It you had another chance at building a turbo, would you choose greddy or would you DIY? Why/ why not

 

If I needed 150 rwhp and no more, yes.

If I needed more power than that, no, because the only parts you end up using from the $1200 kit are the turbo, mani, and oil feed line. $1200 would go pretty far towards superior parts like a BEGi manifold & downpipe and with some sort of used turbo.

 

I think I'd do DIY, except that GReddy CARB certification is nice.

Like other people commented in other threads, you wind up replacing everything on the kit except the turbo if you start getting into it, so why start with those anyways, unless you needed CARB Cert? My car came GReddy'd, and I've replaced everything on the kit except for the oil feed line/turbo/manifold/downpipe/FMU.

DIY is indeed cheaper, but you'll have to do a lot of fabbing and sourcing. The GReddy is essentially a CARB legal DIY kit. If you want better fit and finish, the BEGi or FM; but that comes at a cost.

 

Still happy after one year. Im not much of a fabricator and for 1200 bucks it gave the car a nice little kick. If I was looking for more Id probably go a different way though

 

didn't do it in the first place, wouldn't do it again *EDIT* or any "kit" for that matter.

acutally, if i found the turbo and manifold and DP for less than $500 I would.

 

If I had to do the whole thing over again, I wouldn't.
I'd buy somebody elses used FM2. In fact, if I ever wreck this one, or decide I've had enough of it, I'll part it, and wait for a deal like this to come along: https://www.miataturbo.net/forums/showthread.php?t=6689

My DIY has given me an education that is irreplacable... but now that I'm educated I'll buy somebody elses turnkey.

 

Definately would have done a diy with probably a 16g. They are relatively cheap and I would have probably sent the turbo to Corky to have a custom manifold and dp made.

 

No, I would buy a BEGI kit and be lazy and done.

 

I think for a first time turbo kit installer it is a really good kit. After replacing the parts I'm learning all about them.

Now that I understand what everything does and how they work together, I would say DIY. I would get a good company made manifold though, I've noticed alot of the DIY ones have cracked.

 

NO - I would have gone with a BEGI or FM2.


I have put allot of money into my reddy and all add ons and it still does not scare the crap outta me.

Its quick but not 'WOW!!! Thats **** is fast' quick.

 

I would say yes because this has been my first exp. with turboing a car and the greddy kit really helped me learn a lot.

On the other hand knowing what I know now I would go with DIY because you have A LOT more options. OH YEAH AND MMMMOOOO POOOOWAR!!!

 

Yep.

 

That's a tough question b/c the cost/ease of the basic GReddy kit is what draws a lot of guys into FI. For ~$1200 and a day of install, you can be boosting now. Then as you upgrade, you get an education.

Granted, knowing what I know now, I'd go DIY, but I probably would not have jumped into the FI world as soon and learned as much had I not gone GReddy so chicken or the egg....

 

I agree...

 

i initialy wanted to greddy but couldnt find a shop to do the install so i figured if i was gonna do it all myself might as well make something work it was alot of headache but in the end i think i came out alot better than expected. Not to bad for the first time i ever laid hands on a turbo period.

 

D I Y.

 

Yeah, its not so much that most people have the choice. In the beginning, most people don't know enough to build a DIY setup properly. Building the DIY setup I'm working on now really has me learning alot, and I dont think I could have done it if I hadn't started with the Greddy kit.

 

If I didn't live in CA I would have gone DIY in a heartbeat.....

I have the CARB sticker now...so when I upgrade to my GT2871 I will be able to get by the visual inspection because most smog techs don't know enough about turbos to tell that it has been changed

When I upgrade I will sell my greddy kit to offset some of the cost.

I don't really regret it at all though...because I have learned a lot from the greddy kit (as well as this forum), and would feel very comfortable building a DIY setup now