The Cheaper Alternatives That Work!

[dadem0n]

Hey guys,

Im looking at setting up a custom turbo on a NA engine and Ive been looking at some cheaper alternatives to bring the costs down.

As the $22 boost controller thread shows, there are options that are just as good as the name brand $$$ parts

Has anyone had any +/- experiences with:

cheap HKS "style" BOVs

cheap Tial "style" wastgates

no name intercooler cores

no name oil catch cans

anything else?

Share the love people

[paulr33]

stock bov is fine

stock int gate is fine

gtr intercooler is fine

no need for a catch can, fix the original problem

$22 boost controller is fine

[dadem0n]

stock bov is fine

stock int gate is fine

gtr intercooler is fine

no need for a catch can, fix the original problem

$22 boost controller is fine

Sounds good but Im starting from scratch and she's not an RB

[paulr33]

thats no exactly rb only advice

most of the standard bov's are fine

the aftermarket ones generally cause more problems than they are worth. the oem cores are probably better than the jap ones. the catch is a bandaid fix on another problem, fix whats making the oil get into the intake.

[dezz]

its an N/A engine paul..and its not an RB, so we're not talking skyline....so from the info he's given (which is little to none) we dont know that there is a turbo variant to his car....therefore there might not be a "standard" bov....

what car is it dademon?

[Thunderbolt]

Intercooler: Get one of those Chinese Hybrid copies (they come from same factory as genuine Hybrid apparently). This can be had for as little as a couple of hundred bucks for the core and endtanks.

Oil Catch Can: You can use a coke bottle if you like, it will do the same job.

BOV: You don't need one straight away provided you don't run the boost too high.

Wastegate: I wouldn't skip on quality here, as your engine and turbo health rely on the wastegate functioning correctly.

[Kaido_RR]

Hey guys,

Im looking at setting up a custom turbo on a NA engine and Ive been looking at some cheaper alternatives to bring the costs down.

As the $22 boost controller thread shows, there are options that are just as good as the name brand $$$ parts

Has anyone had any +/- experiences with:

cheap HKS "style" BOVs

cheap Tial "style" wastgates

no name intercooler cores

no name oil catch cans

anything else?

Share the love people

I've got a Chinacopy Fmic 300x600x76, not problems

-Cheap Chinacopy Westgate i would stay away, as i heard they have problems with holding boost, opening up at the right time and are just general a bad made item

-Same thing about the Bov, i heard they are just crap. seeing as you can get a secondhand jap spec (hks/blitz etc) bov for around $150-$250 i see no point getting a copy

-No name oil catch cans are fine, there is no real difference between a cusco one and they dont have any moving parts, so its ok

hope that helps

Cheers Michael

ps paulr33, if you can read the topic you would have notice, that they were asking "Has anyone had any +/- experiences with", if you cant answer the question dont post

[dadem0n]

its an N/A engine paul..and its not an RB, so we're not talking skyline....so from the info he's given (which is little to none) we dont know that there is a turbo variant to his car....therefore there might not be a "standard" bov....

what car is it dademon?

Its actually a LS1 (5.7L Commodore). There's no point in getting opinions off the other V8 guys, I figure the SAU guys are the ones with actual hands on turbo knowledge

Im looking to turbo it which quite a few people are doing now but I dont fancy laying down the $10,000 for the "popular" kit.

The off-the-shelf kits are basically a GT35/40R, intercooler and pipes, BOV, wastegate and exhaust manifolds.

So, I want to run low boost (less than 12psi) single turbo. Ive talked to a few people that say a T04Z with a 1.32 housing is probably the way to go, but I dont know which other parts are capable of supporting this without blowing a bulk of $$$ on name brand parts.

Any help, no matter how small, would be really appreciated guys

[FATGTS-R]

Dynomotive in Bayswater VIC have had a lot of success with turbocharging the LS1. They were the first to run a nine with A ls1 in oz so I dare say they have some research up there belt. They also had a LOT to do with the APS twin kit available.

In regards to not having to use a name brand part I have seen a few turbocharged LS1s come out there shop with the generic Bosch type BOV(s) and not have troubles.

I have an RB20det with 280+rwkw and I use a $40 bosch BOV without serious issue. Remember that a lot of BOV leaking issues is because they are plumbed in on the hot side of a restrictive cooler.

[Lazy-Bastard]

If you have a look at http://www.ls1turbo.com.au/ they are using KKR turbo, which are cheap as....(~$900)

If you look at this picture of one of their kits:

there isn't a whole lot to them. KKR turbo, exhaust manifold (surely any decent exhaust shop could do this for under $1000), intercooler ($200 + ~$400 for piping, silicone and clamps), wastegate and some lines (~$500), add another $500 for unexpected bits and pieces and do the install yourself.

I'm not sure what they charge for their kits, but I would bet it's a lot more than the sum of the parts involved....

[dadem0n]

there isn't a whole lot to them. KKR turbo, exhaust manifold (surely any decent exhaust shop could do this for under $1000), intercooler ($200 + ~$400 for piping, silicone and clamps), wastegate and some lines (~$500), add another $500 for unexpected bits and pieces and do the install yourself.

I'm not sure what they charge for their kits, but I would bet it's a lot more than the sum of the parts involved....

Try $8,900

Edited April 2, 2006 by dadem0n