Has anyone successfully turbocharged a Rover V8 in a Disco?

The power this engine has is severely lacking especially when you take away a good 15% of it's stock power because of the elevation here. I really have to flog the engine to get even modest acceleration out of the thing.

The idea popped into my head after I removed SAI from my engine bay; there's tons of room now next to the exhaust manifolds.

I was thinking something along the lines of a pair of T25's or K3's from a wrecked VW 1.8T. Junkyards should have lots of options, given the popularity of turbos over the last decade or two. 250-300 hp would probably be my goal, so 5-7 psi of boost maybe...?

For fueling, I think it might be easiest to ditch the MAF and maybe set up Megasquirt using speed density. I can make up my own manifolds, and all the other miscellaneous fabrication. I suppose it will need larger injectors, but I'm not sure about fuel pump volume.

I suppose as a side effect, replacement parts for a non OEM engine management system would be a lot cheaper. The Disco is not my primary vehicle, so if it breaks, I have time to fix it.

Ideas? Anyone ever attempt this?

 

I think the ECM has to be programmed for the turbo. Then you'd have to add the plumbing for it. (water or oil cooled) And is there enough room for the charge air cooler? Not to say it can't be done, but it would be quite a project. How about a supercharger? Don't know if either of these would work but something to consider:

New Land Range Rover supercharger LR020281 | eBay

ProCharger Superchargers

 

This engine is already over drawn.

I think it would explode before you got any fun out of it

 

Francamente!
Consider a 4.6 engine conversion.
Much cheaper & easier to effect with only minimal need for LR tech involvement if you are an ardent DIY'r.

Buying a wrecked 4.6 D2 will have all the components for a simple and rapid changeover; basically its a three day Pro shop tech project (24 hours) to effect.
Easy and will climb I/70 from Golden to Genessee Co at 70/80 mph.
Hold on to your hat or toupee!
T/V

 

I say do it. Its not your primary vehicle, and you can afford for it to be down for a while. The 4.6 has been twin turbo'd in a race buggy.

Just do a lot of tweaking so you wouldn't blow your motor, but I'm sure that with enough research and time invested you could do a turbo no sweat.

Also, I wouldn't do the 4.6 swap... its a crap motor, the only ones who say they are not are the ones who have it.

 

I wouldn't say its a crap "motor" (engine) remember "motor" is electrical motor unit!

There are thousands of 4,6's in use all over the world, lots of them running without trouble. Problem is many owners demonstrate neglectfulness with maintenance/repair budget etc, and there lies the problem.

So to turbo or not! --one turbo or two, or so let's be American for a moment and get "indulgence" and install why not four!--HE VY Due TIE---Yeh big gulp! wooptie do!
Fat guts McDonalds as a mantra today!

So lets get serious an engineering project!
The fixed parameters
a) We have an engine almost on its top limit with a boil margin of between 12 and 15 dgf built that way to conform to Fed Regs emissions.
The cooling system is on its limit for heat rejection.
b) The lubrication system is again on its limit with the g rotor pump and won't take much increasing in flow requirement because with turbos we select are going to need flow and pressure. A single turbo minimal oil lubrication requirements are 1 gallon per minute at a minimum of 30psi to maintain longevity.
Do you install an extra pump or risk starvation of crank or turbo. How would you feed the turbo because its needs the full flow at at max of three seconds from start up!
Question ONE how are you going to handle that basic requirement?

c) Turbo blow pressure often determined by gas flow variable or fixed vane style.
d) Mild or high blow pressure?
Mild would compensate for altitude related deficiencies. About a 10% increase in power at sea level. About stock at 6500'. Colorado roads to to 10,500" as an example to set our parameters to

So in any case how are you going to accommodate the increase in heat developed in the combustion chamber and how would you get that heat rejected through oil coolers and radiator by increased effiiciency?

Which bring me to Question TWO
What steps would you take to avoid the engine running into the egg curve "black hole"! And causing loss of power, auto shut down and stalling or uncontrolled impromptu stalling?
So you must Plot info
So "T" We need to plot the torque in Nm
"T ex" Exhaust gas temp in front of the turbo
"T exh" exhaust temp after the turbo
"P" engine power developed projection/actual
"P" (in Kw) see formula __T_in NM)__ x "n revs" in rpm
9550 (constant for power output)

V1 injection quantity
Cfa specific fuel required to generate 1 KW per hour
Pb Charging pressure in the manifold
pt The developed pressure in the exhaust manifold
SK exhaust gases developed .
Now with all these parameters as a "known" or a projection you can then start planning your turbo conversion with some certainty it will work and if plotted on a graph the engine won't fall into the egg curve throughout its operating range .

Shall I go on or would you simply bolt a Nitrous oxide conversion on the truck for a cheaper boost? The cheap way out to an engine failure!

Or at least consider the 4.6 conversion which was tried, and tested by engineers in the LR factory and given a Fed emissions pass off which is important if you live in Colorado metro area because they demand an emissions cert every two years if the conversion last that long!?
T/V
ps I remember this as a question in my MV engineer exam finals about 40 years ago at a tech Hochtshule in Cologne.

 

Orale T/V! Una pregunta?

What do you think about the Toddco 5.0? Too much? Would it pass smog?

Gracias.

Land Rover 5.0HO

 

I wouldn't need to know half the things you mentioned to be successful at this project. You're way overthinking things. Yes, issues like oiling, coolant temp / capacity (btw, the stock setup is not 15 degress from boiling, it's a pressurized system), etc would need to be addressed. Most engines and related systems are over engineered, and I don't see the Rover being any different.

Megasquirt (or another EFI computer) does all the hard work. Obviously the turbo(s) need to be sized appropriately; basic common sense and a little math will get you in the neighborhood.

Myself and a buddy turbocharged a stock Saturn years ago, so I know the ins and outs of what is needed for a usable setup. I learned a lesson or two on turbocharging the hard way, but we got lots of reliable miles out of a stock engine when we had all the kinks worked out.

Also, I live in the most populous county in Colorado, and there is no emissions testing, so that's a non-issue. I think some areas in/around Denver still require it, but ours was phased out years ago. You can register anything that you can get to roll down the road.

 

Superchargers are a better fit for something that was not designed around forced induction to begin with. The engineering for turbos is much more extensive. Furthermore, they make sealed units that require no tapping into oil/coolant lines (such as ATI). If you stay with low boost (less/= 6PSI), you shouldn't need an intercooler, firther reducing plumbing. Then you just have to deal with the ECU.I still think a 4.6 would be better/cheaper though.

 

Or put a crank, rods, pistons and cam from a 4.6 into your 4.0 if you are worried about having a "crap motor." The 4.0 blocks were produced earlier and are supposedly better quality. Another option would be a 4.6 out of a P38. I have the 4.6 and it has plenty of power. I'd rather go that route than add more stress on the engine and heat under the hood by using forced induction.