ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

Considering that the Descendant, FastScions, Ancla and Treadstone kits are all much better, what makes you want the CXR kit? If it's the low cost, know beforehand that in the end it will cost as much as the better kits unless you are a skilled fabricator and welder. Are you?

At a bare minimum the manifold requires extensive bracing or it will crack very quickly. The intake pipe is the wrong size, the MAF mounting flange is wrong and has to be modified. Lots of essential pieces are either missing or unsuitable. I didn't receive a turbo oil return line and heater hose won't work. The oil feed line I received was 3 feet too long, the 4-way oil block was poorly tapped requiring lots of teflon tape to get a seal. No air filter was supplied and the supplied gaskets are crap. All in all, it took 3 shipments and 2 weeks to get the parts to install the kit. It also took several days and several stone dremel bits to port the poorly made 18 ga manifold, debur all the IC pipes and clean the metal shavings from them.

I can't recommend the CXR kit but if you're dead set on buying it, I'll try to help you make it work. I highly recommend the Descendant Tuner kit instead. Just add Deatschwerks 440cc inj's, gauges, a 4-6 psi wastegate spring and you're all set.

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

This is what my "CXR" turbo kit looks like today. The only CXR parts left are some silicone couplers, IC pipes, SMIC, BOV and T-bolt clamps. The manifold, turbo, wastegate, downpipe, intake pipe, etc. have all been upgraded.

Drummercoreyxb

Oh wow!! See I had tried to figure out from this post of all the things you tried and then changed I had no idea what you had done recently. I thought you finally got a nice boost from it and it still stayed a little less expensive compared to the descendant kit. I wish this kit would work I'd like to spend about $2500-$3000 on it.

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

There's a lot of history missing from this thread because I started another thread after the initial CXR kit ended up in FAIL. Here's the other thread: https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=176230

It is possible make the CXR kit work within that budget but IMO you'd still be much better off with the Descendant kit and a $4000 budget. I've heard from several other CXR kit owners and the manifold cracked for all of them. It's simply too thin to support the weight of the turbo. China Chargers are also very unreliable with shoddy QC. They don't fall apart but the seals leak oil and they need to be rebuilt often.

In contrast, the Descendant manifold carries a lifetime warranty and the kit includes a quality US made turbo. The only thing missing is T-bolt clamps but they aren't essential. If I had it to do over again I would definitely buy the Descendant kit instead. Good luck.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Cool! You did insulate your air intake and yes, that powder coat valve cover really does look good -- fits in well with the panoply of colors ! Plus, you did get that tubular manifold as well. Very nice !

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Trevor. Insulating the intake made a nice improvement in IAT. The intake used to get very hot and the only cooling was from the intake air passing through it. Originally I liked the polished IC pipes but they're too much work to keep polished. I'm considering having them powder coated this winter. Any suggestions for the color? I'm thinking black and also replacing all my blue hoses with black ones.

The manifold is actually cast SS, not tubular. It cost $260 but I figured that was better than removing and re-painting the cast iron mani every few years. I also replaced some problematic worm clamps with constant tension clamps and applied DEI thermal insulation to some hoses that run close to the mani or DP. I also replaced all of my turbo fasteners with SS studs, nuts and Nordlock washers. I was going to replace the oem head to mani studs with ARP SS studs but couldn't get the oem studs out so I just replaced the rusty oem nuts with SS flange nuts. Oh yeah, I installed a Mishimoto 140F thermostat too. I think I may have finally reached the point of oem reliability and long service intervals for my turbo setup.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Sorry about the manifold, now you mention it, I recall you stating cast SS ! Still, it really does look great, better than the previous cast iron one. Not sure I'm a good reference on color, here's my current Eclipse and xB engine compartments:




Different flavor photos since the first is interior flash and the second late day sunlight (results in a bluish cast for some reason), but you'll no doubt notice my inclination toward grey scale colors ! I even went so far as to blacken my red xB Tanabe strut tower brace. Colors can work fine, just personal preference and I see no problem with what you currently have !

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

I went with mostly T-bolt clamps for my Eclipse UICP since I found worm clamps less reliable with my piping, though I use them at my SMIC outlet and air bypass (BOV) adapter (cast aluminum pipe). Since there's no pressure with the xB intake, worms work fine. It was easier for me since I could mostly skii off OE, nothing fundamentally new being added to either setup.

So, you went to a new thermostat, I'm remembering Stant. The drop to 140 degrees sounds large, think I'm remembering more like 180 from before. That's great your power plant seems to have settled down, that's a major accomplishment, especially recognizing the difficulties you went through, congratulations and yes, it's a good looking engine compartment !

skion j

If you have read all of this thread, it is easy to see that Scion Fred is The MAN when is comes to Boosting the XB2. Believe him the CXR kit is not reliable for all the reasons already stated. I put my CXR kit on as it came out of the box damn thing needed to be repaired every week. Between the manifold cracks and rebuilding the china charger there was little time to enjoy having a boosted car. Rob at DESCENDANT said it best "If you want the real turbocharged experience buy the DESCENDANT kit" I agree.
The CXR kit is not all bad, after all it got Scion Fred and Me off the sidelines and into the forced induction game. Buy the kit we will help you get it running reliably.

FromTheOld

1. The chinacharger wasn't rebuilt...he just took it off.
2. You can always just make your own kit too.. The convenience of Descendant comes from the pre-tune, but as shown in this thread, you don't always need to have a piggyback.

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

I don't like standard worm gear hose clamps much. I've found them to be unsuitable for coolant hoses, silicone hoses and any app where there could be expansion and contraction. The ugly oem wide band spring clamps work much better. I'm using T-bolt clamps everywhere that hose size permits. I have worm clamps on my BOV recirculation hose because they don't make T-bolt clamps small enough. The constant tension clamps are worm gear type but are fully lined and use Belleville washers as springs to maintain constant tension. My upper radiator hose has been replaced by a pipe and 2 silicone couplers. It always leaked a little with standard worm clamps. My turbo oil return line also leaked. So far the CT clamps are working perfectly for the coolant and oil return.

I'm still a bit skeptical about the 140F t-stat but oem is 180F and I had a 170F for the past 2 years. Ideally I'd like a t-stat between 150-160F but the only option is the way overpriced TRD 160F. I haven't logged the new t-stat yet but with the 170F my ECT ran between 190F and 200F in warm weather. I'm hoping to lower that to 160-170F. The ECU cold engine cut-off point is 140F so anything above that is treated like a warm engine. I'll just have to see how it works out this winter but since I have a 2nd car, I won't be driving the XB much in winter.

Aside from the aforementioned slight coolant and oil leaks the engine has been perfect since I ditched the piggybacks over a year ago. The only thing I'd like to change is the return fitting on the oil pan. I wish I had bought the TRD oil pan or installed a -AN fitting instead of a hose barb. Thanks.

Drummercoreyxb

So if I were to get the CXR kit and replace the manifold and turbo down the road would it be okay? I just really like the setup from that kit and since my xb is an auto I know I can't add an extreme amount of boost without replacing or rebuilding the tranny.

Drummercoreyxb

And a tranny cooler like ScionFred's

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

I can't speak for Skion j but IMO it is possible to make the CXR kit work for a few hundred dollars. You'll need to find a good welder/fabricator to either duplicate the CXR manifold using schedule 40 pipe or fabricate some bracing to support the weight of the turbo.

China chargers are hit or miss for quailty. Mine worked fine for a few thousand miles but some leak oil right away and others may last years. Supposedly you can re-build many china chargers using genuine Garrett internals. IIRC the wastegate came set to 8 psi so you should reduce the spring pre-load to 5-6 psi. I set my WG pre-load as loose as possible and ended up with 5-6 psi boost.

The CXR kit is a very tight fit with the oem battery so you may need to replace the 34 battery with a 26R and a top spacer to hold it down. Check the MAS fitment too since mine required fabrication of an adapter plate to allow MAS fitment.

Short answer is yes, it can work but it's a lot more work than buying a quality kit like Descendant, et al. Good luck.

Drummercoreyxb

Yeah thats what I figured my neighbor is a welder/mechanic so I can always get him to help me with the manifold. Can you give me a list of things that I will need besides what came with the CXR kit?

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

What you'll need depends a lot on what CXR sends you but they were very good about shipping any missing pieces. Below is a list of what I would recommend:

1) DW 440cc injs
2) Boost gauge
3) wide band AFR gauge
4) -4 AN oil feed line (~14" long)
5) -10 AN oil return line (measure for length, 24-30"?)
6) -10 AN fitting for oil pan or TRD pre-tapped pan
7) 4 constant tension 1.5" lined hose clamps for new radiator pipe and couplers (std hose clamps don't work well with silicone hose)
8 )~3 feet of 3/8" fuel line (for new overflow line)
9) two 3/8" hose clamps
10) 3" inlet air filter
10) Re-worked manifold

That's all I can think of right now. For the manifold, I envision 2 possibilities. You could cut the CXR pipes off and weld new sch 40 pipe to the CXR flanges and/or fabricate some sturdy braces that run from the T3 flange to the engine block to support the turbo. There are 2 mounting holes from the oem header that would work well. Remember no to change the location or orientation of the turbo or the downpipe won't match up!

As for the MAS flange, I gave Kevin the correct dimensions and he said that he'd fix future kits. Hopefully he did. I'm recommending AN oil return line because it's far superior to hose and barb fittings. I regret not installing a AN fitting in my oil pan. You can use push-lock hose but it will probably leak like mine did. I'm hopeful that my recent drain hose replacement with constant tension clamps and heat sleeve prevent future leaks but if you use AN hose and fittings you'll never have to worry about it. Good luck.

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

So I went to Capitol raceway again tonight and shaved 2.2 tenths off my 1/4 mile ET. My 4 cyl, 25mpg avg XB is now officially the quickest car I've ever owned. Quicker in the 1/4 than my 68 camaro SS396, 87 Mustang GT and 90 Eclipse GTX and with much better mpg to boot! If you can't buy the car you want, build it yourself!

Drummercoreyxb

Which lane are you?

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

Did you notice my sig? Guess not...

It would cost $10k+ to get an auto XB to run the right lane time... once.

Drummercoreyxb

Oh sorry I can't see any sigs on this app that I use...
Yeah that's what I figured that is sweet!!
I'll be able to order my CXR kit next week and 440 RC injectors too.. More to get just not enough money to buy at once.