Topic: To Boost or Not to Boost

[Masta]

I have a 99' Civic EX and i'm wondering if I should buy a turbo kit off of a guy for $1000. I know this sounds cheap but i have a good friend that knows pretty much the whole life of the turbo and that it has only 2500 miles on it. I'm wanting to know if i should go with the kit, or buy stuff like an intake manifold,cams, etc. instead bc this is going to be my daily driver for about the next 4-5 years bc i'm buying a drag specific car(something with a turbo already on it- 300zx,3000gt,Supra,Rx-7, etc.) in the next 1-2 years.

P.S. Does anyone know where i can find a good intake manifold and cam for my car incase I go with the later?

[utahteg]

just my two cents...I would never buy a used turbo or supercharger...

[PossuMKIV]

Yeah twinner is right.  Lagguer could also tell you from experience.  Anything used like that, you can run into problems.  Parts missing, things broken where you need new parts for....Unless you know exactly what you are doing, dont get it.  Buying a Turbo or a Supercharger brand new is the best way to go.  All the parts are there and if anything is wrong with it, it will be warranteed.  Shops are also much MUCH more willing to work with you if it is a brand new setup.  That way they dont have to go around like a chicken with there head cut off trying to find missing parts.  In which could cost you some Extra money on installation.  Especially if the turbo isn't originally made for your car - your talking custom fabrication fees then.

Just my two cents aswell... I own a shop so I know how it goes.  We now either turn all used turbo / superchargers down, or let the customer know straight up that its time consuming, could get much more spendy on labor charges, and honestly, its not our fault if your used kit is bad or missing parts - we wouldn't be able to warranty anything.  (Unless the kit came from us)
Something to take into consideration.
Unless your doing all the work yourself - its not worth it.

[lagguer]

Don't buy used.  However, I was one of the few who got lucky and my [used] supercharger turned out to be working fine.  I'm running 9-10psi, 250 (TUNED) WHP and I'm having a blast w/ my Vortech.  NO problems whatsoever.  I got lucky.  
Usually that doesn't happen.  So buy new and like Possom said, its all under warranty and you don't have to run around trying to find misc. bolts and screws.  (thankfully that was all the SC needed)
As far as boost is concerned...DO IT!  Boost is awesome.  Just don't be dumb about it.  Do it right the first time.  It will save you a lot of time, money and frustration in the long run.  Get it TUNED and get it tuned right.  -my 2 cents from a lot of experience w/ bad luck and stupid decisions.

p.s. keep saving for a NEW SC or Turbo.  It might seem like a lot of money now, but in the long run, it's soooo much cheaper.

[Masta]

Ok then, I've decided to wait on the turbo and maybe buy a new one later if I don't get another car in the next year. But i still have $1000 bucks that my mom and dad said I have to spend(Don't ask why, they just did for some reason). Should I spend the money on some wheels and a new cam or go all engine with a new cam,intake manifold,grounding kit, maybe fuel management, etc.? I really want my car to go faster, but I don't have any looks on the car and I might possibly need new tires pretty soon so I kinda need the wheels too.

P.S. Back to my first post, Does anyone know where I could possibly find a stage 1-2 v-tec cam for my car? And an intake manifold. Everywhere I look they have them for the B-series or for the D16y7's/D16z's but never for my D16Y8. Also,If you guys at Speed Tech could maybe find either of these for me, I would be more than happy to buy from you guys than from someone else.

[utahteg]

Man, I wish my parents would have said I have to spend a $1000 or else...you could get a really nice coil over kit for around $1000...the tein SS setup is pretty nice.

[Masta]

Yeah it kinda does suck, if i don't spend it I don't get it. But i'm still having some trouble finding a cam and intake manifold to put on.

[lagguer]

IMO, you should buy some nice stock SI rims, drop the car (properly), and put the rest towards engine work.  Forget about body kits, bling-bling rims, and all the other show stuff.  You'll only regret it is if its power you want.  Cars that have all the body-stuff done only draw attention from cops, car thieves and high-maintenance girls.
 Keep saving up for FI.  Plus you'll have that sleeper look.  

[utahteg]

Lagguer has a good point, but it depends if you want a car to show or if you want the sleeper look.  I totally agree with the suspension...a good suspension will help your car's handling capabilities.

[Masta]

Ok then if I go with the SI wheels and suspension, what kind of suspension should I get. I don't want to spend the whole $1000 bucks on just those 2 things, but i guess to get the best you gotta spend the money. Could I get a good Tein lowering kit for round $500 bucks or less? Or some other good brand, it doesn't matter, just something that keeps the car riding smooth with better handling.

[Staats]

my skunk 2 on my gsx were the s h i t and i have neuspeed on my civic now and there nice a full damper system would be nice ask ricky (kanzen) the name of one it starts witha t its like tekino or something

[Kanzen]

P.S. Does anyone know where i can find a good intake manifold and cam for my car incase I go with the later?

The best intake manifold out right now for sohc is the Skunk 2. They just released them because of the high demand. With Skunk2 intake manifolds there is no loss in low-end power or torque and utilizes all factory sensors. It also increases wave scavenging effects, large plenum and runners to maximize the horsepower you want. Skunk 2 is claiming it makes 8 to 15 horsepower for mild to med. built n/a cars. Let me know if you want one . Price is around $250-$280....Lemme know.


Oh btw, If you dont want to spend the whole grand on suspension then you can go with skunk 2 coilover and tokico illuminas 5 way adjustable. This combo is great for the price and I have personally been using this combo for a long time. Anyways you can have the manifold and your ride you want for about a grand.

[Mar_DC2]

i'd buy the tubo kit if it was in good condition, especially if your friend knows the guy and know's what condition it's in. 2,500 miles isn't very much for a turbo. just out of curiosity, what parts are included?

about the tein thing, ive heard good thing's about the S-tech springs. ive talked to people who put them on with stock shock's and don't have many problems with bouncing or anything, they're around $270.

[porscheguy911]

man as for suspension if your not buying a real coilover setup (H&R nuespeed etc etc..) i'd have to recommend either koni or bilstien shocks with a set of either H&R or nuespeed drop springs...

the shocks are a lot more money then the kyb's or the tokico's but they show it on the track, with quite a large increase in performance over either of those two. Also i dunno about the tokico but the kyb is a little soft for very low and stiff applications... I personaly run Koni race and H&R race sprinsg, but its hardly what most people would call "streetable"

as for bolt on's i'm gonna have to concur with what some other people are saying... if you just want a little more throaty sound and some nice looks a few bolt ons is a good choice, but if you want a MAJOR increase in power, you have to plan the entire upgrade as a whole or you'll spend a lot more replacing things multiple times, like if you do headers intake and exhaust, then turbo, you throw out the headers and intake... so you need to think about what you actually want then go from there.