ILOVEGIRLS

iTrader: (3)

ive read and searched. is it possible to turbo the GS in a reasonable budget. i saw everything from 5k to 13k. im looking to boost but i dont need to boost 12 psi or anything. i need it to be reliable..5-6psi is fine with me. with something this low, will i still need a fuel mgmt? how much can the stock ecu do without throwing codes? any info is appreciated. thanks

GQD_GS4

turbo on a budget??? hehe i have yet to see that :P

Abear

iTrader: (1)

You can put together a kit for pretty cheap. If you use ebay for the turbo/manifold/wastegate/BOV/intercooler, all that can be had for about 700-1000 bucks. Then you need piping, couplers, and all the other little things that are used to put this together. For electronics, since your not planning on boosting past 8psi, since you want something realible, all you need is an SAFC2. Piggyback will let you tune your stuff. Next, you need an A/F reader, so you know when somethings wrong. If you dont plan on boosting past 6-8psi, the stock fuel system should handle the turbo.

Im just talking about the GS3, and just about the 1st gen. I know nothing about the 2nd gen, or GS4xx.
As of right now, I have a manifold and a TT MAF for my conversion to turbo, hopefully this summer. I have about 1500 left in parts, and then I have to worry about installation. I would do it myself, but I dont really want to be drilling into my engine for an oil return. After install you will need to upgrade the exhaust, but that can always be done later.
If your on a budget of about 3-5K, depending on the quality of parts you want, you can get a turbo.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Bolting on a turbo and having a cleanly-installed, boosted car that is everyday street reliable are two different things. Unless you are VERY handy and knowledgeable so that you can do the install yourself AND (not or) have contacts and hook ups, "turbo" and "on a budget" do not go together. I so wish this was true but ...

ILOVEGIRLS

iTrader: (3)

ive installed a turbo kit before on my honda when i had one. it wasnt bad but the parts were all there. drilling the oil pan and tapping the T for oil feed was not bad either. im just scared of this car because of all the gadgets.

Dx3

iTrader: (13)

OK, are we talking a GS3 or 4? 3 may be possible. $ - nope!

I am in about $8-9k minimum on my supercharged setup and I am running 12lbs of boost with the SAFC2.

If possible, I would say you would be very close the the 13k region.

jonny

Pheonix

You can successfully, and reliably turbo any engine using as much, or as little rescources as you wish. It's a sliding scale between money, and knowledge & work.
If you understand what you're doing, what everything is roughly capible of, and work your *** off. You can successfully turbo about anything for a few hundred bucks. If you can't dedicate knowledge, and work - then somebody else must. Which is exactly where the cost of such projects comes into play. And normally... Is so overpriced for what you get, it's insane.

Saying it is impossible is nothing but showing ignorance on the issues of doing it.
It takes a $90 wire feed welder on ebay & a trip to Lowes to GET a turbo on anything...



Just because very few people with a Lexus badge have done it, and none of you have experiance doing it. doesn't mean someone CAN'T.













^^^
The real answer is what are your skills, and what are you willing to do.
If you can weld, or have someone that will weld for you. AND you can create safe running conditions for the engine.
Then yes... You can do it.

If not, then you need to start creating a savings account as custom projects are expencive...

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

So I fully agree anything can be done with the will , resources and effort, but I don't think that's the point of the originators post. I'd say 95% of the FI owners on this forum do not do the majority of the install themselves, nor may they have the desire, skill set, knowledg or all of the above. So the context of the originators question I would say is more towards "what can an average person off the street find in a budget FI set up?".

Nevertheless, in reply to your comments, by the time one has developed skills in welding, learning all the ins and outs of designing an FI system and then finding out what YOU THINK works on other cars DOESNT't work on a Lexus, I'd say that the knowledge gained through all this personal sweat and experience earned through time, will probably amount to several thousand dollars in "personal" worth.


No one is going to take a Corky Bell FI handbook and a a couple of Junior College welding courses and then on the first try build a couple hundered dollar FI system. Anyone "who can" build a low dollar FI system has surely paid his/hers dues with getting their skill set to the point where they can get away with that.

jmecbr900

Sorry to say, but you are not being accurate at all.

#1. You will need far more than a $90 ebay welder to build a turbo kit that's any better than the "electric supercharger" for sale right next to that welder on ebay.
#2. Name a turbo unit and A/R housing you can get for couple of hundred dollars.
#3. How much do injectors cost?(unless you plan on leaving stockers in)
#4. How much does fuel management cost?(unless you'll bypass it)
#5. How much does piping cost? (unless you wanna use scrap muffler piping)
#6. How much does an intercooler cost? (unless you don't want one)
#7. Name a company that has "LEXUS" specific turbo parts sitting on their shelves waiting on people to call.

I could go on and on.

My point is that based on your comment it is obvious you have never built a turbo kit for a Lexus. It is FAR different than building one for a Honda. You can turbo charge a Honda for a grand maybe, but you'll have a crappy manifold that will crack in a month and a turbo that will leak in 2.

I'm not trying to take anything away from you nor your abilities. But let me put it this way......the guy that BUILT mine couldn't have done the kit he built for me for himself (obviously he gets everything at his cost and does his own labor) for no $90.

Read here about what real life experiences are concerning FI'ing one of our cars:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=205967

BTW, the "ignorance" comment was truly unnecessary and inflamatory. Those of us that have ventured out there onto the ragged edge and tried new things for our cars are FAR FROM ignorant. I'd say we are actually the opposite since we certainly did our homework and research BEFORE and DURING our projects.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Since you mentioned in bold "successfully" and "reliably", I am assuming that is what you are talking about when you said you can turbo anything for a few hundred bucks. The Lexus electronics are trickier than most. This is why you don't find ECUs, chips, ... that are bolt on with large success. Most are piggybacks that trick the OEM units. This "works" but not really in an ideal situation.

I know knowledgeable people who have painstakenly worked on their car, spent hours and hours planning and working at it. None of their parts budget are "a few hundred." If you can build a reliable boosted car with decent gains for that much, then kudos to you. I just can't see it happening. I agree with jmecbr900's list. Things can add up quickly.

The other bolded word was "impossible". I don't think anyone here said it is impossible to build a boosted car for a reasonable price. It is just VERY difficult without other resourses coming into play. As the others mentioned, knowledge and time equals $ and each comes at a price. You even talk about this so I think everyone is in agreement here.

I think the others are just cautioning on the process of building an FI GS (4x0 or 300). Even with the best planning, costs just seem to rise when you run into issues. I think a good number to have is somewhere between 10k and 15k. I know people talk about doing it for 5k (give and take) but I do not know any boosted Lexus that was done at around this price (once everything is added together) that is cleanly installed, runs across all powerband as if for street (and not for race), with all fuel/air management working, all woking with vvti, without giving up other features like climate control, ...

Who knows? Maybe there are cars like this. I am certainly not an FI guru and do not know (obviously) of every boosted Lexus out there.

Pheonix

RMMGS4, exactly. It's simply a question of ***what*** is someone willing to do in the pursuit of it.
I think I said it perfectly when I said it's a balance. You either can apply knowledge and your own time to it, or you can pay someone else for it. You can slide that either way you want to go, but a choice at the fundamental level of the project must be made.
Not in affect. Toyota's OBD-II closed-loop system is ****-retentive, but no more than anything else.
AFA Piggybacks. It depends on what you need accomplished. Just last Christmas SMT-6's were on sale for $280usd. Which takes care of ignition, main air sensor/lambda, and extra fuel injector/wastegate controls. I love SMT's...
Otherwise, there are many ways of getting fuel.
For anything without throttle-by-wire. Open loop under boost is nothing more than a boost pressure activated relay away from happening.


The biggest thing in resent years has been "replace the injectors, hack the main sensor to re-tune it". Which is great! Very streamlined. But it takes someone very adept at tuning to work that to a level it should be on more modern ECU's. With OBD-II & replacing injectors, you get into a choice. You can generally either:
1)) Tune with the on-set of boost or boosting/rpm - giving closed loop trim problems that carry to open loop. (The often heard lean-out over time)
2) Tune out of Closed-Loop trim ranges & deal with not having fuel when you need it

Which is one reason why the older & formerly preferred method of ADDING programmable injectors is still the best way of doing an NA-T, or basic upgrade to nearly anything. Reasons why I love & have used it repeatedly include:
1) Easier install. It's easier to T a fuel injector<s> into a line & mount them pre-throttlebody than it is for most people to remove intake manifold<s> and fuel rails.
2) The ability to only tune injectors under boost. (This is an "all roads lead to Rome" positive)
A) The stock ECU runs everything off boost. No driveability problems
B) There is no closed-loop fuel trim nightmare because you're not driving regularly under boost & fighting short & long term fuel trims. You also have fuel in closed loop, without grossly upsetting the ECU trims
C) You have fuel when you need it. Got boost in closed loop? No problem. You'll get the fuel in closed loop, without the fuel trim hassles of always having a "grey area" between closed loop+boost
D) It's simply easier to tune start to finish. There's not just an infinitely less amount of work involved, the work you are doing is more accurate during transitions.

Fueling any sane project with an extra injector, or two pre-throttlebody is easy.

jmecbr900
I'm sure you know how a turbo works, along with atleast a basic understand of everything, etc. But I don't think you have grasped the full idea idea when it comes to an actual budget setup. A $5,000 budget setup? Sure. A budget setup? Not at all.
You, like nearly everyone else, likely have just never been exposed to what the true bottom line costs hover around.

Master welding skills are not required in a budget setup. While it's nice is you have a lot of experience, and access to a nice MIG, or TIG it's not required.
No skill, some free-$10 worth of scrap plate, and a cheap wire-feed welder is all that thousands have needed to get a start. I sat my (then) 16 year old nephew down with my cheap wire feed welder on some scrap plate for 15 min last summer. Having never welded a day in his life, it took him 5 min with my direction to get the hang of laying a consistent, penetrating bead on some scrap. I left the welder with him & the next weekend when I saw him, he had built a header-back dual exhaust on his v8 Z71. Pretty? No. He was making huge beads. But he did it, and had neither experience, nor help.
The experience part is easy. It's honestly nothing more than playing with scrap until you are comfortable that you can penetrate the metal. (And general exhaust pipe is easily penetrated. it either penetrates, or you blow a hole in it, and you take another pass.) You could sit anybody down with a wire feed welder & have him weld something like exhaust pipe together in 5-20 min. The level of welding skill actually required to do such a project is simply not much.
The more experiance, the greater! You can never be too good of a welder, but when you're talking about welding common pipe & flanges. There simply is no overly difficult thing that the common person couldn't get through on his own. Or with itnernet help.

It happens every day on forums. A teenager with no experience, fabs a manifold/up pipes, or a down pipe off cheap equipment.



The biggest problem is always fuel. Fuel, fuel fuel fuel fuel. Unless there are tons of options, you spend more time deciding on a fuel strategy, then implementing it than anything else. But... There are ways to deliver massive amounts of semi-tuned fuel on the cheap without much OBD-II interference. Without a lot of the cost involved.
For anyone with some money to throw around, a higher end piggyback and the creative understanding on how to correctly get everything you can out of their abilities. Fuel is not the all-binding issue that many people make it out to be. Extra injectors can't be beat when it comes to cost VS ease of tuneable VS no OBD problems. (See above) And get into the fact that many of them can still re-tune a main air sensor, along with ignition timing on the better units...
Pumps, regulators, injectors. Are all affordable items. Management is what sucks up a fuel budget.


No. You simply don't know what's going on when it comes to a budget setup. It's common. No worries about it.
No... That's an ignorant statement beyond anything. You need more than a $90 ebay welder to weld aluminum. Aluminum piping isn't used on a BUDGET setup. It's as useless as it is expensive.
There is simply no need for it when mild-steel pipe will last forever (especially when charge pipes/down pipes are prepped & hit with a coat of $5 high-temp paint. or someone can invest $90 in a powder coating gun & some high-temp powders. DO NOT coat/paint a manifold. Coating an up-pipe is fine, painting is not.)
The thick walled mild-steel used in log style manifolds is more than up to longevity.


Simple wire-feed project. There are countless wire-feed projects. There is no easier cheap way to weld. Throw down some money, spend a few min playing, then go at it.


Then, for people with extra money. There is the current "unbeatable" king of the serious DIY welding combo's. The Harbor Frieght TIG. For $500 you can get a good little tig with RODS AND GAS.
Here is a guy's FIRST ever attempt at a manifold.

Here is his SECOND attempt at a manifold I saw rescently done with the HF Tig...


He's an exception by building quality ram horn manifolds, but *any* welder with little-no experience past "learning to weld a bead that penetrates" on a wire-feed welder (or anything with gas) can make a log manifold for well under $100usd.


That assumes you even need a manifold. On a serious budget V bank setup. It's either cheap twins, or make a new Y-pipe/merge pipe/up pipe combo to where you want to mount the turbo.


Anything used... Many things rebuilt. I don't have the time to name nearly every OEM factory turbo on any passenger car, or truck on earth. So I'm naming everything that doesn't have an HKS, or Turbonet cs, etc. badge on it + anything that does & is used.
The simple truth, is that you can buy a turbo that will blow every piston any lexus engine has ever seen into various chunks in the oil pan.
Just as you can buy something a perfect size. Choose a power goal, powerband, and find the turbo for it.
http://motors.ebay.com/Parts-Accessories_W0QQcatZ6028 So I'll leave you with ebay, a junkyard, and google. If you never have. You would never know.
Whatever you want to spend.
$1-150 per injector.
Used (but not practical to install them on anything) you could easily buy a couple thousand horsepower worth of fuel injectors for $100 if you tried hard enough. Used injectors are so dirt cheap it's silly.
"Advanced" piggybacks that can accomplish extra injector, ignition, and a main air sensor on most engines are in the $280usd-500usd range.
I'm a huge supporter of driving extra injectors tuned only under boost, and via boost (When applicable). There is just no better way to do it without doing *alot* of closed-loop tuning & introducing some fundamental level of problems with closed loop (In OBD-II).
There are also ways to add semi-tuneable fuel without management. But goes far beyond this discussion.
You could *do it* with $30-45 of pipe from Lowes/Home Depot if you just *wanted* to. That would buy you 20-30 feet of 2 to 2 1/2" pipe. They sell mild steel pipe identical to "exhaust pipe" found at a shop, or auto store. It doesn't have to be aluminum to be functional. For that matter, you don't *need* stainless steel. You can spend whatever you want to spend. It simply a matter of choosing the materials.
If someone is simply too hard up to buy mandrel bends, use crushed bends. If you don't feel like that.
You can always go with nothing more than angles. For that you need a chop-saw, or a friend on a hacksaw to do *efficiently* ($55 harbor Frieght). There are countless projects that have done this. it also gives a decently unique look to it if nothing else. The smart will give a quick inside grinding pass after every angle. Tho it's not required in the least.


$15-whatever you want to spend. I've gotten them free before.
Used diesel truck IC's go around $50-75, and are simply massive. Used volvo (equal in size to many generic upgrade FMIC's found on the net) coolers are a personal favorite. $45-50. Small coolers like a 1g dsm (Good for a twins project) run about $10-15


To which water mist is easily added using a programmable switch Free, or a pressure switch $12-15, an empty container Free, a $5 washer pump, a misting/atomizer nozzle $5, and a few feet of hose Free-$5. The same can be said for water injection, add a check valve (Or mister with a check valve).

Which is the entire point. There are none. So build it custom, or DIY. The guy can't afford to custom. So he's looking at DIY. He can spend as little, or as much money as he wishes when DIY.
Please don't. While I haven't done a budget v8 setup. I have extencive experiance on the subject itself over the last few years, and would easily enough trounce you on about any aspect of it with real world experiance VS hersay.

The fact of the matter is that physical parts are not the be-all-end-all of a budget turbo project. Parts are a reflection of what you can afford, and most parts, or equivilant parts can be had relatively dirt-cheap if you know what you're doing.
Half the parts fall into the "Nice to have, but not all out need", or "Could use something else cheaper/just as effective without sacraficing anything in the wide scope of the project".
If you can't afford that nice $150 HKS BOV, then buy a $20 1g dsm, or a China knock-off. If you can't swing that, then don't use one.
The real issues are:
A) Installation (Placement & Welding)
B) Fuel/Ignition (Solutions & Tuning)
Not parts costs.
Like I previously said, the bottom line is that you can spend as much, or as little as you want with parts. The real, major costs come in elsewhere.
A kit? I've never had anyone ask me to make a buyable kit for anything. Tho I have always extended the offer than anyone that wants to buy me a plane ticket, put me up & feed me. I will turbo anybody's. Just have the majority of the big parts ready to go & discuss everything with me, along with have a clear budget set out.
I HAVE done my fair share of custom Toyota projects, from my ES to several v6 4runners. All on diferent v6 engines that are rarely touched, god forbid a turbo sits in the same engine bay.
Quit exaggerating the fact that noone in their right mind/with any experience/could read any forum, would buy an ebay <cough> SSA <cough> manifold when their are plenty of experienced people either making their own, or making & selling custom manifolds for cheaper.
Do a better job buying, rebuild anything suspect, or wait until you can afford a 100% brand new turbo. A turbo with a blown seal, or toasted bearings is a fact of life, but not something that can be successfully avoided the majority of the time.
(And for the record, the average price of an all out budget honda DIY is far less than 1 grand. With most of the budget wrapped into either hondata, or chrome to tune with. Actual parts costs only range about $200-500usd All things, even tools, included.)
Thanks! That's great that you got one custom build! You had your own choices to make, and I'm not detracting from anything about what you do. But how would you know anything past that?
You know I get a monthly magazine published by The State of Alabama that lists a few dozen residential contractors with revoked licenses citing "Ignorance", or "Gross Ignorance" given as a reason for revoking the license.
I'm saying that some opinions are ignorant to the fact that there are many levels you can achieve a good setup at. I'm simply saying, that by saying it stone cold can't be done for xxx. That is showing ignorance in that someone obviously *could* *if* they wanted to sit down & get after it.
I'm not calling you, or anyone else stupid. Don't try to make off like I have.

Will this guy turob his car? Who knows. But the point stays the same.

I could see someone start to finish building some working, reliable turbo setup for nearly anything - without owning any special equipment before hand - for $1000 to $1750 the vast majority of the time. There are simply too many ways to get a turbo on an exhaust, plenty of ways to get more fuel, and used parts are just too cheap to NOT garner respect. For many projects, for many people. $1500 can build a dream setup on most stock engines. Provided you're not buying something like a new BB GT turbo...
That's just your typical custom for a budget setup. Nothing stops anyone from really busting a sub $1000 budget out on any engine, if they truely felt that they could work within the choices that comes with such a budget.
(I remember the first setup on this car being just under $450.)






The problem with this thread has, is that no i6/v8 owner has ever set out to DO a real budget minded setup. That leads to the fact that the mass opinion is that, "Oh, well it's just impossible". Which is incorrect.

bluelex

I think Your 100 % right, Most people don't relate the word "budget" with "Lexus" and get scared off or talked out of trying a low budget project. Your post was very interesting to read.

jmecbr900

#1. I will try and not get in a pissing contest with you, but I will warn you that you don't know jack about me nor my skills nor my knowledge base. I will tell you this: I paid my way thru college and slightly beyond by BEING a mechanic, so I'm by far a stranger to turning my own wrenches. So don't think for a minute that because I didn't break out a tig welder and built my own setup that I CAN'T nor don't KNOW what or why it's happening. I hand picked every single piece of my setup, so I didn't just merely pull up to a shop and gave them my credit card and walked away.


Right, and it will also LOOK and RUN like a rookie did it too. If that's what YOU want in your car, then more power to you. Based on the pictures you've posted......I will pass on your idea of a "budget" setup for one where I am actually gonna open my hood and show someone what I have. Nasty beads are not only aesthetically not good to look at, but they also create leaks down the road. I had a friend that drove from GA to Kentucky to get a "budget" setup for his Maxima. It came back looking like some of your pictures. He ended up spending more time and money than he originally paid to get the car remotely running right. He ended up selling the whole thing at a LOSS because it had such shody welds and leaked everywhere that it the only useful thing in the whole "kit" was the turbo that I got my buddy's shop to sell to him AFTER his "budget" turbo blew up on the drive BACK from Kentucky.

So, like I told you above.....YOU know nothing about me. If you did, you'd know that I am well versed on what a backyard shadetree turbo looks like and what MINE looks like.


Again, if YOU want that in your car more power to you. I personally would prefer something that looks presentable and doesn't have mechanical issues.


Again, it's obvious you haven't done any of this on a LEXUS before. If you had, you'd know that piggybacks do NOT control timing nor ignition in our cars. Yeah, we can drop in a better pump in the tank, but to build a return system is also going to cost $, bigger injectors will too. All of which you are conviniently glossing over and tossing on the back burner.


I have no worries, you're right. Where you are incorrect is ASSuming I know nothing about FI. [/quote]


Right. Again, if THAT is what you want in YOUR car that is YOUR perrogative. I certainly wouldn't want to spend the time and energy involved to then be constantly backtracking and trying to find why things don't work right. To you a weld is a weld is a weld or an injector is an injector is an injector. That is fine, but its also a recipe for headaches. Personally I try to avoid headaches whenever possible. I don't want to spend my weekends fixing and refixing screw ups rather than driving and enjoying the car.

BTW, mild steel RUSTS. RUST causes leaks. Leaks cause problems. Unless you coat them, as you said. Again, conviniently glossing over the fact that it costs $$$$ to get piping HPC or Powder coated. A can of clearance paint will last as long as it's price implies. What happens then? Time and effort to pull things back out AGAIN to repaint with that $5 can of paint. For me, that's double work and savings go right out the window. I don't know about where you live, but powder coating around here is not cheap.



I guess that $500 for the tig welder is not part of your "budget" then, huh? So, $500 for the welder, $? for the turbo, $? for the injectors, $for the intercooler, $for management, $? for supplies= less than a thousand $????? Sorry, the math doesn't add up.


Again, if you want that hunk of rust as the main component of your system, go for it. The reality of using USED junkyard turbos is that the vast majority are in a JUNKyard for a reason.


Find me a T66 with an 82 a/r for my car on google that's not new.....(start Final Jeopardy song)..............(finish Final Jeopardy song)......you won't.

You talk like there are JUNKyards and ebay listings chock full of brand new or nearly new turbos just waiting to be bought for $100. That may be the case in Alabama, but everywhere else I haven't seen it. Sure you can make ANY turbo fit ANYWHERE, but the real question is if it's going to work RIGHT. Why not just put in one of those nifty electric superchargers for sale all over ebay then? It does what it's supposed to. That's basically what you're asking people to do with their own cars. Just slap something in that may have worked before in some other car, therefore it MUST work in yours. Reality bites, but it just doesn't work that way. It's great in theory, but for OUR cars it doesn't work. Maybe for an old school domestic that has no ECU. Maybe for a HONDA that has a gazillion companies out there with turbo kits on the shelf ready to go.



What's truly "silly" is using $1 injectors to run a $3k motor.


Once again, another $500 that obviously wasn't considered in the initial budget I guess.

I guess things like A/C compressors, power steering pumps/reservoirs, coolant reservoirs, A/C fans, etc are just going to move on over to make room for those nice and easy angles you refer to huh? If you looked into one of our engine bays, you'd quickly summize that only the GS300 and IS300 have the room readily available to transplant a turbo into. The GS4's certainly do not have it as easy. What do you do then? Your "simple" crushed or chopped bends are not going to be as easy to do then.

Yep, that's the exact intercooler that would definetly fit right behind our front bumpers.....one out of a DIESEL truck..... That's like trying to buy your shoes in the wrong size and MAKING them fit. Just because you walk in them doesn't make them the RIGHT pair of shoes for you, right? How is frankensteining a 3sm or diesel I/C into your car a solution? You'll have to cut and mangle half the car to make it work. Yeah, it will do what an intercooler does, but at what price?



Like I warned you above, you know as much about me as you are showing you know about V8 "budget" setups. Considering, I DO have a V8 turbo setup.....I'd say right now I'm doing the trouncing.....

No BOV on a turbo project? On a used turbo from the Junkyard? That uses a Diesel I/C? Which are fed by $1 used injectors? With no fuel management? With mild steel piping and first time welds???? How are you going to control boost? Boost controller=$ or a Wastegate=$.... Alllllrighty then......good luck with that there "project".

See how things compound when you start out with junk? How long do you think a half dead turbo will last w/o a BOV? How long do you think the motor will last with $1 injectors and no fuel management? How much power do you think you'll see out of a setup that either has to be kept under 3 psi (no fuel management) or has leaks all over the place? Again, you'd be better off buying an "electric turbo" from ebay, as you'll see the same gains anyway.


Being realistic is not exxagerating. Like I said earlier, the challenge still stands: Name a turbo manifold for GS400's. There isn't one, so you have build one. Building a custom one requires one of two things unless divine intervention is involved: 1. Someone to make it for you (lots of $) or; 2. Building your own. As we've seen in the examples of the beautiful work in some of those pics, the majority of the people will opt out to go with choice #1.

Yes you can, buy something new and you won't have that issue.

You can't have it both ways. Earlier you suggested this "budget" setup should use a used turbo out of a JUNKyard, yet now you suggest it is inevitable that it may be a POS. So, why would you get it in the first place. To save money? How are you "saving" money by buying something, then sending it to be rebuilt when rebuilding a turbo a lot times costs almost as much as buying a new one anyway???? After all, at the end of the day......you still have a POS turbo only rebuilt......


That's cute......when HONDATA by itself costs $495 if you want boost options and that's just to start. You will also need to burn the chip to go IN the ECU, and without the burner you'll have to pay someone to do it as a performance shop with one is not merely going to let you "borrow" theirs. Again, you may be able to build a Honda turbo kit for cheap, but only if you use POS parts and install them under your tree in the backyard......and that's exactly how it's going to perform too I'm sure.

Not only did I choose every single part that is IN my car, but I also was there hands-on when we designed, installed, fitted, tested, tuned, and I drive my car every single day. Trust me, I know more about MY car than you ever will.



Maybe so, but I guarantee you all of us that have wished there was a way to have done it for less yet still net the same results. I know I did. But the reality is that since we don't have a Fox body Mustang or a Honda Civic with a B series motor in, we don't have parts sitting on the shelves for our picking. So when someone asks the broad question of "Can I do a turbo setup for my LEXUS on a budget?" the prudent and realistic answer from those of us that HAVE DONE IT ALREADY is, "NO" unless you want to do it ALL yourself (which 99.999999% of the people won't).

So technically, you are correct in that it CAN be done in .0000001% of the cases......but realistically, you are way off base.

mikal

It's possible to do it on a budget. But do you really want piping that looks like it has STD's? or Turbos that looks like it'll crack open or leaky seals? Every Car is different. You can do a budget setup on one, but maybe not on another.

Crx for an example.
Civic HF Manifolds can be converted to accept DSM (Eclipse) turbo's. TDO4H (Same as a greddy turbo) which i still have in my garage. DSM 450cc injectors (i bought them for 60 bucks for a set of 4)
Engine Management, TurboEDIT (Free Software to flash the EPROM of a DIY modified Honda OBD0 ECU)
Now, all that is a budget setup.

Try doing that with the GS.
What are you going to use for a manifold? $200 SSautocrap mani that cracks(more money to keep replacing)? Turbo, what car will it be from that will have the correct a/r spec for the 2jz-ge? Injectors you can get from and RX7, but the price is still up there. Not no $60 injectors. Pipings you can use mild steel but if you're ok with STD looking things and rust.
Fuel Management, what are we going to do with fuel management? There are no free softwares and EPROM hack for it. Piggy backs are not so good with tuning obd2 either but will still work.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Very intricate process to go boost in this day of obd2 and complex electronics. Boost on a budget is applicable to some old 1980's beater, not a GS. It will run in excess of 5k to get the job done right. Tuning is needed to make sure the car does't run too rich and to make sure you don't have any other issues that can be detrimental to the motor. If and when I go boost, I will leave it to a tuning shop equipped to handle such complexities.