Couple of "turbo" related questions...

[Glyph]

Okay where do I start. I guess I'll start be apologizing for not using the search button haha. I'm new to this whole car thing. I mean I've of course been driving them for the better part of 30 years but up until my 240 they've just been something that got me from point a to point b if you know what I mean? Of course now that's all changed. I'm in love. Sigh. I've detailed and monkey wrenched more car in the past 8 months than I have in the previous 30 years combined. All of a sudden I care about wheel offsets, door pillars, strut bars, air intakes, camber and all sorts of crap I never even knew existed just a short year ago. Now I even find myself considering getting a turbo (vroom vroom). But I've got a couple noob questions I'd like answered first. I figured who better to turn to than my buds here at Nico, right?

First of all...How much of an increase in "acceleration from stopped" as well as in top speed can I expect to notice. In other words; I don't drift. I don't rally. I don't drag for pink slips. I don't even get too many speeding tickets. But never-the-less I feel like the car, as it is now, could do with some more cajones, ya know? So is it worth it. I doubt I'll ever spring for the SR, RB etc for a daily driver but $500 or so on a turbo? I might be able to swing that.

Second, How are they on gas mileage. I would assume (I know I know "an a$$ out of u and me" and all that) because they're adding hp they're also taking away mpg's. Is this correct? And if so...how much? At today's pump prices that's important to me. Here in CA prices are through the roof.

How finicky are they? Can I expect tons of work tuning it and maintaining it? In other words compared to say....Pamela Anderson, how high-maintenance can I expect it to be?

I see them selling "used" all the time for WAY less than they go for new. I'm a firm believer in buying things "previously owned" but I also know that with some things you're better off just biting the bullet and saving up for a while to get it brand new. Is this one of those things?

And last but certainly not least; You might need to live here in California to know this but, will I be able to pass smog with an after market turbo on my car or like my air intake am I gonna have to yank it every two years to show Arnie that I care about what goes into my lungs (phht. Whatever. I've been a smoker most of my life)? I know they frown on after market mods and like with my air intake won't even attempt to smog it until it's returned to factory spec but on the other hand, a lot of cars come straight from the factory with one or even two turbos installed. What do you all think?

Anyways, as usual thanks in advance for any and all opinions, assistance, etcetera. -Glyph

[Eikon]

First of all...How much of an increase in "acceleration from stopped" as well as in top speed can I expect to notice. In other words; I don't drift. I don't rally. I don't drag for pink slips. I don't even get too many speeding tickets. But never-the-less I feel like the car, as it is now, could do with some more cajones, ya know? So is it worth it. I doubt I'll ever spring for the SR, RB etc for a daily driver but $500 or so on a turbo? I might be able to swing that.

Second, How are they on gas mileage. I would assume (I know I know "an a$$ out of u and me" and all that) because they're adding hp they're also taking away mpg's. Is this correct? And if so...how much? At today's pump prices that's important to me. Here in CA prices are through the roof.

How finicky are they? Can I expect tons of work tuning it and maintaining it? In other words compared to say....Pamela Anderson, how high-maintenance can I expect it to be?

I see them selling "used" all the time for WAY less than they go for new. I'm a firm believer in buying things "previously owned" but I also know that with some things you're better off just biting the bullet and saving up for a while to get it brand new. Is this one of those things?

And last but certainly not least; You might need to live here in California to know this but, will I be able to pass smog with an after market turbo on my car or like my air intake am I gonna have to yank it every two years to show Arnie that I care about what goes into my lungs (phht. Whatever. I've been a smoker most of my life)? I know they frown on after market mods and like with my air intake won't even attempt to smog it until it's returned to factory spec but on the other hand, a lot of cars come straight from the factory with one or even two turbos installed. What do you all think?

Anyways, as usual thanks in advance for any and all opinions, assistance, etcetera. -Glyph

Good stuff Glyph! Great questions!

I think most of us agree that the stock KA24de engine that came in our 'verts is a little on the weak side. So, I agree that you could use a little extra "vroom"!

1.) How will it feel.. well, that's tough to just answer straight out... My advice would be to list other cars that you've driven or been a passenger in.. then we can try to help you compare the potential acceleration and speed of a turbo 'vert with one of those cars to help you get a good idea. It's just really hard to explain the feeling to you.. too many variables...

2.) Gas milage.. The beautiful thing about a turbo car is that it doesn't have to have any effect on your gas milage. Most people with a turbo get worse gas milage because they love to get on it and feel it.. then they use more gas.. but you can cruise at low rpms and not harm your milage more than a very small fraction of a mpg.

3.) Maintenance.. you can expect a little more maintenance... but how much depends on how big your hp goals are. You can add a small turbo and have very little additional tuning needed. On the other hand.. you can go all out and get a huge turbo and need a ton of engine management and tuning on a regular basis.

4.) New vs. used depends on your goals.. A mild turbo kit (say 200 to 225 whp) will not be very stressful on the turbo or other engine parts.. I'd be more than happy with good condition used parts. On the other hand.. .if I'm pushing the envelope and going for 400whp... I have to know that EVERYTHING is going to work perfectly or Boom... so I want new stuff..

5.) I can't help you with the smog thing.. .sorry.

Here is some recommended reading for you. Turbo 101 by WDRacing (KA-T forum moderator)zerothread?id=226512

[WDRacing]

Couple things to clear up before I'm going to go in depth. The working budget will need to be a lot more then $500. $2500 would be a more realistic goal.

Are you going to be doing the install?

I will say this, once you go with forced induction you won't want to ever drive a NA car again. Even at a safe and reliable low boost level the 240SX is an entirely different animal on boost. Simply apply some right foot pressure for instant gratification. Boost is the best antidepressant on the market today.

WD

[Hijacker]

Even with an already turbo'd car, I'm budgeting more than just $500 for an upgrade.

Why?

I need to consider supporting mods for my power goals. I know I want to make it into 300-350 range, which will dictate new fuel management. So I have to consider what size injectors to go with as well as going with a Z32 MAF, and then ECU options to control all of that (which will probably be a reflash, I don't trust SAFCs and I can't afford to budget a standalone)

Then I have to add the cost of the turbo in, which can cost me anywhere from 800-1200 depending on my selection.

You're definitely going to want to do some research before you go knee deep into a project. Check out some of NICO's resources in KA-T, and do some price shopping. Also, avoid buying your turbo from an eBay special vendor. Their turbos are almost always crap. I just had someone post in the SR forum of a turbo he bought from an eBay special and it broke within a few days. With turbos, what you pay is what you get. These are precision, low tolerance devices that see high stress (they average 30,000 RPMs at peak boost depending on the size and how much boost you are running)

You may want to go and check out some books from your local library. There was one I bought from Barnes & Noble called Maximum Boost by Corky Bell. amazon link for the book

[ishkabibble]

once you go with forced induction you won't want to ever drive a NA car again.

It really depends on your own personal situation. There are trade-offs either way.

[WDRacing]

It really depends on your own personal situation. There are trade-offs either way.

Actually no, I can design a purpose built turbo setup that will rival any NA KA setup very easily. I'm talking about zero lag, and plenty of power. To make a decent amount of power with a KA in NA form...well you just can't so there really isn't anything to compare.

[ishkabibble]

Actually no, I can design a purpose built turbo setup that will rival any NA KA setup very easily. I'm talking about zero lag, and plenty of power. To make a decent amount of power with a KA in NA form...well you just can't so there really isn't anything to compare.

Well, now that you put it that way...

You originally said NA, not NA KA. When someone says NA, I start thinking LS1 and VQ.

[Florida240sx]

Gas mpg will be the same or beter, depending on you foot....Reliability determines on the parts you buy. Buy quality the first time.Also invest into your tune bigtime, otherwise you may blow it. A perfect system with a bad tune will kill your engine

[VeloceDrift]

$2500 seems like alot... if you only want to run low boost your stock systems will be fine.

New T25 turbo $300bolt on intercooler kit $200labor will be the big issue but shouldnt really be 2 grand..

it may be cheep product but for low boost it should be fine..

thats my imput.. someone will probably say im wrong though..

[sgiovanni86]

best bet is buy everything used exept the turbo, the one thing i always say with buying a cheap turbo setup is dont strive for a big gain in hp. I never went big and was happy with a small gain and saving alot of money. If you do install it yourself your saving alot of money but giving yourself a headache from the install. Another thing is watch out for cheap turbo manifolds, i had the pleasure of buying a 120 dollar ebay manifold and seeing the welds come apart after 3 months of boost. Unless you have acess to a welder to reinforce the welds. (which i did on my future ebay purchase) it takes time to get used parts together but can be higher quality products for the price of the cheap one. but if you can get about 900 bucks together you can have a cheap turbo built car in under a week. in my opinion 240's are meant to be boosted even just a little bit it adds a whole other level of enjoyment to cruising around, especialy in a convertible. i will be doing it to mine in 2 months or so, not sure if im gunna do a 5 speed swap, im kinda curiose how a turbo feels on a automatic car.

[ishkabibble]

i will be doing it to mine in 2 months or so, not sure if im gunna do a 5 speed swap, im kinda curiose how a turbo feels on a automatic car.

You'd probably stand to gain more from the 5 spd swap than boost. Plus, without an upgraded torque converter, the transmission might not last very long.