Thinking of doing custom turbo kit...

[OneSlowEclipse]

Well those of you that post on 2gnt no doubt have seen all the recent posts about making custom turbo kits. Ive seriously been thinking about it, and here is why...

First of all, I am not trying to break any records or anything. I just want my car to be faster than it is now, and faster than the average car on the street. I don' t need a s16g to do that, I can get by with a smaller turbo such as a 14b. I have no desire to be fast in the 1/4, and could care less if I am in the 12s or 13s or whatever. I realize that boost is an addiction, but I can't be breaking the car every other day.

Second, is I feel I have a pretty good supporting cast around this area. I know I can get answers to any questions I may have, as well as get help putting together a solid kit that isn't a POS.

Lastly, I want to do something different than everyone else. Everyone is running hahn kits, or star kits, so there is no sense of adventure. Am I making any sense? What are you NT turbo guys thinking? (Brian, Patrick.. and I know Cody had thoughts of something like this) Please be honest, your not going to hurt my feelings. Thanks

[DSMxTSi]

Plus side = much cheaper than all those kits, down side is that it'll require more custom work but you should have enough help around Denver to get it done right. Check with Brian on exhaust manifolds, I believe he might have found a solution to that problem. We were going to slap a 14B that we had lying around on our n/t, I figure it would be a good turbo for street use and just having fun and eliminate the lag problem with the Super 16g. You'll also want to intercool it at the same time, again Brian should be able to help you there with finding the piping and all that other required crap. I believe the two weakest links in the whole engine after boosting will be the rods and headgasket. Obviously the rods require too much work and money to replace so make sure not to boost over 6-8 psi. I would definately recommend the multi-layer steel headgasket as an added extra safety measure, it's the headgasket that was designed to eliminate the oil leak problem on the Neons (and consequently the 420A Talons/Eclipses). A larger fuel pump in conjunction with a Super AFC would be nice to have too. I think you should be safe on the stock injectors at 6-8 psi but doublecheck that with Brian. Your clutch will be fried soon thereafter, so keep that in mind after you're boosting and shredding those front tires. ;)

Cody

[OneSlowEclipse]

Im not concerned about the headgasket, being my car is a 99 and has a late production date at that I should already be sporting the MLS headgasket. I checked today for what I thought to be a HG leak but it turned up negative.

My biggest concern is the manifold. I know Alain from 2gnt makes them, but in a recent post he said he was not making them with the 14b flange any longer. I am not all that impressed with his designs though, so my heart isn't too broken.

I guess the only questions I have are what are the fuel electronics that I need... fmu and fpr right? And does a larger intake fuel pump work, or do I need an inline instead, or both? The IC piping should be easily created, and a 1g IC should be easily found.

So Brian... please chime in when you read this. I just need to know what I am missing, what I am not understanding, what misc. parts I will need. Basically I need to know everything ;) Oh, and any info about the manifold.

[303Racing]

Once you boost it all you will want more... :D trust me.

I can do IC piping and exhaust work for you. (Or help you) I have yet to try and make an exhaust manifold so I wouldn't want yours to be the first. But you have a TON of options out there. I think the key is to do a ton of shopping around to obtain parts. Junkyards are a great place to start.

This is what I would say to do.

2g stock intercooler from a junk yard.
Vr4 BOV (free) I have one you can have.
Mandrel bends from Jegs, RRE, Summit, JcWhitney for IC piping
14b or even a standard 16g from someone or someplace price wise probably around the same?
Piping and flex section for down pipe from RRE, XS engineering, etc, etc, etc.
Flanges and gaskets for the down pipe and test pipe from RRE.
High power in tank or inline from anyplace as ling as it is powerful.
Fuel line to run a return to the tank.
Missing link ($20 from me, I took mine off) I have to check it to see if it is ok, I think it is fine.
FPR go w/ the vorteck s-fmu (probably one of the more expensive parts of the build up)
Boost gauge
Fuel gauge (free I have the one that came w/ my original kit) has to stay in under the hood though because it is mechanical.
Misc fittings for oil lines and fuel lines
Oil sending line and return line from HRC or where ever

That’s about all I can think of right now. It probably shouldn't cost you more than ~1000 or so.

Look for used parts on line and at junkyards you can find some bad ass deals sometimes. Like $20 for a perfectly good crank, $20 for a perfectly good bored Gude TB.

I think that is a good idea for the boost levels you are after. I would LOVE to help you hunt the parts down and build it up w/ you.

[303Racing]

S-AFC isn’t needed for your boost goals. It would be a nice addition to tune w/ but once you get it all tuned you wouldn't use it all that much. A rock solid adjustable FPR is a MUST that's why I say go w/ the Vortech S-FMU. Runs around 250 new I think.

You will need something to trick the MAP sensor. Volt clap or missing link. Other than that the electronic stuff in non-existent.

You can run a high power in tank to push about 8psi of boost. Any higher and you will need an inline as well. That is if you keep your stock injectors on. If you went w/ larger injectors you could get a way w/ only an in tank. I run the Holley 255LPH high flow as well as the inline. Walboro (SP?) makes a high flow that the star kit comes w/ and it is relatively inexpensive.

[BoostedGS]

I just bought my new Vortech S-FMU for $261 shipped from RE Racing. It arrived 4 days after I ordered it. www.re-racing.com

And like Brian said, you'll need some type way to trick the MAP sensor. I have the FCD from my HRC kit if you need it, but I'd suggest going with Brian's Missing Link instead. It seems to work better.

[OneSlowEclipse]

Thanks for the support fellas...

Hang on to those parts you have Brian, this project will be starting within the next couple months. A rough estimate of parts comes to about 1400, but over 200 of that is gauges (again :rolleyes: ) I will definetely need your help with the downpipe parts and IC piping parts, I just don't have the mental picture of what bends I will need. I really have no clue about the manifold. I have seen a lot of pictures of manifolds and they don't look THAT hard to make. I wouldn't mind you experimenting with my car a bit, I don't think we are going to hurt anything...
I am just going to start gathering parts, and I will let you know when I get stuck, or need help choosing.


Thanks again for the support guys. I was a bit apprehensive about posting about this, but I feel pretty good about trying to make this happen.

[OneSlowEclipse]

What do you think about this Brian, or anyone else... (the manifold, 250 bux)

[303Racing]

You have mail...

[PitchBlack98]

hey i have acquired most of the parts jason has... and was wondering if i could get a hand or two on turboing my 98 gs... ill list what i already have and you guys and tell me what else would be good to have...

i have:
garrett t3 turbo
FMIC (prolly not taht great but better than nothing its huge only about 1 inch thick though)
S-FMU
SAFC
guages (boost, egt, and blinky a/f)
HKS FCD that im not using unless i have to

things i know i need to get
turbo manifold (hoping to find someone to help me make one)
aftermarket fuel pump
ic piping

thats about it that i can think of at the moment. if anyone thinks of anything else i will need or has somthing they wanna sell or donate to my cause... lol id appreciate it. and anyone who wants to hang out and do some wrenching that will be cool too. i just moved to colorado a while ago and dont know too many ppl around here with the same interests as me.

[fungul]

you could use the front mount intercooler from a Starion www.car-parts.com is a good place to look for one. Also for IC Piping you could buy a big U shaped piece of mandrel bent exaust tubing from JCWhitney (I think they're like $25.00) and then just cut it down the the sizes and bends you need. Also if you go with exaust tubing for the IC you may want to spray it with ceramic high temp engine paint. Last thing is it possible to cut the flange of our exaust manifold and weld it to a gst mani? If so that would be alot cheaper than Alains exaust mani. If you do go with Alains Mani you can just have a muffler shop weld a flange to his mani that would work with a 14b.

Dean.