Thinking about going turbo
- Thread starter Dc_kid
- Start date
Merlins Beard
*Beard not included
Piping is piping, but cheap piping is prone to poor bending methods that can restrict airflow and are made of low quality materials that will corrode or bend much easier than quality aftermarket parts. Cheap couplers and clamps have been known to split and come apart.
It doesn't make sense to spend 1000 on a cheap kit to get 300 worth of tubing and couplers that you will use. Even other parts like the wastegate and bov are very poor quality and will go bad.
Look for used quality parts. Getting oem turbos from other cars sometimes require custom manifold or downpipe flanges in order to fit but will be very cheap to obtain.
It doesn't make sense to spend 1000 on a cheap kit to get 300 worth of tubing and couplers that you will use. Even other parts like the wastegate and bov are very poor quality and will go bad.
Look for used quality parts. Getting oem turbos from other cars sometimes require custom manifold or downpipe flanges in order to fit but will be very cheap to obtain.
xxBLOOD88SHOTxx
Surge Master
TheShodan just listed a solid turbo FS, but it then piece together the rest of the kit.
96LSteg
Jemel
get the turbo theShodan just listed FS.....My plan was to get the eBay kit and get a turbonetics or Garrett turbo charger and find a quality manifold and better injectors and put it on the car I figured with that I could get good power and still be ok quality wise.....that was my initial plan in the beginning
Merlins Beard
*Beard not included
It still doesn't make sense to get a turbo kit, then buy a quality turbo and manifold. There are piping and intercooler kits that are much cheaper. The most expensive part of a cheap turbo kit is the turbo and you plan on not using it, everything else is pretty cheap and low quality. Piping and intercooler kits can be found for like $200.My plan was to get the eBay kit and get a turbonetics or Garrett turbo charger and find a quality manifold and better injectors and put it on the car I figured with that I could get good power and still be ok quality wise.....that was my initial plan in the beginning
Cheap parts can be the wastegate, BOV, piping, and intercooler. These parts are cheap to get but won't last very long, be prepared to begin replacing them within about a year.
When you do start replacing them, it should be with quality parts.
Everything else should be quality parts.
HooliganSKATE
New Member
I went the ebay turbo route and I've never regretted anything more in my life..I'm may just wait it out since this is becoming a bigger pain in the ass then I thought
Save some money and buy some quality parts, take your time and do it right. You would be fine on something like a t25 or Gt28 (what I have), make sure to get the right oil feed restrictor for the turbo, get oil feed and drain lines, find intercooler piping (ebay kits don't fit, trust me, custom is a good choice), buy a BOV of some sort, get a quality wastegate, some sort of log style manifold (that's about one of the only ebay parts I have left on my car). Other than that you just need good quality injectors, a walbro 255 fuel pump, Hondata s300 (or whatever you are going to tune with) and the most important part, A QUALITY TUNER! someone who knows what they are doing.. If not, the car will never run right and you will hate it, trust me on that one too..
Turbo honda's are really fun when they run right, I love mine as my DD, but you just need to do things right or else it's just a headache. I don't care what people have to say, ebay kits are garbage and always will be.
HooliganSKATE
New Member
Also you'll need a clutch, no sense in having that power if you can't put it down. Don't cheap out on that either. Just no cheap parts, rule of life right there
theshodan
Turbo Design Specialist
I've been staying out of threads a bit lately because of the fact that for whatever reason lately, I've been receiving flack for speaking up. But to address a couple of things.
1) Getting an "eBay kit" only to replace about 90% makes no sense at all, nor is trying to get an older eBay turbo and "put better internals in it".. What people forget is that for most of these kits don't fit their own equipment well, much less be able to be transferred to anything else.
Now, for a good "kit" example, the Go-Autowerks kit is not a bad place to start, but I will admit that the "street kit" does limit turbocharger options for future use. I've always recommended the "tuner" kit as a start off kit , because that way you can substitute turbochargers, wastegates, etc, if needed.
2) ARP headstuds. . Ya know, maybe its the Geritol talking here, but in the 16 years I've been turbocharging B-series Hondas that are bone stock, for power levels of 250whp-400whp, I've never had to put in ARP headstuds "for safety". If I had to do that, that means that the engine itself or other components are also suspect; in essence, that the car is mechanically unsound in some way, and that the owner needs to seriously get the engine in tip top shape before even attempting to turbocharge. For lower HP goals like I described above, a set of headstuds thrown in one at a time is a bandaid for other issues in the meantime to rear their ugly heads. Make sure the car is mechanically sound first. Compression and leakdown tests, change out of filters, fluids and checking of other areas is worth its weight in gold over some ARP headstuds.. Because lets face it, if the head studs are installed improperly, you've just created a problem in your attempt to prevent one.
3) Getting OEM turbochargers can be as risky if not more than even getting an eBay kit, especially if the OEM turbo has few features if any in common with the rest of the components of the "kit" you're trying to put together. Unless you A) have the mechanical inclination and resources to custom fit flanges, welded materials, etc to make these OEM turbochargers fit , and B) know exactly the type of turbocharger that you're getting that is in good condition to work with it. In many cases, getting a "cheap OEM turbo" means one main thing: its cheap, because the seller usually can't use it either.
In addition, turbo components are rarely ever worth the sum of their parts. Just because the turbo may be damaged and may need a "rebuild" doesn't mean its cost effective to do so, especially when it comes to OEM turbochargers. You can get pretty lucky with some turbo rebuild shops that specialize in OEM turbo rebuilds, but even THEY would promote the purchase of a new unit over the rebuild of the old one. It may cost a little more than what they would charge with an internal rebuild (this excludes any turbine wheels, compressor wheels, shafts, housings, etc) but you now get warranties, and piece of mind of a new unit over a used one.
Just my $0.10 .. carry on.
1) Getting an "eBay kit" only to replace about 90% makes no sense at all, nor is trying to get an older eBay turbo and "put better internals in it".. What people forget is that for most of these kits don't fit their own equipment well, much less be able to be transferred to anything else.
Now, for a good "kit" example, the Go-Autowerks kit is not a bad place to start, but I will admit that the "street kit" does limit turbocharger options for future use. I've always recommended the "tuner" kit as a start off kit , because that way you can substitute turbochargers, wastegates, etc, if needed.
2) ARP headstuds. . Ya know, maybe its the Geritol talking here, but in the 16 years I've been turbocharging B-series Hondas that are bone stock, for power levels of 250whp-400whp, I've never had to put in ARP headstuds "for safety". If I had to do that, that means that the engine itself or other components are also suspect; in essence, that the car is mechanically unsound in some way, and that the owner needs to seriously get the engine in tip top shape before even attempting to turbocharge. For lower HP goals like I described above, a set of headstuds thrown in one at a time is a bandaid for other issues in the meantime to rear their ugly heads. Make sure the car is mechanically sound first. Compression and leakdown tests, change out of filters, fluids and checking of other areas is worth its weight in gold over some ARP headstuds.. Because lets face it, if the head studs are installed improperly, you've just created a problem in your attempt to prevent one.
3) Getting OEM turbochargers can be as risky if not more than even getting an eBay kit, especially if the OEM turbo has few features if any in common with the rest of the components of the "kit" you're trying to put together. Unless you A) have the mechanical inclination and resources to custom fit flanges, welded materials, etc to make these OEM turbochargers fit , and B) know exactly the type of turbocharger that you're getting that is in good condition to work with it. In many cases, getting a "cheap OEM turbo" means one main thing: its cheap, because the seller usually can't use it either.
In addition, turbo components are rarely ever worth the sum of their parts. Just because the turbo may be damaged and may need a "rebuild" doesn't mean its cost effective to do so, especially when it comes to OEM turbochargers. You can get pretty lucky with some turbo rebuild shops that specialize in OEM turbo rebuilds, but even THEY would promote the purchase of a new unit over the rebuild of the old one. It may cost a little more than what they would charge with an internal rebuild (this excludes any turbine wheels, compressor wheels, shafts, housings, etc) but you now get warranties, and piece of mind of a new unit over a used one.
Just my $0.10 .. carry on.