Ive had my car for a while know and im about to go to the bank to take out some money for rims, a new paint job and maybe a turbo system. I already have body kit, 2 and quarter inch exhaust and i had to replace my engine due to a snaped timing belt. The engine i have right now is a 93 GS motor with just over 100,000 km and a 180 psi on all the cylinder. I was hoping to spend $1500 on the turbo system but I want to know if i can do this with that budget. I was going to look for a good used turbo from a saab and have custom piping bent for the tubing. I want to push maybe 250 to 300 hp if i can. Can this be achieved :hmm:. Also what other parts would be best for this setup, like oil sending lines, manifold, wastegate, boost control, intercooler, fuel management, and computer
I don’t think you seem ready yet. You’ve got a lot of reading and researching to do. And trust me, don’t budget yourself. There’s no such thing as a budget when your on the darkside. I learned that first hand.
okay that was no help, i want to get started im not going to go and buy everything and try and piece it together by myself. i just want to know where to start, thats what im really trying to ask.
Actually, that was probably one of the most informative posts I’ve made. I pointed out a lot of things in those few sentances that you probably didn’t know.
- $1500 turbo budget? UNLESS, you are piecing it together, which you said you werent, you arent going to get very far with that reliably.
- You do have a lot of researching to do. If you had done a search then you would have seen a million threads just like your’s wanting to know where to get started. READ THE TURBO GUIDE…SEARCH THE BOARDS…
I’m not trying to come off as an ass. I’m just trying to help you out and keeping YOU from getting flamed by the rest of the board. There is serious feelings about that SEARCH button. Sorry to sound like a dick if I did.
that second post help alot more, I dont think your an ass just wanted to know where to start, thanks for the help.
i would say search the boards…i brought an used custom kit from a guy in l.a for about 500 i think…but along with all the other shit u’ll need fmic piping ems depending on which route u go your looking @ 3k easy …is this going to be installed be a shop or d.i.y…
Ill probably get the shop to do all the major work. I know people who will work for beer but ill end up shoving some money towards the guy
i dont know if this would make things cheaper but i work a lordco and i get parts at wholesale and 20 percent off, so new parts will be alittle cheaper. I would have to search for more relieable parts. Lordco sometimes dont sell the best parts but they like to order in parts from other companies like altron, AEM, SKAT and so on.
Your answers to your questions are in the turbo guide at the top of this page. Start there first and try the search key 2nd. This has been talked about time in and time out. What b18a1sedan said was the best advice you can get.
i have a friend that told me that he could get me a turbo kit for like $1500. it came with the intercooler, intercooler piping, pulleys, cam gears, t3/t4, turbo manifold, and all the other accessories. XS power turbo kit system.
he got one personally and let me tell you…that shit is off da monkey nuts :rockon:
so is it better to buy a kit then to try and peice one together :hmm:
Kit would be the “easier” route, but a lot of kits have weak links in them especially kits you are going to get for under 3k. Things like half assed fuel management or a bad manifold design. You’re going to end up custom parting no matter what if you want a good system.
Another thing is that if you buy a kit and just use the parts that come with it, you will never safely get near your goals. A kit will safely get you about 220whp if I’m correct, and after that you’re going to need upgrades.
The plus side to building your own setup is that you can design everything how you want it so that you can make the power you want and where you want that power. Making your own is also cheaper if you buy used parts (be careful with that) or if you do a lot of the work yourself (piping and whatnot).
Basically it comes down to how much you want to spend, your goals, and how much effort you want to put into it. 1,500 shouldn’t be your “budget” but it should be your starting point. 1,500 is fine to get into a project with, but don’t expect it to go very far, so make sure you have money down the line to put into it.
I’m planning my turbo setup, and I’m going into the project with 2K to play around with. On top of that, I know that I will be getting more money as I go because I’m parting out my other car. Over all I’m expecting to have about 4 grand into my turbo (less if I’m lucky, very lucky).
A good starting point would be to really determine your goals:
- How much power do you want to be making?
- Where do you want this power? (Midrange or high-range, where do you want the turbo to spool and what do you want your torque curve to look like)
- How is your motor going to handle what you want to put on it?
- How are you going to tune? (any good shops locally? what are you goign to use to tune with?)
- Who is going to install the project?
- Will it fit?
After you have pondered these, research the turbochargers to figure out which would give you the power you want and where you want it. Basically the smaller the turbo the sooner it will spool, but the hotter it will get and the sooner it will stop making power. If you get a big fatty turbo it will spool later in the RPMs but provide power higher and put out less heat, with the downside of increased lag.
After you have thought about the turbo you want, design the rest of your system around it. Your goal of 220whp seems very reasonable, but not for the amount of money you say you have right now. You could build an economy kit but in order for it to be safe and last a long time you would have to set your goals a little lower…
BUT you might get lucky like I said and be able to build your kit for 1,500. But I wouldn’t count on it. Go buy Maximum Boost and read the whole thing, take notes, and make sure you understand it. That’s a good start!
Probably a bit more effort than you thought, huh?
i knew it wasnt going to be cake walk but that info really helps me start to get an idea, thanks very much 
It sounds like it would be overwhelming, but once you start to understand the material it’s a lot more fun.
I pieced together my turbo kit (pure turbo components and essentials, some preperation pieces) and it came out to $2100.
All the advice already given is what I would say, but once last thing. When it comes to stuff like this… hook-ups are very helpful. I’m saving about $1000 overall. If you can find a good tuner for cheap that’s always a good start.