Its come down to like 3 times now where I just about ordered a kit from HRC. Then something would come along and I wouldn't be able to or I would just talk myself out of it. I am entertaining the thought of selling my car, but I am getting paid 5 grand in April my sis owes me so I thought now might be a good time for turbo.

Anyways, guys is it really worth it? Worth the hassle? The $ invested? And would you boost guys recomend building from scratch or buying a kit? Pros/cons?

i've done both.

You will have you car down for a good period of time if you piece it together yourself. just by fabrication the intercooler pipes, down pipe, and getting bolts/gaskets/lines that you keep noticing you need.

with a kit you will have it installed in one weekend. Just a kit used from someone reputable. Thats the way i would go.

I was down for a week fabbing my pieces.

I just bought a used kit from someone on the board here. Its the way to go IMO!

ive been in your position bro, in fact, im in your position right now. a couple years ago i finally said screw it and bought every damn NT performance bolt on i could think of......

Dude, buy the turbo kit.

Do it for me, someone who can barely afford a decent kit because he spent all his damn money on damn 2HP mods that dont do shit. but seriously, i ignored everyone when they said its the way to go because i didnt want to deal with the hassle... but if you get to where im at right now you will kick yourself in the balls for not buying it. and to answer your question, i would just buy a kit (preferrably used to save $$ for a rebuild) rather than peice it together because like what ^^^ said, you will have to go out and get every little damn peice that you didnt think of... plus i wouldnt want to deal with the hassle of getting pipes fabricated, especially a downpipe with o2 housing and etc etc... just my opinion though.

the kit best kit thing kit to kit do kit is kit get kit yourself kit a kit good kit from kit a reputable kit company kit who kit makes kit tested kit kits!

get the picture?

If you've already installed about 5 turbokits, read Maximum Boost cover to cover at least once, ever been disappointed with 20psi, AND have money to burn, piece together your own turbosystem.

If this is your first time, get a new kit. HRC and Star make great kits, and no matter how much we nitpick about them, the issues are minor compared to the headaches you'll have trying to make it all up from scratch.

If this is your 2nd/3rd/4th time, get a used kit and add on the components you want.

personally ive found it cheaper and better quality to make your own kit. get a manifold from thestreetsource.net, a nice turbo with a t3 flange and then either fabricate the rest or have it done. also i HATE the "fuel systems" that come with turbokits for our cars, thats definately an advantage of building your own turbo kit. remember fuel is what makes the power not the boost, so spend more time working out a proper fuel system than the actual bolt on parts, those are easy.

dan (thedawg) gives good advice though, id listen to him. if you've done this sort of thing before and have been climbing around a lot of boosted 420a engine bays then definately peice it together. you'll have a better more reliable kit if you do it right and you'll be much happier with it in the end. also you might just find a sweet ass deal on a turbo somewhere because trust me, theyre out there.

"KITS" are WAY overpriced for what you're actually getting...

Originally posted by turbo8u
personally ive found it cheaper and better quality to make your own kit. get a manifold from thestreetsource.net, a nice turbo with a t3 flange and then either fabricate the rest or have it done. also i HATE the "fuel systems" that come with turbokits for our cars, thats definately an advantage of building your own turbo kit. remember fuel is what makes the power not the boost, so spend more time working out a proper fuel system than the actual bolt on parts, those are easy. dan (thedawg) gives good advice though, id listen to him. if you've done this sort of thing before and have been climbing around a lot of boosted 420a engine bays then definately peice it together. you'll have a better more reliable kit if you do it right and you'll be much happier with it in the end. also you might just find a sweet ass deal on a turbo somewhere because trust me, theyre out there. "KITS" are WAY overpriced for what you're actually getting...

turby, i was looking at that website and the eclipse 420a is the only manifold that they dont have a picture of. have you seen their manifold in person? the price is pretty good but i want to be sure of the quality of the piece before i commit myself, you know.

I have absolutely no experience with a turbo install on the 420a. I have helped out on a few turbo installs on Hondas which is why..yes I was going to buy a hatch and do a turbo build on that because i thought it would be easier. But the eclipse is just sex on wheels so hey. The main reason I want to peice it is to save money, I am wondering if its possible to get some peices elsewhere and then order the rest from HRC? I have a couple friends from home selling turbos and other peices so. But with my current situation, having help and a place to do a long install might not be worth it. Thanks guys

Originally posted by Shockeclipse
I have absolutely no experience with a turbo install on the 420a.

ok thats cool then, if i were you id go with a kit. or even a HRC turbo and manifold and intercooler piping and all that, but then you get an SFMU and walbro intank replacement instead of HRC's fuel system. that way you dont have to wire up and mess around with all the lines HRC gives you for the inline pump. (ease of install) and as you may know, the cartech that comes with the kit is not even worthy to be called a fuel pressure regulator, it sucks bad. HRC manifold and turbo combos are 900 bucks i think, so thats not that bad i guess.

theres a wealth of information on this site though, you can do just about anything on a NT eclipse by reading our archives, lol

good luck homie

Originally posted by turbo8u

Originally posted by Shockeclipse I have absolutely no experience with a turbo install on the 420a.

ok thats cool then, if i were you id go with a kit. or even a HRC turbo and manifold and intercooler piping and all that, but then you get an SFMU and walbro intank replacement instead of HRC's fuel system. that way you dont have to wire up and mess around with all the lines HRC gives you for the inline pump. (ease of install) and as you may know, the cartech that comes with the kit is not even worthy to be called a fuel pressure regulator, it sucks bad. HRC manifold and turbo combos are 900 bucks i think, so thats not that bad i guess. theres a wealth of information on this site though, you can do just about anything on a NT eclipse by reading our archives, lol good luck homie

it's easy to choose a turbo and find a manifold and route pipes... the hard part is a fuel system, for sure. read lots and eventually it might make sense on paper, but apparently actually putting it into practice is hella hard because if it was easy, we would have lots more cars boosting 20psi.

Well, I have had plenty of education in boost. I have researched and wrote around 5 papers on turbocharging in High school, so I know how it works. The thing I have to worry about the most is that I am in a new location, I don't have my mechanic friends to call on if I come about a snag. The logical answer in my situation is to just go for the kit. So if I do boost my baby it will either all or mostly come from Hahn. If I do decide to sell her, then I will probably buy a crx or 92 honda hatch and do either a b series turbo or SOHC vtec build. I would hate to stray from my DSM route but hell....I've ridden in a few cars with the build ( basically) that I would do to a honda and I loved it. Although there is also the SRT4 and payments ........