12cm housing too small?

[Rot Box]

I'm building my 92 into a weeked warrior/camping/exploration vehicle and so far its been a ton of fun. I do however HATE the turbo lag and would like to upgrade my H1C with a smaller exhaust housing. I've always heard that 14cm is the ticket for a 5 speed truck (16 for auto's) on the street unless you tow a lot then 16 is better. I don't tow with this truck a lot and I would like the turbo to spool up a lot quicker when I'm crawling around in low range...

Are the 12cm housings too small? I've always heard they are frowned upon but I don't understand why are they more restrictive or what? Thanks for any info!

Andrew

 

[Exekiel69]

I can help much on this except on this, they are not preferred for towing all the time, at least that is what I read from others. I also read that the hx35 is a better upgrade for about the same money.

 

[Rot Box]

The HX35 would be nice, but i think I need a different downpipe or adapter as well right?

That being said I have the HY35 from my 01 lying on the work bench but it was leaking oil into the intake housing and probably needs a rebuild. It seemed to spool up at a much lower RPM than the HX35 that replaced it so maybe it would work better in my situation?

 

[crashnzuk]

I have a 12 on my truck, I tow and I like it. I run with a camper on and a Jeep on the trailer. In my opinion it is really good. I also ran a 14 for a few years, it was good but not this good. If you have a big governor spring kit or are dumping a ton of fuel in, this isn't the housing for you. For a stock or near stock truck, it is the hot ticket.
Travis..

 

[Rot Box]

Thanks for the reply!

I found a wastegated 12cm housing that I should have towards the end of the month. I didn't realize that most all the 2nd gen trucks come with them from the factory... Anyway when I get it installed I'll have to report back with the details

 

[duratrash]

i had a high tech turbo that i bought from a buddy (came off his 06 CR) it had a 12cfm and i was happy with it my egts were a little high but the spool up was instant you should really find an hx-35 upgrading that h1c is a waste the hx-35 isnt much of an upgrade but its better than what you got now

 

[Rot Box]

I tracked down a 12cm housing with a wastegate and installed it yesterday. It is a whole different truck! Huge bottom end power where before all it would do is blow smoke. I was expecting a power increase but not quite this much--it scoots pretty good now.

With the wastegate disconnected it will hit 30psi but with it hooked up it will only hit 20... I'll probably leave it hooked up just to be safe ;p

 

[ameristar1]

I tracked down a 12cm housing with a wastegate and installed it yesterday. It is a whole different truck! Huge bottom end power where before all it would do is blow smoke. I was expecting a power increase but not quite this much--it scoots pretty good now.

With the wastegate disconnected it will hit 30psi but with it hooked up it will only hit 20... I'll probably leave it hooked up just to be safe ;p

As long as the egt's are where they need to be, you are not going to hurt anything at that boost level. The more boost the better, as long as the turbo doesn't fall out of its efficiency range. The backpressure with the 12 is higher so you can get that killer bottom end at the expense of mid and top end power.

 

[crashnzuk]

Sounds just like my truck, it will do 31 psi with a bit of load on it. The one thing I have found is a bit of flutter, but it only does that when loaded and a very specific set of circumstances. If you are just driving it basically empty, you shouldn't have any trouble.
Travis..