I want to turbo my Z without using a premade kit

[MTSuggs]

Anyone have any suggestions about turboing my 03 Z touring 6SPD without using a kit, because it is a waste of money when you can make one yourself with twice the kick for less than the turbonetics kit. We were planning on using the garrett ball bearing GT3582R turbo, which cranks up to 550. Any suggestions on intercooler selection?

[evildky]

i figure the kit manufacturers spend a lot of R&D figuring out the kits s pick a kit the makes comperable power to your goals, me I kinda like the vertical flow procharger setup, the tough part will be al the piping and plumbing, also keep in mind most off the shelf kits only make about 400 whp as thats about as much as the stock pistons can take, and don't skimp on managment and tuning, be sure you use something with boost retard

[rmezz13]

If you must go that route, all of your piping is not going to be easy or cheap. Your down pipes are going to be expensive to have made. Check out spearco intercoolers. Popular brand i guess..... I really don't see it being cheaper, i don't think you know the trouble your going to run into to have an end result of less horse power (possibly). Also, the turbo that comes on the turbonetics kit is good for at least 500 HP, but that doesn't mean thats what your going to get out of it. Your going to want at least 440cc injectors which aren't going to be cheap either. Also, you'll definitely want an ECU that can handle all of this, which recommened would be the UTEC by TurboXS. That + boost controller, is going to cost you around $1500. And to have it all tuned in (if you don't have a dyno), is going to cost you at least $500, at least. Thats $2000 for ECU, Boost controller, and dyno tune alone. Those are the most crucial items in building the most power out of your turbo kit..... Not to mention what the pipes you'll have to have made are going to cost you, then the intercooler, injectors, fuel pump, oil feed, waste gate, blow off valve.....Good luck my friend, good luck. My friend's dad put a custom turbo kit on his integra LS and it took months to get it right. He hired a guy (the best guy for honda's in columbus) to come finish it and it still took months. There is so many things you run into with premade kits, it just gets worse with custom ones. Thats why i'm having my premade kit installed professionally. Less head ache for me, and less down time. Plus it will be there for the tune as well. Let me know what you decide, if you go with custom, do a thread with pics and info, so people can refer to it that want to do the same thing. Good Luck...

[samej82]

go and check out turbo-infinit.org ... the guy there built a turbo for his Q45 I think it cost around $1500.00USD which isn't bad at all. They're pretty knowledgable and can answer you build questions. As for piping, they're not that expensive, and you can buy them in bends from like jcwhitney or something.

[evildky]

I'm guessin this guy can fab up his own piping otherwise the money he would spend on fab work would likely be more than the cost of a kit

[samej82]

it's not that expensive for piping... you don't have to fab them up anymore... they sell mandrel bent pipes already in sections

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autop...bends

i'd use cardboard first and lay out how u wanna do piping... then just measure and weld..

[MTSuggs]

my brother owns his own mechanic shop so we are doing a lot of the fab ourselves, hence that is why it is cheaper for us. do you have any suggestions as to the turbo we should be using? or do you know anyone else that has done an install similar to mine?

thanks

mike

[rmezz13]

what about downpipes, and exhaust headers/manifolds....... custom, or buy them. I roccomned this guy find all the stuff he wants to go with and add up all his costs then see where he is at...... That garrett turbo is what like $2000 alone??

Turbocharger maybe internal waste gate(if no internal waste gate) waste gateBOVInjectorsECUFuel PumpFuel return systemFuel Pressure regulatorBoost ControllerAFR gauge & Boost GaugeOil feed tap kit and linesOil catch can (recommended)Methonal coolant injection (recommended)Mine as well though a new clutch in while you add some power (recommended).All your intake PipingDown pipesExhaust Manifold(s)IntercoolerAir FilterMisc. items such as clamps and rubber gromets nuts and bolts... you have to buy these things separate because there is no kit with them in it the way you are doing it, or want to do it. Now i am sure you can go on the internet and find all the cheapest stuff to show everyone you can do it for cheap, but do you really want that cheap stuff on your car, risking detonation.... I'm not saying it can't be done, just that its expensive and a head ache you might want to avoid. Just trying to help. Good Luck w/e you do.

[MTSuggs]

yeah i know, i keep telling my brother that the kit would save us a ton of hassle, i was looking at the turbonetics but he keeps telling me he can do it for cheaper and have higher quality parts and higher output. He just finished turboing his hayabusa and his volvo so i know he knows what he is doing. Do you have any suggestions for an intercooler that will require minimal bumper modification? I just bought the west wings z spec lip body kit, is this going to interfere with that at all if we need to do bumper mods? i believe the garrett gt3582r has the internal waste gate, and you can get it for 1300 off of ebay. As for the piping we need to fab, its going to be a *****, but i think we can handle it. My brother also just fabbed his own exhaust manifold, so if we have problems finding one he can always do that. We are doing adjustable boost, so what do you think is "safe" levels of boost, i heard don't go over 8 ever, so i figured i would top it off around 6.5 psi. Since we are doing a simple street tune, we are just going to hook up a laptop and drive it around until we get it where we want. I know this is a complex job but i need people like you to tell me where my possible problem areas are. I appreciate your time. Mike

[quietkilla6]

yeah i know, i keep telling my brother that the kit would save us a ton of hassle, i was looking at the turbonetics but he keeps telling me he can do it for cheaper and have higher quality parts and higher output. He just finished turboing his hayabusa and his volvo so i know he knows what he is doing. Do you have any suggestions for an intercooler that will require minimal bumper modification? I just bought the west wings z spec lip body kit, is this going to interfere with that at all if we need to do bumper mods? i believe the garrett gt3582r has the internal waste gate, and you can get it for 1300 off of ebay. As for the piping we need to fab, its going to be a *****, but i think we can handle it. My brother also just fabbed his own exhaust manifold, so if we have problems finding one he can always do that. We are doing adjustable boost, so what do you think is "safe" levels of boost, i heard don't go over 8 ever, so i figured i would top it off around 6.5 psi. Since we are doing a simple street tune, we are just going to hook up a laptop and drive it around until we get it where we want. I know this is a complex job but i need people like you to tell me where my possible problem areas are. I appreciate your time. Mike

to be realistic most premade kits were aproved and tested so id suggest just buying premade. i figure they wouldnt put it out if it wasnt reliable and its already made for your car so you wont have to worrie about "what if"

[rmezz13]

the turbonetics kit adds 163hp from stock. What else is there to think about. Its at 8.5 PSI. I'm getting the utec and probably gonna boost mine 9-11 PSI, which ever i can get away with safely. Does your brothers shop have a dyno and specialize in turbo work, or performance specialist/ mod shop. If not, he doesn't know what he's getting into either. If you want, get the turbonetics kit, and you can put it on yourself then send the ECU out to be reflashed (comes with directions to do so) when its good to go, you can put it on and then your good. No tuning required. The easiest, most powerful single kit. But you will still run into little problems here and there. $4800 on Turbo-Kits.com..... buy it and thats all you need. Comes with everything you need for the kit and after the reflash your ready to drive...... Remember its your car, not your brothers. And DO NOT e-bay your Turbo.... For god sake!

[evildky]

nothing wrong with building your own if you knwo what you are ding, or you brother does, (and by the way the busa started otu turbo so he might have improved it but he did not turbo it it was already turbo's) also nothing wrong with buying on ebay, I've bought and sold tons of parts on ebay, just be sure you get name brand parts from reputable sellers, cheap knockoff junk can be a money waster but there are legitimate resellers out there and you might even luck into a complete used kit, also I've seen some bargains on some used kits, not sure why someone would remove a kit but there seems to be a lot of them out there

[rmezz13]

nothing wrong with building your own if you knwo what you are ding, or you brother does, (and by the way the busa started otu turbo so he might have improved it but he did not turbo it it was already turbo's) also nothing wrong with buying on ebay, I've bought and sold tons of parts on ebay, just be sure you get name brand parts from reputable sellers, cheap knockoff junk can be a money waster but there are legitimate resellers out there and you might even luck into a complete used kit, also I've seen some bargains on some used kits, not sure why someone would remove a kit but there seems to be a lot of them out there

watch out for garrett fakes........

[evildky]

again, look for quality sellers, summit racing sells stuff on ebay! There are scammeds but there are also legitimate retailers, I've bought authentic Nissan parts from Nissan of Gastonia, who happens to be a real authentic Nissan Dealership in NC who sell new OE parts on ebay at less than wholesale pricing! No one is forcing him on ebay but don't regurgitate secondhand info that tends to flourish in forums, there are bad products and bad sellers abound but it's not too tough to avoid them

[rmezz13]

ok, cool..... just wanted to add for him to watch out for garrett fakes.... i buy a ton of stuff from e-bay, for four wheelers, motorcycles, other cars, and even a couple carbon fiber pieces for my Z.... they have good stuff but there are a lot of easy way outs on e-bay that you can buy the cheap stuff when it comes down to almost being done with a turbo install.... a buddy of mine bought a GSX knowing it had some cheap parts planning to make it right, the day he bought it without even trying, it blew the boost contoller, then on the way home that night spun it. cost him over $3000 to recover from cheap parts failing. cuz the guy was trying to get it done and was low on cash, so he e-bayed the remaining parts and kaboom..... so my advise to all is, do not e-bay your build.... just MY ADVISE, and i honestly wouldn't recommend anyone to buy a used kit unless the turbo has been rebuilt or they plan on rebuilding it, those things can go any minute.....