I plan on going turbo as soon as possible. I feel that hahn and star are equally nice kits but star is alot cheaper. I want a stage 1 for now. My only things are that hahn is more expensive but i hear the star is kinda of weird right now tat it takes a long while to ship and they have diffuculty responding to people and 2 grandish is alot to just mail out to someone. How long does hahn usually take? Also what kind of accessories would aid in the"perfect intsallation" if any. My car has 70,000 miles on it and is taken care of well. I know some respectable places and people that can install it for a decent price because i dont feel perfectly comfortable in doing it myself. How does everyone like their star/hahn stage 1 kits? how was the installation? performance? Any problems to look for after a while? Thanks alot, and sorry for being so long and drawn out. lol


intake, 2.5 exhaust w/gst muffler, pacesetter header, msd wires, ngk plugs, port and polish throttlebody, front and rear strut bars, 1.5' tenzo springs, 17" primax rims, kuhmo tires, leather interior, gsx sideskirts, BM shortshifter, GM fluid in trans...

I can only speak for Hahn Racecraft. They are very professional and have great customer service. They also want to help you with your car and make recommendations for making it go fast. Hahn Racecraft doesn't just want a check, they do want to help you.

When I ordered my Hahn Stage II kit, I too was a little leary about their payment system and sending $3,500 by mail. They do not take credit cards for turbo kits - they must all be prepaid. You do have a few options money order, certified check, or a wire transfer. I took the money order option as I wanted written proof that I sent them the money. You can also do a check on their business practices by visiting the Better Business Bureau website. It will tell you that they have an outstanding rating.

I know that Howell automotive does allow you to put a turbo kit on a charge card. However, from posts that I have read, it seems as people sometimes do not get the right parts the first time - some kits are missing items or the wrong fuel kit is sent. I would personnally recommend dealing direct with HRC, even though it may cost more, to avoid problems. For example, when I received my kit all the parts were there but when I had to install the intercooler, the silicone sleeve to join the intercooler to the intercooler piping, I had a problem. The silicone sleeve was the wrong size and wouldn't fit. I called Hahn, Brad asked if he could look up my paper work, investigate the problem, and call me back. He called back a half hour later saying the correct part just went out the door. I got it in three days at no charge. (It turns out that they made a change to their intercooler design and didn't realize that the sleeve wouldn't fit.) That's a company that stands behind their product.

I ordered my kit from Hahn and received it in three weeks. It also depends on how fast you get the money to them. I sent the money orders the same day that I ordered the kit. The faster they receive your payment, the faster they will get your kit to you (if they have everything in stock - I had to wait a few days for my intercooler).

As far as accessories for the perfect installation, this depends on whether you just want your car up and running with the least cost or do you want to have the best right from the start. I chose the following accessories to make the Hahn Kit better and more reliable (I am very cautious in my setup). The parts are listed in priority (first one would be the first upgrade I would do if limited by money):

Prices may not be accurate (don't have my receipts in front of me) just use them for an estimate.

A/F gauge (both of these gauges are a must for proper fuel tuning)
EGT gauge (approx $70 for A/F, $200 for EGT)
Vortech SFMU with optional hard spring $300
Missing Link ($50)
Walbro Intank Pump 255 lph HP pump ($90)
(if you get the HRC kit you will want this pump to lower the Inline pump noise)

I would recommend installing the kit yourself as it will allow you to learn the system and what to fix when problems occur. If you do have a shop perform the install, you will want to monitor the first couple of weeks for any leaks - both oil and fuel. You will also want to tighten up all clamps on the piping after the first 200 miles or so. Once the kit is installed watch your A/F gauge and EGT gauge under boost. Temperatures over 1600 degrees are not good - I prefer to stay under 1500 degrees. Also, you always want to remain in the rich section of the A/F gauge under boost.

I love my kit as it was one of the best upgrades I have done to my car. It definitely improves performance and you will not believe how much power the car has the first time you experience boost. The before and after seemed like a was driving two different cars.

Hope my long response helps,
Kurt

that helped alot, thanks man

intake, 2.5 exhaust w/gst muffler, pacesetter header, msd wires, ngk plugs, port and polish throttlebody, front and rear strut bars, 1.5' tenzo springs, 17" primax rims, kuhmo tires, leather interior, gsx sideskirts, BM shortshifter, GM fluid in trans...

>I plan on going turbo as soon as possible. I feel that hahn
>and star are equally nice kits but star is alot cheaper. I
>want a stage 1 for now. My only things are that hahn is more
>expensive but i hear the star is kinda of weird right now tat
>it takes a long while to ship and they have diffuculty
>responding to people and 2 grandish is alot to just mail out
>to someone. How long does hahn usually take? Also what kind of
>accessories would aid in the"perfect intsallation" if any. My
>car has 70,000 miles on it and is taken care of well. I know
>some respectable places and people that can install it for a
>decent price because i dont feel perfectly comfortable in
>doing it myself. How does everyone like their star/hahn stage
>1 kits? how was the installation? performance? Any problems to
>look for after a while? Thanks alot, and sorry for being so
>long and drawn out. lol

i have the hahn kit, and i like it a lot. the only reason i got the hahn kit over the star kit was that it came with a 16g, which spools up a little lower than the t3/t4... better for around town driving. i paid for my hahn stage 1 kit in early june of 2002, and i got most of the parts by the end of july 2002, but it took an extra week to get the downpipe because it was on backorder.

you don't really need any crazy tools for the installation. i ended up driving the front of my car up on ramps and it was good enough, although i needed a jack to prop up the right rear of the car a little so i could move around enough to do the fuel system stuff. you'll need a schrider check valve removal tool, which are cheap and you can find at any hardware store. you'll need a good assortment of sockets (and deep sockets), and a lot of time. get used to the smell of all of the gas, it'll get to you after a while - especially while working on the fuel system.

make sure that you do a compression check before you order the kit, you should have at least 170-175+ psi on each cylinder. if you're lower than that, you're just going to need to do a rebuild in a few months.

as for the installation, do it yourself. it's not very hard, you just need to be careful and not drop anything. i'm guessing that depending on where you live, you'll get charged $500-800 for a shop to do the installation. besides, you'll learn a lot about your car in the process if you do it yourself. good luck.

yeah, i think i will order the hahn kit as soon as possible.

intake, 2.5 exhaust w/gst muffler, pacesetter header, msd wires, ngk plugs, port and polish throttlebody, front and rear strut bars, 1.5' tenzo springs, 17" primax rims, kuhmo tires, leather interior, gsx sideskirts, BM shortshifter, GM fluid in trans...

For your guage though, Get EGT, but instead of the A/F guage get the apexi turbo timer with a/f and o2 voltage. It's like $100. You are prolly going to want a turbo timer anyway and that one gives you many more options than others. Plus it's much more accurate than the autometer blinkey lights in there a/f guages.

I just ordered my star stage 2 ball bearing e-trim kit. Last time I talked to wyatt he has everything for the kits in stock so when he gets the $$ he ships the kit. I sent my money next day air and 5 days later my kit is at my door. Yesterday actually but no one was there to sign for it. However after I sent my money to wyatt I havent been able to get ahold of him. I was in the NER fiasco so I was getting worried. He told me tho that it would ship out last monday and it did. I also ordered the ball bearing e-trim turbo which he didnt have in stock but got for me in 2 days(said it could take a week or 2) before i even sent him the $$. He did say however that he has the regular turbos and the e-trim ones in stock. So as of now I am quite happy with wyatt and his company. We will see when i get back home if all the parts are there n whatnot then its off to the track.
www.turbogs.com is his site btw:thumbsup

>I just ordered my star stage 2 ball bearing e-trim kit. Last
>time I talked to wyatt he has everything for the kits in stock
>so when he gets the $$ he ships the kit. I sent my money next
>day air and 5 days later my kit is at my door. Yesterday
>actually but no one was there to sign for it. However after I
>sent my money to wyatt I havent been able to get ahold of him.
> I was in the NER fiasco so I was getting worried. He told me
>tho that it would ship out last monday and it did. I also
>ordered the ball bearing e-trim turbo which he didnt have in
>stock but got for me in 2 days(said it could take a week or 2)
>before i even sent him the $$. He did say however that he has
>the regular turbos and the e-trim ones in stock. So as of now
>I am quite happy with wyatt and his company. We will see when
>i get back home if all the parts are there n whatnot then its
>off to the track.
>www.turbogs.com is his site btw:thumbsup

holy shit you got a kit????

Yup }( :thumbsup :P