So I've gotten a new position at work that includes a bit of extra money, comming in the form of being salaried (no more hourly wages, yay) and I got to thinking about how i'd like to do some F/I on my Focus. Now, I'm definately looking at a turbo, no S/C kit (sorry) and was wondering the total cost of the project from Vendors Shelf to installed flying down the highway. I know that some of it depends on how far you wanna go, so i'll put two options out there:
1: Low PSI turbo, stock internals, just a more "bolt on" style turbo.
2: A higher PSI turbo, non-stock internals, more than just "bolt on"
Also, I will be doing the install myself so I don't need "install" bills to be included.
I'm debating between going with a Turbo for my focus or using that money to buy a bike. The Turbo would be more "practical" for me where-as the bike will ALWAYS make the focus seem slow (but I can't use it in winter, rain, cold...)
Thanks for the input guys, I did a search, but nothing came up, perhaps this forum needs a few more stickies!!
if you want something that will be good it takes alot of time if it's a DIY kit and it also takes money.
i am buying somebody elses project which they have decided to not use only after being on the car for about 25miles. i am getting their entire built engine and turbo assembly. i got a great deal but even though it's still not cheap since it didn't come with any sort tuning and i also want to change a few things. it's turning out to be alot more when everything will be all said and done it will probably cost slightly more than a fully tuned toms best kit. but then again it would be 2x as much if i had to buy everything new so i got to look at that as a good thing. but then again after getting everything in and on the car and tuned i have to worry about other things such as upgrading my brakes so i can stop all this extra power. i also have to go put in a new clutch a quaife diff and i'll put in a lightweight flywheel. i also have to replace a couple other things in my transmission since it's already has a couple problems. so after the kit is in and tuned i'm gonna be spending about 2000-2500 on that stuff.
if you want power the easiest way possible just buy a JRSC with a BBK or get a powerworks kit. for those you just bolt them on hook up a few wires and your ready to go. takes a day at most turbo takes a couple months. waiting for parts, waiting for a day to install. getting an appt for tuning etc. etc. even with a premade kit expect to spend another 1000 atleast on misc stuff for the kit.
What you don't have in experience you will pay for - usually more then double what you would, buying a pre-made kit. If you have the experience and the capabilities, then a "kit" is a fractional cost of what you could buy for pre-fab.
So what do you guys think about buying "used" kits? I've got nothing against spending money for a nice set up (i am a big believe in you get what you pay for) but I also don't want to get raped too harshly. I know a lot of the answer to that is going to depend on how long it was used for, if it was taken care of, how well it was installed/removed....but in GENERAL what would you guys say?
My kit comes with a lifetime warranty on every part that i make so if it is one of my kits you are covered , My turbos come with a 1 year unconditional warranty
Do yours come with a special "Focus Fanatics" discount too, on top of a student discount, and a first time buyer discount, the kit should total about what, $35? *hehe*
toms mani- a lil over 500
toms down pipe-275
garett t3/t4 turbo- 595
tial 38 mm w/g-215
tial 50mm bov-210
tap your own oil pan- 154 ( jgs)
inj 42#- 139 ( c-f-m)
pro-m maf- 185
k&n filter-33
intercooler ( if you want one) 300
pipe- 300 made
silicone and t bar clamps-122.50
xcal 2-380
toms mani- a lil over 500
toms down pipe-275
garett t3/t4 turbo- 595
tial 38 mm w/g-215
tial 50mm bov-210
tap your own oil pan- 154 ( jgs)
inj 42#- 139 ( c-f-m)
pro-m maf- 185
k&n filter-33
intercooler ( if you want one) 300
pipe- 300 made
silicone and t bar clamps-122.50
xcal 2-380
toms mani- a lil over 500
toms down pipe-275
garett t3/t4 turbo- 595
tial 38 mm w/g-215
tial 50mm bov-210
tap your own oil pan- 154 ( jgs)
inj 42#- 139 ( c-f-m)
pro-m maf- 185
k&n filter-33
intercooler ( if you want one) 300
pipe- 300 made
silicone and t bar clamps-122.50
xcal 2-380
Oil drain back lines 25.00
Oil Feed line 32.00
Fittings for oil drain and feed 9.00
Oil drain adaptor and fittings 11.50
Gaskets , bolts 12.00
Xcal 2 wont be enough for tuning so add 250.00 to get the PRP
GOOD silicone hoses will cost more than 122 and dont use the t-bolts
Manifold is 595.00 so add 95.00
That turbo wouldnt be a real good choise for the Focus kind of big add 170.00
thers another 700 with just quick thinking add that to the 3450 and your over 4100 not counting phone calls , shipping Etc
Buy a kit ready to go save you some time and money
but realisticly there are alot of these things that you could save money on.....and you could get some of the work done in exchange for services{clean the muffler shop for a discount for parts and fab work}
Not get get on this debate again but it can be done for less without sacrificing quailty
Quality cost money there is NO way around that , A silicone hose that cost 6.00 isnt going to be the quality of a high grade good quality 4 ply hose costing 22.00 same with the other parts as you start trying to cut cost corners you have to also give up quality
I think i've decided to go the DIY way. yes, i'm new at this. Yes, this will be my project car. I am doing it this way because I can buy it over time. I'm going to buy everything piece by piece and assemble it myself, that way I can afford the best products. I plan to start buying in about two weeks. Thanks guys, expect to see a lot more of me and my stupid questions for a long time!
I`m all for anyone willing to step out and try something like this on there own , Keep in mind that MOST of the people that start this never finish and end up loosing there shirt selling it off the rest end up with more in it than a good quality kit cost and the rest cannot get there kits to perform like a quality kit would of
I dont think there is one person in your post that has done a DIY kit yet they tell everyone how much they will save and how well it will perform
MANY have done it and are over the cost of my kit not counting there labor , phone calls , freight , the parts that didnt fit just right that are laying in the garage
I'll never understand why people dont see the simple economics involved, i mean hey if its replacing a a sensor or changing brake pads,oil- you better be saving money doing this yourself
if its getting more complex there are usually people to turn to for help etc. defintely an option to pursue
but fabricating your own kit to save money... well youre not replacing something because it was never there... so the people you'd turn to for help in this specific business..... well they've already been down that road and if they made a good kit... theyre probably selling it for cheaper than youre gonna hope for with all your long run costs, keep in mind all the time youre gonna spend is worth something(at least it should be to you)
If you get into the dollars and cents bit sure you can probably piece something together for cheaper than what tom charges or the other co.'s, because they obviously have profit built in.
But if you're good enough to do all of this quickly and you have good channels for parts etc. and you can accomplish it quickly chances are you're not anywhere near the normal person and chances are you have a good history of working with such things
because waiting + headaches+hands on time < same thing someone else did + warranty especially if you're starting from zero on putting together FI systems
I'm about to attempt to install the JRSC kit myself. The reason being that I've read the instructions and there isn't any (or so they claim) fabricating parts to make it fit. A direct "bolt on" kit. That and the fact that i'll have a mechanic working with me who know fi-that always helps too. Hopefully he won't back out on me the last minute. I don't think I'd dare try to make my own turbo kit myself. The best advice i've absorbed from these forums is to save up the money and do it right with the proven products. You may pay more up front, but like SVTJerbo said, "...they're probably selling it for cheaper than you're gonna hope for with all your long run costs..." It's taken me two years to save up enough money to get everthing I wanted (while doing little stuff in the process). It was worth every minute waiting to be able to afford a kit to give me what i was looking for.
i have also built my own kit, im dunning a garret GT28r, and the only parts that were not brand new were my BOV(1st gen DSM recirc. valve) and the SVT cat/flex i used to keep emissions. i have about $3500 into the kit, and that INCLUDING the complete SCT PRP package to tune myself, im running 10psi and making approx 240HP on stock internals and 93octane PUMP GAS. i knew a thing or two about cars going into this, and reasearched for about 6 months, then spent another 6 monts buying the parts as i could obtain the money. i think i did much better for the money i spent and i think pretty comparable to a $6400 turbo tom setup.
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I'm not doing it to save money overally. I'm doing it for two main reasons:
1) I can buy the parts over time. Tom, would you let me send you a few hundred dollars every two weeks and you send me some parts? I doubt it.
2) The sense of accomplishment. I would rather drive my car around knowing that I MADE it go this fast rather than "I spent the money and bought someone else's work"
Will things change....perhaps, but i'm willing to give it a go despite what eveyone on here has to say against it. I know things will go wrong, I know it will take time, I know it'll most likely cost more than buying someone else's idea...but i like the adventure and ownership feeling. If something goes wrong, at worst, I buy a new engine and learn my lesson. Its not like a zetec engine is HORRIBLY expensive, I can buy the whole thing for less than the cost of just a HEAD for my old car.
I agree 100%
And you never know you might save some cash,and find someone willing to help
anykind of sponcer would help time on a lift is priceless,you could use that
extra cash to stiffen up that bottom end and some headwork
So, just out of curiousity.... what kind of turbo you running roush??
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