Turbo Options for Upgrade

TravMac

Well-Known Member
By now there have been plenty of folks by now who have upgraded or swapped to a turbo setup to get that little extra performance. In all my research through the forum and some Cobalt builds, I've come across a few popular options people tend to go to (in order of power?): K04, ZZP Z54/57, or S257. I think a few other ones ZZP has done as well with their custom housings, but I haven't seen it explicitly written out by anyone.

I am hoping to get feedback with what you've built and what you all like/dislike about it. Maybe why you chose the path of a specific option for your goblin's engine.

Personally, I've had my eye on an S257 for a while and doing everything a bit more custom, but maybe one of the ZZP "turbo swap kits" will hit the mark for the price and simplicity on my LSJ. Of course I haven't bought a single thing, so it's all benchtop racing for now. My sights should be set on more grip... but power is always tempting...
 

Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
It would be helpful if people include what they are using the Goblin for. Big horsepower for drag racing will be different from autocross.
 

Justin

Active Member
I have an lnf goblin with a zfr 6758, spooled super fast and made good power. Currently swapping it out for a zfr 7163.
 

TravMac

Well-Known Member
I have an lnf goblin with a zfr 6758, spooled super fast and made good power. Currently swapping it out for a zfr 7163.
Ahh see, you're one of those I didn't know if was common or not... anything really stand out that you didn't like on the 6758 to go bigger? Or just an opportunity for more power for what you use the car for?
 

Justin

Active Member
I loved the 6758, basically zero turbo lag. Made 350hp and 375 torque on a conservative 91 octane tune. I'm just looking to get close to the 500hp mark. Switching to e85 and already installed a ported head, news cams and valve springs
 

Justin

Active Member
From my experience and what I have read on the forums is the main advantage to a zfr vs a z54/57 is turbo response. Zfr is ball bearing vs journal bearing. I believe they make aabout the same hp
 

AZmoto

Well-Known Member
I ran an EFR6758 then upgraded to an EFR7163 on my LNF Solstice. I couldn't really tell much difference in the low end response but the 7163 had a lot more headroom up top. I don't see much reason to do anything other than the 7163 in the EFR series. This was on E85 at ~30psi.

There's a dual scroll version of the 7163 which would really be the way to go but would require a custom manifold. There was actually someone on this board who had built that exact setup but kind of disappeared as I remember.
 

Sebnuts

Well-Known Member
I put the z54 on my cobalt and regret it. The lag is real, I'd switch back to the stock one if it was in good shape.
I'm hoping the reduced weight of the goblin along with an e85 tune will give enough low end pep while waiting for the turbo to kick in, but we'll have to wait and see how it goes.
 

TravMac

Well-Known Member
From my experience and what I have read on the forums is the main advantage to a zfr vs a z54/57 is turbo response. Zfr is ball bearing vs journal bearing. I believe they make aabout the same hp
That's good info, I guess I thought the Z was something specific with the housing from ZZP, reworking one of the EFR turbos from BorgWarner. Maybe that's part of it? Regardless, good to know your build thoughts though!

I ran an EFR6758 then upgraded to an EFR7163 on my LNF Solstice. I couldn't really tell much difference in the low end response but the 7163 had a lot more headroom up top. I don't see much reason to do anything other than the 7163 in the EFR series. This was on E85 at ~30psi.

There's a dual scroll version of the 7163 which would really be the way to go but would require a custom manifold. There was actually someone on this board who had built that exact setup but kind of disappeared as I remember.
Apparently this is a more common build than I thought. Is your goblin still stock LNF? Any thoughts for that in the future, especially having a bit of extra knowledge of the upgrades out there?

I put the z54 on my cobalt and regret it. The lag is real, I'd switch back to the stock one if it was in good shape.
I'm hoping the reduced weight of the goblin along with an e85 tune will give enough low end pep while waiting for the turbo to kick in, but we'll have to wait and see how it goes.
It sucks your experience with the upgrade has been less than ideal. It really sounds like that was supposed to be the "mild upgrade" too. Was it just bad for autocross type driving, or maybe just bad street manners? Was it like the full ZZP type kit for it?
 

Sebnuts

Well-Known Member
Was it like the full ZZP type kit for it?
It replaced the stock K04 on an LNF, and was remote tuned by ZZP.

Was it just bad for autocross type driving, or maybe just bad street manners?
I never autocrossed the cobalt, just romped around on the street with it. The factory K04 was nice and responsive at lower RPMs, while the Z54 doesn't really start building boost until 3k+ RPM.
 

Scott Geyer

Well-Known Member
I had ZZP install there Z54. Runs great will very little lag. Big hp gain from stock supercharger....Can't beat the sound when shifting
 

AZmoto

Well-Known Member
Apparently this is a more common build than I thought. Is your goblin still stock LNF? Any thoughts for that in the future, especially having a bit of extra knowledge of the upgrades out there?
I'm still waiting on warmer weather to complete the tuning process on the stock turbo. Once that's done we'll see what it needs. I suspect the stock turbo will be good for a while as I get the suspension sorted out. If I need more I do have a ZZP EFR exhaust housing here so all I'll need is a 7163 supercore.
 

TravMac

Well-Known Member
I had ZZP install there Z54. Runs great will very little lag. Big hp gain from stock supercharger....Can't beat the sound when shifting
I'm honestly curious where a Z54 would put the car vs a smaller pulley car with the supercharger. Of course a lot comes down to efficiency, which is half the battle in any of these decisions. Really cool though! Did you also do a different intake, or adapt to the current supercharger intake?
 

OptimizePrime

Goblin Guru
38835


zfr6758, 93octane,~28ish peak psi, 100+ temps with a fairly conservative boost ramp and timing. I'm really happy with this turbo and personally don't need anything more. If I were to add to it, it would be a meth setup and push the limits with this still on 93. I could envision 430-450whp for much of the powerband.
 

Rauq

Goblin Guru
How's that trans going to hold up given that it's only rated for 170 ft-lbs or 255 ft-lbs depending on who you ask

/s
 

TravMac

Well-Known Member
zfr6758, 93octane,~28ish peak psi, 100+ temps with a fairly conservative boost ramp and timing. I'm really happy with this turbo and personally don't need anything more. If I were to add to it, it would be a meth setup and push the limits with this still on 93. I could envision 430-450whp for much of the powerband.
The dyno curves are always neat to see. Seems like this would be great for autocross still too, with plenty of torque in the mid range rpms where you'd be for a run. Do you get much time racing with it, or just a good driver for pulls around town?
 

OptimizePrime

Goblin Guru
The dyno curves are always neat to see. Seems like this would be great for autocross still too, with plenty of torque in the mid range rpms where you'd be for a run. Do you get much time racing with it, or just a good driver for pulls around town?
Absolutely. For me, the zfr6758 is the perfect balance of spool, top end, ease of installation and upgradeability. On kill mode it's probably too much for autocross, I would dial down the psi as to not unsettle the car. On drag/highway pulls, not many have the nuts to push 500whp +120mph in these and it probably wouldn't be often.

Road racing at at a fast track like VIR would make sense for a zfr7163 but again it's pretty raw being in these open frame vehicles >100mph for an extended period of time - it takes some getting used to. Would you be just as good with a 6758? probably

I don't have much time formally racing it unfortunately - life gets in the way
 

TravMac

Well-Known Member
I don't have much time formally racing it unfortunately - life gets in the way
I think that's something we can all get behind right there. Otherwise, we'd all be at the track every day!

Understanding the manners of the car is important though, so this feedback from everyone is great. It's level-set what I thought going into this vs what is reasonable based on plans for driving and/or racing.
 
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