20K DEAD END

[Trendwho205]

Hey NICO GANG. there has obviously been a lot of talk about people who have the M45.mainly about I want to supercharge I want to turbo I want to do this I want to do that. the only thing custom I have seen is the one guy who add custom headers and the guy that has the g37 rear end and lets not forget the guy with the 5.6 engine in his that's it. So I set out to put all the myths and woulda coulda shoulda to the back .I had been looking all over the internet and I went to one specific Performance shop in my area known as Speedsouth.I met with the owner and SAT with him and let him know what I planned on doing with my car long story short he went on and on about everything having to be custom and in the end told me it would cost anywhere from 15-20k to have it done right I'm thinking to myself you are out of your mind there's no way I'm going to spend 20,000 dollars on this car mean I'm not dumb by any means and I think he was really trying to just get over on me I told them all I was looking to gain was around a100 horsepower into me $20,000 for 100 horsepower just doesn't seem worth it at that rate I could trade my car in and get a 2011 e63 they keep the same payment that I'm making now so I was wondering do any seriouse mechanics know anybody that would take on the job i wanrt to do a STS turbo kit its probably the most efficient and cost-effective method to add a horse power to my type of vehicle being that there are no parts readily available like I said in my last message ECU tuning and piping for the build should be the only challenge but I'm no I don't machanic it just seems that it shouldn't be this hard or at least not hard as everybody makes it seem please shed some light I believe that our cars have the ability to handle 450 horsepower and it should do it given that the build is done right by no means am I trying to cheap out I know that this is going to be kind of expensive but again $20,000 is just absurd

[EniGmA1987]

he went on and on about everything having to be custom and in the end told me it would cost anywhere from 15-20k to have it done right I'm thinking to myself you are out of your mind there's no way I'm going to spend 20,000 dollars on this car mean I'm not dumb by any means and I think he was really trying to just get over on me I told them all I was looking to gain was around a 100 horsepower

Ya, it will cost $15k+ to do all sorts of custom work and add a turbo charger. And there is no reason to add a turbo to a car like this is all you want is to gain 100HP. Ya you will get there quick, but you might as well go for 200HP with a larger turbo if you are doing all the work to get it boost ready in the first place.

1) new transmission made to handle more horsepower, adding 100HP will put you right at the very limit of the transmission which means it wont last a long time. This will cost you $4K for the new trans made for higher HP and another $1K probably to get it installed.
2) new rods, probably custom made since I dont know of anyone who makes VK45 rods. You can to go with at least H-beams, which will be expensive as is with them being custom. Might as well go I-beam for more strength since it is expensive anyway and custom. This will cost $1-1.5K for parts and a ton in labor to take apart the engine. The stock rods will probably break within a year if you add a turbo since they are crappy little A-Beam's that dont have a lot of headroom on it.
3) might as well home the cyslinders since the engine is apart, another few hundred Dollars.
4) 5 angle valve job, another 1K.
5) turbo cams, also probably custom. 2K probably? plus a hundred or so more added on top of labor you currently are doing for the install.
6) new custom made turbo headers, expensive.
7) custom intercooler piping and setup
8) fabricate a mount for the turbocharger.
9) dyno time and tuning.



Unless you dont want to do it right, then you can get it thrown on for $6K maybe. But your engine will be broken pretty soon.

[mexillis]

for an extra 100hp add N20 and call it a day, cost about 2k max for all the bells and whistles.

[rics8]

well I'm not a gru at all, but I think if you smooth out the intake, add the spacer and change the throttles to one size bigger, headers, free flowing exhaust and a really good ecu tune it might work for 50hp, (don't know if anyone on here have done all that to one car) seeing most of us don't have big time money o twin turbo, supercharge our cars.

[Larz]

For me, that seems like lots of trouble. I would take that M + the 20k and trade them both to get a great car that already HAS all the changes you want. I'm not saying you SHOULD, just saying that with M and the cash, it's best to just trade up to a late model Audi A6 for example.

[EniGmA1987]

^^^^^^ Sounds like really good advice to me Larz

[svard75]

First of all you have to understand how FI (Forced Induction) works on a car before you even consider doing it. Start by reading up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_induction

[Double E]

"...being that there are no parts readily available" There you go.
No one is going to break new ground for you and go in the hole doing it. Don't forget that it will take months of fitting, trial and error to get right while you source another ride.

As mentioned, you are better off starting with a capable platform with aftermarket support unless your pockets are deep, you have PLENTY of time and you want what no one else has. Even then you'll be slow compared to what a better platform would provide.

Try starting with a late model CTS-V (556HP to start with is no joke ...and it has bolt-on parts for hundreds more HP...safely.)