DIY vs. Prefabbed Kit - Cost Comparison
 

Hi all - i'm planning on going FI in the next 3 to 6 months and weirdly just noticed the DIY turbo route. I was wondering people's opinions on the COST of building similar quality builds between a DIY parted system versus a prebuilt one. The closest example I can use is building a PC. If you get it from a builder you are likely to pay 20 to 40% more for the same components you could easily source on your own. I'm extremely new to FI and couldn't find anything in post history here about it. Thanks!

My goal here is to hear from you all about whether building your own kit of similar quality to some off the shelf really doesn't save all that much in $$ versus, you could actually save quite a bit by taking the extra time and sourcing parts yourself.

I think the analogy here is that buying a "prefabbed kit" -> having a shop install a turbo kit, as building a pc from components -> buying a pre built pc.

IF that's the case, I'm going to start doing my home work b/c prebuilt PCs have silly mark ups on them.

I have a feeling you took exactly the wrong conclusion from what I wrote.

Hey man, are you trolling us? Looking at your threads, you are wildly inconsistent and unknowledgeable. You haven't got $900 for an lsd and you want to turbo in 6 months? For somebody 'who can just barely afford it' you seem very keen to get us to tell you how to spend money you don't have.

How about you stop posting, and start looking for information that is already on here, like searching and reading peoples' build threads. Figure out just what you want to do with your car and what you can afford to spend, and in the meantime have some fun driving the car with its limitations and maybe leaning a bit in the process.

The search box at the top of the page.

This website literally has turbo in the name. If you can't find information on turbos here, you may need to step back and reevaluate some larger picture items.

Absolutely not, but the search at the top rarely results in anything I'm looking for. I don't know whats up with it, but I find better results with google than the search on this site. On top of that, many threads in the search results are extremely old and things can change over time, so why not ask? It may seem as if I am not actually researching when I ask questions on the site, but I can assure you I am.

As for the other thread, I was asking because I don't WANT to spend $900 for an LSD rear end if I can avoid it, hence the thread. I did however get a lot of people telling me about money being a drop in the bucket, and I felt it necessary to try to remind everyone that not everyone can just unload masses of cash because they are in a hobby which is a strong gatekeeping method of community that sucks and isn't really necessary either. For instance, I was able to find a 5 speed for $100 in good shape in the other thread and with the advice I got in it, I knew buying the same guy's welded diff was a poor choice. Thanks miataturbo.net! I also have a job which, will sometimes send a very large check my way and so while my everyday isn't exactly baller, 3 to 5 times a year I can splurge.

Ah - sorry about that. In pc components if you build it yourself, you'll save a lot of cash compared to having someone else build it for you, and if you do it right, you'll sacrifice nothing. I must've misread your post as I thought you were saying if you took the time to find your own components and put them together, you'd end up saving cash and not sacrificing anything in the process.

EDIT: missed the word NOT

Have you seen my post here?

You CAN save some money doing a “DIY” build, if you happen to piece things together correctly the first time around, can fab what you need but can’t buy, and have the time and energy to continually tinker with it. If you have to repurchase, Re-fab, Re-work things along the way… you’ll end up meeting or exceeding the cost of a “kit” from one of the manufacturers.

I learned a LOT going the homebuilt route on my first turbo miata, and as a result I’ve been here for many years (though absent on and off) That said, I’ll be buying an off the shelf kit the next time around for ease of install and less gnashing of teeth along the way. There are HUNDREDS of success stories and build threads here from people who have done it on their own, and not much has changed other than some of the limits people push and some of the higher end solutions to common failures.

Nuts and bolts, I had around $4k in a DIY solution on my 00’ car 13 years ago or so…. The first go around. That setup ended up in the $10k range with revisions over about 4 years. You can spend $5k and have a reliable(ish) OTS solution that you won’t have to mess with if you don’t want to, though you may want to spend additional time and money over the years bending it to your personal preferences.

If you don’t have the experience, piecing together a well sorted, reliable FI solution will end up costing you more in the long run if you put a value on your personal time. I recommend not keeping track of your spending if you go that route, you might kick yourself for not going OTS. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my home brew journey in my 20’s, but absolutely wouldn’t now in my 40’s

Yeah, endorse not tracking expenditure, regardless - too depressing.

I don't think age is a factor, I started this game in my late 50s using my DD, did a racecar build from the ground up in my early 60s, and in my 70s I am into a turbo, first a stock MSM that got tweaked, and is now being rebuilt as something of a beast using a 'kit' - the partslist used by one of the MX5 shops here to produce up to 300rwkw, though I am not shooting that high - old man syndrome kicking in!

In my case it was a progression, it does appear to me the OP is rushing his fences, but that is his prerogative.

I wouldn’t enjoy it in my 40’s only because I don’t want to be working on the ground in my driveway 😂, it would be a different story in a garage

Thanks! This is the kind of info I was hoping to find. :)

What it tells me is that it is a no brainer if heart attack/time/annoyance is a high factor that what seems to be not a massive amount of difference in cash savings if you are even good enough to save any at all.

If you’re new, buy an off the shelf kit. With the age of these cars, there is nothing that hasn’t been done for budget friendly setups. There are vendors with more knowledge than you’ll ever attain reading posts from everyone with unknown expertise.

#2, unless you have some decent experience with individual parts, you start second guessing yourself. Then every part you buy ends up being “better”, because “just in case”. So it typically ends up a wash.

if you really want to save money, install it yourself. That’s a big chunk of change. Secondly, things WILL go wrong. That install will prepare you for legit troubleshooting. If you have to run to a mechanic every time some hose pops loose of a bolt backs out, then that few hundred dollars you saved is eaten up pretty fast.