What all besides gauges and a turbo kit would be necessary for me to run a stage 1 star or similar t3/t4 turbo kit? gauges, fpr, boost controller, new exhaust, and ______________________??? I am really leaning to be stage 1 by spring or early summer.

Well if you buy a kit, you won't need a boost controller. Save the money and go to a yard and pull a cheap, good looking 1g SMIC. Spend another 25 bucks for some piping from a muffler shop and a 3 dollar radiator hose with some clamps and make you a safe stage two. EGT, Boost, and Corbin's A/F gauge are prime. If you buy the kit, I'd recommend upgrading to a SMFU, I wish I had. If you decide to go the custom route, use the search button and find what you need.

Alright. Turbo kit. Gauge pods, gauges. A/F, Boost, EGT, Fuel press. any others??? Also the SMFU. Better exhaust. Turbo timer. I would rather wait and buy a fmic. What else do I NEED to run stage 1? If someone has a list of star stage 1 components that are REQUIRED to get it running, it would be greatly appreciated. I wanna make sure I am thinking of everything.

You may need an extra piece of fuel line for hooking up the regulator. I would also get a few assorted hose clamps just in case. Don't forget your new oil pan gasket, too. Prob new plugs that are a range colder. If you get a blow off valve with your kit, the flange will prob be in the wrong place. Of course, this is taking into account the way the kit used to be. I'm sure you've heard the rumors about the star kit undergoing some changes. So, it's hard to tell if that'll be relevant by the time you get your kit. My kit didn't come with a piece of oil resistant line for the oil drain. Check that out when you get it. If it doesn't have it, make sure that the line you buy is indeed OIL RESISTANT. If it isn't, it will rot and leak and do other uncool things.

You said need:

Others love to throw in extra crap because they are not buying it themselves.

1. Boost gauge
2. Egt gauge (electronic or pyrometer)
3. Gauge bezel or pillar pod
4. Silicone hose kit for Vacuum lines(rs akimoto or Larson from RRE)
5. bag of misc zip ties
6. Oil pan gasket (optional(I did)
7. New fuel filter(if more than 15K miles on it)
8. Fuel pump rewire (optional)
9. new exhaust manifold gasket(optional) if yours is shot to hell)
10. Bolt on high flow cat or test pipe after downpipe(optional, but you will cook your stock cat and it will not flow for shit)
11. 2.5 inch catback w/flow through muffler(at least a flow though muffler)
12. boost controller is not required with stage 1
13. Oil catch can is a must!!!!!! I have lines attached to both my crank case fittings. When you buy it from RRE, get 8 feet of 8mm larson silicone hose to go with it. This will allow you to install it near the front of the car down below the air filter of the turbo. Put a small piece of hose on the bottom of it for draining.

Knowing what I do now, if I wanted to stay with the 12:1 disc in the fmu(comes this way)and not mess with the boost on the stage 1, I would have put in Accel 24LB injectors when I did my install. Our factory ones are not reliable and do not flow that well. I have read that they are rated at 235cc, but flow like a 19 pound injector. I only had the stock ones in for a month or two during the winter months which was not bad. I then upgraded my injectors to Accel 30 LB and put in an 8:1 fmu disc/ring(call vortech and they will sell you a recalibration kit for the fmu). This is good for 9psi in the 100 degree heat(with front mount)and 10 psi when the temp drops to the 90 degrees or below. Just avoid going over 1600 degrees for anything more than a few seconds is a good recommendation.

If you do not use synthetic oil, change it to Mobil 1 synthetic when you install your kit. Turbo life will be much less with Dino oil. I also had to get longer bolts for my exhaust manifold, because the ones that came with the kit did not give me enough threads to hold the manifold on really well. Sure it gave me four or 5 threads, but I wanted 10 threads going in the hole. Lowes or Home Depot sells stainless ones that work great. I also used loctite on them to keep them from vibrating loose.....do not worry they will not seize in there. I used anti seize compount on most every other exhaust bolt because if you do not, it will never come off again.

Good luck and we are here during the install if you need us. I remember calling Wyatt for fmu installation tips in the middle of everything. I actually bought my kit wholesale through DSS because of the shop I work at.

So, I don't need a new fuel pump? Just use the stock one? I use valvoline syntech now. Should I switch to mobil 1? Also, the sfmu, how hard is that to figure out?

not to be a dick or anything, but you have been here long enough to know that all this information can be found doing a simple search.
As far as the fuel pump, the kits come with whatever upgrade is needed, so no you will not need to buy a fuel pump.
the fmu is not hard, it just basically replaces your stock fpr. One fuel line in one fuel return line and a vacuum line.

Late

in my experiences with the search, it never gives me EXACTLY what I want to find. Something's always left out. It saves me time and trouble to get it all in 1 post. And btw, we both just wasted space to talk about this. Just thought I'd share THIS idea.
I have been around, but I was trying to sell my car a while back to get a gsx. Now, I realize after all the money, it'd be best to just get a turbo kit. I didn't have the money b4 that I have now, etc. So, I am looking into it a lot more seriously now b/c I aim to have it soon. Sorry if it's a major inconvenience, delete this thread if u want.

>in my experiences with the search, it never gives me EXACTLY
>what I want to find.

Exactly - and for the record can a mod put this in "Things we've seen before section" . This post is something I'm sure many new future turbo-goers have wondered, expecially me. Now its all in one post.