I noticed a lot of people are always looking for ways to save money since performance modifications can run quite pricey but i also noticed people dont offer to many options to save money so i figured this thread wouldnt be such a bad idea. I only know a few ways to save money, so add ways you saved money and went around things with your genius ideas. Im sure everyone will be greatful.

1) HELP! Spark Plug Non-Foulers part#:42009 18mm. They can be used as 02 bunges on your downpipe. They can be found in any local parts store such as a pep boys for about $4 for 2. Also in the same section you can find the Pipe Plugs to plug up the bunges.

2) 450cc DSM Injectors (everyone knows about these)

3) 1g DSM BOV. Its good for around 15psi +. It works super well and runs between $30-50. IMO the best BOV for a daily driver turbo application.

4) I've never done this but ive read about people going to their local muffler shop and going in the dumpster and grabbing some piping to do their DP and charge pipes....I dont know how feasable this is...but its an idea...

 

These are often discussed but i thought i would throw em in anyway. I take no credit but these definatly save $.

~radiator hose for clamping charge pipes- cheap and way better than the poop ones from homodepot. Getting ones off stock turbo cars is even cheaper and you might even find 'hump' style flex ones.

~using stock ICs- starion, saab, audi, dsm. I like the saab vigen 26 x 7 x 2.25 core 180 new.

~stock turbos -dsm T25 & 14b, super coupe T3, saab T3, nissan t25 etc..

~filling motor mounts with various types of glues or sealants to stiffen them. I've done it on VWs and it worked great.

~accordinglydone.com exhaust pipes - seems like the best deal going unless you can really fab up your own.

~STD or HF manifold and adaptor plate for D series turbo - as little as 20 bucks for a turbo manifold!!! works great on my car and cost me about 25.

~Not getting stupid parts that don't make you faster is my favorite - no body kits, no short shifter, no interior crap, no projector lights, no shiny muffler etc....

i'll think of more i'm sure....

 

you can buy stuff from me to save money

i've got starion intercooler and injectors...and some other stuff

 

Ways I've saved money doing my custom setup:

-Homeade manual boost controller from homedepot and household parts (tee, bolt, ball, spring...) $8 vs $80 for "name brand mbc" or $3-400 for EBC. Mine holds boost rock solid, and ball+spring promotes fast spool!

-Got a factory rebuilt used turbo from a volvo. Flattened the flange with a grinder, file, sander, etc to bolt up to drag manifold (if you see one, you will see what i mean. the turbo flange, though a t3, has a round "countersunk" hole in the middle. Real PITA, but cheap)
$150 vs $400+

-Got an intercooler, brand new, off ebay that was meant to go on some diesel truck that never went into production. Modified end tanks myself with some handywork, a hacksaw, a grinder, and some JBweld. Been great for 10k miles and cost me 100$ shipped : )

-Bought a wal-mart welder + a 30pack of bud light to make my downpipe. The flange was from cheapturbo and the pipe was from pepboys. The welder was 200$, wirefeed MIG, and used it to make chargepipes custom (jcwhitney piping) and the downpipe. The beer was to help me learn to weld in the hour before I got started.

Total cost for welder, chargepiping, and downpipe: around $300. Not to mention all the other uses for the welder

-Got a 50$ ebay bov instead of going with the hks ssqv. At low boost, <20psi or so, i don't think it matters. Mine works great and sounds good.

I don't know if that's all. I know there are more, but I can't think of them all right now. Any questions feel free to ask / pm.

 

thanks for the o2 bung idea.. i was about to buy 2 at 5 bucks a piece

 

LOL, funny, I do all the **** everyone mentioned. Minus the beer

 

My .02 is save your $ in the real world and then buy good parts. Turbo can be done on a budget, but im not a fan of cheaping out when it comes to my car, or its turbo setup especially.

Try these for 3 months
* Take your lunch to work, or go home for lunch
* Dont go cruising or drive if you dont have to, save some gas
* Dont go to the bar, if you do goto happy hour
* Dont go out to eat, instead cook at home

Here in Dallas, we call this "Racerbudget"

You'd be suprised how much money you can save, try these and buy good parts.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by quikB18B &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My .02 is save your $ in the real world and then buy good parts. Turbo can be done on a budget, but im not a fan of cheaping out when it comes to my car, or its turbo setup especially.

Try these for 3 months
* Take your lunch to work, or go home for lunch
* Dont go cruising or drive if you dont have to, save some gas
* Dont go to the bar, if you do goto happy hour
* Dont go out to eat, instead cook at home

Here in Dallas, we call this "Racerbudget"

You'd be suprised how much money you can save, try these and buy good parts.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Finally someone with some intelligence... Don't skimp out your car to save money... The whole point of saving money is so that you can buy parts for car... Plus, you get what you pay for...

 

I could buy quality parts but I choose not too...just for the fact that the car is daily driven and if it gets stolen, then I wouldn't care as much Plus I can beat the **** out of it and IF anything breaks then it's cheap cheap cheap!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 4U2NV &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Finally someone with some intelligence... Don't skimp out your car to save money... The whole point of saving money is so that you can buy parts for car... Plus, you get what you pay for... </TD></TR></TABLE>

there is truth in this but it takes the same inteligence to make a fast turbo car that is reliable for little $. There is no reason to buy some of the more expensive parts as far as performance/reliability is concerned unless you are truely pushing the limits.

Anyone can buy all the hot parts and put them together (intelligent people included) not everyone can make a faster, reliable car for half the cost. DIY owns all you 'bolt on' junkies. I cringe when I see $8,000 motor/turbo combos that run 13s.

It all in the skills not the bank account.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 4U2NV &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Finally someone with some intelligence... Don't skimp out your car to save money... The whole point of saving money is so that you can buy parts for car... Plus, you get what you pay for... </TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah..why would you wanna buy anything good for your car when you can find old parts in a dumpster ..in fact, to be even more of a broke *** you can get a paper sack, cut two holes in it, wear it as pants, and call it a day..

 

ramen noodles and FMV brand food cheaper than the store brand and twice as good lol.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bailhatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

there is truth in this but it takes the same inteligence to make a fast turbo car that is reliable for little $. There is no reason to buy some of the more expensive parts as far as performance/reliability is concerned unless you are truely pushing the limits.

Anyone can buy all the hot parts and put them together (intelligent people included) not everyone can make a faster, reliable car for half the cost. DIY owns all you 'bolt on' junkies. I cringe when I see $8,000 motor/turbo combos that run 13s.

It all in the skills not the bank account.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Finally someone with some REAL intelligence

 

buy my stuff, it's cheap

 

I'm all for saving money, but I don't get it sometimes.

You figure, you would save money by shopping around and getting prices for stuff as close to wholesale price and/or a little over what it probably costs to make the part.

You figure, you would also save money by not buying the same type of part twice, i.e you buy a OEM turbo, then later swap it out for a t3/t4 or something. You buy a OEM ic, then change it out because it no longer supports your goals, etc....

You figure with re-buying parts, re-dynoing, time, etc.. you would spend just as much or more than if you bought quality parts to begin with. I'm not saying you need to buy name brand parts, but just good parts that you could/would grow into and not have to change/sell.

I am in no way an expert, but just trying to do it right and pay once and enjoy it!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jmal1919 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm all for saving money, but I don't get it sometimes.

You figure, you would save money by shopping around and getting prices for stuff as close to wholesale price and/or a little over what it probably costs to make the part.

You figure, you would also save money by not buying the same type of part twice, i.e you buy a OEM turbo, then later swap it out for a t3/t4 or something. You buy a OEM ic, then change it out because it no longer supports your goals, etc....

You figure with re-buying parts, re-dynoing, time, etc.. you would spend just as much or more than if you bought quality parts to begin with. I'm not saying you need to buy name brand parts, but just good parts that you could/would grow into and not have to change/sell.

I am in no way an expert, but just trying to do it right and pay once and enjoy it!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats another great way to make your car faster for less$ - PLAN AHEAD. good point even if you don't buy the nastiest parts.

 

Its all about having parts that work well together, you guys are right, put 10k in the hands of a dumbass and i bet it woudln't be as good as the guy with brains and 5k.
Biggest mistake i see in this game and the whole point of what i said is that you dont have to buy the best parts, but you need, repeat need to do it right the first time. I see to many people say "thats too expensive" so they cheap out and buy the cheaper part, only to need or want to upgrade later. That in turn is more expensive than doing it right the first time.

 

Uberdata custom fuel managment, saves $$$

$$$ that you should send at least a small part of to blake, so he makes us more cool toys!

-PHiZ

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RLZengineEH2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">buy my stuff, it's cheap</TD></TR></TABLE>

shhhhh & stop

 

A great way to save money is to not dump it into your car just so you can be 4-8 seconds faster than a minivan. I wish I could stop myself from blowing my money

But phiz is right, and there are a lot of DIY things you can do for next to nothing as a replacement to expensive pre-built stuff.

 

I think im somewhere in between. I buy good parts but definately not unnecessary parts or stuff thats overkill. I love DIY and do as much as i can by myself but not enough to make it ghetto. If i cant make or create something up to my standards then im gonna spend the extra money and get something thats not top of the line but something that definately meets my standards.

 

Get off honda-tech and find yourself a job.

 

A what?

I'm jealous, cause at my job, if I'm goofing off on honda-tech I get in trouble. If Arturbo does it he's doing "customer relations"

Also, a big money saver is labor! DIY!

-PHiZ

 

If you need wire for anything, relocating battery, stereo, upgrading grounds, ect

Go to a welding suppply store and buy their cable, I bought some today (gonna do a Rememberance day battery locating job )

I paid $25 Canadian for 20ft of 1/0 gauge. It's pretty darn flexible too!