OK, so I really am not familiar with Turbos...at all. I was talking to a fellow co-worker of mine (he also owns a shop called L.I. Performance Diesel). He has an insane rig that runs mid to high 12's in the 1/4 but that's also with some spray. Anyway, I have been throwing the idea around of getting a supercharger (hush, hush stuff...a company might put back into production and custom fabricate one for me) but my friend is trying to convince me on going turbo. He makes it sound so easy but after reading many many hours on this forum about "turbo build diaries" and such it doesn't sound so simple. He mentioned that I could just buy a used turbo for around $500...a crap load of piping that he said he can get for $200 an intercooler for $300 and then other items like BOV's and wastegates and such. He estimated that total cost for parts could be as little as $1500! After that he said it's just a matter of making a bracket to secure the turbo in place and taking the time to custom fit and bend the piping to the specified locations.

Is it that simple??? Can I run a turbo on my V8 with only an Apexi Neo or is this NOT possible? What other things will I ABSOLUTELY have to do??? Get colder plugs? Upgrade Fuel lines/rails? Upgrade fuel pump? Upgrade injector size? What am I missing?

I am pretty handy and I do have friends that are VERY mechanically inclined and have the specialize tools to do the job...please let me know what you guys think about this. Please don't be too harsh, as stated above I am pretty lost when it comes to Turbos let alone FI...thanks for the advise/comments.

 

No, it is not that easy. You could cobble together a system and COULD possibly get it running but there is much to know. If you can find someone that has gone through the process and get their experience and advice it is definitely possible to properly turbocharge these cars. Expect a minimum cost of $5k.

Supercharging is only slightly less difficult and may be more or less expensive but expensive nevertheless. Once set up a properly designed turbosystem will make more power and be less problematic than a properly design supercharger system.

I love turbocharging and will probably end up turbocharging my 1999 LS400 (same engine/trans as GS400s). But I have been involved in many many turboprojects so I have an advantage over most.

Ask yourself what exactly would you like your car to do and how much will you be willing to spend to do it.

 

Thanks for the wise input. Well, I got a quote of $6-8K for a custom fab. supercharger. This includes all necessary parts and electronics, install, testing and tuning. Expected to produce around 380 whp. If I can get a turbo installed for less than this I would do it. I really don't want to bring power above this level as my car is currently my daily driver...and everyone knows often with more power comes more headaches.

 

Wow 6-8k to pump out 380whp. Kinda glad I decided to stick with the 6cyl . That kinda money is getting me to the 600-700hp range. Then again, I do all of my own work and fabrication.

Anyways back on topic. If you have friends that are good at mechanical stuff and especially fabrication, then you're good to go. As far as fuel control, I'd really really stay away from just using an SAFC NEO. At least get a Greddy Emanage Ultimate, AEM Fuel Ignition Controller, or even a PCS XFC. Those allow O2 skew so you can fool the stock ecu. Keeps the CEL away if you know how to tune it properly. Best solution is to get a standalone engine management, but the cost of that might be prohibitive if you're not looking to make monster amounts of power.

 

Great comments so far guys...Thanks! Can I use ANY name brand turbo on my car and any size? If not, what has to be the attributes of the turbo in order for me to hook one up to my car? Anyone have anything else to add?

 

Have you thought about remote mount turbos? Our engine bay seems stuffed enough as is.

 

No. You cannot just use any size. I can assure you 5lbs of boost on a Garrett GT40 is not going to be the same as 5lbs on a GT42. You have to factor in what kind of power you're looking for, the powerband, single or twin, etc.

There are only a few manufactors of turbochargers: Garrett, Turbonetics, Precisions, etc to name a few. But each brand carries a lot of different size housing with different A/R compressor. It's not a plug and play situation at all.

 

No disrespect, but you probably ought to let someone else pick the Turbo. Not that I am expert either, but Turbo selection is almost as important as picking the right engine management.

Gears

 

http://www.theturboforums.com/smf/index.php

Check it out. Read & learn. Check out the DIY section for ideas on how to work on a budget.

 

you can also contact stage 6 in jacksonville.. they do twin turboed gs400 or make a y and do a single turbo..

 

SRT's twin kit for V8 GS cost 35,000!!! Glad i have a 2JZ...

 

That is a lot of money, but it's not just a twin turbo kit. They modify the entire drive train and convert the car into a munual
That's still alot of money

 

I pieced together and installed my turbo kit myself on my G300... Don't touch your car, even if you did get the manifolds to fit (big IF) the stock ECU would have to be replaced with a stand alone. Get a GS300 it's much easier to do.

 

They don't convert it into a manual. It uses a built auto tranny, or you can run a TH400 and/or a gear vendors overdrive.

 

The craziest thing was that there were a few people to actually get the twin turbo V8 done from SRT. Man that's gotta be some serious balling lol. I mean the mods almost cost more than the car is NEW!