Decisions, decisions...

[BuddhistWitch]

I want to go turbo, and don't know which road to take. I keep coming up with conclusions and having them changed. So I'm going to start from scratch...

I have an injen intake without CAI (It's rain season here, I'll get it in mid-spring) that I found a great deal on. And that's about it. Stock everything, 153k miles on car, 143k miles on engine(long story). I'm poor right now, so I need something cheap. I don't want to upgrade internals until the engine is gone, so it's going to be a while. I was thinking of maybe an old T25 and building it up, I want quick spool, so either that or maybe T3. I don't want to get an intercooler yet, either, unless it's small and cheap. I don't have any specific hp goals.

This car is daily driven, will be used mainly in the streets. But it will also be used to drift, with the occaisional drag.

Anybody know where I should start and which path I should take? Any positive imput is greatly appreciated.

[EazyBreazy]

drift and no intercooler = extremely high intake air temps...=not good.

[daniel240]

sounds like you just want a easy cheap low psi setup. first off check your compression and make sure its ok. you can run w/ no ic but i wouldnt go past 6psi. and for 6psi all you would need is an fmu for your fuel setup. however if you plan on ever running mroe boost you should get something better, like a piggyback or something.

[EazyBreazy]

i still would wanna lower the intake air temp though for drifting.....just personal oppinion....thats alot of high revs under boost pusing air right out of the turbo to the intake....no its not nessisary, but its a great thing to have...skyline intercoolers can be had for pretty cheap sometimes as well as you could get a sidemount from someone with an sr20 for cheap if their going fmic and adapt that to your aplication....and they will handle the low boost you are wanting

[toki]

get a spearco IC or something, you need something. a Z31 or RB20/25 T3 will work also, just incase you dont know, a header is NOT a turbo manifold, which you will need...it will be a cool waste of a $400 if you are going turbo in the near future. you will basically need:

turboturbo manifoldinjectorshacked MAFintercoolerIC pipingDownpipeExhaustBlow off valvea couple various gaugesvarious lines for oil to the turbo, etc

and uhh....yeah...i think thats about it...i probably forgot something someone will pick up shortly..

[daniel240]

you can pick up a smic off ebay for $30 or less, and that would be a lot better than no IC at all

[BuddhistWitch]

I won't be drifting immediately, just praciticing in parking lots.

So from what I know so far:

turbo - don't knowturbo manifold - don't know (aren't they trying to run a group buy?)injectors - sr20 injectorsMAF - z32 maybeIC - don't knowPiping - don't know (most likely custom)Downpipe - don't know (ill figure out during exhaust upgrade)Exhaust - Custom 3" with muffler of my choiceBOV - don't knowGauges - don't know

...Anything else?

[EazyBreazy]

if your lookin to upgrade later the z32 is great. but if your gonna stay at low boost you may just wanna get a cobra maf...and spend the rest of the money on fuel management items....all depends on the power you want and adjustability you want in the future

[BuddhistWitch]

Oh, sorry I must not have mentioned. Aside from being cheap and all, I want most of these parts to be useful for future upgrades and up to higher boost. I mean come on, who wants to be runnin on 7-10 boost forever? I know that driving turbos makes you boost hungry, that's why I wanted to boost in the first place, and I know that I'm going to be hungry for more after this.

[EazyBreazy]

right on then i just say do it once and keep the boost low....but do everything the right way no cutting corners or youll probably have to pay more down the road

[aleph1]

turbo - Z31 T3 is your best betturbo manifold - JGS is the cheapest and decentinjectors - You can either go stock and get a FMU OR SR injectors and an AFC or something similar...either way get a walbro fuel pump.MAF - do not need to upgradeIC - Starion, Supra, NPR, SR20 Sidemount...many optionsPiping - CustomDownpipe - CustomExhaust - Custom 3" with muffler of my choiceBOV - 1st gen DSMGauges - Boost, and maybe EGT. Might wanna get a turbo timer.

Youll need other misc. stuff, like oil feed and drain lines, silicone couplers, etc. COUNT ON SPENDING MORE THAN YOU PLAN.

[BuddhistWitch]

After working with cars, and knowing cars, the game plan is ALWAYS expect to pay more than you expected.

But that looks pretty clean, along the lines of what I was looking for, everything else is pretty much buy and install from there on...

[WDRacing]

Oh, sorry I must not have mentioned. Aside from being cheap and all, I want most of these parts to be useful for future upgrades and up to higher boost. I mean come on, who wants to be runnin on 7-10 boost forever? I know that driving turbos makes you boost hungry, that's why I wanted to boost in the first place, and I know that I'm going to be hungry for more after this.

Well, You really can't have both dude. You can't have a tiny used turbo and then expect it to be able to push higher hp. You need to decide what you want right now. I won't ever tell someone to run without a IC. They are to easy to find for a cheap price.

Here's as cheap and decent as you can go.

Find a set of injectors on EBAY, 370 or any sidefeeds bigger then your current injectors (280)Use the Hacked MAF to control them.Get a T3 or better from Ebay, watch what size motor the T3 came off of, somthing atleast close to a 2.4 liter.Build your own oil supply and return setup. Look around here for the proper sizes, nm here's a link http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....ber=2Find a cheap IC from Ebay Use whatever you can to run IC piping, PVC, mild steel, crush or mandrel bent. Basically whatever you can find for cheap.You can't run very much boost without having some kind of Ignition retard, so don't go over 8 psi unless you manually retard your timing a couple of degree's. But I would still not run very much boost, unless you get a MSD BTM.

Spend a little more on the above parts now and save alot on the back end.

WD

[BuddhistWitch]

Yeah, I've been reading bbandit's KA-T Turbo Selection thread, and it's very helpful. I've decided that when I do go turbo in the future, I'm not going to be cheap. I'm still debating what size turbo I should go with. This will be used mainly on streets, but I would most likely be participating in any local events (drift, autox, etc.)

But for now, I want to know what the best way to go is with turbo. What can I do now, while I'm still N/A, that I can keep for when I go turbo?

P.S. Everyone has been extremely helpful so far, and I hope that any future questions that I have can be as helpfully answered as these have.

[BuddhistWitch]

Ok, well I've waited for a few days and haven't gotten a response... What's the best mods I can do while I'm still N/A that I can apply towards when I go turbo?

[erich]

The best thing that you can keep is a good cat back exhaust.. Pretty much everything else isn't necessary for NA. If you beat your car hard for extended periods then an improved radiator might help, and you will want one once you go turbo. You could upgrade the coil, it will help the spark under boost but probably won't be a noticable performance adder NA.

Just my .02(cdn)

[C-Kwik]

The only engine part I spent money on with my S14 before I went turbo was the exhaust. And even that ended up getting swapped out. I went through two intakes, but both were free as they were both prototypes(Hot Shot and Place Racing). I have red silicone vacuum hoses as well, but that was free too. The best thing you can probably do is just not spend any money on the motor until you are turbo'd. It's hard to get the money together if you keep buying useless junk.

[BuddhistWitch]

Yeah, everyone says exhaust, but I'll be losing torque before who knows when I'm going to turbo.... So that's bad times.

But back onto the initial subject, and I'm sure there are other threads floating around about this. What would be a good place to start looking for a turbo fitting my requirements? (street driven/events. Quick spool is a plus)

I know turbo selections are opinional, but I want to know what the best are for my wants/needs and I'm sure I can choose from there. If not, that's what this forum is for.