1st time to build a Turbo. Stock S14 with KA24de engine.Turbo kits on Ebay?

[sebastianpiz]

Hi,I have a s14 with the stock engine. Car has 213k miles. Still runs strong but i think I want to have a little fun. I saw this turbo kits on ebay for $500 to $700. Are these turbo's worth buying. I just need some adrenaline rush on my daily commute. but not anything extreme. I will still be driving my car daily and autocross on weekends. Any advise will be great. Maybe 210-250 horsepower is o.k.

Thanks,

[scotty-2-forty]

Hi,I have a s14 with the stock engine. Car has 213k miles. Still runs strong but i think I want to have a little fun. I saw this turbo kits on ebay for $500 to $700. Are these turbo's worth buying. I just need some adrenaline rush on my daily commute. but not anything extreme. I will still be driving my car daily and autocross on weekends. Any advise will be great. Maybe 210-250 horsepower is o.k.

Thanks,

Personally, I would invest in rebuilding the engine first. I wouldn't boost a tired engine especially in my daily driver without completely refreshing. When I was building mine, I bought a '92 Saturn sedan for $800 from a neighbor's father ... one of the best investments I made during my KA build. As for the eBay thing, I wouldn't know, but I'd much rather put my faith in reputable companies with proven track records.

[WDRacing]

I'd say aiming for 300 is a better goal. I say that because for 300whp you have to do things a little more...shall we say "more correctly". It's hardly any more expensive but it will pay dividends in power and reliability.

The compression on all 4 cylinders is a good determining factor whether or not your motor will enjoy some boost. If the motor has had regular oil changes, 215k on a dohc motor isn't all THAT bad, but it is a bit high. Higher in fact then I've ever done personally. My record was 165k...it tossed a rod at 20 psi when it lost oil pressure.

If you're going to drive this car for another 50,000 miles without a rebuild then adding a turbo isn't a bad idea as long as you take care of things correctly. You can start by not getting a turbo kit from eBay. If you do source some parts from eBay you'll have to be prepped for problems as they are a crap shoot at best when it comes to things like the turbo itself.

What's your budget? We can aim you in the right direction. What is your skill level? Can you weld at all or have a friend that can? Just things like a downpipe etc. If you can get a downpipe fabbed you can really do almost anything. Tons of really good used parts out there to choose from.

I also recommend going with larger injectors then you'd normally think and a ROM tune from a reliable tuner. Enthalpy, JWT and EFI Specialists come to mind for that.

Post up a budget and we'll lay out some good options.

Welcome to KAT btw

WD

[sebastianpiz]

hi,thanks for the info. My budget is up to $1000 for a turbo kit. I will rebuild the engine if i have to. I already figured out that 200k miles is high to be turboed. i have oil changes every 5k miles with synthetic. my engine is still strong at 200k miles. I just need to change my clutch since i have not replaced it yet. If my budget is too small say it in my face and do not be shy. what is a realistic $$$ that i have to spend to turbo my ka engine without putting a dent on my bank acct. any info will be great.

thanks

[ashibah83]

for $1000, it CAN be done, but i would at least have double that, $2000 and your stuff can be quality, with the original $1000 budget your looking at buying used parts or something thats not a quality part