Turbo Kit Selection

[Augster]

I've been out of the Z32 scene for many, many years while I was on deployment, and now the past 5 years in college. In the meantime, my '91 with 83k original miles has been sitting gathering dust in a garage with its two busted turbos. I'm now about to graduate and the Z is first on my list of things to do.

After perusing what's new in the turbo offerings, I find a plethora of options unheard of in years past. So I'm curious if anyone has any feedback on "streetable" (maximum street horsepower while minimizing turbo lag). The last I checked up on this, oh, close to 10 years ago, ball-bearing turbos were the ones to beat. Concept Z Performance has at least 10 different turbo kits available, varying from 500 to over 700 "street" horsepower.

So I need enlightenment on what is the current trending street turbo setups.

TIA!

[NolimitZ32]

In general the "best" fit for maximum streetable HP is anything that is sized similar to the GT2860RS. This includes the Z1 675, the Stillen 700, the HKS 2530. Over the last decade turbos with billet wheels and ceramic ball bearings have become more prevalent and attainable. If your pockets are deep and you absolutely must have the best of the best I would go for something like that, if not I would say your best safe bet is the Z1-675 kit or one of the new Z1 GTX BB as they are fairly priced, readily available and made to bolt in with no mods.

[Augster]

Thanks Nolimit for all that info! Although I'm going to pull the engine when I replace the turbos, I don't plan on modifying the engine itself as it's far from needing rebuild with only 83k, nor will I change cams.

As I live in Cali, I'm dismayed that MS Performance cast manifolds are now discontinued as they were the only supplier of an EGR option. So I'm left with running the stock manifolds since I doubt I can get away with a visual inspection if I remove the EGR system.

And yes, my pockets will be "deep" so cost is not the issue; only that it gives the most power with as minimal lag as possible. That may not necessarily mean the most expensive kit. I will also be replacing the entire exhaust so I can do 5-bolt downpipes.

[itsa300zx]

IMHO, JWT530 or 550 have great boost responds. If you were to do full breather mods(Selina intake, ash planer intake pipes, 2.5" intercooler pipes and intercoolers plus 3" DP) even the 2860 have great responds. Send specialty z an email with your goals, I'm sure they came suggest a package to meet what your needs.

[Augster]

IMHO, JWT530 or 550 have great boost responds. If you were to do full breather mods(Selina intake, ash planer intake pipes, 2.5" intercooler pipes and intercoolers plus 3" DP) even the 2860 have great responds. Send specialty z an email with your goals, I'm sure they came suggest a package to meet what your needs.

Yea, I'm going the "full breather" route. When I first got the Z, in went a Stillen single intake and JWT chip. I had also gotten a brand new pair of Stillen side-mount intercoolers with ducts but never installed them, so they're still sitting brand new in their boxes. I definitely will be going a dual-intake setup.

And I had been in contact with Specialty-Z long, long ago so I will definitely reach out again for advice as the time draws near to jump-starting this project (soon I hope).

[NolimitZ32]

If you are chasing quicker boost response you need to do some research about matching the piping and intercoolers to your needs. Larger pipes and intercoolers mean higher peak HP but may adversely affect your boost lag depending on set-up.