|
Thanks Thura!
Now, to price a custom kit versus a $2200 Stage 1 HRC kit:
Comparable Turbo (most likely without internal WG): $750 Wastegate: $100 Exhaust Manifold: $250 from Alain Downpipe: $125 (for a very basic P.O.S.) Adjustable Fuel Pressure regulator: $150 Fuel Cut Prevention Device: $60 Intercooler Piping with BOV Flange: $70 BOV: $50 Couplings: $25 High Pressure Inline Fuel Pump: $120(est.) High Pressure fuel lines: $20 Aluminum Hard line for fuel return: $20 Oil Feed Line, Tee for off of block, bung for oil drain, & fittings: $80 Compression fittings off fuel rail, other various fuel line fittings: $50 Hose Clamps (you probably need like 20 for this job in various mysterious sizes): $20
Total: $1890
Okay, this rough listing doesn't include shipping, the time it will take to gather all of these hard to find items, and everything else that would make this scavenger hunt a MAJOR PITA, but you get the idea.
True, it appears you may have saved a few hundred dollars(maybe even less or nothing with the STAR kit), and also have been able to very specially select first rate "quality" pieces that you desire for your system. But take into account the amount of research and headaches this entails. Further realize that you're probably STILL going to be missing items or small specialized fittings that you may have to wait for after you realized you didn't buy before you undertook the install. Also realize, most of these things WILL not have any sort of customer support, warranty protection, or directions that can very precisely lead your way through the install.
If this is the first time you've done such a turbo install, forget about it. This is going to be a major headache with more than likely missing parts and big questions without clear answers.
Now, I don't have a doubt that many experienced people here on the board could put together such a kit. However, a first time installer is going to be wishing he didn't go this route after compiling a pile of parts, a bank account $1500 short and still big question marks and uncertainties in his mind.
I know I could probably put together such a kit, without having to get all the second fiddle FPR's and FCD's I've since done away with in my first go around. However, that would both increase the final total as listed above, and I'm assuming I know what I know now before I first installed my turbo, which is the furthest thing from the truth. In fact, when I first took on the turbo install, what seems like forever ago, I knew VERY little, and completing such an install seemed like "Mission Impossible."
To me, it's not the big things like a turbo and manifold, or whatever obvious items that you can acquire on your own, it's all the little things. It's the fittings, the instructions, the rigth amount of fuel line and couplings, and the fact that in Oswego, Illinois, there's going to be a man on the phone who's going to listen to my install problems. Those intangibles, seem somewhat insignificant given how much money this all costs, but trust me, when I say, it's those intangibles that make undertaking such a task as a first-time turbo install so much more achievable and doable. Because in the end, you're all alone in your garage with a stack of unfamiliar parts with the hope you can get them to fit together and work.
Have you ever regretted paying just a little less for a somewhat crappier item, and then have had to go back later and paid the higher amount for the nicer item you should have bought the first time? In my mind, this situation exemplifies that example.
_____________________________________ Jason ESi-T
04' BMW 325Ci 91' Nissan 240SX 98' Eagle Talon ESi (sold)
|