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Realistically, the conversion CAN be done for under $2k, but that's literally just bolting the stock turbo gear to your motor, and doing all the work yourself minus the tuning (labour is a massive factor). If you are going to go ahead with this it's worth upgrading the factory stuff like a decent intercooler, exhaust, piggyback computer as a minimum etc to get any real gain out of it, Otherwise you end up with roughly the same power as a stock GTST running higher boost.

Also, factor in supporting mods like fuel pump, coil packs, suspension work to actually get the power down, as if this has been done it effectively decreases the cost.

My conversion cost me $1100 ish for all the parts, then $600 for custom intercooler piping (to avoid butchering or cutting the engine bay) and intake pipe to mate the stock N/A airbox to the turbo inlet. In bog stock form on 5psi due to boost dropping off because of a crazy rich AFR it made ~140rwkw. Hardly worth the effort.

FMIC, new exhaust, FPR, 3" dump/front, oil cooler, heat-shielding, added an SAFC, and a retune (so about another $1500 later) it's now making 196rwkw on 8psi, so ended up costing $3k to get a decent number.

Yeh don't get me wrong, I wasn't implying that it isn't possible for the conversion to be done under 2k. I was simply advising that you don't EXPECT it to be done for under 2k. Expect it to be done for around 3.5 maybe 4k. Budget for that. It's much better to come in well under budget and have some money left over than it is to budget 2k and have things go wrong, because this is wear costs start spiraling and before you know it you've spent 6k and you're so frustrated you don't even want to look at the car anymore.

Wow $3000-4000 doesn't sound too bad? How much was your SAFC? I could probably even go for a piggyback ecu system. The tune will be expensive though...I'm happy to do most of the labor myself anyways, no matter how long it takes. 190rwkw on 8psi after 3.5k?? That's quite amazing! I'll look into it more and weigh up the benefits since I've just put a new set of tyres, tint, coilpacks and heaps of bits and pieces to my car to make it more comfortable to drive.

SAFC was $160 to the door 2nd hand. I agree with Hanaldo though, do things properly once so when you do get the car up and running well you don't have to fix or replace all the thins that should have been done properly in the first place. If you allow $4000, you'd end up with a good safe reliable car with decent power. I got out of the conversion for cheap as my labor cost was $0 with doing nearly everything myself.

Pick 2 from quick, cheap and reliable. If you're willing to spend a little more, and have a good safety margin in tuning and don't chase every last kw, then you'll end up with a good car.

Hi guys, so I've just read through all 37 pages of this thread and from what I could saw, at the start there was a LOT of interest going on in favor of getting the conversion done. Towards the middle there was some doubt and some people were saying, JUST BUY A GTT or a car that already has a turbo in it!!! Saves a lot of headaches...

Now it is 2012 and this thread started wayyyyyy back.... Since R34 GTTs are almost the same price as 25GTs now, considering the drop in price for the parts for the conversion, do you think it is still worth it to do a turbo conversion for my R34 neo rb25de? I've actually spent a fair amount of time and money on the car already, and I know my car hasn't been thrashed around like most of the other R34 GTTs on the market.

I'm considering doing everything myself and getting the most BUDGET aka cheapest bits for my car, leaving the internals stock and getting a professional tune. How much rwkw am I looking at? And also how much will it cost as of may 2012?

Figures that I predict are from 100rwkw ---> 150-160rwkw?

Price about 1000-2000 dollars for parts and tune?

But I guess power isn't everything, I just want a really responsive car that has massive amount of torque lol.....

Car is pretty much stock as rock and I want to go for a sleeper look.....(personal reasons)

All help welcome =D

I thought of this idea too, and slowly collecting parts - I'm in no hurry (due to buying a house, Skyline is a much lower priority). My car is an R34 RB25DE neo, auto.

Parts so far:

- Stock GTt intercooler

- Stock GTt air flow meter

- Stock GTt exhaust manifold and dump pipe

- Davis Craig auto trans cooler

Not going for higher power as such. But have a "european car" style setup, high compression engine with low boost turbo - which is still a great upgrade for a standard GT. Have maximum power from low rpm to red line. While keeping it mostly stock. I think it's very do-able for a decent price depending on your mechanical knowledge/skill and toolset. The most expensive things would be a tune/new ECU and possible custom piping.

Cost effective vs. a GTt, no - because with a GTt, you get the whole lot: LSD, big brakes, lower compression pistons etc. for the same money. But if you are attached to your car or have put lots of money on other mods already. Go for it - but you will not be at the level of a stock GTt (assuming you use all the standard GT stuff). The real benefit is you will be getting more power out of turbo charging compared to a crazy NA setup for the same budget. You will end up with a car that sits somewhere between a GT and GTt.

If anyone is interested I've got most of the parts to do this upgrade for sale after I have just done a big upgrade in my car.

Factory turbo setup on stock manifold with dump pipe (turbo in shmick condition, minimal shaft play and no oil blow through)- $400

3" Front pipe - $100

Stock Radiator - $50

Monza Intercooler (few bent fins but no leaks) - $50

Complete Intercooler piping kit - $100

Factory Inlet Manifold - $150

Factory Injectors - $150

In Sydney.... Call 0407101066

  • 4 weeks later...

if thats the case and no drilling is required on the 20de's that are thread taped from factory, how does one tell a rb20det long motor from a rb20de long motor ?

i dont think you can if its just the long motor and it has already been turbo. Not really sure.
  • 1 month later...

Moron, this topic has been done to death. In the near future use the "search function", located at the top right-hand corner of your screen.

umm you usually tell people to use the search function when they have started a topic when there is already a detailed sticky or thread, not in the actual highly detailed thread and sticky genius-meme.png

  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry I couldn't really read all 38 pages but I was wondering and haven't been able to adequately determine if making an AWD N/A Skyline turbo is worth it.

For example http://www.japaneseusedcars.com/auction/stock_english/detail_nissan.aspx?AuctionNo=100W11502102A1540030

Can someone give an accurate price range for the conversion for someone who knows nothing about cars? I'd love to have AWD so the turbo conversion path interests me.

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