I know where those Alpha boxes were headed!

First I want to say thanks to everyone for nice thoughts and post about my Mother-In-Law. I have no new news about her except she is at home and feeling the same. Most likely I won't have any new info till tomorrow...

You all know how I said I wasn't going to post today. Well I can't help it, I have to post this.
Please try to overlook the grammar errors. Im not a english major and I am human so I do make errors when I put pen to paper...
I'm at home and I couldn't stand the fact that I had not taken the SS down the road yet. Well I finally did....

Before I tell you what I think I have come up with a much more sensible reason for Alpha sending the turbo. Here is my new theory on why. I'm guessing there is a limited amount of people with a forged engine and a clutch that will hold over 550lb of torque. And then you narrow that list down and find a guy that has a shop, lift, and the knowledge to install the system the list gets smaller. And then you narrow that list down even more by finding a person with a competitors turbo system and the web presence I have I guess that gets you down to me.

I have to be honest in this review. And this is a HUGE problem for me. Not the "being honest" part....but the actual review.... Henry has put me in a awkward position as a current turbo owner... I won't speak bad about the system that I had.. It is a durable and a proven power maker... And it has never left me anywhere but in the lead... (except on a twisty track because I hate them)

Now I have to do the review that everyone has waited so patiently to read.... I have to tell you about this Alpha turbo.... the same turbo system that I always jokingly said was not quite as strong as mine... And to be fair to everyone that reads this setup it isn't the same boost level that everyone with an Alpha system has. But its the same turbo and components. And keeping that in mind, If you own an Alpha turbo your in for a treat. I will show the Alpha owners what you can get out of this system if you put some stronger components in your engine....Alpha has put this same turbo system out the door preset with a 4PSI spring in the wastegate and about 1PSI of creep in the system. They did this assuming it would be safe for the masses. And it was. I didn't hear of anyone blowing up an Alpha system...

So that brings us all up to date.... It is the part of the review that I have been worried about getting right and being accurate ... The part where I have to say how smooth this thing is in any gear. The part where I have to tell you how it never has a vibration at any rpm. The part where I have to tell you how the turbo spools up so fast that traction control can't even keep up with it. The part where I tell you how it idles perfectly at -20 on the vacuum gauge. The part where I tell you how it idles so smooth that it never has a burble in the exhaust note. The part where I tell you it can creep around at partial throttle with absolutely no hiccups. And finally this is the part where I tell you it has been designed with care and perfect precision so that air flow is at a maximum velocity at any rpm. Well I guess I just did just tell you all that... And its all true.

If I were to go into the details of the system I would say the quiet exhaust note is my favorite thing. I personally don't have any reason to hear the 4 cylinder engine. I want to hear the turbo and all the wonderful noises it makes. And this system is a symphony of turbo sounds. I can hear the turbo singing the words to my favorite song and the blow off valve making the most awesome accompanying noises. Without the noisy exhaust to cover them the turbo noises are so "in your face" that you cant help but keep stabbing the gas pedal to hear them...

Henry did call me after I received this kit and one of the things he said was that I should notice a much quicker spooling of the turbo. I took that to mean that it was going to be a handful to drive. So I babied it at first. Then after about 5 miles I started working my way to the end of the gas pedal. What he must have meant to say was that it is completely controllable till you kick it in the ass. I say this because it actually doesn't behave badly at all. I think it would be very usable in any situation.

I know, I know,, Y'all don't really care about how easy it drives... You all just want to hear about the part where I kicked it square in the ass. When I finally nailed this thing it came to life. The turbo woke up so fast that the rear tire spun and produced smoke before the traction control could figure out that it was supposed to do something to stop it. I can only show you video of this thing in action to backup what I am saying... To be safe I have the wastegate set so that I only get a max of 13PSI to start out... That is quite a lot more than the standard Alpha kit puts out. And believe me when I tell you that this system will put out a "shit ton" more boost. Now before you Alpha owners go outside and try to adjust your boost levels I highly recommend that y'all DON'T. Not unless you have built up your engine a bit first. I think that Henry has an increase in mind for y'all that only requires some new head bolts. But that is for him to officially announce.

Overall there is much to say about this system. And it is all good. I love anything that makes tons of power and this Alpha system will damn sure do it.. Will it make more power than other systems on the market???
YES IT CAN. You might ask how I could make this statement? It will because there are no right angles anywhere in this system. There are no restrictions anywhere and with the huge header tubes funneling all that exhaust straight into the turbo what the heck did you think would happen? It's' going to spin the turbo up so freaking quick that its going to get some serious airflow going. And with a direct sweeping intake tract it can't help but shove all that compressed air into the engine... So yea,,, its going to be one of the fastest boost building turbo systems for just that reason... Even if other systems make the same amount of boost the battle for top performer is going to be decided on how fast you can get the air in the engine and how fast it will come out of the engine.. And unless someone can figure out how to mount the turbo inside the actual intake manifold I don't think its going to be better than what the guys and gals at Alpha have done.

You know I'm guessing that Henry just got tired of keeping the knowledge of how bad ass this system was a secret. Not being able to show off what it was really was capable of doing probably drove him bat shit crazy. Just knowing this system could do up to 600hp and seeing others push the numbers off the charts would be enough to tick me off. He needed a test mule (or donkey in my case) to turn up the boost and and tell the story. I have to say that I am happy that he pick me to tell his next story and push the Alpha turbo to the limits.

Thanks for reading,
Rabtech

Here is a little background on the video... The video is just to let everyone know that the system is installed and performing flawlessly. I will have much better videos with actual mph and rpm data in them soon. One other thing,,, I give a thumbs up in the video several times. What you may not be able to hear is the amazing phsuuu phsuuu phsuuu noise the blow off valve now makes. I have never heard this on any other Slingshot. It is the magic noise that everyone wants to hear when they have a turbo. Its that noise that reminds you of an import car on a race track. I am giving a thumbs up when I hear it resonate that noise.... And just a reminder that this is at 13psi. And its the first time I have had it out. So its just a simple down the road and back. And this time watch it till the end. That is when I flip the traction control off and kinda kick it in the ass. Sorry about the arm in the video. I just placed the camera in the quickest place to get a video of the boost gauge and also out of the major wind noise.

I want to add somthing to the review.... Their will probably be several other additions as I drive it but one thing in particular stood out this morning as I watched the video again...

The AFR (air fuel ratio) on this system is close to absolutely perfect. Which is why I wanted to bring everyones attention to it. You hear the term AFR all the time on the forum and I'm sure 90% have never seen that process in action. If you look at the vacuum/boost gauge in the video you can see a ring of LED lights around the outer edge. Here is a picture of it.

If you notice I have marked 14.7 on the picture. That is where you should see the LED when your not under a load and just cruising. That means you are getting 14.7 parts of air and 1 part of fuel into the engine. Which is what would be considered a perfect ratio for a new non pressurized engine. Now in the video you will see it dance around and that is because the load on the engine is constantly changing. And my throttle position is changing. When I let off the gas the butterfly in the throttle body closes and the result is the AFR going all the way to the right. This is showing you a "lean" condition. And that means there is very little gas entering the engine.. Just enough to to keep it at an idle.

I have also put a mark on the picture pointing toward the left on the gauge.. The numbers get smaller as you go that way. This would indicate less parts of air to the single part of fuel. This is the term we are calling "rich". This is what you want to see when your under a boost condition. You are ADDING air pressure (more oxygen) that normally wouldn't be coming into the cylinders under non boosted levels. So if you pack more air into the cylinder you need to add more fuel to mix with that air. If you don't you get a lean condition and that will almost immediately lead to a blown up engine.

Sorry if that was boring for some of you. But I wanted to explain what was happening in the video...

The name of the game is getting the tuning so spot on that under nearly any circumstance it adds and takes away fuel as perfectly as possible under the conditions presented to the ECU. Basically the ECU gets its information from alot of sensors but I guess the main sensors are the throttle position sensor and the oxygen sensor in the exhaust pipe. It is the sensor that gives the ratio of fuel and air ratio to the ECU.

So watch the video again and watch the outer ring of LED lights. Watch how fast the LED lights react to me getting into the throttle. Watch how the center number (vacuum/boost) transition from a negative (vacuum) to a positive (boost) number when I mash the gas pedal. And as they do watch the LED lights go toward the left... It's almost spot on perfect...

Typically you will see it dance around the 14 when cruising and down toward the 11 or 12 when under boost and you will see it dive to the full right position when off the gas and letting the engine do the braking.

Quote from Street Doc

I noticed your mounting location. That was where I wanted to mount mine, but couldn't find a spot that it was out or the way and still able to see it through the steering wheel. Would you please give specifics?

Yes I can see it perfectly. Just lift the top part of the dash and you can drill a hole to mount whatever pod you pick.

Quote from sideseatdriver

@rabtech - Thank you for wording your reviews in such a way that even I can understand, and for the explanations. I'm learning enough from you that I'll be able to say "no" to @KayTwo when he starts asking for more power.

Now why would anyone say no to adding more power! Those words don't compute in my brain.... lol

Someone asked me how much air is coming out of the turbo a while back. What I need to do is make a quick video of it running with the charge tube going to the intercooler removed and blowing into the hair of my daughter. She has long hair and it would show up really good. A supercharger would be fun to watch also. It is already blowing pretty hard at idle. I have done both of these things before and I can tell you that it's like having a gas powered leaf blower X 100. When you give it gas it creates so much wind that you won't believe it's even possible for something that small to create it.

Quote from Cameron Roberts

Dear @rabtech,

Told you so.

Love,
All of us Alphas.

Yea. Bite me...