<VV> LM turbos and no lower shrouds

[Eric S. Eberhard]

I am always puzzled by this discussion which comes up every so 
often.  The car was designed well from the factory.  If you have 
everything correct -- all the shrouds as well as seals and so forth, 
there is no better system.  I am in AZ, totally bone-stock, at 
altitude (3500-8000 feet), summer temps of 110 ... and I NEVER have 
even gotten remotely close to overheating.  Our speed limit is 75 and 
I can go up a 6% grade at 80, no over heating.  From my 3500 to 7500 
feet happens in 6 miles, no overheat even at 80.

I believe that those that overheat and think they need to 
remove/modify shrouds simply have other problem they are compensating 
for.  Mine is a 62 EM and perhaps it is different, but I have had to 
EM turbos as well and neither ever had a heating problem.
And we get 20 degrees in the winter, so having those shrouds on then 
is crucial and I don't need the hassle of swapping them on and off.

One writer pointed out the correct heat is required for quick 
boost.  Correct.  Some people even wrap their exhaust to push temp 
even higher, for that reason.  Some people mistakenly use a "free 
flowing" muffler which actually reduces boost and is bad.  I used an 
NOS turbo muffler.

Keep it stock and it will be absolutely reliable (my only mods are 
electronic ignition and related upgrades).

If you have heating problems -- are your plugs too hot?  I use Nology 
Silverstone plugs and they perform very well with a 38 gap and hot 
ignition, no overheating.  They are made for vintage cars.  They are 
expensive, but I have over 30k on them and they are clean as a whistle.

BTW -- opinions are like belly buttons and so I have one.  I respect 
others, as other people have done neat things.  I am not a good 
enough amateur mechanic to re-engineer things.  But I believe a 
properly set up stock system -- not all that hard to achieve -- is 
going to be reliable.  Doing the ignition and putting a Judson on one 
of my cars is sort of the limit of my explorations.  However, my 
Spyder always has instant boost (no lag), boosts at 2000 rpm in 4th, 
pulls to redline, and I can't overheat it.

So if you are in the mood, you might try making it factory spec 
first, seeing how that goes, and then modify.  Otherwise, you might 
mask a problem that later gets ugly.

Eric