$1200 is not something I want to spend on a trial run. How would one go about making sure the manifold doesnt start following apart.

 

experience.

i had a cheap turbo on a old vw gti when the stock when finally gave up.


the cheap chinese turbo didnt even last a month before the compressor wheel decided to fall apart and shoot metal chunks throughout my engine.

needless to say, that $175 ebay turbo ended up costing me over $2000


also, you say the setups you have seen had decent results? when you say results, do you mean putting down power or having the turbo last more than a few months?

i have rarely, if ever, seen one last more than a year on a working, daily driving, non drag car.





would i throw a cheap turbo on a busted civic? you bet your *** i would.

would i throw one on a car worth more than $2000? never again.

 

there is absolutely, no way in the world you will only spend $200 for the entire turbo kit.

consider this build sheet list that you have to have.....

turbo
wastegate (if not already integrated into the turbo, i dont recommend that type of wastegate since they leak badly)
blow off valve
intercooler (not required, but dumb if you dont)
intercooler/charge pipe
silicone couplers
header flanges (if making your own)
exhaust header tubing
custom crossover tubing
turbo inlet flange
turbo outlet flange
exhaust tubing from turbo exit to standard exhaust
upgrading your exhaust to 3" or larger
mufflers
larger fuel injectors
fuel pump (not needed but recommended)
boost gauge
gauge pod
misc hoses, brass fittings, clamps, etc etc etc


then on top of all that, which i am sure i am missing something, you will need to tune it.

that requires a purchase of HPTuners or an old DHP PowrTuner or you can buy a canned tune from a vendor (which is NOT recommended at all, do your own tuning). I have no idea the going rate for these tuning options, but lets just say, this by itself, will be more expensive than your chinese turbo you would buy.



like someone else said, if you could turbo our cars for $200, everyone would do it. there are some pretty talented people that have been messing around with our cars and engine for ~15 years.

there should be nothing that hasnt already been tried and tested, and i am sure there are some pretty janky turbo set ups that have been done, NONE of them only cost $200.

 

also, to the OP....


based on your questions and comments, i would seriously do a LOT more, and i mean a LOT MORE research on turbo set ups.

 

I don't see any way that would be even remotely possible, the cheapest turbo I found on ebay was $140. So you're going to have to get all of the other materials for $60? I just don't see any way you could do that between flanges, all the piping, some way to tune the car, etc.

I think you might be able to squeeze in a setup for $500 if you do all the work yourself, and buy a full turbo 'kit' off ebay that has all of your clamps and plumbing and such that you just need to cut and weld into place. But you'll still have to get someone to tune your pcm for free/cheap.


As an alternative to a Chinese turbo, you could always get a used junkyard OEM turbo. Stock turbos are typically very reliable, and cheap as people upgrade to aftermarket ones.

 

Yeah I have seen those $500 turbo kits on Ebay. I wouldn't install them on any engine I didn't want to grenade in a few months(at best).

If I had the disposable income and time I suppose it would be fun to install it on a junker just for a few laughs.

 

Ok. So I put a lot of thought into this and am planning on doing this.

1. Turbo Kit - GT T3 T4 T3 T4 T04E Universal Turbo Charger Kit Wastegate Intercooler Piping | eBay

2. Cross Over - ZZPerformance - Turbo Crossover #ZZ-TXOVR

3. PCM
That should be everything I need right? or am I missing a lot of stuff?

 

What about fuel? Depending how much boost you plan to run, the stock NA injectors are pretty tiny (22# IIRC). To add some headroom, you could always pick up some used L67 injectors. They flow about 50% more, and can be had for under $50 used or ~$150 cleaned/checked.


As you've probably seen, this has evolved way beyond a $200 setup. If you go with the Z3 crossover, you're almost $800, and if you get a Z7 or Stattama crossover, you'll be at $1000. For that kind of money, you're getting close to the price of complete used turbo kits. Many of the used kits go for well under $2k now- some even in the mid-low $1000s.

I realize that's more than you're looking to spend by a little bit, but that would also be 100% bolt on with no fab time at all and a quality turbo.

I'm all for wanting to DIY it, I definitely get it, just trying to make sure you understand all of the options.