Cant decide... Greddy kit or custom kit?
#21
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (15)
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Incline Village, NV
Posts: 2,034
Total Cats: 5
By itself, the Greddy kit is ready to run at 5PSI. It includes a non-adjustable fuel pressure regulator. It does not include any form of ignition control, so you must manually retard the ignition timing to between 4° and 6° BTDC.
Before installing the manifold, use a hacksaw to make the relief cuts on the head flange. Searching around here for "relief cut" will give you some pictures. Also, as the kits ship out, the wastegate rod is often too loose (long), causing the wastegate itself not to seal properly. Adjusting this is easy after the turbo is on the car. While using pliers to prevent the rod from rotating, loosen the locknut. Remove the locking pin and lift the rod off the wastegate arm. Again, using the pliers to hold the rod steady, rotate the end piece a turn or two, and test-fit it on the arm. You want it just tight enough that it's a bit of a stretch to get it up and over the pin on the wastegate arm. It'll make sense when you see it.
You will quickly tire of running at 5PSI. Fortunately, the Greddy kit comes with so few additional pieces that there's not much to throw out as you start upgrading.
A few pieces you might want to do right off the bat, however. One is a better downpipe, such as the one made by BEGi. Fitting this requires removing the turbo, so why not do it right away. Another is a wideband O2 sensor. It's just a good tool to have in general.
Don't bother upgrading the fuel pump. You'll be bypassing the FPR when upgrade time comes, and the stock pump will be fine at that point.
Invest in some NGK BKR7E spark plugs as cheap insurance. And a week or three before you install the turbo (depending on how much you drive) run your fuel tank as empty as you dare, and switch to 91 octane that that point. Try to get a couple of tankfuls through to purge out all the low octane gas from the system before boosting time.
Before installing the manifold, use a hacksaw to make the relief cuts on the head flange. Searching around here for "relief cut" will give you some pictures. Also, as the kits ship out, the wastegate rod is often too loose (long), causing the wastegate itself not to seal properly. Adjusting this is easy after the turbo is on the car. While using pliers to prevent the rod from rotating, loosen the locknut. Remove the locking pin and lift the rod off the wastegate arm. Again, using the pliers to hold the rod steady, rotate the end piece a turn or two, and test-fit it on the arm. You want it just tight enough that it's a bit of a stretch to get it up and over the pin on the wastegate arm. It'll make sense when you see it.
You will quickly tire of running at 5PSI. Fortunately, the Greddy kit comes with so few additional pieces that there's not much to throw out as you start upgrading.
A few pieces you might want to do right off the bat, however. One is a better downpipe, such as the one made by BEGi. Fitting this requires removing the turbo, so why not do it right away. Another is a wideband O2 sensor. It's just a good tool to have in general.
Don't bother upgrading the fuel pump. You'll be bypassing the FPR when upgrade time comes, and the stock pump will be fine at that point.
Invest in some NGK BKR7E spark plugs as cheap insurance. And a week or three before you install the turbo (depending on how much you drive) run your fuel tank as empty as you dare, and switch to 91 octane that that point. Try to get a couple of tankfuls through to purge out all the low octane gas from the system before boosting time.
#22
It's hard to find the turbo. Also, your kit will techinically NOT be smog legal once you get the BEGi parts. Also, you won't have the GReddy sticker. If I was in your situation, I'd probably buy the GReddy kit, and sell the manifold right away, because they crack frequently enough there are probably people here who would want a new manifold. The downpipe isn't something people typically buy though. Lip's looking great, Is the rear underspoiler on the car yet?
#23
Boost Pope
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,026
Total Cats: 6,592
Originally Posted by thesnowboarder
I dont want to spend more than 1500 on completly turboing my car
Er... Ok. Unless you plan to actually build your manifold and downpipe from scratch, that limits the options somewhat. Quite a lot actually. Sounds like you just need to buy a stock Greddy kit and install it unmodified.
#25
Elite Member
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Central California
Posts: 2,543
Total Cats: 4
Just get a Begi Manifold and downpipe for a t3 for around $600. Pick up a used t3 on ebay for $100 and hopefully you wont need to rebuild it (but if you have to it can be done rather cheap). Theres a nice hotside setup for $700 and obviously you could expect to add a bit more for external wastegate if you wanted but you are questioning the difference between greddy and diy, so i would think external wg is out of the question.
Add to the mix:
Ebay intercooler - $100
custom piping - $50 - $150 depending on how motivated/talented you are
DSM bov - $40 - $60
And that all puts you close to just $1,000, however I have left oil and water lines, clamps, couplers, and a few miscellaneous items out of the mix, but there is a clear advantage to the DIY setup: Using a T3, there a many interchangable options for power and spoolup goals, you are getting an intercooler with this route (or subtract $200 from the budget otherwise), and you can choose quality oil/water lines and clamps and couplers if you choose
Add to the mix:
Ebay intercooler - $100
custom piping - $50 - $150 depending on how motivated/talented you are
DSM bov - $40 - $60
And that all puts you close to just $1,000, however I have left oil and water lines, clamps, couplers, and a few miscellaneous items out of the mix, but there is a clear advantage to the DIY setup: Using a T3, there a many interchangable options for power and spoolup goals, you are getting an intercooler with this route (or subtract $200 from the budget otherwise), and you can choose quality oil/water lines and clamps and couplers if you choose
#29
A Greddy kit used can be found for cheap. I got mine for $650, then I paid about $400 for Stripes pipes and the associated hardware to upgrade it to intercooled. Then I bought a Torsen rear for $700. $100 or so for a used Bipes and another $50 or so for Olderguy's O2 clamp and I'm running pretty well. I also upgraded the fuel pump as I plan to run with band-aids for a while rather than go to MS.
If you don't get the new rear end then you can easily come in under $1500 if you find a good deal on a used kit.
If you don't get the new rear end then you can easily come in under $1500 if you find a good deal on a used kit.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Frank_and_Beans
Supercharger Discussion
13
09-12-2016 08:17 PM