+1 on the 2.5rs.

 

E36 BMW's turbo well and do +50% easily (e.g. 300-350 whp on an M3); but more than that is not good, their head gaskets are fragile.

You wanna cheap car to turbo, get one with a factory turbo with known easy mods.

Boxsters I imagine have very tight engine space.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P8c3UZZ8nk

 

Take a look into Lexus SC300. The SC300 has the 2JZ engine which can handle some serious boost. The stock NA 2JZ engine can handle the standard 6-7psi which gets 300-340hp. If you replace the headgasket with a thicker one it will be able enough boost to run low 10s. Take a look in the www.clubna-t.com forums.

 

Twin Turbo LS1 Volvo 740 Wagon! 500+ hp @ only 7 l

 

Off topic, but I did turbo a 2002 SL sedan previous to my Miata. And there are a bunch of turbo Saturns running around...


On topic, you could get a Peugeot 505 Turbo. RWD. My dad had one forever ago, pretty good car actually.

 

My 30 second list..

The Should:
anything built on the 2JZ platform (SC300, IS300)
anything built on a 4g63 platform (talon, eclipse, mirage w/ swap)
anything built by subaru (for the most part)
anything with a B16/B18 (flooww)

The Should nots:
anything that's BMW (you seriously want to troubleshoot one of those?)
anything made by audi (see above)
anything that is manufactured by Ford

Based on your discription above, it sounds like you want a sedan type car. I'd seriously recommend an SC300/GS300/IS300. Comfy as hell, can be fast, and pretty damn reliable.

 

I'd love to have one of these babies, don't know if you'd need a turbo though

 

This thread has sucked since the first post. The OP needs to come back and be more ******* specific. Just saying 3-series as a starting point leaves about just about half the cars sold in the US as comparable candidates.

Here are some things we need to know in order to give good advice and not just a list of random cars with internal combustion engines.

4dr or 2dr or wagon, hatch, sedan, 5dr, vert??? How many seats?
Primary purpose/use of this car (second "fun car", kid-hauler, wifes, beater, project, etc)
Fuel economy, maint, avail of parts, new'ish?
Price of car= $10k... how much to spend on mods?
OEM turbo cars or NA car to turbo as project?
How fast does it need to be?
Anything you definitely wouldn't buy?

Need more info.

 

This is perfect for ya

 

Ooh, I know! Get a 4age car. Toyota. Do a 7afe to 7age swap on it then turbo the bish. You can get them in RWD cars like the 80's Corolla's and MR2's. Or if you want a later model car, you can get an SW20 MR2 (1990's) which are known for turbo fun. I've ridden in a 300+ whp SW20. Its scary fun.

 

For $10k, I'd look into the 2.5RS too. You'd be right at the top of your budget though.

I turboed my '97 outback sport (impreza wagon) using the original 2.2l SOHC and my GT2560R off my miata. I probably have $6000 into the car and the turbo setup. Just a simple up pipe & downpipe that bolts to the OEM header and exhaust, and a cheap intercooler from a WRX. Fueling/ignition handled with an emanage Blue w/Olderguy O2 clamp and a Vortec FMU with 4:1 disc. I have never raced anyone or taken it to the track, but it is definitely quick for a DD and is extremely torquey. I get 25-27mpg too!!

http://www.shoremotorsports.com/OBSTurbo.html

I've also turboed geo's. That is highly recommended. Those cars are an absolute blast. I miss them :(

My brother's saturn will get a turbo eventually.

 

checked out the link, that is pretty cool Tim, not too many (that I know of) sticking with the n/a engine, everyone just goes and gets a wrx engine since they are so cheap nowadays. very nice, Id love to see it in action.

 

Lexus SC300-its a luxury supra and the 2JZ loves the boost.

 

have you ever seen the price tags on supra parts????? there is no ******* way you will keep that under 10k if you plan to mod it and do it right........I love both the supra and the lexus, but once you start to mod (turbo, fmic, etc) the prices are ridiculous....unless you plan to make everything yourself and stick to homebrew

 

Thanks man. I probably would have gone with a WRX swap too but I had everything for this kit except the WRX I/C, which I got for like $50 locally off NASIOC. And a $30 ebay BOV that I adapted to recirc. I've been in bugeye WRX's, and as it turned out I think my OBS is much more perky. Those 2.0l WRX's stock seem sluggish to me. True it doesn't have that distinct incredible boxer rumble (basically an equal length header on these engines) and does start to run out of steam around 5k, it but it goes like stink until then. I run 7psi...I have no idea how stout these SOHC 2.2's or the 5-speed are so I'm a little hesitant to turn it up higher.

 

+1! Why is anyone bothering to try and help when kenzo isn't giving up any info?!? He said BMW in the 1st and 21st post (he's only jumped back into his own thread once! )

He said less than 10K but then throws out Boxster (1st post said bigger car than the Miata - apparently that doesn't mean roomier or more practical ).

Quit trying to help until kenzo comes back in with more specifics!

 

Im thinking of getting one in the future (when we have kids and need 4 doors again. the 2.5L blocks off the newer wrx's along with the avcs heads are available for super cheap these days. throw a 20g 8cm (my favorite turbo for a daily driven wrx), 750's, large tmic, and a couple other things in it and in a gc8 chassis you will have power/weight ratio that will put a grin on your face daily. they are 2700lbs correct? afaik

im really interested in how you managed to tune that thing without opensource, cobb, or hydra, or any of the major subaru tuning platforms. surely that has to be one of the more original setups Ive seen. ive seen a guy run a garrett gt28rs in a bugeye, with custom up/down pipes and other different stuff, but a t25? thats a first for me

 

Lexus SC300 or IS300

Seen some powerful e30 and e36 BMWs but never looked into their setups. One guy at a local autocross with a turbo e30 325 was putting on a smoke show with some all season tires. I don't think he had a built motor.

 

did you even read the original thread?
HE SAID <10K........