So I'm thinking about buying a turbo kit for my 99 Civic Si. I'll add I'm probably only going to be running between 6 and 8 pounds of boost. But I have a dilemma. My buddy told me, he boosted his car himself and he races it so he knows what he's talking about, that I can't just put a turbo kit in and go. He said that I'm gonna need a tune, a new ecu, bigger injectors, fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator etc. He said that unless I wanna damage the engine, I can't just put a kit in and go. He said I should expect about $1500 in supporting mods. Is that true, or can I put the kit in and run it at low boost without problems?

 

Your buddy is right. You want to boost? You gotta pay for the additional in supporting modifications

 

Thanks man. I appreciate the input.

 

I would say a bit more then $1500 most likely over $2000

 

Well theres free software you can use to tune the engine with a obd1 ecu! you can save some money there.

I doubt you need a fuel pump for that power and psi level but there pretty cheap like $100 these days.

Find some used injectors and you will be golden! i just bought ID 1000 cc injectors for $300 here! you can find smaller injectors for less.

You don't really need a fuel pressure regulator your tuner should be able to work with the stock one.

Then find a tuner and tune it.

 

A larger fuel pump is absolutely needed. Stock isn't large enough.

 

Some VERY good tips there on the flip side the parts list for my current build went like this:


hondata ECU (pherable) $640
ID 1000cc $500
Walbro 255 ~ $100 (i would definitely recommend it at that price reliability if nothing else)
Tune starts at $500
$1740

I also purchased boost gauge, oil pressure gauge, pod for gauges, aem rail and regulator ETC. wouldn't necessarily apply to OP so I wont list prices

 

I highly doubt free software is going to be up this guys alley seeing as he asked if a tune is necessary. I would recommend doing some research on the topic because a "turbo kit" is not a bolt on and go modification like an exhaust. It takes upkeep as well as needing to be monitored constantly. I'm a firm believer in the fact that an aftermarket turbo car is not a great daily driver so if it's your only car, put it on the back burner. If you must turbo your daily please do it correctly to give the car a fighting chance. Aka proper fuel delivery, tuning software, quality kit(turbo and wastegate at least), head studs, obd1 ecu. It gets more and more expensive as you dig in. My turbos cost near your goal for entire build so just research, research and research before spending a dollar and I'm not saying it to say your incompetent I just know it took a long time for me to really grasp the entire concept of building a quality turbo car.

 

Great points as well, forgot about mentioning some things like a AFR gauge! this will be real good to have! and a oil preasure gauge! i know some tuners who wont tune your setup with out one! a boost/vac gauge is always good too!

**** im still tuning my boosted setup on a hondata S100 im just OG like that haha iv even had a AEM EMS but its not ideal for a street car, a race car yes not to mention its cost.. S100 does the job on my superchgarged setup.

 

don't forget about a clutch or tires or routine maintenance that needs to be done so your car doesn't fall apart.

 

Yep that too.

Depending on power levels, mainly torque production, and what your current tire size and compound is you'll probably need to move to a wider, taller more performance oriented tire (ie summer high performance or DOT R compound) at least if you want to be able to put the power down without traction issues, which will only make your car slower.

Also you need a stronger clutch to support the torque increase as the OEM won't be remotely able to handle it for any period of time.

Then there's fluids... You'll need a high grade synthetic oil with a high ZDDP content (zinc and phosphorus) no lighter than 10w30. You'll also need a high grade filter like a purolator gold (stay far away from Fram). A high quality synthetic trans fluid is also recommended to cushion the gears and synchros from driveline shock and from the added heat the power increase will generate. You can't run shitty petroleum based oils on high rpm, high heat, high power turbo Hondas, they absolutely hate it and the heat from the CHRA can cause the oil flowing through it to degrade. Following proper oil change intervals with a turbo engine is absolutely critical. If you do a lot of spirited driving then changing your oil every 3,000 miles is basically required. With a high grade oil and filter you could push that to 5,000 or even 7,500 depending on the health of the motor and your driving style.

Plus another common sense upgrade is brakes. You can't make all of that extra power if you can't stop the car. The added speed capabilities from more power can easily overload the stock brakes during high speed highway driving and twisty roads. At minimum you should get stainless lines, better pads (Hawk HP Plus are an all around excellent performer), and a higher break fluid like Motul RBF600/660 or the high end DOT4 Castrol "race" break fluid.

You also need to factor in the cost of tuning as you can't really drive the car without it. Expect to spend at least 500 for a complete tune with a single fuel grade.

There's also labor costs if any of the work isn't being done by you, which would probably be a smart idea for a reliable and solid setup, and can easily double your budget.

 

@wantboost how do you feel about honda MTF. this is what i plan to use for my type R transmission

 

Great stuff. that or GM Syncromesh fluid.

 

Op, don't turbo your car now. Save more money and while doing that research out the *** because we see too many fresh guys blow their car up in a week because they didn't research. If u don't have the money to do every single item above then don't even start. A turbo setup has no room for shortcuts

 

Honda MTF will work but it was never really designed for high heat, high power applications. The great thing about Synchromesh and other similar high end synthetic fluids is they actually "cushion" the drivetrain, better protecting it from shock and things of that nature.

The viscosity of these types of fluids will cause a minute power loss but in the big picture it's a fairly minimal loss, especially for the added protection.

 

I agree when i switched to Torco oil and MTF i felt a big diffrence, just over all felt more smooth in the trans maybe its just me but at least shifting and accelerating felt much more smoother than when i had honda MTF.

 

That mostly comes down to viscosity although most perfoance oriented oils and fluids will use higher quality synthetic base stocks with more friction modifiers and additives. Honda MTF was never designed for high heat or high drivetrain shock applications like a turbo FWD car. Granted that most street cars will rarely see trans fluid temps above 150-200F unless you drive like speed racer everywhere you go. It's only during sustained periods of hard driving that temps get high.

I know I keep coming back to this example but it's the only solid data logging of trans temps we have to date (until my setups are done).

A guy with a turbo prelude (350-400hp or more IIRC) which he daily drives in addition to autocross events and track days started data logging trans temps.

During daily driving temps only got up to the mid 100s unless he did some hard driving where they jumped to 200 or a bit over. During a 20 minute track day session he saw temps as high as 350 or a bit more. That's well into the range of fluid degradation. Either way a performance oriented synthetic gear oil is a good idea.

Since most of my cars will see track day use I started to question the need for a trans cooler system, which I've already designed and have most of the components for, when I was directed to the that prelude thread. He designed a similar system but it's a bit simplified compared to mine, which really just comes down to personal preference.

 

Yes you need a computer, injectors, fuel pump, and a tune... but more importantly is determining how much power you want to create. 6psi on one turbo is vastly different on another turbo. Power level will determine injector size, if you need clutch or not, etc.

Are you planning on buying a kit or building one yourself?

Also, check the health of your engine to make sure it will put up with a turbo. Compression, vacuum, leaks, etc.

There are also other things you need to consider... like do you want to keep your AC...

 

These threads are getting old. Do some research and we wouldnt be cluttering hondatech with the same bs threads. Research then ask legitimate questions. Between these "what do I need to boost my car" and "how fast will my car be" are driving me crazy. Not to mention the op disappears after he doesn't hear what he wants. Stop contributing to these clowns and these post will run right down the list

 

<p>&nbsp;</p><p></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>pipe down '14<br /><br />:-p</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

 

Keep spoon feeding and the search engine will be useless

 

<p></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>we&nbsp;have a useful search engine?</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

 

Lol u hit that on the head

 

for people who aren't retarded you simply google it, or google a question then add honda tech to the end

 

The fifth word in your statement is why. It comes down to do you want valid threads popping up that help or 10 pages of useless threads. That's up to us to answer valid questions and leave the people who do no research and want to be spoon fed unanswered so when you do a search it's useful and helps people