Any kid in college should be focusing on BOOKS and finding a potential mate (or many hehe) and not financially strapping themselves with a pile of garbage they WILL regret later. Some of the best builds I have seen were from first timers that researched and saved.

With that being said, screw patience. You gain and lose it at fhe same time as you grow old and tired. It's my money and I want it now! I love that commercial.

 

budget builder here:

I got the complete cx racing kit for $600 a month ago and heres my pros/cons.

cons:
bolts back out on their own - lost one compressor housing bolt and all 4 compressor backing plate bolts which allowed the compressor wheel to touch the housing and breaking a fin. Turbo is useless after one month.

seals blow - the exhuast seal leaks mad oil within 400 miles/a lot of hard driving. started leaking after the dyno tune.

fitment - i have a b20v in an ef with traction bars which means getting creative with plumbing and fmic placement.

manifold cracked - after a hard ****** backfire, all 4 runners cracked (one runner completely broken)

pros:
FMIC - efficient, on an 87 degree day intake temps were at 111 after a few hours on dyno (10 psi)

It works when its not breaking (i know) - i reach full boost (10psi) at 4k rpm and holds steady, bov works, couplers work, intercooler works

easy replacements - a buddy had a blown turbo with good turbine/compressor so i was able to swap shafts and replace oil seal for a healthy turbo again. rebuild kits are $40

with all that said, i knew what i was getting into and i knew i didnt want to make more than 300-350hp in which case dont go with an ebay turbo (or if you want one that lasts more than 1-6 months). I prepared myself for the leaky turbo and the cracked manifold, i didnt prepare myself for backed out bolts bolts though. I expected the worst and got it, having a welder and a backup turbo is a good idea.

 

For me personally, in 2008 I decided to try an eBay FMIC kit with a HKS "style" BOV. Not even joking, I had the setup together for a couple weeks on my D16 and went to disconnect the vacuum line from the BOV nipple, the nipple actually pulled directly out from the base and had what looked like a glue substance at the end of it that was really only holding it together. The engine bay temps probably heated and loosened it up in the short time.

If you compare build quality side by side of a BOV, wastegate or manifold (personally have not seen a ebay turbo in person)...you know exactly why they are less money.

eBay has its place for some things that you may want, like some knock off style front lip that may look half way decent but dont care if you hit a stick in the road. Some of these people spend $600 or more on a front lip......just freaking crazy because you can buy a new Garrett turbo for that price

 

Do you have any pics of the manifold and the cracks? What turbo did you have?

 

I understand that not everyone has money but you should invest in a quality turbo. And I totally understand how tight your budget is, I'm a high schooler and I've worked my *** off for every part under the hood of my car and my second car. I mean I worked 30 hrs. A week on top of school it's tough but in the end totally worth knowing that I should never have a problem and if I do that I will have good customer service.

 

Let me guess now.... It has something to do with suing someone ? You know, like ever other commercial on US TV... I guess I have a 50/50 chance with this one .

 

BINGO!!!

 

I have the 50/63 cx racing turbo and i dont have any pics of the cracks. All the cracks happened where the runner and weld meet, not the weld itself.

Also I just found that my downpipe is cracked at the flange weld.

 

That can be caused by but not limited to improper filler, preheat malpractice, post heat malpractice, weld type/style (high tension), ect... Having cheaper/thinner steel does not help either.

 

Im interested in which manifold you used. was it the ramhorn like this?
http://www.cxracing.com/mm5/merchant...gory_Code=HDMF

or this?
http://www.cxracing.com/mm5/merchant...ry_Code=MFHOND

 

idk thats funny, i have been using ebay turbos for past 3 years and a half. my old one lasted 2 years and still runing in my friends car but i did rebuild it for him before i sold it to prevent future damage(and the rebuild kit was ebay also lol). now im using a 60-1 and its 7 months strong, no smoke, i removed my intake filter for first time in months, clean as a whistle and i daily the crap out of my car in LA traffic, street race wednesday nights, and go to the trak on thursdays. i properly cool my car before i shut it off and ive never been low on oil and i always check it. so in conclusion in the end i paid $175 for my first t3 t4 turbo(got 50 back when i sold it) and $225 for my 60-1, making that 400bucks in turbo expenses for last 3.5 years and counting. godspeed honors their warranty, the guy told me if anything happens just bring it back and they will exchange it with no questions and i dont need proof saying a "profesional" installed it and im lucky enough to live like 15 minutes away from their warehouse, and like 20 min from cxracing even though i prefer godspeed.

people that *** up their ebay turbos are usualy dumb people who dont tune their car right away, have kinked lines, retarded setup, too much exhuast pressure, no restrictors, shitty BOV, list goes on.

 

check out my channel at skullbasher23. all the races are technically EBAY powered. and people dont get me wrong. if i can afford a garret turbo i would cuz those DO MAKE MORE POWER and im sure they LAST longer but i just cant justify spending 1200 on a turbo thats going on a integra when i live in LA county. i dont want to invest my life into a car only to one day have a gun pointed to my head and get jacked.

Ebay clutches, lol dont even get me started, cuz their amazing at the power level that they are rated at, especialy F1 racing clutches, stage III $125 out the door. im so glad i live in socal right next to where all the ebay warehouses and big name distributors

 

Hahahaha.

I find it crazy that people would go to that extreme just to take a Honda. I could understand a nice BMW or Mercedes, but a Honda . Over here they only really go for the expensive stuff unless they're after a ride home. A lot of the expensive cars get stripped down to nothing and shipped out panel by panel to places like Africa then built back up again.

 

That's because they made over 20 times the number of Hondas than any mercedes in the U.S. , and due to what's happened in the U.K., in the U.S. Mercedes and BMWs have been rendered almost unstealable. Hell, you can't even tow them away without damage to them with thier retractable tow hooks.

Hondas are stolen, stripped, chassis burned, and their parts sold on places like H-T and other forums where cheap bastards pay pennies on the dollar for the engine alone as opposed to a legitimate seller. Insurance rates have become so astronomical that even IF that person had full coverage, they'd never get the money back, so most people after the 1st or second theft, pretty much get out of driving them altogether. Its a damn shame too. But the B-series, and K-series can now be swapped into most any chassis. that's why they are so popular to steal.