $'s, your risk, your call. I'm just trying to point out potential pitfalls. Most of us value durability and reliability in our tractors. But it's a free country so we can make individual choices. The more information we have , the better choices we make. 'Nuff said!

 

[yelbike]

How do you know what it's putting out? Did you dyno it? that's the only way to really know.

And an engine that put out 160 Hp didn't go to 600 hp with just a blower and more fuel. There was a lot more engine component change involved than just those two components. And the driveline had to be beefed up considerably. If you believe just a blower change and overfueling made 440 hp increase, then you probably think a Chevy NASCAR engine comes off the Chevy assembly line and goes straight to the race!

I don't want to belabor the point I was trying to make in my initial post on this topic but remember, an increase in torque at the engine ouput shaft is multiplied many times throught the reduction gearing of the the drive line. That so called "little" increase in engine torque is multiplied by the overall driveline gear ratio and gets to be a larger torque increase with every reduction in driveline speed. Sure there are load margins in the design but there is always a weakest link somewhere. And you do't know what th design margins are. Statements like " the engine is made stronge than it needs to be " or this is a tractor, it's can take it" etc are just wishful thinking. Is it going to break in a few hours? Probably not. But, redoing the driveline is more expensive than rebuilding an engine and you'll be taking life out of that as well as the engine.

As I said before, your $'s, your risk, your call. I'm just trying to point out potential pitfalls. Most of us value durability and reliability in our tractors. But it's a free country so we can make individual choices. The more information we have , the better choices we make. 'Nuff said!

Perfectly said.:thumbsup:The extra HP is paid by a decrease in reliability. It likely won't fail tomorrow though. Your machine and your money.

 

[Reg]

My "guess" is that as long as you have a normally aspirated engine that is also offered in a turbo version things should be OK if you just add the bits that the alternate model has, i.e. MODEST boost to a level that is acceptable for factory warranty - although of course you will have NONE.
Whether or not anyone has sat down with the parts books for your engine and its alternate incarnations to make up ready for sale kits - is a whole 'nother question

This is kinda/sorta how Banks kits used to be, as I recall they eventually became factory options and at some point were fully integrated into the model line - GM 6.2 N/A to 6.5 T

 

[superduper 77]

You know what, to each and one their own. Personally I'm always looking for more power out of whatever I have. "Turning something up" and the reliability of that machine afterwords all depends on how it is serviced, how it is used, and who is at the wheel. As long as you have sense, then the additional power derived from enhancements can be appreciated. Manufactures limit power due to those that do nothing but abuse or simply are idiots when it comes to using a piece of equipment. But as said earlier, to each and one their own.

 

[GE222]

Besides adding a turbo for more power, have you though much about the extra heat generated? For short term loads, it is most likely not a big deal, but continuous heavy loading might easily cause overheating.

 

[hanson1999]

And from what I understood from J.D. the difference between my 3320 and a 3520 was the turbo. Engine was exact. I couldn't see the extra expence when I didn't neet it. If I do in the future it will be added without a doubt. One of the reasons I bought that engine/tractor was a turbo could be added without any engine problems.

not true. the 3320 actually has a bigger engine than the 35 or 3720.

they make the power off of the turbo on the 35 and turbo and the intercooler on the 3720

 

[RoyJackson]

not true. the 3320 actually has a bigger engine than the 35 or 3720.

Yep...3320 engine is 100 cid, the 3520 and 3720 both use a 91 cid engine
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