Self Constructed Turbo Piping

[Emperor]

So, like many, i have been looking to upgrade to turbo, and also like many i have thousands of questions. I guess tonight i will just start with one:

So after you pick out the turbo, the intercooler and all that, how do you put it all together? Is there companies that sells intercooler piping for a KA powered s14? or do you have to go to a muffler shop and have someone custom fabricate some for you? Do you know of anyone that has this piping or something close that could be modified to work? would a company like Nsport or fmax sell you these parts? and lastly how much would it cost?

There seems to be a lot of big names here like Chris May and Jay Levan (if i forgot anyone or dont know you im sorry) who have a ton of knowledge about this sh*t and i hope i can learn a ton before i do (so i dont f up in the process). So thanks for your help.

'97 S14

[C-Kwik]

The best way to custom fabricate it is to buy mandrel bends and then have a shop put it together for you. I'd recommend findong someone who really knows what they are doing if you want a clean install.

As far as contact NSport or Fmax, I believe both will sell parts individually. I'm not sure about Fmax's pricing on this stuff, but NSport stuff may be a bit pricey when parts are sold seperately. I priced out their downpipe months ago and I won't pay what they asked. Especially since I got the results I wanted out of buying their downpipe for a lot less. I would recommend just getting a kit if your going to do that. And you have to remember that if you do use their piping, the turbo has to sit exactly where it does on their kit. The easiest way would be to use a revhard manifold if you are going to buy the NSport piping and the Fmax piping you would want to buy their manifold.

For what it's worth, the NSport kit is a nice bargain. I got a close look at it at the convention last month. They made some changes recently, which include a huge intercooler, the piping is more direct, and the filter was located in a cold air location.

[Emperor]

That Nsport Kit sounds awesome, it always has. Since it will be a while before i can afford to turbo i have been able to do a lot of thinking and i have gone back and forth from the thought to kit or not to kit. Can you still get the kit from a group buy? i remember it being 500 dollars less. I wouldnt mind that. I live in vermont also, and i dont know of any capable shops. Most (well the two) shops are total "rice" shops, all they could do for me is put a "ground effects" kit. Thanks for you reply though c-kwik, i had always been wondering where exactly that piping came from. Also i heard that the Nsport kit involved welding at some point of installation, is this true? cause i want to do it all myself, and well, i wouldnt call myself a welder :flamer :firedevil

[Movingviolation240]

The Nsport kit dosn't come with a "real" downpipe. It comes with a pipe that turns down after the turbo, joins up with the wastegate and then ends. The pipe dumps straight down and you have to take it to a muffler shop to have them fabricate the rest of it back to where the cat is (or should be).

Now about the IC pipes, I did my own kit just by buying 4 180 mandrel bends from Summit Racing and renting an xhaust pipe cutter from Autozone. Then after I had them all laid out I drove down to Midas, tipped the guy $20 to weld them all together, and the finishing touch was some belt pipe and hose clamps I got from NAPA to connect all the spots I figured I'd have to take appart someday. It works pretty good, looks good, and best of all I left my battery in the front and still got 2.5in pipes around it (not too many people or kits can do that).

Just for the reacord I wasn't very impressed with the Nsport IC plumming either, it was a royal pain in the A$$ to put in.

hope that all helps you some,

Paul