[Ritchy]

300+bhp
You will be requiring all of the above plus the additions of forged con rods, again budget dependant.
The T28 turbo charger shouldn?t have much of a problem reaching the 280-290bhp level of power, but past this point you will need to
think about a bigger roller bearing charger, such as a GT30 in a T25/T28 case. The Garrett GT3071R is capable of flowing 400bhp
easily. Remember the larger the turbo the more the lag (in effect!)
At this point the need for aftermarket management is upon you, companies like Omex, DTA and Motec will be more than happy to
help you with whatever you require, they can advice you specifically for your needs and car as apposed to me speaking in general.
This obviously brings with it larger high impedance injectors which can be adjusted via the map to get the correct AFR.
Considerations for a little work on the cylinder head would also be a good idea; gas flowing and porting carries its advantages
although perhaps not adding BHP by itself.
To reach this figure the likely hood of needing a tubular manifold setup is high, you can either modify a manifold yourself, or simply
buy one to bolt on with little or no agro.
400+bhp
Again as before, however from here on in you really need to start making sure your engine is a top health. At this level the quality of
the previously chosen items will be crucial, cheap rods and pistons may be okay at lower levels but at 400bhp+ only the best will do.
Considerations for an aftermarket inlet manifold should be top of the list, also a throttle body to match. The boost piping and exhaust
will need to be larger to accommodate for the flow of gasses in each path. A heavy amount of mapping on the aftermarket
management will be required which can be time consuming.
If your feeling particularly silly, then nitrous oxide will also bump up your figures! But that?s a different story all together.
Engine Mounts:
The main thing to remember when carrying out a ZS/45 T16 conversion is that 90% of the work has already been carried out on
another car, from standard!! The car below is a 1995-1999 Rover 400 2.0 GSI, this car was fitted with the T-series, however the
engine was naturally aspirated, on the outside the T-series NASP (naturally aspirated) and turbo are virtually identical (minus a turbo
obviously!)
At this point you need to decide whether to buy a complete, but very tired 400 GSI and break it for the parts, or source the parts
individually. As this guide goes on you will see the parts you need to decide yourselves what you require.
The Rover 400 and MG ZS/R45 are all the same car, they share the same chassis, most body panels, most internals etc. However for
now we just need the engine mounts. To mount the T-series are 3 brackets and supports. One to the left which bolts to the block
through the cam belt run, one which mounts the gearbox to the chassis on the far right of the engine bay, and a stabiliser at the back of
the engine which runs almost parallel with the exhaust. You will require all 3 of these brackets. You will find when bolting these
brackets into your ZS/45 that the holes already exist for them, (that is how similar these cars are!)
You do not require any welding, drilling, tapping or general bodging to get the engine into your zed. It?s all there ready for you.
Wiring
Even as an electrician I found the idea of car wiring very scary. However if I knew then what I know now?I could of saved myself a
lot of time and agro.
The easy but expensive method:
Now?this is where I wished I had a REALLY helpful guy like myself (and a great guide to follow)?. However I didn?t! I learnt the
hard way? So here is the key to a VERY easy wiring job for the conversion. I mentioned before about using aftermarket
management on the T16 for power, well as well as additional power and control an aftermarket engine management can make your
life extremely easy. If you speak to the guys at Omex they can supply and build an Omex 600 ECU and a complete pre-built plug and
play wiring loom for the T16 engine. In effect this means that you can give your Omex ECU a permanent 12v, a switched 12v and an
earth, then plug the loom into all the various sensors/components and it will run?. Obviously you need to hook up the starter motor
and alternator (from your standard loom) but you no longer require the original engine management loom. The beauty of this is that
you can use the standard V6 or 120 starter and charging loom.. And that?s it! No more messing about. Obviously you have the cost of
mapping and all the additional add-ons required with the aftermarket management, but the ease and simplicity of this is unreal.
The hard but cheap method:
The hard method has so got its name because of the amount of work physically required; it?s a real pain! But its virtually fool proof.
(no doubt there are easier ways than I?m about to describe but this is how I done it!) This is where really you need to decide on
whether or not to buy a complete 420GSI, the main reason being that your going to have to take the front wiring loom from it. The
loom you want basically controls all of the electrical items (including engine) from the dashboard onwards. It looks after the lights,
windscreen wipers, ABS, and so on. Now I know it sounds like a lot of work, and your right, but I am an electrician by trade and I
know how pants soldering and crimping cables can be, therefore a complete loom with minimal joints in my eyes is a far more
reliable and viable option.
To remove the loom you don?t necessarily need the dashboard out, it would make life a lot easier but it depends how bothered you can
be. The loom runs right from the front of the car (i.e. horn, fans, fog lights etc) up either side of the engine bay and through 2
grommets each side of the bulkhead, the passenger side loom then runs along the back of the bulkhead (inside the car) and towards the
fuse and relay box underneath the steering column. It really is a case of labelling EVERYTHING you unplug (and positions if you
wish) then unplug all the bits as you go and pull the loom through the car. The ?cut off? point is 2 orange flat plugs down under the
carpets in the driver?s foot well. This being the original ZS loom for the back of the car. The 400 loom will plug straight into these.
The 2 fuse boxes I believe are slightly different, for the sake of a 2 minute swap job for the 400 ones its worth doing to save the
aggravation. Remember to be careful with every single cable when pulling it through the car, it only takes a cable to be shaved back
and it can cause no end of problems. The loom in the cab will plug into all of your original switches and importantly the 5AS unit in
the centre console.
The only plugs that require changing are strangely enough the windscreen wiper plug (I have no idea why?! Why change it it?s the
same motor!) And the headlight plugs, which is a half hour job and easy enough to do. If you need specific details give me a shout
and I?ll help as best I can.
This loom will then plug into a turbo loom, which you would require anyway from the 220 I believe. It?s a time consuming job but
fairly straight forward, my top tip would be to label everything clearly. Don?t forget all of the earth points!! They are very important.
Make sure they all go back.