I have a 06 Saleen S281 3 valve n/a. It had bolt ons and had fun with it for about two years, ran 13.22 with a 1.8 short time with the stock clutch on the stock Saleen tune with 555r's on the stock 20' Saleen wheels. I have now replaced the clutch with a McLeod RST twin disk/SPEC steel flywheel, grabs great, and has a good pedal feel. I went this route because I eventually wanted to turbocharge it.
I came across a great deal on a used Granatelli Turbo kit and jumped on it, I've looked at every turbo kit for the s197 Mustang and this kit looks great and came with a 76mm Turbonetics slug. I know that other kits work great, just didn't care for their looks, other than the turbohorsepower twin turbo kit, I liked this one best, I just hope it performs as good as it looks.
So far, I've found a few things missing in the kit, the oil return tee adapter that uses the factory oil level sensor in the oil pan for the oil return, power steering relocation bracket, made my own, no big deal. It was also missing the barbs and fittings for the power steering and coolant systems and the check valve that goes on the driver's side vent to the intake manifold.
Things I've installed so far:
1. Modified/installed coolant and power steering systems.
2. Spearco intercooler/ HKS bov
3. Cold piping from intercooler to throttle body (had to cut a small piece behind the passenger side headlight as instructed in the kit)..
4. Steeda Charge Motion Delete Plates (not required in the kit but I was advised to get them, those pesky blades tend to break off with boost)
5. 39# Injectors
6. Walbro 405lph fuel pump used with the stock fuel hat/wiring upgrade
7. Dropped the Saleen sway bar ready to relocate
8. Had to get a stock GT water pump pulley, the turbo mounting bracket uses a bolt behind the much bigger Saleen wp pulley, so I had to replace it with a stock one and a new belt.
So this is where I'm at so far, roughly about 70% done. I still have to:
1. Mount the turbo
2. Install hot pipes (already wrapped them and coated)
3. Tial wastegate with a 6# spring
4. Hallman manual boost controller (going for 8-10psi)
5. Find a tee for the oil return
6. Install the oil feed tee from the pressure sensor (this one did come in the kit)
7. Prosport Gauges- Boost/fuel press/wideband
8. SOS triple gauge pod
9. Do something about the blowby, since I dont have the check valve and its a bit pricey for what it is ($45 from GMS), I may just end up running breathers on both cam covers.
10. The remote tune
11. Need to order my datalogging cable for my SCT Xcal2.
12. Brisk Racing spark plugs (probably the scariest part of this whole install)

I've been working on this kit now for roughly 6 weeks on and off since I work shift work and its hard to dedicate time to this when you have kids, no problem, not my dd. I hope it's worth the time and money I have invested in this, I'll try to keep you guys updated.

Jimmy
06 Saleen S281

 

Welcome to TMS!

 

Thanks!

 

That's sick buddy. Sounds like a lot of fun. What kind of bolt ons were you running to get low 13s?

 

C & L cai, bassani h pipe, drag radials, 3.73 gears, Saleen suspension and udp's, hurst shifter. Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum ...

 

Sweet. Im goin tonight. Lookin for low 13s myself.

 

Welcome, good luck with the build and post pix

 

Thanks guys, I'll try to post some pics soon.

 

Here's a few shots of my car.

 

What a beauty. Congrats bro.

 

Thanks!

 

Here's an update, I took off the exhaust, installed the turbo, oil feed and return, bent the power steering lines out of the way, and bolted the down pipe also. I'm just bolting up the hot side to make sure it's all going to fit, then I'll take it off and put copper rtv on all the hot side and tighten it all up for the final time. My datalog cable should be here Tuesday. So all I have left is the hot side, gauges, and the datalog/tune. Can't wait!

 

**** dude. That things gonna sing.

 

Post pics if the turbo installed=)

 

It sucks looking at my car everyday and not being able to drive it, even as it used to be, n/a. It's looking like the real deal with the turbo in the engine bay, hahaha. I went to a car meet recently and there was a ls1 turbo camaro, and well, it looked like crap. It was apparently home made but there's no excuse for the way it looked. That made me feel better that I'm taking my time to do everything right and make it look good. I did take a pic but it's not the best quality, I'll take a good one with later. I think itll be worth it in the end.

 

Im in the same page supercharger wise,but my respect for turbos,more hassles to go through,but like you said,in the end its totally worth it!!!!

 

Thanks, what's your set up with a blower?

 

I have a magnuson sc on my charger but it sure seems like the hair dryers get it done in the 1/4. Love to see your build and see what you do for your tune.

 

I sure miss my wife's Charger SRT8, that thing could move for a big car. I'm not going to run it much in the 1/4, its just going to be a fun street car. I'll run it in the 1/4 just to see what it does but that's about it. I would like to take it to the Texas Mile, TX2K, and one of those events similar to the Optima Streetcar Challenge. Looks like you have some nice rides! I'm having the car remote tuned/datalogged for good street manners.