An oppurtunity to leave the dark side
 

Hi guys! Long story short a friend of mine offered to buy my M45 setup off my NB2 for what I paid for it and I accepted so I can get a different setup before i dump money into a setup I wasn't going to keep forever anyways. So this leaves me with an opportunity to finally get a turbo setup that i couldn't afford at the time! Money is still a factor in this build but I wont be too shy to spend it on the right stuff, I am located in Canada though so shipping and duty will add up. I will start of listing what I have already that will carry over to the turbo setup. So i ask you for some advice on a 250hp capable setup.

1. Tuned and running on MS3PNP
2. Flow Force 640cc injectors not installed yet
3. FM happy meal level 1
4. Dual core aluminum radiator'
5. Weld on v-band 50mm BOV
6. Skunk2 throttle body
7. Moroso catch can
8. Stock VVT motor
9. 6-speed

So this leaves me left to decide on a matching hotside setup (turbo, manifold, downpipe), oil and water lines, intercooler and piping.

Starting with hotside, my first instinct is to get the trio right from FM and pick up the lines there too. But Kraken looks very temping at the moment as it comes with inconel studs and oil/water lines right now. FM pieces come out to just under 3300CAD for the trio plus the various lines, i also threw in EGR delete and bag of misc parts. Whereas the Kraken mani, dp with lines and with the going rate for a new GT2560R comes to 2300CAD and i would argue the Kraken will perform better even though im not aiming for crazy power I wont complain about less stress on parts making it to 250hp. I did consider MKturbo but im comfortable buying a brand name turbo, its worth the peace of mind.

Do MKturbo ship lines to Canada? I recall reaching out to him when i was looking to turbo before I came across the M45 setup local to me and him saying he dosn't ship to Canada at the time.

I guess that only leaves intercooler and piping, I originally was going to spec a custom kit from FM and call it a day without starting my own thread here but noting that the pipe for the intercooler is mostly silicone made me wonder how I was going to take advantage of the BOV I already own. That also spawned more questions as to why not DIY more of the kit since im already buying so little from FM.
So my first thought is the stage 1 intercooler from fab9, it mounts to factory holes which is very attractive to me because I aim to fabricate as little as possible with this build. Ebay 2 inch piping would go along with that. Does anyone see any holes in my plan or have any suggestions for areas to improve? I feel like im forgetting somthing.

I should also mention the install will be done in a shop full of tools and a lift, I plan to have the SC uninstalled and running on the turbo in 2.5 days or less (friday night sat, sun). Would you agree thats doable?

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!

I can't speak for FM but I was a fan of how the Kraken setup didn't require cutting of the shelf to fit a turbo, given the manifold places the turbo higher and up front. For intercoolers, Kraken said on Facebook that the Bofi Intercooler setup would work with their kit. I was working with Kraken earlier to develop an intercooler kit that would be AC/PS friendly, but sadly he didnt have any luck. Bofi on the otherhand says their kit is AC/PS friendly and comes in varying cores.

The Bodi setup shares some of the gripes I have with the FM intercooler being that it's mostly silicone so placement of my own BOV is limited and its also over seas so the duty on that plus the Kraken hot side would add up to a significant number. I don't mind cutting and fitting my own hot and cold side pipes if I save some money.

I'd go with Kraken in a heartbeat, and I have a bespoke $750-ish Artech manifold.

I went from an M45 on my 1.6 to a Kraken setup with a TD04L-13T. I can make more boost, at lower RPM than I could even with the M45. And that's with my 2.5" downpipe toing to a 2" test pipe (just switches right at a flange) and 2" ebay exhaust still on the car.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ee7f3a13b7.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...dc001d9af2.jpg

Not sure if this is allowed...

Fyi Im selling the full 3" efr kraken kit if you are interested.

So I've decided on Kraken setup for sure with a GT2560R. Now the website I'm looking at buying that turbo from has a low pressure wastegate actuator option (6-7 psi) would there be any benefit to getting that versus the standard 14 ish psi wastegate actuator? I'm thinking it might be beneficial for street tuning before I take it to my tuner and try to make power. Any thoughts?

It's fine to increase power gradually.

It's fine to use the stock one, or the low pressure one? Im comfortable tuning the car myself into the 6 or 7 psi range because ive already got it boosting around fine on the M45 by myself. Above that id prefer to be on a dyno with an expert ready to make power.

I can slap a manual boost controller on to up the boost once were at the dyno, no? Or am i walking in circles here.

This. Jesus thats a shining endorsement.

I've been chatting with him and am only impressed but im yet to buy goodies so this makes me happy.

I would get the 7psi one and go up from there. What ECU are you using? Easy button is a manual boost controller, but EBC is the way to go if you can do it.

Also, tuning up from 6-7psi is not any different.

Other than actually buying the parts can be a bit dificult (poor guy is swamped, so not aleays the quickest to respond) I have zero regrets. Everything is top notch and the downpipe fits so perfect.

I'm using MS3 so electronic boost control is doable. Far superior to a simple manual unit I suppose?

And regarding the Kraken hotside, he must be swamped because he said 2 week wait before he can even ship my stuff. Must be high demand!

Manual works, but you can do a lot more with EBC.

2 weeks is quick! I had like a 3 month wait, lol. But yeah, he is selling them as fast as he can make them!

If you wanna save a couple bucks on the egr delete you could just remove the egr valve and tap the hole for another vacuum fitting, never hurts to have another port.

I'd say at least do the obvious things. Get it up and running and make sure everything is working/running well before taking it to the tuner.